Evolution Begins With A Big Tree Chapter 17 Novels & Stories

***“Then came the words that shattered her world. 'I need a divorce,' Dennis said, his voice cold and bitter. Cardi froze.”*** Cardi Belmont was born into zillions—but all she ever wanted was real love. On the day the city waited to witness the union of two dynasties—Cardi Belmont and Alex Carlson—Cardi vanished. She didn’t want a marriage built on wealth or status. She wanted Dennis Blake. A simple man. A humble man. A man she believed would love her for who she was… not for her last name. In order to live a quiet life as the person Dennis believed her to be—a regular girl from nowhere—she gave up everything she had, including her mansion, name, and legacy. However, when Cardi eventually chooses to tell him the truth after two years of marriage, he beats her to it—with a truth of his own: He’s leaving her. For someone richer. Now, the woman who gave up everything for love has been dumped like a trash bag… and one question burns louder than all: How will Dennis react when he realizes he had dumped a wealthy lady for a rich one?

Marina spent five years serving her husband, only to be ridiculed and thrown out of his mansion at the slightest whim. Cast into the cold streets with nowhere to turn, she met a stranger that very night—one who made her weak in the knees. She had no time to mourn her lost marriage before falling into his arms, giving in to a night of intense longings that left her naked on his bed the next morning. She left without a word, thinking it was over. Until he reappeared, determined to take full responsibility of her. Marina thought her life might finally get better, but little did she know, the devil she once knew was far better than the angel she was yet to know.

He broke her heart and let her walk away. Five years later, ruthless billionaire Sebastian Blackwood wants her back. Liliana Dawnson has rebuilt her life, becoming a force to be reckoned with. She never planned on looking back. But Sebastian doesn’t take no for an answer. With a cunning business contract, he traps her. He forces his ex-wife to become his event planner, dragging her back into his world of luxury and danger. He says it’s professional. But his burning gaze tells another story. He says it’s about work. But his searing touches tell a different tale. Sebastian is determined to get a second chance, no matter the cost. But Liliana has sworn never to give her heart to the same man twice. In this dangerous game of love and power, who will be the first to kneel?

‘I knew it was too good to be true.’ ‘They made us seem like they had a perfect marriage.’ ‘She’ll be stupid if she forgives him.’ ‘Poor Valerie. I can only imagine what she’s going through right now.’ My mother snatched my phone from me. “I told you not to read those comments, Valerie.” I scoffed. “I already feel miserable. Those comments wouldn’t make me feel any worse.” “Will you forgive him?” My mother asked. A part of me wanted to forgive him. I still loved Patrick. But I couldn’t move past such betrayal. ~•~ When Patrick Banks discovers his wife, Valerie’s, alleged infidelity with her co-star, he ends their marriage in an instant. Valerie’s desperate attempts to clear her name only led to a devastating revelation that made her give up on her marriage. Years later, fate brings them face to face. Will they be able to forget, forgive, and rebuild, or will the wounds of betrayal prove too deep to heal?

Sports journalism student Iris Bennett’s life unravels when she catches her famous hockey-star boyfriend, Mason Hart, kissing another woman after a championship victory. A video capturing her reaction goes viral, turning her heartbreak into a nationwide spectacle. After refusing to reconcile with Mason, Iris suddenly loses the scholarship that has funded her education for years. Convinced the decision is connected to Mason’s powerful father, she takes on multiple jobs to stay enrolled, including an internship with the rival university’s hockey media department. Things become even more complicated when Mercer Athletics offers her a modeling contract. The company’s most recognizable ambassador is Dean Mercer, captain of the rival hockey team and heir to one of the most influential sports dynasties in the country. As Iris and Dean are repeatedly thrown together through work and hockey-related commitments, a cautious friendship begins to form. Over time, that friendship grows into something deeper. While Iris fights to rebuild her reputation and uncover the truth behind her scholarship revocation, Dean struggles under mounting pressure from his father to embrace a future that no longer feels entirely his own. When long-standing tensions between the Hart and Mercer families resurface, Iris and Dean find themselves caught in a battle fueled by money, influence, loyalty, and public image. Together, they must decide whether love is worth the risk of standing up to the powerful people determined to shape their futures for them.

