Anthea Nicholas was known as an audacious woman who stole her elder sister's husband, Raymond Dennis. His resentment toward her was not too profound, for he was a seasoned player. But his pride was trodden underfoot when he discovered that she had not virgin pure before their marriage. He loathed her, and he demeaned her. Every day, Raymond would submit a divorce request, while Anthea, inextricably tied to the family business, couldn't decide to divorce. Choosing the right person to marry is correct, but marrying someone who doesn't love you is a mistake. This marriage deeply hurt Anthea, and she decided to step back. "Recognize your mistake and correct it. Let's get a divorce!" Anthea said to Raymond, a husband who had never loved her. After all, they were only hurting each other. By setting him free, she was also liberating herself! But after the divorce, she found out she was carrying his child... A broken marriage, the return of an old love, everything was in the past...
The loud screech of tires gripped the pavement as Raymond Dennis's car skidded to a halt in the garage. In his eyes burned twin fires, feral and demanding, as he pulled the supple body towards him, wrapping his arms around her slender waist. He leaned in, passionately kissing her lush, red lips.
It was a kiss devoid of tenderness, reflecting the hunger of a beast, relentlessly nipping and biting.
Yet, Alva Mary seemed not to mind. On the contrary, she reveled in it, responding with equal enthusiasm. She parted her lips, her tongue twining with Raymond's. Her hands were not idle either, skillfully unbuttoning his dress shirt.
Feeling her confidence, Raymond pushed her onto the car's dashboard, transitioning from exchanging heated kisses to nipping at her neck.
Her throat released soft, suppressed moans.
Simultaneously, in the heart of the city, a broadcast station stood. Unbeknownst to her, the leaves of the Indian Lilac outside her window had sprouted a fresh, tender green. The biting chill of the previous winter was gone.
Anthea took a sip of her coffee, glancing at her watch. Her show was about to begin.
She was the host of the Morning Welcome program. However, last month, the radio station reassigned her to develop a new segment: Midnight Heart-to-Hearts.
Accustomed to her early bedtime and wake-up, she relied on coffee to stay alert while working. She reviewed the script one last time before entering the recording room. This was a live radio show, combining personal stories with listener interactions. She didn't want any mishaps, however small. A non-script piece of paper caught her attention in her pile of documents.
"DIVORCE PAPERS." The two bolded words leaped out at her. She instinctively took a large gulp of her bitter coffee.
That afternoon, again, Raymond Dennis's lawyer - her husband, in the name - had sent over divorce papers. He was always like that. Even with such a significant matter as filing for divorce, he delegated it to his lawyer. She often wondered if he would have sent a representative to their wedding if the law had permitted it.
Anthea sighed deeply, her gaze drifting out the window. She lost count of the calls she had received from the lawyer. They all carried the same message: Divorce. She could never comprehend why her husband was so hell-bent on divorce. Or perhaps they were a couple in name only, so understanding each other's feelings was a moot point for the incapable.
With his professional and familiar tone, the lawyer would start the conversation: "Is this Mrs. Anthea Nicholas's phone? I am Raymond Dennis's attorney. I am calling to discuss my client's wish for a divorce with Mrs. Anthea here...."
And the conversation would conclude with the divorce papers delivered to her workplace, the radio station. Their marriage of several years had fewer interactions with her husband than with his lawyer.
Right after their wedding, he had used work as an excuse to leave early and return late, under the scrutinizing gaze of their families. Eventually, this pattern morphed into him not coming home at all. Being apart for ten days to two weeks was commonplace.
Before transitioning to her evening shifts, several days had elapsed since she had last seen his face.
In the aftermath, she was preoccupied with familiarizing herself with her newly assumed responsibilities, thus barely noticing his absence. One telling sign was his perennially vacant parking spot in the garage.
"Ms. Anthea, the director instructed me to call you. The show is about to start in a few minutes." the young technician's voice tore her away from her reverie, nudging her back to reality.
Nodding, she set her stone-cold coffee cup on the table and walked towards the recording studio. She slipped on her headphones, adjusted the microphone, and signaled to the technician.
A countdown commenced.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one...
The technician then hit the button for the jingle: "Hello, dear listeners. Welcome to 'Heartfelt Conversations with Anthea,' broadcasted daily at twenty-one forty-five hours on FM 98.8 MHz. I'm Anthea, always here to listen to your innermost thoughts. Holding a warm cup of tea this morning and listening to the weather forecast, I was taken aback by the advent of a new season. I'm curious if my inattentiveness is to blame or if the absence of someone reminds me of the changing seasons. And what about you, dear listeners? Let's connect with our first caller and hear what they wish to share."
