She loved her husband. She gave him everything, without hesitation, offering her heart, her soul, and her dreams. But he was nothing but a receiver, never a giver. He took without ever giving back, feeding off her affection and sacrifices. He was selfish, and every gesture she made for him seemed like a mere formality to satisfy his needs. He was never there for her, except when it served him. The only things he offered were confusion. He gave her empty promises, sweet words that rang hollow. He offered manipulation, ideals disguised as his "undeniable love," but in reality, he only loved one person: himself. She adored him, but he saw in her nothing more than a tool to fill his inner emptiness. He had invaded her mind to the point where, when he proposed an open relationship, he made her believe it was her idea, seducing her with subtle words. She wanted to believe him, convincing herself that it was a step of compromise, a sacrifice for the love he claimed to have for her. But deep down, she knew it wasn't what she wanted. She wanted him, and only him. He wanted her, and all the others he could get, all those who would feed his insatiable need for power and domination. But all of that changed when Tobias Wrexler entered their lives. His intense gaze, his silent yet powerful presence, brought a turning point in her life. The shadow of her husband suddenly seemed far less threatening in the light that Tobias brought.
01
2 hours.
I sat there for 2 hours.
I sat there in my lace, rouge red teddy with my garter sitting seductively on my bare thigh and in my black stiletto Christian Louboutin red bottom heels to match. My skin was glossy, moisturized from head to toe, almost patent, but I was ready to glisten from the glow of the orgasms he used to give me. I was ready for the lace to be ripped off my body, beyond repair, only to be left in my garter and my Louboutins. I was ready to be ravished by the man who put that final ring on my finger only five years ago, today.
But that wasn't going to happen-and deep down, I knew it.
I waited and waited, hoping, praying, wishing on stars that probably had long since burned out. I imagined him walking through the double doors of the house we built together, his eyes dark with the same hunger he used to have for me. I pictured him lifting me off my feet, carrying me to the kitchen table to devour the two-course meal I had spent hours preparing, only to then devour me for dessert.
However, that dream shattered when I woke up, still in my ensemble, sitting on the edge of our marital bed in the dark of night. The house was still, save for the sound that ultimately ripped me apart-a hearty laugh, his laugh, followed by the soft giggle of another.
I quickly wrapped my silk robe around my body, the cool fabric sticking to the heated skin that was still embarrassingly primed for him, and silently crept down our grand staircase.
What I was met with wasn't a surprise, but it still chipped at my beating heart every single time.
There he was-Chase.
The man I promised my life to.
The man who now belonged to someone else every night and expected me to pretend it didn't shatter me.
His wedded hand was twisted in a fistful of her red hair-his favorite color. He devoured her lips like they were oxygen and he was suffocating. She clung to him with desperate fingers, and he didn't seem to care that anyone could see, least of all his wife.
I stood there, arms crossed over my chest, clutching my robe tighter, waiting, hoping he would notice me. But, as per usual, he didn't.
I felt a single tear slip down my cheek as the pain I had anesthetized for so long finally woke up again, sharp and all-consuming.
"Chase-" she breathed, gasping as he trailed kisses down her neck to her shoulder.
"Cha-Chase, your wife is here," she moaned, almost embarrassed but too caught up in him to really care.
I felt bile claw up my throat. He slowly looked over his shoulder at me, as if I were nothing more than an inconvenient interruption.
I couldn't even meet his eyes. I felt myself instinctively covering my chest with the tiny silk material wrapped around me, shrinking under his gaze.
"Hey-hey baby, what are you doing up? I'm so sorry we woke you," he said casually, like he was apologizing for stepping on my foot, "I just wanted to spend tonight with my girlfriend, you can go back-"
"You asked her to be your girlfriend tonight?" I felt my voice break, the words tumbling from my lips like shards of broken glass.
He looked startled for a brief moment. Then he placed his hands on my arms, as if that would somehow tether me back to him. "Baby, we-we spoke about this. You said you were okay with this, you were the one who wanted this open relationship so I wouldn't cheat-"
And there it was.
The blame.
The guilt.
The manipulation that he wielded so perfectly.
Yeah. It was my choice.
Serves me right for thinking this would be different.
I loved this man with everything in me. I loved him so much that I let him talk me into an arrangement that broke me piece by piece. I agreed because the alternative-losing him-seemed worse. But now, I realized that maybe losing him would have been mercy compared to the slow death of our marriage.
I felt their eyes on me, burning holes into my soul. I couldn't let her see me like this-weak, broken, betrayed.
Without another word, I fled to our room and slammed the door behind me.
I slid down the heavy wood, my knees giving out as tears flooded my face.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid," I whispered harshly, hitting the back of my head softly against the door with each word. My sobs were so violent that they shook my body, years of swallowed pain spilling out all at once.
