How far would you go to repay the so-called debt of gratitude your family demands of you? Ever since she found out she wasn’t the real daughter of the Lopez family, her life changed. She is Eloise Jane—the girl everyone believed to be the one and only true daughter of the Lopezes. But once the truth was revealed, she was cast aside. And to repay the Lopez family's care for her all those years, she’s forced to marry a wealthy man. Cozmo Dominguez—the sole heir of the richest family in the city. Yet despite all he has, there’s one thing he cannot do—walk. Will Jane be able to help him? Or will he ever learn to accept Jane into his life?
Lihat lebih banyak“Get out!”
A cold voice rang out, followed by the sound of glass shattering at her feet.
Good thing Eloise had stepped back in time—otherwise, her pants would’ve gotten soaked. Luckily, she was wearing pants and not a skirt, or she might’ve gotten cut by the shards.
She looked at the man sitting on the carpet near the bed, clearly irritated and disheveled—he was the one who had thrown the glass just to drive her away.
Her new husband, Cosmo Dominguez.
Originally, it wasn’t supposed to be Eloise who would marry him—it was supposed to be her sister, Elaine Lopez. But once the truth came out—that Eloise wasn’t really the biological daughter of the Lopez family—everything changed. She became nothing but an adopted child. She no longer held value in the family, and her parents stopped loving her.
In the end, they decided to marry her off to Zedrix Montes, the illegitimate son of the powerful Montes family, as a way of repaying the Lopezes' gratitude for raising her for twenty years.
But then Elaine suddenly insisted on marrying Zedrix herself.
The Lopezes, not wanting to lose their connection to the influential Dominguez family, pushed Eloise to marry Cosmo instead.
Cosmo Dominguez—the heir of the most powerful family in all of Tagaytay. A man admired by everyone: intelligent, handsome, and someone people couldn’t help but envy.
But after the accident that left him paralyzed, most women stayed away. Otherwise, Eloise wouldn’t have been forced to marry him.
At this point in Cosmo’s life, the glow he once had was gone. Now he was bitter, quick-tempered, and full of rage.
“I said get out! Didn’t you hear me?!” he snapped, annoyance written all over his face.
Eloise remained silent. No fear in her eyes, no pity either. She didn’t even look offended or judgmental. She was too calm.
Finally, she spoke gently, “I heard you.”
“If you heard me, then why are you still here?!” he growled.
Instead of backing down, she replied calmly, “Cosmo, we have an agreement. Our marriage was blessed.”
He knew that. Still, he glared at her. “So what? That doesn’t mean I agreed to marry you willingly.”
Eloise only nodded. “I understand.”
There was something unsettling about how simple her response was.
That’s when Cosmo realized—he didn’t need to dig deeper into her story. He already knew what she’d been through.
Those two words—“I understand”—meant she didn’t want this marriage either. Just like him, she was forced into it.
“And what exactly do you understand?” he asked coldly.
Eloise gave a faint smile. “I understand your anger. You didn’t want this marriage. And you don’t want me.”
“Is that so?” he replied, still cold.
Eloise slowly stepped forward, calm and steady. “Cosmo, can we just talk properly?”
She knew neither of them wanted this marriage. She also knew Cosmo was angry and ready to make her life hell. But if she didn’t take the first step, she’d suffer more. She needed to do something, to make things clear between them.
Cosmo stretched out his legs, leaning slightly against the bed, clearly uncomfortable. When Eloise knelt in front of him to see him better, it only irritated him more.
He hated the fact that he couldn’t move on his own. If he fell off the bed, he’d need help. And the last thing he wanted was for a woman to see him this helpless.
“We have nothing to talk about! Get out!” he yelled again.
But Eloise didn’t flinch. Her voice remained calm. “Cosmo, I just want a proper conversation. We may not have wanted this marriage, but this is our reality now. It would be better if we tried to understand each other and live peacefully as husband and wife.”
