"Undress!" Valerian commanded. Liliana trembled at his voice. As she turned around, Valerian emerged from the shadows and stood before her. "I-I can't," Liliana stammered, her lips quivering. "Why? Aren't we married now?" asked Valerian. "We are, but we don't love each other," Liliana said. He gripped her face tightly, boring his penetrating gaze onto hers. "You won't ever receive love for me, Lily! What your family did to me, you will pay for it– through your body and soul!" Valerian spat at her with a blazing gaze. In an instant, he threw her onto the bed, the fabric of her dress tearing under his force. **** Liliana Rossi's life turned miserable after her father and stepmother died in a deadly car accident. She worked as a maid in her own house in the hope of inheriting her grandfather's inheritance on turning 22, so that she could use to start her life afresh. Unbeknownst to her, Liliana's stepbrother sold her to the most cruel and ruthless Mafia King of their country to clear his debts. Not only that he forced Liliana to marry the Mafia King. Valerian D'Amato is the most feared man on earth. He is the living nightmare to many. Everyone bows to him as if he's the KING OF THE UNDERWORLD. He gets married to Liliana Rossi to settle his old score with the Rossi Family, but he never imagined that a day would come when he will fall for this woman. "You are my slave, not my wife," Valerian declared and the next second, he crashed his lips above hers. Thus begins the story of a Mafia King and his slave.
A hard slap landed on Liliana's face, causing her to stumble and crash to the floor. The tray she had been holding slipped from her grasp, and the delicate crockery shattered into pieces upon contact with the cold, hard tiles.
"Ahhh!" Liliana cried out in sharp pain as her stepbrother's fiancée, Cara, yanked her up by her hair. "Bitch! You've damaged my dress. Didn't I tell you to iron it properly?" Cara screamed. With a shove, she sent Liliana sprawling back to the floor.
Desperately, Liliana's hands scrambled for support, but instead, they met the shards of the broken crockery which embedded themselves into her skin.
"Cara, why do you do all this drama in the morning?" Rowan muttered as he took a seat on the central couch of the living room.
Liliana looked at her stepbrother with tears in her ears. She had hoped that he would at least look at her wounded hands and show the tiny bit of care. But she was wrong.
"Don't look at me with those pathetic eyes. Go to your room and get changed. I have something important to tell you," Rowan told his stepsister while taking the file from his secretary.
Liliana managed her strength to stand up when Cara told her to clean the floor.
"Someone else will do it!" Rowan stated and gestured to Liliana to leave.
Liliana dragged her feet to her room while tears streamed down her cheeks. Today was her 22nd birthday, but her stepbrother didn't even remember it. Ever since her father and stepmother passed away in a terrible accident, her life became miserable.
Rowan became the sole heir of the family business, neglecting her completely. She always though her stepbrother always loved her. But she was wrong. She had become worse than a slave in her own house. Rowan and his girlfriend always tortured her, not caring she was a human too.
Closing the room of the door, she first removed the shards from her palm and then, bandaged her hand. She then quickly changed into another pair of clothes. Because if she wouldn't make a haste, Rowan would punish her.
Reaching the living room, she sat across from Rowan, who signed the papers in the file. She wondered if they were the inheritance papers of their late grandfather, which were supposed to be open when Liliana would turn 22.
Liliana finally hoped that she would be free of this torment as she would also get some of the inheritance. She had planned to start her life elsewhere in the country with that money.
But Rowan had others plans for her.
"Liliana, you need to get married today," Rowan pronounced.
"What?" Liliana couldn't believe her ears. Her brother must be joking to her. "No, I won't get married," she protested.
"Shut up! I didn't ask your opinion!" Rowan barked at her and she trembled in fear. He stood up and walked to his stepsister. Pulling her up by holding her arm firmly, he said, "I don't want a burden like you in my house. At least, do one good thing to pay tribute to our late parents. You killed them that night."
Tears streamed down Liliana's cheeks. For two years, Rowan had blamed her for their parents demise because she didn't die in that car accident. He always treated her as the jinx from that day onwards.
"Why don't you let me go?" Liliana finally requested him.
"No. You need to pay for what you've done to me," Rowan stated with a hateful gaze. He let go of her arm and asked her to follow him outside.
Liliana didn't budge from her place when a bodyguard and dragged her out of the house. She was shoved into the car's backseat and they left for the wedding hall.
Liliana attempted to run, but her hands and feet were tied upon Rowan's instructions. She was pushed into the backseat. Rowan put a seatbelt around her and said, "Sister, why don't you stay quiet? I don't want to use violence on you. Your face should look clean, at least, on the wedding day!"
