"I loved you, but at the same time, I never really did." Ariana Sinclair gave Dominic Lancaster everything... her love, her trust, and the brilliant idea that built his billion-dollar empire. She stood by his side when they had nothing, only to be tossed aside when he had everything. The final betrayal? Catching him in his office with a hooker. When she demanded a divorce and her share of the company, he smirked and told her the truth: It was all in his name. She never really had anything. Now, Ariana is done playing nice. She wants revenge, even if it means destroying the man she once loved. But one reckless night derails everything. A one-night stand with a stranger. A pregnancy she never planned. And just when she thinks she can keep her secrets buried, Jaxon Reid walks into her life, determined to be part of his child's future. To make things worse, Dominic wants her back, convinced the baby is his. Now, Ariana is caught between two powerful men, a revenge plan spiralling out of control, and a future she never saw coming. Revenge was supposed to be simple. But when love, regret, and betrayal collide, nothing ever is.
Ariana's POV
"I can't believe we won the contract. Thank you so much for your unwavering support... we really appreciate it... yes, of course. We'll see you at the celebratory party." I drop the phone and spin around in the kitchen, barefoot.
We just got the biggest contract in the city and now, my husband and I are no more millionaires. We're freaking billionaires.
When the Mayor brought out the requirements for the contract, requesting an architectural design of the new bridge, I didn't think I could do it.
But honestly, research, coffee and sleepless nights did it for me. We beat every other design and got the contract, our biggest yet.
A party was scheduled to be held at the Hal in my husband's office, but I have never really fancied being in the spotlight, so I thought we could have a party of our own in his office and maybe something else too. I giggle at the thought.
I grab a bottle of wine from our small bar in the kitchen and a basket of snacks and biscuits and walk hurriedly to my car.
I slip on my heels by the door and I leave.
My music is on full blast as I drive up to my Husband's office, he would really love the surprise. It is his favourite wine, four cousins and, of course, my pastries that he loves.
The ride takes a while because of traffic and whatnot, but I finally arrive.
"Hello, Madam." Stacy, the receptionist, greets me with a smile when I walk in. I smile back at her and nod as I walk to the elevator with my gifts in hand.
My husband is the face of our company; I bring the ideas, and he presents them as his own. I create, and he uses his influence to promote.
We built the company that we have today.
I am giddy with happiness as I walk to his office with a skip in my step. I can hear the music from the hall downstairs. The staff and invited guests must be having a good time.
"Good evening, Madam." My husband's secretary, Freddie greets me with sweat trickling down his face.
"Good evening, Freddie. Why aren't you with the other staff?" I smile at him. "You can't be here working too? You need to loosen up and have fun. Come on, go downstairs."
"Um... mam... I can't do that... Sir said not to allow anyone in." He says, stammering and constantly touching his cufflinks.
"I'm not just anyone, though, and it's just me. He wouldn't mind." I search the basket and hand him a cookie before walking to the doors and pushing them open.
"Honey, I'm–"
"Oh yes, faster. I love it when you fuck me so rough," a high-pitched voice says.
I can't believe my eyes.
My husband, the man that I have loved with all my heart for so many years, was behind his desk with a lady who looked like she was still in college and her dress bunched up to her waist, and they were having sex?!
If he hears me come in, he doesn't acknowledge it. The girl makes eye contact with me and moans loudly and my husband slaps her ass in response.
He grunts and continues to have sex with her in front of me. He looks up at me, and my world freezes.
My husband... he is cheating on me. It all clicked; he hadn't called in days, he kept avoiding coming home, saying he was finishing up many meetings, we hadn't been intimate for three months, Freddie's behaviour...
I hear glass shatter to the ground but I don't need to look to know that it is the glass of his favourite wine that I brought to celebrate with him.
I turn on my heels and run out of the office.
"Madam." I hear Freddie's voice behind me but I ignore him. Tears are streaming down my cheeks and my vision is blurry. I enter the elevator and hurriedly push the button so Freddie can't get to me.
I don't need any half-assed apologies or explanations.
My husband is cheating on me.
That fact kept ringing over and over in my head and I couldn't wrap my head around it.
The elevator dings and tears are still falling down my eyes. I spot one of our international partners and I rush to clean my tears.
I hope I did not smudge my makeup.
The man spots me and walks up to me talking animatedly. He's from Italy and his interpretator interprets for him.
"What a lovely design. I take that your husband made it yes?"
The interpretator looks uneasy with my body language and probably how puffed up my eyes look but the Italian man doesn't notice.
My throat feels tight and I can't seem to say yes, that my husband made those designs like I was always proud to.
Do I need to tell him it was mine?
"I'm sorry I have to go." I gave them a half smile and walked away quickly.
If Stacey notices how I look, she doesn't comment or stop me.
I walk to my car and begin to cry once I'm inside. Dominic didn't do this to me...
No, no, no...
I start my car and drive out of the parking lot.
I need to go home.
The car ride is silent except for my sobs. The tears don't stop and they just keep coming, blurring my vision.
That is when I don't notice a truck coming from the other lane. The last thing I see is headlights flashing at me, and then my head hits the stirring wheel, and all I feel is pain before I black out.
-
"Can you hear me? How many fingers am I holding up?"
Huh? What's happening?
I slowly sit up, and I whine as I feel a sharp pain in the side of my head. I raise my hand to touch it and I'm met with a bandage.
"What happened to me," I whisper to no one but the man beside me must have heard.
"You were involved in an accident. You need an urgent check-up at the hospital. You need to come with me."
