Before It's Too Late Novel Novels & Stories

She gave him one month. He thought it was greed. He had no idea it was goodbye. Annabella Hills has been invisible her whole life—raised as a charity case, scorned by her mother-in-law, and forced into a loveless marriage with Alpha Antonio Greenwood to honor his late father's dying wish. For years, she's endured cold indifference from the husband who sees her as nothing more than an obligation, while the pack whispers that she's not worthy of the Luna title she's never been allowed to claim. When Antonio announces he's finally found his fated mate, Annabella knows her time is up. But instead of stepping aside quietly, she makes one final request: one month. One month where Antonio must treat her as his true wife, his true Luna, before they perform the rejection ritual at the Moon Rite. Antonio thinks she's desperately clinging to a title she never deserved. His mother thinks she's a shameless homewrecker standing between true mates. Even Christiana sees her as nothing more than an obstacle to be removed. None of them know the truth. Annabella isn't fighting for a marriage—she's fighting for a chance at the one thing she's never had. As the only surviving heir of the Ancient Wolf Clan, hunted since childhood and hidden in plain sight, she's spent her entire life unloved and alone. Now, with her heat approaching and time running out, she wants one precious thing before she disappears forever: a child to love, and to be loved by in return. But as the month unfolds and Antonio begins seeing his wife for the first time realizes he's been blind to the treasure he's had all along.

She never chose him. Her family chose for her. An arranged marriage. A life she never wanted. But she tried… she truly tried. She loved. She hoped. She forgave far too much. Until the day she discovered two betrayals at once her husband’s… and her best friend’s. That was the day her heart shattered completely. But something else was born inside her, too. She will learn to rise. To become a woman who says no. A woman who stands on her own. A woman who never looks back. And when another man enters her life simple, gentle, patient. she discovers that real love exists. The kind of love that doesn’t hurt. Her husband will understand… too late. Because she won’t return. This time, it’s over. This time, it’s too late to love her.

I sold three years of my life for three hundred thousand dollars a month—just to keep my grandmother alive. That was the deal. One hundred rules I couldn’t break. A cold marriage contract. And a husband who looked at me like I was the reason his world had burned down. August Harrington didn’t want a wife. He wanted revenge from the beginning. He was convinced I destroyed the only woman he had ever loved, so he made me pay for it every single day. The pain. The humiliation. The nights I cried until I had nothing left. He broke me in ways I never thought I could survive. I hated him. God, I hated him. But hate is a dangerous thing when it starts twisting into something darker. Something addictive. Something I couldn’t escape. Then a secret revealed. And that’s when everything went to hell. Terrified and desperate, I ran. Five years later, I’m back. No longer the scared, shattered girl he once broke. I’m stronger now, harder. Ready to face the man who still haunts my nightmares. But August’s obsession never faded. It only grew more twisted and more dangerous with time. And now another powerful man stands in his way — the one who helped me piece myself back together. One broke me a thousand times. The other gave me an escape. Who do I choose?

I was Randy Johnson's contract wife. For five years, I tried every possible way to make him fall in love with me. But aside from showing me concern in bed, he ignored me the rest of the time. When a piece of equipment at the amusement park fell and struck me, the first thing he did was rush to his beloved first love. She was startled but unscathed. Yet, he rushed her straight to the hospital. When a towering cake display collapsed on me, leaving blood streaming down my arm, he still chose to comfort his first love, who merely had a stomachache. Since he loved her so deeply, there was no reason for me, his contract wife, to stay. So I let him go and freed myself in the process. I chose to study abroad, vowing never to see him again for the rest of my life. I never expected… this time, he would be the one to regret it.

On the night Alice Laurent discovered she was pregnant, her husband handed her divorce papers. After three years of marriage, Vaylen Morgan had finally gotten back the only woman he had ever loved — his ex-fiancée who disappeared before their wedding and destroyed him. Alice was never the woman he wanted. She was only the woman who saved his life. Heartbroken, Alice asks for one final thing before signing the divorce papers: one real memory with the man she spent three years loving alone. But that night ends in public humiliation, betrayal, and the final destruction of her marriage. So Alice disappears. Vaylen thinks she is just another woman walking out of his life. What he does not know is that Alice leaves carrying his child… and hiding a secret powerful enough to shake his entire world. Because the quiet wife he discarded was never ordinary. She is Alice Laurent — heiress to one of the most powerful families in the world. Years later, Vaylen meets her again beside a little girl with his eyes, another man at her side, and a life that no longer has room for him. Now the man who once wanted freedom from his wife is desperate for another chance. But this time, Alice may never let him close enough to break her again.

