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"Anna." Hero held Anna's hand to stop her. "Hero, all our relationships are over, so don't bother me anymore," Anna growled and tried to remove her hand from Hero. Hero was very stubborn and didn't listen to Anna at all, he just tightened his grip even more. "Anna, come back to me. I apologize for what happened five years ago." "Huh, who do you think would want to go back with an asshole like you, Hero." "Ann..." "Mom!" Harry ran over to Anna and hugged her legs tightly. "Anna, who is this child? "My son, of course." "Mom, who is this person?" "He's our son, Anna?" Hero concluded after looking at Harry's face, which was very similar to hers. "NO!" "Are you my father?"
"Hero, what are you going to do?" Anna took two steps back as Hero approached her with an intimidating look.
"Anna, what do you think I want?"
"I don't know." Anna tried to act calm and keep a straight face. She did not want Hero's behavior to affect her in the slightest.
Hero was infuriated by Anna's behavior. His large body restrained Anna, with one hand on Anna's face and the other on her waist. Anna was only as tall as Hero's shoulders, so how could her strength defeat Hero, who was clearly stronger?
"Hero, don't overreact, or you'll regret it."
Hero laughed satirically against Anna's neck, sending shivers down the woman's spine. This was the first time Anna had ever been in such close contact with a man. But as much as Anna tried to keep her calm, she didn't want Hero to influence her.
"What will I regret?"
Hero looked at Anna, who still kept her calm expression, and lifted his handsome face from Anna's neck.
"Anna, listen. I'm not going to regret what I'm about to do."
Hero's hand on Anna's waist rose to touch her stomach and continued upward until it met Anna's two most sensitive parts. His treatment made Anna gasp in shock, her eyes shaking as she stared at Hero in disbelief.
All this time, Anna had been fighting for her love for Hero, but Hero's response had always been cold, even after years of Anna's attempts. The Hero never loved Anna, and Anna knew it.
Anna believed that Hero's actions were not based on feelings. The man didn't have an ounce of affection for her, and Anna knew it. Hero had disappointed Anna so much that it was painful to be treated so poorly by the person Anna loved.
"Hero..." Anna's voice as Hero started to press there.
"How, Anna? If you like it, honestly, I really hate your flat face. This time, I'm going to make you make a lot of expressions, Anna."
Without waiting for Anna to answer, Hero picked up Anna's body and carried her to the bed. There was a sound of rejection from Anna, as if the deaf Hero did not react and continued to do what he wanted without caring what would happen to their relationship.
Anna woke up with heavy eyes and pain all over her body, especially in her core. Tears just came out of her eyelids; the pain in her body reminded Anna of the incident a few hours before.
Hero didn't listen to her at all, even when Anna resisted. But how could Anna resist when Hero was raping her? Anna was just a weak woman; her strength could not be compared to Hero, who was a man.
Despite the pain, Anna forced herself to get up from the bed. The blanket covering her body slid easily down to her waist. Anna could see that her upper body was covered in a blue and red rash; it was all Hero was doing.
Next to her, Hero was fast asleep with his naked body; Hero seemed utterly unperturbed by all the movements Anna was making. Anna didn't have much time to think about her current situation; she just wanted to leave the place as soon as possible.
Retrieving her clothes, whichtered in every corner of the room, Anna gathered them and put them on, then quickly left after ensuring she didn't leave any items or traces behind.
***
Hero struggled on the bed for a while, his hands fumbling at the sides but finding nothing. His eyes opened wide, and he sat up. Hero guessed that Anna had left quietly while he was fast asleep.
One of the habits Hero needed help getting rid of was the difficulty of waking up. She was very insensitive to sounds while asleep, both loud and soft. Anna must have taken advantage of this and left it unnoticed.
Hero ruffled her hair in annoyance and growled Anna's name. "Anna, even after everything I did last night, you just left."
Hero picked up the cell phone and dialed Peter, her assistant. Hero had a bad feeling about Anna. It was almost as if she was walking away from him, and he felt a sense of loss.
"Peter, trace Anna's whereabouts immediately. I need the information right away." Without waiting for Peter to answer, Hero turned off her cell phone.
"I hope you haven't gone, Anna," Hero hoped.
***
Wearing glasses and a black hat, Anna hid her beauty and minimized her presence to avoid attracting the crowd's attention. She carried a large suitcase. Anna wanted to leave the country as soon as possible and go to a place where no one would recognize her.
Anna was curious to know if Hero had awakened from his current sleep, but she was unsure if Hero would realize her departure and come looking for her. After what happened last night, Hero had already made a big wound in Anna's heart; the person who had been meaningful and essential to her had disappointed her.
Half an hour later, her destination plane took off, and away from the country that had left so many memories, Anna returned to her home.
Hero paced back and forth in her office, still maintaining a calm expression, while her heart waited anxiously for news from Peter that never came. Soon, there was a knock at the door.
