When love turned real, it was destined to be guarded for life. The first time Bella met Charles, she was young and innocent. She was a nobody when she fell for him. However, when she finally plucked up the courage to confess her feelings, an unexpected misunderstanding ripped them apart. She would have endured the thorns just to hug him, but in the end, she only got scarred. Exhaustion released her from this delusion, but he was unwilling to let her go...
"If you sign it, then I can lend you five hundred thousand dollars. I can even help you pay for the liquidated damages." The man placed the contract on the table and stared at the pale woman in front of him with a generous smile.
Bella Gu read the terms in the contract in disbelief and asked with difficulty, "Why? We are a couple, aren't we?"
Instead of answering her question, Charles Si gave her a smile and replied, "What do you think? Do you like my gift?"
Her face contorted into a look of confusion. When she gazed at the playful expression on his face, she gaped in shock and exclaimed, "You were the one who set me up! Why?"
She thought about what recently happened. Her belief that she would be able to stand her ground was slowly collapsing.
He reached out his hand and gently pinched her pale and hollow face. She had gotten so thin that her cheeks weren't as soft as before.
"Of course I want to take revenge on you, my little fool!"
She broke away from the man that she had trusted most in the past. Trembling in fear, she asked, "Revenge for what? I didn't..."
"Shut up!" The blue veins on his forehead twitched. He shook her hand off from his grip and responded ferociously, "After what you've done to Michelle, you are still pretending to be innocent."
"Michelle Bai? I didn't do anything to her. I really don't know why she suddenly left!" Bella Gu began to cry, her face was covered with tears. The panic she felt that was coupled with the continuous blows, almost made her faint.
Charles Si sneered and threw the contract at her face. He impatiently ordered, "You better sign it now. This is your only chance. I'll wait until twelve o'clock tonight. If you don't give me the answer I want after twelve o'clock... Think about the liquidated damages."
Without saying anything else, he left the room. Bella Gu covered her face and slowly fell on the floor.
After the incident, she didn't cry no matter how hard everything was because she had Charles Si right by her side. However, he was on business trip back then and wasn't able to come back soon. She knew that as long as he returned, her nightmare would end.
But she didn't expect that her nightmare would actually start the moment he got back.
After staying on the floor for a long time, Bella Gu finally slowly stood up and got a hold of herself. Still shaking, she slowly took out her mobile phone and dialed a number.
"Hello, is this Director Yang? I'm Bella Gu."
"Oh, Miss Gu!" The man on the other end of the line flashed a gleeful smile.
"Miss Gu, what can I do for you?"
"Director Yang, can you lend me some money? I promise that I will pay you back as soon as I can!" She nervously held the phone in her hand. She trembled with expectation and fear in her heart.
Director Yang was a well-known director in the entertainment industry. Over his successful career, he had produced many superstars. However, if someone wanted to attract his attention, their acting skills and appearances were not that important. The most important thing was that they were willing to pay.
Bella Gu had no other choice. She also knew that if she really fell into the hands of Charles Si, who was blinded by his love for Michelle Bai, then she wouldn't have the chance to live a normal life.
Besides, she still loved Charles Si. She didn't want him to see that she had no other choice but to accept his offer. Her self-esteem refused to allow her to do so.
"Bella, are you aware of my rules?" Director Yang asked with a playful smile.
She quivered and responded with great difficulty, "Yes, I am aware."
"That's good. Come to JD Hotel tonight. I will be waiting for you." As soon as he finished speaking, he hung up from the call.
Bella stared at the phone and felt the humiliation. It was as if someone had given her a slap in the face.
She inhaled a deep breath and tried to comfort herself. "It doesn't matter. I will pay for my mother's operation first. I will find another solution to pay for the liquidated damages."
Bella Gu and Charles Si grew up together. Ever since they were kids, she was already in love with him.
When they were in high school, something awful happened to her family. Her father died in a car accident and the Gu family's company went bankrupt. It was also during that time that her mother fell ill because of the consecutive heavy blows. Since then, she had always been in poor health.
Overnight, she had turned from a rich girl into a pauper.
Charles Si was the only one who would take care of her. He had even paid for her tuition and her mother's medicine fees.
Therefore, she did not only admired him, but she also felt grateful for him.
But everything changed after Michelle Bai's sudden disappearance. Since then, Bella Gu had become Charles Si's girlfriend.
