Devotion

"You were just a tool, Imogene." Her heart stopped. "And I was foolish enough to believe you cared." *** Imogene Scott had always known her place—by Damien Shaw’s side, even when his love was a distant dream. Marrying her only because of an unexpected pregnancy, Damien’s affection never blossomed. Instead, her devotion turned him from a mere sales manager into the billionaire CEO of IMU, one of Europe’s most powerful tech empires. But her sacrifices weren’t enough. After losing their baby, Damien’s coldness deepened, sealing their marriage with an unspoken “no meddling” rule. Imogene’s reward? Watching Damien parade countless mistresses, all while she buried her own dreams to fuel his. She believed, naively, that one day he’d see her worth. But when he fell in love with her stepsister and served her with divorce papers, Imogene’s world shattered. Realizing she was nothing more than a pawn in Damien’s game, she vanished—pregnant and determined to protect her unborn child. Three years later, Imogene returns, not as the broken woman who fled but as a renowned artist and mother to their two-year-old daughter. Now, Damien realizes what he’s lost and wants her back. But this time, Imogene is ready to fight, and she’s not making the same mistake twice.

Nobody wants a rejected Omega—or so she has always been told. Cast aside by her fated mate, mocked by her pack, and scarred by betrayal, she hides behind her work as the healer, quietly mending others while her own heart bleeds. She never asked for destiny, never sought power. But fate is merciless. When the Alpha King claims her, everything changes. Ruthless, feared, and untouchable, he binds her to him in a bond that is both salvation and curse. To belong to him means safety, but also danger beyond imagination, for enemies hunger for her downfall. Her greatest wound comes from betrayal—her dearest friend stealing her scent and deceiving the Alpha into believing she is his fated mate. Stripped of her bond and dignity, cast aside once more, she suffers in chains and darkness. But pain shapes her into something new. She refuses to break. The world calls her weak, unworthy, Omega. Yet buried within her is a gift tied to the moon itself, a power that could save or doom the realm. Every trial tempers her spirit, molding her into a Luna no one can ignore. But love and power come with a price. The Alpha King’s devotion is possessive, consuming, and inescapable. To stand by him means surrendering everything—her freedom, her past, even her heart. With war brewing and enemies rising, her destiny demands a choice: remain the broken girl once rejected, or rise as the Blessed Luna, feared and revered by all.

Mirabella had built her life around love, trust, and devotion, believing that her marriage to Ethan was the very definition of a perfect union. Despite struggling with infertility, she held onto the dream of a future filled with happiness, willing to sacrifice anything for the man she loved. However, her world is irreversibly shattered when she unexpectedly walks in on Ethan in bed with her older sister, Sienna—the one person she had always trusted. Instead of guilt or remorse, Ethan throws divorce papers in her face, blaming her for her inability to conceive, while Sienna mocks and humiliates her, making it clear that Mirabella has been replaced. Left homeless, heartbroken, and utterly betrayed by those she once considered her entire world, Mirabella spirals into despair, her once-glamorous life crumbling around her. As she drowns in hopelessness, a powerful yet mysterious ally steps forward, offering her the support, resources, and guidance she needs to rise from the ashes of her past. Fueled by pain but strengthened by newfound determination, Mirabella reinvents herself, stepping into a world of power, influence, and ruthless ambition. No longer the fragile woman Ethan and Sienna discarded, she meticulously orchestrates a masterful plan to reclaim her dignity and dismantle the lives of those who wronged her. But as Ethan and Sienna’s world begins to crumble under the weight of their own greed and deception, Mirabella is faced with an unexpected realization—true power is not in revenge but in the ability to walk away. Will she take her vengeance to the bitter end, or will she choose to embrace a new beginning, where her happiness is no longer tied to the past?

