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When Carter proposes a contract marriage to Iris, his cousin's ex-wife, he is sure he will never fall for her. After all, he only needed her to claim his grandmother's company and to take revenge on his cousin. But Iris was more than he bargained for, and with her, his decision to never fall in love became a torment to his soul. Iris has never had an easy life. Betrayed by her step-sister and husband, she is left with nothing to her name. Not until she meets Carter, her ex-husband's cousin who proposes a contract marriage to her. They was only one rule to their marriage: never fall in love. But what happens when her feelings outweigh the rules? Will she go back to Ollie, her ex-husband? Or will her marriage with Carter last longer than she intended?
IRIS
"Well, here goes nothing."
I took a deep breath, shut my eyes and hit the plastic piggy bank sharply with a small hammer. I opened one eye, then the other.
"Holy crow!"
I cried as I spread out the bills on the kitchen counter. There was money here. Lots of it. How had I ever managed to save so much money in just under a year? I glanced at the clock. It was still hours before Ollie was due home, but what was that saying again? Time flies when you're having fun. And I was going to have a lot of fun buying my husband the best, most expensive wedding anniversary gift I had ever given him. I spent the next fifteen minutes straightening out the bills and counting them. As soon as I finished, I changed and headed straight for the most renowned jewellery store in the city. From the store's window, one could see the pieces they had on display, sitting on soft velvet cushions. I had window-shopped here more times than I could count. Now I actually had enough money to buy something. Getting a gift for Ollie was not as simple as I thought. The sheer number of men's bracelets, watches, studs, cufflinks on display was enough to make anyone confused. Twenty minutes after I had come into the store, I found myself in an aisle I had been to before, desperately trying to choose between a silver bracelet or a pair of golden cufflinks. My eyes darted from one to the other so fast it almost made me dizzy.
"May I assist you, ma'am?" I turned to see a plump, pretty redhead beside me, wearing a red shirt emblazoned with the store's name.
"Yes, please. I'm trying to decide which one to buy..." I trailed off. She smiled knowingly.
"It's to be a gift for your brother... father?" she asked.
"Oh. No. My husband. It's an anniversary present."
The redhead's smile widened. "Congratulations," she said warmly.
"Thank you." She glanced at the items I had been looking at and frowned a little.
"Does he particularly want those?" she asked.
"Not really." "Then I know just the thing. Please come with me." I followed her to a large display case containing wristwatches. She gently took out one that had also caught my eye.
"This is the Rolex Submariner. White gold, you see. It's exquisite. I'm sure he'll like this... Or you can try the-" "No," I cut in. As soon as I had seen the watch, I knew it was the one.
"I want it." She beamed.
"You made an excellent choice."
I sucked in a breath when she told me the price, but then I had just the amount, and I paid without batting an eye. Ollie was worth every cent. The sales girl again wished me a happy anniversary as I left the store. I kept imagining Ollie's delighted look of surprise when I handed him the watch. If I had known then that my world would come crumbling down in no time, I would have held on longer to that last shred of happiness. I pushed open the front door of my house and paused at the threshold for a moment. Faint noises were coming from somewhere in the house. Had I left one of the television sets on, or had Ollie returned? The sounds got louder as I approached the bedroom door. It was an odd motley of sounds: the creak of bedsprings, soft grunts, pants... a moan?
"Ollie? What are-" I had opened the door of the bedroom while speaking. I froze at the sight that met my eyes. My husband's arms were around a blonde. His lips were glued to hers. She shifted sighed his name, and I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces.
"Charlotte! Ollie!" I shrieked. Instantly, they sprang apart. Ollie's lips curled when he saw me standing there with my hand pressed against my chest. With a sigh, Charlotte, my stepsister, slowly sat up. As an afterthought, she covered her bare breasts with the sheets.
"Why the hell did you have to sneak in on us like that?"
Ollie grumbled. He swung his legs out of bed, searched and found his shorts among the pile of his and Charlotte's discarded clothes, and pulled them on.
"The door was locked, wasn't it? You should have knocked."
In my head, I was screaming at Ollie, at Charlotte. In reality, my brain desperately tried to catch up with my senses. Maybe I had fallen asleep and had begun having this terrible dream. It just had to be a dream. My husband sleeping with my stepsister? The thought was intolerable.
"What are you standing there, staring like a dumb ox, for? Huh?" Ollie said. Charlotte giggled and quickly clapped her hand over her mouth. Ollie's gave her an indulgent smile.
"She is rather dumb, isn't she, love?" Charlotte nodded and giggled again.
"Well, did you want something, Iris?" he continued. Tears ran down my cheeks. I forced my vocal cords to unlock.
"Ollie... how... Why? How could you..." I couldn't go on. Tears clogged my throat, making it difficult to speak. Ollie ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation.
"Couldn't you have returned a little later? Charlotte and I were getting to the good part. You- What's that?"
His gaze had lighted on the box still clutched in my hand. He walked up to where I still stood, rooted to the spot. He took the box and opened it. A mocking smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"How touching. She seems to have bought me a gift." He put on the watch, twisted his wrist this way and that, and then held it out for Charlotte's inspection.
