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.
"I, Riccardo Saviano, future Alpha of the Grey Shadow Moon Pack, reject you, Artemisia Guerrieri, Daughter of Alpha Franco of the Blood Moon Pack, as my mate and future Luna." One single sentence. One stupid single sentence was all it took to disintegrate my life. And the day of my birthday, on which this sentence was audaciously uttered to me, I lost the love of my life, my future mate, and my wolf, all at once. As I'm still assembling the pieces of my shattered heart years later, there they come. Like lightning out of a crystal blue sky. My Mates. But wait... If I am mated to triplets, how come I'm about to be mated to 5 gorgeous men? *** TW: explicit and foul language; spicy content; explicit sex scenes ***
Janet was adopted when she was a kid -- a dream come true for orphans. However, her life was anything but happy. Her adoptive mother taunted and bullied her all her life. Janet got the love and affection of a parent from the old maid who raised her. Unfortunately, the old woman fell ill, and Janet had to marry a worthless man in place of her parents' biological daughter to meet the maid's medical expenses. Could this be a Cinderella's tale? But the man was far from a prince, except for his handsome appearance. Ethan was the illegitimate son of a wealthy family who lived a reckless life and barely made ends meet. He got married to fulfill his mother's last wish. However, on his wedding night, he had an inkling that his wife was different from what he had heard about her. Fate had united the two people with deep secrets. Was Ethan truly the man we thought he was? Surprisingly, he bore an uncanny resemblance to the impenetrable wealthiest man in the city. Would he find out that Janet married him in place of her sister? Would their marriage be a romantic tale or an utter disaster? Read on to unravel Janet and Ethan's journey.
Life was perfect until she met her boyfriend's big brother. There was a forbidden law in the Night Shade Pack that if the head Alpha rejected his mate, he would be stripped of his position. Sophia's life would get connected with the law. She was an Omega who was dating the head Alpha's younger brother. Bryan Morrison, the head Alpha, was not only a cold-blooded man but also a charming business tycoon. His name was enough to cause other packs to tremble. He was known as a ruthless man. What if, by some twist of destiny, Sophia's path were to intertwine with his?
Eliana was framed by her best friend and her fiance into sleeping with a boy toy in the club and getting impregnated by him. Five years after she had given birth to twins, she returned home and worked under the Moran Group, where she met the CEO-- Maurice. Maurice was a brilliant businessman who did his job well. But in order to stay under the radar, he lived a double life. One as Maurice, and one as Preston. Fate brought the two together again, roping them in on an exciting love story. It all became more complicated when Eliana faced Preston, the man she had slept with before, once again. Now that she was being pursued by two men, how could she ever choose? When would Eliana uncover the secret of Maurice's identity? When was Maurice going to know that he already had two children of his own? How would Eliana face this man when the truth came to light one day? Come and find out.
Daisy is the illegitimate daughter of Mr. Hubert. His company went bankrupt, so he asked for help from Drkov's house. They agreed to help Mr. Hubert but with one condition. One of his two daughters must marry their nephew - Atlas Drkov. Atlas Drkov is a billionaire but he is disabled and uses a wheelchair. Yaretzi - daughter of Mr. Hubert's official wife - does not accept marrying a disabled man. She and her parents made a plan. They kidnapped Daisy's mother, threatened her, and forced her to marry Atlas. To save her mother, she accepted. However, after getting married, she fell in love with this man, and so did he. Difficulties start from here.
Charlee was left at the altar and became a laughingstock. She tried to keep her head high, but ultimately lost it when she received a sex tape of her fiance and her half-sister. Devastated, she ended up spending a wild night with a hot stranger. It was supposed to be one-time thing, but he kept popping up, helping her with projects and revenge, all while flirting with her constantly. Charlee soon realized that it was nice having him around, until her ex suddenly appeared at her door, begging for another chance. Her tycoon lover asked, “Who will you choose? Think carefully before you answer.”