Completely drunk, she entered the wrong room. Since then, her life had changed drastically. He helped her avenge herself. Not only did he fight back the shame and humiliation thrown at her by her stepmother, but he also protected her from her stepsister's dirty tricks. "Sign this contract and be my wife. I'll give you the whole world," he promised. But promises were made to be broken. When the contract was due, he didn't allow her to leave. "You stole my heart. How could I set you free?" No matter where she went, she couldn't escape from his hands and his heart.
The curtains of the French windows were tightly drawn, but the morning light managed to filter in through the thick layer of cloth. Save for those few specks of light, the whole room was immersed in ambiguous darkness.
Ding, ding, ding!
The phone alarm broke the silence in the room.
Shirley Rui had a blackout the previous night. She frowned and opened her eyes. There was a dull ache in her legs. She stretched out her hand to touch it, but her hand grazed something else, or rather, someone else.
She sat up with a jolt!
Shirley Rui realized that she was naked under the quilt. When she turned around, she saw a man lying beside her!
Something snapped inside her.
Fragments of memories from last night flooded her mind.
The revelry at the clubhouse, the raucous music, countless glasses of wine. It was not until she was pissed drunk that she went back to the hotel. What had happened after that? She searched her brain for answers.
How did she end up in the same bed with a strange man?
The man beside her opened his eyes.
He saw the shocked look on Shirley Rui's face and sneered. He pushed off the quilt and stood up without hesitation, completely confident in his skin, not to mention his sculpted body.
Shirley Rui quickly averted her gaze, unwilling to make eye contact with him. She didn't even get a good look at his face. She asked in a trembling voice, "Who, who are you? Why are we here? Last night...... What happened?"
The man chuckled, his deep voice hoarse and sexy from sleep. "What do you think happened?" he asked, raising one eyebrow.
No explanation was required. Shirley Rui understood.
A man and a woman in the same room? Naked? It was easy to put two and two together.
Shirley Rui's face turned pale.
She had slept with another man.
What about Baldwin Xu? She had cheated on the man she was going to marry. How would she face him?
How could she explain to him?
Shirley Rui's mind was in a mess. She had a fiance who she loved and yet she had spent a night with a strange man in a strange city.
She bit her lower lip tightly and squeezed her eyes shut, wanting to erase the memories of previous night's debauchery. She was racked with pain and guilt.
Shirley Rui swiped the screen of her phone and her fingers hovered on the name "Baldwin Xu" for a long time. Her hands were shaking. She did not have the courage to press the call button.
Suddenly, her phone vibrated.
A WeChat message popped up.
She had a picture message from Lana Rui.
Shirley Rui clicked it and the image opened instantly. Her pupils contracted and her jaw dropped.
The picture was blurry as it was taken in a dim room. Even so, she could make out the two people in the photo.
Lana Rui clung to a man's bare chest. Her white shoulders were half exposed. It was an intimate gesture.
The handsome man, against whom she snuggled, was smiling lovingly. Shirley Rui was very familiar with those soulful eyes.
It was none other than Baldwin Xu! Her fiance. The love of her life!
Shirley Rui was clenching the phone so tightly that her fingertips had turned white and her face turned ashen.
There was a voice message along with the picture. Lana Rui's voice came from the other end of the line
"Sis, how was your business trip? When will you come back?
By the way, I have some good news for you. I'm getting married to Baldwin in two days! He said he loves me and couldn't live without me. I'm sorry. Please let me have him, my dear sister. Hope you can make it back in time for our wedding. Bye!"
Lana Rui's sweet voice was filled with petulance and evil charm as if she was just a little girl asking for a toy.
Shirley Rui sank onto the mattress slowly, hugged her knees, and rocked back and forth to absorb the blow she had just received.
She couldn't believe it. Baldwin Xu. His name danced in front of her eyes. The memories related to this name used to be so sweet.
Flashbacks of their love story replayed in her mind like a movie.
Baldwin Xu had pursued Shirley Rui since college. They would meet often after work. He was always polite and courteous, but there was undisguised tenderness in his eyes.
Shirley Rui had always been indifferent towards love and she didn't lower her guard immediately. But Baldwin Xu did not rush her. He was kind, considerate, and patient.
