Barking Up The Wrong Tree

My boyfriend, Dallas Clarke, had a pick-me girl constantly hanging around him named Olivia Phillips. She knew perfectly well that I had diabetes and could not eat high-sugar foods. Yet, during our hiking trip, she still managed to trick me into eating a high-sugar energy bar, which caused my blood sugar to spike. When I pulled out my insulin pen to inject myself, I discovered with horror that my medication had been replaced with saline solution. Seeing me collapsed on the ground, dry heaving uncontrollably, Olivia smirked in disdain. "You are always so dramatic. It's just sugar, you don't need to act like you're dying. That's why I told Dallas to switch your meds, because you needed to toughen up and build some stamina." I looked toward Dallas, my breathing already becoming labored. "Dallas, give me my medication. If I don't inject insulin soon, I'm going to die..." Dallas frowned slightly. "Don't you think you're being a little overdramatic? I've never heard of anyone dying from a bit of sugar. Olivia's right... You're such an attention seeker. We barely get together as a group, and here you are causing a scene." My heart sank, and I called Dad immediately. "Dad, I'm getting bullied, and I might die! Are you going to do something about it or not?"

The care center called. "Hi, just wanted to ask if you're happy with our service so far." Well, that was odd. I was only eight months along. My baby wasn't even born yet. I had no need for the care center at the moment. So I kept digging. I pressed my husband for answers. He was the one handling the talks with the care center. I wanted to know what was going on. He gave me an apologetic look. "This center costs 120 grand, honey. We can't afford that. They must've gotten the wrong number. You should stay at home instead. I'll give you the perfect care you need." That was it. I wasn't going to waste my time talking to him. My sister, Jessie Gibson, owned the care center, so I called her instead. "Jessie? Yeah, it's me. William sent another woman to your place and stole my spot. I want you to find out who. He's cheating on me, and I'm getting proof!"

“You are not going to disrespect me! She is a commoner, and I’d rather die than let you be with her!” Isaac’s father was very loud and his tone was threatening. “Then you better drop dead right now, because I’m sick of being caged by the standards and rules that this family has set for me! I’m sick of being a robot built for the sole purpose of being the heir to the Ford fortune!” Isaac spat the words in his father’s face.

My mother-in-law, Teresa Hawke, said she was trapped inside her burning villa. I called my husband, Asher Jensen, begging him to save her. But he was too busy at some bar, flirting with his childhood sweetheart, Melanie Lanner. It wasn't until I begged him, over and over, that he finally went to save Teresa. But Melanie was snatched from that same bar, tortured, killed, and dumped. He acted like none of it mattered until I got pregnant. Then out of nowhere, he threw it all back on me, saying it was my fault. Asher pulled every string he could to bankrupt my family, driving Mom and Dad to leap to their deaths. Then he rounded up a gang of violent psychopaths and threw me in with them. I begged again and again, but he just watched me with that dead stare. "You'll suffer like Mel did before she died! She left this world in agony. Why should you get to live? That's not fair." 99 stab wounds—that was how many it took before I finally bled out and died. And then, I woke up, right back on the day Teresa screamed for help from inside that burning villa.

One disastrous night. One mysterious savior. One impossible choice. When Nora Sutherland's brother destroys their family's future, she becomes the sacrifice. The deal is simple: marry billionaire Sterling Marlowe, save everyone she loves, survive three years of a loveless arrangement. But the man waiting at the altar isn't Sterling. He's darker. Dangerous. Devastating. And his steel-blue eyes hold secrets that make her heart race and her instincts scream that something is very, very wrong. Griffin Marlowe has been searching for the woman he saved from disaster three months ago. The woman he held through the darkest hours. The woman he can't forget. Finding her should have been a relief. Discovering she's about to become his brother's wife? A nightmare. Realizing he's the one marrying her instead? Unforgivable. Some lies destroy everything. Others might just save them both. If the truth doesn't kill them first.

Tricked. Rejected, and Betrayed. Thinking she has had enough share of this world’s cruelties, Blair's only desire is to end up with the man she has loved her entire life. To her, their marriage is much more than just a contract. When she finds out she's pregnant, her hope increases that he'll reciprocate her love. However, even the contract marriage is just another trick designed by her sister, and Raymond played his part perfectly. Unable to bear his rejection, her only option is to run. But will she let her sister's betrayal destroy her? Will she let the heartbreak stop her from seeking revenge?

I'm dressed in flip-flops and shorts when making an inspection of the five-star hotel my husband just acquired. When the front office manager spots me, she immediately calls for security with a disgusted look on her face. "The hotel's WiFi isn't meant for people like you to use. Hurry up and pay me 200 thousand dollars in Internet costs, then get lost!" I calmly tell her that I'm the owner of the hotel, but that only makes her sneer. "The owner of the hotel? Hey, old hag, you're putting on an act in front of the real deal! This hotel was a birthday gift from my husband to me. Aren't you fantasizing a bit too much?" Oh? Since when did Ian Lambert get another wife behind my back?

For seven years, I've kept my identity hidden while secretly helping my girlfriend, Natasha Doyle, become one of the top designers in the world. A major design awards ceremony is being held tonight. My plan is to reveal my real identity and propose to her after she receives the award. But then, I see her walking up on stage, hand-in-hand with Connor Gibson, her partner in the design studio. "All of Natasha's accomplishments are the result of my hard work and effort," Connor proudly declares. Natasha smiles and nods in agreement. "Without him, I wouldn't be the person I am now." Thunderous applause rings from the crowd. The camera flashes keep going off. I stand in the corner, my heart in despair. As I walk out of the venue, I make a call. "Cut off all the funding and investments into Natasha's studio. Don't help her with the patent infringement lawsuit either. Let her deal with the legal consequences herself."

When Aviannah woke up from an accident, she chose to pretend that she remembered nothing so she could stay with the young man who first made her heart beat. She was determined to introduce him to her father as the man she wished to marry someday. But what if she discovers something in the end? Would she still be fearless if the man she loves turns out to be her brother?

She agreed to marry the man she had been promised. She woke up beside the man she was never meant to choose. By the time she realizes the truth, it is already too late. The vows have been spoken. The documents signed. The marriage is legal, binding, and irreversible. The man she married is not gentle, nor apologetic. He does not explain himself. He does not beg for forgiveness. Instead, he watches her with calm authority and tells her what no one else will. This was never a mistake. Trapped in a marriage she never consented to, she is pulled into a world ruled by power, silence, and family secrets that refuse to stay buried. Every step she takes is measured. Every decision has consequences. And every attempt to escape only tightens the grip around her life. Between two brothers bound by rivalry, resentment, and unfinished history, she becomes the center of a war she never saw coming. One brother wants her back. The other refuses to let her go. What begins as fear slowly turns into something far more dangerous. Something that blurs the line between control and desire, resistance and surrender. In a marriage born of deception, the most dangerous question isn’t how she ended up here. It’s whether she will ever be able to leave… or if she will choose to stay.