"Well, where is he now?" Hero asked after seeing the tip of Peter's hair come into view.
Peter bowed slightly to greet the Hero before answering, "He left the country, sir."
"Left the country where?"
"Country M."
"Why did he go there?" Hero confirmed.
"Country M is Miss Anna's home country, sir."
Now that Hero remembered, Anna was not a native of that country. Back then, Hero was uninterested in her and did not remember much about Anna. Although the woman came to see her daily and told her everything, including about herself, Hero never really listened to her and dismissed her as mere wind.
In retrospect, Anna told Hero she was not a native of this land. However, Anna still had the blood of this land from her father, who was an orphan. Both of Anna's parents live in Country M, which means that Anna lives alone in this country.
Hero suddenly regretted why she had never asked about the woman's life or where she lived in country M. But Anna's house in country M, where Anna lived when she was alone in that country, Hero had never visited at all.
"What should I do now? Should I turn the land of M upside down to find you, Anna?" Hero muttered.
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."
The day Lilah found out that she was pregnant, she caught her fiancé cheating on her. Her remorseless fiancé and his mistress almost killed her. Lilah fled for her dear life. When she returned to her hometown five years later, she happened to save a little boy's life. The boy's father turned out to be the world's richest man. Everything changed for Lilah from that moment. The man didn't let her experience any inconvenience. When her ex-fiancé bullied her, he crushed the scumbag's family and also rented out an entire island just to give Lilah a break from all the drama. He also taught Lilah's hateful father a lesson. He crushed all her enemies before she even asked. When Lilah's vile sister threw herself at him, he showed her a marriage certificate and said, "I'm happily married and my wife is much more beautiful than you are!" Lilah was shocked. "When did we ever get married? Last I checked, I was still single." With a wicked smile, he said, "Honey, we've been married for five years. Isn't it about time we had another child together?" Lilah's jaw dropped to the floor. What the hell was he talking about?
Two years ago, Ricky found himself coerced into marrying Emma to protect the woman he cherished. From Ricky's perspective, Emma was despicable, resorting to underhanded schemes to ensure their marriage. He maintained a distant and cold attitude toward her, reserving his warmth for another. Yet, Emma remained wholeheartedly dedicated to Ricky for more than ten years. As she grew weary and considered relinquishing her efforts, Ricky was seized by a sudden fear. Only when Emma's life teetered on the edge, pregnant with Ricky's child, did he recognize-the love of his life had always been Emma.
Iris grew from an orphaned child to the adopted daughter of the Stewart family at age ten, finding warmth in her nominal uncle Vincent's kindness. Seven years later, she became his secret lover. When Vincent's engagement was announced, gossip spread about the notorious playboy CEO finally settling down. But only Iris knew the extent of his cold, two-faced nature. Iris fell for Vincent and, through tears, begged, "Marry me," only to be met with his frosty refusal. Defeated, she accepted a lawyer's proposal, sparking public excitement. Then, on her wedding day, Vincent pleaded desperately, "Don't marry him…"
"Listen, Gadreel Ødegaar," she looked at him, not hesitating this time. "It's my anniversary present for you. Let's divorce." *** Ivory Remington had sacrificed five years to look after her husband Gadreel who was in a vegetative state after an accident and a few months ago, he finally awakened like a miracle. She thought it was the start of their happy life but Gadreel still had no heart for her. On their anniversary and her birthday, she received a cheating video of her dear husband and her stepsister. Heartbroken, Ivory chose to quit this stupid game. She decided to set him free but the reason she left on the divorce agreement pierced Gadreel's noble pride. *** "Impotent? Are you serious?" He gripped her wrist and a dangerous glint flashed in his eyes. "I'm a woman, Gadreel. I'm tired of being in a sexless marriage. Let's end it once and for all." "Sexless, huh?" he chuckled lowly and without warning grabbed her chin in between his hands, pulling her face closer. "Turns out my wife was so eager to get a man between her legs? "
They don't know I'm a girl. They all look at me and see a boy. A prince. Their kind purchase humans like me for their lustful desires. And, when they stormed into our kingdom to buy my sister, I intervened to protect her. I made them take me too. The plan was to escape with my sister whenever we found a chance. How was I to know our prison would be the most fortified place in their kingdom? I was supposed to be on the sidelines. The one they had no real use for. The one they never meant to buy. But then, the most important person in their savage land-their ruthless beast king-took an interest in the "pretty little prince." How do we survive in this brutal kingdom, where everyone hates our kind and shows us no mercy? And how does someone, with a secret like mine, become a lust slave? . AUTHOR'S NOTE. This is a dark romance-dark, mature content. Highly rated 18+ Expect triggers, expect hardcore. If you're a seasoned reader of this genre, looking for something different, prepared to go in blindly not knowing what to expect at every turn, but eager to know more anyway, then dive in! . From the author of the international bestselling book: "The Alpha King's Hated Slave."