She married a billionaire. But fell for his rival. Geraldine thought she had it all-wealth, status, and the perfect marriage to business tycoon Bekett Donovan. But behind closed doors, her world is cold, calculated, and controlled. Enter Lachlan-Bekett's greatest enemy and the man her husband has spent years trying to destroy. Arrogant, ruthless, and dangerously charming, Lachlan sees right through Geraldine's polished mask-and he's not afraid to tempt her with freedom, fire, and everything she's been denied. As secrets unravel and a forbidden attraction blazes, Geraldine must choose between loyalty and passion, survival and surrender. What do you do when the only man who makes you feel alive... is your husband's sworn enemy?
The morning sun filtered through the tall glass windows of the Donovan estate, casting a golden hue across the marble floors. Everything looked pristine. Polished. Silent. Just the way Bekett liked it.
Geraldine sat at the edge of the long dining table, her manicured fingers curled around a porcelain coffee cup. The silence in the room was thick-sterile, like a museum. She had grown used to this quiet, learned to breathe in it. But it didn't stop her from missing the chaos. The laughter. The warmth.
Reena's soft footsteps came down the stairs first, her twelve-year-old face still flushed from sleep, curls bouncing with each step. "Mom, is Dad here?"
"No, baby. He left before dawn," Geraldine replied, brushing a strand of hair behind Reena's ear. She didn't ask where Bekett had gone. She never did anymore.
"Lovia's still getting dressed," Reena said as she plopped down on the seat next to her. "She's mad about the uniform. Again."
Geraldine managed a smile. "I'll talk to her." She reached for the phone. No messages from Bekett. Not even a missed call.
By the time Lovia stormed into the room with her shirt half-tucked and lips pursed in protest, Geraldine had already packed their lunches. Lovia, at ten, had her father's eyes-cold, calculating, and too sharp for a child. Geraldine often wondered if that was nature or nurture.
"Reena's shirt fits better," Lovia muttered, pulling at her sleeves.
"They're the same size," Reena rolled her eyes.
"They're not the same. Nothing's ever the same for me."
Geraldine didn't argue. She knelt and straightened Lovia's collar, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "You're perfect, okay? Now grab your bags. We're already late."
The drive to their elite private school was as uneventful as always. Security gates. Polished bricks. Rows of parents pretending their lives weren't in ruins under their designer sunglasses. Geraldine waited until the girls were inside before pulling out her phone again.
Still no message.
She sighed and adjusted the sunglasses on her face, then drove toward Bekett's office. She hadn't been invited-she never was-but she had questions. And for once, she didn't feel like waiting for his carefully crafted lies.
Bekett Donovan & Co. was more fortress than office, with black cars lining the lot and security detail that looked more military than corporate. But that was Bekett. Control freak. Obsessive. Calculated.
Geraldine walked in, her heels echoing sharply against the marble. The receptionist-a young, nervous girl who clearly hadn't been there long-stood quickly.
"Mrs. Donovan. I-uh-I didn't know you were coming."
"I didn't, either," Geraldine said calmly. "Is Bekett in?"
"Um, no. He left with Mr. Lachlan about an hour ago."
Geraldine's stomach dropped.
"Lachlan?"
The girl nodded. "He was here most of last night."
Her face didn't change, but inside, something curled. Tight and dark.
"I'll wait in his office."
The receptionist hesitated. "I don't think he-"
"I'm not asking," Geraldine said, voice sharper now. She pushed past her, heels clicking like a warning.
Bekett's office was darker than usual. No lights, no movement. Just the lingering scent of his cologne and cigar smoke that hadn't faded. She walked to his desk and stared at the photo frame-one of their wedding pictures. She was smiling. Bekett wasn't.
It had been an arranged marriage. Her father's idea of a business merger sealed with a diamond ring. Back then, she was twenty-one, foolish, and desperate to make the best of it. She thought maybe if she loved him hard enough, he'd soften.
Instead, he hardened.
She opened one of his desk drawers. Paperwork. Files. A USB drive tucked inside a folder labeled "Redwood."
Geraldine paused.
She'd heard the name before. In late-night calls. On whispered lips. Her fingers closed around the drive.
"Looking for something, Mrs. Donovan?"
She spun, heart lurching.
Lachlan stood in the doorway, a slow smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth. His suit was dark, perfectly fitted, and he looked like sin in human form. Dangerous. Beautiful. Untrustworthy.
"Funny, you don't work here," Geraldine said, slipping the drive into her coat pocket without breaking eye contact.
Lachlan's eyes flicked to her hand-he'd seen-but he didn't comment.
"I'm your husband's business partner," he said casually. "And sometimes... his keeper."
"Keeper? Is that what you call it when you make late-night visits and disappear before sunrise?"
Lachlan took a step inside. "You're sharper than you look."
"And you're exactly what you look like." Her gaze was steel. "What's Redwood?"
He tilted his head, amused. "That depends. How badly do you want to know?"
Geraldine narrowed her eyes. "Enough to burn it all down."
For the first time, Lachlan's smile faded, just slightly. He studied her, and something shifted in his expression-curiosity, maybe. Respect.
"You should be careful, Geraldine," he said. "Your husband plays games with blood. And not everyone survives."
"Good," she whispered. "Let him bleed."
By the time she returned to the estate, the silence had turned into a storm. Her chest felt heavy, and every corner of the house reminded her of the cage she lived in. The expensive prison where her name was only useful when it served him.
But that drive... the one marked Redwood... it pulsed in her coat pocket like a live wire.
