Scumbag

His hand slid beneath my dress, fingers curling around my thighs with a possessive grip. "I always knew that scumbag couldn't treat you right," he murmured, his voice low and gravelly as his lips traced a slow path from my jaw to my neck. "Still can't figure out what you ever saw in him." I drew in a shaky breath as his hands moved higher, fingertips brushing the band of my panties, sending a jolt of heat through me. "Women like you are prizes, Sienna," he whispered against my lips, the words melting into my skin. My grip on his shirt tightened, knuckles white. "And prizes? They're meant to be fucking claimed. Owned." In the haze of intoxication, Alexander Grayson looked like the most beautiful thing on Earth—or perhaps he really was. "Can... can you make me forget about Ryatt?" I breathed, my voice trembling. A smirk tugged at his lips, dark and predatory, as his hand slid inside my panties, finding the heat of my wet, aching pussy. A soft moan escaped me, and I clung to him, every nerve alight."I'll make you forget about yourself, flower," with that he crushed his lips to mine. *** From the moment I met Alexander Grayson, I despised him with everything I had. But when with fate's cruel sense of humor he forced his way into my life, everything changed. He was everything I loathed—a womanizer, a violent monster, a spoiled heir with an ego larger than life itself. He should have meant nothing to me. Yet, I learned the truth the hard way: nothing about Alexander Grayson was ever simple. Alex dragged me into the hell he'd created, where he sat as the devil on the throne of darkness And the most terrifying part? I didn’t want to….escape.

During a mission overseas, I shielded my younger brother from an explosion—only to wake up months later, my body broken, my mind trapped in the void of a coma. Grateful for my sacrifice, he repaid me by marrying my wife. When I finally clawed my way back to consciousness and rushed home, I found my son kneeling on the ground, sobbing as his college acceptance letter lay shredded in his fists. My nephew loomed over him, slamming a steel pipe into his back. "Lick my shoes clean," he sneered. "Who are you to think you deserve an education?" And there was my wife clapping in delight, dabbing the sweat from my nephew’s brow like a doting servant. "You’re just like your deadbeat father," My wife spat. "Born to be my stepping stone." My eyes bloodshot, I tightened my fists. Every last one of them would pay for this dearly.

My suitcase, filled with precious and expensive birthday gifts, was mistakenly claimed by another person at the airport. When I opened the one left behind, I found it packed with men’s clothes instead of my belongings. Determined to retrieve what was rightfully mine, I went on a frantic search for the man who had taken my suitcase. When I finally confronted him and politely asked for an exchange, he responded with the gentlest of tones: “Oh, I opened it and realized I’d made a mistake—it’s all women’s items.” I breathed a sigh of relief, ready to thank him and express my gratitude. Then he added casually, “I couldn’t use any of those things, so I sorted them out and gave them to my girlfriend. You’re welcome.” My jaw dropped. I could barely muster a response as I muttered under my breath, “What the hell?”

On the night Isabel Shore gets married, she catches her childhood friend—now her husband—cheating on her. They've known and loved each other for 22 years. Meanwhile, her adoptive brother helps to steal the scumbag for his own sister's sake. Yet, he also acts like he's a good brother to her. How hypocritical, he actually fantasizes about the best of both worlds. Isabel sneers. Do they think she's a pushover that they can walk all over? Even after a decisive divorce, her ex-husband thinks she'll reconcile with him once she gets over her tantrum. After all, he's the only one who loves her so deeply. Her adoptive brother also thinks she'll come crawling after suffering out there. She grew up in wealth and is used to being comfortable, after all. To their surprise, Isabel has long since made a name for herself in Jeriton, thanks to a particular big shot's support. Finally, her ex-husband panics. "She's just throwing a tantrum! I'm the one she loves, and you're nothing but a tool she's using to get back at me!" The big shot smiles. "Is that so? That sounds like a win for me." Her adoptive brother is furious. "Haven't you suffered enough in the hands of one scumbag, Izzy? Why have you found another one? Can't you see everything I've done for you?" The big shot slams the door shut in his face and pins Isabel to the wall. "Remember that I'm the only one you can use. Don't even dream about doing it to anyone else!"

