After her sister ran away, Lily Morgan is set up as a replacement and is married off to Asher Allard to be a token of a successful contract. Blinded by her love for him, she goes through 5 years of an unrequited love marriage, where she is as good as invisible to her husband. However, her sister returns 5 years later, hooked to the arms of the man she has loved by the side for years, this breaks her heart and forces to accept the truth she has long denied. She serves him divorce papers, and only then does Asher realize he wants her to remain by his side forever. He blackmails her with the marriage contract she signed, and demands she stays for one more year as stated in the contract. Lily's heart runs cold at the selfishness of his actions, and she gives in with the intentions of making him pay, but he is determined to find a way to keep her beside him forever. Will Asher Allard, a billionaire known to be capable of anything be successful in warming up the icy heart of the woman who once loved him?
Lily stared at herself in the mirror with a small smile on her face. She had hurried into the bathroom after making his dinner to play her little dress up game. She knew that he would never look at her for longer than 2 seconds, he never has. Throughout the 5 years of their marriage, he treated her like an eyesore, it felt like looking at her for longer than 5 seconds would cause his eyes to bleed, yet she always played dress up for him, it was a fantasy game. Maybe if I dress up well today, he would look at me, he however never did.
Her eyes trailed over her lean frame, and she felt the bitter taste of rejection in her mouth. She wasn't exceptionally beautiful, but anyone could glance at her twice at least so why... She clenched her hands tightly on her red robe, and she forced herself to subdue the bitter thoughts rising in her mind. He made it clear to her five years ago that she was nothing but a token for a successful business deal, nothing more and nothing less. He had told her to shatter whatever expectations of love she has because it'll never happen.
She deluded herself into thinking if she tried hard enough, he would come around... He never did, but she couldn't bring herself to stop trying. He was an asshole, but at the end of the day he wasn't just any asshole, he was an asshole she loved.
The sound of his car pulling into the driveway forced her out of her thoughts and a big smile lit up her face. She immediately cleared her dressing table, and ran downstairs to the door to welcome him. It was a ritual she has religiously followed for the past 5 days.
Lily's heart dropped to her stomach and soon enough it felt like butterflies, millions of them were fluttering in her belly when Asher walked in with a smile on his face. That has never happened, not even when he closed deals worth millions and billions of dollars. Her hopes immediately skyrocketed the second she sighted him, is this it? Is this the day he finally falls for me? She thought.
Her thought were immediately dashed the minute she saw the person latched onto his arm, a big smile on her face as well. She immediately lost her footing at the sight of them and had to grab onto the door for support.
Beside him was a face she hadn't seen in years, a face that had a striking resemblance with hers but was nothing like her, the same face that Asher was meant to witness on their wedding day but chose to flee. Charlotte, her younger sister and Asher's ex fiancé and one true love was latched onto his arm. A big smile on her face.
"Lily!" Charlotte's high-pitched voice rang in the room, causing Lily to wince. "It's been so long!" A small silence accompanied by a scrutinizing gaze collapsed and Lily prepared herself for whatever vicious thing she was giving to say next, she knew that look all too well. "Did you get fatter? You look it."
A deep chuckle followed her statement and hurt sliced through Lily's heart when she realized it had come from Asher.
"Come, let's have dinner. I'm sure she prepared something for us." He said, looking at her with so much awe, and Lily sucked in a breath. Five seconds, that was all she asked for. For him to look at her for 5 seconds, but he never did, yet here he was, staring at her sister with so much awe... The same girl that outrightly rejected his proposal even when they'd been dating for a while.
"Do you think that's the reason she's getting fat?" Lily heard Charlotte ask as they both walked to the dinning. Her hands immediately enclosed tightly against the hems of her gown, her bottom lip quivered ever so lightly as she tried to hold in the tears that has welled up in her eyes.
Five years ago when her father announced to her that she was to be married to Asher, she had felt a mixture of emotions; surprise, shock, fear, embarrassment, but most of all, excitement. She had liked Asher for a while. A long while even, but the second her sister discovered, she went off and started dating him.
