"Undress!" Valerian commanded. Liliana trembled at his voice. As she turned around, Valerian emerged from the shadows and stood before her. "I-I can't," Liliana stammered, her lips quivering. "Why? Aren't we married now?" asked Valerian. "We are, but we don't love each other," Liliana said. He gripped her face tightly, boring his penetrating gaze onto hers. "You won't ever receive love for me, Lily! What your family did to me, you will pay for it– through your body and soul!" Valerian spat at her with a blazing gaze. In an instant, he threw her onto the bed, the fabric of her dress tearing under his force. **** Liliana Rossi's life turned miserable after her father and stepmother died in a deadly car accident. She worked as a maid in her own house in the hope of inheriting her grandfather's inheritance on turning 22, so that she could use to start her life afresh. Unbeknownst to her, Liliana's stepbrother sold her to the most cruel and ruthless Mafia King of their country to clear his debts. Not only that he forced Liliana to marry the Mafia King. Valerian D'Amato is the most feared man on earth. He is the living nightmare to many. Everyone bows to him as if he's the KING OF THE UNDERWORLD. He gets married to Liliana Rossi to settle his old score with the Rossi Family, but he never imagined that a day would come when he will fall for this woman. "You are my slave, not my wife," Valerian declared and the next second, he crashed his lips above hers. Thus begins the story of a Mafia King and his slave.
A hard slap landed on Liliana's face, causing her to stumble and crash to the floor. The tray she had been holding slipped from her grasp, and the delicate crockery shattered into pieces upon contact with the cold, hard tiles.
"Ahhh!" Liliana cried out in sharp pain as her stepbrother's fiancée, Cara, yanked her up by her hair. "Bitch! You've damaged my dress. Didn't I tell you to iron it properly?" Cara screamed. With a shove, she sent Liliana sprawling back to the floor.
Desperately, Liliana's hands scrambled for support, but instead, they met the shards of the broken crockery which embedded themselves into her skin.
"Cara, why do you do all this drama in the morning?" Rowan muttered as he took a seat on the central couch of the living room.
Liliana looked at her stepbrother with tears in her ears. She had hoped that he would at least look at her wounded hands and show the tiny bit of care. But she was wrong.
"Don't look at me with those pathetic eyes. Go to your room and get changed. I have something important to tell you," Rowan told his stepsister while taking the file from his secretary.
Liliana managed her strength to stand up when Cara told her to clean the floor.
"Someone else will do it!" Rowan stated and gestured to Liliana to leave.
Liliana dragged her feet to her room while tears streamed down her cheeks. Today was her 22nd birthday, but her stepbrother didn't even remember it. Ever since her father and stepmother passed away in a terrible accident, her life became miserable.
Rowan became the sole heir of the family business, neglecting her completely. She always though her stepbrother always loved her. But she was wrong. She had become worse than a slave in her own house. Rowan and his girlfriend always tortured her, not caring she was a human too.
Closing the room of the door, she first removed the shards from her palm and then, bandaged her hand. She then quickly changed into another pair of clothes. Because if she wouldn't make a haste, Rowan would punish her.
Reaching the living room, she sat across from Rowan, who signed the papers in the file. She wondered if they were the inheritance papers of their late grandfather, which were supposed to be open when Liliana would turn 22.
Liliana finally hoped that she would be free of this torment as she would also get some of the inheritance. She had planned to start her life elsewhere in the country with that money.
But Rowan had others plans for her.
"Liliana, you need to get married today," Rowan pronounced.
"What?" Liliana couldn't believe her ears. Her brother must be joking to her. "No, I won't get married," she protested.
"Shut up! I didn't ask your opinion!" Rowan barked at her and she trembled in fear. He stood up and walked to his stepsister. Pulling her up by holding her arm firmly, he said, "I don't want a burden like you in my house. At least, do one good thing to pay tribute to our late parents. You killed them that night."
Tears streamed down Liliana's cheeks. For two years, Rowan had blamed her for their parents demise because she didn't die in that car accident. He always treated her as the jinx from that day onwards.
"Why don't you let me go?" Liliana finally requested him.
"No. You need to pay for what you've done to me," Rowan stated with a hateful gaze. He let go of her arm and asked her to follow him outside.
Liliana didn't budge from her place when a bodyguard and dragged her out of the house. She was shoved into the car's backseat and they left for the wedding hall.
Liliana attempted to run, but her hands and feet were tied upon Rowan's instructions. She was pushed into the backseat. Rowan put a seatbelt around her and said, "Sister, why don't you stay quiet? I don't want to use violence on you. Your face should look clean, at least, on the wedding day!"
The next second, he sat beside her and the car drove to its destination.
Liliana was taken to the dressing room, where the attendants helped her in dressing up. There was no way she could escape because Rowan had made tight security arrangements.
"Ma'am, your makeup will ruin if you cry again," said the make-up artist.
Liliana sniffled and wiped the tears using the handkerchief. The makeup artist did the final touchup and then helped Liliana stand up.
"You look beautiful, Miss Everhart," she said.
Liliana looked at herself in the mirror in disbelief. In just a few minutes, she would be married off to a man she had never met. Her stepbrother had forced her into this marriage with an unknown groom, and there was no escaping it.
With a heavy heart, Liliana made her way to the hall, her face concealed beneath a delicate veil. She gripped the bouquet tightly, her knuckles turning white, as her stepbrother seized her hand with a firm grip.
