Before We Were Strangers Novels & Stories

For one year, I believed Matteo De Luca had truly fallen in love with me. Our marriage began as an alliance, but he held me every night, kissed me before council meetings, and fastened the De Luca Donna brooch at my throat as if I already belonged beside him. Then his first love, Vanessa Ashford, came back. Within days, our official ceremony was postponed, her access was added to the Donna wing, and Matteo stopped wearing the family signet he once used to claim me in public. He said it was council business. But council business did not leave amber perfume on his skin. It did not sit beside him on a private jet to Palm Beach. And it certainly did not smile from the Donna’s chair while his friends watched me lose my place. The final humiliation came at a private dinner, when someone asked whether I was Matteo’s wife. He looked at me, then said calmly, “Elena and I have an arrangement.” That night, I stopped waiting to be chosen. Matteo could keep his first love, his title, and the home he let her enter. I packed my passport, my Florence contract, and the prenatal report he had never seen. Then I left New York with his child.

The world has one rule. The beast determines your worth. Mira has no beast. No rank. No place among the strong. She is an Omega in a world that has already decided what she is and what she will never be. But when a selection letter lands on her doorstep, one that should never have had her name on it, she stops playing by the rules. Training camp is brutal. The students are stronger, faster and backed by bloodlines she can only dream of. And then there is Caden Crest. Cold. Untouchable. Next in line to rule the world. The boy who looked her in the eye and told her she didn't belong. The boy who felt something in that moment and has been running from it ever since. Mira has survived everything the world has thrown at her. She just didn't know the hardest thing to survive would be him.

On the night of my wedding, my best friend's younger brother wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked me, “It’s a little big. Can you handle it?” I stared at his perfectly defined abs, my mind going completely blank. “What?” He repeated, “Can you handle it?” My voice jumped an octave from my panic. “Aren't we supposed to take things slow? Isn’t this way too fast?” That night, the sound-activated lights in the house flickered on and off until dawn. Meanwhile, my ex-husband was squatting downstairs. His eyes were swollen red from crying, but I did not even spare him a thought. Back then, when I agreed to let him proceed with a fake wedding with his childhood sweetheart, Miles Carter thought our cold war was over. When he explained things to me, he said, “Vivian and I will only be married on paper. The ceremony is just to satisfy my mom. I swear, when this is over, we’ll live as a real couple.” I remained silent. I just stared at the countdown on my phone, counting the days until I could finally leave. He did not know that the moment he tricked me into signing the divorce papers, our marriage had already ceased to exist.

Warning! Mature Content! *Excerpt* "Does it make you nervous when I stare?" His voice was laced with sinful passion. "Will you hate me if I do this?" His dark gaze took in her entire frame. "I am obsessed with you, Delaney." *** Delaney, a beautiful woman, only wished for one thing - A peaceful life, and perhaps, a little touch of financial independence. But throughout her childhood, life gave her a contrast to her wish. She grew up knowing nothing but hatred from her family, and eventually, from her fiancé too. For three years, Delaney paid for a sin she never intentionally committed - losing her virginity to a stranger. This innocent mistake chattered her life and her relationship with Blaine. He detested her so much. But one question is: Why hasn't he called off their engagement? Gradually, Blaine was becoming the man she hoped he'd be. She'd secured a job at a prominent company too... She was already inching closer to her dreams when suddenly, he resurfaced - The stranger who had almost ruined her life three years ago. This stranger who was perfectly built for sin turns out to be Blaine's boss, the most dreaded Adonis Langston. And this time, he wanted more than just a one-night stand... Poor Delaney's life was set into panic once again. Little did she know that she had also cast her spell on her soon-to-be boss, who turns out to be Adonis's childhood best friend! Oops! Financial Independence, power, and fame at its peak... All hell is about to let loose as these three men are never known for surrendering. She had all she needed to exert revenge on those who'd hurt her, depending on the decision she makes. But in all of these, she is about to face the biggest betrayal of her life.

He didn't want me as his real mate—just a contract Luna he barely tolerated. But everything changed the night my wolf stirred, and I found out I was carrying his child. Now, with only thirty days left before our marriage ends, my Alpha chooses another woman. He looks at her with a love he’s never given me. I'm left with one choice; to leave and protect my child. And I will disappear from his world forever. But when the truth awakens, will the Alpha who rejected me finally realize what he’s lost?

