The night before her engagement, Valerie was tricked by her boyfriend and stepsister into spending the night with a stranger. After the night together, the man vanished. Later, her boyfriend accused her of cheating, revealing his affair with her stepsister. Pressured by her father, Valerie married an unconscious man in place of her stepsister. Valerie exposed the scheme, sabotaged her father's ambitions, and transformed herself. When her husband woke and chased her to the airport, she calmly refused him, saying, "It's over between us." He held her firmly. "You married me, so you must commit."
"Ah!"
A piercing scream shattered the silence of the hotel corridor, but it was cut short as a heavy door slammed shut.
Inside the pitch-black room, Valerie Brown's heart raced. She tried to scream, but no sound escaped-her lips were smothered by a rough, unyielding hand.
She froze, feeling the hot, alcohol-laced breath of a stranger against her neck, every exhale tightening the grip of fear coursing through her.
This wasn't Javier Barnett. This wasn't the man she loved.
"Let go of me! Who the hell are you?"
Valerie thrashed violently, her fists pounding the stranger's chest, but his hold was ironclad.
Shock flooded her. All those years of martial arts training, and yet this man overpowered her as if she were nothing.
In an instant, the world spun.
Valerie felt herself lifted, and then dropped onto the softness of a bed. Before she could comprehend what was happening, a crushing weight pressed down on her.
"Stay still!" the man growled, pinning her wrists to the headboard with one effortless hand.
The sharp sound of tearing fabric pierced the air. His touch was searing, every brush of his fingers like fire, while her attempts to resist were useless, as futile as pushing against an unstoppable force.
Tears spilled from Valerie's eyes, blurring her vision as panic gripped her. She choked out the words, trembling. "Please... I don't even know you..."
But her plea fell into the void, answered only by the low rasp of his breath against her ear, cold and callous.
When morning light crept into the room, it stabbed at her eyes.
Valerie blinked, her body radiating pain.
Every inch of her ached, especially her legs, which felt limp and powerless, refusing to move.
Flashes of the night before rushed back in fragmented pieces-intertwined bodies, forceful touches-but the face, his face, remained shrouded in shadow.
The memory of violation gnawed at her, her teeth grinding together as a flood of helpless anger surged within her. Her fists clenched so tightly that her nails bit into her skin, though she felt no pain. Only rage.
...
As the minutes dragged on, Valerie's mind gradually cleared, pulling her back to a harsh reality.
She glanced around the room-a wreckage of scattered sheets and torn clothes-and willed herself to stand, though every movement was a battle against the soreness in her body.
Still barely clothed, she stumbled to gather herself when the door exploded open with a deafening bang.
"You're a disgrace!" A voice, dripping with fury, filled the room. "You've brought shame to the entire Brown family!"
Valerie spun around, startled, only to see her father Craig Brown charging in, his face twisted in rage.
His eyes bore into her, scanning her rumpled clothes, her marked skin-his gaze lingering on the red stains of humiliation around her neck and shoulders. Hatred flashed in his eyes, raw and venomous, as if the very sight of Valerie stirred a desire to obliterate her.
"Valerie, how could you turn out to be such a disgrace?" Craig bellowed, his voice brimming with contempt. "You're just like your mother-an utter disgrace!"
Valerie's body tensed, a surge of defensive anger rising in her chest. Her eyes flashed with defiance.
"You don't get to talk about my mother," she shouted, venom dripping from each word. "Disgrace? Me? What about you then? The day you threw us out-me and my mother-for that vile Lacey and her scheming mother, you lost any shred of dignity."
Her words sliced through the air like knives, cutting deep. Craig's face contorted with fury, his body trembling with rage.
He glared at her, spewing curses, but Valerie didn't flinch. She had stopped expecting anything from this man long ago.
Yet, after enduring a night of violation at the hands of a stranger, and now being cursed by her own father, something inside her shattered. The bitterness she had kept buried began to spill over, coating her every thought.
Without another word, Valerie turned, desperate to escape the suffocating room. But as she reached the door, her way was blocked.
Someone stood in her path.
