"Is my sister hiding from me?" He moved closer, his long fingers teasing the knot of his tie, pulling it gently side to side with an elegant and seductive motion. My heart raced uncontrollably. "Duanyuan, let's just talk this out, no need to..." My voice was hoarse, lacking any assertiveness, and my face instantly turned scarlet. "Sister." A glint of triumph flashed in his eyes as he whispered softly, "We are a legitimate couple." Well, there went my plan to run away from home. I admit defeat.
"Bethie, are you avoiding me?" Nathan advanced step by step, his slender fingers tugging lightly at his tie, an elegant yet seductive gesture.
My heart raced uncontrollably.
"Nathan, let's talk this out, don't..."
My voice was hoarse and lacked any authority, and my face flushed instantly.
"Bethie,"
He murmured softly, a glint of triumph in his eyes, "we are legally married."
Well, my plan to run away from home had failed.
I conceded.
1
Nathan is indeed my husband, but initially, we weren't a real couple.
It all started from the first time I had sex with him.
That day, I woke up from a hangover to find a man lying beside me.
His features were youthful, his physique equally so...
Before I could recall the absurd events of the previous night, the man furrowed his brows, slowly waking up. His hand unconsciously wrapped around me, and his lips brushed my forehead in a good morning kiss.
The whole process was smooth and natural, as if this scene had played out countless times before.
I shook off his hand, sat up, and squinted at the curtains, trying hard to maintain the composure expected of someone older.
"About last night, I drank too much. I violated the contract first, and I'll remit the penalty fee to your account within seven working days.
You can terminate our cooperative relationship anytime, and I have no objections."
As expected of me, I was clear - minded and showed perfect propriety.
Finally having sexual intercourse with my husband three months after marriage would probably be a happy event in a normal family.
But things were different between Nathan and me.
Thinking about the prenuptial agreement I painstakingly drafted, my heart ached.
Is there anything dumber than digging your own grave? If I had known we couldn't avoid the inevitable, why did I include a penalty clause?
Alcohol truly is a menace.
I'm about to lose a lot of money.
"Hmm?" His voice, still tinged with sleep, was deep and husky, particularly evocative.
The atmosphere suddenly turned intimate and ambiguous.
I wished I could find a hole to crawl into. "Bethie, I was really happy last night,"
he leaned in, his tone sticky sweet.
My body stiffened, and I forced a laugh, "Nathan, behave yourself..."
"I'm perfectly normal."
His clear eyes sparkled with light, his tone aggrieved.
I averted my eyes from his. Well, it was all very normal. My face flushed even more, and I quickly jumped out of bed.
While hurriedly dressing, I said, "Sorry for the disturbance, I'll be leaving."
He propped his face on his hand, lying on his side, his tone sincere, "Bethie, can I make a suggestion?"
I glanced at him in confusion.
"Next time, don't keep asking me..."
He sat up, looked into my eyes, and said something that made me blush.
Oh my god.
I'm such a fool.
2
My marriage to Nathan stemmed from a moment of impulsiveness.
At the time, the man I had pursued for years hinted one day for me to keep trying, only to get engaged to a girl I disliked the next.
Regret, unwillingness, grievance, and anger intertwined, consuming my rationality.
Coupled with the fact that my parents and relatives pressured me to go on blind dates and urged me to get married one after another.
In a fit of pique, I embarked on the path of a marriage of convenience, hoping to get some peace.
The wedding was scheduled a day before my crush's, satisfying my childish sense of competition.
The fact that I lost my mind and crossed the boundary by having a sexual relationship with Nathan was also associated with the man I had a crush on.
Recently, my crush returned to the country and wanted to reminisce with me. I sadly realized that I still harbored some unrequited feelings that just won't go away, secretly fantasizing about him getting divorced, regretting, or being unhappy...
But reality was the opposite. He was successful in his career and had a happy family. Catching up was just that-catching up.
Feeling down and ashamed, I bid farewell to my crush and went to a bar to drown my sorrows.
Unconsciously, I had too much to drink. When I got home, I vented all my fierce emotions on the poor and innocent Nathan, thoroughly shattering the peaceful and stable life of our marriage of convenience.
3
After freshening up, I left the hotel room without saying goodbye to Nathan.
While waiting at a traffic light, I noticed an unread message on my phone.
It was from Nathan:
"Bethie, last night's memories were especially beautiful."
I quickly turned off my phone, my cheeks burning like fire.
Nathan had just turned 22 this year, three years younger than me.
His family condition wasn't good as his parents were divorced. He has never explicitly stated the reason for choosing a sham marriage with me.
He only told me that he would strictly abide by the agreement and respect me 100%.