That explains the blood and the police car and shattered windows.
The man's face fully forms in my vision and I make out that he's a police officer. My clothes are soaked in blood and one of my heels is missing.
"Where is my car?" I ask, looking at him.
He stares at me wide-eyed and points to my car.
Good. It's still in good condition to drive home.
I wobble up and walk to my car when I feel a hand on my arm.
"Madam, you need to come with me to the hospital. You need treatment and stitches, the bandage wouldn't hold for long."
I turn to look him dead in the eyes. "Leave me alone" and I see him flinch.
I turn away from him and walk back to my car, starting it up and driving away from the scene to my earlier destination. My house.
I pull into the driveway and I'm surprised to see bags outside the door.
Whose bags are those?
I get out of the car, and upon close inspection, they're mine.
"Who fucked up your head?"
I turn to see my husband staring at me, and I'm shocked that the first image that crosses my mind is to strangle him till he is writhing beneath me, begging for his life.
I shake that thought away and try to be reasonable. He must have had a reason for abusing me like that. I mean cheating on me in his office and putting out my bags from our home?
"What are my bags doing out here, Dom?" I smile at him.
He first looks taken aback and frightened, probably by my smile but he covers it up with a poker face.
"Leave."
Two years, no love, no trust, just a contract. Claire Donovan was drowning her business failing, debt collectors closing in, and eviction looming. Desperate, she had two options: beg her powerful family for help or take a deal with a billionaire she barely knew. Gordon Blackwood remembered everything. Ten years ago, her father destroyed his future, ensuring he would never rise in the corporate world. But fate had other plans. Now, Gordon owns everything except the one thing he truly wants: revenge. A two year contract marriage seemed like the perfect trap. She gets financial freedom, he gets a flawless cover to silence rumors about his personal life. But what Claire doesn't know is that Gordon plans to make her life miserable. Cold. Ruthless. Unforgiving. Yet the woman he intended to break refuses to crumble. The more she fights back, the harder he falls. Hatred turns to obsession. Obsession turns to something else entirely. By the time Gordon realizes he's in love with the woman he set out to ruin, it's too late. Because Claire has discovered the truth. Now, the woman who once needed him is walking away, and for the first time in his life, Gordon is the one who stands to lose everything.
Kara Martin was known as Miss Perfect. She was a beauty with good personality and successful career. Unfortunately, her life changed at one night. She was accused of adultery, losing her job, and abandoned by her fiance. The arrogant man who slept with her did not want to take responsibility. He even threatened to kill her if they met again. What's worse, Kara was pregnant with twins and she chose to give birth to them. Four and a half years later, Kara returned to work at a large company. As the secretary, she would frequently face their notorious CEO. Kara thought it wouldn't be a problem, but as it turned out ... the CEO was the father of the twins!
"I heard you're going to marry Marcelo. Is this perhaps your revenge against me? It's very laughable, Renee. That man can barely function." Her foster family, her cheating ex, everyone thought Renee was going to live in pure hell after getting married to a disabled and cruel man. She didn't know if anything good would ever come out of it after all, she had always thought it would be hard for anyone to love her but this cruel man with dark secrets is never going to grant her a divorce because she makes him forget how to breathe.
Elena, once a pampered heiress, suddenly lost everything when the real daughter framed her, her fiancé ridiculed her, and her adoptive parents threw her out. They all wanted to see her fall. But Elena unveiled her true identity: the heiress of a massive fortune, famed hacker, top jewelry designer, secret author, and gifted doctor. Horrified by her glorious comeback, her adoptive parents demanded half her newfound wealth. Elena exposed their cruelty and refused. Her ex pleaded for a second chance, but she scoffed, “Do you think you deserve it?” Then a powerful magnate gently proposed, “Marry me?”
Iris grew from an orphaned child to the adopted daughter of the Stewart family at age ten, finding warmth in her nominal uncle Vincent's kindness. Seven years later, she became his secret lover. When Vincent's engagement was announced, gossip spread about the notorious playboy CEO finally settling down. But only Iris knew the extent of his cold, two-faced nature. Iris fell for Vincent and, through tears, begged, "Marry me," only to be met with his frosty refusal. Defeated, she accepted a lawyer's proposal, sparking public excitement. Then, on her wedding day, Vincent pleaded desperately, "Don't marry him…"
6 years ago, Lydia suffered a brutal betrayal orchestrated by her own husband and step-sister, who drugged her and framed her. In a twist of fate, she ended up having a one-night stand with a stranger. Don't even remember what he looked like. Later, in the throes of death, she discovered the truth about her mother's death all those years ago. In the blink of an eye, she lost everything. 6 years later, Lydia returned with her genius son, vowing to exact revenge on all her enemies! Little did she know, she encountered an incredibly familiar man at the airport! *** The man was briskly pushing open the door to the restroom, heading to the urinal. Even with such a mundane action, he did it with unparalleled elegance and grace. Lydia, following him in a daze, saw his fierce lower body and suddenly snapped back to reality. She let out a high-pitched scream, instinctively covering her eyes with her hands, her cheeks flushed, and stood there stiffly, unsure of what to do. Lambert furrowed his brows slightly but remained calm as he continued to relieve himself. The sound of water hitting the urinal made Lydia's face even redder. She angrily shouted, "You pervert!" Little did Lydia know that Lambert, seeing her in this state, had a flicker of recognition in his eyes. Memories from many years ago flashed through his mind, and his heart couldn't help but stir. It was her!
"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?