In all honesty, she was more like his sex partner rather than a girlfriend. He only seemed to remember her whenever he wanted her to please him.
She returned to the small house where she and her mother lived. She had bought it after her graduation. It was a quaint and tiny abode with two bedrooms and one living room.
Now that her mother was in the hospital because of her own doing, Bella Gu was the only one left at home.
She retrieved the most revealing dress she and put it on. She tied her hair in a bun which exposed her elegant, white, and slender neck. After putting on light make-up and looking at herself in the mirror, she clenched her fists as she left for the hotel.
It was already six o'clock in the evening when she arrived at the agreed location. Bella called Director Yang on the phone. "Hello? Is this Director Yang? I'm at the gate of the hotel."
"Okay, come up to Room 8808."
As the sound of the thunder cackled across the sky, bean-sized raindrops fell without warning. The pedestrians on the road were in a hurry to avoid the rain. As they ran for shelter, people bumped into each other and caused a ruckus outside.
Bella Gu blankly stared at the chaos and did not bother to avoid the rain.
Her life was already in ruins. What else could go wrong? She had nothing else to care about.
She tidied her dress and walked straight into the hotel, pretending to be calm.
What she didn't know was that inside the car parked at the hotel entrance, a man grimly stared at her retreating figure. He tightly held the steering wheel, the blue veins popping from the back of his hands.
When Bella finally stood in front of Room 8808, she took a deep breath. She thought about what would happen later, and couldn't help but shiver. She was still sweating even though the air-conditioning blew cool air in hallway.
After spending a night with a strange man on the day before her wedding, Arianna left the country to start her life afresh. The 22-year-old Arianna Jason lived her life pleasing those she loved the most, without knowing that she was simply a prey being nurtured for the day of her ruin. Her life has tasted the butter pill of betrayal. She wants to give back to the world what she's got but how can she change her good, innocent personality to fit into a cruel society and world? Can her sweet nature be contaminated, or will she make it through, paddling on the right path?
Rumors said that Lucas married an unattractive woman with no background. In the three years they were together, he remained cold and distant to Belinda, who endured in silence. Her love for him forced her to sacrifice her self-worth and her dreams. When Lucas' true love reappeared, Belinda realized that their marriage was a sham from the start, a ploy to save another woman's life. She signed the divorce papers and left. Three years later, Belinda returned as a surgical prodigy and a maestro of the piano. Lost in regret, Lucas chased her in the rain and held her tightly. "You are mine, Belinda."
In her previous life, Kimberly endured the betrayal of her husband, the cruel machinations of an evil woman, and the endless tyranny of her in-laws. It culminated in the bankruptcy of her family, and ultimately, her death. After being reborn, she resolved to seek retribution against those who had wronged her, and ensure her family's prosperity. To her shock, the most unattainable man from her past suddenly set his sights on her. "You may have overlooked me before, but I shall capture your heart this time around."
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."
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.
"You're a creepy bastard." His eyes smolder me and his answering grin is nothing short of beautiful. Deadly. "Yet you hunger for me. Tell me, this appetite of yours, does it always tend toward 'creepy bastards'?" **** Widower and ex-boss to the Mafia, Zefiro Della Rocca, has an unhealthy fixation on the woman nextdoor. It began as a coincidence, growing into mere curiosity, and soon, it was an itch he couldn't ignore, like a quick fix of crack for an addict. He didn't know her name, but he knew every inch of her skin, how it flushed when she climaxed, her favourite novel and that every night she contemplated suicide. He didn't want to care, despising his rapt fascination of the woman. She was in love with her abusive husband. She was married, bound by a contract to the Bratva's hitman. She was off-limits. But when Zefiro wanted something, it was with an intensity that bordered on madness. He obsessed, possessed, owned. There'd be bloodshed if he touched her, but the sight of blood always did fascinate him. * When Susanna flees from her husband, she stumbles right into the arms of her devilishly handsome neighbour with a brooding glare. He couldn't stand her, but she needed him, if she was ever going to escape her husband who now wanted her dead. Better the devil you know than the angel you don't. She should have recalled that before hopping into Zefiro's car and letting him whisk her away to Italy. Maybe then, she wouldn't have started an affair with him. He was the only man who touched her right, and the crazy man took no small pains in ensuring he would be the last.