His Strategic Bride

We were ten minutes away from getting our marriage license, for the eleventh time. Just as we neared the office, her phone buzzed with a call from Liam, her 'sick' ex, instantly draining her face of color and her devotion from me. She abandoned me again, speeding off to his side for what felt like the hundredth time, leaving me alone in the car. Hours later, while I drowned my sorrows in whiskey, she called not to check on me, but to furiously worry about her image after I posted a raw, heartbroken selfie. Her voice wasn't concerned; it was furious, demanding I consider 'her reputation' and 'Liam's friends' rather than my pain. This was a recurring nightmare, a pattern of abandonment and emotional manipulation that had plagued our seven-year relationship. Each time, her loyalty to Liam, a man who always seemed to experience a 'critical episode' whenever Chloe and I neared a milestone, overshadowed any commitment to me. How could she continuously choose him, a man she claimed was 'just a friend,' over the life we were supposed to be building? Was I truly so selfish for wanting her to choose us for once? Her casual dismissal of my pain, declaring 'Liam needs me more, you' re healthy, you can wait,' echoed in my mind like a cruel mantra. But this time, something broke inside me, and the weariness transformed into a stone-cold resolve. The very next day, a life-changing opportunity landed on my desk: a lead architect position in Austin, Texas. It wasn't just a job; it was my one-way ticket out, a chance to finally choose myself and escape the endless cycle of heartbreak. I took it.

It was my ninety-ninth wedding to Ethan Carter, my Southern Belle smile frozen in place despite the whispers of Charleston society. Suddenly, a hidden screen at the altar flickered to life. It showed Tiffany Hayes tearfully auctioning a fake heirloom, claiming Ethan was her savior while he loudly abandoned me to bid a million dollars on her manufactured drama. Ethan then systematically unleashed horrifying abuse. He locked me out and moved Tiffany into our home. He dangled me from a skyscraper rooftop. He brutally forced me to desecrate his deceased parents' tombstones. And finally, he drugged, violated, and filmed me, before leaking the humiliating video online for the world to see. How could the man I secretly saved, twice over, believe such monstrous lies and become my tormentor? How could he drive me to the brink of utter despair and into the embrace of the cold, indifferent ocean? Yet, as the waves closed over me, a forgotten childhood promise and the unwavering dedication of my oldest friend pulled me back. I was ready to witness the devastating truth Ethan would soon uncover and the reckoning that awaited his betrayer.

Thanksgiving was usually a time for family, but for me, an architect, it meant bracing for impact as my mom, Emily, tried to appease her endlessly demanding relatives. Our "special" Thanksgiving Eve dinner, a lavish affair my mom booked to unite everyone, quickly became an ambush when my cousin Jessica, her husband Mark, and their entitled entourage crashed it, claiming their own reservation was magically "lost." The evening devolved into a nightmare: my asthmatic grandmother choked on cigar smoke, Mark tried to ply my six-year-old niece with bourbon, and their son bit me after I tried to reclaim money my mom gave them, pushing my dad to flip the entire dinner table. As wine and prime rib rained down, Mark, soaked in gravy, shamelessly tried to extort $28,000 from us for "emotional distress" and a "ruined" Disney trip, threatening to call the police on us, leaving me reeling from their audacious greed and victim-blaming. But they had no idea my mom, shedding years of guilt, was about to drop a different kind of hammer, and with my phone recording their entire shakedown, our counter-attack against years of exploitation had only just begun.

