Rhonda was a lover girl to a fault. After her boyfriend of many years lost his job, she didn't mind paying his bills. She put his needs before hers. She also babied him so he wouldn't feel depressed. And how did he pay her back? He cheated on Rhonda with her friend! Rhonda was so heartbroken. To spite her cheating ex, she seized the opportunity to get married to a man she had never met. Eliam-her husband was a traditional man. He told her that he would be responsible for all the bills at home and she didn't have to lift a finger. Rhonda sneered at him, concluding that he was one of those men who loved to boast about their ability. She thought her marriage life would be a living hell. On the contrary, Eliam turned out to be a doting, clingy, and understanding husband. He cheered her on to climb the corporate ladder. More so, he helped her with the housework and gave her the free hand to decorate their home. It didn't take long before they began to lean on each other like a team. Eliam was a problem solver. He never failed to come through for Rhonda whenever she was in a dilemma. At a glance, he seemed like an ordinary man, so Rhonda couldn't help but ask him how he was able to do so many difficult things. Eliam humbly brushed it off. In the blink of an eye, Rhonda rose to the top of her career with his help. Life was beautiful for them until one day. Rhonda stumbled on a global business magazine. A man on the front page was staring back at her. He had the face of her husband! What the hell! Was he a twin? Or was he hiding a big secret from her all this while?
It was summer, and the sun was blazing in the sky.
Rhonda Horton was handing out leaflets at the entrance of a shopping mall.
Just then, she saw a young man and woman walking hand in hand into the shopping mall nearby.
Rhonda's eyes widened when she realized it was her boyfriend, Santino Byrne, and her best friend, Cristina Grey.
Santino had told her that he was going for an interview today. She wondered what he was doing here.
Rhonda's lungs constricted. She hurriedly followed them.
However, she lost sight of them when she entered the mall.
Rhonda frantically ran around. Just then, her phone rang with a message. It was a transaction notification of her credit card.
Santino had bought a piece of jewelry worth 49, 998 dollars.
Rhonda let out a startled gasp. It was almost half of her annual income.
She soon darted to the jewelry counter and saw a saleswoman sliding a flashy diamond ring on Cristina's slender ring finger.
The diamond on the ring was big and exquisite. It was the same one Rhonda had been dreaming about for a long time.
Her mind went blank when she saw the contented smile on Cristina's face.
Santino had gotten fired six months ago. He had been staying in her place, using her money to meet his needs. Bile rose in Rhonda's throat. How dare he use her money to buy a diamond ring for another woman?
She wasn't a pushover.
Rhonda sprinted over, grabbed the ring from Cristina's hand, and handed it to the saleswoman.
"Sorry. I want to return this ring."
"What the hell are you doing, Rhonda? I just bought this ring. What right do you have to return it?" Cristina bellowed.
Rhonda lost her cool. She glared at the woman and slapped her across her face.
"What are you doing?" Meantime, Santino returned from the cash counter. He protectively held Cristina in his arms and shouted at Rhonda.
"What's the matter with you? I spent only a couple of dollars from your account. Aren't you ashamed of being so stingy?" Santino looked at her with undisguised disgust.
Rhonda looked at him in disbelief. Betrayal, anger, and humiliation surged within her.
"You hooked up with my friend and spent my hard-earned money on her. Now you are asking me if I'm not ashamed of myself?"
"Yes, I'm with Cristina. What can you do? Look at yourself." He scrunched his nose up in disgust. "No man will love you!"
Rhonda had been saving up every penny for the past six months to support Santino. She had stopped buying skincare products and new clothes. Her clothes were old, and her skin had lost its glow. But for all the sacrifices, she only got heartbreak and betrayal in return.
A crowd of people gathered around them. Santino angrily threw the credit card and receipt at Rhonda's face.
"Here! Take it! It's obvious you only care about money. I've had enough of you!"
Rhonda's face hurt as the card grazed her skin, but it was nothing compared to the pain in her heart.
"Rhonda, a woman like you will only end up dying alone. No man can stand you." With that, Santino took Cristina's hand and left the mall.
Rhonda picked up the card and receipt on the floor, completed the refund procedure, and went straight back to the apartment she and Santino lived in.
This apartment had two bedrooms. She and Santino had been living in separate rooms all this while.
Rhonda used to think Santino was a gentleman who respected her. Thinking back, it all seemed ridiculous.
As soon as she returned to the apartment, she began packing Santino's luggage. Rhonda was determined to kick him out today.
She angrily pulled the bed sheet. Just then, her gaze fell on two used condoms. It looked like they were used recently.
Her last ounce of love and admiration for Santino vanished in an instant.
She packed his luggage and threw them out of the door one after the other.
Just then, Santino returned with Cristina.
He became furious when he saw the luggage piled up on the floor.
"Rhonda, are you crazy? How dare you touch my things?"
Rhonda ignored him and calmly sat on the sofa in the living room. In the past, she thought Santino was the most handsome man in the world, but now, the mere look of him made her sick.
"You've come back just in time. Give me the key to the door, and don't set your filthy foot into my place ever again!"
"Rhonda, are you out of your mind? I used to pay the rent before. How can you ask me to move out?" Santino roared.
"Yes, you're right. You used to pay the rent before!" Rhonda snapped, stressing the word 'before'. "What about the rent for the last six months and the living expenses for the past two and a half years? Did you pay for all that?"
Rhonda glared at him and eventually took deep breaths to calm down.
Seeing that many neighbors had gathered around, gossiping about him, Santino felt embarrassed. He wanted to handle the situation first.