I've been in a relationship with my brother's best friend, Emilio Slater, for three years, but he's never been willing to make our relationship public. Still, I never doubt his love for me. After all, he's been with 99 women before, yet he stops looking at anyone else because of me. Even if I have a slight cold, he drops billion-dollar projects and rushes home to take care of me. But on my birthday, when I'm excitedly preparing to share the news of my pregnancy with Emilio, he forgets my birthday for the first time and vanishes without a trace. The housekeeper tells me he's gone to pick up someone important from the airport. I rush there and see him holding flowers, his face full of nervous anticipation, waiting for a woman—one who looks strikingly like me. Later, my brother tells me she's Emilio's first love, the one he can never forget. Emilio defied his parents for her, and he fell apart after she dumped him. He sought out 99 women who resembled her to fill the void. My brother speaks with admiration for Emilio's deep devotion, unaware that I'm one of those stand-ins. I watch Emilio and his first love for a long, long time. Then, I return to the hospital without hesitation. "Doctor, I don't want this child anymore."

On the day my husband married my younger sister, I once again heard the divine message from the Astral Sanctuary: if I sever all ties to the mortal world within three days, I can reclaim the astral power I relinquished and return to the Astral Sanctuary. On the first day, I publicly cut my hair to symbolize the severing of love and signed the separation letter, ending my three-year marriage to the man I once loved. Holding my sister in his arms, he looked at me with disdain. His words dripped with mockery as he called me petty and jealous, claiming that sparing me the title of an equal wife had been his greatest act of kindness. On the second day, I drove a blade into myself six times, severing my bond with my cherished elder brother. He stood by, cold and unfeeling, sneering that I was nothing more than a desperate fool, resorting to theatrics to compete for his affection—a devotion he reserved entirely for my sister. On the third day, I clenched my teeth and carved through my own flesh and bone, severing my connection to the parents who had given me life. Enraged, they called me ungrateful and declared I was unworthy—not just of being their daughter, but even of being compared to my perfect sister. In the end, I succumbed to exhaustion and blood loss. My spirit ascended to the Astral Sanctuary, where I reclaimed my true identity as an Astral Maiden. When my family discovered my lifeless body left behind in the mortal realm, they all descended into madness.

A century ago, the war between humans and beastkin nearly destroyed the world. To restore order, the five major beast clans—Dragon, Tiger, Leopard, Serpent, and Peacock—formed an alliance with humanity. Under the Treaty of Balance, every hundred years, a union between humans and beastkin must occur. The first child born of this union—a half-beast—will inherit the throne and rule over the Human-Beast Alliance. In my past life, I chose Max, the Dragon Clan's heir. Known for his unwavering devotion and noble bloodline, he seemed the perfect mate. I gave birth to the first half-beast child of the generation—a rare white dragon. Our son was named the next ruler, and Max rose to unmatched power. My half-sister, Alice, chose the Tiger Clan—seduced by beauty, blinded by arrogance. Her husband betrayed her, and she was left barren and disgraced. She envied me. Hated me. One night, she drugged me, set our home on fire, and watched as the flames devoured me and my son. But fate was not done with me. When I opened my eyes, I had returned to the day of the choosing ceremony—the moment that would decide our mates, our fates, and the future ruler of the realm. Only this time… Alice had already climbed into Max’s bed. She had been reborn too. But what she didn’t know was this: Max is not the devoted prince she remembers. He is brutal. Possessive. A beast of blood, not love. And this time, I won't make the same mistake.

Alina Ysabelle Allard has lived her whole life behind gilded walls, the only daughter and heiress of a powerful business tycoon. Raised to be flawless, she knows her worth depends on meeting impossible standards, being the best, never questioning orders, and sacrificing everything for family legacy. When her father arranges her engagement to Lance Villion, the eldest son of another influential family, Alina forces herself to accept what duty demands. Yet buried memories whisper of someone else, a boy she once shared secrets and tears with, though his face feels lost to time. Leon Claude Villion, the younger son, grew up invisible in his father’s eyes. Overshadowed by his brother, Leon’s quiet rebellion was his unspoken devotion to Alina, the girl he once knew beyond the masks wealth and power demand. For years, Leon watched from a distance, unable to speak, unable to forget. When fate brings them together again, Alina doesn’t recognize him. And when Leon learns she’s being forced into marriage with his own brother, the love he hides turns into a burning resolve to change destiny itself. As a contract marriage looms, betrayal reveals itself. Leon must choose between family loyalty and claiming the only woman who ever truly mattered. Alina must decide how far she’ll bend under her father’s shadow and whether it’s worth losing her heart to keep his love. In a world ruled by power, secrets, and blood, how far will they go for love that was never meant to be?

