Imagine marrying a poor man only to discover that he wasn't actually poor. Katherine didn't know what else to expect after she got dumped by her boyfriend and ended up marrying another man the very next day. Her new husband, Esteban was handsome, but she thought her marriage life wasn't going to be special at all. It came as a surprise to her when she discovered that Esteban was actually so clingy. Strangely, all the problems she encountered after the marriage were solved with ease. Something just wasn't adding up. Suspiciously, she asked him, "Esteban, what's going on here?" With a shrug, Esteban replied, "Maybe luck is just on your side." Katherine believed it. After all, she had gotten married to Esteban when he was about to go broke. She was the breadwinner of their family. They continued to live life as a simple couple. So, nothing prepared Katherine for the shocker she received one day. Her simple husband was not so simple! She couldn't believe that she was actually married to a zillionaire. While she was still processing the shock, Esteban hugged her and smiled. "Isn't it great?" Kathrine had a million questions for him.
Early in the morning, Katherine Morgan was startled when she opened her eyes to find a handsome face inches away from her own.
Overcome with panic, her first instinct was to check under the quilt. To her relief, she saw that she was still neatly dressed.
She cautiously looked back at the man sleeping next to her, feeling a mix of confusion, embarrassment, and regret.
Head throbbing, she struggled to recall what had happened last night.
Yesterday, her parents had asked her to have a conversation with her boyfriend, Darrell Clark, about wedding preparations. Little did she expect to stumble in on him fooling around with her cousin.
Katherine felt angry and disgusted at the same time. She broke up with him on the spot and fled to a bar, hell-bent on drowning her sorrows in liquor. She ended up getting drunk and going to a hotel room with a stranger.
The silver lining out of all of this was at least she didn't make any irreparable mistakes, judging from her fully-clothed body.
However, in order to avoid confronting the stranger in her bed, Katherine quietly lifted the quilt, ready to slip away before the man could wake up.
Unexpectedly, before she could even get out of bed, the door to the hotel room was opened from the outside.
An elegant old lady strode in with a cold expression.
Katherine was startled, but she could only duck her head and try to run away.
However, the old lady blocked the only exit. Standing by the door, she looked at Katherine with a frown.
That was when Katherine saw the old lady's face clearly. Recognizing her, she subconsciously blurted, "Mrs. James?"
Lainey James was stunned at first, but when she took a closer look at Katherine, she felt enlightened. Yes, this was the young girl from before.
At the age of five, Katherine had been accidentally separated from her family and ended up in an orphanage. Lainey had worked as a volunteer in that very orphanage, and that was where the two met. She had grown fond of the sensible, kind girl back then.
Later, Katherine was reunited with her family and was taken home, and that was the last Lainey heard of her. She didn't expect that they would cross paths again after so many years, let alone here, in this hotel room.
"Katherine, is that you? You're all grown up!" Lainey's cold expression softened. But then her voice took on a tone of worry. "Are you okay? Did this brat...?"
As she spoke, she turned to glare at the man in the bed.
Katherine also looked over and found that the man had woken up.
He was looking at her intently, like a beast staring at its prey with hungry, greedy eyes.
Katherine's heart skipped a beat. She quickly looked away and hastily tried to explain herself. "Mrs. James, don't worry. Nothing-"
Before she could finish, Lainey took her hand and patted it, as though to comfort her. "Don't worry, my dear. I'll make sure you're taken care of!" Lainey had been worrying non-stop about the fact that her grandson, Esteban James, was still single. Thus, when she caught Esteban with a girl who just so happened to be an old friend of hers, she decided to play matchmaker.
Lainey wore a kind smile on her face when she talked to Katherine, but when she addressed Esteban, any trace of warmth vanished into thin air. "Esteban James, look at what you've done! You're shameless enough to make your grandmother worry about you every day, and now, you even dared to hurt a good girl like Katherine. You were raised better!"
After scolding her grandson, Lainey assumed a more business-like tone as she spoke out her true purpose.
"Now that things have come to this point, you must take responsibility. You two should get married as soon as possible, lest her reputation be tarnished."
At the mention of marriage, both Katherine and Esteban turned pale.
