Carmen was in one-sided love, and she didn't know that until she got married to Liam, her high school crush. After getting married to him, his attitude towards her changed. But Carmen stayed in the marriage and endured his inappropriate behavior towards her. However, everything changed when she met Dax, and she later found out that he was her husband's best friend. When Liam realized that there was more to Carmen and Dax's friendship, he knew for sure that he wanted Carmen all to himself.
The sunlight reflected into the room, and the peaceful sound of nature echoed through the atmosphere. Carmen smiled as the makeup artist applied a thin layer of primer to her moisturized skin. Her eyelashes gently touched each other as an eye primer got added to her eyelids. She could feel the softness of the brush when it touched her face as the lady applied the foundation to brighten her skin tone.
The door opened, and a classic woman stood at the doorway with a bright smile on her face.
"Mini, Is the bride ready?" She asked.
"No, I am still touching up her makeup, " Mini explained as she put some cream concealer on her finger and lightly dabbed her fingertips on areas that looked dark on Carmen's face.
Carmen turned her head to gaze at the woman, and her lips curved in a grin. "Mom! What are you doing here? I thought you were out there greeting the guests."
"I want to see my daughter transformed into a beautiful bride." Her mother said with a smile.
A few minutes later, Mini stopped working on Carmen's face after she had layered the color on her lip. "My job here is done. Mrs. Smith, how would you grade my work." She said with a beam on her face as she laid down the lipstick and turned Carmen's chair toward the door.
Mrs. Smith's smile became broader, and her eyes sparkled, seeing how elegant her daughter seemed.
"Mini, you are amazing. She looks like the most stunning bride I have ever seen, and for that, I give your work an A-plus."
Mrs. Smith said. She walked away from the door and approached Carmen. Her hand gracefully touches her daughter's face, and her eyes got teary. "My beautiful baby." Mrs. Smith cried.
"Mom, " Carmen whispers sadly. Her mother's emotional outbursts were negatively affecting her mood.
"Mini, can you excuse my daughter and me? I want to assist her in wearing her wedding gown." Mrs. Smith said with a slight smile.
"Okay. I am going to leave now." Mini replied and left the room
Carmen knew that there was more to her mother's statement. She looked at Mrs. Smith and saw that her smile had disappeared, leaving only sadness on her face.
"Mom, what is this actually about?" Carmen asked with an aching heart.
Mrs. Smith pulled a chair in front of her daughter and sat down. Carmen and her mother were now facing each other.
"Does Liam love you?" Her mother asked.
Carmen laughed at first, but then her smile faded away when she noticed that her mother was being serious.
"Oh, you are serious. Mom, today is my wedding day. I am going to be his wife in less than an hour, and you choose this moment to ask me such a question?" Carmen said in a shaking tone.
"Carmen, I could not ask you this question since I thought you and Liam were just a flame for you, and you were going to get over him soon. Plus, your grandpa seems to like the fact that both of you were in a relationship." Mrs. Smith said as she held onto her daughter's hands.
Carmen pulled her hands from in her mother's grips. She was now tearing up and felt thankful to Mini that she had used waterproof makeup on her face.
"Why now? Why are you saying all this to me now?" Carmen cried. The tears were now falling from her eyes uncontrollably. She wipes her face with the back of her hand and sniffs.
"I did not want to go against you and your grandfather's wish. But baby, this is you guys marriage you are talking about now. You and Liam have to live under the same roof and see each other every day, and I want to make sure that he does love you. Because I don't feel like he does." Mrs. Smith explained. Her daughter's teary face was aching her heart, but she knew this was the best decision she had made for Carmen.
"He loves me. If he did not, then why are we even getting married? Why will his family and his friends be here? Why would anyone want to be in this building?" Carmen screamed. Her heart was racing, and she could not understand what she was feeling, but Carmen could tell that it was not joy.
"Fine. Please stop crying. It's my fault. I should not have assumed." Mrs. Smith said as she embraced her daughter.
Carmen rested her head on her mother's shoulder and wept bitterly. She knew her mother was right. Liam never told her that he loved her, not once in their relationship. But she thought it was because he's shy. Now that her mother had brought the subject up, she felt deep down in her heart that Mrs. Smith was right.
After Carmen's had cried her fear and pain out, it took her a few minutes for her to calm down. From there, her mother helped her wear her gown, and they did not talk about what had happened. There was only silence cycling within the room.
Liam was the only one in the groom's dressing room. He had not worn his suit yet. His hair was messy, and his face looked frowned. He was on a call, and his expression appeared gloomy.
"I don't think I can do this. It's not fair to you and me." He said.
"You can't do this to her. We both can't break her heart." The caller replied.
"How can't you expect me to marry a woman that I don't love? Are my feelings not as important as hers is to you!" Liam lashed back in anger.
"That's not true. I love Carmen, and for her, I am willing to sacrifice the love I have for you."
Liam ended the call in rage. He looked into the mirror and hated his reflection. "Why do I have to suffer for you? You denied me the chance to be with the woman I love, and now I am going to do the same for you. Every single pain I am feeling, you will undergo the same until you divorce me." Liam stated.
