Novel & Cerita Never Too Late Novel

Inside the tattoo studio, Seth Jones let his fingertips trace the dip of Rita Searle's waist and move slowly up her spine. With a soft rustle, her dress slipped to her ankles. He stood over her, taking in the blood-red rose inked across her chest. They had been married for three years, and this was the anniversary gift he'd be giving her—999 roses tattooed into her skin. A broken sob scraped up Rita's throat. "Seth, it hurts… Please, stop…" Her tears splashed onto the back of his hand, but he only pressed the needle deeper, dragging it along until angry red welts marked her body. "Victor wanted those damn roses so he could give them to another woman, and that led to Tara falling off that cliff and ending up in a vegetative state. I'm just giving him what he wanted. You should be grateful." Lying on the cold tattoo table, Rita felt the chill spreading through her. Her eyes stung, weighed down by grief churning behind them. "Isn't it enough? You bought out Searle Group, you hung Victor over a cliff, and left him for the vultures. What else do you want from us?" Seth grabbed her by the throat and forced her chin up. "And isn't Tara innocent in all this? Rita, you and Victor destroyed her life. Don't you owe her for that?"

Seven years ago, in order to accompany the fake heiress abroad for her recovery, Timothy Gibson casually signed the divorce papers I handed him. Without even turning around, he sneered at me. "Naomi, don't use such underhanded tactics to keep me around. Esther can't live without me abroad." Seven years later, he blocked my path with his car, and he spoke to me with an air of superiority. "Grandpa is critically ill. His only dying wish is to hold his great-grandchild. "Come back with me, behave yourself, and give birth to an heir. You will still be Mrs. Gibson." I looked down at my shoes. I recalled the time I stood in the rain and begged him not to leave. I even collapsed in the rain. In the end, all it got me was a dismissive 'you're making a scene' from him. Timothy still thought my life revolved around him. He had no idea that without the title of Mrs. Gibson, I had lived very well these past seven years. The very day after he signed the divorce papers, I married someone else. Gently touching my stomach, which wasn't even showing yet, I smiled and said, "Mr. Gibson, I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you. I am having a baby, but it isn't yours."

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.

Bianca Barley spent six years believing that love was worth every sacrifice. To support her husband, Dominic Brown, she hid her identity as the heiress of the powerful Barley Group and endured the constant disdain of his family. No matter how often she was overlooked, she convinced herself that her marriage was strong enough to survive it. Everything changes at Brown Holdings' annual charity gala when Dominic publicly prioritizes his first love, Selena Whitmore, over his wife. The humiliation that follows forces Bianca to confront a painful truth: the Brown family never respected her, and Dominic never valued the sacrifices she made for him. After a public scandal shatters her remaining faith in the marriage, Bianca signs the divorce papers and walks away. This time, she refuses to beg for love or acceptance. Returning to the Barley Group, Bianca reclaims the identity she abandoned years ago. Her sudden return sends shockwaves through Manhattan's elite circles and attracts the attention of Enzo Davenport, Dominic's powerful rival. What begins as a strategic alliance soon grows into something deeper as Bianca rebuilds her life and discovers her own worth. But when Dominic realizes exactly what he has lost, he is determined to win her back, even if it is already too late.

My mother was a player in a quest. Once her mission was a success, she exited this world, leaving me behind with four fathers. The first was a billionaire CEO. The second was a famous movie star. The third was a world-renowned doctor, while the fourth was incredibly powerful and influential. My four fathers spoiled me rotten for sixteen years, giving me everything I ever wanted. That was until three years ago when Sadie, the daughter of the one that got away, returned. Since then, my four fathers believed her over me. Sadie claimed that my mouth was filthier than a dog’s, so they threw me in the dog kennel and fed me dog food. When she accused me of rallying the other students and bullying her in school, my fathers got me expelled and hired three street gangsters to beat me up for months. Once again, Sadie insisted that I pushed her, and as a consequence, my fathers locked me in a cage for three whole days in the name of teaching me a lesson. As I lay there in hunger, my mother’s voice rang in my ear. “Niamh, do you want to come back to Mommy?”

