'If one door closes, there are still a thousand doors open.' For the umpteenth time, the twenty-one-year-old art student Grace Menken is hurt by a man who only takes advantage of her kindness. Being alone, bullied, and always getting played with makes Grace hopeless, so she decides to end her life. With a rope and a broken heart, Grace chooses an abandoned mansion as a witness to her death. However, she had a bad accident in that place. Grace might have died in the accident, but fate plays tricks on her. A knock on the door awakens Grace, who had just fallen from a height of two floors. When she opens the door, a man in royal clothing bumps into her. "My apologies for hitting you, Ms. I've been chased by a pack of monster wolves. I have to find a way to get back to the palace. My wedding ceremony will start soon." ** Adro Alymer Groendez is the crown prince of the prosperous kingdom, Groendez a Lend. He will marry his childhood friend, Princess Joselyn. However, Adro accidentally crosses into the modern world on their wedding day through a witch's door. Trapped, Adro meets Grace Menken, a girl who becomes his friend and promises to help him return to the fairy tale land. Would Adro make it back to his world, where his bride-to-be is waiting? Or would Adro be trapped forever in the modern world?
"Let's break up,"
"What? W-what do you mean?" Grace stammered. A cold sweat started rolling down her back.
"I want to end this relationship," Victor said.
"B-but we've only been dating for two months. Why do you want to break up? What did I do wrong?" The girl asked, almost crying.
"I realized that I've been feeling uncomfortable with you." The boy with thin lips let out a long sigh. "I don't know about you, but I really want to break up. Please don't bother me anymore. Live well. Goodbye,"
Grace was stunned as she watched Victor walk away, leaving her alone in the cafe near their campus. Victor Sbastian; her first love, whom she had a crush on for six years - since high school.
Tears trickled down Grace's cheeks. Her chest felt tight, as if she were drowning in the deepest sea on earth. She cried alone, like a stupid girl.
Arriving home, Grace was pensive in her room. It was raining heavily outside, just to add more gloom to the atmosphere.
Suddenly, a notification sound came out of her phone. Grace opened it and found a new message in her chat group consisting of her and her two best friends, Bella and Sarah.
'Grace! This is awful! Did you know that the asshole Victor has been fooling you all this time?!' - Bella.
*Bella sent a screenshot of the chat group between Victor and his male friends:
---
'I've just broken up with her.' -Victor.
'Wow, wow... Are you serious? Then, how did she react?' -James.
'Of course she cried; what else? Haha! All my assignments are finished. Why would I waste any more time with her?' -Victor.
'You're so mean, Vic! HAHA! Then, have you slept with her?' -James.
'Nope. She has been playing bitch with me; keeping her stupid prestige or something. On top of that, I don't want to sleep with an ugly like her either. She made me want to puke just by seeing her face.' -Victor.
'Ha ha ha! You are a real jerk, man! I will learn from you more often. HA HA HA!' -James.
---
'Don't mind that bastard, Grace. If you feel unwell, you don't have to come to campus tomorrow. I will take care of your absence.' -Sarah
'I'm fine, girls. Thank you for cheering me up. But I think it's true; I won't come tomorrow. I need some time alone.' -Grace.
'Sure, Grace. Calm yourself. If you need anything, don't hold yourself to calling me,' -Sarah.
'I won't! Thanks, girls!' -Grace.
---
"Ugh!!" Throwing her face on the pillow, Grace cried even more.
"Why am I so stupid...?" She said.
Grace Menken was a twenty-year-old art student at Torbern City's largest university. She was a skilled painter but also the top fool for love.
Since high school, Grace had liked Victor, a popular, good-looking guy in her class. Even though Victor was rumored to be a playboy, she always closed her eyes and ears.
During that time, Grace had always been kind and helped Victor sincerely out of her feelings of love. Victor, who realized from the start that she had a crush on him, deliberately took advantage of her. He often asked her to help him with assignments and other things.
After graduating from high school, many of the students in Grace's school entered the same university, including her two best friends and, of course, Victor.
As time passed, Grace had transformed into being a little good-looking, and Victor realized that. However, both Grace and Victor had a lot of assignments, so Grace began to look away from Victor.
That was when the man got the idea to date Grace so he could use her again. And like a fool, the innocent Grace fell into Victor's trap without hesitancy.
And this is it ... A girl was wailing in her room, accompanied by the roar of lightning striking outside the window. Not only Victor, but she always got the same treatment from other men. They only dated her to take advantage of her kindness, then ended up cheating and dumping her.
Grace's face was swollen and pale. She didn't mean to be this weak and stupid. But she was a lonely girl since she lost both of her parents when she was little. She survived on the savings and insurance they had prepared for her. But two years ago, her grandmother died, so she now had to live alone.
The more Grace pondered, the more she lost herself in her sorrow. This was a situation when the devil would take action. A thought came to Grace's mind.
"There's no point in me living in this world anymore. I'm worthless and all alone," She muttered.
She looked at her pathetic reflection in the mirror. "Maybe in the next life, I will be happier."
***
Morning dawned. The remnants of last night's rainstorm made the roads wet and the air cold. Grace didn't sleep all night. Now she looked like a mummy who had been resurrected by magic.
The throbbing pain was still clearly felt in Grace's chest. Her heart was completely broken, and her pride was tarnished.
"The most uncomfortable thing is when you realize all your stupidity and regret it," Grace muttered to herself.
She opened the wardrobe and took out her favorite sky blue mini dress. Then she went to the bathroom and washed her face before perching in front of the dressing table to dress up.
After that, she went to the warehouse and took a two-meter-long rope.