Born as the only wolfless person in her pack, Blake's life had been nothing but misery and humiliation, and she never expected things to change. But one innocent accident would change the course of her life forever when she met an Alpha in the male bathroom of her school. Now that her path had crossed with his, her life as a wolfless hybrid would now become the life of a powerful rogue wolf, and when she thought her fate with Nero couldn't get any more twisted, she is faced with the dilemma of choosing or killing him. *I always knew Blake and I were an impossible force from the moment we met again, and I don't get why fate keeps trying to merge us… Only chaos can blossom from what we are, and I want to shield her from all of it. But after everything that has happened so far, I realized that the universe wouldn't allow that to happen, so I will give in to its intention until everything burns into ash for us.
Rake disappeared from Ava's life the day of their anniversary celebration, and after years had passed, he resurfaced at her door asking for her help with a bullet wound on his side. He then left early the next morning and Ava thought he was gone for good, until an incident got her caught up in the other side of Rake's life that he had tried so hard to keep her out of, and now it was Rake's duty to protect Ava from the danger that she got involved in because of him.
She could get none of the boys she had liked in high school to fall in love with her. But when she became a multi-billionaire in another country, a high school reunion brought her back home and face to face with all the guys that she never had a chance to be with back in her highschool days. Now, it was Xena who was getting chased by her crushes.
Everyone who should have been there for Li Na betrayed her. After she died, a soul transferred from the twenty-first century and sowed revenge on her behalf.
She fell deeply in love with him, and later found out that he might be the monster who murdered her parents in cold blood. However, a vow she made to him stopped her from killing him the first time, but what will she do when she meets him again?
"You're mine, little puppy," Kylan growled against my neck. A soft gasp escaped my lips as his lips brushed my skin. My mind screamed at me to push him away-the Lycan Prince who had humiliated me again and again, but my body betrayed me, leaning into him before I could stop myself. He pressed his lips against mine, and his kiss grew more aggressive, more possessive as I felt my legs weaken. What was I doing? In a split-second, I pulled away and slapped him hard across the face. Kylan's eyes darkened, but the smirk on his lips exposed his amusement. "You and I both know we can't fight this, Violet," he said, gripping my wrist. "You're my mate." "And yet you don't want me," I replied. "You told me you were ashamed of me, that l'd never be your queen, that you'd never love me. So please, accept my rejection and let me go." "Never," he whispered, his grip tightening as he pulled me closer. "Soon enough, you'll be begging for me. and when you do-I'll use you as I see fit and then I'll reject you."
"It was just one night stand, and now I'm pregnant with triplets? Gosh!" Josephine Jade never thought that she would have to run away from her own family while pregnant. She was alone, without money, without connections, with three fetuses in her stomach. How can she survive? However, Josephine couldn't give up now, until she managed to reclaim her arbitrarily seized property and get back at everyone who tried to get rid of her. A sick child, a past crush that comes back, a mysterious eccentric man, and a family that hates her, will weave together the journey of Josephine Jade's new life. "You have no right to separate me from my children, you bastard! I will survive and you will submit to me. Just watch!"
Loraine was a dutiful wife to Marco since they got married three years ago. However, he treated her like trash. Nothing she did softened his heart. One day, Loraine got fed up with it all. She asked him for a divorce and left him to enjoy with his mistress. The elites looked at her like she was deranged. "Are you out of your mind? Why are you so willing to divorce him?" "It's because I need to return home to get a billion-dollar fortune. Besides, I don't love him anymore," Loraine replied with a smile. They all laughed at her. Some believed that the divorce affected her mentally. It wasn't until the next day that they realized she wasn't fibbing. A woman was suddenly declared the world's youngest female billionaire. It turned out to be Loraine! Marco was shocked to the bone. When he met his ex-wife again, she was a changed person. A group of handsome young men surrounded her. She was smiling at them all. The sight made Marco's heart ache severely. Putting his pride aside, he tried to win her back. "Hello, love. I see that you are a billionaire now. You shouldn't be with suckers who just want your money. How about you come back to me? I'm a billionaire too. Together, we can build a strong empire. What do you say?" Loraine squinted at her ex-husband with her lips curled in disgust.
Rejected by her mate, who had been her long-time crush, Jasmine felt utterly humiliated. Seeking solace, she headed to a party to drown her sorrows. But things took a turn for the worse when her friends issued a cruel dare: kiss a stranger or beg her mate for forgiveness. With no other choice, Jasmine approached a stranger and kissed him, thinking that would be the end of it. However, the stranger unexpectedly wrapped his arms around her waist and whispered in her ear, "You're mine!" He growled, his words sending shivers down her spine. And then, he offered her a solution that would change everything...
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 never gave a damn about rules and laws, as he only liked 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 lan begged her not to leave him?
They don't know I'm a girl. They all look at me and see a boy. A prince. Their kind purchase humans like me for their lustful desires. And, when they stormed into our kingdom to buy my sister, I intervened to protect her. I made them take me too. The plan was to escape with my sister whenever we found a chance. How was I to know our prison would be the most fortified place in their kingdom? I was supposed to be on the sidelines. The one they had no real use for. The one they never meant to buy. But then, the most important person in their savage land-their ruthless beast king-took an interest in the "pretty little prince." How do we survive in this brutal kingdom, where everyone hates our kind and shows us no mercy? And how does someone, with a secret like mine, become a lust slave? . AUTHOR'S NOTE. This is a dark romance-dark, mature content. Highly rated 18+ Expect triggers, expect hardcore. If you're a seasoned reader of this genre, looking for something different, prepared to go in blindly not knowing what to expect at every turn, but eager to know more anyway, then dive in! . From the author of the international bestselling book: "The Alpha King's Hated Slave."