Innocent When You Dream

Tessa and Raymond’s marriage was never about love, it was convenience, appearances, and expectations. Raymond, with his conventional charm and striking handsomeness, was admired by everyone, but his heart was never fully hers. He had always been drawn to Danielle Green. He claimed she was just a friend, but Tessa knew better. Every secret outing, every hidden smile all carved wounds into Tessa’s heart, leaving her feeling invisible in her own marriage. The tipping point comes when Tessa stumbles upon a post online, a wave of public scolding aimed at her for supposedly breaking the home, for being the obstacle to Danielle. In a blaze of frustration and humiliation, she serves Raymond divorce papers. But instead of freeing her, Raymond refuses. He offers her silly, manipulative terms to meet him, seduces, and taunts her, proving he will never let her go easily. Fueled by a mix of rage and determination, Tessa begins to reclaim her power. She finds herself drawn into a complicated dynamic with Derek, Raymond’s best friend, a man with his own history of tension with Raymond and secret feelings for Tessa. The attention stirs something in her: attraction, validation, a hint of revenge. It ignites a spark Raymond cannot ignore. For Raymond, it is only the beginning. The thought of losing her shook him to the core. He begins to fight for her in ways he never has, even as his love twists into jealousy and obsession. When Raymond finally drops the mask, revealing the man beneath the arrogance, the man terrified of losing her, Tessa is forced to ask herself the question she swore she’d buried: Can love truly be reborn in the depth of hate, or is his devotion just another chain designed to keep her bound?

“You've read the contract, I assume?” His tone was soft but firm. His eyes, however, were fixated on her lips. “Every word.” Aurora hesitated, fingers brushing against the folder's edge. Michael furrowed his brows, gauging her expression. “Are you sure you want this? You can say no, and we’ll simply pretend this never happened.” “No,” Aurora said firmly, gripping the edges of her skirt. Her entire body pulsed with need for him, so how could she disagree? “I want this.” She quickly signed the contract. His hands left her jaw, reaching down to pull her up and against his office table. His hands slowly reached under her skirt. “Well, then. Let us begin, shall we?” *** Aurora Lane thought the worst day of her life was catching her boyfriend trying to sneak off on a hotel trip with her best friend, using her money. She was wrong. Booking the suite solo, she never expected to find a stranger already there. Tall, brooding, and infuriatingly magnetic. Michael Carson, a billionaire hotel mogul who lives for control, should’ve thrown her out. Instead, one night of passion turned into something neither could forget. When fate brings them together again, their simmering chemistry becomes impossible to ignore. A secret “no-strings” contract should have kept their hearts safe, but the more they try to resist, the deeper they fall. Then the past returns to destroy everything. A jealous ex. A web of lies. A powerful family that will do anything to keep them apart. And when a shocking betrayal turns deadly, Aurora must decide whether love is worth risking everything for… even her life. In a world of money, manipulation, and impossible love, can two broken hearts rewrite their destiny, or will the secrets between them burn it all down?

On the day my daughter is discharged from the hospital after recovering from the flu, I run into my ex-husband, Zachary Levine, whom I have been divorced from for seven years. He is there to pick up his wife, who has just given birth. He looks a little surprised as his gaze moves up and down to take in my clothes, which is still stained from my child's vomit. I had no time to change out of it earlier. "Long time no see. How have you been lately?" he asks. I smile and say I am doing fine. As we are about to part, he grabs my arm. "Alyssa, our son misses you a lot. If you are having any difficulties, don't push yourself. The passcode for the house in the north of the city is still your birthday. You can go there anytime." I politely decline, and he lets out a sigh. "After all these years, you are still as stubborn as you were back then. Don't hate me." I smile but say nothing. There needs to be love for there to be hate. But now, he is just a stranger to me.

In the second year of my marriage to Jeffery Sadler, he brought a young woman home. When his eyes met mine, Jeffery smiled carelessly and said, "Naomi, perhaps you should try it too." He added, "After all, young and energetic people are truly different." I knew he was only testing me; he had always enjoyed tormenting and toying with me. But what he didn't know was that this time, I was genuinely tempted. Later, as he stared at the fresh scratch marks on the "young person's" waist and abdomen, his eyes blazed red with anger. "Naomi Sloan," he growled, “Who gave you the audacity to actually take this seriously?”