On her wedding day, Khloeâs sister connived with her groom, framing her for a crime she didnât 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 Henrikâs cold exterior, he cherished Khloe like no other. He helped her take retribution from her tormentors and kept her from being bullied again.
Rumors claimed that Fernanda, newly back with her family, was nothing more than a violent country bumpkin. Fernanda just flashed a casual, dismissive grin in response. Another rumor suggested that the usually rational Cristian had lost all sense, madly in love with Fernanda. This frustrated her. She could tolerate gossip about herself, but slander against her beloved crossed the line! Gradually, as Fernanda's multiple identities as a celebrated designer, a savvy gamer, an acclaimed painter, and a successful business magnate came to light, everyone realized they were the ones who had been fooled.
During her three years of marriage with Brendan, Adeline had become as humble as dust itself. However, what she got in return wasn't love and affection, but endless indifference and disdain. Worse yet, when the woman in Brendan's heart suddenly showed up, he further distanced himself from her. Finally, Adeline couldn't stand it anymore and asked for a divorce. After all, why should she stay with such a cold, distant man? The next one would surely be better. Brendan watched as his ex-wife left with her luggage in tow. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him and he made a bet with his friends. "She'll definitely regret leaving and will come crawling back to me in no time." After hearing about this bet, Adeline sneered. "Dream on!" A few days later, Brendan ran into his ex-wife in a bar. It turned out she was celebrating her divorce. Not long after, he noticed that the damned woman seemed to have a new suitor. Brendan was starting to panic. The woman who had clung to him for three years suddenly didn't seem to give a damn about him. What was he going to do?
Looking at the divorce papers my lips curled up into a mocking smile. 'How big fool I am? How can I think that he will give a chance to this marriage? How can I forget that I was nothing more a tool in his eyes to vent his anger until his beloved Tara is back. Since, she was back, how can he let me stay there?' "After you will sign these papers, you will receive 100 million dollars as alimony." the lawyer added. Because of his words, I came back to my senses took the pen from him, and signed the name. I have also gotten exhausted from this marriage both physically and mentally. Even though I had wanted my child to be born into a complete family, I didn't want my child to have a stepmother and live miserably like me for the rest of his life. After taking the papers from my hand, the lawyer gave me the bank card, turned around, and was about to leave when he paused at the door. He then turned around and added, "Mr. Carter said that he hoped that you won't pester him, or you have to bear the consequences." The lawyer's words were like a knife stabbing in my heart, but I still nodded. Anyway, I also don't plan to have anything to do with him anymore. I just want to live a good life with my children. After the lawyer left, the ward fell into silence. I placed my hand on my belly and said to my children, "Baby, I am sorry, Mommy can't give you a complete family! But I promise you, I will do my best to give the love of both mother and father." 'As for giving one of my child, I will never do that. They are my babies and my alone. I and I will give birth to all of them and raise them no matter what.' Four Years Later... Anya came back to the country with her three kids, to inherit the company left by his grandfather...
It took only a second for a person's world to come crashing down. This was what happened in Hannah's case. For four years, she gave her husband her all, but one day, he said emotionlessly, "Let's get divorced." Hannah's heart broke into a million pieces as she signed the divorce papers, marking the end of her role as a devoted wife. Within Hannah, a strong woman awakened, vowing never to be beholden to any man again. Embracing her new life, she embarked on a journey to find herself and command her own destiny. By the time she returned, she had experienced so much growth and was now completely different from the docile wife everyone once knew. "Is this your latest trick to get my attention?" Hannah's ever-so-arrogant husband asked. Before she could retort, a handsome and domineering CEO pulled her into his embrace. He smiled down at her and said boldly to her ex, "Just a little heads-up, mister. This is my beloved wife. Keep off!"
After five years of marriage, my husband is always absent on my birthday. No gifts, no blessings. He said, "I've given you the money, buy whatever you want." But he started preparing for Fiona's birthday half a month in advance. He said, "She's different, she only has me." As the sole survivor of a unexpected fire, he has been heartbroken for over a decade. Watching Fiona in Moments holding a cake and kissing his face. I slowly commented. ăJust this useless person, I'm giving him to you.ă