I masterminded a half-billion-dollar art auction to wash money for Miles’s family. But at the celebration party, Miles gave all the credit to Rebecca. His childhood friend. The daughter of the family’s consigliere. I stormed into his study. “Miles, head curator was Rebecca? Are you sure about that?” He looked up from a cloud of smoke, pulling me into his arms. His voice was a low, soothing rumble. “Valerie, I know you want to prove yourself, but this was all Rebecca. Especially the Caravaggio. The real one, worth three hundred million. She’s the one who pulled it off.” His lips brushed my forehead, his breath hot. “I don’t love you because you can fix some old paintings. You’re my queen, always. My girl. You don’t have to worry about her.” I almost laughed. The anger was choking me. “She can’t tell the difference between oil and acrylic. How the hell would she know a real from a fake?” “Enough!” Miles cut me off, his tone leaving no room for argument. “I know what Rebecca can do. Don’t make a scene just because you’re jealous.” His hands tightened, trapping me in his smoky embrace. “Don’t disappoint me, Valerie.” But he already had. When I’d had enough of his favoritism and his blindness, I walked. And that's when he went crazy. Scoured the earth looking for me. Begging me to come back, saying he was blind, that he’d been wrong about everything.

On the night Alice Laurent discovered she was pregnant, her husband handed her divorce papers. After three years of marriage, Vaylen Morgan had finally gotten back the only woman he had ever loved — his ex-fiancée who disappeared before their wedding and destroyed him. Alice was never the woman he wanted. She was only the woman who saved his life. Heartbroken, Alice asks for one final thing before signing the divorce papers: one real memory with the man she spent three years loving alone. But that night ends in public humiliation, betrayal, and the final destruction of her marriage. So Alice disappears. Vaylen thinks she is just another woman walking out of his life. What he does not know is that Alice leaves carrying his child… and hiding a secret powerful enough to shake his entire world. Because the quiet wife he discarded was never ordinary. She is Alice Laurent — heiress to one of the most powerful families in the world. Years later, Vaylen meets her again beside a little girl with his eyes, another man at her side, and a life that no longer has room for him. Now the man who once wanted freedom from his wife is desperate for another chance. But this time, Alice may never let him close enough to break her again.

On New Year's Eve, I returned home. At the welcome party, my boyfriend, Grayson Caldwell, suddenly appeared, holding a bouquet of red roses and a diamond ring, dropping to one knee. "Although this proposal comes a full three years late, our love will never be late," he said. "Alexa, marry me!" Friends cheered from the sidelines, all expecting me to nod through tears and say yes. But they had forgotten that three years ago, on New Year's Eve, he had promised to propose. That night, I dressed to the nines and waited until dawn—but he never showed up. Instead, there was only a cold phone call. "Tanya is sick. I'm busy taking care of her. You'll have to wait a little longer for the proposal." And so, on New Year's Day, I left the country alone, bound by a family-arranged marriage. I had already married someone else three years ago.

On the day Andrew Selwyn is elected as the pack's Beta, we promise to have our bonding ceremony a month later. Seven days away from the ceremony, he suddenly decides to pursue his first love, Lucy Grimm. He wants to make up for the time they had lost apart. If he gets back together with Lucy, he hopes I will give them my blessing. If he can't win her over, he'd let go of his obsession and return to complete the ceremony. He'd spend the rest of his life loving and protecting me. Gazing at his sincere expression, I smile and say, "Alright. As long as it makes you happy, I won't stop you." The moment he turns and leaves, I can no longer hold back my tears. All along, Andrew's heart belonged to someone else. Later, I contact my best friend, Selena Jones, through the mind link. "My bonding ceremony has been canceled," I say flatly, my voice thick with helplessness. "Didn't you want me to lead the research team at your institute out of town? I'll do it. When do we leave?"

After I was kicked out of the house, my sister, Nicole Thompson, and I met at a nightclub five years later. She was the VIP client who spent millions to celebrate Michael West's, her godbrother's, birthday, while I was the male host in the hype team. We didn't talk to each other the whole time until she saw me chugging two bottles of whiskey for a 500 dollar tip. When she saw my pallid face, she questioned coldly and unhappily, "You'd rather do this disgusting job than come home and apologize? Jack, you really are unbelievable!" I just smiled indifferently and held out my hand to her. "500 bucks. Cash or Venmo?" Times had moved on, and I no longer wished to bring up past grudges. However, the 500 dollars I had just earned was just enough for me to pay the balance due for my cremation urn.