Then I heard it-loud footsteps rushing toward me, then a single heavy thump as Chase slammed his hand against the door.
"Please open the door, please, beautiful," he pleaded.
That single word.
It could unravel me in seconds.
Beautiful.
Chase always knew how to get to me. Even when everything else crumbled, he made me feel beautiful. He whispered it into the darkness when I cried about my body. He murmured it into my hair when the world was too cruel. He said it like it was a truth no one else could take away.
And hearing it now, layered with enough love and desperation to sound almost convincing, I hated how badly I still wanted to believe him.
I pressed my forehead against the door, my tears soaking into the wood.
"I'm sorry, baby," he continued on the other side, his voice cracking. "You know I love you more than anything. You know you're my world. Please don't shut me out."
I squeezed my eyes shut, letting more tears fall.
Because part of me still wanted to believe him.
Part of me still wanted to throw the door open, leap into his arms, and forget the girl with the red hair ever existed.
But the other part-the part that was growing louder and angrier every day-knew better.
Still, the war raged inside me. Love and pain tangled together so tightly I couldn't tell where one ended and the other began.
I stayed on the floor, silent. Listening to him breathing heavily on the other side, waiting.
Waiting for me to forgive him like I always did.
Waiting for me to choose him over myself.
Again.
But tonight, for the first time, I didn't know if I could.
She was barely twenty years old when her heart was shattered by the man she thought she could love, a man who, out of spite and a thirst for revenge, left her in pain. He hated her for a crime she didn't commit, a crime she didn't even know about. The pain was unbearable, the betrayal devastating. Five years later, Ana was no longer the fragile, vulnerable young woman she once was. She had grown, matured, and built a strength she never knew she had back then. Life had changed her; she no longer believed in love or the goodness of men. She had learned not to let her emotions control her. Yet, when Devin reappeared, her balance faltered. He had returned, determined to finish what he hadn't been able to do before: his revenge. His dark, cold eyes exuded an icy hostility, but Ana knew he was no longer the man he once was. The Devin of today was more cynical, more ruthless. Still, she couldn't ignore the lingering attraction she had always felt for him. Devin, for his part, bore the scars of a life marked by betrayal and pain. Since the age of fourteen, revenge had become his only obsession. Fate had driven him to hate the daughter of the man who had destroyed his family. But when he crossed Ana's gaze again, he realized that the war he had waged against her could destroy both of them. Could their love be possible, or would the past be too heavy to bear?
Bronte was the beloved girl of everyone, always smiling and full of life. Her popularity made her an essential person in everyone's eyes. Yet, there was one exception: Blake. This arrogant bad boy, with his messy hair and piercing gaze, didn't even seem to notice her. But that was before her parents went to Africa. Forced to leave for several weeks, they entrusted Bronte to Blake. Upon her arrival, Bronte felt like an intruder in his world. Their first interactions were cold, marked by endless pranks and arguments that never seemed to end. Yet, behind Blake's attitude, Bronte sensed something deeper, a secret he hid carefully. Over the days, their relationship slowly began to change. Despite the provocations and tensions, an attraction started to form between them. Blake couldn't admit it, but it was clear that Bronte was no longer just the neighbor.
"Look at yourself in the mirror, little bun. You're still shivering under my touch, so excited, so pitiful..." His voice was low, teasing, as he stroked her cheek, his fingers trailing down to her trembling neck. "Let go of me, you bastard!" She struggled, trying to twist away, her hands pushing against his chest. "What did you do to the divorce paper?!" He smirked, not even flinching at her resistance. "It wasn't a divorce paper, baby." He leaned in closer, his breath warm against her ear. "I changed the contract." Her eyes widened, confusion flashing in her gaze. "What do you mean-?" "In the end," he whispered, "you belong to me, and only me." His fingers brushed over her lips as he held her in place, savoring her resistance, knowing all too well how much she wanted to escape. But it didn't matter. She was already his, and the paper proved it. There was no going back now.
He swept my sweat-drenched hair off my neck, pressing his lips against my ear. His hot breath made me shiver, and every vibration of his voice left me breathless. "You're not the first to try to seduce me," he whispered, his warm breath grazing my skin. "But you're my favorite." His eyes locked with mine, piercing and intense, before he slowly pulled me away. I watched him take my red lace thong, a mysterious smile playing on his lips. A wave of desire overwhelmed me, mixed with a strange sense of defeat. I hadn't expected this, nor the palpable tension that had settled between us. And now, I'm an intern for Cole, the writer of the steamiest novels I've ever read. All of this is more real, more intense, and most of all, more dangerous than I could have ever imagined.