That night, after tucking in the girls, she locked her bedroom door and plugged the USB into her laptop.
One file. A single video.
She hit play.
Bekett appeared on screen-standing in a warehouse, surrounded by men. Armed. One of them was kneeling, bloodied. Geraldine's breath caught when she realized who it was.
Her father.
In the cutthroat world of power and wealth, Nathaniel Vetrova is untouchable. A brilliant and ruthless billionaire, his life is a carefully constructed empire built on control, dominance, and calculated ambition. Yet everything he's worked for is thrown into turmoil when Alfreda Lennox enters his world. Alfreda, an intelligent and determined strategist, is hired to work for Vetrova Enterprises-her biggest career opportunity yet. But from the moment their paths cross, it's clear that their connection is anything but professional. Despite their differing goals, an undeniable attraction sparks between them, challenging the boundaries of loyalty, ambition, and desire. As the stakes rise, Alfreda is forced to navigate a web of corporate intrigue, family loyalty, and forbidden attraction. Every step closer to Nathaniel feels like a dangerous game, one where love and power are dangerously intertwined, and obsession may come at a deadly price. Will they yield to their forbidden desires, or will their ambitions tear them apart?
"An abusive boyfriend"? No no...sherla shook her head. Shayla's first heartbreak was her father but despite that she was willing to give a man a chair but little did she know what awaits her. Let's find out if Shayla will be able to take it or she'll leave.
Will you stop trying and just give up? Or you're willing to try and try till it works out for you: In this cruel cold world ,where Eva finds herself trapped and depressed because of circumstances and things she has no control over. Unfortunately life doesn't get better until you make choices that result into changes. No one buy Eva has control over her life,let's see if she realizes that or she is willing to wallow in her misery
Unfortunately it's an abomination to just suddenly gain interest in a mafia boss. But not just any mafia but your worst enemy. Zaliyah suddenly fell in love with a Mafia boss who was no where near friendly. But what happens when her brother even get to know that after all that has happened. She run back to their deadly enemies. Will she chose her family or she will chose love .
Kaelyn devoted three years tending to her husband after a terrible accident. But once he was fully recovered, he cast her aside and brought his first love back from abroad. Devastated, Kaelyn decided on a divorce as people mocked her for being discarded. She went on to reinvent herself, becoming a highly sought-after doctor, a champion racer, and an internationally renowned architectural designer. Even then, the traitors sneered in disdain, believing Kaelyn would never find someone. But then the ex-husband’s uncle, a powerful warlord, returned with his army to ask for Kaelyn’s hand in marriage.
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.
She thought she was the love of his life, and he became the love of her life that fateful day she had seen him at the pack's party. Selene Grace was only a replica of Alpha Leo's real mate, and when he spotted her, Leo immediately claimed her as his Luna in order to suppress the rumors of him being mateless. Being unable to conceive turns Selene's marriage into a nightmare, and as if that wasn't enough, Alpha Leo finally reunites with his long time lover and mate, rejecting a pregnant Selene as a result. 5 years later, Selene, a now successful doctor, receives an invitation to the moon shadow pack in order to rid the pack of a deadly disease which has struck it. Will Selene return back to the pack which had caused her so much pain, and what would she do when she realizes that she is mated to the Alpha who had betrayed her in the past?
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.
"Lucien, let's get a divorce," I said in a peremptory tone that was long overdue, the most decisive farewell to this absurd marriage. We had been married for exactly three years-three years that, for me, were filled with nothing but endless loneliness and torment. For three years, the husband who should have stood by my side through every storm, Lucien Sullivan, had completely disappeared from my life as if he had never existed. He vanished without a trace, leaving me alone to endure this empty, desolate marriage. Today, I finally received his message: "I'm back. Come pick me up at the airport." When I read his words, my heart leapt with joy, and I raced to the airport, thinking that he finally understood my love and was coming back to me. But his cruelty was far worse than I could have ever imagined-he was accompanied by a pregnant woman, and that woman was Carla, my closest and most trusted friend. In that moment, all of my previous excitement, all my hope, and all of our shared laughter and tears turned into the sharpest of daggers, stabbing into my heart and leaving me gasping for air. Now, all I want is to escape from this place that has left me so broken-to lick my wounds in solitude. Even if these wounds will remain with me for the rest of my life, I refuse to have anything to do with him ever again. He should know that it was his own hand that trampled our love underfoot, that his coldness and betrayal created this irreparable situation. But when he heard those words, he desperately clung to this broken, crumbling marriage, unwilling to let it end-almost as though doing so could rewind time and return everything to how it used to be. "Aurora, come back. I regret everything!" Regret? Those simple words stirred no emotion in me-only endless sadness and fury. My heart let out a frantic, desperate scream: It's too late for any of this!
It's true what they say about marriage: one partner's always happier than the other. ~~~ Julie's world is shattered when her husband, Ryan, reveals that he wants an open marriage. His reason: he needs a child as they've been unable to have one. Julie reluctantly agrees to save her marriage. The next day, Ryan returns home with his secretary, confirming Julie's long-held suspicion that their affair was taking place behind her back. Julie, heartbroken and enraged, seeks solace in a bar, where she meets a fascinating stranger named Luke, who changes the game. Julie confides in Luke over drinks, and he proposes a risky plan: he will act as her "boyfriend" to turn the tables on Ryan. Julie agrees, setting off a chain of events that will challenge everything she thought she knew about love, loyalty, and herself.