Shirley Rui was neglected as a child in her family. Her young sister, Lana Rui, and her stepmother, Haley Zhou, alienated her in every way, while her biological father, Dan Rui, always took her unruly and wayward sister's side.
Baldwin Xu seamlessly filled the void in Shirley Rui's heart that was created by her family.
Gradually, she got used to Baldwin Xu's gentle company.
She still remembered the night before her business trip so clearly. Baldwin Xu had asked her out for a walk by the river. He had held her hand, and his eyes were aglow with excitement as he proposed to her. He had told her that he wanted to get engaged as soon as she returned.
Shirley Rui recalled turning scarlet and lowering her head. She had shyly blurted, "Okay!" She was overjoyed!
Never in her wildest dreams had she thought it would end like this. His vows were lies. Baldwin Xu couldn't control himself for the few days that Shirley Rui was away on a business trip. He had fallen for Lana Rui's trap and slept with her!
The sound of the running water in the bathroom suddenly brought Shirley Rui back to the present. She remembered that the stranger from last night was still in the room.
The man whose face she didn't dare to look at, had already slept with her.
Shirley Rui had dreamed of a happy life with her fiance, but now he was going to give that same life to her sister instead.
How ironic!
Shirley Rui's eyes stung. She gritted her teeth as she struggled to hold back her tears. She quickly grabbed her clothes, which were scattered on the bed, and put them on hurriedly. Then she ran out of the hotel without looking back.
Rosalynn's marriage to Brian wasn't what she envisioned it to be. Her husband, Brian, barely came home. He avoided her like a plague. Worse still, he was always in the news for dating numerous celebrities. Rosalynn persevered until she couldn't take it anymore. She upped and left after filing for a divorce. Everything changed days later. Brian took interest in a designer that worked for his company anonymously. From her profile, he could tell that she was brilliant and dazzling. He pulled the stops to find out her true identity. Little did he know that he was going to receive the greatest shocker of his life. Brian bit his finger with regret when he recalled his past actions and the woman he foolishly let go.
Bailey seems to be never destined to fit in, a little geeky, but under it all, a hidden beauty that so many seem to miss, but still not what her pack Alpha is looking for in a fated mate... so he is determined to reject her and make her life hell. Bailey, knowing her life will likely never be the same focuses on what she can control, her future, and heads off to study; becoming a teacher. Asher is the Beta of Autumn Valley Pack, a neighbouring pack. A broken man having suffered the loss of his mate after a rogue attack, Asher is slowly crumbling. Falling to pieces. A shadow of his former self, and not a man that anyone wants to be around anymore... Until, Autumn Valley Pack require a new teacher, and Bailey finds herself there and pushed together with the Beta. Is there a connection building or is that in their imaginations? And what will happen when Bailey's mate comes back to claim what is his?
Life was a bed of roses for Debra, the daughter of Alpha. That was until she had a one-night stand with Caleb. She was sure he was her mate as determined by Moon Goddess. But this hateful man refused to accept her. Weeks passed before Debra discovered that she was pregnant. Her pregnancy brought shame to her and everyone she loved. Not only was she driven out, but her father was also hunted down by usurpers. Fortunately, she survived with the help of the mysterious Thorn Edge Pack. Five years passed and Debra didn't hear anything from Caleb. One day, their paths crossed again. They were both on the same mission—carrying out secret investigations in the dangerous Roz Town for the safety and posterity of their respective packs. Caleb was still cold toward her. But as time went on, he fell head over heels in love with her. He tried to make up for abandoning her, but Debra wasn't having any of it. She was hell-bent on hiding her daughter from him and also making a clean break. What did the future hold for the two as they journeyed in Roz Town? What kind of secrets would they find? Would Caleb win Debra's heart and get to know his lovely daughter? Find out!
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.
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."
The whispers said that out of bitter jealousy, Hadley shoved Eric's beloved down the stairs, robbing the unborn child of life. To avenge, Eric forced Hadley abroad and completely cut her off. Years later, she reemerged, and they felt like strangers. When they met again, she was the nightclub's star, with men ready to pay fortunes just to glimpse her elusive performance. Unable to contain himself, Eric blocked her path, asking, "Is this truly how you earn a living now? Why not come back to me?" Hadley's lips curved faintly. "If you’re eager to see me, you’d better join the queue, darling."