In the eyes of outsiders, Alvaro, a man who lived with his wife's family, appeared to be nothing more than a total loser. In the eyes of his wife's family, Alvaro was no better than a servant. Following a devious conspiracy, Alvaro was humiliatingly expelled from the Douglas family. Yet, unbeknownst to all, in that very moment, the birth of an unparalleled man, capable of sending shivers through the world, was set in motion...
"Alvaro, leave the clothes. You don't have to do the laundry anymore. It's your birthday today. I have cooked a delicious feast for you. Let's have it together," Donna Douglas urged with a smile.
Alvaro Clifford was washing the clothes in the bathroom. A startled gasp escaped his lips, for he couldn't believe his ears.
He turned and saw Donna smiling at him. She was a charming woman in her forties. "Mom..." he trailed off in a tremulous voice. "Are you serious?"
Ever since Alvaro became Donna's son-in-law, he had been living with her family, performing household chores as servants did.
He served everyone and attended to his mother-in-law's needs, only to get abused by the entire family.
His wife, Carmela Douglas, had always been indifferent toward him. She didn't even let him lay a finger on her in the past five years. Although they shared the same bedroom, she would make him sleep on the floor.
Five long, daunting years had passed in the blink of an eye. Alvaro succumbed to their torture and eventually became numb.
He had thought of divorcing Carmela and fighting back. But he endured everything only for Carmela's grandfather, Emilio Douglas, who raised him. If not for him, Alvaro wouldn't be alive now.
He didn't know how else to repay his kindness.
Emilio had saved his life. Alvaro felt the injustice he felt was nothing compared to what Carmela's grandfather did for him.
Being accustomed to all the torture, he was shocked to hear Donna's kind words.
"You are my son-in-law; Carmela's husband. We are family." Donna's smile widened.
Alvaro grew emotional. "Okay. You wait for me at the table. I will come as soon as I finish."
"Okay, don't be late."
He quickly finished washing his clothes.
When Alvaro entered the living room, his mother-in-law, wife, and sister-in-law greeted him with a smile. They were already waiting at the table for him.
The delicious aroma of the mouthwatering dishes wafted in the air. Alvaro's eyes widened when he saw the enormous birthday cake and the bottles of red wine on the dining table.
His sister-in-law, Aaliyah Douglas, walked over and held his arm. "Why are you standing there? Come here and take a seat."
More than her kind words, the intimacy in her voice surprised him even more.
Carmela gently inserted a few candles into the cake and smiled at him. "Honey, make a wish and blow the candles."
Alvaro nodded unblinkingly. He couldn't fathom what had gotten into them. Carmela was gentle and kind to him for the first time in five years.
She had always been cold to Alvaro. She seldom looked him in the eye or smiled at him. His mere presence disgusted her. Besides, he cooked for the entire family but was never allowed to eat with them. However, everything seemed to have changed overnight.
Alvaro smiled to himself as he blew out the candles and made a wish.
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you..."
The three women unanimously clapped their hands as they sang the birthday song.
Happiness and warmth filled the air.
"I hope this continues forever."
Alvaro felt a myriad of emotions when he saw the three women beaming at him. He wondered if all this was just a dream.
It looked like his hard days had finally come to an end. After five years of struggle and hard work, his wife and her family finally accepted him.
"Alvaro, come and eat. I've cooked all your favorite food."
"Let me pour you a glass of wine, honey."
"Happy birthday, Alvaro."
Alvaro happily hogged down the food. It was the best meal he had eaten in his lifetime.
The three women gave him a toast, served him food, and chatted with him like they were always fond of him. Alvaro was drowned in happiness that he didn't realize he was getting drunk. Eventually, he couldn't stay awake anymore. His eyes shut on their accord.
The next morning
The bright sunlight flooded through the window.
Alvaro woke up to the deafening screams of a girl.
He jerked up in shock and sat up. He rubbed his eyes and found himself lying on an unfamiliar bed.
Finally, his gaze fell on Aaliyah, who was looking at him with reproachful eyes, shaking with terror.
Just then, the bedroom door flew open.
"Alvaro! You jerk! How could you?"
Alvaro recoiled in shock.
Donna and Carmela angrily stormed into the room.
Alvaro opened his mouth to explain.
However, Donna slapped him in the face.
"Shut up! I don't want to listen to your stupid explanation. We celebrated your birthday out of sheer kindness, but you're a filthy monster. Look, we won't call the police considering our relation. But I can't stand the sight of you. Get out, and don't ever show your sorry face to me again!"
Alvaro's shoulders slumped. He knew they wouldn't believe him regardless of what he was to say.
Besides, what he did was blasphemous, even if it was just a drunken mistake.
He had no choice but to bear the consequences.
"I'm sorry, Aaliyah. I'm so sorry..."
Alvaro repeatedly apologized. However, Aaliyah continued to sob and refused to look at him. He had no choice but to put on his clothes and leave with a heavy heart.
"Wait a minute. Take this crap with you!"
Carmela took out her wedding ring and threw it on the floor.
Alvaro's face darkened.
The ring was a gift he got on his twentieth birthday from a mysterious man.
He received it via express delivery without the sender's name or address. The package only contained the ring along with a small note that read: "Happy birthday, King."
