Lame Excuses

My husband and I have been legally married for five years. This is the tenth time he's canceled our wedding ceremony. This time? His student, Laura, is competing in her first international violin competition—and he 'needs' to be there. I still remember the last cancellation: an awards ceremony he had to attend with her. The time before that? She fell ill, and he stayed at her hospital bedside. The other times? I've lost count of the excuses, but it doesn't matter. The reason is always Laura. Her needs always outweighed my wedding. My marriage. My life. Fine. If he wanted to stand by Laura so badly, he could stay there forever. This hollow, five-year farce of a marriage? It's over.

After nine rejections, Alpha Caleb mends my broken heart. For the first time, I’m not ashamed of who I am. I love him to death. But then I start to notice the secret late-night phone calls, the unexplained absences, and excuses that never add up. I want to believe him. To trust him with my life. And to prove that I do, I reveal the Fate pack’s most dangerous secret. It’s the location of our crescent seal, the power that binds every member together. But I wake up to chained wrists afterwards. My pack is gone. Caleb betrayed me. He’s the Alpha of the Silver pack, our sworn enemy, and he just used me to destroy my loved ones. Of all my mates, he’s the devil. And now… I’m carrying his child.

Twins, Henrietta and Federica, were orphaned at a very young age. When their father died, Henrietta promised him she would do everything to protect her twin sister. And that’s what she did. For next nine years, her world revolved around Federica. Until that day came when everything changed. Four men appeared in their lives and disrupted it. They only wanted one thing - to take her sister. Because, according to them, Federica was the key to finding their true home. But she didn’t care about whatever excuses they gave. She wouldn’t just let them take away her sister. But how could she fight them when her heart beat unnecessarily fast whenever one of them was around? That one with eyes as black as the night sky.

Charles Newman, a lame scientist had borrowed a huge amount of money to support his laboratory by buying a newly invented machine. Unfortunately, the invented machine got burnt and it affected the whole building as it was burnt down too. He fell into great debt and the owner of the money happens to be the knights. Alexander Knight happened to be the Alpha who lend him the money and when he saw that he wouldn't be able to pay back, he asked Charles to bring his daughter to be his bride as a payback. He refused and when Alexander couldn't wait anymore, he set out to him and saw his two daughters. The first daughter who is Charles's real daughter agreed to marry him while the second daughter, who is the stepdaughter doesn't show any interest. When Alexander Knight set his eyes on the stepdaughter, he became drawn to her and he found out that he was her mate. The stepdaughter doesn't agree and was forcefully taken along with him and it was there, they started their betrayed hate-to-love journey.

Fedora Smith was done with love. Finished. Buried. Betrayal had ripped out her heart and torched it—her boyfriend of four years and her best friend of twenty-five caught pants down on the very anniversary sheets she gifted him. And their excuses? “You’re not attractive anymore.” “You took too long to marry him.” Fine. If love was a game, she was rewriting the rules. Now, she runs The Bridal Fix, an elite agency providing fake marriages for a steep price—rent-a-bride services for men needing to fool their families, secure an inheritance, or stage the perfect breakup. Fifteen weddings, fifteen divorces—no strings, no mess. Just business. Until Judah Carlstone. He hires her like the rest—one contract, one wedding, one payday. But Judah asks too many questions. Looks at her too long. And when he smirks and says— "Tell me, Fedora… how does it feel to say ‘I do’ and not mean it?" For the first time in years, she has no answer. Because this was never supposed to feel real.

Quand il ne me restait plus que trois mois à vivre après avoir pris la lame maudite destinée à mon mari Lucian, son premier amour, Lily, est revenue. Quand j'ai enduré la douleur et préparé un dîner pour commémorer notre anniversaire, il n'est pas rentré. Il était en train d'avoir une séance torride en voiture avec Lily. Quand je suis allée seule à l'hôpital pour acheter des médicaments, il accompagnait Lily à son rendez-vous de suivi de grossesse. J'ai fait semblant de ne rien voir, je me suis contentée de jouer silencieusement le rôle de l'épouse parfaite et je lui ai écrit quatre lettres en cadeau pour notre anniversaire. Après ma mort, il a vu les cadeaux que j'avais laissés derrière moi et a complètement perdu la raison.

My stepsister falsely accuses me of causing her allergies to act up. My three brothers stuff me into the cramped cellar and chain the door shut. I pound on the door and beg them to let me out. My eldest brother, an outstanding businessman, snaps, "It's bad enough that you keep bullying Lori. How could you make her eat seafood when you know she's allergic to it? Isn't that just murder? Stay in there and reflect on your mistakes!" My second brother, an award-winning singer, and my third brother, a genius painter, scoff contemptuously. "It's unbelievable that someone as evil as you is making excuses to garner pity. You can stay in there and repent for your sins!" After that, they take our shuddering stepsister to the hospital. The oxygen in the cellar soon runs out, and it gets difficult to breathe. Ultimately, I die in there. My brothers only remember me three days later when they bring our stepsister back from the hospital. Unbeknownst to them, I've already died of asphyxiation.

The nanny, Polly Jackson, pushes me down the stairs when I'm seven months pregnant. I suffer from major blood loss and go into premature labor. Before I can question her about it, Zachary Campbell brushes me off with a lame excuse. "Polly didn't mean it. You and the baby are fine, so don't be so petty about this." I get out of bed to move around. I'm at the bathroom door when I hear Zachary and Polly's conversation. "Are you sure that wretch can stay alive, Zachary? Switching it out won't be that easy if it dies." "Don't worry about whether Daisy Jameson's baby can live, Mom. Either way, mine and Danielle's child will be the Campbell family's sole heir." I pretend I've never heard this and raise my son for 18 years. During a banquet held in honor of a share ownership transfer, Polly suddenly shows up with my mentally impaired daughter. She cries, "Mason is my grandson! It's high time he's returned to his rightful place after being raised by the wrong family for so long!" I'm unfazed. I even laugh at her words. "Fine, then!"

Zoya Agrawal is a coy, silent, innocent girl who abides by her parent's rule and shakes her head to their will. Renzo Matteo De Luca is the head of the most feared Italian Mafia. --------------------------------------- "Don't give bloody excuses" I was barking at the man who was indebted to me. "You were supposed to pay me back before two months". "Please forgive me Matteo, I will try to pay you back within a month" he pleads. There is a soft knock on the door,he looks back at me, I give him permission and sat back on the chair. " Dad i have to discuss something with you,its really important " I heard a beautiful voice say.I turned the chair to look the owner of the voice and I felt the air being knocked out of me. "You dont have to pay me back instead I want to marry your daughter" I say after he returns. He looks at me for a second and slowly nods his head. Who knew my journey to India would turn like this????

One year of love, loyalty, and promises of forever, destroyed in a single day. Henry truly believed he would spend the rest of his life with Danny, his older boyfriend. He thought their relationship was unshakeable… until distance, excuses, and “busyness” became the new normal. Not even a message on their anniversary. Everything fell apart when Henry joined his roommates for their Friendship Day outing, only to discover that his so-called boyfriend was in the same building, proposing grandly to another person on the exact day that was supposed to be their anniversary. Caught between heartbreak and the burning desire for revenge, Henry made a daring move. He turned to Danny’s biggest rival, Maverick, a fellow student just like him. But things didn’t go as planned. Maverick wasn’t just a rival. He was powerful, possessive, and unexpectedly devoted. And he wanted Henry, even after learning the whole thing started as a game. What happens when Danny realizes his mistake and wants Henry back? And what will Henry choose: the one who broke him, or the one willing to fight for him?