I was a pregnant widow, my heart shattered by the loss of Ethan, my husband, who vanished into a relentless blizzard months ago. Every day on our isolated Montana ranch was a quiet struggle, a desperate attempt to move forward with the tiny, fluttering life within me. Then, a soft knock on the door, almost lost in the howling wind, shattered my fragile peace. Standing there, weathered but undeniably real, was Ethan. My breath caught, my world stopped spinning. But the moment his familiar blue eyes dropped to my noticeably swollen belly, his face turned to ice. "We never shared a bed," he rasped, a chilling statement, not a question. "How can you be pregnant?" The words struck me like physical blows, each one a fresh betrayal. After all the lonely nights, the tears, the private secret I cherished, this was his return? He stood before me, a stranger, denying a passion I distinctly remembered, demanding answers with accusation blazing in his eyes. How could I explain the man who held me when he himself couldn't remember? The one who called himself Ace? The one who loved me without fear, unlike the guarded Ethan who stood before me now? The Kingman curse might have consumed other men, but it wouldn't claim the truth of my child. I lifted my chin, a spark of defiance igniting. He wanted answers? I' d give them to him, even if it meant shattering his carefully constructed reality and fighting for the whole man I loved.

My husband, Ethan, once swore before the world that I was his equal, his partner, the backbone of Gold Enterprises. We built an empire together, a testament to our shared dreams and unconditional trust. But then came the whispers, a hotel receipt, the lingering scent of another woman-Chloe. That initial betrayal, though painful, was just the prelude to a far more chilling horror I could never have imagined. I was three months pregnant when Ethan begged me to fix a crisis at a remote R&D facility, claiming only my operational genius could save our company. That trip cost me everything: our baby, and my leg, lost in what I believed was a tragic accident. Confined to my bed, still reeling from my losses, I overheard Ethan tell his chief of staff that the 'crisis' was orchestrated, that our child was merely 'an obstacle,' and that my 'accident' was a deliberate attempt on my life. He even planned to systematically ruin my family' s businesses, severing my last remaining ties. The man who once vowed undying love had systematically plotted to destroy me, the shattering truth of his monstrous deception burning away all my grief and sorrow. Every adoring glance, every tender word he' d ever given vanished, replaced by the crushing weight of his calculated betrayal, culminating in public humiliations and a brutal slap after Chloe, his mistress, brazenly framed me. How could the depth of one man' s depravity reach so far, impacting every facet of my existence, all for a conniving woman and her deceitful schemes? Yet, as I lay there, broken and isolated in my gilded cage, a cold, sharp fire ignited deep within me. He thought he had crippled me and stripped me bare, but he only forged me into an unyielding weapon. He had sealed his own fate, and the meticulously assembled Lexington Dossier would be his ultimate undoing.

My eighteenth birthday. Our small living room felt heavy with Mother Brenda' s looming expectations. On the mahogany table, two lockets gleamed: the silver "Trailblazer Charm" and the dull gold "Wallflower Charm," said to shape destinies. "Jessica is destined for great things," Brenda announced, pushing the Trailblazer toward my older sister. In my first life, I meekly chose the Wallflower. Jessica became a shining tech star, but ambition and betrayal tore her apart, dead before thirty. My Wallflower life was a quiet whisper-unremarkable, a "manageable" wife in my wealthy husband's shadow. Then, Jessica' s dying breath whispered a terrible truth about the Wallflower' s hidden power. Her warning painted a target; the same opportunists found me. My quiet life ended with a brutal, sudden stop. I' d believed the Wallflower offered refuge, an easy existence. Instead, it delivered manipulation and an invisible death. It was a gilded cage. The injustice burned fiercely. Was this cherished "charm" truly a curse, a deceptive lure for us both? Suddenly, my eyes snapped open. The oppressive living room, my eighteenth birthday, the lockets still gleaming. Brenda's familiar favoritism began. But this time, Jessica' s greedy gaze was fixed on the Wallflower. She remembered too. This choice wasn't about destiny-it was about survival. This time, I' d rewrite our story.

“You need a bride, I need a groom. Why don’t we get married?” Both abandoned at the altar, Elyse decided to tie the knot with the disabled stranger from the venue next door. Pitying his state, she vowed to spoil him once they were married. Little did she know that he was actually a powerful tycoon. Jayden thought Elyse only married him for his money, and planned to divorce her when she was no longer of use to him. But after becoming her husband, he was faced with a new dilemma. “She keeps asking for a divorce, but I don’t want that! What should I do?”