The strange gift surprised Alvaro. He thought someone had sent it to the wrong address, so he went to the courier company with the ring. However, the staff checked the records and said they neither received the package nor did any of their employees deliver it.
Alvaro tried every way to track down the sender but couldn't. Therefore, he kept the ring. After marrying Carmela, he gave it to her as a wedding ring because it was the most beautiful ring he had seen.
Later, Carmela took the ring to a jewelry store to find its worth. She learned it was a piece of scrap metal worth nothing and never wore it again.
Alvaro bent and picked up the ring. Then, he looked at the house for one last time, sighed, and left.
*
When Alvaro walked out of the house, he suddenly remembered he had forgotten to take his clothes. Just as he returned to the house, the burst of laughter from inside caught his attention.
"Wow! I can't believe it. We finally drove that loser away! It was amazing."
"Yeah. That moron thought we celebrated his birthday out of kindness and didn't realize we drugged him. He won't set foot into this house again."
"Yeah, thank God! He doesn't think he's good enough for me, does he? I wouldn't have married him if Grandpa didn't force me."
"It's okay, Carmela. We aren't going to see him again. Let's pop open a bottle of champagne and celebrate it."
Alvaro stopped dead in his tracks when he heard that.
The blood on his face drained. He clenched his fists, ignoring his nails sinking into his palm. He was seething with rage.
Suddenly, everything seemed to make sense.
The birthday party was a conspiracy.
The three women had conspired to get rid of him.
Alvaro felt stupid for falling for their trick. They had cooked a storm and celebrated his birthday only to kick him out of the house.
It was despicable.
Alvaro shook his head bitterly. He felt confronting those vicious people was pointless.
It wouldn't do him any good.
Therefore, he decided to leave.
The Douglas family had always treated him as a servant. Alvaro worked wholeheartedly without complaining once. He ignored all the humiliation just for Emilio.
But he couldn't stand it anymore.
Alvaro understood the entire family resented him. There was no point in staying there any longer.
He was exhausted.
A gust of cold wind whipped him.
Alvaro wrapped the coat around him and took a deep breath.
This winter was colder than the previous year.
A car darted toward Alvaro at lightning speed.
His eyes widened in horror.
Before he could react, the car knocked over him.
A piercing scream echoed across the silent road.
Blood splashed on the ring, and a strange, mysterious light flashed through the ring.
She was the notorious Alana Wilson, a shameful daughter of the Wilson family. Her reputation went downhill after she broke her engagement with her fiance, Albert Harris. They pointed finger at her, calling her a cheater. However, in truth, who was the cheater here? Alana would do anything she could to have her engagement with Albert broken, even if it meant sacrificing her own reputation. Ten years of abuse she endured in her last life was enough. She made sure that in this life, she would never marry that cheating bastard again. As her previous crush, as well as her brother's best friend, Lorenzo Miller is now back to the country, what would happen to her already messed up life? Especially when her ex-fiance also didn't want to leave her alone.
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!"
Janet was adopted when she was a kid -- a dream come true for orphans. However, her life was anything but happy. Her adoptive mother taunted and bullied her all her life. Janet got the love and affection of a parent from the old maid who raised her. Unfortunately, the old woman fell ill, and Janet had to marry a worthless man in place of her parents' biological daughter to meet the maid's medical expenses. Could this be a Cinderella's tale? But the man was far from a prince, except for his handsome appearance. Ethan was the illegitimate son of a wealthy family who lived a reckless life and barely made ends meet. He got married to fulfill his mother's last wish. However, on his wedding night, he had an inkling that his wife was different from what he had heard about her. Fate had united the two people with deep secrets. Was Ethan truly the man we thought he was? Surprisingly, he bore an uncanny resemblance to the impenetrable wealthiest man in the city. Would he find out that Janet married him in place of her sister? Would their marriage be a romantic tale or an utter disaster? Read on to unravel Janet and Ethan's journey.
Betrayed by her mate and sister on the eve of her wedding, Makenna was handed to the ruthless Lycan Princes as a lover, her indifferent father ignoring her plight. Determined to escape and seek revenge, she captured the interest of the three Lycan princes, who desired her exclusively amid many admirers. This complicated her plans, trapping her and making her a rival to the future Lycan queen. Entwined in jealousy and vindictiveness, could Makenna achieve her vengeance in the intricate dance with the three princes?
Due to the plight of her family, Phoebe had no choice but to embark on the path of selling herself. In an accident, she had a tangled night with Alexander. Everything began to derail, and even if she fled to the ends of the earth, she would still be found by him and entangled... *** Phoebe screamed in frustration, "What do you want from me?" What was this supposed to be? He raised an eyebrow wickedly. "What do I want? You'll find out soon enough." With that, he hoisted her up and carried her back into the office. The door slammed shut with a kick, and he cleared the desk with a sweep of his arm before laying her down on it, his body pinning hers in place, completely trapping her in his grasp. Every cell in his body was telling him he wanted her. He wanted to claim her again. This time, there would be no escape for her-he wouldn't let her slip away. Never again. If he had suffered for five years, then this woman wouldn't get off easily either!
"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?"