The next second, he sat beside her and the car drove to its destination.
Liliana was taken to the dressing room, where the attendants helped her in dressing up. There was no way she could escape because Rowan had made tight security arrangements.
"Ma'am, your makeup will ruin if you cry again," said the make-up artist.
Liliana sniffled and wiped the tears using the handkerchief. The makeup artist did the final touchup and then helped Liliana stand up.
"You look beautiful, Miss Everhart," she said.
Liliana looked at herself in the mirror in disbelief. In just a few minutes, she would be married off to a man she had never met. Her stepbrother had forced her into this marriage with an unknown groom, and there was no escaping it.
With a heavy heart, Liliana made her way to the hall, her face concealed beneath a delicate veil. She gripped the bouquet tightly, her knuckles turning white, as her stepbrother seized her hand with a firm grip.
She walked down the aisle, her steps slow and reluctant. As she neared the altar, Liliana finally lifted her gaze, desperate to see the man she was about to marry.
From her vantage point, she could only see his back, his identity still shrouded in mystery.
Finally, the groom turned around, and Liliana's breath hitched in her throat. She came to an abrupt halt, causing Rowan, her stepbrother, to stop as well. Her eyes were wide, unblinking, as she took in the sight of her groom.
Standing before her was the most eligible bachelor in the country, Valerian D'Amato. His reputation preceded him, and she knew his face all too well. He was as handsome as a Greek god, his chiseled features and athletic build capable of drawing any woman to him. His ocean-blue eyes seemed to have the power to pull anyone into their depths, but there was an unsettling coldness in them.
Valerian D'Amato was not a man of romantic fantasies or fairy-tale endings. He was the most feared and ruthless mafia boss in the country.
His name meant terror. He was a man who lived and breathed hatred, whose hands were stained with blood, and who thought nothing of ending a life. Kindness and love were foreign concepts to him, banished from his world by his own cruelty and relentless pursuit of power.
As Liliana stood frozen, facing the man she was about to marry, a chill ran down her spine. She realized that her life was about to change in ways she could never have imagined. She was about to become the bride of Valerian D'Amato.
Adolphus Osbourne, the Alpha and the Crown Prince of Arcaria Kingdom was cursed by a witch while attempting to take the forbidden moon crystal from her. The curse forbade him from finding his mate. However, when Iris Vinsant crossed his path, he could not stop from getting close to her irrespective of the consequences that were awaiting for him. Iris, a human, who was abused by her stepmother for 15 years decided to run away on one dark night. She forgot that going to the dark forest was forbidden for humans and she was captivated by a werewolf. Her life turned upside-down when she was told to serve the werewolves in the palace. But fate took a strange turn when she caught the attention of a cold and dark pair of eyes, which were of none other than Adolphus Osbourne. ~~~~~ Iris' back pressed against the cold wall as Adolphus' tall figure hovered over her. Her petite, small body was caged between his arms. "You took time to return, Iris," he uttered. The smell of the wine fell on her nostrils. "His Highness is drunk. I shall take my leave," Iris said softly. "You are the reason for my drunkard state," Adolphus answered and their eyes met. Flickering her eyelids, she said, "Me?" Adolphus nodded. "The way you smiled at my younger brother; the way you handed the drink to him, made me think to kill him," he affirmed, which terrified Iris. "I never—" she couldn't complete her words as Adolphus' pointer finger rested on her lips. "So, it was my younger brother. Shall I kill him for smiling at my woman?" A smirk appeared on Adolphus' lips as he posed the question before her.
'His words weren't mere rules, but the laws.' Julia Sanchez wants to be a drama writer. But life took a strange turn for her when she was told to marry the most influential businessman, Marimo Martinez. However, there exists a problem. Marimo Martinez has been in a vegetative state for four years. His chances of survival are limited, yet Julia is forced to marry him. On the wedding day, Julia waited for Marimo to come on a wheelchair. To her surprise, Marimo came in a black tuxedo and was on the aisle, waiting for her. His features were breathtaking and stole her heart in a second. ****** "Wifey, let's make this night beautiful," Marimo said as he advanced to her. Julia gulped and slowly took backward steps. Her breath hitched when her back hit the pillar of the poster bed. Before she could run away, her petite figure landed on the soft mattress and those icy blue orbs fell onto hers. "Mr. Martinez, we don't know each other yet. Could you please—" she paused when she felt his cold fingers on her leg. The next second, she kicked him and Marimo fell to the floor with a loud bang.