Cosmo didn’t care about her reasoning. “Why should I even try to understand you? Look at me. And you—so eager to get married. What are you after? Isn’t it obvious? You just want our family's wealth! I know my mother gave the Lopezes a dowry worth 200 million!”
On the outside, the Lopezes looked wealthy and stable. But the truth? They were drowning in debt. They were desperate to marry off one of their daughters—not for love, but to sell them off like an investment.
That 200 million peso dowry from the Dominguez family had saved the Lopezes from financial ruin. It rescued them from a crisis and, through the marriage alliance, gave them access to more opportunities and potential profits for their business.
But Eloise didn’t flinch at Cosmo’s accusation. “I’m not the Lopezes’ real daughter. But they took care of me for twenty years. I owe them. And I need to repay that debt.”
Cosmo smirked. “Heh—”
She made it sound so simple. Her reason sounded noble, sure, but he didn’t buy it. Would she really give up her entire life just to pay off a so-called debt of gratitude?
Eloise sighed softly. “Believe it or not, I just want to return the kindness the Lopezes showed me.”
Even if she didn’t marry Cosmo, they would’ve married her off to another rich man.
She used to be engaged to Zedrix. She helped him solidify his position in the Montes family, met with clients, closed deals, and supported him as he climbed the business ladder.
After Zedrix’s father passed away, Zedrix stepped up as the new head of the family. Not long after, he took control of several major companies, bringing his wealth almost on par with the Dominguez family.
Meanwhile, Elaine, who had married into the Dominguez clan, had done nothing to help the Lopez family. Because of that, the elders in the Lopez family often turned to Eloise for financial help or to use her connections to win certain projects.
It happened more than once, and Zedrix eventually grew tired of it. That’s when the rift between them started to deepen.
In public, they pretended to be a picture-perfect couple to maintain the company’s image. But behind closed doors, their relationship had long been broken.
That’s why, this time, Zedrix wanted to cut ties with the Lopez family early—before they could use him any further or force him to do what they wanted.
Cosmo naturally didn’t believe anything Eloise said. She had already lost her title as a legitimate Lopez, and now, she was just an adopted daughter.
In the world of the rich, adopted children didn’t hold much weight. The best-case scenario was for someone like her to marry into a newly rich or middle-class family.
But instead, she ended up with Cosmo.
With Cosmo, she didn’t just gain wealth—she also inherited the power and prestige that came with the Dominguez name.
Cosmo looked at Eloise, one eyebrow raised. “I still don’t believe you.”
Eloise shook her head. “Then let’s make an agreement.”
Cosmo was caught off guard. There wasn’t even a hint of sarcasm in her tone—she was dead serious.
Eloise wanted to ease his doubts about her true intentions. “You can hire a lawyer and draw up a legal agreement.”
Cosmo hesitated. “Are you being serious right now?”
Eloise already knew exactly what she wanted in the agreement, so she began explaining calmly.
“First, even if we’re married, it will only be in name. If we need to show up together in public as husband and wife, I’ll cooperate—but that’s it. There’s no real relationship between us, just appearances.”
Cosmo remained silent.
“Second, I’m in a complicated position with the Lopez family. If the time comes when I need your help to deal with them, you have to be my backup. You don’t need to show up in person or face them directly—but I need permission to use your name and power to make things happen.”
Cosmo didn’t respond.
“Third, since this marriage is just for appearances, once the time is right, I want a divorce—and when that time comes, you’ll agree to it with no conditions.”
