Hardin After

“Benjamin, naging asawa mo ako sa loob ng tatlong taon ngunit ni isang beses ay hindi mo man lang ako nagawang hawakan! Ngayon, ito na ang pagkakataon ko. Ito na ang tamang panahon para bumawi sa lahat ng mga masasakit na pinagdaanan ko sa piling mo bilang asawa mo at bilang babaeng minahal ka ng napakatagal! Pinagsisisihan kong naging asawa kita!” Tumutulo ang mga luha ni Lunabella habang sinasabi iyon sa nakahiga at nakataling asawang si Benjamin Alvarez sa kanilang kama. “Huwag mong gawin ito, Luna. Sinasabi ko sa'yo, hinding-hindi kita mapapatawad! Bakit hindi mo na lang kasi tanggapin na hindi kita magawang mahalin? Na si Astra lang ang tanging tinitibok ng puso ko?!” Walang pusong turan ni Benjamin, puno ng galit ang mga mata. “Humanda ka sa akin kapag nakawala ako rito, talagang mapapatay kita!” Pilit itong kumakawala sa pagkakatali ngunit mahigpit ang ginawang pagkakatali rito ni Lunabella rito. ******* Mula pa nang highschool ay minamahal na ni Lunabella Cruz si Benjamin Alvarez. Wala siyang ibang nais kundi ang makasal dito. Kaya nang ipagkasundo silang dalawa dahil sa horoscope na pinaniniwalaan ng naghihingalong matandang Alvarez ay hanggang langit ang ligaya niya. Subalit ang sayang iyon ay kapalit ng tatlong taong paghihirap niya bilang asawa ni Benjamin Alvarez. Mahal na mahal niya ang lalaki ngunit may iba ito minamahal.

After betrayal scorched her world, Jade Miller plays her cards right—even if she’s always been the extra child, the forgotten one behind Scarlett, the golden sister. One night and kiss with Kain Wolf—her sister’s most prized possession—was supposed to be revenge. A distraction. A bold statement. But when Kain kisses her back like he’s claiming what’s already his, the game changes. Because Kain doesn’t play pretend. He’s dominant. Obsessive. Dangerous. And he’s bleeding with a promise: make Jade his wife. But in a world where love is weaponized, reputations are rewritten, and identities stolen— What happens when Jade is no longer the woman at the altar? Every fairytale needs a bride. But some stories rewrite the rules. Scarlett always played the queen. Jade was just the pawn. But this time? The pawn might just take the king… In a deadly game of substitutes.

On the day of my wedding, I stood on the stage, while my fiance, Jake Stevens, passionately kissed his assistant, Chloe Xanders, in front of everyone. He held her in his arms and said earnestly, “Chloe, don’t worry. Even though you’re not my bride, you’ll always have a place in my heart.” Chloe, who was overwhelmed with emotion, threw herself into his arms and wept as she said to me, “Lily, Jake and I are deeply in love, but fate just didn’t work out for us in this life. Please take good care of him.” Gossip instantly spread around us. Just as I was feeling helpless, my fiance humiliated me further and called me nothing more than a doormat. Watching the two of them clinging to each other, I could not take it anymore. I canceled the wedding on the spot and left for abroad the same night to join my best friend. The next time I met Jack, I had already moved on with someone new. When he saw me interlocking my fingers with my new love and kissing him passionately, his eyes instantly filled with burning jealousy.

One day before my wedding, my fiancé, Tristan, declared, “you can no longer be my bride." The reason? My sister, Victoria, had been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Her dying wish was for me to give up my place as the bride, so she could marry my fiancé instead. And Tristan agreed without hesitation. He even turning on me, "How can you be so heartless? She's your own sister!" The mocking smiles from my sister and the righteous anger from my fiancé left me broken. Little did I know, I would turn to the man I never anticipated—Rowan, my fiancé's uncle. He was the true power behind the family. Rumored to be ruthless, politically powerful, and never interested in women. However, I had never expected that he would took me in his arms tightly."Don't leave me."

At the age when I should have been attending university, I was framed by my biological parents and sent to prison. My sister had been cruelly killed by her kidnappers when she tried to save me, and they blamed me for her death. On the day of my release, I was kidnapped and had one of my ears cut off. When I found the opportunity, I immediately called my father, asking him to save me. Instead, he snapped, saying, “You’re no longer my son! Don’t contact me!” I was then burned alive. After I died, my sister returned. However, when my parents found out that the charred corpse was mine, the family crumbled.

"I want divorce. Let's end this contract marriage, Gabriette. Sign this." Iyon ang malamig na sinabi sa kaniya ng asawa niya. Halos nabingi si Gabriette Amarylle at tumigil sa pag-ikot ang mundo nila. Akala niya ay maayos na ang lahat sa kanila ngunit bigla siyang gustong hiwalayan ng kaniyang asawa na si Jax Thaddeus Fortier. Matapos ang lahat ng paghihirap niya para makuha ang loob ng lalake... Tiniis din niya ang pananakit ng lola ni Jax sa kaniya tuwing wala ang asawa. Tinanggap niya rin nang malaman ang sekreto nito na pagiging leader ng isang mafia organization. Ngunit sa divorce din pala magtatapos ang lahat. Hindi agad siya sumuko. Sinubukan pa niya na ilaban ang kasal nila. Hanggang sa lumala lamang lahat. Isang gabi, matapos magdala ng babae ang asawa niya sa mansion, muntik na siyang mapatay mismo sa kanilang tahanan para lamang pirmahan na niya ang divorce agreement. Takot at galit ang naramdaman ni Gabriette. Mabilis siyang pumirma at duguan na umalis do'n habang may laman na ang kaniyang sinapupunan. Umalis siya at nagpakalayo. Sa gabing 'yon, nangako si Gabriette na hindi na siya muli maaapi at kailanma'y hindi niya ipaaalam sa mga Fortier na may nabuo sila ni Jax. After divorce, she hid her baby to his mafia daddy. Ngunit hanggang kailan niya ito maitatago?