Jack had just arrived in town, a cold breeze following him, signaling the arrival of winter. The first snowflakes danced in the air, covering the streets with a white blanket. Summer, on the other hand, hated this season. Every year, she dreaded the cold, the gray skies, and the early darkness. But that day, something changed. When he walked into her café, an unusual shiver ran down her spine. The man with silver hair and icy blue eyes, as cold as the winter sea, seemed to bring a breath of fresh air with him. But there was something else, something captivating in his presence, a mystery that Summer didn't yet understand. Jack, with his calm, frosty demeanor, knew how to bring the chill, almost as if he could make the air feel sharper. Yet, soon, she would discover that beneath that apparent coldness, he had the power to ignite a fire inside her. A fire she never imagined could exist.
Maddison Holt, the youngest and only female alpha in North America, took her father's place after his death and her mother's illness. She's always believed a mate would be a weakness. However, her mate is the killer who slaughtered her father. Jay Pierce, the most feared alpha in history, is the devil himself-handsome but merciless. Maddison wants nothing to do with him, but he intends to make her submit. A power struggle where only one rule exists: one of them must yield. The war between Maddison and Jay begins.
Natalie used to think she could melt Connor’s icy heart, but she was sorely mistaken. When at last she decided to leave, she discovered that she was pregnant. Even so, she chose to quietly leave his world, prompting Connor to mobilize all of his resources and expand his business to a global scale—all in a bid to find her. But there was no trace of Natalie. Connor slowly spiraled into madness, turning the city upside down and leaving chaos in his wake. Natalie finally surfaced years later, with wealth and power of her own, only to find herself entangled with Connor once again.
Her fiance and her best friend worked together and set her up. She lost everything and died in the street. However, she was reborn. The moment she opened her eyes, her husband was trying to strangle her. Luckily, she survived that. She signed the divorce agreement without hesitation and was ready for her miserable life. To her surprise, her mother in this life left her a great deal of money. She turned the tables and avenged herself. Everything went well in her career and love when her ex-husband came to her.
"There will be no falling in love, we will only act as a loving couple when we are in public, we will share a room to make it believable, but no intimacy, touching is off-limits. We'll only have sex once a month, and that's solely to produce an heir. You won't interfere in my business, and I won't interfere in yours. You will be my wife in every sense and you will not be involved with any other man," he said, arrogance seeping from every word. I watch his mouth move, I'm not ready to fall in love with any man, especially not one as arrogant and egoistic as him. I can handle acting as a loving couple, and as for intimacy once a month. I can agree to that just to satisfy my sexual cravings with no strings attached. "Where can I sign?" I asked since I had nothing to lose. *** Nadine's wedding dreams turned to nightmares when she caught her sister and fiancé cheating! With a secret recording, she's ready for revenge. But then mysterious billionaire Logan West offers a deal: A Contract Marriage to take down her ex's empire. But what Nadine doesn't know is her life is getting complicated as she takes her chance to get revenge or risks everything for a chance at love?"
"Please trust me, I didn't do anything." "I don't believe you. I am rejecting you as my Queen and giving you the punishment of death." Alina was living outside her pack for five years. Her parents didn't try to contact her and always ignored her. Her best friend convinced her to go back to their pack and she agreed. But she had never imagined what was waiting there for her. She never thought she would meet her mate and had to face betrayal from everywhere. She had to pay for the crime which she never committed. Aaron Robertson is the king of Lycans. He is a very dominant and powerful King who not only rules Lycans but also rules other ranks of werewolves. Everyone is afraid of Lycans and he is the king of them. But who knew that he would get a mate who was just a simple Omega with no powers and strengths? He called her weak all the time but little did he know that his weak Omega would give him the biggest betrayal of his life for which he had to give her the sentence of death.
Three years ago, the Moore family opposed Charles Moore's choice to marry his beloved woman and selected Scarlett Riley as his bride. Charles didn't love her. In fact, he hated her. Not long after they got married, Scarlett received an offer from her dream university and jumped on it. Three years later, Charles's beloved woman fell terribly ill. In order to fulfill her last wish, he called Scarlett back and presented her with a divorce agreement. Scarlett was deeply hurt by Charles's abrupt decision, but she chose to let him go and agreed to sign the divorce papers. However, Charles seemed to delay the process deliberately, leaving Scarlett confused and frustrated. Now, Scarlett was trapped between the consequences of Charles's indecision. Would she be able to break free from him? Would Charles eventually come to his senses and face his true feelings?
Belinda thought after divorce, they would part ways for good - he could live his life on his own terms, while she could indulge in the rest of hers. However, fate had other plans in store. "My darling, I was wrong. Would you please come back to me?" The man, whom she once loved deeply, lowered his once proud head humbly. "I beg you to return to me." Belinda coldly pushed away the bouquet of flowers he had offered her and coolly replied, "It's too late. The bridge has been burned, and the ashes have long since scattered to the wind!"