Darlene Hillary Young, is caught in a dangerous game of revenge with Landen Anderson--a cold and cruel man, who was her first love. After being crushed by a contract marriage and family betrayal, she rises up and builds her own business empire. 3 years later, the world's elite men come to her-to father her little daughter. Landen Anderson the handsome billionaire, her ex-husband, gallantly meets her, "Divorced? We won't, Darling! Will Darlene forgive Landen and accept love a second time?

To Willa Fowler, I'm not her husband, but rather, a non-performing asset that awaits her handling. When I fall sick and ask her for help, she grows impatient with me. "This is a low-tier problem that you should be dealing with on your own. There's no need to report to me about it." When I burst into tears from an emotional breakdown, she berates me, "If you lose control of your emotions, you'll just show everyone else the vulnerability in our alliance. Next time, I'll have the PR team teach you how to manage your emotions." Even when I call her for help after getting into a car crash, she doesn't hesitate to hang up on me. "Everything concerning you isn't important enough for me to suspend the hundred-billion-dollar transaction I'm performing right now." I spend seven days in the ICU getting my life saved afterward. On the first day of getting home, I witness Willa bending down to gently coax another young man into taking his medication. She opens her mouth in an attempt to explain the situation to me. But I just chuckle bitterly before handing over the paperwork I've already prepared in advance to her. This time, I sound exactly like her. "Ms. Fowler, regarding our marriage project, after a comprehension evaluation, the return on the investment is deemed too low. Therefore, I'd like to officially propose a termination on this project. "This is the divorce agreement. Please leave your signature here."

Dan is a rising basketball star with everything going in his favor. A future at NYU, a spot on the Boston team, his life seemed pretty perfect. But behind his success is a truth he can never seem to escape. Kenz has always been more than just family to Dan, as friends, cousins and also emotional supporters. Kenz is the only one who understands him in ways no one else knew or cared to know about. But with time, their bond shifted into something deeper, something they both knew wasn't right. As Dan leaves for Boston to chase his basketball dreams, distance begins to affect the relationship they had. Kenz on the other hand, tries focusing on his relationship with Fiona and living a normal life, but he is unable to do that because he feels incomplete without Dan. The closer Dan gets to success, the more complicated their connection becomes. What started as hidden feelings slowly turns into confusion, guilt and resentment. Both boys struggle between choosing love and living a normal life. In a world filled with confrontations and pressure, Dan and Kenz are forced to accept the truth they have spent so long avoiding. Feelings are never easy to get rid of. And sometimes choosing love may end up destroying everything around them.

The day before our wedding, my husband gives me a sapphire ring. I place a hand on my slightly bulging belly. As I lie on the operating table, I call him and tell him I want to call the wedding off. Shortly after, his secretary calls me tearfully. "I was the one who was impudent enough to select the ring, ma'am. Please don't blame Mr. Nolan for this. It's all my fault." Archer Nolan holds her in his arms and coaxes her gently for a long time. He only says one thing to me. "You're already carrying my child. Can you really bear to leave me?"

Sophia’s heart broke every time she saw her husband, Ethan, stealing glances at another woman, the same woman he insisted she donate blood to for the third time that week. Their five-year marriage felt like a lifetime of pain and betrayal. Sophia loved Ethan deeply, but he married her only to inherit his family’s multi-billion-dollar business. Once he gained control, he discarded her like she meant nothing. Despite years of humiliation, Sophia clung to hope that Ethan would someday love her. But when he repeatedly demanded her blood for his mistress’s health, her hope shattered. She endured the cruelty but not the betrayal, not having been cheated on and drained out of blood to the point of death. Sophia filed for divorce, which Ethan accepted without hesitation unaware she was pregnant from a reckless night she barely remembered. *** Left with no family, no money, and no future, Sophia nearly gave up until a mysterious stranger saved her. Years later, she returned with her child, Ethan’s spitting image. “Bro, your ex-wife is here. And that child looks just like you,” Ethan growled, “They’re mine. And I will fight for what belongs to me !”.