Having suffered betrayal and injustice from the ones he trusted when he was most vulnerable, Michael Belsky shuts his heart from the subject of love, fully embracing a heritage of violence, affluence, and power, making him a force to be reckoned with in the business and underworld. With his rise to eminence, was also the rise of enemies. By virtue of an old agreement, Michael is compelled to take for himself a bride, but he chooses a stranger, Ivana, in defiance of his father, as she felt indebted to him. With time, Michael found himself falling helplessly for the cheerful and upbeat Ivana. But little did they both know that they both had secrets, and their lives were intertwined way before they ever met. Will their secrets and past come in between the love they've built, breaking them apart? Or will they draw strength and be even more bonded in love, facing the challenges that they encounter?
CHAPTER 1: WHO AM I?
A man slowly opened his eyes, gaining consciousness. He was lying face down on the floor. A sharp pain surged through his head, causing him to squint, groaning in pain.
He was hit with a daze of sudden dizziness, which made him unable to get on his feet as he tried to. So, he sat on the floor gently.
He placed his right hand behind his head where he felt a great deal of pain and a thick warm substance there. Bringing his hand forward, he saw that it was blood.
'What the hell! Why am I bleeding?' he reasoned within himself.
He quickly looked around to see if he would find something to tie around his head to stop the bleeding. He saw the bedsheet on a bed and hurriedly tore a piece from it, and tied it around his head.
He had to be gentle and endure the pain while he did the tying. He groaned and sighed in relief when he was done.
Finally feeling a little bit of comfort, he looked around, observing where he was. He realized he was in a luxurious room. The room was tastefully finished, with state-of-the-art items.
He got up slowly, supporting himself with the king-size bedframe. Where his hand was placed, he felt something sticky there, causing him to look to see what it was.
He saw some blood and a slight crack. He softly placed his hand behind his head, wondering if that was where he might have hit his head. But he couldn't recall.
The place seemed extremely quiet, and it made him wonder where in the world he was.
He saw the door and began walking over to it. Suddenly, he felt the room sway a bit. He reflexively reached out his arms placing them on the wall, steadying himself.
'What was that? An earthquake?' he reasoned within.
'No. It can't be.'
He continued to the door when it got stable and opened it. He saw that there was a staircase leading upwards, so he went up the staircase and arrived at what looked like the living area.
But looking through the glass walls, he saw that he was on the lower deck of a boat, and beyond the glass walls, he could see that the boat was surrounded by water. The boat was brought offshore.
"How the hell did I get here? Where the heck am I?" he asked with a seriously perplexed look.
A surge of pain ran through his head once again, causing him to wince in pain, squinting his eyes as he bent his head.
Lifting his head, he jerked, startled at the sight of a redhead lady.
He noticed she seemed a bit afraid. He could only furrow his brow slightly due to the pain he felt, as he looked at her.
"Hon- Honey. Are you okay?" the lady asked, fidgeting.
He hesitated a bit from responding. He could see a bit of fright in her, but she was also doing her best to conceal it. He also noticed a side of her face was reddish, as though she was hit.
"Do we know each other?" he asked in response.
The lady furrowed her brow, a bit puzzled at his question.
"You mean you don't recognize me?" she inquired. But the man remained silent, observing her. He tried to read her, being a bit cautious.
"We're married. I'm Clarice, your wife," she revealed. "Don't you recognize me?"
"You're my wife?" he asked with wide eyes of surprise, and confusion all at once.
"How don't I remember you?" he asked further.
"You don't?" Clarice asked, furrowing her brow, as she inched towards him slowly.
"No," he answered. "I woke up from the floor with a concussion behind my head, and I didn't know where I-"
"Hey buddy!" a man said walking in on the duo, interrupting them.
Clarice's husband looked at him. One could tell he wondered who the man who walked in on them was.
"Uh- You look, pale man. And why do you have your head tied with that cloth thingy?" the man asked, with a concerned look.
"Do you know me?" Clarice's husband enquired.
"He'll yeah! I'm your best friend, Dan. Don't you remember?"
"No. He doesn't," Clarice replied. "He had a concussion and seems to have lost his memory."
"Jeez! When? How did that happen?" Dan said approaching him. He looked behind and saw his bloodied head.
"Oh my God! You need a doctor," Dan said with a sense of urgency. Clarice quickly grabbed her phone as she put a call across to someone.
"Mmm. Careful there," Clarice's husband groaned, moving his head from Dan's grip.
"Sorry man. But how are you still alive after such impact?"
Clarice's husband didn't give much thought to Dan's question. His head felt heavy so he sat down on the "C" shaped couch.
"The doctor will meet us right when we dock," Clarice said and sat beside her husband. She went ahead to touch his neck, checking his temperature.
"My goodness! You're burning up," she said with concern.
"Who am I?" Clarice's husband asked softly.
"You're Michael. Michael McAlister."
Clarice then looked and reached for a wallet beside her, and pulled out something.
"Here's your ID," she said, handing it to him.
He looked at the ID, and indeed, it was him in the ID. The name Clarice called matched what was in the picture.
"Also have a look at this," she said, handing him her phone.
He looked at the screen and saw that it was a picture of their wedding. They were both smiling generously in each other's arms.
She flipped to the next, and it was also a picture of their wedding, and he saw that Dan was his best man.
Flipping through a couple of more photos of them on vacation and other occasions, Michael was finally convinced that they all did know each other.
"You're my wife," he said, turning towards her.
