When Love Turned Cold

My last memory was the smell of ancient celluloid in a 21st-century archive, then a sharp chest pain. I woke up to the stench of gin and stale perfume, trapped in a stranger's body, in 1920s Chicago. My own mother, a faded vaudeville dancer, sold me to a notorious gang boss, Artie Gallo, for a sapphire cloche hat. I found a flicker of connection with Leo, the kind projectionist, and risked everything to steal medicine for the starving poor. But when Artie discovered our secret, Leo, the only person I' d dared to trust, pointed a trembling finger at me. "She made me do it." The betrayal was a physical blow, worse than the whip that lashed my back in Artie's cursed cellar. They threw me back in my room, broken and left to fester. The film, my last connection to my old life, gone with him. My body healed, but my soul was twisted into something cold and hard. How could he? How could the one pure thing I found in this nightmare turn out to be the cruelest blade? When I finally emerged, adorned in garish makeup and a deceptively sweet smile, the old Clara was gone. I would become the woman Artie wanted, the woman this brutal world demanded. And I would make sure everyone who ever wronged me paid the price, even if it meant burying every last piece of my humanity.

My entire life was a countdown to my sister Clara' s 30th birthday, the day I was to become a spiritual donor to save her from a wasting illness. I clung to Liam, the man I loved, as my only hope of escape, only to have that hope shatter when he coldly told me I had to go through with the ritual, dismissing my desperate plea that I was too weak. He forced Momma' s drugged tea on me, rendering me immobile, then dragged me to the prayer cabin where my parents awaited, my body offered up as Clara-who gave a triumphant smirk-stole my life force, leaving me for dead, unceremoniously dumped in a shallow ditch. How could the man I' d secretly saved ten years ago, giving him half my life in a forbidden ritual to heal him after his logging accident, betray me so completely, not even remembering my sacrifice while unknowingly feeding on my dwindling vitality? Yet, after Liam and Clara died in a mysterious crash and I was arrested for their murders, a blood-stained letter from Liam revealed the horrifying truth: he had finally remembered my sacrifice and the family's monstrous conspiracy, driving to atone by attempting a reverse ritual with Clara, freeing me to live the life he ultimately gave back to me.

I was living a dream, finally back in the warm embrace of Sera, the woman I lost. But a director' s enraged shout shattered the illusion, revealing harsh studio lights, cameras, and a cold, hard floor. The script called for force, not love, and my confusion on set marked me-not as a lover, but as a stalker, publicly rejected by Sera herself. Her icy contempt, the humiliating laughter of the crew, and her eventual orchestration of my lonely death from an aggressive cancer left me broken, convinced she was a stranger. Yet, after dying in despair, I inexplicably woke up in a new, wealthy body, finally experiencing the warmth of a loving family, unaware that the very heart beating in my chest was the beacon drawing her, and a new, even more terrifying battle for my soul, back into my life.

Eight years. That' s how long I poured my soul into my music, my career, and the woman who molded me, Cassidy Vance. We were a Nashville power couple, or so I thought. My latest album, months in the making, sat unlistened on her desk while she flirted with some record label suit, her back always turned to me. Then, a text. A grainy photo of Cassidy boarding a private jet with Cal Rivers, the new country-pop sensation, her "new project." She dismissed me with an ice-cold phone call about an "emergency meeting," then hung up. Hours later, her Instagram shattered what was left of my world: a cozy cabin, a glass of wine, and a caption announcing Cal as her new "#muse." My phone exploded. Public humiliation, accusations of being a jilted lover-it was relentless. She called, not to apologize, but to threaten: "I made you, Liam. Don' t forget I can un-make you." To prove it, she froze my accounts, then revealed she' d sold my childhood home, the place where I wrote my first songs, for scrap. Everything I was, everything I loved, turned to dust. How could someone I loved so deeply, someone I built my entire life around, betray me so completely? My career, my home, my identity-all wiped away for a younger, more marketable model. Why did I ever trust her? How could she be so cold, so calculating? Whispering a silent prayer to the voice in my head, "The Guide," I finally gave in: "Sever my love for her." Four years later, after surgically removing every last trace of the man I was, Noah Stone returns to Nashville. And the leading judge of "Nashville' s Next Legend" is Cassidy Vance.

I spent three years building a life with Kaelen, only for him to stand me up on our anniversary, his engagement to another woman announced live on national TV. Heartbroken and secretly pregnant, I tried to escape, but Kaelen threatened to destroy my family's bakery. I became his gilded cage pet, enduring his political fiancée's cruel taunts and veiled threats. But the ultimate betrayal came when I was kidnapped, and forced to call Kaelen, asking him to choose: me and our baby, or his career. He hung up. I was left with an impossible choice, plummeting into a raging river to escape my captors. For five years, he thought I was gone. Now he's back, a ruthless force determined to reclaim me, but I've built a new life, a new family. He wants me back, but he has no idea the lengths I've gone to protect my daughter, or the shocking test that awaits him, forcing him to choose once and for all: power and legacy, or the one true family he unknowingly abandoned.

