Only I

Benedict Cole’s undercover mission had failed. Only his twin brother, David Cole, returned. I was devastated, nearly driven to madness over losing my husband. Holding Benedict’s police badge, I tried to slit my wrists nine times, but I was always rescued just in time. As my consciousness faded on my tenth attempt, I overheard a conversation between my mother-in-law, Helen, and David. “El has tried to commit suicide for you ten times now. How long are you going to keep this act up? This woman is head over heels for you. Just stop lying to her already!” David’s expression hardened as he flatly refused. “David took a bullet for me. It is only right that I take care of his wife.” “El’s from the countryside. She’s tough. Once Melissa becomes pregnant and has a child to live for, only then can I reveal that I am actually Benedict.” The bathtub was dyed red with my blood, but the pain in my heart was far greater than the sting of my wound. It turned out that it had all been a lie, a deception meant only for me. My grief-stricken suicide attempts for love were nothing short of a clown’s tragicomedy.

My mother-in-law, Eleanor, was having a heart attack, and my husband, Ben Dover—a heart surgeon—was the only one who could save her. Did I call him? Nope. I just stood there, watching her gasp like a fish out of water. In my last life, I'd begged Ben to come save her. He brushed me off, accusing me of interrupting his time with his mistress, Ima Schit. No matter how much I pleaded, he wouldn't come. Eleanor had died in the hospital. And when Johnny, my father-in-law, demanded answers, Ben flipped the script, saying I'd never even called. He made Eleanor's death my fault. Johnny, blinded by grief and fury, killed me. But plot twist—I woke up. Right back to the day this circus started.

When I witness my husband, Wayne Donaldson, and Valeria Meadows, a poor scholarship student he had been funding, exiting the hospital with a baby, I finally realize that Wayne has been lying to me about the fact that he got drugged by others. That day, I file for a divorce from him. But Wayne grips my hand and promises me, "Don't worry, you'll be the only Mrs. Donaldson. She won't be able to affect your position in any way." I just laugh in his face. He thinks I choose to be with him because of his money. But what he doesn't know is that my dad is the richest man in the city. Even the Donaldsons' ascent through the ranks is all thanks to my secretive help. That night, I send my dad two texts. The first one writes, "I agree to enter a marriage alliance with Mason Frost." The second one writes, "You can terminate all investments devoted to the Donaldsons right now."

It was the day of our wedding trip, and my fiancee only hurried over to the airport at the last minute. Right before we boarded, she got an urgent message from her male secretary. "Sorry, honey. There's a big project that needs my attention. Just showed up. You go ahead without me. I'll catch up once I'm done with work." It was a shame, but work was important. "Yeah, I get it." Then, I tore up the flight ticket after my fiancee was gone. My fiancee talking about a big project when I just bought the whole company hours earlier? Well, I'd like to see who was the idiot who worked around their new boss to talk to someone who did not exist.

Alizah Iris, a jolly-natured girl, just as her name suggests. She has always been enlivened and filled with bright colors. Her ambitions were as simple, to give her father a good life who was indebted in the weightage of huge loans. But one could not blame his father for it, every money he owed to people was well invested by him in Alizah's education. She was one determined girl but her academics were as poor as her financial status. When every teenager of her age was having a perfect teenage life with dates, parties, and high school, she was busy living a dual life when she enters 'Avalon High School'. She had a part-time job to attend and so tells the reason for her poor academic, she could barely give time to studying after dealing with 2-3 jobs per day. Avalon High wasn't meant for her, it was meant for the elite class students who belonged to rich families. Well, Alizah was given admission under scholarship by her god guardians, Mr. and Mrs. Bradford, who owned a well-known company in London. They were one of the creditors of Alizah's father. They were kind people who believed in charity. Everything goes fine, but could the silence before the storm ever be called peaceful? Like that, not everything that was coming Alizah's way was for her good. He was a hipster and a badass guy. Ronan Morris, the richest heir in Avalon High. He was like a rock who could not be melted no matter what. The stars crossed and so did their paths. He was a psychopath who only knew to play mind games and when he realized Alizah was easy to be targeted, that day Alizah's fate was cursed because no one wants to be the target of Ronan Morris.

Amelia entered a contract marriage with Ricardo for one reason—to survive. She needed money to complete her education; he needed a wife to satisfy his powerful grandfather. Love was never part of the agreement. For five years, Amelia loved a man who reminded her daily that their marriage was nothing more than a deal. She endured his coldness, his distance, and the pain of loving alone—until one drunken night shattered the fragile line between them. By morning, Amelia was gone. Only then did Ricardo realize the truth—he had fallen in love with his wife. Six years later, he found her. But she is no longer the woman he knew. She is stronger, colder, and untouchable. This time, Ricardo must face the consequences of his choices… and beg for the love he once cruelly rejected.

Desperate to lose her virginity, Gracie, asks the new transferred boy out, the school nerd; Jason Drew. Well that's what she presumed, seeing the thick frame covering those eyes, that never left the books and the hand that never left the pens. He seemed like a perfect guy whom she could easily manipulate. Innocent and dumb. Seeing him so antisocial can mean only one thing right? That he has no experience in the field of sexual activity. Well at least that's what Gracie thought. But little did she know, innocence is far fetched from his dictionary. Nerd and innocent was never his thing. Never! The guy she just asked was a complete dominant and ruthless in bed, that can actually result in getting her on a wheelchair in a single night. "Sure, Gracie!" he said, "Meet you after the school." And the countdown begins...

Layla Chen was the most beautiful girl in her school. In addition, she was intelligent and the vice-president of the school. She could have any guy as her boyfriend if she wanted to; only if she wanted to. Whereas he was a transferred student who came with his friends. He was handsome and intelligent. It didn't take him long to be the center of attraction. But there was someone who was a little different than any other girl he ever met. In no time, she gained his attention with the curiosity sprouting inside him. Then, what he did? How did he get close to her? The girl who doesn't desire a school romance. And most importantly, how did they actually fall in love with each other?

Age is just a number. Or at least that's what Maxwell Cooper thinks whenever he hits on his best friend's mother, Amanda, who is very much divorced and extremely attractive in his eyes. Amanda, highly aware of the obvious infatuation that Maxwell has on her, tries to avoid his advances towards her given their conflicting age differences. She speculates that Maxwell's attraction towards older women is deeply rooted to fact that he might just have some 'Mommy issues'. Maxwell refutes the hypothesis by claiming that he's only attracted to her , not older women in general. Both are put to the test when Amanda , returning from yet another failed date one night, runs into Maxwell who notices the tears in her eyes and proceeds to comfort her. This leads to her inviting her to her house which would be a convenient move seeing as Zac, Maxwell's best friend and Amanda's son, had gone to visit his father in New York for the weekend, leaving her alone for the weekend. They end up sharing a bottle of wine, getting drunk while reminiscing on the simpler days. A kiss is shared during the vulnerable moment between these two, which would lead to regrets and broken friendships.

"You are a rogue! How could you do this to me! I regret ever marrying you! " She screamed.The smirk never left his face even as he spoke."You married a playboy sweetheart, what did you except? Welcome to my world "The devil you know is always better than the angel you don't. Kathleen has always wanted a perfect relationship. She ran away from her abusive relationship only to get married to a mysterious stranger.Will this hot stranger treat her any better than her ex? What happens when he turned out to be a playboy who wasn't ready to be chained down by a simple wedding ring ?