Meanwhile, Raymond and Alva were in a car, immersed in each other's embrace. Their movements inadvertently triggered the radio button on the dashboard. They both froze in place, for Anthea's familiar voice filled the car's compact space.
"...I hope that the young lady and her boyfriend will resolve their misunderstanding and not part ways over trivial matters. Dear listeners, finding one another amidst this bustling world is incredible. I hope you always know how to love and cherish those dear to you. Now, let's connect with our next caller. 'Heartfelt Conversations with Anthea' is broadcasted daily on FM 98.8 MHz. I have successfully connected with our next caller. Hello, could you please introduce yourself first.."
An ominous silence swept over them.
Raymond disentangled himself from Alva, sat upright, and adjusted his shirt collar. He grabbed a water bottle, unscrewed the cap, and drank half of it in a single gulp. Any man engaged in an intimate moment with a woman in a car would lose his mood upon accidentally tuning into his wife's live radio show, just as he did.
Alva awkwardly resettled on the passenger seat, cautiously peeking at Raymond, and upon seeing no sign of his anger, she secretly heaved a sigh of relief.
But why should she be blamed? She hadn't done anything wrong. He didn't respect Anthea. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so openly unfaithful time and time again. If she wanted to win him over, making Anthea uncomfortable seemed the way to go.
Having decided, Alva flashed a seductive smile and cooed at him: "Raymond... do you want me to provoke her?"
Raymond squinted at her and asked: "What can you do?"
She took his hand and placed it on her ample chest: "Just feel here, and watch what I can do..."
The taste of temptation was so irresistible there was no reason to resist. He complied with her suggestion while watching closely to see what she would do next.
As the son-in-law of a middle-class family, Alexander Reynolds lived a life no different from that of a servant. His wife's family despised him and forbade his daughter from calling him "dad." They humiliated and demeaned him daily, with only his wife standing by his side, providing him with emotional support. When his daughter fell seriously ill, the Marshall family pressured him to divorce Eleanor Marshall, hurling insults and declaring him unworthy of his beautiful wife and precious daughter. Little did they know that Alexander was the heir to the powerful Reynolds family. If his mother hadn't taken him away years ago, he wouldn't have ended up in such an impoverished state. Alexander made up his mind. He would claim his inheritance. Once he accepted this power, no one would be able to stand in his way!
Tricked into a wealthy man's bed as a means to settle a debt, Isabella was swept into a hasty marriage soon after. She knew she was nothing but an accident in Theodore's life, and she knew he already had someone else in his heart. Yet, despite everything, she couldn't stop herself from falling for him-her love was fragile, humble, and too timid to be voiced. She kept telling herself that everything would eventually be fine, but... After three years of lonely nights spent on an empty bed, Isabella discovered that the woman Theodore had always loved had returned. The divorce papers were signed. The feelings were supposed to be gone. But why... Why did Theodore keep reappearing in her life? When they were husband and wife, he was nowhere to be found. Now that it was over, she ran into him at every turn. The man seemed to have a thousand schemes to capture her attention. But every time she faced him, there was only one thing she wanted to say: "Ex-husband, we're divorced!"
After her second resurrection, Savannah Lewis no longer naively clung to the male lead, a man who had caused her immense suffering. She constantly sought ways to avoid him, a man who had inflicted pain on her in two lifetimes. But no matter how she tried to escape, she couldn't evade the domineering male lead, who persistently sought her out, followed her, and never left her side. He authoritatively called her name: "Aunt..." Indeed, in this life, she had become the sugar baby of the male lead's uncle, and he had to address her as 'aunt'. "My good nephew," Savannah smirked inwardly, knowing that now the male lead could no longer torment her life. But why... is the male lead's uncle even more domineering than the male lead himself!!!!
Jonathan Wang was a young man from distant lands who ventured to the city of San Francisco to forge his own destiny. After years of ceaseless toil and dedication, he successfully established a business empire valued in the multi-millions of dollars. Following his triumphant rise, he united in matrimony with one Orla William. Before long, however, his brother-in-law, Harding William, conspired to enact a most unsavory plot involving Adela Kyle - the youngest heiress of a wealthy family. Yet, rather than act upon his own malevolent intentions, he administered an aphrodisiac, leading Jonathan to share the bed with Adela unwittingly. Consequently, Jonathan was wrongfully sentenced to over six and a half years of incarceration on charges of rape. Upon his release, he discovered a truth that cut him to the quick: his child had been sold to the Thomas family by Orla, his wife, who harbored intentions of betrothing another man. This time, emerging from the cold confines of the prison, Jonathan returned with an unshakeable resolve to reclaim what was his and bring the William family to heel, along with the Thomas family, and indeed any house that dared oppose him. For he was now the reigning lord of Top-Sky House: the most formidable alliance in all spheres of commerce, military, and healthcare. He stood unchallenged at the helm, a titan fearing no one!