Lily had regretted ever mentioning her crush to Charlotte when she announced the next week that they were a thing. She couldn't even tell how she had managed to get the Asher Allard to date her. She eventually forced herself to give up on her crush on him, but that day all the excitement and feelings came rushing back. Even when she learnt that she was being given to him because Charlotte refused to marry him, even when he told her he wanted nothing to do with her on their wedding night.. her excitement never fiddled.
She kept her excitement and love alive throughout their marriage, their 5 years of their loveless marriage, but today.. watching him smile and be all giddy for the same woman that left him, she felt her excitement fizzle.
"Are you going to feed us at all, big sister?" Charlotte's annoying voice interrupted her thoughts.
Taking a deep breath, she plastered a smile on her face and walked over to them. She quickly dished out for all of them, once they were all served, she made herself comfortable before them.
She ignored the pangs in her chest from seeing them sit so closely together, she has never sat so close to him in the dinning room. Gripping her fork tightly, she looked at Charlotte with a smile, "when did you get back? I thought you were going to stay in Paris for a while longer."
Charlotte smiled and encircled her hand around Asher's arm, "I missed him so much, and our family of course, so I decided to come home." Lily's eyes narrowed suspiciously, Charlotte doesn't miss people. If she came back, there was a reason, a very selfish one at that. "What are you putting on by the way? It looks hideous."
Lily's mouth dropped open in shock and she glanced at her nightgown and her robe, they were not hideous... They were cute. She looked to Asher for help, but he was too busy bobbing his head to every word she said.
"And you put on a lot of weight, I think you should go on a diet, you know, cut back on the food. You also have a lot of wrinkles now, I mean you can never be as young and fresh looking as me but you can try, I can give you a few tips..." Lily's ears burned as she listened to her blab on and on about her imperfections. It was nothing new, she was used to it, but this time it burned. It angered, infuriated and hurt her, and maybe it has something to do with the ravishingly handsome man beside her.
"Are you going to let her keep talking to your wife like that?" Lily blurted out before she could think, and she almost slapped her mouth. She had never spoken to him, not like that at least, and the look of surprise on his face proved that, but she was fed up. Even if he hated her, he possibly couldn't sit there and let another person... Another woman, insult his wife. Right?
Her expectations were however shattered when he shrugged his shoulders and avoided her gaze, as always. "She's just trying to help, you should be grateful." Her world came to a halt in that moment, his words bouncing off the walls of her now hollow heart.
In that moment, a thought that had not for once crossed her mind for the last 5 years reared its ugly head, and immediately her mind was set. Their marriage is over.
When a marriage is the only option left for Alexandro Rodrigo to gain custody of his son, he presents a deal to Aurora Dobre; a broke writer trying to keep a roof over her head in the large city of New York, with one important rule, she disappears after 2 years. But things take a unique turn when the years draw closer, and too much has already gone on for either of them to leave. However a threat to her life and that of the people that she holds close to her heart, forces Aurora to make a choice.
Signing her life away for her goals seemed easy at first for Sophia Crux, but she soon gets entangled in a web of complications, and as unwanted feelings start arising for a man meant to be nothing but a step closer to her goals, she has to find a way out. But things take a turn when Alexander Black refuses to let her go.
In a world of werewolves, where Alphas marry into Alpha families to form alliances and grow their strength, Annha Selene has to shove her feelings aside and get married to a Beta, Drystan, after being rejected by his Alpha,just for the sake of her pack. But she soon begins to question her choice when realizes she got married to an unusual Werewolf. A breed that even the werewolves call a beast. In her quest of accepting her new fate and falling in love, she discovers tales and secrets she never thought existed.
Zale Harris, the inscrutable and powerful CEO of the Harris empire is put in a state of crisis when he was told he had only one year left to live. Determined to have an heir to his empire and fulfil his parents' wish of having a grandchild, he sets out in the search of a bride. But his motives take a different turn when his Ex, Aria Smith, shows up to the interview with a child in her arms. Stuck between fulfilling his dying wishes and getting the answers to the question he's held inside him for years, he eembarks on a marriage of many possibilities with his EX..