The familiar scent of Texas dust welcomed me home after weeks on a sold-out tour, but my mother's strained smile hinted at trouble. Over chicken-fried steak, she dropped a bombshell: an arranged marriage. Not in some period drama, but right here in the 21st century, between me, Ava Monroe, a musician building her own destiny, and Liam Sterling, the grandson of a man my father saved. It was a life-debt, a "gentleman's agreement" from before I was born, now pushed forward by a dying patriarch. I was blindsided, reeling from the archaic notion. This wasn't some fantasy; it was a contract, turning my life into a political maneuver for family honor. The agreement had a cruel twist: it only stood if I wasn't "seriously involved" with anyone. My single status, a consequence of artistic devotion, suddenly trapped me. They rushed the wedding, leaving me married to a handsome stranger who was meticulous, practical, and almost unsettlingly stoic. He treated me with perfect respect, yet his emotional distance left me feeling like a beautiful, but hollow, exhibit in his immaculate penthouse. Then came Victoria. Liam' s long-time, sophisticated pursuer, who saw me as an obstacle and made it clear I was an unwanted intrusion. A seed of raw jealousy took root, twisting my stomach. Was I just fulfilling a duty? Was he secretly longing for someone from his own world, someone who understood his life without constant explanation? Did he even want me, or was I just the inconvenient fulfillment of an ancient pact? I ran. But as I stood on the edge of a bridge, terrified before a charity bungee jump for all the world to see, facing a very real fear, a single thought consumed me. I desperately wished for Liam. And he appeared. He found me, just when I needed him most, pulling me into a fierce, possessive kiss. "I was jealous," he growled. That simple, honest confession shattered every barrier. He chose me. He always chose me. Amidst the chaos of my public life, my arranged marriage was finally becoming a love story, a destiny I was ready to embrace.

"Mr. Evans, please maintain some dignity. Don't forget I'm your brother's wife!" Having caught her husband and best friend together in the bed, Elena wanted nothing more than to exact revenge on the people she once called family. She refused to be a pitiful divorcee and vowed to make everyone who had once looked down on her beg for forgiveness. And to start with her newfound freedom, Elena indulges in a one-night stand with a stranger. However, what was meant to be a fleeting escape turns into a nightmare when she learns that the stranger is none other than her husband's older brother! Would Elena be free from the shackles of her marriage? Or would the mysterious stranger make her life a living hell since he seemed to have a personal vendetta against his family? [The story is 18+ and involves mature content.]

I was four months pregnant, a photographer excited for our future, attending a sophisticated baby brunch. Then I saw him, my husband Michael, with another woman, and a newborn introduced as "his son." My world shattered as a torrent of betrayal washed over me, magnified by Michael's dismissive claim I was "just being emotional." His mistress, Serena, taunted me, revealing Michael had discussed my pregnancy complications with her, then slapped me, causing a terrifying cramp. Michael sided with her, publicly shaming me, demanding I leave "their" party, as a society blog already paraded them as a "picture-perfect family." He fully expected me to return, to accept his double life, telling his friends I was "dramatic" but would "always come back." The audacity, the calculated cruelty of his deception, and Serena's chilling malice, fueled a cold, hard rage I barely recognized. How could I have been so blind, so trusting of the man who gaslighted me for months while building a second family? But on the plush carpet of that lawyer's office, as he turned his back on me, a new, unbreakable resolve solidified. They thought I was broken, disposable, easily manipulated – a "reasonable" wife who would accept a sham separation. They had no idea my calm acceptance was not surrender; it was strategy, a quiet promise to dismantle everything he held dear. I would not be handled; I would not understand; I would end this, and make sure their perfect family charade crumbled into dust.

"Please trust me, I didn't do anything." "I don't believe you. I am rejecting you as my Queen and giving you the punishment of death." Alina was living outside her pack for five years. Her parents didn't try to contact her and always ignored her. Her best friend convinced her to go back to their pack and she agreed. But she had never imagined what was waiting there for her. She never thought she would meet her mate and had to face betrayal from everywhere. She had to pay for the crime which she never committed. Aaron Robertson is the king of Lycans. He is a very dominant and powerful King who not only rules Lycans but also rules other ranks of werewolves. Everyone is afraid of Lycans and he is the king of them. But who knew that he would get a mate who was just a simple Omega with no powers and strengths? He called her weak all the time but little did he know that his weak Omega would give him the biggest betrayal of his life for which he had to give her the sentence of death.

With a contract, they got married in a flash. He doted on her, loved her, and made her the envy of all women in the world. When she took the pregnancy test sheet and stood happily in front of him, he handed over the divorce papers. She didn't ask him for an astronomical compensation,and left without any property. Five years later, when she and her fiancé were choosing the wedding dress arm in arm, he suddenly showed up. He dragged her to his side and said possessively, "Baby, my son said, he doesn't want a stepfather."

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.

Caught in a web of betrayal, Nicole's life shatters in a single evening when her mother-in-law, Veronica, sets her up in an elaborate scheme. Blindsided, Nicole faces her husband Taylor's cold rage as he casts her out of his life and home, accusing her of infidelity and theft. As she tries to defend herself, her best friend, Sarah, adds another blow by denying their loyalty. "Please, Taylor, you have to believe me!" Nicole pleads, her voice breaking, but his icy response is a dagger to her heart. "I don't hate you, Nicole," he sneers. "I despise you." When Nicole reveals she's pregnant, she hopes for compassion, but it only fuels Veronica's determination to rid the family of her. After signing the divorce papers, a dejected Nicole wanders alone, where a brutal attack leaves her bleeding, helpless, and desperate to protect her unborn child. Six years later, Nicole returns from the ashes to inflict seven times the pains upon those who humiliated her and left her to die. "I'll make them pay so dearly that they'd regret ever been born!" She declares. This is a story of romance and revenge you don't want to miss!