Substitute

My stepson pushes me down from the second floor, all because I accidentally break a bowl. He stands over me, looking down with a cold, emotionless gaze. "You're just a stand-in my grandfather forced on us. Don't even think about replacing my mother!" I stare up at the boy I've raised for eight years, and his indifference cuts deeper than any wound. Blood slowly trickles down from my forehead. Fighting through the pain, I dial a number. "Whatever debt I owed has been paid. It's time for me to leave." Coincidentally, I already have the divorce agreement that his father has signed.

Ariana Mason lives with her Uncle and Aunt. She is a 21-year-old student who knows nothing about her actual parents. Her day starts like any other day except for one thing. Her aunt Helen sold her to a 40 years old businessman. His goons were chasing her for their boss as she was running in an abandoned place for her life. Ryan Walter, 24 years old, thinks that life is perfect because he has everything. His family, business, mansion, and a good-looking sweetheart, his soon-to-be wife. Until his wedding day, his lover runs with the other man. In agony and rage, he is going home when he walks on Ariana, running away from the goons. He saves her from them, but she has to marry him and stay with him for at least five years. Can she stay married to a man who already has someone in his heart? A man who saves her but in return wants everything except for love. A man who has dark desires in corners for his lover, but now she has to bear them.

Rivergate's most elite social circle had always shared an unspoken rule. Men were free to play the field as they pleased, drifting from one woman to the next. Women, on the other hand, were only allowed a single, discreet indulgence on the day they came of age—a privately hired "life assistant" meant to take care of their physical needs. … On my coming-of-age day, I picked Elliot at first glance from a hundred applicants who came in for interviews. He wore gold-rimmed glasses, looked composed and restrained, and carried himself with a calm maturity that set him apart. He was steady, meticulous, and obsessively clean. The only condition he agreed to was that there would be no bodily contact—hands only. And after every encounter, he would scrub his hands with disinfectant alcohol a hundred times. Over five years, the empty bottles alone were enough to circle the villa seven times. I used to think that one day, I'd help him overcome his barriers and truly make him mine. That illusion shattered the night I got drunk and accidentally wandered into Elliot's room. Hidden beneath his pillow was a DV camera, and inside were several videos of him pleasuring himself. On the screen, the same man who had always been calm and rational with me was staring at the lingerie of the adopted sister who had caused my mother's death, his Adam's apple bobbing as he moaned her name, "Chloe… I love you…" Only then did I realize that every step he had taken toward me had never been about me at all. It had always been a carefully concealed, long-nurtured love for her. So, it was very odd that he cried when I took my adopted sister's place in marrying someone else.

Rekindling the love that once burned bright is no easy feat when memories of betrayal linger. Aurora Graves was born to be Luna, a perfect match for her husband, Alpha Alexander Thorn. Their union was destined, their bloodlines powerful, and their marriage unbreakable. Or so she thought. When Aurora suffers a heartbreaking miscarriage during a grand ball meant to honor their unborn child, her world crumbles. But the most painful wound isn’t the loss, it’s Alexander’s cold treatment. While she mourns, he moves on as if nothing happened. And when rumors of his growing distance—and his refusal to share a bed with her—spread like wildfire, Aurora realizes she is teetering on the edge of losing everything. But betrayal runs deeper than she ever imagined. As Alexander's mistress rises in power, a web of deceit unfolds; secrets of poisoned love, a stolen fate, and a sinister plot that is ruining the perfect life she had. When Aurora learns she's carrying Alexander’s child, she faces an impossible choice: fight for a man who shattered her or embrace the one who offers her freedom. When truth and treachery collide, will love be enough to mend their broken hearts, or will vengeance tear them apart forever?

One night of masked deception. One night of feral heat. A lifetime of secrets. ~~*~~*~~ Morgana was a shadow in the house of Silas. A servant tasked with scrubbing the floors and hiding the scandalous secrets of her Mistress, Victoria, the Beta’s daughter. When Victoria’s debauchery threatens her betrothal to the lethal Alpha King Kieran Shadowfang, Morgana is once again forced into a mask and a royal gown to play the part of the perfect bride. She expected a cold meeting. She didn't expect the pull. One touch from Alpha Kieran ignites a fated mate bond that screams through her veins. One forbidden kiss leaves the Alpha obsessed with a woman whose face he hasn't seen. But when the truth is twisted by a master manipulator and a drugged rejection shatters her soul, Morgana is hunted into the woods with her new born. Three years later, she is no longer a servant. She is the queen of the rogues. A survivor, raising a son with the alpha’s eyes and a power that could level the kingdom. When Alpha Kieran, no longer the drugged puppet but a man desperate for the mate he thought he killed, he finds a woman who doesn't want him or his crown, and a son who doesn't know his name. Will Alpha Kieran be able to reclaim his mate, and son, or lose them to his mortal enemy, alpha king of the north?

