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Alice's life has been devastated by the betrayal of those she believed to be her allies. Five years ago, her fiancé, in the grip of a professional failure, convinced her to sacrifice her dreams to help him get back on his feet. But her best friend, hungry for glory and power, made a decision that would change their friendship forever, by secretly becoming a surrogate mother. When Alice's fiancé, now at the top of his career, left her, claiming that she no longer met his expectations, Alice, broken, accepted the proposal of the mysterious billionaire, Gabriel Hartman. Known for his coldness and indifference, Gabriel seemed to offer Alice an escape. What she didn't know was that he was the one who had orchestrated her best friend's request for maternity... But what if everything she thought she knew was just a decoy? What if, deep down, the price of her redemption is much higher than she imagined? Can the truth really mend broken hearts, or will secrets destroy everything in their path?
Alice's day had started like any other in recent years: a monotonous routine, marked by lukewarm coffee, uninteresting emails, and a painful absence that she tried to bury under responsibilities. But that morning, as she mechanically opened her phone, a message shattered the illusion of her fragile balance.
**"Ethan and Clara announce their marriage. We hope to see many of you there to celebrate their love!"**
The shock was instantaneous. Her fingers remained frozen on the screen, her breath suspended between two frantic heartbeats. Clara... her best friend. Ethan... the man she had loved more than anything, the one for whom she had sacrificed so much. The betrayal was there, obvious, brutal. Like a blade sinking into a poorly healed wound.
She felt her stomach tighten and had to sit down. For five years, she had tried to forget. Five years of rebuilding her life, of pretending that this story was in the past. But the pain returned with an incredible violence. Her eyes ran over the words of the message again and again, searching for a detail, a clue that would make this announcement unreal.
His phone vibrated again. This time, an unknown email.
**"Private party. Reserved for special guests. Come and discover what the future holds for you."**
The message was accompanied by an address and a name: *Hartman Industries*. A name that was not entirely unknown to him. Gabriel Hartman. The businessman whose name was whispered in the most exclusive circles. Cold, ruthless, elusive.
Why was she receiving an invitation from such a man?
She could have ignored the email, deleted the message, and convinced herself that none of this had anything to do with her. But something inside her refused to move on so easily. A nagging intuition, a presentiment.
She stood up, her gaze fixed on the reflection in the living room window. Her features were tense, marked by that invisible fatigue that only buried pain could cause. Clara and Ethan... together. How long had they maintained this relationship behind her back?
She clenched her fists. Maybe it was time to get some answers.
---
The evening was as elegant as it was exclusive.
In a vast, dimly lit mansion, the guests blended into a sea of luxury and pretense. Alice stood near the entrance, a glass of champagne in her hand, observing this elite she only knew from afar.
Everything seemed unreal. Why had she been invited here?
She walked slowly, trying to decipher the faces around her, when her gaze was drawn to a man at the back of the room. Tall, imposing, dressed in a dark suit tailored to perfection. His features were almost unreal in their precision, his eyes a piercing gray, analyzing his surroundings with a calculated coldness.
Gabriel Hartman.
She knew he had noticed her. He didn't move right away, just staring at her with inscrutable interest. Then, in one fluid movement, he moved toward her, each step measured, calculated.
- Miss Evans.
His voice was deep, calm, imbued with a natural confidence that commanded attention.
- "Do you know me?" she asked, unable to hide her surprise.
- I know a lot of things. You are one of them.
A shiver ran down his spine. This man exuded control, an authority that left no room for doubt.
- Why am I here?
Gabriel gave an imperceptible smile.
- Because you are about to discover truths that have been hidden from you.
She frowned, suspicious.
- Truths?
He gestured towards a more intimate sitting room, inviting her to follow him. After a hesitation, she did so, feeling a strange tension in the air.
The room was isolated from the tumult of the reception, protected by thick curtains and dim lighting. Gabriel sat down opposite her, crossing his fingers with the calculated patience of men who control everything.
- You think you know the story of your breakup with Ethan, he began.
The name Ethan made her flinch.
- He left me because I was no longer the one he wanted, she said bitterly.
- This is the version he led you to believe.
A silence.
She felt her heart racing.
- What are you implying?
Gabriel leaned forward slightly, his steely gaze locked with hers.
