Arranged Marriage

My husband and I were the two people who hated each other most in this world. He hated me for tearing him away from the woman he loved. And I hated him because that his heart remained occupied by another woman. For eight years of marriage, the words we spoke to each other most often were not love, nor duty, but curses. Yet on the day the city fell, everything changed, the enemy banners were already visible beyond the inner gate. He rode ahead and took the road, putting his body between the enemy and my escape. “Live,” he said quietly. Then he raised his blade and did not look back. Arrows came like rain. As they tore into him, he turned his head once—only once— After that, his body held the road,and nothing passed. “If there is another life…may Your Highness grant me the mercy to belong to her.” That night, with the city in ruins and the people either dead or fleeing, I climbed the highest tower of the palace. I leapt. When I opened my eyes again, I went to the king. “The northern kingdoms require a royal bride,” I said. “I will go.” This lifetime, I will be the one to cross the border. In my previous life, he died believing he had failed her. This time, I will not allow that regret to exist. I will take the marriage meant for her. I will carry the crown meant to exile her. I will walk into a future she should never have to endure. Let her stay. Let him protect her. Let him live his life believing he has finally kept his promise.

We had been married for three years, yet my husband, Richard Thornton, who suffered from touch deprivation syndrome, still refused to consummate our marriage. Every time his condition flared up, he would only press his forehead tightly against the curve of my neck. I assumed he was saving himself for his first love, the woman who had left years ago. Then, I overheard him talking to his friends. "Stop teasing her next time. It makes her tense up every time." "Got it, Richard. But if you care about Valeria so much, why won't you touch her? It's been three years. Aren't you worried she'll leave you for someone else?" Richard shook his head. "You don't understand. The longer we're together, the harder it is to control myself around her. She's so delicate. I'm terrified I'll hurt her. As long as she's mine, I wouldn't care even if she slept with someone else first." His friends burst out laughing. "Richard, you're all talk. If you could really handle her being with another man, you wouldn't keep running to the hospital. You think we don't know what you're up to?" The next day, I found Richard's medical records. Visit after visit, he kept asking the same question, "How can I be gentler in bed? I don't want to hurt the woman I love."

ang kasalan kung saan pinagtagpo ang landas ng isa't isa. kasal ma kala'y peke lang, pawang gawa-gawa lang—iba pala ang inaakala. ang kasal na akala'y pagpapanggap lang, humantong sa katotohanang aksyon na akala'y acting lang. ang totoo ay...may nangyayari ibigan sa pagitan nilang dalawa na dahilan ng pagbunyag ng ibat-ibang sekreto.

"Did you ever, even once, imagine yourself loving me?" Sarah posed a hopeful question to Philip. "Don’t make me laugh, Sarah. Everything between us has been purely about pleasure and business.” Sarah had harbored feelings for Philip ever since she first saw him in a sports magazine. When his fiancée abandoned him at the altar to elope with another man, Sarah selflessly offered herself as a replacement bride to spare his embarrassment. After enduring three years of a loveless and toxic marriage, Sarah finally summoned the courage to divorce Philip, who was still pining for his former fiancée. She vowed to herself that she would find another man who would love, trust, and worship her like a queen. This is what she sought if she were to marry a second time. A year later, their paths crossed again. Philip confronted Sarah in a ladies’ restroom, demanding, “Do not let other men touch you!” Sarah remained indifferent; her demeanor noticeably changed. “And what if I do?” she retorted. Philip’s tone grew menacing, “You won’t like what I’d do.” Unfazed, Sarah shot back, “Mr. Cornell, I’ve never liked what you’ve done, even in the past. There’s nothing new about that, and please stop whining like a baby,” before turning and walking away, disdainfully leaving him behind.

“It’s just fourteen days. What could possibly go wrong in fourteen days?” With her daughter’s life on the line and nowhere left to turn, Jackie agrees to a fake marriage with a wealthy stranger in exchange for the money she desperately needs. All she has to do is pretend to be his wife for 14 days. What starts as a convenient arrangement spirals into a tangled web of secrets, heartbreak, and betrayal.

