Casse-tête

She was supposed to be an assistant. That's it. Now, 6 months later, Alexa is in over her head. Luca Conti was supposed to be her saviour and now he has pulled her into his dangerous world. Away from her family and in a new country with no connections, the last thing Alexa can hold onto to stay safe, is her heart. Luca was suppose to be in love with an untouchable married woman, how was Alexa supposed to know that he would go back on his promise to never fall in love again. Luca has been second to his older brother Enzo his whole life. Resentment grows between the brothers and he's given the chance to leave New York and run the Chicago branch of his families legitimate and illegitimate businesses. After 10 years of toiling away and building his empire far beyond the borders of Chicago, Luca is rarely intrigued by anything. Intrigue turns to frustration when a woman upturns his whole life. Has he finally met his match?

In the day, Evelyn Jefferson is Warren Larkin's elegant and capable executive secretary. At night, she's his alluring bedfellow.After three years of such an arrangement, she thinks he loves her. But when she proposes to him, he says, "It's just a game—we fuck, not make love. Did you really think I'd take you seriously?"She loses hope in him and leaves without another word. From that day on, her life is transformed, and her career skyrockets. She becomes a renowned lawyer that no one in the industry dares offend. Countless suitors swarm her.He regrets his decision and pins her to the wall, his eyes bloodshot. "I'm yours in heart, mind, and soul. Will you marry me, please?"She smiles seductively. "Sorry, but you're standing in the way of my Mr. Right."

Fui sola al concierto de mi cantante favorito. En la parte de las dedicatorias, el corazón me latía con fuerza. Recé en silencio para que la suerte me escogiera a mí. Pero al siguiente segundo, en la pantalla gigante apareció mi esposo, que supuestamente estaba de viaje por trabajo, y a su lado estaba su primer amor, Patricia Castellón. —Quiero pedir una canción: "Volver al pasado", volver tres años atrás, cuando Nicolás jamás habría terminado con Patricia. El público estalló en aplausos y vítores, celebrando aquella historia de amor. Solo yo, entre la multitud, me quedé con el rostro empapado en lágrimas. En la siguiente ronda de dedicatorias, de pronto vi en la pantalla mi propia cara hinchada de tanto llorar. —Yo también quiero pedir "Volver al pasado", volver al momento en que nunca habría aceptado la propuesta de matrimonio de Nicolás Varas.

Renací. Volví a los 18 años, justo antes del examen de admisión a la universidad. Era el año en el que Diego Alonso más me amaba, y también el último. Porque ya había conocido a su verdadero amor, Valeria Reyes, la mujer por la que se enamoraría de verdad. Por ella, fue capaz de todo, al punto de que me pidió ser su novia, solo para distraerme de mis estudios. Así que en lugar de la universidad de élite en la que hubiera podido entrar, terminé en una simplemente ordinaria. Hasta fingió un accidente para retenerme y que me perdiera el concurso; todo para que Valeria ganara esa medalla de oro. En otra ocasión, cuando Valeria perdió mucha sangre, él me manipuló para que donara una cantidad excesiva. Esto arruinó mi salud para siempre, dejándome con dificultades para quedar embarazada. Al final, Diego se vio forzado a casarse conmigo, pero pasaba los días sumido en la depresión, obsesionado con las fotos de su amor. El día que supo que Valeria se casaba, me abandonó sin piedad y se quitó la vida por amor. En esta vida, por fin estoy despierta. No volveré a amarlo. Solo quiero ser egoísta, y amar únicamente a mí misma. Entonces cuando Diego me preguntó con arrogancia: —Renata, ¿quieres ser mi novia? Yo, tranquilamente, negué con la cabeza. —No.

On the day of Lucas' engagement, he managed to get a few lackeys to keep me occupied, and by the time I stepped out the police station, done with questioning, it was already dark outside. Arriving home, I stood there on the doorstep and eavesdropped on Lucas and his friends talking about me. "I was afraid she'd cause trouble, so I got her to spend the whole day at the police station. I made sure that everything would be set in stone by the time she got out." Shaking my head with a bitter laugh, I blocked all of Lucas' contacts and went overseas without any hesitation. That night, Lucas lost all his composure, kicking over a table and smashing a bottle of liquor, sending glass shards flying all over the floor. "She's just throwing a tantrum because she's jealous… She'll come back once she gets over it…" What he didn't realize, then, was that this wasn't just a fit of anger or a petty tantrum. This time, I truly didn't want him anymore.

"I'm sorry Avry, let me explain.." Buong pusong pakiusap ko sa kanya. Nasasaktan ako. Ang sakit sakit. Bakit masakit? All of it is just part of the game. Make her fall in love with me yet ako ata ang nahulog ng malala. "Save it, Ice. I don't need it. Don't worry we're even. Hindi naman kita minahal." Bumalik ang walang emosyon niyang mukha. Bakit ganun? Parang mas masakit pa to kumpara sa lahat ng naging break ups ko? Ayaw ng tumigil ng mga luha ko.

“Alexa, you provoked me, don't blame me for being impolite!”He growled, his voice hoarse and somewhat restrained.  I am doomed. What courage possessed me to mess with this demon in front of me?  “Mr Morgan, pls stop it!” I yelled and swung my hands to slap him. He held her wrist and smirked.  “What? Don't want to? You should have thought of that when you decided to seduce me!” My eyes popped at his words and opened my mouth to explain, but he slammed his lips onto mine, pinning me onto the bed, his body pressing onto me. Marriage wasn't something I wanted to do, I only wanted to eat, enjoy life and make money. Until I met Daniel, he made me believe in love and we got married only for him to cheat on me two years later with his secretary. I asked for a divorce but he refused and started to abuse me. After finally getting a divorce and going to a different city, I met Morgan Wright—the man who makes all the girls swoon but never gives them any attention. But he's in for a challenge, he'll give me his full attention! Alexa Jones.  *** Morgan Wright 41 years, a CEO of the biggest Company in Gold Ivory city and a feared mafia Lord known as Draco. He has a phobia about women. Draco meets Alexa, who is determined to bring him down, but she soon realizes she messed with the wrong man.

When he kissed her on his stage he loved it. T him she was an angel and she felt right in his arms. Little did he know whose daughter he was messing with and before he did, it was too late for any saving. Now that he blames her for his misfortune, she must pay no what what the cost is and he will stop at nothing till she does. Worse now that they live under the same roof or rather yet, same room. Will his thirsty for revenge cloud his judgement or will love conquer everything?

My wife, Lindsey Kelsey, suffers from an aversion to intimacy. For ten years of marriage, she pushed me away again and again. Then, on our anniversary, she abandoned me and, in front of the crowd, kissed another man with reckless passion before the two of them walked hand in hand into a luxury hotel. Afterward, Lindsey brazenly declared that a real man should be magnanimous, not petty. Magnanimous? Then I wish them both eternal bliss—may they be bound so tightly they can never break free from one another. Later, I handed Lindsey the divorce papers with a blank expression. I was determined to walk away from her. But Lindsey went mad when she realized she couldn't find me anymore.

My billionaire husband suffered from chronic insomnia for years. Only the sleep balm I made could help him sleep. On the night of our seventh wedding anniversary, his childhood sweetheart poured a basin of scalding water over the old camphor tree in our garden. I wept and tried to save the tree as she apologized, “I didn’t know you used its leaves to make the sleep balm.” My husband gently comforted her and ordered his men to tie me to the tree trunk instead. “What a precious tree. You’ll spend the rest of your days with it!” With my wrist fractured as a result, I filed for divorce immediately. A month later, my husband was unable to sleep late one night. He stood in the garden and stared at the withered camphor tree.