'I don't have anything left. Maybe I will feel a little pain, but then I will wake up to a different life. Thank you, Sarah and Bella, my best friends. If it wasn't for you both, maybe I would have chosen to leave a long time ago. But now, there is nothing I can fight for anymore. Goodbye, girls. Don't cry over me. - Grace'
The girl put her last message on the refrigerator door. She didn't want to cry because she was afraid of ruining her makeup. She wanted to die beautifully.
It was still early in the morning, and Grace drove her white car to a place quite far from her apartment. Near the beach, there was an abandoned mansion. Previously, the mansion was occupied by an old husband-and-wife couple until they died without heirs. The mansion ended up just sitting there until it was slowly damaged by time.
The rumor said the mansion was haunted and the couple were actually witches. Some said they performed demonic rituals there. Because of that, no one dared to enter the mansion.
However, Grace was not afraid of ghosts because the reality of life was scarier than ghosts. For Grace, her life was the scariest horror show that always made her have trouble sleeping and have nightmares.
All this time, Grace thought the mansion was lovely. Its location close to a quiet beach made it look peaceful. Therefore, she chose it to witness her leaving this mortal world.
Grace parked her car in front of the mansion. Then she stepped in with a rope in her hand and a broken heart.
Born as the Duke's most exquisite daughter, Triana grew up as an innocent, spoiled girl. However, she realizes that her beauty is the reason for all the happiness she has gotten so far. Thus, she asks a witch for an eternal beauty. As a condition from the witch, Triana must give a torture potion to a vampire who has been confined in a hidden castle. Vlador, the last descendant of King Dracula, survived the war but was chained in magic, forgotten, and starving. Triana's deception grants her the timeless beauty she craves, but it also plunges her into a nightmarish reality. When Vlador's chains shatter and he thinks she will be his prey, a strange and perilous connection emerges between them. "You two have the same arrogance. Isn't 'Eat or be eaten' a principle of your lives? Now, suffer together in my curse!" Their hearts beat as one, each reliant on the other for their very existence. Triana must quench her thirst with Vlador's blood to stay alive, while he battles his insatiable craving for hers.
For as long as Emily can remember, she has wanted to overcome her shyness and explore her sexuality. Still, everything changes when she receives an invitation to visit one of the town's most prestigious BDSM clubs, DESIRE'S DEN. On the day she chose to peruse the club, she noticed three men, all dressed in suits, standing on the upper level, near the railing. Despite her limited vision, she persisted in fixating on them. Their towering statues belied the toned bodies concealed by their sharply tailored suits-or so she could tell. The hair of two of them was short and dark, and the third had light brown-possibly blond-hair that reached the shoulders. The dark, crimson background incised their figures, exuding an air of mystery and strength. They stood in stark contrast to the unfiltered, primal energy that pulsed through the club. Shocked by the desires these men aroused in her, she was disappointed to learn that they were masters seeking a slave to divide and conquer. She couldn't afford the fee, and she also realized that they were outside her league. Emily hurriedly left the club, feeling disappointed and depressed, unaware that she had also caught the group's attention. A world of wicked pleasure, three handsome men. Over the years, they have lived a life of decadence, their lavish lair serving as a stage for their most sinister desires. But despite the unending parade of willing subjects, one woman sticks out. A mysterious stranger with white porcelain skin and a killer body, a slave, a name with no address, the first lady to attract their eye and they will go to any length to obtain her no matter the consequences.
"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?"
Madisyn was stunned to discover that she was not her parents' biological child. Due to the real daughter's scheming, she was kicked out and became a laughingstock. Thought to be born to peasants, Madisyn was shocked to find that her real father was the richest man in the city, and her brothers were renowned figures in their respective fields. They showered her with love, only to learn that Madisyn had a thriving business of her own. "Stop pestering me!" said her ex-boyfriend. "My heart only belongs to Jenna." "How dare you think that my woman has feelings for you?" claimed a mysterious bigwig.
Rachel used to think that her devotion would win Brian over one day, but she was proven wrong when his true love returned. Rachel had endured it all—from standing alone at the altar to dragging herself to the hospital for an emergency treatment. Everyone thought she was crazy to give up so much of herself for someone who didn’t return her feelings. But when Brian received news of Rachel’s terminal illness and realized she didn’t have long to live, he completely broke down. "I forbid you to die!" Rachel just smiled. She no longer needed him. "I will finally be free."
Lindsey's fiancé was the devil's first son. Not only did he lie to her but he also slept with her stepmother, conspired to take away her family fortune, and then set her up to have sex with a total stranger. To get her lick back, Lindsey decided to find a man to disrupt her engagement party and humiliate the cheating bastard. Never did she imagine that she would bump into a strikingly handsome stranger who was all that she was currently looking for. At the engagement party, he boldly declared that she was his woman. Lindsey thought he was just a broke man who wanted to leech off her. But once they began their fake relationship, she realized that good luck kept coming her way. She thought they would part ways after the engagement party, but this man kept to her side. "We gotta stick together, Lindsey. Remember, I'm now your fiancé. " "Domenic, you're with me because of my money, aren't you?" Lindsey asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Domenic was taken aback by that accusation. How could he, the heir of the Walsh family and CEO of Vitality Group, be with her for money? He controlled more than half of the city's economy. Money wasn't a problem for him! The two got closer and closer. One day, Lindsey finally realized that Domenic was actually the stranger she had slept with months ago. Would this realization change things between them? For the better or worse?
As a simple assistant, messaging the CEO in the dead of night to request shares of adult films was a bold move. Bethany, unsurprisingly, didn't receive any films. However, the CEO responded that, while he had no films to share, he could offer a live demonstration. After a night filled with passion, Bethany was certain she'd lose her job. But instead, her boss proposed, "Marry me. Please consider it." "Mr. Bates, you're kidding me, right?"