After Ever Happy

<> - Vanessa thought rock bottom was signing divorce papers with Derek Holland, a man with the emotional depth of a teaspoon. Turns out, rock bottom had a basement, and Ryker Holland was waiting for her down there with a smirk and a plan. Ryker, Derek's older half-brother (aka the family's dirty little secret), shows up offering Vanessa a deal: help her make her ex-husband, Derek Holland, jealous enough to come crawling back. In exchange, he secures his position as CEO. But Ryker isn't doing this out of kindness for he is petty and cruel. He would do anything to trample all over Derek, and now he has the perfect weapon. Vanessa, freshly dumped and just desperate enough to play along. And if she happens to enjoy making her ex suffer too? Well, that's just a bonus. As Vanessa sinks deeper into Ryker's twisted world of fake romance, secrecy and family dysfunction, things start getting real. Because fake love? It's a lot easier to control than real feelings. And Ryker has no idea what to do when the game stops being a game. Is Vanessa walking into a trap or building one of her own? Either way, the Holland brothers are going down. One's going to break, and the other's going to enjoy every second of it. _Disclaimer: This story features morally complex, flawed characters with twisted motives. It includes themes of manipulation, deception, and emotional cruelty. Reader discretion is advised.

My mate's adoptive sister asked me to go for a walk in the mountain forest and we encountered a sudden flash flood. My mate Nathan, the Alpha of Snow Peak pack, rushed to save us. But because we were both trapped on a breaking tree branch above the raging flood, he could only save one person at a time. To save his physically weak adoptive sister, my mate abandoned me - his Luna who was five months pregnant. I begged him desperately to save me. He watched as the flood waters dragged me under. "Sarah has always been weak since childhood. If we leave her here, she'll die." "Your wolf is strong enough to swim, but Sarah can't swim." But after my death, he went mad.

Amanda's world fell apart with just one inquiry during the silence of betrayal. "Did you receive the letter that came in this morning at your office?" Dickson's charge seemed weighty and unassailable as it lingered in the air. A storm that threatened to drown the promises of a lifetime had arrived in the form of the terrible divorce letter. Amanda's heart stumbled beneath the weight of broken vows as Dickson's icy words reverberated. She begged, her voice sour, "You promised me..." Unshed tears clouded her vision, and disappointment loomed over her, threatening to crush her. Dickson, however, remained unaffected and branded their union a sham. Amanda's fate had been decided by Amelia's reappearance. Amanda began to doubt the genuineness of the years she had spent in a loveless marriage once the discovery came upon her like a cold wave. "You're getting a divorce because she came back? Are we nothing more than a joke to you?" His reply was more incisive and exposed a fact Amanda hadn't dared to confront. She served as a pawn or stand-in in a game of family dynasty. "You were not the spouse I desired... I won't make the same error now that she's back." Dickson's scathing remarks highlighted the hollowness of their relationship as well as the wounds caused by unmet expectations. When Amanda experienced heartbreak, she was given a stern choice: sign the paperwork or go with a price tag on her value. Amanda was left to sift through the ruins of a marriage that was founded on dishonesty and unspoken wishes because Dickson's mastery of cruel words had reached its zenith. As Amanda debated whether to let go or fight for the love she thought was once genuine, the sour taste of betrayal persisted.

Xander Martin is a man with a reputation to uphold. He's handsome, rich, young, smart and... Cassanova. It's no secret that he likes to spend time with rich women. In fact, the whole town knew he didn't want to sleep with the same girl twice. But everything changed when he accidentally had sex with a girl. Frustrated that the girl is not the hired girl he thought he was, Xander accuses her of being a spy sent by his business rival to destroy him. So, is the accusation true? Did Xander succeed in finding the girl? The most important final question, who exactly is that woman?

“I can't stay married to you anymore, Nolan. You bring out the worst in me, you treat me in the nastiest ways. You don't love me. You don't even like the presence of me…” I winced slightly while trying to hold his gaze. His eyes darkened as they fell on my open thighs in the night dress I was wearing. “Your mouth says one thing Alanna but your body wants another thing. I can feel you already getting wet.” He put his lower lip as he moved his mouth closer to my ear to whisper something to me. Alanna has been humiliated, and disgraced by everyone. Married to a man who doesn’t love her. Hated by her family, she has no choice but to get a divorce and leave. Alanna is back now as a CEO and she determined to make everyone pay, especially her Ex-Husband. The man who onced despised her is falling heads over hills in love with her. Can she forgive him? Or will she go ahead with her revenge and make him pay? Knowing he is the father of her kids.