I was diagnosed with stomach cancer and needed a total gastrectomy. My husband, who was hailed as a rising star in the medical field, personally performed the surgery on me. However, after the operation, my health only worsened. He told me that the cancer had spread too quickly, and there was no hope left. It was not until I accidentally came across a hidden medical report and a massive insurance policy that I learned the truth—I never had stomach cancer. Not only had he removed my stomach, but he had also taken my uterus. Desperate, I confronted him, asking why he did that to me. He held his mistress in his arms, looking at me with disgust as he said, "If your father weren't the director, do you think I would've married you? You're not even worthy of being in the same room as Mabel. After one more surgery to remove your stomach, I'll be promoted to chief physician. "Didn't you claim to love me so much? I'm just using your body to help me and Mabel get ahead... I'm doing you a favor." Then, he and his mistress threw me off the building, making it look like a suicide. When I opened my eyes again, I had gone back to the day of my stomach surgery.

June Williams had given up everything—her family, her inheritance, her dreams—to build a life with the man she loved. But in the blink of an eye, Larry, the husband she had sacrificed so much for, shattered her world. Cast aside for another woman and left broken in the street, June suffered a devastating loss that stole not just her future, but the child she had carried. Now, consumed by grief and burning with a vengeance that threatens to consume her, June vows to take back everything Larry stole from her. His wealth, his reputation, his empire she will make him suffer, just as he made her. And when he finally kneels before her, begging for mercy, she’ll remind him of the moment he told her she was nothing.

Rome has been angry with Cayson Montemayor for more than a decade now, but the young woman can do nothing but show kindness to him because her entire family works and teaches at the school owned by the young man's family. One night, she found herself at a party that would lead to her greatest misery. She got drunk and went into the wrong room. The next morning, she woke up naked beside the devil himself, Cayson Montemayor. Something happened to them that night; an incident he thought was a bad dream caused by the spirit of alcohol. She asked him to forget about what happened that night, and they agreed to never speak of it again. But thirty days later, she found herself pregnant with Cayson Montemayor's child. And her family wanted to know the truth. How could she tell them the truth without tarnishing the family name and not being forced to marry the father of the child she was carrying? She would never marry and live with that man under the same roof, she would die to be with that demon every day! But does she have any choices?

I'm three months pregnant when my husband, a doctor, personally performs an abortion for me. I can see the fetus in the trash can. Chuck Gross uses his doctor's coat to block Valerie Green's curious eyes. "Don't look, Val. You'll get nightmares." After the abortion, he throws a few tissues at me, looking icy. Then, he leaves with Valerie. Later, when Chuck learns the truth, he bursts into agonized tears. "Can we not get a divorce? Please?"

I had been on a business trip overseas for less than six months when I suddenly received a call from the hospital. "Mr. Jones, your wife is having a difficult labor. Should we proceed with a C-section or try to continue with a natural delivery?" The words hit me like a bolt of lightning. I stood there, frozen. When I left, my wife had not shown any sign of pregnancy. How could she be giving birth less than six months later? I quickly dialed her number. The moment the call connected, I heard her cries of pain. "Honey, what's wrong?" From the other end of the line, I could hear a nurse urging her to push harder. However, my wife forced her voice to sound calm. "Sweetheart, I just slipped and fell a moment ago. It's nothing serious. You should keep focusing on your business trip. Don't worry about me." As I listened, the faint sound of a baby crying filtered through the phone. My grip tightened so hard around the phone that it nearly cracked. "Is that so? Then, get some rest," I said calmly. After hanging up, I immediately called my father, the richest man in the country. "Dad, Rebecca's cheating on me. She's in the delivery room right now, having another man's child. Stop all investments in the Harris family immediately. I want her thrown out with nothing to her name."

When sincere love ends up in betrayal, can love be found again unexpectedly? Anaya's world topples when she sees her fiance proposing to another woman. Shattered and devastated