After I was kicked out of the house, my sister, Nicole Thompson, and I met at a nightclub five years later. She was the VIP client who spent millions to celebrate Michael West's, her godbrother's, birthday, while I was the male host in the hype team. We didn't talk to each other the whole time until she saw me chugging two bottles of whiskey for a 500 dollar tip. When she saw my pallid face, she questioned coldly and unhappily, "You'd rather do this disgusting job than come home and apologize? Jack, you really are unbelievable!" I just smiled indifferently and held out my hand to her. "500 bucks. Cash or Venmo?" Times had moved on, and I no longer wished to bring up past grudges. However, the 500 dollars I had just earned was just enough for me to pay the balance due for my cremation urn.

Cold divorce papers. A shattered heart. And a man who realized her worth far too late. For three years, she endured a loveless marriage, clinging to the hope that one day he would choose her. But the moment his first love returned, he didn’t hesitate. He cast her aside without a second glance. Even her final, desperate question couldn’t make him stay. So she walked away… burying her love along with their past. Years later, she signs the final divorce papers from a hospital bed, ready to erase him from her life forever. That’s when the untouchable CEO breaks. In front of everyone, he falls to his knees, his voice trembling as he begs her not to leave him. He once let her go without regret. Now, he will do anything to have her back. But some wounds don’t heal… And some love stories don’t deserve a second chance.

It's my husband, Niall Luther's birthday. I take my son to the hospital to visit Niall since he's working late; I want to surprise him. However, we get into an accident on the way there. When I rush to the hospital with my bloodied son in my arms, I see Niall holding his first love's daughter. He coos at her and says, "This might be a small wound, but there's a risk of infection if it isn't handled well!" His first love, Chelsea Blanc, gives him a chiding look. "You treat Lulu so well that I'm getting jealous." Niall wraps an arm around her. "It's only because I love you. You're the one I love the most." I pull out my phone and call him. He keeps his arm around Lulu White and rejects my call. So, I text him, telling him our son is injured and has been taken to the hospital where he works. I tell him he needs to attend to our son. However, he berates me for lying. I have no choice but to take my son elsewhere for treatment. Before leaving, I see Niall kiss Chelsea tenderly and tell her he wants to take her to an amusement park. That's when I know he and I are over.

I masterminded a half-billion-dollar art auction to wash money for Miles’s family. But at the celebration party, Miles gave all the credit to Rebecca. His childhood friend. The daughter of the family’s consigliere. I stormed into his study. “Miles, head curator was Rebecca? Are you sure about that?” He looked up from a cloud of smoke, pulling me into his arms. His voice was a low, soothing rumble. “Valerie, I know you want to prove yourself, but this was all Rebecca. Especially the Caravaggio. The real one, worth three hundred million. She’s the one who pulled it off.” His lips brushed my forehead, his breath hot. “I don’t love you because you can fix some old paintings. You’re my queen, always. My girl. You don’t have to worry about her.” I almost laughed. The anger was choking me. “She can’t tell the difference between oil and acrylic. How the hell would she know a real from a fake?” “Enough!” Miles cut me off, his tone leaving no room for argument. “I know what Rebecca can do. Don’t make a scene just because you’re jealous.” His hands tightened, trapping me in his smoky embrace. “Don’t disappoint me, Valerie.” But he already had. When I’d had enough of his favoritism and his blindness, I walked. And that's when he went crazy. Scoured the earth looking for me. Begging me to come back, saying he was blind, that he’d been wrong about everything.

I always thought if I just held on a little longer, I could still keep this family together. But my mate Ethan and my brother William poured all their favoritism onto Ava and her mother, and left me nothing but coldness and humiliation. They could even look me in the eye and say, “She’s your sister too,” like that was enough to make me bless them. That night, I did something so insane it bordered on self-destruction: I dragged my suitcase out the door and let the house that held all my memories get swallowed by flames. The news exploded, our villa became ruins. The security footage showed “no one leaves,” and the police made a preliminary judgment that the person inside was “highly likely deceased.” Ethan didn’t believe it. Not until he and William were handed that bag of belongings at the police station, a diamond, a Blood Moonstone, the things I treasured most, did they finally understand: I wasn’t throwing a tantrum. I was really, truly done with them. Too bad. It was already too late.