According to my best friend Lana's analysis, he might have some unspeakable preferences, hence the need to marry me to cover it up.
I once believed that was the truth and never thought to pry into his privacy.
But now, seeing his greedy - looking little expression, I felt I might have been too rigid with gender roles.
He might actually be open to anything.
If it weren't for various loans and my unwillingness to part with the money for the breach of contract penalty, how could I have agreed to use myself as collateral?
The more I thought about it, the more complicated my feelings became.
What exactly is this transaction between us?
Am I at a loss?
"Don't mention it again."
To better focus on work, I messaged Nathan as soon as I arrived at the office, my tone leaving no room for argument.
He quickly replied, "Y."
It was just an ordinary reply. But somehow, I vaguely felt that he was a bit disappointed.
I drove this unfounded emotion out of my head and immersed myself in work earnestly. In the afternoon meeting, my boss assigned me a project that required a three-month business trip.
When the leader asked if I had any family concerns, I shook my head without hesitation.
It was a perfect opportunity to distance myself from Nathan, which was great.
3
The more you don't want to see someone, the more likely you are to encounter them.
After work, as I tiredly followed the crowd out, I spotted Nathan standing at the office building entrance, hands in his pockets.
The evening light cast a soft glow on him, giving him an ethereal aura.
He stood tall and slender, his white shirt meticulously buttoned to the top, outlining his well-defined shoulders and neck. His long, straight legs set him apart from the crowd, making him a scene of his own.
"Honey, I'm here to pick you up from work."
He waved his arms at me, his smile bright and radiant.
I walked towards him. When my eyes caught sight of his slightly reddish earlobes, for a moment, I had no idea what to say.
"Honey, I've received my salary. How about I treat you to dinner?"
Thinking about the upcoming three-month business trip, I nodded, "Sure."
The tension in Nathan's eyes instantly dissipated, and he naturally took my arm. "Let's go then."
...
He's getting more attached as time passes, making me nostalgic for our early days of marriage when our interactions were polite and measured.
I discreetly put some distance between us and looked up to smile at him.
"Nathan..."
Before I could finish, he interrupted me, his eyes shimmering with tenderness. "Bethie, it's my birthday today. I want to hear you wish me a happy birthday."
Compared to "
Honey," I preferred when he called me "Bethie."
Every time he did, it stirred a protective instinct within me.
I pressed my lips together, unsure of the tone to use.
Too intimate felt awkward, too distant seemed cold.
Ah, how should I define this relationship? As the silence stretched, Nathan's face gradually showed a hint of grievance.
My heart softened, and I stood on tiptoe to ruffle his soft, fluffy hair.
"Nathan, happy birthday. I wish you peace and health."
Though not particularly original, peace and health are truly the best blessings in my opinion.
He tilted his head and smiled contentedly, revealing a cute little canine tooth.
It was as if he had planned everything in advance, leading me straight to a Sichuan restaurant-just my taste.
I enjoyed the meal thoroughly, while he focused on serving me, hardly eating himself.
As for him, he just focused on picking up food for me and hardly ate anything himself.
After eating my fill, I slumped back in my seat, rubbing my belly.
"I'm leaving for a business trip the day after tomorrow. I might be gone for a few months, so I'll leave the house to you." Nathan's eyes darkened, and he pressed his lips together. "Beth, do you really have to go?"
I didn't reply, my gaze drifting to the neighboring table. There, a little boy was grinning at me with a toothless smile.
Nathan followed the direction of my gaze. Suddenly, as if something had occurred to him, he rushed over and crouched beside me quickly. 'Honey, we can have a baby too."
I shot up from my seat.
Had he forgotten that ours was a marriage of convenience? Or did he think that breaking rules once meant all agreements could be disregarded?
The words of reproach stuck in my throat as I met his gaze.
The little boy was looking up at me with a pitiful expression. His eyes were moist and glittering. The double - eyelid folds were clear, and there was a small mole right beneath the slightly upturned corner of his eye.
I swallowed involuntarily.
"Nathan, let's just live in the moment.
Don't say things like that again."
His expression brightened, and he immediately stood up, pulling me close by the waist.
He's really quick - witted.
4
Before my trip, Nathan and I spent a night together, and then I took the high-speed train overnight. "Beth, you look so refreshed all of a sudden. Looks like life's been treating you well, huh?"
A female colleague teased as we did our skincare routine at the hotel. Looking in the mirror, I touched the faint red marks on my neck, feeling a strange sense of pride.
"Look at your lovesick face. Wanna go wild at the bar downstairs?"
My colleague winked and grinned.
Why not? A change of scene might help me clear my head.