Benjamin Arnold was a recently discharged soldier with no job or stable life. However, one day, a man named Bahjat Taylor appeared and insisted that Benjamin marry his daughter, Isabella. Without money and his sister gravely ill, requiring costly medical treatment and surgery, Benjamin had no choice but to agree to a marriage of convenience with Isabella. Unbeknownst to Benjamin, Bahjat's motivation for arranging the marriage was discovering a yin-yang koi fish tattoo on Benjamin's left chest. This tattoo contained immense supernatural powers capable of transforming the universe and even granting immortality. Therefore, Bahjat arranged the marriage for his daughter to manipulate Benjamin easily. As for Benjamin, after becoming a son-in-law to the Taylor family, he was constantly belittled and humiliated by his mother-in-law and sister-in-law. His wife would always yell at him, act irrationally, and even openly date other men in front of him. Benjamin's life continued to spiral with one misfortune after another. His father passed away, his sister's illness worsened, and more mysteries unfolded, revealing the truth behind his identity. Would Benjamin be able to rise from these depths of despair? Where would the tattoo on his chest lead him? Benjamin Arnold, the hidden heir of the dragon lineage, is emerging from the void and awakening his true power!
Since the first time met Wolfgang, Emily had fallen in love with him. He treated her well and was handsome and gentle, making her infatuated with him. However, he was both intimate and distant, sometimes being very friendly towards her but other times being cold and distant. But Emily wouldn't give up, she loved him and was determined to flirt with him until she won him over. Then one day, on a full moon... she saw him transform into a... werewolf! Her destined love, Wolfgang, was a werewolf! What was Emily to do?
Sophia Drake braced herself for the worst when she was forced to move across the country in the middle of her junior year. Desperate to escape her shattered home as soon as she turns eighteen, her plans are disrupted by the enigmatic and captivating Ashford twins. Sophia can't fathom the intense attraction she feels for the twins and tries to avoid them at every turn. As she's thrust into an unfamiliar world, her past demons resurface, making her question her true identity. Will Sophia flee from her past's secrets, or will she embrace her destiny and take control of her future?
āDrive this woman out!ā "Throw this woman into the sea!ā When he doesnāt know Debbie Nelsonās true identity, Carlos Hilton cold-shoulders her. āMr. Hilton, she is your wife,ā Carlosā secretary reminded him. Hearing that, Carlos gives him a cold stare and complained, āwhy didnāt you tell me earlier?ā From then on, Carlos spoils her rotten. Little did everyone expect that they would get a divorce.
On her wedding day, Khloeās sister connived with her groom, framing her for a crime she didnāt commit. She was sentenced to three years in prison, where she endured much suffering. When Khloe was finally released, her evil sister used their mother to coerce Khloe into an indecent liaison with an elderly man. As fate would have it, Khloe crossed paths with Henrik, the dashing yet ruthless mobster who sought to alter the course of her life. Despite Henrikās cold exterior, he cherished Khloe like no other. He helped her take retribution from her tormentors and kept her from being bullied again.
Rena got into an entanglement with a big shot when she was drunk one night. She needed Waylen's help while he was drawn to her youthful beauty. As such, what was supposed to be a one-night stand progressed into something serious. All was well until Rena discovered that Waylen's heart belonged to another woman. When his first love returned, he stopped coming home, leaving Rena all alone for many nights. She put up with it until she received a check and farewell note one day. Contrary to how Waylen expected her to react, Rena had a smile on her face as she bid him farewell. "It was fun while it lasted, Waylen. May our paths never cross. Have a nice life." But as fate would have it, their paths crossed again. This time, Rena had another man by her side. Waylen's eyes burned with jealousy. He spat, "How the hell did you move on? I thought you loved only me!" "Keyword, loved!" Rena flipped her hair back and retorted, "There are plenty of fish in the sea, Waylen. Besides, you were the one who asked for a breakup. Now, if you want to date me, you have to wait in line." The next day, Rena received a credit alert of billions and a diamond ring. Waylen appeared again, got down on one knee, and uttered, "May I cut in line, Rena? I still want you."
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?
Joelle thought she could change Adrian's heart after three years of marriage, but she realized too late that it already belonged to another woman. "Give me a baby, and I'll set you free." The day Joelle went into labor, Adrian was traveling with his mistress on his private jet. "I don't care whom you love. My debt is paid. From now on, we have nothing to do with each other." Not long after Joelle left, Adrian found himself begging on his knees. "Please come back to me."