Jane Fitzergald, a 22 year old medical student and the illegitimate daughter of the Harrison family, was forced to take her half-sister's place as a substitute bride to the eldest son of the Harrington family, Ethan, a deformed cripple with less than 6 months to live. She dealt with mockery right from her wedding from everyone and was a victim of vicious plots due to her naivety which caused a strain on the relationship with her new husband whom had already decided to be on good terms with. Unbeknownst to her and everyone else who looked down on her husband, he was not what he seemed. Ethan Harrington knew that she was not his bride but he didn't mind as long as she stuck to his words, his known health status was a front to cover his escapades. He's set to unmask some plots but what happens when he starts to fall for his naive wife who shows him the love and care he never got? Will their budding love be cut off or will they weather the storm together?
Standing in front of the mirror in an ill-fitting wedding dress, Jane studied her reflection and felt the corner of her lips twist into a wry smile.
"Sign this contract".
Jane caught the document that her father, Peter Harrison, tossed at her. Her eyes traveled to the bottom of the page where her husband-to-be's signature stared back at her: Ethan Harrington.
The handwriting was neat as though in fine print but the pen had been gripped with enough force for the ink to have bled through the other side of the paper.
"You'll be well taken care of as his wife but...", he warned, "... you'd better behave".
An edge crept into his voice like the hints of a dark cloud looming over the horizon.
"Think about what will happen to your grandmother if you ruin everything".
It should have been Stacy in her place, Jane thought. But Stacy didn't want to marry a man on the verge of death - why would she?
She had fled just a few hours before her wedding but to tell the groom's family would be nothing short of insulting, even humiliating, which was why her father had - rather callously- threatened Jane with her grandmother's life to coerce her into taking Stacy's place.
And so to protect her grandmother, Jane found herself dressed in a wedding gown that had belonged to another woman; the bride to be of the sickly eldest son of the Harrington family.
Her father might insist that it was a privilege to be in her shoes but Jane knew better. If she were truly all that lucky, why did Stacy run away in the first place?
"You're right", Jane replied, her voice smooth and clear.
"Thank you for your reminder, if not, the small matter of of me becoming the matriarch of the Harrington family would have slipped my mind completely. Although... correct me if I'm wrong but my new status would make it incredibly easy to punish those who try to hurt me, wouldn't it?"
Her father's expression changed instantly.
Jane raised her head to look him in the eye, all demure and innocent.
"So don't hurt my grandmother. She's the only family I have left after all, if something happens to her, I can't imagine what I'd be capable of".
"You...", Peter seethed. He opened his mouth as if to hurl more verbal abuse at her but at that moment, a staff came to inform them that it was time for the bride to take her place.
Clamping down his fury, Peter smoothed his expression and brusquely escorted her into full view of the guests.
Slowly she made her way to the center. The veil hid her face from the sea of guests around her but it failed to block their whispers and snickers.
"Who would have thought that even a sickly whelp like Ethan Harrington would find himself a bride?"
"I hear he's practically on his deathbed and he's only marrying the Harrisons' daughter to improve his luck and prolong his life"
"The Harrisons? Their brazen hussy of a daughter? I heard she was throwing herself at a man she met at a party not long ago. Young Master Ethan must be begging to be cuckolded".
"Speaking of which, the bride's a little on the skinny side, isn't she? She can barely hold up that gown of hers... if you catch my meaning".
With each step, Jane ignored the murmurs of the throng, her gaze fixed on the man in the wheelchair in front of her. A mask covered the bottom half of his face but his eyebrows were set in two gentle lines.
Sporadically, he would let out a cough or two, his fists clenching in a valiant attempt to control himself and avoid disrupting the wedding but he only succeeded in making himself cough harder.
It went in for so long that Jane couldn't help but wonder if he would even survive the wedding. I would enter a bride and leave a widow, she thought humorlessly.
Peter must have been afraid that the wretched, pitiful noises tearing from her husband-to-be's chest were the result of some kind of infectious disease.
After placing Jane's hand into Ethan's, he wasted no time in covering his nose and hurrying off.
The pastor began reciting the ceremonial vows. He asked Jane, "Do you agree to take this man as your husband, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, from this day till your last?"
Did she really have a choice when she had already signed the marriage contract?
She rolled her eyes behind the veil, "I do".
The pastor repeated the question to the groom who responded with several violent coughs before mustering up the strength to say "I do".
"I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride".
No sooner than he had uttered the words did a look of mortification spread across the pastor's face. If simply swearing his vows had been such an impossible feat, surely this wheelchair-ridden man wasn't capable of sharing a kiss with his bride.
He was about to rescind what he had said when Jane bent down and lifted her veil over her husband's head, shielding them both from view.
It was said that two became one beneath a wedding veil. Jane had been prepared for this moment ever since she donned her gown.
She might have been forced into this position by her father to ward off the Harrington family's outrage but she needed the power of the Harrington family name to keep her grandmother safe. The longer her husband lived, the better.
Jane pulled down his mask, revealing the lower half of his face which was decorated in a pattern of hideous scars. The sight was repulsive - horrifying, even - but Jane pretended not to notice.
"The ceremony is completed, the contract has been signed", she said keeping her face neutral.
"We are husband and wife now. What you cannot do alone, I can help you with".