Betrayed. Abandoned. Left to die. Lilac had given everything to Alpha King Kael-her love, her loyalty, her very soul-only to be cast aside when his fated mate arrived. The fragile Omega not only stole Kael's heart but destroyed everything Lilac had built, leaving her broken and watching her family perish. As Lilac took her final breath, the last thing she saw was Kael holding the woman who had ruined her. But death was not the end. When Lilac's eyes opened, she was back, six years in the past, standing in the ceremony where she was first chosen as Kael's mate. The goddess had granted her a second chance. But this time, she would not be the same naive woman who loved blindly. This time, she would fight. She would take back what was hers. Yet, with every choice she makes, the future begins to shift. Kael's half brother Alaric showed up in the picture. Fate is no longer predictable, and the kingdom's destiny is no longer set in stone. As Lilac walks a new path, one question haunts her: Is she rewriting her salvation... or her doom?

Everyone was shocked to the bones when the news of Rupert Benton's engagement broke out. It was surprising because the lucky girl was said to be a plain Jane, who grew up in the countryside and had nothing to her name. One evening, she showed up at a banquet, stunning everyone present. "Wow, she's so beautiful!" All the men drooled, and the women got so jealous. What they didn't know was that this so-called country girl was actually an heiress to a billion-dollar empire. It wasn't long before her secrets came to light one after the other. The elites couldn't stop talking about her. "Holy smokes! So, her father is the richest man in the world?" "She's also that excellent, but mysterious designer who many people adore! Who would have guessed?" Nonetheless, people thought that Rupert didn't love her. But they were in for another surprise. Rupert released a statement, silencing all the naysayers. "I'm very much in love with my beautiful fiancee. We will be getting married soon." Two questions were on everyone's minds: "Why did she hide her identity? And why was Rupert in love with her all of a sudden?"

Sera Vale was sold like a slave. Dragged from her home in chains. Stripped of everything and handed to the most feared Alpha who is also a Mafia, as payment for a debt she didn't owe. Lucien Virelli doesn't believe in mercy. He rules with bullets. Breathes violence. Fucks like a beast. And when Sera is thrown at his feet, he doesn't see a girl. He sees prey. A mystery. Something that should not exist. She was told her entire life she was nothing. No wolf. No power. No purpose. Just a broken girl with a cursed bloodline and a dead mother who took the truth to the grave. But Lucien sees it. Smells it. Wants it. He doesn't want to protect her. He wants to tame her. Mark her. Breed her. Make her scream until her wolf rips out of her body and begs him to take it. What he wants from her isn't gentle. It isn't safe. And it sure as hell isn't human. He touches her like he owns her. Looks at her like he's already inside her. And when she finally begs. He makes her earn it. Now she's trapped in a world she doesn't understand. Craving a monster she should fear and drowning in a heat she swore she'd never feel. This isn't just a love story. It's a dark craving that takes over your body and doesn't let go.

Scarlett was left betrayed and broken beyond repair when her best friend Megan set her up with the male escort who stole her virginity...Or at least, that's what she thought he was. There was something odd about the strong and strikingly beautiful man that she spent a night with. Despite the pure hatred she felt for him, the deals he ended up offering wasn't one she could refuse. Scarlett always thought she'd marry her soulmate but turns out, that won't be the case for her. But could her mysterious husband make his way through her broken heart and fix it? It's hard to imagine but love has funny ways to manifest in places where it's least expected....

Rumors claimed that Fernanda, newly back with her family, was nothing more than a violent country bumpkin. Fernanda just flashed a casual, dismissive grin in response. Another rumor suggested that the usually rational Cristian had lost all sense, madly in love with Fernanda. This frustrated her. She could tolerate gossip about herself, but slander against her beloved crossed the line! Gradually, as Fernanda's multiple identities as a celebrated designer, a savvy gamer, an acclaimed painter, and a successful business magnate came to light, everyone realized they were the ones who had been fooled.