Life Never Gave Us Lemons

I'd been "married" to Zachary for two years—until I tried applying for a loan and the bank's system flagged someone else as his legal wife. Our wedding? Just a private show. The real marriage license had his name next to hers. So yeah. I wasn't the wife. I was the other woman. Crushed, I went home—only to hear Zachary talking to his friend, Ethan, by the door. "Man, watching you stress is exhausting," Ethan said. "You clearly love Sierra. So why marry Cathryn?" Zachary looked torn. "At first, she was just a stand-in. But when she left, I couldn't stop thinking about her. So I brought her back—as my assistant." He paused, then muttered, "I can't live without Sierra. But I can't let go of Cathryn either. So I gave Sierra my love in public and kept Cathryn hidden with the title. That's fair, right?" I stood frozen, heart splitting open. He loved us both. Me—his childhood sweetheart. Her—the hidden wife. I thought I was the one. Turns out, I was just the game. He didn't break my heart. He shattered my whole world. But I didn't cry. I didn't scream. I walked away. And started planning two things.

I was dismembered and thrown into an abandoned warehouse. Before my consciousness faded away, I used the last bit of my strength to send a message via mind link to Timothy Russell, the Alpha heir that I had loved for six years. "Timothy, I'm in so much pain..." The next second, a cold mental barrier crashed down between us, cutting off all communication. That was his response to me. I knew I had been too presumptuous. I had disturbed him while he was at an auction helping his foster sister, Rochell Lucas. The moment my heart stopped beating, Timothy, who was helping Rochell put on a bracelet, felt his chest cave in. While everyone watched, the future Alpha knelt on the ground as countless bone-deep wounds appeared across his body out of nowhere. He convulsed in agony, screaming my name. Only then did everyone notice a glowing blood pact mark appearing on his tongue. I remembered. Once upon a time, he swore an oath to the moon. "If I ever betray Leah, every bit of suffering she has endured will return to me tenfold."

Twice in One Life follows the story of Celine Hayes, a once-powerful businesswoman whose life is cut short by a betrayal orchestrated by the people closest to her. A year after her death, Celine returns as a ghost, unable to move on until she finds justice. She crosses paths with Ònààrà, a modern-day shaman, and discovers Evelyn, a woman who unknowingly serves as the perfect vessel for Celine’s spirit. With Ònààrà’s reluctant help, Celine possesses Evelyn and begins to piece together the events that led to her murder. She returns to the life she left behind, re-entering the world under the guise of Evelyn, and plans to marry her former fiancé, Darren. But as truths begin to unravel, Celine learns of Darren’s inappropriate relationship with his sister and the deep-rooted hatred that led to her death. As her connection to Evelyn begins to blur, and her desire for revenge intensifies, Celine is faced with a painful reality: to find peace, she may have to sacrifice the last shred of her humanity or risk dragging another innocent soul into her tragic fate.

“I paid for an heir, not a wife. Hand over the child and leave.” ​Five years ago, I signed a contract with the devil. Desperate to save my dying grandmother, I agreed to be a surrogate for the ruthless billionaire, Liam Sterling. I broke the one rule: I fell in love with him. ​But the moment I gave birth, he turned into a monster. He took my son, threw a check in my face, and had security drag me out of the hospital. He didn't know the truth—I wasn't just carrying one baby. I was carrying two. ​I raised my daughter in secret, far away from his cruel world. She is my light, my joy, my everything. ​But now, fate has played a cruel joke. Liam has found us. He sees his eyes in her face. He wants to take her, too. But he’s about to learn that the timid girl he threw away is gone. If he wants my daughter, he’ll have to go through me. And this time? I’m ready to start a war.

A premeditated scheme of exploitation stripped me of everything I had. An unforeseen encounter plunged me headlong into a swirling vortex of chaos. Betrayal, contracts, endless entanglements… As the gears of fate clicked into motion, a single sheet of agreement threw me back into the orbit of that person—yet he seemed to have erased every trace of me from his memory… Meanwhile, my ex’s relentless, suffocating pestering and life’s unyielding, brutal trials kept closing in, one after another.

The seven Jennings sisters were all born unusually fertile, while I was born extremely virile. My grandmother wanted me to marry a woman with high fertility so we could have lots of kids and thrive as a family. In my previous life, I followed her wishes and chose Kara Jennings. But she joined forces with her six sisters to steal my family estate, locked me in a basement, and tortured me until I died. Now that I had come back to life on the day I had a banquet to announce my bride-to-be, I chose Michelle Cooper, the powerful CEO rumored to be sickly and infertile...