- Your friend Clara...she didn't just take your place with Ethan. She was encouraged to do so.
The words clashed in his mind.
- Encouraged?
- Manipulated. Forced, in a way.
His throat tightened.
- What exactly do you expect from me? she said defensively.
Gabriel didn't blink.
- I offer you an opportunity. A way to take back control of your own story.
She stared at him, unable to guess where he was going with this.
- Why would you do that?
A slight smile tugged at his lips.
- Because I'm the man who orchestrated this whole scene.
Alice felt the ground give way beneath her.
- You... what?
- Ethan. Clara. Their union. All of this... it was inevitable. But I sped up the process.
A mixture of rage and confusion boiled inside her.
- Are you playing with people's lives?
- No, I push them towards their destiny.
She stood up abruptly.
- What you're saying doesn't make any sense. What do you expect? For me to thank you?
Gabriel looked at her with disturbing intensity.
- I don't expect anything. I'm just giving you a chance to write the sequel.
Alice was on the verge of leaving.
- Why me?
- Because you have more power than you think.
She gritted her teeth.
- What if I refuse?
Gabriel stood up in turn, imposing.
- So you'll let Ethan and Clara write the end of this story without you.
His heart was pounding.
She didn't want to be that broken woman running away from her past. But could she trust this man?
Gabriel handed him a card.
- Think about it.
She took it, hesitant.
- If you decide to accept... come to this address tomorrow evening.
Without another word, he left the room, leaving her alone with a decision that might change everything.
Under the gaze of a fallen mafia, Elvie, a young woman with a troubled past and victim of a brutal ex, seeks to rebuild her life. Working as an assistant in the villa of the Corleone, an influential crime family, she tries to avoid conflict with the three Corleone brothers, all as dangerous as each other. But everything changes when Adriano, the eldest brother and heir, breaks his arranged engagement to embrace the war between enemy families and must quickly remarry. Cold and calculating, he sees Elvie as a simple piece in his game. For her, he is just another nightmare to flee. But as they interact, appearances crumble and unexpected bonds are forged. As her ex resurfaces, Elvie will have to choose between her new life, her secrets and the growing violence that threatens everything she has rebuilt.
Zoe's dreams of marriage are shattered when she catches her fiance in a compromising situation with his best friend. Devastated, she seeks to recover what she has lost. That's when an enigmatic man, a warm billionaire named Maxime Delacroix, offers her an unexpected solution: a loveless marriage, a contractual alliance with the aim of destroying his ex's career. Although reluctant, Zoe accepts, ready to do anything to get revenge. But as their relationship grows, Zoe realizes that the stakes are more complex than she imagined. Between revenge and a budding passion for this distant man, she finds herself torn between her desire for justice and her budding feelings. How far will she be willing to go to get revenge without losing everything in the process?
Lily thought she had a simple life, surrounded by her adoptive parents in a small town. But everything changed the day she learned that her real parents were industrial tycoons and that she had a twin brother, heir to a family empire. Welcomed into a world of luxury, she found herself facing a reality very different from the one she knew. Her brother, a cold and ambitious man, had always hated her. "You're just an intruder, Lily," he told her. But another secret resurfaced: a mysterious businessman claimed that Lily was the rightful heir to a huge hidden fortune. "It's time you knew the truth," he told her. Between betrayals and revelations, Lily must choose between wealth and family loyalty.
Lara Sanders and Ethan Cole had been together for five years, but Lara had never been his priority. Ethan, obsessed with his work, did not see the soul of the woman he had married. Lara had tried to rekindle the flame, but in vain. She had had enough. One day, she left everything: the house, the promises, and Ethan. Years later, Lara reappears. She has become a successful entrepreneur, an icon of the business world, and no one recognizes her anymore as the fragile young woman she once was. Far from the shy and discreet Lara, she is now a queen of industry, admired and respected. At a public event, a journalist asks her: "Lara, you are the most influential businesswoman of the moment. What is the key to your success?" Lara, with a mysterious smile, answers: "Never let a man define you. Take charge of your life. » The next day, to everyone's surprise, Ethan appears at Lara's door. The man she thought had been forgotten, who had let her go without a glance, returns with a surprising proposition: "Lara, I made a mistake. Can we start all over again... Together?"
