The death of her mother not only dragged her into endless sadness but also pushed her down into the abyss of desperation. The company of her family was taken away, and her husband also showed his true color. She was not the one he loved, and he only married her for the sake of his mother. Holding the piercing hatred, she signed the divorce agreement and left away. However, he found out he failed to let go of her.
It was late into the night, and the lights inside the Lu family villa shone brightly, a stark contrast amongst the otherwise dark street.
As she stood in front of the windows looking out, Janessa Qiu made her last call to Rayan Lu. After a few rings, the call was abruptly ended, as she expected. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself before flinging the phone aside, unwrapping her bathrobe, and stepping into the steaming bathtub. She closed her eyes to rest.
The warmth of the water calmed her, and her eyelids soon grew heavy.
A few years back, her father passed away, and now, her mother was seriously ill. This made her Uncle Aydin started to cause trouble for them. She had been working a few days in a row and she was exhausted by now.
Before she could fall into a deep sleep, she could vaguely make out dull footsteps from outside the room. It seemed close by, but she couldn't bring herself to open her eyes and step out of the bathtub.
When she heard a muffled 'bang', she woke up completely and was suddenly alert.
"Who is it?" she called. Janessa quickly wrapped herself in her bathrobe and hesitantly opened the door with eyes wide open.
The bright light emanating from the hallway made it difficult to see the man's face, and she was terrified of the sudden noise he caused. When she finally recognized his face, her heart skipped a beat.
"Calm down, it's me!" the man drawled. His voice was low and hoarse, and she could smell alcohol from where she stood.
Janessa's tense body relaxed a fraction at the sound of the familiar voice. Out of instinct, she moved back into the bathroom. She warily looked at Rayan Lu, who was obviously intoxicated.
"I'm having a bath right now. You need to leave!" she ordered in a shaky voice. There was a hint of embarrassment in her words.
Rayan's brows furrowed as he looked back at Janessa with hazy eyes. His sharp features had an indescribable expression in them, different from the brooding and domineering expression he normally wore.
With every step he took towards her, Janessa's body coiled in tension, and her breathing soon grew ragged.
Even after all this time, she still couldn't forget what he had done to her on their wedding night. No one should ever feel that kind of pain in their lives.
Rayan swayed as he pulled off his tie and made his way over to the bathtub. He looked down at Janessa and sneered at her. His eyes traveled from her face onto the white, delicate skin of her neck, all the way down to her slender thighs. The vulgar smile on his mouth pulled wider.
"Is it really you? I could've sworn you moved out. Why did you come back?" He bent down at eye level with Janessa and assessed her with cold and fathomless eyes. He was so close to her that their noses touched, and the alcohol in his breath engulfed her senses.
Janessa's lips thinned and she tightened her hold on the bathrobe that covered her. "What do you want?"
When she looked into his eyes, she could see the panicked look on her face reflected in them.
After all their years together, she was still terrified whenever he initiated intimacy with her.
"Are you curious to see what I'm going to do?" The smirk on Rayan's face instantly fell. He clutched the back of her head tightly and bared his teeth at her. "Mrs. Lu, I believe I should be the one asking questions around here! Where have you been all this time? Answer me!"
Janessa shut her eyes tightly and trembled when he raised his voice at her.
She decided to humor him, and explained in a slow voice, "I had something to take care of in the company. I tried to call you, but you didn't pick up." She managed to sound calmer than she felt.
The malicious look in Rayan's eyes faded, and she could tell that he wasn't as furious as he had been moments ago.
He loosened his grip on her, and her eyes slowly fluttered open.
Rayan straightened himself and tossed his coat on the floor. As he unbuttoned his shirt at painstakingly slow pace, he held her gaze. There was a dangerous look in his eyes.
Janessa's heart pounded in her chest. She brought the bathrobe further around herself, to cover as much skin as possible. Her face flushed with embarrassment.
"How about you wait for me outside while I shower? Or would you prefer to shower first?"
Rayan scowled at her words, and he stared at her with stony eyes.
Janessa forced herself to raise her chin and straighten her posture, which sent goosebumps down her arms.
His shirt was unbuttoned halfway at this point, which revealed a strong clavicle that looked enticing under the soft light.
He stepped closer and closed the distance between them.
Before she could register what was happening, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her shoulder.
He grabbed her neck and thrust her backward, which forced her to lean back. The back of her waist hit the washstand. She grimaced at the pain that bloomed at her hips, but she held back from saying anything.
"Did you think I wanted to be with you?" Rayan growled as he tightened his grip on her shoulder. He turned and looked at her with disgust in his eyes. "If it weren't for my mother's arrangement, do you think I would've chosen to be with you? Janessa, you're something else. How could you even manage to win my mother's heart? You're just a manipulative woman!"
Everyone knew the real reason why they were married, but no one had ever dared to voice it out loud.
This time, he was finally going to say it. What did it matter? There was nothing they could do to change the past.
Janessa scoffed at him, raised her chin, and looked back at him with defiant eyes. "We both know that all we do is take what we need from each other. You're not innocent in this either."
"Take what we need?" Rayan's eyes flashed with fury. He leaned over her ear and said through gritted teeth, "If that's what you think this is, I won't bother wasting another second with you!"
As he spoke, he wrapped his arms around her waist and propped her up on the washstand. He ripped her bathrobe open and kissed her passionately.
Janessa frowned at the way he dominated her. The anger and resentment that had been brewing inside of her suddenly threatened to burst out. She couldn't take any more of the humiliation.
As he continued to kiss her, she fumbled for something behind her and smashed it on his head.
Before she realized what she had done, he fell sideways and hit his head against the shelf beside him.