Before our wedding, my fiancée, Sarah Hargrave—a professor of medieval history—held a private ceremony in a secluded chapel in the countryside. But not with me. Under the glow of candlelight, she cradled Benjamin Wheeler—her first love, his face gaunt from the cancer consuming him—in her arms. Her smile was soft, almost reverent, as she murmured, "In the eyes of God, vows made before the altar are the only ones that matter. Even if the law says I belong to Daniel, my soul was never his." And so, to the faint echo of hymns and the scent of old incense, they drank from the same silver cup, exchanged rings, and stepped together into the dimly lit sacristy—their makeshift bridal chamber. I watched. Silent. Motionless. No outbursts, no demands for explanation. Just the quiet dialing of a clinic to undo the vasectomy I'd gotten for our future. From fifteen to thirty, I had loved Sarah for fifteen long years. But in all that time, there'd never been room for me. That space had always belonged to Benjamin, my stepbrother. So I let her go. Afterward, I joined a geological research team bound for the isolation of Antarctica—a land cut off from the world, quiet and clean. Before I left, I handed Sarah a divorce agreement…and a final gift to mark the end. I never anticipated that Sarah, who'd always met my devotion with frosty detachment, who'd never once glanced back as I walked away, would look ten years older overnight.

Even the coldest heart would soon grow warm if she kept holding on to it. That was what she believed. That was why she became his unloved placeholder of a wife. Unfortunately, all her devotion only led to a heartless divorce. “She’s awake now,” he told her. “Step down and step away, you miserable knock-off.”Then, he left. When he came back, it was because he needed her to do something only an impostor could do: go to jail for his dream girl’s crime. Deirdre McKinnon was condemned to perdition. She lost her baby before it was born. She lost her face to violence. She lost the ability to see. It was two months of a hell-like nightmare. At last, something died inside her heart. Two years later, she found herself another man, but when Brendan Brighthall met her by pure happenstance, a new feeling was born in his heart: jealousy. There were no means too terrible, no scheme too underhanded—not if it meant he’d possess Deirdre’s heart again. And yet, she simply refused to love him anymore.“What do you want me to do, Deirdre McKinnon?! What must I do to go back to the good old days?” His eyes turned red. “I’ll give you everything I have!”“You gave me a copper trinket two years ago. It was a sorry excuse for a wedding ring, and yet I cared for it as though it was the most precious jewel in the world…“But now? Nothing you can give would be even remotely worthwhile. Not even you.”

Alexa loved him when he was untouchable. Hulio wanted her when it was too late. Now, she’s the woman he never saw coming. Alexa Hills was always the overlooked one, the awkward girl with plain looks and a heart too tender for a world obsessed with appearances. She was rejected by all. But behind her timid eyes burned the legacy of a dynasty, and the will of a queen in waiting. Hulio Ripples, one of the heirs to Ripples Investment Firm, was every woman’s dream, charming, arrogant, and hopelessly smitten with Alexa’s glamorous older sister, Ashley. To him, Alexa was a nobody. To him she was a reject. Until his world crashed, quite literally, and she was the only one who stayed. When tragedy strikes, Alexa gives up everything to care for the man she’s always loved. For a moment, it seems like her devotion will be enough. But when Hulio recovers, he returns to the woman who once broke him—leaving Alexa shattered and pregnant with his child. Now, she’s back. Not the shy girl he once ignored, but a stunning force of power and poise—CEO of Hills Fusion and a woman with nothing left to lose. With the help of his brother, Helia, she rises from heartbreak to empire, crushing Hulio’s pride and reclaiming her throne. But in a tangled web of love, betrayal, and revenge… can a heart once broken ever trust again. A provocative tale of passion, pain, and power, Ripples and Hills is a revenge romance that will leave every reader spell bound and lost in a world of entanglement and revenge and unrequited love.