Luca Moretti, an influential businessman, is forced to marry Amélie Lefevre, a woman he considers a simple family obligation. Already in love with another, he vows to make Amélie's life hell so that she will ask for a divorce. However, he does not know that Amélie is hiding a secret that could change his life forever. Behind her calm facade, Amélie is much more determined and intelligent than he thinks. What will happen when Luca finds himself caught in his own game? Will he succeed in breaking their union or will he succumb to the hidden truth?
For three years, Althea lived in the shadow of an arranged marriage with Damian Crowe, a billionaire as ruthless as they are insistent, known for his dark things and his absolute control over the elite. This marriage, designed by their families to unite two dynasties by the decline, quickly turned into a nightmare. Ignored by Damian, and closely monitored by his allies, Althea has discovered a world of unavowable secrets and questionable transactions. One night, she comes across compromising information that could ruin Damian and her whole family. Realizing that she is only a pawn in their game, she disappears without warning, leaving behind an empire in danger and a man plagued by her own demons. When Althea resurfaces three years later, she was unrecognizable: independent, formidable and armed with a infallible strategy to undermine the power of Damian. In parallel, it becomes the target of the rivals of the latter, who see in it the key to destroy the reign of the Crowe. But Damian did not say his last word. Torn between his desire to reconquer and the fear of the truths that Althea could reveal, he embarks on a battle where love and destruction are intertwined. Does Althea play a vengeance game, or is it about to overthrow a world that she has sworn to never suffer?
"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?"
"Love is blind!" Lucinda abandoned her beautiful and comfortable life because of a man. She married him and slaved off for him for three long years. One day, the scales finally fell off her eyes. She realized that all her efforts were in vain. Her husband, Nathaniel still treated her like shit. All he cared about was his lover. "Enough is enough! I quit wasting my years with an ungrateful man!" Lucinda's heart was shattered into many pieces, but she summoned up the courage to ask for a divorce. The news caused a stir online! A filthy rich young woman recently got divorced? She was a good catch! Countless CEOs and handsome young men immediately swarmed to her like bees to honey! Nathaniel couldn't take it anymore. He held a press conference and begged with teary eyes, "I love you, Lucinda. I can't live without you. Please come back to me." Would Lucinda give him a second chance? Read to find out!
It was supposed to be a marriage of convenience, but Carrie made the mistake of falling in love with Kristopher. When the time came that she needed him the most, her husband was in the company of another woman. Enough was enough. Carrie chose to divorce Kristopher and move on with her life. Only when she left did Kristopher realize how important she was to him. In the face of his ex-wife’s countless admirers, Kristopher offered her 20 million dollars and proposed a new deal. “Let’s get married again.”
"Ahh!" She was in a moaning mess. She did not want to feel anything for this man. She hated him. His hands began to move all over her body. She gasped when he pulled down the back chain of her dress. The chain stopped at her lower waist, so when he zipped it off, her upper back and waist were exposed. "D-Don't touch m-ummm!" His fingers rolled around her bare back, and she pressed her head against the pillow. His touches were giving her goosebumps all over her body. With a deep angry voice, he whispered in her ear, "I am going to make you forget his touches, kisses, and everything. Every time you touch another man, you will only think of me." - - - Ava Adler was a nerdy omega. People bullied her because they thought she was ugly and unattractive. But Ava secretly loved the bad boy, Ian Dawson. He was the future Alpha of the Mystic Shadow Pack. However, he doesn't give a damn about rules and laws, as he only likes to play around with girls. Ava was unaware of Ian's arrogance until her fate intertwined with his. He neglected her and hurt her deeply. What would happen when Ava turned out to be a beautiful girl who could win over any boy, and Ian looked back and regretted his decisions? What if she had a secret identity that she had yet to discover? What if the tables turned and Ian begged her not to leave him?
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?
Two years ago, Ricky found himself coerced into marrying Emma to protect the woman he cherished. From Ricky's perspective, Emma was despicable, resorting to underhanded schemes to ensure their marriage. He maintained a distant and cold attitude toward her, reserving his warmth for another. Yet, Emma remained wholeheartedly dedicated to Ricky for more than ten years. As she grew weary and considered relinquishing her efforts, Ricky was seized by a sudden fear. Only when Emma's life teetered on the edge, pregnant with Ricky's child, did he recognize-the love of his life had always been Emma.