He attempted to brace himself against the wall to soften his fall, and slowly slid onto the floor. Blood trickled down his head and dyed the water on the floor red.
Janessa shivered as she watched him. When she finally came to her senses, she quickly jumped off the washstand in a hurry. The blood drained from her face as she moved him to turn his face upwards.
In only a matter of seconds, the blood gushed out and quickly soaked his shirt. No matter how many times she called out to him, he didn't respond.
Janessa quickly called the Lu family doctor, Gracie, with trembling hands as she stared at Rayan's limp body on the floor.
"Dr. Mo, Rayan is injured..."
Before she could even finish speaking, the person on the other end quickly hung up and rushed over in less than ten minutes.
When Janessa heard the knock on the door, she quickly wrapped herself in a bath towel and scurried to answer the door.
The doctor didn't even take a second glance at her. She immediately rushed to the bathroom with her medical kit in tow with a frantic look on her face.
Janessa stood frozen at the door as she stared at Rayan. "I tried to get the wound to stop bleeding, but it didn't work. I don't know what to do..." she explained in a shaky voice.
On their wedding night, Rogelio wrapped his fingers around Marian's neck and spat at her, "Congratulations! From now on, you live in hell!" The reason for his wrath was that he believed she was responsible for the death of his elder brother. So, he married her but refused to touch her, determined to make her suffer for the rest of her pitiful life! However, due to an unforeseen accident, Marian was forced to sleep with Rogelio in order to save him, and she ended up getting pregnant. Concealing her pregnancy, Marian lived cautiously under Rogelio's watchful eyes. He hated her and relentlessly humiliated her, yet he would never allow anyone else to lay a finger on her— "Mr. Bailey, your wife got into a fight with someone!" Rogelio secretly took action, eliminating that person completely. "Sir, your wife claimed that all of your family's wealth belongs to her!" Rogelio quietly transferred all the shares to her. Unaware of all this, Marian only wanted to escape, but Rogelio pulled her into his warm embrace, whispering, "Mrs. Bailey, where do you intend to go with our unborn child?"
Rosalynn's marriage to Brian wasn't what she envisioned it to be. Her husband, Brian, barely came home. He avoided her like a plague. Worse still, he was always in the news for dating numerous celebrities. Rosalynn persevered until she couldn't take it anymore. She upped and left after filing for a divorce. Everything changed days later. Brian took interest in a designer that worked for his company anonymously. From her profile, he could tell that she was brilliant and dazzling. He pulled the stops to find out her true identity. Little did he know that he was going to receive the greatest shocker of his life. Brian bit his finger with regret when he recalled his past actions and the woman he foolishly let go.
"Ahh!" She was in a moaning mess. She did not want to feel anything for this man. She hated him. His hands began to move all over her body. She gasped when he pulled down the back chain of her dress. The chain stopped at her lower waist, so when he zipped it off, her upper back and waist were exposed. "D-Don't touch m-ummm!" His fingers rolled around her bare back, and she pressed her head against the pillow. His touches were giving her goosebumps all over her body. With a deep angry voice, he whispered in her ear, "I am going to make you forget his touches, kisses, and everything. Every time you touch another man, you will only think of me." - - - Ava Adler was a nerdy omega. People bullied her because they thought she was ugly and unattractive. But Ava secretly loved the bad boy, Ian Dawson. He was the future Alpha of the Mystic Shadow Pack. However, he doesn't give a damn about rules and laws, as he only likes to play around with girls. Ava was unaware of Ian's arrogance until her fate intertwined with his. He neglected her and hurt her deeply. What would happen when Ava turned out to be a beautiful girl who could win over any boy, and Ian looked back and regretted his decisions? What if she had a secret identity that she had yet to discover? What if the tables turned and Ian begged her not to leave him?
Elena, once a pampered heiress, suddenly lost everything when the real daughter framed her, her fiancé ridiculed her, and her adoptive parents threw her out. They all wanted to see her fall. But Elena unveiled her true identity: the heiress of a massive fortune, famed hacker, top jewelry designer, secret author, and gifted doctor. Horrified by her glorious comeback, her adoptive parents demanded half her newfound wealth. Elena exposed their cruelty and refused. Her ex pleaded for a second chance, but she scoffed, “Do you think you deserve it?” Then a powerful magnate gently proposed, “Marry me?”
She was a world-renowned divine doctor, the CEO of a publicly traded company, the most formidable female mercenary, and a top-tier tech genius. Marissa, a titan with a plethora of secret identities, had hidden her true stature to marry a seemingly impoverished young man. However, on the eve of their wedding, her fiance, who was actually the lost heir to a wealthy dynasty, called off the engagement and subjected her to degradation and mockery. Upon the revelation of her concealed identities, her ex-fiance was left stunned and desperately pleaded for her forgiveness. Standing protectively before Marissa, an incredibly influential and fearsome magnate declared, "This is my wife. Who would dare try to claim her?"
"Love is blind!" Lucinda abandoned her beautiful and comfortable life because of a man. She married him and slaved off for him for three long years. One day, the scales finally fell off her eyes. She realized that all her efforts were in vain. Her husband, Nathaniel still treated her like shit. All he cared about was his lover. "Enough is enough! I quit wasting my years with an ungrateful man!" Lucinda's heart was shattered into many pieces, but she summoned up the courage to ask for a divorce. The news caused a stir online! A filthy rich young woman recently got divorced? She was a good catch! Countless CEOs and handsome young men immediately swarmed to her like bees to honey! Nathaniel couldn't take it anymore. He held a press conference and begged with teary eyes, "I love you, Lucinda. I can't live without you. Please come back to me." Would Lucinda give him a second chance? Read to find out!