"What do you think?" he asked her. She wrinkled her nose.
"That's the ugliest watch I've ever seen." "I think so, too." Ollie unclasped the watch and flung it at my feet.
"Is this the best you could think of? Gifting me a stupid, valueless watch? It is no surprise, though, seeing as you're pretty stupid and valueless yourself." I tried again to put my feelings into words, but all that came out of my mouth was, "Ollie..." "I'm sick of you, Iris. I've been pretty sick of you for a while, to be honest. I suppose it's good you caught me in the act. I want a divorce."
"No," I croaked.
"Yes," he hissed.
"I'll serve you the papers soon enough. Now you have to leave this house."
"Thi- This is my home," I stuttered. "I'm your wife." "Not anymore. Now leave."
"Ollie, we were happy together. What has gotten into you?"
"I'm telling you for the last time to beat it." It suddenly felt very difficult to breathe when I recalled that I had spent all my money in this world just to buy him a watch. I didn't even have enough to pay for the cheapest motel room. Where would I go?
"I have nowhere else to go," I pleaded.
"Please, you can't throw me out." Ollie's eyes glinted dangerously.
"You don't get to tell me what I can or cannot do," he roared. The next moment, he had my hand in a tight and painful grip. I screamed and begged as he dragged me out of the room. He pushed me outside what had once been my home and shut the door in my face. I pounded on the door with my fists.
"Ollie!" I yelled.
"Ollie! Please, open up. Let me in. Ollie!" For a long time, I screamed till I was hoarse. No one answered. Sobbing, I sank onto the floor as the tears ran down my face in a continuous stream.
Charlee was left at the altar and became a laughingstock. She tried to keep her head high, but ultimately lost it when she received a sex tape of her fiance and her half-sister. Devastated, she ended up spending a wild night with a hot stranger. It was supposed to be one-time thing, but he kept popping up, helping her with projects and revenge, all while flirting with her constantly. Charlee soon realized that it was nice having him around, until her ex suddenly appeared at her door, begging for another chance. Her tycoon lover asked, “Who will you choose? Think carefully before you answer.”
"I stood at the edge of my heart and watched him choose her. In the end, I was not the one he needed. I was simply the one he settled for." - Noelle ~~~~~~~ I thought I was the one he loved. But a few days before our wedding, I saw him in a way I never had before. His eyes softened as he spoke to her. His first love, and the very woman who had left him in pieces. Heartbreak was something I knew too well. And as I watched the love he still held for her in his eyes, I realized what I had to do. I couldn't marry a man who wasn't truly mine. With no means to cancel the wedding and lacking the courage to confront him, I made a desperate choice to leave. I painfully gave his first love my treasured engagement ring thinking it was for the best and the only way to free myself. But when he saw that ring on her finger, the fragile world I had tried to escape began to shatter. His obsession to find me and bring me back ignited a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
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."
Darya spent three years loving Micah, worshipping the ground he walked on. Until his neglect and his family's abuse finally woke her up to the ugly truth-he doesn't love her. Never did, never will. To her, he is a hero, her knight in shining armour. To him, she is an opportunist, a gold digger who schemed her way into his life. Darya accepts the harsh reality, gathers the shattered pieces of her dignity, divorces him, takes back her real name, reclaims her title as the country's youngest billionaire heiress. Their paths cross again at a party. Micah watches his ex-wife sing like an angel, tear up the dance floor, then thwart a lecher with a roundhouse kick. He realises, belatedly, that she's exactly the kind of woman he'd want to marry, if only he had taken the trouble to get to know her. Micah acts promptly to win her back, but discovers she's now surrounded by eligible bachelors: high-powered CEO, genius biochemist, award-winning singer, reformed playboy. Worse, she makes it pretty clear that she's done with him. Micah gears up for an uphill battle. He must prove to her he's still worthy of her love before she falls for someone else. And time is running out.
The day Raina gave birth should have been the happiest of her life. Instead, it became her worst nightmare. Moments after delivering their twins, Alexander shattered her heart-divorcing her and forcing her to sign away custody of their son, Liam. With nothing but betrayal and heartbreak to her name, Raina disappeared, raising their daughter, Ava, on her own.Years later, fate comes knocking when Liam falls gravely ill. Desperate to save his son, Alexander is forced to seek out the one person he once cast aside. Alexander finds himself face to face with the woman he underestimated, pleading for a second chance-not just for himself, but for their son. But Raina is no longer the same broken woman who once loved him.No longer the woman he left behind. She has carved out a new life-one built on strength, wealth, and a long-buried legacy she expected to uncover.Raina has spent years learning to live without him.The question is... Will she risk reopening old wounds to save the son she never got to love? or has Alexander lost her forever?
Linsey was stood up by her groom to run off with another woman. Furious, she grabbed a random stranger and declared, "Let's get married!" She had acted on impulse, realizing too late that her new husband was the notorious rascal, Collin. The public laughed at her, and even her runaway ex offered to reconcile. But Linsey scoffed at him. "My husband and I are very much in love!" Everyone thought she was delusional. Then Collin was revealed to be the richest man in the world. In front of everyone, he got down on one knee and held up a stunning diamond ring. "I look forward to our forever, honey."