Sage Casey Ember-Brooks, who goes by Casey, is a fast-food worker and aspiring fantasy novelist whose ordinary life crumbles when mysterious strangers ask cryptic questions about her dragon series. Her recurring dreams of golden coins suddenly make terrifying sense when Marcus Chen—a businessman with eyes that flash gold—reveals that dragons are real, living hidden among humans for centuries. Casey's unnaturally accurate fantasy writing stems from awakening genetic memories. She's a rare "Convergence" bloodline capable of harmonising opposing elemental forces. The revelation comes at a critical time: a new cryptocurrency called DragonCoin, featuring symbols identical to her dreams, creates magical interference that weakens concealment spells protecting dragon society. At the Crossroads shopping complex where she works, disruptions cause dragons to flicker between human and true forms in full view of witnesses. Caught between Marcus (a traditionalist who wants to hide her with the Dragon Council) and the enigmatic Xaihuang (who advocates ending the masquerade entirely), Casey discovers an underground chamber housing ancient dragon artifacts. When she touches a magical coin, visions reveal three futures: chaotic revelation leading to war, continued concealment resulting in magical extinction, or a mysterious third path of integration. Casey realises DragonCoin wasn't created to expose dragons, but by another awakening hybrid like herself—someone in Seattle whose unconscious dragon heritage channels ancient power through modern technology. As magical concealment fails worldwide and dragons begin manifesting publicly, Casey must race across the country to find this unknown programmer before the interference between magic and technology tears reality apart. The story explores themes of identity, integration versus assimilation, and the collision between ancient power and digital-age innovation. With her awakening abilities growing stronger and the masquerade crumbling around her, Casey faces a choice that will determine her fate and the future relationship between the hidden magical world and human civilisation.

Hot. Fast. Dangerous. Only two things are capable of sating my hunger: racing and women. I’m a devil behind the wheel, and there isn’t another man in New York City who can beat me. Nor any dumb enough to try. But there was a woman who could. My ex-wife, Evie. And she did. Messed me up real good. Thanks to her, I gave up my dream of racing, but I can’t run from fate forever. The evil bastards at her side have taken over the underground racing scene, but I’m diving back in deep. With my focus on the road, the last thing I need is a distraction, but that’s just what Laina is. My best friend’s little sister feels off limits, until she isn’t. Perfect curves and a smile that could melt hearts, this woman has me wanting to say yes from the start. She’s relentless and drives me mad with the desire to be bad one more time—just for her. I might be outracing demons, but I’m not running from anything. Not me. Not ever again.

Anastasia: A silly crush, that's all it took to ruin my entire life because here I was four years later with no family but the man I gave everything up for, the man who now wanted nothing to do with me, the man who was madly in love with someone else, and the sad part of it was I brought a human in it, a human who had to suffer because of my mistake. Well, enough was enough. It was time to reclaim my position and give my daughter a better life, with or without him, but definitely without him, and he wouldn't just walk free; he would pay for every tear my daughter and I shed. William: The marriage was never supposed to happen; she tricked me into it; she ruined my chance at love because now I had to marry her whether I liked it or not. I never loved her, and I did everything to make sure she experienced hell on earth, but when she proposed divorce, I panicked; my heart skipped a beat for the first time in four years. I was afraid to lose her; I couldn't let her go. I had to fight for her; I had to win her back. I couldn't let another man take her and my daughter from me. I had to save my family.

She signed the divorce papers with a steady hand and walked out without looking back. Roman Ashford expected tears. He got silence. And somehow, the silence was worse. For three years, Seraphina Montague was the quiet woman at his side. Forgettable, he thought. Easy to overlook. He was wrong about all of it. She was never just his wife. She was the heiress to one of the most powerful families in the country. She managed empires from the shadows. She saved his company in secret while she was already planning to leave him. Now she is untouchable, and Roman cannot stop watching. He wants her back. She has moved on. He is chasing a woman who never needed him. And the more he learns about who she really is, the more he understands exactly what he threw away. Some mistakes cannot be undone. Roman Ashford is about to find out if they can be earned back.

Abigail Renee had entered into a quick, arranged marriage with an ordinary man, but soon after their marriage registration, they ended up leading separate lives.After one year, they unexpectedly ran into each other at work. Although Abigail couldn't quite remember where she knew the CEO of Zane Corporation from, she felt like she had seen him before.It was rumored that Zane Corporation's CEO, who was known for being uninterested in women, had recently gotten married and was now absolutely smitten with his wife. Unbeknownst to Abigail, she was the envied wife of the CEO that everyone was talking about.One night, after a company party, the slightly intoxicated CEO got a little too close to Abigail and murmured into her ear, "Hey, wifey..."