Samir Kane was the man of my dreams, the man I’ve always wanted. So imagine my joy when he walked into my favorite cafe, went down on one knee, and brought a ring up to my face. I was beyond elated of course. I mean it was a dream come true. Little did I know that it was also going to be my nightmare disguised as a dream. Samir not only roped me into a marriage with him for selfish reasons. However, I’ve yearned for his love and acceptance for years, but he treated me with the opposite and disrespect instead. And after he was fed up, he decided to discard me. He decided I’m no longer worth it, that it’s time we part ways, and his thoughtful gift for me on the night of our five years anniversary were divorce documents. How rich? Because that was all it took for me to venture into the brutal side. Watch out Samir, I’m now on the hunt for your wreckage, and there’s no stopping until I’ve brought you exactly where you once had me.

The Rossi mafia family followed an ancestral rule. Before marriage, the heir received one chance each year to draw lots. Drawing a fortunate lot meant he could choose his own spouse and avoid an arranged marriage. Dante Rossi drew an unfortunate lot for five consecutive years, and I, who had been dating him for seven years, never managed to marry him. This year marked the sixth year. I overheard his conversation with Marco Valentino, the Underboss. "Mr. Rossi, you drew a fortunate lot again." Dante's voice carried an unprecedented coldness. "Same as always, switch it to an unfortunate lot." Marco hesitated, then tried to persuade him. "Mr. Rossi, you've switched it for five years straight. Aren't you worried Celia will leave? Celia's the most beautiful woman in Nopales. Half the men in the city are chasing her." Dante said with absolute certainty, "She won't. Celia loves me too much. She won't marry anyone else. "Years ago, Livia's father died saving me. His dying wish was for me to stay by her side for five years. After this year ends, I'll give Celia a grand wedding as compensation." My last shred of hope died after I heard those words. Dante probably did not know that the Rossi family had one final ancestral rule. If the heir failed to draw a fortunate lot six times, he would lose the right to choose his own marriage. Moreover, I would soon be marrying someone else.

"You were never her, Aria. You were just... there." Jason's words echo in my head as I stand in the back of the church, watching him mourn another woman on her sister's wedding day. Isabelle. The perfect dead girlfriend. The ghost I've been competing with for three years. I thought I could be enough. I thought love could grow where grief once lived. But when I find the evidence, when I see the hotel receipts, the text messages, the photos of Jason with Isabelle's sister Violet, I realize the truth. I was never the love story. I was the intermission. What I don't know yet is that nothing about my marriage was real. Not Jason's cruelty. Not Violet's affair. Not the stranger's rescue. They've all been playing a game, and I'm the prize they're willing to destroy each other for. When the truth comes out, when I discover why Isabelle really died and who's been pulling the strings, I'll have to decide: Do I let them destroy me, or do I burn their whole world down?

🔥WARNING: THIS BOOK IS FOR 18+ READERS, IT CONTAINS STEAMY CONTENTS🔥 On our wedding day, my mate betrayed me. For five years, I lived as the Luna no one wanted. He never marked me. Never claimed me. Never even pretended to love me. Still, I stayed. I endured the whispers, the humiliation, the coldness of a mate who treated me like a convenient shadow. I raised his son as my own, believing loyalty would mean something. Until the dead came back. My stepsister returned—the same girl who destroyed my childhood. This time, she came for my life. My mate was already in her bed. He marked her without hesitation. And the child I spent years raising? He was never mine. I realized too late that he was Olaine's son, and he choose her too. In a single night, everything I sacrificed became a cruel joke. They chose her. So I ran—from the pack that never wanted me, from the betrayal, from the life that was never truly mine. And I found him. Vaelor Blackthorn. My former best friend. The man who vanished from my life years ago, now one of the most dangerous Alphas in the region. Possessive. Dominant. Every glance from him ignites me. He doesn't just want my body, he wants ME. Every touch makes my body betray me. When I give in, it’s electric, consuming, impossible to resist. But desire comes with a price. Every step toward revenge risks losing him—the man who would burn the world to protect me. Every heartbeat is a war between passion and revenge. I want him. I need him. But I cannot stop. Not yet.