Natsuki Face

My husband's parents were stung by an unidentified venomous queen hornet and rushed to the hospital. As soon as I heard the news, I hurried to the entomology research institute to seek help from my husband, who was the director, hoping he could assist the doctors with the diagnosis. Instead, he called for security to block me at the entrance. "I don't handle work matters after hours," he said coldly. "Penny's mother is sick, and I need to go take care of her." I tried to show him the critical condition notice from the hospital, but he tore it up in one swift motion. "People die every day. So what if your dad and mom died?" After my in-laws passed away, I filed a lawsuit against Penny Madison, who had deliberately disturbed the beehive that led to the attack. My husband, who had disappeared for several days, suddenly showed up as an expert witness in court. He fabricated a false professional opinion to exonerate Penny. When I decided to leave the country, he lost his temper. "What do your parents' short lives have to do with me? Is it so hard to understand that after a long day at work, I just want to rest? And now you want to drag Penny into this mess. Just because your own family is broken, you want to ruin someone else's? How can you be so vicious? You deserve to lose your parents!" Watching his brazen attempts to twist the truth, I suddenly realized something. He still didn't know that he had become an orphan.

Melissa Brant, a poor vegetable seller, from the poorest family in Rio Hondo finds herself sourcing for fund to pay her mother’s medical bills. Fanny Luis, the richest mogul in Rio Hondo offers to grant her the money but for a price. “I will give you the money but you must sign a contract marriage with my mad son.” Melissa never knew what she was opting for until she shared roof with Brian, the most violent mad man in Rio Hondo. Later Fanny reminded her, “You must give me a grandchild. Didn’t you read the contract marriage agreement?” She was a virgin and never expected to get intimate with her mad husband. Fortunately, after she helped Brian regain his sanity, obsession possessed them. “Now I am fulfilled you have regained your sanity. The contract marriage agreement says you can divorce me once you regain your sanity. Please, Brian let me go,” she pleaded. “I don’t mind losing my sanity again if I deny what this heart feels for you now. I crave to stay with you forever. To hell with the divorce,” Brian replied coldly. What will be their fate? Lets’ turn the pages. It is going to be a bumpy ride.

She was his secret. Until he proposed to another woman — live on Inst*gr*m. Now Alaya Moore has nothing… until the day he dies and leaves her everything: The mansion. The money. The company. And every enemy he ever made. They called her the side chick. But she’s about to show the world she was the real queen all along.

On Halloween night, an accident struck the haunted house attraction. The children and I were trapped in a pitch-black room, while the staff outside spoke without the slightest urgency. “At this hour, the repair workers have already gone home. If you want them to come back, you’ll have to pay an extra thirty thousand in overtime. “If you’re unwilling, then stay inside for the night.” I begged them to call the repair worker first. We had been in the sealed space for too long, and one boy with heart issues was struggling to breathe. But the staff member only scoffed. “That’s got nothing to do with me. He’s not my kid. Either pay, or sit quietly.” Yet later, outside the emergency room, that same woman knelt on the floor in tears, begging the doctors to save her own child…

A never-ending lie starts with a desire for something. How far can you go for the person you treasure the most? How deep can you dig to make everything go according to your plan? Solana Stone was deprived of love and yet her heart never seeks for revenge. She was forced to marry the illegitimate son of the Evans family, replacing her adoptive sister who stole her boyfriend. Her life with her husband was simple. She learned to live a comfortable life in a small house with him and later found herself falling in love with her husband. It was like magic, she was enchanted. But how can she be happy with the life she has when she’s been living in a lie?

First day of school, and my roommate Sharon hits me with a $50k guilt trip over some "limited-edition" suitcase. "You're blind or just too dumb to walk straight?" My boyfriend? Useless. Classmates? Total sheep. The dean? Clown. Then I really looked at Sharon. Wait a sec—wasn't she the same scholarship case my family covered?

The hotel called, politely reminding me that the condoms used last night were unpaid and had been charged to my membership card. I was stunned. I'd been working late until midnight and hadn't set foot in any hotel. I confronted my husband, the only person who knew my card code. Nathan Phelps looked at me, bewildered. "Honey, that hotel costs over $10,000 a night. I'd never go there. It's probably a system error. Someone must have mistyped the card number. I'll file a complaint tomorrow." Unconvinced, I called my best friend, who managed the hotel. "Tracy, check who Nathan was with at the hotel last night. I'm catching him red-handed."

"You have no house to go to, no money, no friends and no child to drain me of child support. Don't be stubborn. You know you'll die without me, I'm your only family left." Once again that proud tone was sneered at me. "I worry for you." Devon’s eyes glimmered waiting for me to go on my knees and beg him. I shake my head. "Worry about yourself Devon. Do you really think you'd go scott free after the shit you pulled today? You couldn't even let me mourn my baby in peace." I searched for his gaze, my eyes burrowing into his. "I promise you, if not today, one-day Devon. I'll make you wish you were dead." ____ Corrie North gave Devon Remington everything. Amazing sex? She gave him her body. A devoted house-wife? She abandoned her career for him. A fucking maid? She scrubbed every inch of his sprawling mansion. A child? She nearly died bringing their son, Haven, into the world. And how did he repay her? Devon betrayed her. He cheated with a younger woman, handed her divorce papers, and vanished on the day their son died in a mysterious accident. Two months later, he finally showed up to Haven's funeral, with his pregnant mistress on his arm. As if that wasn’t enough, he accused Corrie of murdering their child. Devastated, Corrie vowed revenge. She vanished from Devon’s life, promising that everyone who played a part in Haven’s death would pay, including him. Four years later, Devon wants her back. He’ll do anything to make her his again. But Corrie isn’t the same woman he left behind. Will she make him pay for his betrayal , or will old flames pull her back into the arms of the man who destroyed her?

When I'm at the hospital for a prenatal checkup, I find out that the husband of the woman sitting beside me is Rupert Hensley, a renowned businessman. It's such a coincidence. Rupert is my husband, too. As we chat, I learn that her husband isn't with her because he's out of town for a meeting. This is even more coincidental—my husband is also out of town for a meeting. After a long silence, I decide to get an abortion instead of going for my prenatal checkup. It's only when I later ask for a divorce that I remember he and I never registered our marriage in the first place.

My name is Rayna Giancarlo and I’m many things. I’m an abused daughter, the school ridicule, the abused fiancée, the vengeful daughter, the bitter niece, the runaway wife. But not for much longer. I won’t always be a victim. Soon I’ll rise up from the flames like a Phoenix and then I’ll burn everyone who had ever wronged me to ashes.