Late Better Than Never

I was Randy Johnson's contract wife. For five years, I tried every possible way to make him fall in love with me. But aside from showing me concern in bed, he ignored me the rest of the time. When a piece of equipment at the amusement park fell and struck me, the first thing he did was rush to his beloved first love. She was startled but unscathed. Yet, he rushed her straight to the hospital. When a towering cake display collapsed on me, leaving blood streaming down my arm, he still chose to comfort his first love, who merely had a stomachache. Since he loved her so deeply, there was no reason for me, his contract wife, to stay. So I let him go and freed myself in the process. I chose to study abroad, vowing never to see him again for the rest of my life. I never expected… this time, he would be the one to regret it.

Matapos ang tatlong taon ng walang pamamahal na pagsasama, nagpasya si Hera na hiwalayan ang bilyonaryong asawa na si Jaxen nang mamatay ang kanilang anak sa isang trahedya habang inuuna nito ang kanyang unang pag-ibig. Akala ni Jaxen ay hindi mabubuhay si Hera nang wala siya, ngunit makalipas ang isang taon, nagbalik si Hera bilang isang matagumpay at palaban na international designer. Ngayon, si Jaxen naman ang humahabol at nagmamakaawa, habang si Hera ay handa nang itapon ang lahat ng alaala nila para sa kanyang bagong simula. Sa pagitan ng paghihiganti at paghilom, kailangang piliin ni Hera kung bibigyan pa ba niya ng pagkakataon ang lalaking minsang sumira sa kanya o tuluyan na itong buburahin sa kanyang buhay.

I was about to confess to my online chat partner in person when a barrage of comments suddenly flashed across my mind. [Don't bother. Jedediah is avoiding her right now. He's regretting ever mixing her up with someone else.] [It's all her fault for using a profile picture so similar to Georgia's. Otherwise, Jedediah wouldn't have gotten confused.] [It's annoying to think that when Jedediah lost a game, it was the supporting role, Monica, who comforted him. All those sweet words he said were meant for the female lead, Georgia.] [Jedediah is grossed out by it, too. Georgia only added him as a friend yesterday. It's so frustrating.] [Monica is a bane!] Dazed, I ran into Jedediah Merritt, who had just finished playing basketball. He quickly averted his gaze, but I moved around him, shoving the love letter into his roommate's hands. Online chat partner? I had more than one, sending my goodnight voice messages to several people every night.

Cold divorce papers. A shattered heart. And a man who realized her worth far too late. For three years, she endured a loveless marriage, clinging to the hope that one day he would choose her. But the moment his first love returned, he didn’t hesitate. He cast her aside without a second glance. Even her final, desperate question couldn’t make him stay. So she walked away… burying her love along with their past. Years later, she signs the final divorce papers from a hospital bed, ready to erase him from her life forever. That’s when the untouchable CEO breaks. In front of everyone, he falls to his knees, his voice trembling as he begs her not to leave him. He once let her go without regret. Now, he will do anything to have her back. But some wounds don’t heal… And some love stories don’t deserve a second chance.

Viatrice Thaliya Rosales was never meant to beg or bend. Heiress to one of the country’s most powerful families, she walked away from the wealth and the name, determined to build a life on her own. But when the Rosales empire nears ruin, she’s dragged back into a world of power plays and secrets. And waiting for her is a man who holds the key to saving everything—on one condition. Marriage. It was supposed to be nothing more than a transaction. A contract bound by signatures, not emotions. But the more Thaliya finds herself tangled in his world, the harder it becomes to tell where duty ends and desire begins. She thought she was giving up her freedom. What she didn’t expect was to risk her heart.