Andrea Deciding that I was going to skip a day at work so I could have first time sex with my boyfriend seemed like the most absurd decision I could ever make. Or at least that was what I'd thought. Until I'd walked in on my said boyfriend cheating on me with some redhead and decided to get my revenge by losing my virginity to his wealthy billionaire father instead. Crazy, right? Trust me, I know. Like that's not enough, things take a drastic turn for the worst after I realized I was in love with him and pregnant with his child. Before I could get the chance to come clean about every including my feelings formhim and the pregnancy, he finds out about my trickery. Alejandro's not one to condone being lied to and deceived so he immediately tells me he doesn't want to see me again. So what do I do? I pack up and leave the country. But it seems like the universe isn't done with us just yet. . . Alejandro I should have known better than to get involved with someone way younger than me. It was something I've never done before. But like the saying goes, there's a first time for everything. The first time I met Andrea I was captivated by her beauty. More than that there was this innocence in her that called out to me like a moth to a flame. I ignored all the warnings in my head and went after what I wanted. And what I wanted was her. Unfortunately what she wanted was revenge against my son. I told myself that it had to be some kind of mistake. There was no way she had been playing with my feelings and planning some silly revenge this whole time. But she had. It had taken a surprise visit from my son for me to find out her true intentions. Even then it had been hard to believe it. But I couldn't deny that she'd fooled me real good alright. So naturally I cut ties with her. And that's supposed to be the end, right? Wrong. Turns out that our story was never destined to end just there. . .
"Sign the divorce papers and get out!" Leanna got married to pay a debt, but she was betrayed by her husband and shunned by her in-laws. Seeing that her efforts were in vain, she agreed to divorce and claimed her half of the properties. With her purse plump from the settlement, Leanna enjoyed her newfound freedom. The constant harassment from her ex's mistress never fazed her. She took back her identities as top hacker, champion racer, medical professor, and renowned jewelry designer. Then someone discovered her secret. Matthew smiled. "Will you have me as your next husband?"
After spending a night with a strange man on the day before her wedding, Arianna left the country to start her life afresh. The 22-year-old Arianna Jason lived her life pleasing those she loved the most, without knowing that she was simply a prey being nurtured for the day of her ruin. Her life has tasted the butter pill of betrayal. She wants to give back to the world what she's got but how can she change her good, innocent personality to fit into a cruel society and world? Can her sweet nature be contaminated, or will she make it through, paddling on the right path?
For the sake of their company, Atasha Rae was forced to marry the known heartless billionaire, Lorcan Amadeus. But it only took her a week as his wife because later on, he suddenly wants a divorce immediately. So as he wished, she signed the divorce paper even after admitting to herself that she was somehow starting to fall inlove with him. Heart badly wounded, she ran away from his life. Until she discovers that she's pregnant with his child and as a result, she ends up with no choice but to keep it a secret. Out of Lorcan's awareness, she's keeping a secret that would lead him to an overflowing regret. Because for a week of their fallen marriage beyond repair, she's carrying the billionaire's heir.
When they met again, Jason cast aside his paranoia and pride, warmly embracing Chelsey. "Please, come back to me?" For three years, she had been his secretary by day and his companion by night. Chelsey had always complied with his requests, like an obedient pet. However, when Jason declared his plans to marry another, she chose to stop loving him and to let go. But life took unexpected turns. His unyielding pursuit, her pregnancy, and her mother's greed gradually pushed her to the brink. Eventually, she endured tremendous suffering. Five years later, when she returned, she was no longer the woman she once was. Yet he had spiraled into five years of chaos.
Haisley Jefferson, daughter of the Alpha of The Ashen Crescent Pack, finds her life far from fulfilling. She yearns to meet her mate so she can finally escape the hellhole she once called home. Instead of meeting her mate and escaping, fate takes an unexpected turn on her 21st birthday. Rather than a mate, she's given a husband – Hades Stone, the future Alpha of The DuskBane Pack, and a man she has secretly loved for years. The only problem is he has his eyes set on Alice, her adopted sister. In the face of this dilemma, Haisley rejects the marriage, but destiny seems to have its own plans beyond her control. Haisley finds herself at a crossroads. While she wishes for her mate to rescue her, she's also entangled in a deep affection for Hades. A forced marriage to him was not her desire, but it seems destiny has other plans.