At the bar, we hadn't been seated long before men started approaching us.
For some reason, I couldn't muster any interest in them and kept comparing them to Nathan.
"The cleverest hunters often pretend to be the hunted,"
my colleague whispered in my ear before leaving with a muscular guy.
After saying that, she left gracefully with her arm around a muscular man.
Just like that...
she left?
Being single must be nice.
Watching her carefree departure, I couldn't help but feel a sense of realization.
"Beth, what are you doing here?"
A familiar voice called out. Turning around, I saw Frank-the man I couldn't forget. Today, he wore a black suit with a couple of buttons undone on his white shirt, revealing a hint of his collarbone. His silver-framed glasses perched on his high nose, and his slightly parted lips added a touch of nonchalant roguishness.
In an instant, words like "charming rogue" and "sensual allure" came to mind.
"Just unwinding," I replied.
"Something bothering you?"
He sat beside me, propping his elbow on the table and tilting his head to look at me, his eyes behind the glasses filled with a natural tenderness.
I awkwardly turned away. "Just the typical marriage troubles.
You're married too, so you should understand."
My boyfriend went bankrupt and wants to break up with me. I don’t agree. He said, "Well, are you brave enough to get married to me?"
Do you believe in love at first sight? The moment I first met Mingyuan, I had that feeling. I cautiously accommodated him, maintaining his pride with my humility—warm yet hypocritical, like the fake flowers welcoming guests at a restaurant’s entrance. Until one day, I was utterly exhausted and chose to give up. I encountered another person during a time of chaos in my life. "So I showed up." To be honest, he awakened my desires. He saw through my games with words, understanding that I was greedy, selfish, and prone to avoidance, yet he still held my hand tightly, as he always did. I received a constant stream of messages from Mingyuan, but they no longer mattered to me. I should be someone with a strong capacity to endure and process my emotions. During the time I was Mingyuan's girlfriend, I tried my best to dissolve negative feelings within myself—without confiding or disturbing anyone. I once tried to act cute, hoping he would comfort me, thinking that just a few kind words would suffice. But he looked at me with great difficulty, saying, "I really don’t know how to comfort you. The ways of comforting girls are just tricks of scumbags; I don’t want to be like them." At that moment, I thought to myself that it was normal for a straight guy not to know how to comfort someone, and I could slowly teach him. The boy I liked would love me in his own way. The blindness of love made me completely overlook the obvious logical error in that statement. Until this moment. Last night, late at night around midnight, sharp pain in my lower abdomen jolted me awake from a rather unsettled sleep, shocking my nerves. Menstrual cramps. I was breaking into a cold sweat, curling up in bed in the hot summer, tightly closing my eyes, hoping that if I just held on, it would pass. The endless pain dulled my reason; this time, the intensity of the cramps seemed more severe than ever before. I struggled to get out of bed and, to avoid waking my roommate, stumbled around in the dark searching for ibuprofen. It should be fine now. I comforted myself with that thought. But the pain didn’t subside with the medication; in fact, I felt a churn in my stomach. In a hazy moment, I remembered the doctor's advice: it’s best not to take ibuprofen on an empty stomach and to take it half an hour before cramps start... The sound of me vomiting in the bathroom woke my roommate. She turned on the light, just as I was stepping out. She was startled by my state and nearly called for an ambulance, "Oh my God, your lips are so pale." She poured me a cup of hot water and waited with me until the pain slowly faded. When I woke up the next day, I momentarily felt as if I had been reborn. I hesitated for a long time, holding my phone, but I still wanted to tell Mingyuan about it. He was very busy with work and didn’t like being disturbed, so I didn’t dare call him and chose to send a message instead. I was really feeling a bit unwell, wanting some comfort, even just from Chatime. As dusk approached, he finally replied. "What should we do?" "Go to the hospital." When I saw the message, my emotions were somewhat flat. At that time, there were a thousand kilometers between us, and I knew that distance made care seem pale and powerless. As a modern, independent woman, I also shouldn’t be that fragile. But he, it seemed, had never cared. He had never comforted me or offered much consolation. All of this, I had never taught him. By sheer chance, I scrolled back through our chat history. The time had always...
That night at the graduation farewell dinner, he had his new girlfriend, the campus beauty, in his arms while everyone around was teasing him to introduce me, his childhood sweetheart, to someone. He glanced over at me sitting in the corner and said to his group of friends, "This silly big girl has a face that looks like someone owes her money. Who would want her?" I shrank back into the shadows, afraid that others would see the tears I was suppressing. An ugly girl doesn't have the right to cry; that was the first lesson I learned when I became his childhood sweetheart.