"Rhonda, all you want is money! The rent for six months is at most twenty or thirty thousand dollars. It is just what I make in two months. After I find a job, I will pay you back the rent."
"We don't have to wait until you find a job. We can give her the money right away." Cristina took out her phone and walked to Rhonda. "Let's make a deal. I will pay you back the rent for six months, and you must move out today."
Cristina calculated that the rent was a piece of cake compared to how much Rhonda had spent on Santino over the years. Cristina believed Santino would be grateful to her all his life if she paid the money now.
Santino graduated from a prestigious university and had a promising future. In the past, he used to make 30 thousand dollars a month.
Seeing Rhonda nodding happily, Cristina transferred the money to the latter through an online payment.
Then, she complacently pointed to the door. "Hurry up! Pack your things and get out!"
"No hurry." Rhonda turned around and took out the grant deed.
"Read this carefully." Rhonda showed the grant deed to Cristina. It clearly stated that Rhonda Horton was the sole owner of this property.
"I own this apartment. I don't want to rent it to you now."
"Rhonda, you swindled me!" Santino flew into a fit of rage. "You own this apartment, yet you made me pay the rent all these years!"
"You were living in my place. Shouldn't you be paying the rent?" Rhonda shrugged innocently.
"God, you're a treacherous witch! I underestimated you before," Santino growled, pointing his finger at her.
"You're despicable!" Cristina's heart sank. She regretted spending the money for nothing. Moreover, Santino had no place to live now!
"Oh, please! I'm nothing compared to you!"
Rhonda went to the door. "Take your things and get out!"
Cristina was unwilling to admit defeat. Noticing that more neighbors were gathering to witness what was happening, Santino hurriedly dragged her away.
Before leaving, he looked back at Rhonda, thinking about how to get the apartment from her soon.
After successfully driving the duo away, Rhonda leaned against the wall and let out a weary sigh.
The only thought in her mind right now was that she didn't have to do the tedious part-time jobs anymore to support him in the future.
Just then, Rhonda's phone rang. She took it out and found it was a call from her younger brother.
"Rhonda, Grandma has been diagnosed with cancer. The surgery will cost five hundred thousand dollars. I don't have so much money. I..." Her brother choked with sobs.
"I stood at the edge of my heart and watched him choose her. In the end, I was not the one he needed. I was simply the one he settled for." - Noelle ~~~~~~~ I thought I was the one he loved. But a few days before our wedding, I saw him in a way I never had before. His eyes softened as he spoke to her. His first love, and the very woman who had left him in pieces. Heartbreak was something I knew too well. And as I watched the love he still held for her in his eyes, I realized what I had to do. I couldn't marry a man who wasn't truly mine. With no means to cancel the wedding and lacking the courage to confront him, I made a desperate choice to leave. I painfully gave his first love my treasured engagement ring thinking it was for the best and the only way to free myself. But when he saw that ring on her finger, the fragile world I had tried to escape began to shatter. His obsession to find me and bring me back ignited a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
Eve is left with no choice other than getting married to Jason who is arrogant and has not an iota of respect for her. Eve is in need of changing the poor status of her family and Jason needs to secure his company by getting a wife. Their marriage is built on pretence and deceit for the sake of keeping his company and her family's new wealth. However, things change the minute Jason finds out Eve was a virgin the next morning after their first sex.
Allison fell in love with Ethan Iversen, the soon-to-be Alpha of the Moonlight Crown pack. She always wanted him to notice her. Meanwhile, Ethan was an arrogant Alpha who thought a weak Omega could not be his companion. Ethan's cousin, Ryan Iversen, who came back from abroad and was the actual heir of the pack, never tried to get the position nor did he show any interest in it. He was a popular playboy Alpha but when he came back to the pack, one thing captured his eyes and that was Allison.
Rumors claimed that Fernanda, newly back with her family, was nothing more than a violent country bumpkin. Fernanda just flashed a casual, dismissive grin in response. Another rumor suggested that the usually rational Cristian had lost all sense, madly in love with Fernanda. This frustrated her. She could tolerate gossip about herself, but slander against her beloved crossed the line! Gradually, as Fernanda's multiple identities as a celebrated designer, a savvy gamer, an acclaimed painter, and a successful business magnate came to light, everyone realized they were the ones who had been fooled.
"Miss Brown, I am the butler here at your service," the butler replied. "My master wants to buy the baby in your belly." "What?!" Does that mean the abortion didn't take place? Did they kidnap her from the operating table just to buy the baby? But why her? "You..." Alice was about to ask a question, but the man in front of her calmly continued, as if he had expected her question, "You're pregnant with his child, and he needs a child. That's all I can tell you." Alice was forced to sign a surrogacy contract and eight months later gave birth to two healthy babies. Fortunately, the man was unaware of her daughter's existence. It wasn't until five years later that fate brought them together again...
Three years ago, Cecilia was left battered and alone by the man she loved most, Alston, yet she bravely completed the wedding ceremony while pregnant. Three years later, although they were married, they grew apart over time. Cecilia focused on her career, no longer foolishly believing in love. But her transformation instantly threw Alston into a panic... And what is the secret from 11 years ago that Cecilia has always been reluctant to reveal? *** "She went to a law firm, met with a lawyer..." A lawyer? Is Cecilia suing someone? Who? Is there any recent litigation against the company? Alston suddenly chuckled coldly, "Who could she sue? I'm the CEO of this company. How come such a matter doesn't come to me first?" The assistant swallowed nervously, speaking softly, "Sir, there's no litigation against the company. She met with... a divorce lawyer."