"I've warned you from the beginning. Don't marry him, but you won't listen." Darcy stood close to me and smiled with concern. "You're not a woman worthy of a man as handsome, rich, smart, and virile as Blaze." My whole body trembled at her words. "Have you no shame?" I asked. "Take a good look at yourself, Heather." She stared at me in the mirror. "You can't even glance at your ugly face. Do you think Blaze can endure a lifetime of gazing at that scar?" Heather Bailey got a surprise from her husband: a divorce agreement. After a year of marriage and facing ups and downs, she couldn't believe Blaze intended to divorce her. She was devastated when she saw him gazing lovingly at another woman. After signing the divorce papers, shockwaves caught her up. Her flower shop was burned to the ground. Her father's company collapsed, and her parents blamed her. She struggled to rebuild her life from the ground up and became more successful than ever. Having many customers from influential families, she started her revenge on Blaze. She won the very thing he wanted, but that was just the beginning.
Rumors said that Lucas married an unattractive woman with no background. In the three years they were together, he remained cold and distant to Belinda, who endured in silence. Her love for him forced her to sacrifice her self-worth and her dreams. When Lucas' true love reappeared, Belinda realized that their marriage was a sham from the start, a ploy to save another woman's life. She signed the divorce papers and left. Three years later, Belinda returned as a surgical prodigy and a maestro of the piano. Lost in regret, Lucas chased her in the rain and held her tightly. "You are mine, Belinda."
For two years, Ashton had poured his heart into his marriage, yet Emalee's heart remained cold. Despite his dedication, Emalee presented him with divorce papers. She bluntly stated she could not remain married to a man whose net worth was less than a million dollars. Ashton signed the papers, closing one chapter of his life and stepping into a new beginning. Then, Ashton revealed his secret identities: a music mogul, a medical expert, and a martial arts master—each persona impressive enough to stun the world. As Ashton’s true capabilities came to light, Emalee was overwhelmed with deep regret.
Lindsey's fiancé was the devil's first son. Not only did he lie to her but he also slept with her stepmother, conspired to take away her family fortune, and then set her up to have sex with a total stranger. To get her lick back, Lindsey decided to find a man to disrupt her engagement party and humiliate the cheating bastard. Never did she imagine that she would bump into a strikingly handsome stranger who was all that she was currently looking for. At the engagement party, he boldly declared that she was his woman. Lindsey thought he was just a broke man who wanted to leech off her. But once they began their fake relationship, she realized that good luck kept coming her way. She thought they would part ways after the engagement party, but this man kept to her side. "We gotta stick together, Lindsey. Remember, I'm now your fiancé. " "Domenic, you're with me because of my money, aren't you?" Lindsey asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Domenic was taken aback by that accusation. How could he, the heir of the Walsh family and CEO of Vitality Group, be with her for money? He controlled more than half of the city's economy. Money wasn't a problem for him! The two got closer and closer. One day, Lindsey finally realized that Domenic was actually the stranger she had slept with months ago. Would this realization change things between them? For the better or worse?
Life was perfect until she met her boyfriend's big brother. There was a forbidden law in the Night Shade Pack that if the head Alpha rejected his mate, he would be stripped of his position. Sophia's life would get connected with the law. She was an Omega who was dating the head Alpha's younger brother. Bryan Morrison, the head Alpha, was not only a cold-blooded man but also a charming business tycoon. His name was enough to cause other packs to tremble. He was known as a ruthless man. What if, by some twist of destiny, Sophia's path were to intertwine with his?
Janet was adopted when she was a kid -- a dream come true for orphans. However, her life was anything but happy. Her adoptive mother taunted and bullied her all her life. Janet got the love and affection of a parent from the old maid who raised her. Unfortunately, the old woman fell ill, and Janet had to marry a worthless man in place of her parents' biological daughter to meet the maid's medical expenses. Could this be a Cinderella's tale? But the man was far from a prince, except for his handsome appearance. Ethan was the illegitimate son of a wealthy family who lived a reckless life and barely made ends meet. He got married to fulfill his mother's last wish. However, on his wedding night, he had an inkling that his wife was different from what he had heard about her. Fate had united the two people with deep secrets. Was Ethan truly the man we thought he was? Surprisingly, he bore an uncanny resemblance to the impenetrable wealthiest man in the city. Would he find out that Janet married him in place of her sister? Would their marriage be a romantic tale or an utter disaster? Read on to unravel Janet and Ethan's journey.