My Youth Began With Him

"This year, there's only one spot available–and I fought hard to secure it for you. "If things don't work out with Baron Cole, I'll talk to him. You two have a strong relationship. Waiting a few years won't matter." As I stared at the application form my professor handed me, my hands would not stop trembling. In my previous life, I spent forty years married to Baron. We raised a son and a daughter. I thought that was what a complete, fulfilled life looked like. However, after he died, while sorting through his belongings, I found a box filled with letters and photographs. That was when I learned the truth–he had always loved someone else. She was his first love… and the biological daughter of the family that raised me. Back in 1984, he hid my study-abroad application, giving the opportunity to her instead. From that moment on, I became a housewife. And he devoted himself to helping the woman he loved rise–until she returned from overseas as a celebrated professor. Even my own son later turned their story into a drama, glorifying their restrained, enduring love. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back on the day I first received that application form. This time, I did not hesitate. "Professor, I'm going abroad."

Blurb: ​They took everything from me. My husband faked his death, leaving me with $50 million in debt. My best friend stole my designs and my daughter, who now calls her "Mommy." They left me broken, scarred, and left for dead. ​But they made one mistake. ​When I wake up the day before my life was destroyed, I'm not the naive woman they remember. I have every detail of their betrayal, and this time, I’m not running from the storm. I am the storm. ​With the help of the man I should have never let go, I will turn their perfect plan into a nightmare. They think they’re building an empire. I'm going to burn it to the ground. Some debts can’t be paid in cash, only in ruin.

Three years ago, Vincent Harlow slept with a college student. When I found out, I was ready to walk away from the marriage with nothing if it meant I could divorce him. The day we were supposed to finalize the paperwork, Vincent jumped off a high-rise building. Tree branches broke his fall partway down. He survived, but his leg was shattered. Now, he was in a hospital bed and sobbing through apologies, begging me to give him one more chance.

The eighth time I proposed to Jason, he shut me down cold and indifferent, just like all the times before. He said he needed more time, and I was ready to keep waiting. However, out of nowhere, I saw a post on social media. He and my sister went and got their marriage certificate. When I confronted him, Jason was perfectly calm. "Tessa is pregnant and needs to avoid stress. Stop causing trouble for no reason!” Both were wearing wedding rings in the photo. Her baby bump was already starting to show. Something inside me just went quiet. I gave the post a like and left a comment. [Wishing you a lifetime of happiness and love!] A year later, Jason came to see me. He looked tired and defeated, asking to get back together. By then, I was already visibly pregnant. Before I could say a word, his best friend stepped forward with a smile and pushed him back. “Come on, man. The baby’s almost here. My wife already has a husband. She does not need a backup.”

At 20, I became known for two things. First, I weighed over 200 pounds, yet I still ended up dating Christian Fairmont, the coldest and most unattainable man in our circle. Second, I turned down Christian's proposal, changed my name, left the country, and became the one woman no one dared mention around him—the forbidden, unattainable love he could never let go. For the next five years, Christian shut himself away in a church and refused to see anyone. Just when everyone thought he was about to become a priest, he suddenly announced his engagement. He made such a spectacle of it that even I heard about it all the way in Goldridge. That alone showed how much he valued his bride-to-be. I booked the first flight home that same night. Everyone who saw me reacted the same way. First, they stared at how completely I had changed, how much weight I had lost, how I looked like a different person. Then they sighed. "Juliana, you came back too late." Even Christian looked at me with cold, distant eyes. "When you walked away and left me behind, did you ever think that five years later, you'd regret it?" Regret? I shook my head. "I don't regret it." I was already married and had a child.

I no longer recognize myself. Not recognizing who I have turned to. Maybe it was meant to be this way. I don’t know how within the space of five years I and Noah turned into something that was never in my imagination. We turned to strangers. At this time four years ago, we were the newest couple, the Hollywood upcoming celebrities that everyone was rooting for, our relationship was the envy of the whole Hollywood… then everything changed. Then I threw it all away… even though I knew that he was ’it’ for me. I got greedy. I tried to match up his fame which was silly. You can’t compare a god and a prodigy. I was a prodigy but Noah…. He was a god.

Lily's desperate plan was simple! One night with a stranger and her father's life would be saved. Out of the blue, she agreed to a mysterious proposal. She had no idea her life was about to spiral out of control. What began as a fleeting encounter turned into a marriage contract, sealing her fate for a year. The promise of a luxurious life, a hefty paycheck, and a peaceful existence seemed too good to be true. And it was. Without having a second thought, Lily jumped at the offer. A year of supposed bliss transformed into a chaotic descent, shattering her every hope of having a better life!

My son, Andy, had a sudden liver failure and needed a liver transplant. The only compatible match was my wife, Vivian Grant. I had begged her for 20 days to give Andy a liver transplant. Finally, she caved in. I waited the entire day in front of the operating theater, but she didn’t appear. On the same day, her first love, Jason Sanderson posted on his social media. [20th day of traveling around the world. Dr. Grant had given up her career to help fulfil my son's dream of traveling the world.] Only then did I find out that Vivian had been travelling the world with Jason and his son, Luke, since day one. That night, I received a call from Vivian. "Charlie, Luke had gotten full marks on his exam. His wish was to have his Daddy and Mommy travel around the world with him. As you know, he doesn't have a Mommy. I couldn't bear to watch him not get his wish. "We'll return in three days. We can have the surgery for Andy then." She had no idea that what awaited her at the hospital was Andy's lifeless body.

Desperation to have a better life. The greed to swim in wealth. The thirst for wealth led a naive young lady to make a deal she had no idea of. As it seems to her, it was simple. All she had to do was get married to a gangster until he was ready to divorce her. Little did she know, it was more than that. What could be the use of a naive lady to a gangster?

Word had it that the roses my mother-in-law Nancy and I planted on the back hill were in full bloom, so we decided on a whim to go see them. We never expected to be stopped at the entrance by a she-wolf caked in heavy makeup. "Do you even know where you are? This is no place for two low-ranking Omegas." "Look at you two — dressed like beggars. That's probably exactly what you are." Our good mood evaporated instantly. I shot her a look. "As far as I know, the back hill is public territory. Every member of the Silver Moon Pack is welcome here." "You have no right to block us." The she-wolf's eyes turned bloodshot with rage. "You pathetic little Omega — how dare you disrespect me!" "This mountain belongs to the Silver Moon Pack, and the Silver Moon Pack belongs to my mate." "If you know what's good for you, get on your knees and apologize. Then crawl out of my sight before I lose my patience." I glanced at Nancy. Her eyes burned with the same fury I felt. As the one and only Luna of the Silver Moon Pack's Alpha, I had no idea there was supposedly another Luna running around.