Happily Ever After Book Club

My husband, Zachary Larson, and I are holding a welcome dinner for my sister, Julia Scott. When someone asks what Julia's greatest regret is, she raises her glass and looks at Zachary dreamily. "It's probably the time I wasn't brave enough to keep his child." Everyone starts to whisper amongst themselves. I tighten my grip on the pregnancy check-up report I'm about to reveal to them. My stomach twists with the emotions swirling in my head. Julia suddenly returns to her senses and chuckles. "I was just kidding. We were only friends with benefits, so don't take it to heart, Queenie. He married you, so you're the one he loves."

On our wedding night, instead of consummating our marriage, he gave me papers to sign instead. It stated that our marriage would last only for five years and after that, we go our separate ways. His words broke me but regardless I signed the papers. I thought I had enough time to make him fall in love with me but who was I kidding, his heart still belongs to my step sister, Rachael. She was his first love, but he was mine. I endured his mother's oppression, his coldness, for years I thought he was naturally uncaring and only had eyes for his business but I was brutally wrong.The same day I found out that I was pregnant was also the same day I saw his soft side. A side that's well reserved for someone else, there and then he asked for a divorce. It broke me but I didn't beg, I had wasted almost five years yearning for a love I couldn't have. So I decided to walk away and begin a new life with my child. But who could have taught that a year later, the cold and ruthless CEO would be on his knees begging for a second chance.

Tamara Winslow stands amid the crowd while clutching two different documents in her hand. One of them shows a diagnosis report on her alexithymia, while the other showcases a divorce agreement. Three hours ago, she had specifically visited the Clerk's Office because the hospital's system had shown her marital status as "divorced". The city clerk looks up at her. "Ma'am, it's true that you and Mr. Braxton Merrick got divorced three years ago." Tamara's expression freezes on her face. "How could that be? We got married three years ago!" The city clerk checks the details once again. This time, he adapts a rather awkward tone. "The results are correct. It's true that you got divorced three years ago. In fact, it took place… on the seventh second right after you got married…"

Emily, adopted at eleven years old by a very rich socialite after ten years of being placed from one foster home to the other. She was given a life of luxury and groomed for seven years for a role she didn’t know about. At eighteen, she began her life as a -worker, lacking companionship and love, she never experienced it until she had a one-night stand with a handsome stranger. One-night of passion that changes everything. Damian grew up privileged, he had it all; looks, money, charm, success and endless array of beautiful women who threw themselves at him. He then met Emily, a breath of fresh air. Their one-night-stand together ignited something in him, he wanted to own and possess her, but Emily had other plans. Will he be able to get what he wants? Will he be able to claim her? Or will her secrets crush or destroy any chance they have at being together?

The seventh time Claire Fisher bailed on our marriage license appointment, I finally cut her out of my life—for good. From then on, if she was at a party, I wasn't. When she was scheduled to perform at our college's anniversary celebration, I made sure to leave early. The moment my company announced a collaboration with hers, I resigned without a second thought. Even on Christmas Eve, when she showed up at my parents' house with gifts, I slipped out with a half-hearted excuse about "visiting a friend." I blocked her number. Deleted her from my contacts. Burned every bridge and salted the earth behind me. No calls. No texts. No social media. I didn't reach out. She couldn't reach me. Simple as that. For the better part of my life, I was hopelessly in love with her—waiting on her, caring for her, putting her first in every way that mattered. I gave her all of me without ever holding back. But after the seventh time she left me sitting alone at the City Hall, something inside me broke. I was done. If that meant spending the rest of my life alone, so be it. Better that than sitting in an empty apartment, listening to the silence, holding on to hope for someone who never planned to show up.

"I want you, Diana. I want you now," he whispered in a husky voice and brought his other hand to her waist. * * * * * Marriage was meant to be a beautiful thing but not in Diana’s case. She was a toy, a thing of pleasure. After years on enduring, she finally took the bold step to leave the marriage and suddenly, her husband wants her back! Running away from her husband was one thing, running with his pregnancy was another thing. How far can she run away from the billionaire when she melts at his touch?

Cami Roux Balmaceda has been attracted to Auden Silverio, the son of a family acquaintance. It was never simple for her to express her feelings for him. Cami Roux Balmaceda is twenty-three years old and a fourth-year psychology student. Cami has a heart problem, but her personality is far from it. She is courageous and living her life to the fullest. The doctor told her that she has a fixed amount of time. As she turned twenty-four, her parents set an arranged marriage to the person she had a deep affection for – Auden. They are well aware of Cami's feelings for Auden. They wanted what's best for their daughter, and they went to great lengths to make it happen. Auden didn't have a choice but to go along with the plan. "It'll only be a few years before she's gone," he reasoned. Over time, he realizes that he is falling in love with her.

A night of being drunk had gotten her entangled with the most desired bachelor. The handsome sexy Chris Evans. Ivy had only planned to have fun but After that night, she had become his. Chris Evans had come knocking on her door, claiming she belongs to him. She couldn't believe she had been drawn into the world of the elite in the country. Chris was born with a silver spoon but at 27, he had upgraded to a shiny golden spoon. He was a big name in the world of the rich. The world of the highest and richest. On that list, he was number one. No one comes close to him. Chris had lost his control for the first time in his life and that was because of a drunk girl in a red gown. That had never happened which means, she belonged to him and no one else. He had to have her at all costs and that meant, taking her... What would happen when she jumps into a relationship faster than she had planned and the attraction keeps getting stronger? How would they control the urge?

Susan was devastated when she found her husband sleeping with another woman. She packed her bags and left the marriage. When other men gave her attention, Mark couldn’t take it. Jealousy was written all over his face. “Come with me. I will take you home “He grabbed her hands intending to walk away with her but she pulled them away irritably. ” I am sorry Mark, but you are my ex-husband and I wonder what all this drama is for. I have my life ahead of me and I am never going to get dragged behind by you. I will choose who I want to be with and it is not you.” Then she moved to another city to start her new life unaware that she was pregnant with her ex-husband’s baby. But another man appeared in to the picture and forced his way in to her life. Ethan Griffins was a stranger she met in the club and danced with intimately to get back at her ex-husband not knowing that she would be married to him the next day. “Your wife…. You are scaring me. Please, I am not ready for this kind of a jock. We are practically strangers and I just got out of a marriage that didn’t do me any good. Why would I want to get married to you and when did I even agree to marry you” she stammered. Her brown eyes dilated as she searched his eyes for answers. “It doesn’t matter what is going on in your head but now you are mine and you will stay with me if you want peace in your life. “

A year ago, I was a rising star in the legal world. But everything changed when I uncovered evidence that my fiance's first love had caused an accident. She lured me to an abandoned factory and ruined my face, then pushed me into a toxic asphalt pit and left me to drown. Little did they know, I was pregnant with my fiance's child when I died. After my death, he had the audacity to claim that I had accepted money from a murderer and had fled the country. His actions turned me into a pariah. Meanwhile, he and his precious first love walked down the aisle together. A year later, the abandoned factory I had died in was being demolished, and someone stumbled upon my body in that asphalt pit.