She walked down the aisle, her steps slow and reluctant. As she neared the altar, Liliana finally lifted her gaze, desperate to see the man she was about to marry.
From her vantage point, she could only see his back, his identity still shrouded in mystery.
Finally, the groom turned around, and Liliana's breath hitched in her throat. She came to an abrupt halt, causing Rowan, her stepbrother, to stop as well. Her eyes were wide, unblinking, as she took in the sight of her groom.
Standing before her was the most eligible bachelor in the country, Valerian D'Amato. His reputation preceded him, and she knew his face all too well. He was as handsome as a Greek god, his chiseled features and athletic build capable of drawing any woman to him. His ocean-blue eyes seemed to have the power to pull anyone into their depths, but there was an unsettling coldness in them.
Valerian D'Amato was not a man of romantic fantasies or fairy-tale endings. He was the most feared and ruthless mafia boss in the country.
His name meant terror. He was a man who lived and breathed hatred, whose hands were stained with blood, and who thought nothing of ending a life. Kindness and love were foreign concepts to him, banished from his world by his own cruelty and relentless pursuit of power.
As Liliana stood frozen, facing the man she was about to marry, a chill ran down her spine. She realized that her life was about to change in ways she could never have imagined. She was about to become the bride of Valerian D'Amato.
Adolphus Osbourne, the Alpha and the Crown Prince of Arcaria Kingdom was cursed by a witch while attempting to take the forbidden moon crystal from her. The curse forbade him from finding his mate. However, when Iris Vinsant crossed his path, he could not stop from getting close to her irrespective of the consequences that were awaiting for him. Iris, a human, who was abused by her stepmother for 15 years decided to run away on one dark night. She forgot that going to the dark forest was forbidden for humans and she was captivated by a werewolf. Her life turned upside-down when she was told to serve the werewolves in the palace. But fate took a strange turn when she caught the attention of a cold and dark pair of eyes, which were of none other than Adolphus Osbourne. ~~~~~ Iris' back pressed against the cold wall as Adolphus' tall figure hovered over her. Her petite, small body was caged between his arms. "You took time to return, Iris," he uttered. The smell of the wine fell on her nostrils. "His Highness is drunk. I shall take my leave," Iris said softly. "You are the reason for my drunkard state," Adolphus answered and their eyes met. Flickering her eyelids, she said, "Me?" Adolphus nodded. "The way you smiled at my younger brother; the way you handed the drink to him, made me think to kill him," he affirmed, which terrified Iris. "I never—" she couldn't complete her words as Adolphus' pointer finger rested on her lips. "So, it was my younger brother. Shall I kill him for smiling at my woman?" A smirk appeared on Adolphus' lips as he posed the question before her.
'His words weren't mere rules, but the laws.' Julia Sanchez wants to be a drama writer. But life took a strange turn for her when she was told to marry the most influential businessman, Marimo Martinez. However, there exists a problem. Marimo Martinez has been in a vegetative state for four years. His chances of survival are limited, yet Julia is forced to marry him. On the wedding day, Julia waited for Marimo to come on a wheelchair. To her surprise, Marimo came in a black tuxedo and was on the aisle, waiting for her. His features were breathtaking and stole her heart in a second. ****** "Wifey, let's make this night beautiful," Marimo said as he advanced to her. Julia gulped and slowly took backward steps. Her breath hitched when her back hit the pillar of the poster bed. Before she could run away, her petite figure landed on the soft mattress and those icy blue orbs fell onto hers. "Mr. Martinez, we don't know each other yet. Could you please—" she paused when she felt his cold fingers on her leg. The next second, she kicked him and Marimo fell to the floor with a loud bang.
Darya spent three years loving Micah, worshipping the ground he walked on. Until his neglect and his family's abuse finally woke her up to the ugly truth-he doesn't love her. Never did, never will. To her, he is a hero, her knight in shining armour. To him, she is an opportunist, a gold digger who schemed her way into his life. Darya accepts the harsh reality, gathers the shattered pieces of her dignity, divorces him, takes back her real name, reclaims her title as the country's youngest billionaire heiress. Their paths cross again at a party. Micah watches his ex-wife sing like an angel, tear up the dance floor, then thwart a lecher with a roundhouse kick. He realises, belatedly, that she's exactly the kind of woman he'd want to marry, if only he had taken the trouble to get to know her. Micah acts promptly to win her back, but discovers she's now surrounded by eligible bachelors: high-powered CEO, genius biochemist, award-winning singer, reformed playboy. Worse, she makes it pretty clear that she's done with him. Micah gears up for an uphill battle. He must prove to her he's still worthy of her love before she falls for someone else. And time is running out.
After three secretive years of marriage, Eliana never met her enigmatic husband until she was served with divorce papers and learned of his extravagant pursuit of another. She snapped back to reality and secured a divorce. Thereafter, Eliana unveiled her various personas: an esteemed doctor, legendary secret agent, master hacker, celebrated designer, adept race car driver, and distinguished scientist. As her diverse talents became known, her ex-husband was consumed by remorse. Desperately, he pleaded, "Eliana, give me another chance! All my properties, even my life, are yours."
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.
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?
Joelle thought she could change Adrian's heart after three years of marriage, but she realized too late that it already belonged to another woman. "Give me a baby, and I'll set you free." The day Joelle went into labor, Adrian was traveling with his mistress on his private jet. "I don't care whom you love. My debt is paid. From now on, we have nothing to do with each other." Not long after Joelle left, Adrian found himself begging on his knees. "Please come back to me."
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!