Hidden Ruins: Chapter 3

Bound by a ruthless family merger, powerhouse CEO Jennifer Conti is forced to trade her independence for a diamond ring. Her groom? Lucas Lombardi—a dangerously handsome, arrogant billionaire who views their marriage as a hostile takeover. As Jennifer’s past collapses and a betrayal by her boyfriend leaves her shattered, she must navigate a high-stakes world of elite power and lethal obsession. Between the cold boardrooms of London and the heat of their shared friction, a dark desire ignites. In this game of hearts and empires, love isn't a sanctuary—it's a battlefield where the only way to survive is to surrender

It was Christmas Eve. Once again, my parents left me alone at home, chasing triple pay at work. However, after twenty years of the same lonely holiday, I couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t want to sit in the quiet house by myself again, so I packed up some sandwiches and went to them. What I didn’t expect was to see them stepping out of a luxury car, arms linked with a boy who looked about my age, laughing like they didn’t have a care in the world, heading straight into a five-star hotel. “Mom, Dad, is it okay to leave Suzie all alone at home like that?” My mom waved it off and said, “It’s fine. She’s used to it.” My dad just brushed it off with a chuckle. “She’s nothing like you. You're our real treasure.” Upon hearing that, I turned and walked away. They'd been pretending to be broke all these years, lying to me about working overtime, about scraping by. Well, fine. If they don’t want me, I’m done wanting them, too.

Luke Fagundes is the son of billionaire Gonçalo Fagundes. The boy sees his life change completely when he discovers that his father betrayed his mother. Willing to reveal to the world who Gonçalo really is, Luke faces his own father, who sends him to another state, without clothes and without money. Luke will live hell on earth until he meets Aurora. Their lives, even with similar stories, will teach them that love heals many things, including wounds from the past. Will the son and also Billionaire Luke, abandon the idea of revenge to live a love story?

In the month before my 20th birthday, Dad digs out the information on the oldest daughters of the four most prominent families in Jorvale and tells me to select one of them as my partner for our upcoming marriage alliance. I choose Grace Sutton without hesitation, which shocks everyone else. After all, everyone in Jorvale knows very well that Connor Foster, the sole heir of the Foster family, has always been crushing on Abigail Chandler since I was a kid. Only I know that I've gotten to marry Abigail in my previous life. But on the day after our grand wedding, Abigail told me that Louis Hayes, the low-income student Dad had been sponsoring, was the man she loved. She announced in public that she was only my wife in name, but she'd always be Louis' wife for real. But when Abigail tried to pick Louis up the next day, she found out that he had already disappeared after leaving a relationship-severance letter behind. Abigail was hell-bent on believing that I was the one who forced Louis to leave. Because of that, she treated me like her mortal enemy for the rest of her life. She went through a lover per week, and she'd always be intimate with them in front of me. All of those lovers resembled Louis one way or another. Finally, on the day Abigail officially took over Foster Group, I died in a car accident by "coincidence". Now that I've been reborn, I decide to marry another woman and avoid getting caught up in Abigail's affairs anymore. But once Abigail hears my decision, she goes absolutely berserk.

“Brother, I’ve decide to get a divorce.” There was only a moment’s dead silence on the line. Then, Gilbert Cross’s voice came through, “You just married Vittorio yesterday!” I pondered it in my mind, a bitter smile touching my lips. It wasn't yesterday. It had been exactly 6,209 days. In my previous life,for the seventeen years of my marriage to Vittorio Croft, we were indeed the picture of perfect harmony. However, our fragile illusion came into pieces the day my older sister passed away from a critical illness. Grief-stricken, Vittorio suddenly fell severely ill himself. When he finally woke up from his coma, his assistant asked, “Sir, what about Silvia Cross?” Vittorio hadn't even blinked. He replied in a flat, indifferent tone, “Don't bother with her. She was originally nothing but a burden. I married her so that I could stay by her sister's side forever — if not as a lover, then as family.” Standing right outside the door, clutching a tray of warm soup, I laughed until tears streamed down my face. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself reborn on the very first morning after our wedding. We had just held the lavish ceremony, but the official paperwork hadn't been registered yet. I knew exactly what I had to do. Without a second thought, I took a pen and crossed out my name on the application form. In its place, I quickly wrote down Silvia Croft. From this moment forward, my past was buried, and I would never cross paths with Vittorio again.

I was with a fishmonger for seven years. Every night, he pinned me beneath him, reckless and wild. Until one day, he took off his bloodstained apron and came clean–he was getting engaged to Sophia, the Bilotti heiress. Only then did I learn that he was the Don of the Colleo family. “Hahaha! You fooled around with Ms. Mancini for seven years, only to take another delicate young lady’s hand in marriage. Surely, she’s going to come at you.” “Don Colleo, you should keep things sweet with her.” His men’s laughter echoed in my ears. “What’s the rush? I’ve broken her well enough these past seven years. If you don’t mind, you can have her for a couple of days. Evelyn… flexible.” On the day of Vincent’s engagement party, I handed the evidence of his crimes to the police. As the sirens ripped open the city night, someone called out my name. I smiled and leaped from the eighteenth floor.