After six years together, Serena Kline discovered the love she trusted had been nothing but a lie. Her husband seized her father’s company and coldly handed her the divorce papers, as if she had never mattered at all. “You never loved me?” she asked. Nathaniel, her husband, looked at her with no trace of love left in his eyes and said, “Never.” With no hope left for her marriage, Serena walked away with empty arms and a fierce will to rebuild her life. *** Nathaniel Thorne believed he was prepared to lose anything to get retribution. But vengeance came with a cost he never understood until it was too late. When fate brought him into the same room with Serena again, he prepared himself for the rage, for her retaliation, but instead, Serena calmly asked, “So… was it worth it? Your ultimate revenge?” “I’m doing well,” he answered plainly, hiding the truth behind his commanding facade. Serena smiled, beautiful in a way that made his chest tighten. “Then, I’m happy for you. Peace and closure look good on you.” Her words landed sharper than she intended. Because the truth was, he had never found the peace she spoke of.

Zoya Cathelia Pradipta, usianya bahkan belum menyentuh seperempat abad, tetapi sudah harus mengalami dua kali pahitnya kegagalan rumah tangga. Cinta tanpa restu, dijodohkan dengan pria brengsek dan menikahi pria tidak bertanggung jawab. Harus sebanyak apa lagi dia merasakan penderitaan dan terus berpura-pura kuat? Walau tampak tangguh dan mampu menahan badai seorang diri, nyatanya Zoya mendambakan bahu yang kokoh untuk bersandar serta kehangatan cinta sebagai pelipur lara. Namun, mungkinkah wanita itu mendapatkannya di saat sang ayah sendiri menjadi penghalang terbesar Zoya untuk mendapatkan kebebasan dalam memilih?

Si Leana Allegre ay isang babae na nasawi sa kanyang unang pag-ibig, nagdesisyon siyang gumamit ng baraha upang pagsisihan ng ex-boyfriend niyang si Felix ang ginawang panloloko sa kanya. Ginamit niya si Damian, isang gusgusing estudyante na sa tingin niya ay madaling bilhin para maging fake boyfriend niya. Lingid sa kaalaman ni Leana na ang lalaki pala ay isang CEO at bilyonaryo na may lihim na pagtingin sa kanya. Sa gitna ng pagpapanggap, unti-unting nabura ang mga linya ng pagkukunwari. Nahulog si Leana kay Damian, at ibinigay niya ang sarili rito pero hindi niya alam na ang lalaki ay may mga lihim na dahilan sa paglapit sa kanya—Isang kasal na biglaan, isang pagtatapat na magpapabago sa lahat. Paano kung ang pekeng pag-ibig ay naging totoo? Paano kung ang katotohanan ngayon ay mas masakit pa kaysa sa naramdaman mo noon?!

Amaraiah “Aya” Reyes’s success as the Senior Marketing Manager of Madriaga Enterprises stands as proof of her skill and dedication. That’s what the public sees—her confident smile, her flawless image. But behind it all, she carries a secret that could change everything. She is secretly married to the company’s CEO, Zedrick “Zed” Madriaga. He was the man she first fell in love with. It was a marriage born from complicated circumstances, a binding agreement that both connects and divides them. Through the years, Aya learned to play the role expected of her—prim, proper, and untouchable even at the cost of her true feelings. But now, Zed wants more than shadows and silence. He wants to live in a world where they no longer have to hide from each other. With Aya’s growing success drawing public attention—and with people ready to expose the truth. So, she must make a choice. Will she keep living the perfect lie, or will she finally fight for who she really is… even if it costs her everything?

A familiar hand reached out toward me. His hand. Jonathan’s. Maybe Nathaniel now. The man I had kissed. The man I had touched. The man who had just married my sister. “Oh God, what have I done?” **************************************** She left without a word. Ten years later, an invitation brings her back… To face the sister she abandoned… A secret that was never supposed to surface. And a man she should have never touched. When Celeste Marlowe receives an unexpected wedding invitation from the baby sister she walked away from a decade ago, she expects cold shoulders and buried resentment…not a fiery one-night stand with a stranger who makes her forget everything. But the truth comes crashing in. He’s not a stranger. He’s the groom. Her sister’s groom. Now, trapped between the sins of her past and a secret she can’t outrun, life hurls her into something far more dangerous than heartbreak, a tangled web of power, lies, and blood-soaked secrets. Because in Velmont City, nothing is ever just personal. And some families don’t forgive… They own.