"And I'm your best friend," Dan playfully added, laughing softly.
"How could I have forgotten everything? Forgotten you?" Michael asked, feeling a bit distressed.
"I don't know honey. But what matters is we're here with you. And we'll be fine," Clarice said hugging him affectionately.
As they broke their hug, Michael looked at her and asked a question.
"Why do you seem scared of me? Was I in any way responsible for the mark on your face?"
Clarice looked away, gulping.
It wouldn't be out of terms to say that the life of the billionaire playboy, Trevor Munroe, was rudely interrupted on a fateful night, by a stranger. But falling in love with that stranger was the least thing he could ever imagine, even in his wildest fantasy. But such was the complication he found himself in. And being given an ultimatum by his father, he is left with no choice but to dance to the tone he had set. With time, secrets gets revealed and truths are laid bare. Will this love stand the test of time as loyalties are tried? Was all this but just a game? And did fate bring them together to tear them apart?
Discharged from the military, Ray Lee finds himself as the bodyguard to the daughter of a wealthy man. He meets a lady whom he discovers he shares a similar past. Will they join forces to avenge their past predicament, or will they choose to move on?
Abandoned as a baby, Trevor Rowe is no stranger to rejection, but he hits rock bottom when he finds out his partner's betrayal. Just trying to get by, he encounters a stranger, and his life turns around for good. Or for bad? Will his new found life and fortune be his undoing, or will he rise above it all and thrive?
A scorned and timid son-in-law of a small family, loving and pampering his wife, was all he wanted to do. Acknowledgement and care from his wife and family, was all he needed and wanted. What did he do when he didn't get what he needed? He endured, all because he was sold off to marriage but had to deal with it. One night, he stumbled on his wife and foster brother and saw what was meant to be kept hidden, but do they really want to keep their acts hidden? He became lost and felt betrayed, he wandered around and finally got to the only place he finds solace. After that night, he changed. He became stinkingly rich and divorced his wife. Wondering how this is a fairy tale? But it was no fairy tale, because with riches came it's tribulations. He had to hone his skills and became extremely cold hearted, controlling the largest mafia group in New York, with a chain of legal businesses. He became a killing machine, trampling his enemies and his ex-wife, wanting to find peace but he couldn't find peace. It was a completely new life for him. What happens when a new ray of light, shines on to his dark world? Will he embrace it? Or will he remain cold-hearted?
"I, Sophia Addison, of the Crescent Moon Pack, deny your rejection, Jacob Carter." I smiled triumphantly at him and he just glared at me. I can hear loud gasps and whispers throughout the place. They cannot believe that their goody-two-shoes of a senior year president is rejecting me in front of everybody. What goody-two-shoes? More like a two faced jerk! That is why, here I am, denying his rejection. Oh well, I refuse to suffer alone. So...let us both suffer together my dear mate.
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."
Katie was forced to marry Dillan, a notorious ruffian. Her younger sister mocked her, "You're just an adopted daughter. Count your blessings for marrying him!" The world anticipated Katie's tribulations, but her married life unfurled with unexpected serenity. She even snagged a lavish mansion in a raffle! Katie jumped into Dillan's arms, credited him as her lucky charm. "No, Katie, it's you who brings me all this luck," Dillan replied. Then, one fateful day, Dillan's childhood friend came to her. "You're not worthy of him. Take this 50 million and leave him!" Katie finally grasped Dillan's true stature—the wealthiest man on the planet. That night, trembling with trepidation, she broached the subject of divorce with Dillan. However, with a domineering embrace, he told her, "I'd give you everything I have. Divorce is off the table!"
"Never let anyone treat you like shit!" I learned that the hard way. For three years, I lived with my in-laws. They didn't treat me as their son-in-law but as a slave. I put up with everything because of my wife, Yolanda Lambert. She was the light of my life. Unfortunately, my whole world came crashing down the day I caught my wife cheating on me. I have never been so heartbroken. To have my revenge, I revealed my true identity. I was none other than Liam Hoffman—the heir of a family with trillions of dollars in assets! The Lamberts were utterly shocked after the big reveal. They realized what fools they had been for treating me like trash. My wife even knelt down and begged for my forgiveness. What do you think I did? Did I take her back or made her suffer? Find out!
When they were kids, Derek saved Norah's life. Years later, after Derek ended up in a vegetative state from a car crash, Norah married him without a second thought and even used her medical knowledge to heal him. For two years, Norah was devoted, seeking his affection and looking to settle her life-saving debt. But when Derek's first love returned, Norah, faced with divorce, didn't hesitate to sign. Despite being labeled as forsaken, few knew of her true talents. She was a race car driver, a famed designer, a genius hacker, and a renowned doctor. Regretting his decision, Derek begged for her forgiveness. Just then, a charming CEO intervened, embracing Norah and declaring, "Back off! She's my wife!" Taken aback, Norah blurted out, "What did you say?"
In the previous life, Maggie Johnson was so cowardly, gullible and stupid that she was coaxed by her fiance and stepsister and then broke her legs and lost everything including her fortune, love and even life. However, she was so lucky that she was reborn in the year before everything happened. Since her life restarted, how could she repeat a previous tragedy? Therefore, in this life, she took the opportunity to improve herself and take revenge on the ones who had ever insulted her. Facing the people who had humiliated her previously, she became smart and experienced to break their frames and tricks that had caused her to hurt in the previous life. Finally, no one could stop her pace to amaze the world any more.