Without the mask to conceal his visage, she could see Ethan Harrington's features creasing in a slight frown, presumably at not being given the chance to speak.
But then he took in her words and she caught the hints of a glimmer in his eye.
Eight years ago, she thought he was a Money Boy at the club, and accidentally had a one-night stand with him because she was framed by her stepsister. Is $100 enough to buy a Money Boy for one night? The next morning, she casually dropped $100 and ran away. Eight years later, she returned with her genius son. Little did she expect to be "deceived" into the Noblefull Group by her beloved son. Her immediate boss turned out to be Mr. $100 from eight years ago! ... "Bad girl, how dare you humiliate me eight years ago, this time you will pay the price!" "Bad girl, one billion dollars, I buy your whole life!" "I just want to be a secretary. You already have several lovers. You are not my type." "But, I only have feelings for you, only love you." However, their relationship was not smooth. Due to a property dispute, his brother deliberately caused a car accident in an attempt to kill her and their son. Due to past grievances of the previous generation, his father held deep hatred towards him and sent assassins to kill them. There were also plots and attempts on their lives orchestrated by his girlfriend. On top of that, they faced oppression from rival factions of the mafia... This is a romantic novel about a billionaire and his secretary, involving several generations of love, hatred, and complicated relationships, and also involving the mafia, revenge...
I received a pornographic video. "Do you like this?" The man speaking in the video is my husband, Mark, whom I haven't seen for several months. He is naked, his shirt and pants scattered on the ground, thrusting forcefully on a woman whose face I can't see, her plump and round breasts bouncing vigorously. I can clearly hear the slapping sounds in the video, mixed with lustful moans and grunts. "Yes, yes, fuck me hard, baby," the woman screams ecstatically in response. "You naughty girl!" Mark stands up and flips her over, slapping her buttocks as he speaks. "Stick your ass up!" The woman giggles, turns around, sways her buttocks, and kneels on the bed. I feel like someone has poured a bucket of ice water on my head. It's bad enough that my husband is having an affair, but what's worse is that the other woman is my own sister, Bella. ************************************************************************************************************************ “I want to get a divorce, Mark,” I repeated myself in case he didn't hear me the first time—even though I knew he'd heard me clearly. He stared at me with a frown before answering coldly, "It's not up to you! I'm very busy, don't waste my time with such boring topics, or try to attract my attention!" The last thing I was going to do was argue or bicker with him. "I will have the lawyer send you the divorce agreement," was all I said, as calmly as I could muster. He didn't even say another word after that and just went through the door he'd been standing in front of, slamming it harshly behind him. My eyes lingered on the knob of the door a bit absentmindedly before I pulled the wedding ring off my finger and placed it on the table. I grabbed my suitcase, which I'd already had my things packed in and headed out of the house.
She was a world-renowned divine doctor, the CEO of a publicly traded company, the most formidable female mercenary, and a top-tier tech genius. Marissa, a titan with a plethora of secret identities, had hidden her true stature to marry a seemingly impoverished young man. However, on the eve of their wedding, her fiance, who was actually the lost heir to a wealthy dynasty, called off the engagement and subjected her to degradation and mockery. Upon the revelation of her concealed identities, her ex-fiance was left stunned and desperately pleaded for her forgiveness. Standing protectively before Marissa, an incredibly influential and fearsome magnate declared, "This is my wife. Who would dare try to claim her?"
After three secretive years of marriage, Eliana never met her enigmatic husband until she was served with divorce papers and learned of his extravagant pursuit of another. She snapped back to reality and secured a divorce. Thereafter, Eliana unveiled her various personas: an esteemed doctor, legendary secret agent, master hacker, celebrated designer, adept race car driver, and distinguished scientist. As her diverse talents became known, her ex-husband was consumed by remorse. Desperately, he pleaded, "Eliana, give me another chance! All my properties, even my life, are yours."
Everyone was shocked to the bones when the news of Rupert Benton's engagement broke out. It was surprising because the lucky girl was said to be a plain Jane, who grew up in the countryside and had nothing to her name. One evening, she showed up at a banquet, stunning everyone present. "Wow, she's so beautiful!" All the men drooled, and the women got so jealous. What they didn't know was that this so-called country girl was actually an heiress to a billion-dollar empire. It wasn't long before her secrets came to light one after the other. The elites couldn't stop talking about her. "Holy smokes! So, her father is the richest man in the world?" "She's also that excellent, but mysterious designer who many people adore! Who would have guessed?" Nonetheless, people thought that Rupert didn't love her. But they were in for another surprise. Rupert released a statement, silencing all the naysayers. "I'm very much in love with my beautiful fiancee. We will be getting married soon." Two questions were on everyone's minds: "Why did she hide her identity? And why was Rupert in love with her all of a sudden?"
Damian didn't believe in love, but he needed a wife to claim the inheritance his uncle left him. Amelia needed to take revenge on her ex-husband, and what better way to do it than a marriage of convenience with his worst enemy? There were only two rules in their fake marriage: no entanglement or sexual relationship, and they would go their separate ways after the arrangement was over. But their attraction for each other is more than they bargained for. When feelings start to get real, and Noah wants Amelia back, will Damian let her go? Or will he fight for what he believes is his?