Hard Place

George Milton took me eight times in a single night. By the ninth, his hand gripped my waist, his voice rough with satisfaction as he rasped, "Baby, I want you to use that innocent-but-sexy look you've got to go seduce Jordan." My entire body went rigid. Then I found out—George's first love, Sarah Byrnes, had been ditched by Jordan Baker, leaving her heartbroken. He wanted me to take revenge for her, to make Jordan taste the agony of being abandoned by the one he loved. After my family had gone bankrupt, I was delivered straight to George's bed. Naively, I believed he treated me differently. After all, I had been the woman at his side the longest. But he only sneered. "The reason I keep you is because you look like Sarah. She's hurting. Now it's your turn to do your part. With reddened eyes, I agreed, swallowing every foolish hope I should never have harbored. Soon, I captured the aloof and untouchable Jordan's heart. And for the first time, George lost control. He wept as he begged, "Catelyn, I regret it. Come back to me, please?"

"How about your actions when you sexually h... Uhmm, I mean you harassed him?" "Harassed him? Me? When did I?" "You tore off his clothes and tried to take advantage of him... Should I remind you more?" Swallowing hard, she tilted her head to the right in embarrassment. 'Celeste. Oo, Celeste. What did you do? How come he is everywhere? If he is really the man I married then he is very dangerous, there's no way I will survive if I stay near him. Death won't be my only choice either, he might want to torture me like some criminal...' ***** A beautiful wedding dress, a simple ring and a tiara, with her family members present and with the man she loved always... Celeste Banks imagined such a wedding so many times but they say, we don't always get what we wish for. Finding her boyfriend cheating was not enough, she was forced to accept a marriage proposal from an old baldie. When Celeste finds out that it was a conspiracy against her to get married, she runs away from her wedding. To save herself from getting caught, she uses a mysterious man as a shield and not only that, she even rips apart his expensive black shirt then makes an escape only to end up as his bride. ***** "We were checking the cctv footage to find out about Mrs. Weston, then we saw that... That woman actually escaped before the wedding. We have got the surveillance footage of her escaping, she was already in the flight during the wedding." "Then the woman..." Celeste's voice resounded in his head as he remembered the time of the wedding, trying to imagine how she looked. "Who is the woman I got married to?"

When my brother Beau Campbell and I drowned together at the age of four, I was the only one who survived. From that day on, my mother came to loathe me. She would often creep into my room at night with colorful "candies" in her hand, trying to pry open my mouth. However, Dad always stopped her just in time. Later, I cut off my long hair and threw away all my dresses, desperately trying to become Beau's shadow. Only then would Mom spare me a glance. Three years passed, and Mom got pregnant again. She said it was Beau coming back to us. I was happy for her and told myself it was good that Beau was back. After all, it also meant this family no longer needed the stand-in who had lived in his place. So, I found the same "candies" Mom once tried to force into my mouth, and I quietly swallowed them.

I had always been a people pleaser. Yet somehow, I ended up transmigrating into the role of the vicious wife of a general. After three years away at war, Scott Holden returned and brought his so-called true love back with him. I handed over the main bedroom without hesitation, cooked for her myself, stayed up all night stitching a pair of matching pillows, and even had all the staff lined up to welcome her properly. But instead of being pleased, Jennifer Cross burst into tears. "This is all my fault. I have no name, no status, yet I'm staying here at Holden Residence, letting Lillian humiliate me like this. If that's the case, I'll just leave!" It hit me all at once. So that was what she wanted. A proper title. So I drafted a divorce letter for Scott myself, brought it to him, and said with an ingratiating smile, "After you divorce me, could you maybe keep me on the side as a mistress? My parents are gone. I don't have anywhere else to go." Scott flew into a rage. "I see right through your little tricks. Jennifer is just staying here temporarily. Are you really that petty?" From that day on, he never set foot in my room again. Then one day, enemy forces attacked. Jennifer and I were both captured and strung up on the city wall, forcing Scott to choose between us. Before he could even decide, I shouted eagerly, "I'll die, I'll die! I'm totally willing! I love that rush you get from falling from high up, that adrenaline spike!" After all, once I died, I could finally go home. But for the first time, Scott's eyes turned red with panic.

