Couture and Consequences
My five-year marriage with Alexander was like a couture gown, ripped to shreds.
"I want Victoria to show your collection for the New York Fashion Week spring preview."
My husband Alexander's voice cut through the sketch I was working on.
I stopped drawing.
I must have heard him wrong.
"What did you say?"
"Victoria is new. She needs a platform. Your new spring collection is the perfect springboard for her."
"You're a showstopper every year. What's the harm in giving her one shot?" he asked, his tone as casual as if he were discussing the weather.
"Besides, the brand needs new blood."
I stared at the man I'd spent five years with. Suddenly, his face looked sharp, unfamiliar.
"Do you have any idea how many nights I've stayed up working on this collection? And you want to give it to some new assistant?"
"Evelyn, don't be so petty. It's just a preview."
His expression turned cold. "I've already decided."
I clenched my fists, a thousand emotions churning inside me.
Fine. If you're going to treat me like this, don't blame me for leaving you.
Tamat
Who Would Want a Faded Love?
Everyone is jealous of Scarlett Meyer's perfect marriage because her husband is so in love with her that it's literally carved into his bones.
However, it isn't until the day she finds out she's pregnant that she realizes her husband, Joachim Davidson, has been cheating on her for the past two years.
And the person he's cheating on her with? Katrina Greene, Scarlett's college bully. Katrina even has a pair of twins with Joachim.
Katrina won't stop provoking Scarlett, and Joachim also continues lying to her face to be with Katrina.
To get back at her cheating husband, Scarlett decides to abort her baby and fake her own death.
But just before she leaves for good, she puts the abortion report and proof of Katrina's provocation in an envelope and gifts it to Joachim, telling him that he can only open it a few days later.
Tamat
Love Unanswered
Rosalie Lardner has 19 chances to get Brandon Searle into bed. Succeed just once, and she wins. Fail all 19, and she loses the title of "Mrs. Searle" for good.
This is the bet she made with Brandon's stepmother—a deal she signed with complete confidence. But unfortunately, she fails every single time. Eighteen attempts, 18 failures.
Now, it all comes down to the 19th try.
Tamat
Buried and Forgotten
I secretly married my husband for six years, and then his first love came back. I decide to leave with my child and let his first love take her rightful place.
Tamat
Lost in the Pause
Sated from their passionate deed, Jonathan Sheffield rises and gently scoops the worn-out Eloise Carter into his arms. He cleans her in the bathroom, carries her back to bed, and lets her settle in.
Normally, Eloise will have fallen asleep by now. But she won't allow herself to doze off tonight, not before she takes out the birthday present she's carefully prepared for Jonathan.
Jonathan is making a phone call out on the balcony when Eloise quietly takes out the present she has hidden. It's a red velvet box, containing the ring she plans to give him when she proposes.
She inches closer to the balcony and is about to speak when she freezes.
A shocked, male voice rings out from the other end of Jonathan's phone, which he's casually left on the balcony ledge.
"What the hell? You must be out of your mind, Jonathan! You're planning to take Eloise's heart and give it to Sonia?"
Tamat
All I Ask Is a Quiet Life
Celeste Lodge has been married to Terence Ford for three years. He's hated her guts the whole time.
The day Winona Ford returns, he finally can't take it anymore and begins planning to fake his death so he can run away with her.
"I'll fake my death in one month. I'll give up my position as heir to the Ford family and be with Winona forever."
Hearing this from outside the operating room, Celeste Lodge immediately contacts a lawyer to draft divorce papers.
Then, she calls her brother, Hayden Lodge, who lives abroad.
"Hayden, I'm done with Terence. I'm ready to leave and live overseas with you."
Tamat
A Love Without Anchor
"Sir, the divorce agreement from the safe."
On their fifth wedding anniversary, in a dimly-lit restaurant, Xavier Hampton's secretary placed the divorce papers in front of him.
Five years ago, on the day Elizabeth Eaton and he registered their marriage—
She had loved him deeply. So deeply that she had prepared the divorce agreement in advance, signed her name, and locked it away in the safe. If she ever betrayed him, all he had to do was sign.
Xavier picked up the pen and swiftly signed his name.
Across from him, the empty seat seemed heavier than any presence. His gaze dimmed.
"Send the divorce papers to Attorney Harvey," he said, his voice calm, almost detached. "Then book a hotel and have the wedding venue set up in advance."
The secretary hesitated for a moment before carefully asking, "Whose names should I write as the bride and groom?"
"Elizabeth Eaton and Connor Walker."
Tamat
The Final Party
Edward and I held our engagement party in Las Vegas. Everything seemed perfect—until someone suggested a game of Truth or Dare.
One of Edward's female coworkers looked me straight in the eye. "I am pregnant. It is your fiancé's baby."
Laughter burst out around us. Everyone thought it was a joke—except Edward.
After the trip, we returned home. He looked uneasy.
"I'm the father of Juliet's baby," he admitted.
"Don't overthink it. We were on a business trip and got too drunk with a client. We accidentally spent the night together.
"She is from a British aristocratic family. Reputation matters a lot to her. She will never marry me. She only wants to have the baby and raise it alone."
"So what are you saying?" I asked.
"I am the father. I have to take responsibility. I will stay in the apartment I rented for her and take care of her pregnancy on weekdays, and come home on weekends.
"Our wedding will be delayed. We will get married after the baby is borned."
I gave a small smile. So he had it all planned out. He was just here to inform me.
He let out a sigh of relief, picked up his Rimowa suitcase, and walked out without looking back.
I wiped the tears off my face and began packing away all the memories of our relationship.
Suddenly, my phone buzzed. The voice on the other end sounded messy and emotional.
"Margot, I freaking love you. Don't marry him. Marry me instead."
I froze for a second, then replied, "Okay."
Tamat
The Borders of Love
When my husband returned home to visit his parents, I noticed that he forgot to bring back the specialties he had bought.
I ran after him, only to find him getting out of a car in a suit.
His childhood friend stepped forward to welcome him.
They held hands and smiled as they looked into each other’s eyes. They looked like a happy, newlywed couple.
Only when my husband saw me standing not too far away did he hurriedly distance himself from his childhood friend.
“Her mother’s critically ill, and her mother’s only wish is to see her get married. I’m just helping her.”
I simply smiled. I pushed him right back to his childhood friend’s side and started cheering with everyone else.
“When’s the baby coming?! I’ll be sure to wrap a nice gift!”
Tamat
My Safe Harbor
At the banquet, the most wanted bachelor of Rivenport announced that my stepsister was the woman he truly wished to marry.
Without hesitation, I stepped aside and married Simon Barker, who had been pursuing me for years.
Our married life was filled with love and happiness.
That joy lasted until I finally became pregnant, when I discovered he had been slipping contraceptives into the milk he gave me every night.
I also found a custom diamond necklace he kept in his safe that was labelled "For proposal", but the engraving bore my stepsister's initials.
It became clear that I had only ever been an obstacle he needed to remove for the woman he truly loved. All those years, he had pretended to love me, but he was just using me as a stepping stone for my stepsister's bright future.
No matter how blind I had been before, now I was fully awake to the truth.
With a consent form for abortion and a divorce agreement in hand, Simon and I became strangers forever.
Tamat