For seven years of marriage, my Alpha mate, Cassian Blackthorn, slept with thirty-two different women, every single one of them from my circle. I didn’t know how much longer I could endure it. Even when I was seven months pregnant, as I went to my prenatal check-ups alone, I kept enduring. Alas, disaster struck without warning. Cassian’s new fling, Sophia Corwin, led a pack of rogue wolves to ambush me. I clutched my belly with all my strength, begging Sophia to spare me and my child. She only sneered. "Ha. That wasn’t me. If you’re looking for the real culprit, go find them yourself." By the time a passerby found me and rushed me to the hospital, it was already too late. My baby… had died inside me. When my mother heard the news, her heart failed. She was gone, too. These two crushing blows left my world spinning. Hatred, grief, and fury rose inside me like a tidal wave, drowning everything else. Cassian’s father, Leon Blackthorn, came to the hospital to see me. Expressionless, I stared at him. "Let me go, Leon," I said in a raw and hoarse voice. "Whatever I owed you, I’ve paid it back in full."

I’d been married to my husband James for three years. On Valentine’s Day, he gave his stepsister, Mia, one hundred and eighty thousand dollars, along with millions in jewelry. I, on the other hand, received a free bouquet of roses. When I didn’t look thrilled, he accused me of being a gold digger. “Mia never had anyone to care for her growing up. Why are you competing with her? Isn’t being Mrs. Smith enough to feed your vanity?” Furious, I stormed out of the house. When a car lost control and came barreling toward me, he instinctively rushed to protect Mia, who was standing a full ten feet from the road. I was the one who ended up in the hospital. Lying in that bed, I finally gave up. I signed the divorce papers without hesitation. “Giving up the title of Mrs. Smith is the dumbest decision you’ll ever make,” he told me, looking down at me from above before walking away. Seven years later, we met again. He took one glance at my simple dress and laughed out loud. I didn’t bother to respond. I just held my daughter close and waited for her father—the richest man in the city—to arrive.

After being reborn, I quietly cut all ties with my husband, Nathaniel Cole. I go to work alone. I watch movies alone. Even when I cook, I only make enough for one. All because in my last life, I had married him only to be neglected for 40 years. At the very end, he coldly pulled the oxygen tube from me, spitting out words filled with hatred. "If I had a choice, I never would've married you!" I died in pain, filled with resentment. When I open my eyes again, my mother is speaking to me and my sister. "According to the marriage agreement, one of you has to marry Nathaniel. Which one of you will it be?" I'm just about to refuse when my sister, Catherine Brown, steps forward. She shoots me a contemptuous glance and says, "Mom, I'll marry him."

My husband's first love gets engaged. To make her regret it, he abandons me, his newlywed wife, and joins a research project down at the southern tip of the earth. I've made 999 attempts across several years to visit him, with each one ending in failure. After five years, I stopped going. During a lively birthday party, he suddenly shows up. When he sees my slightly bulging belly, he howls in anger. "I spent five years at the research base, and not once did you care about how I was doing! Who's the father of the bastard child you're pregnant with?" "It's none of your business," I calmly reply.

Hindi man lang ako hinawakan ng aking asawa sa aming honeymoon. Sabi niya, masyado siyang pagod at nakiusap na maghintay ako. Pero tuwing madaling-araw, palihim siyang bumababa sa basement. Kapag bumabalik siya, agad siyang naliligo para mawala ang hindi maipaliwanag na amoy. Tinanong ko siya kung ano ang ginagawa niya roon, at ang sagot niya, nag-eehersisyo siya. Pero sino namang mag-eehersisyo sa kalagitnaan ng gabi? Hindi ko na kaya. Isang gabi, nagdesisyon akong sumilip sa basement para alamin ang totoo. Hinabol niya ako at hinawakan ang pajama ko, saka pasigaw na sinabi, "Bumalik ka rito! Hihiwalayan kita kapag bumaba ka dyan!"

Sa araw ng divorce ko, nag-update ng social media ang dating biyenan ko gamit ang isang larawan. Ito ay ultrasound ng kerida ng asawa ko – buntis siya. Binati siya ng kanilang mga kaibigan at pamilya. Habang ako naman ay nag-share ng isang premarital medical report. Ito ay pag-aari ng anak niyang si Owen Wade. Malinaw na nakasaad dito na mayroon siyang congenital necrospermia. Hindi ko kailanman nanaisin ang isang lalaking baog!