Ever since I was little, I knew my future mate would be one of two Alpha candidates: Mitchell or Jax. Even with all their Alpha pride, I never once doubted that set future. The pack elders always said it was natural for Alpha candidates to focus on getting stronger and controlling the pack. My mother, Lyra, even told me that every brutal fight they got into was so the winner could give me, their Luna, the ultimate honor. That is, until I and Elara – this Omega stray they'd taken in – got ambushed and captured by our old enemies, the Nightshade pack. Mitchell and Jax only had enough of the life-saving Moonpetal herb for one of us. And they both chose to give it to Elara. To save myself in that fire, I forced a shift. The power surge was too much. The heat twisted my cheekbone, and just like that, I was disfigured. After they dragged me out – like an afterthought – I watched those two future Alphas crying over Elara, who didn't have a scratch on her. "Thank the Moon Goddess, Elara, you're alive." "Once we sort out who's the new Alpha of Blackwood, whoever it is will give you the most honored spot right under the Luna, Elara. Don't you worry. We'll give you the best of everything our pack has, make sure you never suffer again." "Elara, you're the real Luna in our hearts." When I came to, I cut off that ridiculous mate bond for good. Empty promises and a trampled destiny? I was done with it. But after I left, they stayed by my cave every day, begging me to come back.

Sa loob ng pitong taong pagsasama nila at pagiging kasal sa asawang si Shiro fulvuente. He never treated her with warm and she just get from him was icy and indifferences, pero— Reeve Carzen, just face those indifferences with a smile dahil sobrang mahal na mahal nya si Shiro at masyado siyang naging tanga para maniwala na darating pa ang araw kung saan makakaya nyang palambutin ang puso neto. Ngunit, mukhang mapaglaro talaga ag tadhana. Sa pitong taong paghihintay, sakit lamang ang tangi niyang nakuha. Reeve just get to witness how the man she loves so much fall in love with someone, they said it was love at first sight— he shower her with all his love and care, mga bagay na di natanggap ni Reeve. Pero kahit ganun ay nanatilli pa rin sya sa kanilang kasal, nagmatigas si Reeve. Not until, it was her birthday. Lumipad sya mula Pilipinas papuntang California upang puntahan ang asawa't anak nya, only to find her husband and very own daughter laughing so sweetly accompanying his husbands mistress or should I say, her step-sister— leaving her alone in their empty villa. Watching her daughter, na halos sya na ang nagpalaki at nag-alaga, about and wished to have a new mother. mukhang namamanhid na ang buong pagkatao ni Reeve, She no longer felt any pain. She just drafted the divorce agreement, gave up custody for her daughter and left. Slowly detaching her presence to her family. After Leaving her family, What will Reeve do? Will she get her divorce and leave happily finding herself again? But what if her cold hearted man who is cold and indifferent to her suddenly clings to her? not granting the divorce she wants.

It was a full moon, and my mate, Alpha Ethan, bailed on our son's coming-of-age ceremony rehearsal. All because his Omega mistress, Scarlett, was in heat. Then, during the actual ceremony, our son Caleb was ambushed by a rival pack. By the time I heard the news, Caleb had been shot. He was dead, lying in a pool of his own blood. I knelt beside him, completely breaking down, when Ethan's voice, faking an apology, came through the mind link: "Sorry, Scarlett needs me. I'm sure Caleb can handle things. Just make sure Caleb gets some rest early, don't let him run around and mess up tomorrow's celebration." I looked at my son's broken body, my voice trembling, "He won't be running anywhere anymore." "Good," Ethan said, sounding pleased. "Scarlett's bloodline is purer. She's better suited to give the Stone Pack strong heirs. You should understand." I cut the link. After I committed my son's body to the flames, I found the secret ritual to break a mate bond and contacted a wolf I hadn't spoken to in a long, long time: "The protection wards on Stone Pack territory are down. You can make your move."

After more than one month na pananatili ni Andrei sa ibang bansa, sa wakas ay umuwe na ito sa pilipinas. ‘Yan ang balitang agad na natanggap ni Lyca. Pero ang higit na nagpagulat sa kanya ay nang iabot sa kanya ng asawa nya ang isang papel na naglalaman ng diborsyo. “Let’s get the divorce,” malamig na sambit nito sa kanya. “Okay,” tanging tugon ni Lyca. Sabay abot sa papel sa kanyang harapan. After the divorce, hindi maiwasan ni Andrei na makita ang dating asawa na masaya sa piling ng iba. Naging matagumpay na rin sa larangan ng business industry si Lyca na noon ay sunod-sunuran lang sa kanya. Hanggang sa muling nagkasalubong ang kanilang mga landas at muli ay hiniling ni Andrei sa dating asawa ang mga katagang…. “Please come back to me, baby.”