Zedrix was angry at his mother—for being shameless. She had a relationship with a married man, got pregnant, and gave birth to him, branding him with the shame of being born out of wedlock.He was angry at his father too—for pretending to be a model husband while secretly having another family on the side. The man couldn’t even give his children a stable, whole home.He resented Georgina Montes for being cruel. Even though she knew her husband had cheated, she chose to cling to her title as the legal wife and took it out on every woman he had an affair with—including Zedrix’s mother.To be honest, Zedrix was angry at everyone around him—including himself. He had long dreamed of taking down the Montes family.Back when Eloise was still his fiancée, she tried to fix the way he thought. But in the end, she realized he was just pretending to listen. He used her as a stepping stone for his own ambition.The trauma and emotional wounds he had carried since childhood didn’t just go away—espe
Cosmo heard what Eloise said and immediately turned to her, a little surprised. Cosmo was someone who cared a lot about cleanliness. Even with wounds on his legs, he couldn’t go a day without taking a bath. Back then, a male nurse was assigned to help clean him up. But now that he had a wife—Eloise herself—Tania wanted her to be the one to do it, hoping it would help them grow closer.Eloise, however, had no intention of developing feelings for Cosmo. She knew their marriage didn’t have a solid foundation. It wasn’t something she dreamed of, and she had no plans of forcing a relationship that wasn’t built on love. All she wanted was to change her fate.Cosmo could barely believe what he just heard. “What did you say?”When he looked at her, Eloise’s ears turned slightly red from embarrassment. “Your mom told me to take care of you… She knows how particular you are when it comes to cleanliness, so she said I should be the one to wipe you down every night…”Without hesitation, Cosmo r
Eloise recognized the voice—it was Caroline Dominguez. She knew her well. Caroline was Elaine’s best friend and had once teamed up with her to bully Eloise.Caroline had assumed that Elaine would be the one marrying Cosmo, so she was shocked when she found out it was Eloise instead.Back when the Lopez family still treated Eloise as their real daughter, she was known for being smart and admired by many. People even called her “The First Princess of Tagaytay.” Even though Caroline came from the wealthy Dominguez family, she was often compared to Eloise, which only fueled her hatred.When it was later revealed that Eloise wasn’t truly a Lopez, Caroline didn’t stop mocking her. In her eyes, Eloise had lost all value without the Lopez name. She figured Eloise would end up marrying an average businessman at best, not someone from a rich family.What she didn’t expect was for Eloise to marry her very own cousin—Cosmo, whom she deeply admired.Caroline was furious. Her glare at Eloise was fi
Cosmo’s brow furrowed at the last thing he heard from Eloise. The first two conditions were understandable. Since they were now married, it was only natural to act like a happy couple in front of others. Besides, as his legal wife, if the Lopez family disrespected Eloise, it would be like insulting Cosmo himself. It made sense for him to stand up for her.But the third condition—was Eloise already thinking about divorce? They had just gotten their marriage certificate, and she was already talking about ending it?Just like she’d said before, she only married Cosmo because she had no choice. She never wanted to do it in the first place. For Cosmo, marrying a woman he didn’t even like was frustrating. So of course, he also wanted a divorce. But what confused him was why Eloise was the first to bring it up.She beat him to it. It was like she couldn’t wait to get away from him. To Cosmo, that was a direct hit to his pride.He held back his irritation. “So if you want a divorce, should I
“Get out!”A cold voice rang out, followed by the sound of glass shattering at her feet.Good thing Eloise had stepped back in time—otherwise, her pants would’ve gotten soaked. Luckily, she was wearing pants and not a skirt, or she might’ve gotten cut by the shards.She looked at the man sitting on the carpet near the bed, clearly irritated and disheveled—he was the one who had thrown the glass just to drive her away.Her new husband, Cosmo Dominguez.Originally, it wasn’t supposed to be Eloise who would marry him—it was supposed to be her sister, Elaine Lopez. But once the truth came out—that Eloise wasn’t really the biological daughter of the Lopez family—everything changed. She became nothing but an adopted child. She no longer held value in the family, and her parents stopped loving her.In the end, they decided to marry her off to Zedrix Montes, the illegitimate son of the powerful Montes family, as a way of repaying the Lopezes' gratitude for raising her for twenty years.But th
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