I woke up in the middle of the night and felt someone next to me. In the moonlight, the man dressed lightly appeared in my bed again.
Here's the translation of your text into English: "My stepson's son and I secretly had a romantic relationship for a while. It ended in a particularly ugly way. Later, when he was drunk, he cornered me in the bathroom and said, 'I’m just someone who loves being tortured; we’re meant to torment each other until we grow old. What are you going to do about it?'"
Here's the translation into English: "Participating in a variety show, my partner is a popular male star. During the escape room segment, I pretended to be scared and dove into his arms seeking protection. He snorted coldly and pushed me away: 'What are you pretending to be a weak woman for? You usually watch horror movies while eating, right?' I continued to lean into his arms: 'We're this familiar already, you don’t have to act like you're not interested in women. Just hold me tight; this is my new character setting.' 'Ex-girlfriend,' he suddenly stopped resisting, tightening his grip around my waist, 'are you trying to flirt with me?'"
The dream of everyone with regards to marriage is to be able to find that special someone and settle down with them. Even arranged marriages grant you an opportunity to meet your partner briefly before the wedding. How will you feel about waking up in the morning with someone sleeping next to you who is not just anyone but your legally married partner yet with no memory of how that had happened in just a few hours of going out the previous day? This is the story of Jason Haward and Julia Harrison, two strangers trapped in a marriage they never planned. The quest to find out why led to the unfolding of a mystery which made them realize they are both living a lie. To find out more, read this amazing story of love, betrayal, revenge and murder.
Melanie married Ashton out of gratitude, but she quickly found herself entangled in a web of relentless challenges. Despite these struggles, she stayed true to her commitment to the marriage. In the hospital room, Ashton indifferently attempted to draw her blood, disregarding her discomfort. This callous act was a harsh revelation for Melanie, awakening her to the grim reality of their relationship. Resolved to prioritize her own welfare, she decided to sever ties. With newfound resolve, Melanie filed for divorce. In the process, she unveiled her concealed identities, leaving everyone in shock. Throughout these turbulent times, Melanie realized that Derek, Ashton’s uncle, had been discreetly protecting her all along.
Sheila had her back against the wall when her family tried to force her to marry an awful old man. In a fit of rage, she hired a gigolo to act as her husband. She thought the gigolo needed money and did this for a living. Little did she know that he was nothing like that. One day, he pulled off his mask and revealed himself to be the world's top magnate. This marked the beginning of their love. He showered her with everything she could ever want. They were happy. However, unexpected circumstances soon posed a threat to their love. Would Sheila and her husband make it through the storm? Find out!
After a brief appearance at a birthday celebration, Ayra Carter's life took a drastic turn when the famous billionaire's heir chooses her to be his new mum.. "I like you a lot so you have to come home with me and be my new mummy" Arya's heart warmed as she stared at the cute little boy in front of her.. "Cutie.. Why don't you pick again?... I'm about to get married" "My son chose you and that's final! become his mum!" A loud authoritave voice broke into the room.. Now what??? ... Not him! Mr Kyle Anderson! The man who doesn't take no for an answer..
Vanessa was about to get engaged when she discovered that her groom-to-be was cheating on her with her own sister. Instead of creating a scene, she went to the club and hired the most desirable gigolo she found. After a wild night of passion, she gave him a generous check. "Thanks. I may require your services in the future." The gigolo was mad at her for being heartless, but Vanessa dismissed his words as an attempt to get her attention. It was only later, when she had to seek out the renowned Mr. Fuller to help with her business, that she realized the man she had slept with was no gigolo at all.
I ran after I died. The moon goddess gave me another chance to live. Married to a ruthless Lycan that was rumored to be cursed by the moon goddess herself. But I was killed by his minion... behind the bars of her torment... A new story began and he battled with his demons, in a world where truth was far fetched. I was his pawn, his toy, his game...until I discovered one night, when I was soaked in blood that I regretted the day I met him. I'd given up the Lycan beast, to marry a monster. I fled from the Alpha of Bloodmoon Park, the gruesome Lycan that every person feared, to be with this man that seemed soft at first glance. It made me wonder, what if I had stayed? The gruesome Lycan might be fearsome but I never heard him pierce a woman's heart with his claw. In a world where wolves howled at the moon and the lines between man and beast are blurred, danger lurked through the shadows, after the day I married the beast that visited my bed every night. Caught in a web of betrayal and deceit, the man I had fallen in love with had become the monster I wished I could flee from. A deadly threat to my life especially when I realized he was getting married to my step sister, the same girl that made my life hell when I was an omega. I wished I could get my revenge, but how could I, when I was lying in a pool of my own blood, dead? Will the goddess grant me another chance?