Rachel lived her whole life in the shadows of her perfect twin sister, Ellien. Unloved, unrecognized, and cursed with a mysterious white hair that made even her father hate her. She was called a monster. But when Ellien her sister runs away from an arranged marriage to a powerful and feared man—J, the ruthless heir of the Charltons family. Rachel is forced to take her place. Everyone believes she’s weak. Powerless. A mere replacement. But Rachel carries a secret of her own, a hidden power she was never supposed to awaken... and a dangerous connection to the man they call a devil. With her mysterious ability awakening stronger than ever, and her heart slowly betraying her; Rachael finds herself caught between survival, a dangerous deal, and an impossible man. He was her enemy. She was his last hope. But fate had other plans.

One night. No names. No consequences — or so she thought. When aviation executive Sienna Hartwell discovers that the stranger she walked away from is her sister's groom, and that a ruthless debt covenant makes her the only woman who can save her family's company, she does the only logical thing: she takes her sister's place at the altar. But marrying Adrian Swift means living inside a contract she didn't fully read, a past she can't outrun, and a husband who has been three steps ahead of her from the very beginning.

Natalie Underwood and Damian Abbott were high school sweethearts. Both of them were the most good-looking students back in high school, and when they began dating, they were the most well-known golden couple on campus. There was once when they had made a vow to get married once they reached the legal age to do so. But just when their love for each other reached its peak, Natalie suddenly broke up with Damian before leaving the country with a rich scion. On the day of their break-up, Damian chased after Natalie for a very long time with red-rimmed eyes. To think that a young man as prideful as him kept begging her not to break up with him. He kept promising her that he would be successful one day. Damian begged Natalie not to act so rashly. He pleaded with her to wait for him and not to fall in love with someone else. But Natalie remained cold and aloof to him. She didn't even want to waste her breath on him. Heck, when she witnessed him getting into a car accident during his pursuit, she didn't bother returning to him. It was an extremely serious car crash. Damian's kidney was completely ruptured. He needed a kidney transplant in order to survive. Although he was lying on the surgical table while drenched in his own blood, he insisted on getting up so that he could call Natalie on the phone. But the calls that he had mustered all of his strength to place ended up getting hung up by Natalie repeatedly. For as deep as Damian's love for Natalie ran, hatred could run just as deep. From that day onward, Damien had nothing but burning hatred for Natalie.

Isabelle Cruz is forced to marry Jacob Garcia in place of her adoptive sister. As far as she knows, Jacob is an illegitimate son who's an idler, reckless, and not worth much. Unknown to her, he is a billionaire CEO who's determined to end their arranged marriage as soon as possible. Jacob Garcia is in a hurry to end his arranged marriage to his new wife, Isabelle. He doesn't think it's going to be hard. After all, why would a woman from a wealthy family stay married to a poor man? But he realises quickly Isabelle's is nothing like he expected, and that things may not go according to plan.

Emery’s undying love for her late mother drove her to do things only a desperate person could understand. To save her mother’s company, she agreed to marry a man twice her age. There’s no way she could escape the miserable truth, but on the day of the wedding, she married the wrong groom who turned out to be the wealthiest man in the country. It’s like the Heavens gave her another chance and she won’t let the chance slip away. However, can she withstand the tension whenever her fake husband is near her? What if she falls for him? Will he catch her? Or she’d fall into a more complicated situation? *** Every man's dream was to watch their bride walk down the aisle towards them, however, the beautiful dream turned into a nightmare when Terrence found a different woman under the veil. His bride ran away and he was forced to marry a stranger. To make everything more complicated, he just got appointed as the company President and he needs to maintain a good reputation. Keeping his fake bride by his side is the only choice left to him. However, how can he deal with his self-control when the woman he mistakenly married is a total goddess of temptation?