Katherine has to marry before twenty eight to inherit her mothers company. Days before the wedding she finds her fiancé with her stepsister. She walks out, drinks, and crosses paths with the low key CEO, Cade Lawson, a man she mistakes for a gigolo. In that haze she signs a marriage certificate with him without knowing. Now she wakes up tied to a powerful CEO and pushed closer to the first love she thought she lost.

After a tragic accident left Emily Yates without her memories, she fell in love with her savior, Justin Yates, unaware that he was hiding the truth and using her as a stand-in for his first love. For three long years, Emily poured everything into the relationship, hoping he would love her back. But on the day Justin proposed, he held his "one true love" in his arms and left Emily stranded on a foreign street, still expecting her to remain his secret mistress. Emily decided she would no longer be his stand-in. She ripped up the contract, kicked Justin out of her life, and hid her pregnancy before faking her death. When word of her death reached Justin, his world shattered. He fell gravely ill, barely clinging to life. Five years later, they crossed paths again. Emily had risen to fame as a renowned painter and jewelry designer, while Justin had swallowed his pride, now shamelessly chasing after her. “Emily, I know I messed up. Please, don’t leave me,” he begged, desperation in his voice. “Emily, can’t you just look at me, not other men? “Emily, I’ll be your model. Come over tonight and paint me, please? “Emily… Emily… My wife…” Emily’s fury boiled over. “Get lost! Who said I was your wife?” But Justin clung to her, refusing to let go, acting shamelessly. “I don’t care. You promised to marry me before, so that makes you my wife. “I don’t care! I don’t care!” he repeated.

Upon receiving the divorce agreement, Daniel Faulkner's name was added to Sheila Oscar's list of targets for revenge. But the more she tried to torment him, the more he seemed to enjoy it. As Sheila Oscar's various identities were revealed, Daniel Faulkner found out that she was, in fact, his true savior. The news shook the capital city. "Sheila Oscar, we need to talk," Daniel Faulkner said. Sheila Oscar responded coldly, "Talk about what?" "Remarry me!"

My sister Aurora and I mated to Alpha twins. Five months into my pregnancy, I was attacked by a group of rogue wolves. I reached my Alpha mate Alexander for help through mind-link. But he ignored me for nine times. The rogues circled me, biting at my arms and legs, drawing blood with each attack. Pain ripped through my body. With one last desperate cry, I reached out through our bond a tenth time. This time, Alexander's cold voice cut through my mind: "Have you acted enough? My sister Vicky has been kidnapped. Don't bother me anymore." Victoria was Alexander and Ethan’s stepsister, the one that they truly loved. With nothing to stop them now, the rogue wolves pounced on me. One tore open my stomach with his fangs, and I watched in horror as they ripped my unborn child to pieces. When I was almost died, Aurora found me and fought against the rogues. But there were too many. Soon Aurora was bitten and bleeding heavily beside me. She mind-linked her mate Ethan for help, but all she received was: "I'm looking for Vicky. Don't bother me." Aurora had no choice but to shift and drag me onto her wolf's back. She raced down the mountain, but a sudden thunderstorm caused a mudslide, trapping us. Fortunately, the border patrol guards found us, and both Aurora and I barely survived. When I woke up in the pack hospital, my first thought was simple: sever the mate bond.

What's the first thing you'd do if you were reborn? Me? I'd start by divorcing my husband, Finn Gallagher. Yeah, Finn Gallagher, the same man who runs half the underworld from behind closed doors. The Don. The richest man alive. The man women dream about; his face plastered on magazines, named "Sexiest Man Alive" five years in a row. In my last life, I tried everything to make him look at me like I mattered. I married him. I gave birth to his son. I swallowed every ounce of pride, trying to be the perfect wife. However, it didn't work. To him, I was no different than a waitress he might casually tip—forgettable, replaceable, invisible. So this time, I'm not begging. I'm not pretending. I'm handing Madeline Brooks the key to my place in his life, and walking away. She's Finn's first love, and also the shadow that haunted every day of my last life. Now Madeline was sitting opposite to me, blinked at me like she didn't hear me right. "You tried so hard to push me out," she said slowly, eyes narrowed. "Now you want me to be with Finn?" "Yes. That's all I'm asking. Just talk to Finn. Tell him to sign the divorce papers." I looked at her confused face and kept going. "Everyone knows I'm the last person who'd ever let Finn go. So if I say I want a divorce, he won't believe me for a second. But you? You're the one who can make that happen... aren't you?" She laughed, because she was finally getting her chance. I laughed too, because I was finally free.