Astrid Olsen was not your typical heiress since her mind was more on the scientific side of things. She did not want to be tied down and when her father claimed that she will be marrying someone that was his business partner's son, Astrid did the only thing that she knew ever since she was a little girl. She pursued higher education and never turn her back on it. She had gained 6 Ph.D. scrolls, so what's one more, right? Well, it all changed when she was short on funds for her research and she had to make a deal with a devil. Even when he was a fair hair specimen with cobalt blue eyes that would sure to make any woman weak in their knees, including Astrid herself. Eliot Park, a brilliant scientist and inventor as well as a notorious billionaire, wanted more than anything to be the best of the best. And he managed to do it until one person was determined to see him fail in the newest pharmaceutical discovery. He knew that he had to do something drastic if he has to maintain at the top. Even sacrifice his bachelor's life to be tie down to the one scientist that will be making a ground breaking discovery to the world. And he did marry her for financial gain in his life. But, the more time Eliot spends his time in the company of Astrid, the more he felt something that he never did before. Was this just lust between them or something more? What will Eliot do when he realized something has shifted between him and his contractual wife? What will Astrid do? Will she run away again like she did before or will she be brave enough to convey her feelings?

When Cole Harrington ran away from our wedding for the seventh time because of his childhood sweetheart, the Harrington family personally came to apologize. "We'll add another five kilos of gold to the bride price. Three buildings in the Southwest. And nine prime-location storefronts in the city center. Consider it the Harrington family's compensation." Before the words had fully settled, a careless laugh from Cole came through the phone. "Grandpa, do you really think she's worth that much? Believe it or not, I could pick up a random rock off the street and still coax her into being completely obedient. "Instead of wasting all those assets on her, why not give them to me so I can invest them in Liv's gallery?" Henry Harrington hurriedly hung up the phone, then looked at me with an awkward expression. Soft snickers rippled through the crowd. Everyone was waiting for me to swallow the humiliation in silence, just as I had before. But this time— I had already received this kind of "compensation" six times. The novelty had long since worn off. The same was true for Cole himself. After a moment of thought, I raised an eyebrow and glanced toward the crowd—at the illegitimate younger brother whom Cole had always despised the most. A smile slowly curved across my lips. "The man that I marry becomes the heir to the Harrington family. That was our deal, right?"

Bagaimana jika kamu terjebak dalam pilihan sulit. Antara keselamatan anggota keluargamu atau masa depanmu. Antara kasih sayang keluarga atau kebencian orang asing. Penasaran baca aja males bikin deskripsi *.*

Marchioness Harriet Goldlane, a talented noblewoman, made a deal with Old Duke Almandine. To save her younger brother, she was willing to become a substitute for Liam's 'mate', the grandson of the Old Duke. Liam was an Alpha whose 'mate' died long ago. He was severely injured and had been living without a heart for a long time. He could only wake up from his sleep when there was a full moon. The Old Duke and Liam himself guessed that the man would die soon due to his worsening condition. Because of that, Old Duke wanted Harriet to give birth to an heir to the Almandine Family from Liam's seed so that their family would have a new leader. The Alpha's replacement bride would soon find that she was in love with the dying man and now they both wished for a miracle to save Liam's life. Could she fulfill her duty to bear the next Alpha for the Almandines? Would Liam survive to protect his bride and family?

"Remember the most important rule, don't get caught." *** I try to keep my expression neutral and give nothing away in my eyes, Eli is a smart man, smarter than he lets on and will know if something is different about me, "Everyone change, Eli, you definitely aren't the man you were when we first met, but the question is if the change is for the better or the worse." His hand reaches over the table and take mine in the gloves and though there is a barrier between our hands his touch is felt and the reaction sent to the rest of my body. "I love you, Anna and that's not going to change, but I have to admit that I like this side of you more. However, I am contented with whatever I get as long as I get to have you." These words are the words any woman wants to hear their man tell them and it is almost perfect to my ears... almost because I am not Anna...

Labeled the harbinger of calamity from birth, she was nameless, discarded, and hated by the kingdom. Yet, she moved through life, hoping to awaken her wolf and find her mate. It was her consolation, only to be slapped in the face with the brutal reality shortly after: she was wolfless and rejected by her mate for her twin sister, the darling of the kingdom. She awaited death, the brutal end of every Harbinger of Calamity who couldn't redeem themselves with a wolf or a mate. However, at the last minute, she was forced to take her twin sister's place, and become the bride of the Grand Preceptor/Tutor, an enigma who only left his legend but no face. Rumor said he was the oldest man in the kingdom, barely holding on to his last breath. "He is desperate for an heir," Her father, the Duke said, "Give him a child by all means. Everything he owns must belong to this family. If you can do that, I'll make sure you own land, properties, and titles." "Don't blame us for how we treated you all those years, it's your fault that you were born with a curse. So, don't let this opportunity to redeem yourself go." Her mother. "I could even take you as my concubine if you succeed," her ex-mate, the crown prince. But why is the man who was said to be old and feeble, and dying soon, looking younger and stronger than the crown prince himself? Why is the man who was said to be desperate for an heir telling her, "Put your clothes back on, you're not a vessel for my heir, you're my Luna."? And why does he look at her like she's the air he breathes? "We will make them pay," he kissed her tenderly.