When I was five months pregnant, I was kidnapped by a group of thugs. They used my phone to call my brother, Jeremy Wirkola, and my husband, Grant Sanders, to demand a ransom of ten million, but no one answered. I was tortured and assaulted until I was barely alive. When I was finally rescued, Jeremy cried and promised to avenge me. Grant was in tears too. He vowed to get me treated. However, while under the haze of anesthesia, I overheard Grant's cold voice outside the door. “Jessie is waiting for a bone marrow, but don’t forget to remove Ashlyn’s uterus. Just tell her the injuries were too severe to save it. Oh, and get the best surgeon for her. She’s afraid of pain.” His assistant hesitated. He was clearly uncomfortable. “Mr. Sanders, isn’t this going too far?” Grant paused for a second before he replied firmly. “She refused to donate her bone marrow to Jessie and even used the baby as an excuse. She’s selfish. Besides, if we don’t do this, how can I bring back Jessie and our child into the family? As for Ashlyn, she’s my wife. I’ll make it up to her for the rest of my life. She used to bully Jessie with her status, which resulted in Jessie suffering from depression and almost killing herself. It’s time she paid the price for it.” As I listened to his heartless words, something inside me shattered completely. Since they had chosen to sacrifice me for Jessie, let them have what they wanted then.

It's my husband, Niall Luther's birthday. I take my son to the hospital to visit Niall since he's working late; I want to surprise him. However, we get into an accident on the way there. When I rush to the hospital with my bloodied son in my arms, I see Niall holding his first love's daughter. He coos at her and says, "This might be a small wound, but there's a risk of infection if it isn't handled well!" His first love, Chelsea Blanc, gives him a chiding look. "You treat Lulu so well that I'm getting jealous." Niall wraps an arm around her. "It's only because I love you. You're the one I love the most." I pull out my phone and call him. He keeps his arm around Lulu White and rejects my call. So, I text him, telling him our son is injured and has been taken to the hospital where he works. I tell him he needs to attend to our son. However, he berates me for lying. I have no choice but to take my son elsewhere for treatment. Before leaving, I see Niall kiss Chelsea tenderly and tell her he wants to take her to an amusement park. That's when I know he and I are over.

Sophie, who deeply loved Dylan, had been enduring constant pain because Dylan was in love with a lowly maid. Dylan believed the maid was his lifesaver, and he forced Sophie to donate a kidney to her. Only then did he realize he had mistaken the wrong person—but by that time, Sophie had already left him forever.

“It would be better if the two of you divorced… just for a while.” The words left Anna frozen in place—but the real blow came a heartbeat later, when Rendy, her husband, agreed without the slightest hesitation. To protect the family’s reputation after their biological daughter became pregnant out of wedlock, Anna was expected to sacrifice everything she had built with Rendy. Under the pretense of repaying kindness for being raised by the family since childhood, she was asked to step aside—to quietly disappear and allow another woman to take her place. Shattered and betrayed, Anna finally walked away, leaving behind the man who had once sworn he would protect her for the rest of his life. But it didn’t take long for Rendy to realize the truth he had willfully ignored for so long. The moment Anna left, everything began to fall apart. The woman he had pushed away… was the only one he could never live without. Now burdened by guilt and haunted by regret, Rendy wants Anna back—no matter what it takes. But Anna is no longer the woman who would wait for him. She belongs to another man now—someone far more powerful.

I had once been the woman Theo Bennett would have risked his life to marry. For six years after our wedding, he treated me like his entire world. He even had a matching tattoo carved into his lower abdomen, identical to mine, as proof of his devotion. But in the seventh year, he coldly demanded that I make a full-body model for his kept woman. "Catherine," he said, his voice sharp with contempt, "this is the price you pay for lying to me about being my savior. You know my tastes better than anyone. Make sure you replicate Hannah's body temperature. She's pregnant. I don't want to hurt her." Hannah Moore lay limp in Theo's arms, laughing so hard her shoulders shook. "How pathetic, Catherine," she mocked. "I'm pregnant, so I can't be with Theo. And yet he'd rather order a model of me than lay a finger on you. Once this one wears out, I guess I'll have to trouble you to make a few more copies of me." Only then did I understand. Theo had mistaken Hannah for the woman who once saved his life. I didn't scream. I didn't cry. I didn't argue. I simply turned around and dialed Sebastian's number. "Sebastian," I said calmly, "Theo is having an affair. I want a divorce."