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.
What happens when a hook-up gets complicated by a baby? Can she hide the secret from him? Or will he show her how possessive he can be when he learns she's carrying his child? "Seven years ago, I had a one-night stand with my brother's best friend, who also happened to be my lifelong crush. The next day, he vanished leaving me pregnant. Now, I am a single mom raising our son in the same small town. Recently, he returned to attend my brother's wedding and the truth about our son was finally revealed. As he reclaims his place in our lives, the sparks between us reignite. However, danger from his past threatens to shatter our newfound connection. I am torn between my love for him and my fear of getting hurt again, especially now that I have two hearts to protect - our son's and my own."
Three years ago, the Moore family opposed Charles Moore's choice to marry his beloved woman and selected Scarlett Riley as his bride. Charles didn't love her. In fact, he hated her. Not long after they got married, Scarlett received an offer from her dream university and jumped on it. Three years later, Charles's beloved woman fell terribly ill. In order to fulfill her last wish, he called Scarlett back and presented her with a divorce agreement. Scarlett was deeply hurt by Charles's abrupt decision, but she chose to let him go and agreed to sign the divorce papers. However, Charles seemed to delay the process deliberately, leaving Scarlett confused and frustrated. Now, Scarlett was trapped between the consequences of Charles's indecision. Would she be able to break free from him? Would Charles eventually come to his senses and face his true feelings?
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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.
6 years ago, Lydia suffered a brutal betrayal orchestrated by her own husband and step-sister, who drugged her and framed her. In a twist of fate, she ended up having a one-night stand with a stranger. Don't even remember what he looked like. Later, in the throes of death, she discovered the truth about her mother's death all those years ago. In the blink of an eye, she lost everything. 6 years later, Lydia returned with her genius son, vowing to exact revenge on all her enemies! Little did she know, she encountered an incredibly familiar man at the airport! *** The man was briskly pushing open the door to the restroom, heading to the urinal. Even with such a mundane action, he did it with unparalleled elegance and grace. Lydia, following him in a daze, saw his fierce lower body and suddenly snapped back to reality. She let out a high-pitched scream, instinctively covering her eyes with her hands, her cheeks flushed, and stood there stiffly, unsure of what to do. Lambert furrowed his brows slightly but remained calm as he continued to relieve himself. The sound of water hitting the urinal made Lydia's face even redder. She angrily shouted, "You pervert!" Little did Lydia know that Lambert, seeing her in this state, had a flicker of recognition in his eyes. Memories from many years ago flashed through his mind, and his heart couldn't help but stir. It was her!