"Grandma!" Esteban protested. But before he could say anything more, Lainey cut him off abruptly.
"You have no right to object, you hear me? You're a man, and you should take responsibility for your actions. As long as Katherine's willing, you two should get married."
Lainey was always quite the domineering woman, and Esteban couldn't do anything to refuse her. Moreover, he couldn't explain this situation clearly. At a loss, he could only turn his head slightly to shoot Katherine a warning look.
Feeling the man's oppressive gaze, Katherine felt caught between a rock and a hard place.
It turned out that this stranger was Lainey's grandson. What a coincidence!
Thinking about how her parents kept hounding her to settle down and get married, Katherine took another look at the man in bed. Lainey's grandson wasn't bad-looking, and he looked more reliable than most men. Besides, if she really did marry him, Lainey would undoubtedly protect her.
Mulling over this, Katherine gritted her teeth and made up her mind. "I'll listen to you, Mrs. James."
To the public, she was the CEO's executive secretary. Behind closed doors, she was the wife he never officially acknowledged. Jenessa was elated when she learned that she was pregnant. But that joy was replaced with dread as her husband, Ryan, showered his affections on his first love. With a heavy heart, she chose to set him free and leave. When they met again, Ryan's attention was caught by Jenessa's protruding belly. "Whose child are you carrying?!" he demanded. But she only scoffed. "It's none of your business, my dear ex-husband!"
Janice, the long-forgotten legitimate heiress, made her way back to her family, pouring her heart into winning their hearts. Yet, she had to relinquish her very identity, her academic credentials, and her creative works to her foster sister. In return for her sacrifices, she found no warmth, only deeper neglect. Resolute, Janice vowed to cut off all emotional bonds. Transformed, she now stood as a master of martial arts, adept in eight languages, an esteemed medical expert, and a celebrated designer. With newfound resolve, she declared, "From this day forward, no one in this family shall cross me."
On her wedding day, Khloe’s sister connived with her groom, framing her for a crime she didn’t 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 Henrik’s cold exterior, he cherished Khloe like no other. He helped her take retribution from her tormentors and kept her from being bullied again.
"There will be no falling in love, we will only act as a loving couple when we are in public, we will share a room to make it believable, but no intimacy, touching is off-limits. We'll only have sex once a month, and that's solely to produce an heir. You won't interfere in my business, and I won't interfere in yours. You will be my wife in every sense and you will not be involved with any other man," he said, arrogance seeping from every word. I watch his mouth move, I'm not ready to fall in love with any man, especially not one as arrogant and egoistic as him. I can handle acting as a loving couple, and as for intimacy once a month. I can agree to that just to satisfy my sexual cravings with no strings attached. "Where can I sign?" I asked since I had nothing to lose. *** Nadine's wedding dreams turned to nightmares when she caught her sister and fiancé cheating! With a secret recording, she's ready for revenge. But then mysterious billionaire Logan West offers a deal: A Contract Marriage to take down her ex's empire. But what Nadine doesn't know is her life is getting complicated as she takes her chance to get revenge or risks everything for a chance at love?"
In order to fulfill her grandfather's last wish, Stella entered into a hasty marriage with an ordinary man she had never met before. However, even after becoming husband and wife on paper, they each led separate lives, barely crossing paths. A year later, Stella returned to Seamarsh City, hoping to finally meet her mysterious husband. To her astonishment, he sent her a text message, unexpectedly pleading for a divorce without ever having met her in person. Gritting her teeth, Stella replied, "So be it. Let’s get a divorce!" Following that, Stella made a bold move and joined the Prosperity Group, where she became a public relations officer that worked directly for the company’s CEO, Matthew. The handsome and enigmatic CEO was already bound in matrimony, and was known to be unwaveringly devoted to his wife in private. Unbeknownst to Stella, her mysterious husband was actually her boss, in his alternate identity! Determined to focus on her career, Stella deliberately kept her distance from the CEO, although she couldn't help but notice his deliberate attempts to get close to her. As time went on, her elusive husband had a change of heart. He suddenly refused to proceed with the divorce. When would his alternate identity be uncovered? Amidst a tumultuous blend of deception and profound love, what destiny awaited them?
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?