Our Problems Just Keep Piling

On the day I was supposed to get engaged to my childhood sweetheart, Noah Pratt, I escaped. As I flew out of the country, I deleted all forms of contact with him. Six years later, I had to return to oversee the moving of my parents’ graves. At the entrance to the cemetery, I bumped right into Noah. He gripped my wrist while gazing at me with red-rimmed eyes. “Why did you run away?” he asked. He had grown very thin. Heavy bags were under his eyes. It was as if haunting dreams had plagued his nights. “Because I didn’t want to marry someone I didn’t love,” I replied. He swayed on his feet as if the rug had been swept from under him. “Is there anything else?” I asked. But he remained silent. I waited patiently before walking past him. I had not lied. Indeed, I had burned out that love for him in the first three years I spent overseas.

Amara Larkspur and I have been dating for seven years. But she claims that she's sick of me, so she quickly finds herself a younger lover. I don't kick up a fuss at all. All I do is throw away the engagement ring and take down the decorations of the proposal venue. After that, I leave the city where I got my heart broken. All of Amara's friends keep speculating just how long it'll take me to crawl back to her this time. After all, everyone thinks of me as her ultimate simp. However, this time, I never return to her side. Amara finally panics and calls my number. "Ryan Crawford, if you don't return to me right now, we'll break up for real!" But all she hears is a feminine voice that lets out a soft titter. "Ryan is bathing at the moment. I can help you pass the message if you'd like."

On the way home for the holidays, my wife, Sophie Hartman, and I were caught in a terrible accident. When I opened my eyes again, we had both gone back in time to before we ever fell in love. In our previous life, we'd been married for seven years. We were polite, respectful, and distant, almost like guests sharing the same house. And all those years, she never once agreed to have a child with me. It wasn't until later that I learned the truth. Sophie had never let go of the man she once loved. This time, I chose to set her free. We quietly deleted each other's contacts, kept our distance, and walked separate paths in life. … Seven years later, she became one of the most successful traders. At a class reunion, she announced her relationship with Vincent Parker, the man she had never forgotten. When she saw that I was still single, she couldn't resist teasing me. "Lucas, I know I've always been the one you love most, the one you're proudest of, but you don't have to spend your life waiting for me." I didn't respond. I simply took my son's hand. Sophie's face went pale. Her eyes reddened as she demanded, "You said you'd love me for life, that you'd only ever have children with me!"

"Who said I hated you?" It took me a moment before I could process what this man just said. "What do you mean you don't? Na-" He grabbed my hand suddenly and looked me in the eyes which caught me off guard. "You keep saying her name that it annoys me to the point that I just want to erase her existence." Is this man seriously telling me that he'll kill the female lead?

I worked for a restaurant, and our boss loved making empty promises about giving us restaurant shares. The boss said we would start with zero shares, but we could earn 0.01% for every two hours of overtime, covering someone else’s work or saving the restaurant 1,000 bucks. I suggested she write this down in an official document and have someone track it properly. She just smiled and told everyone to work harder. She never actually put it in writing. The experienced staff did not believe her, but one prep cook took it seriously. At the end of the year, he went to the boss to claim his shares. The boss said, “Sorry, the head chef told me there’s no official document, so it doesn’t count. You can’t claim any shares.” The prep cook worked hard all year and got nothing for it, so he took his anger out on me. The day before I was going home for the New Year, he killed me with a knife. “If you hadn’t said it doesn’t count without an official document, this whole restaurant would’ve been mine!” I lay in a pool of blood. When I opened my eyes, I was back to the day the boss first made those empty promises.

In the seventh year of my engagement with Nathan Galloway, he has inherited everything from his dead older brother, including his newly widowed sister-in-law, Catherine Wilkins. Whenever Nathan is done sleeping with Catherine, he'll hug me and comfort me gently. "Just wait for a little longer, Jojo. Once Cathy gets pregnant, we'll have our own wedding." This is the Galloways' only condition for Nathan to inherit the family's assets. In the six months following his return to Ravelton, Nathan has visited Catherine's room 52 times. He initially started off with just one visit per month. But slowly, the visits have been increasing to the point that he now visits her once every two days. Finally, when I spend my 52nd sleepless night sitting in my room and waiting for Nathan's return, I receive the news of Catherine's pregnancy. But at the same time, the news of Nathan and Catherine's upcoming marriage breaks out as well. "Mommy, is someone getting married in this household?" As I stare at the wedding decorations in the villa, I just pull my son, Theo Huber, into a hug with a blank expression. "Yeah. Your daddy is about to marry the woman he loves. That's why it's time for us to move out." What Nathan doesn't know is that we Melshes couldn't care less about marriage.

Introduction A year ago, I had my eyes on the winning prize in the arena - a rare red gemstone, and wanted to win it back as the mating ring with my Alpha mate Damien. Just as I was about to claim victory and take the prize, Damien's secretary Celia stepped forward to challenge me. Damien laughed helplessly. "Young girls love these shiny things. As the Luna of our pack, you should be generous and let her have them, okay?" I refused outright and defeated her. That day, Celia ran off the platform crying. I proudly showed Damien my prize. He kissed my forehead helplessly. "My stubborn little wildcat." After our mating ceremony, he claimed me night after night for a whole year, in every way imaginable, never giving me a moment's rest. But one year later, I received an invitation to a private combat arena. Videos and photos of me beneath Damien, my eyes hazy with desire, were brazenly displayed as the victor's prize. Damien had his arm around Celia's waist. "Don't you love fighting? There are over a hundred people here. I'll have them challenge you one by one. Whoever wins gets a sex tape of you and me. A whole year's worth."

On the day I become Alpha Ethan Sadler's mate, he tells me, "Our mate bond is merely to honor the promise between our elders. You will be my Luna by name. You shall have everything in my name, except my love." For three years, I obediently played the role of his mate in name. Then, a socialite named Sophia Kirk hands me a check for two million dollars, urging me to leave Ethan. "Ethan said your mate bond exists only to repay the debts of the older generation. It's a necessary sacrifice. Now, he needs a real family and a mate who can bear his heir. You've wasted three years of his life. It's time to let go." It turns out Ethan already has a lover. It is indeed inappropriate for me to take the place of his Luna any longer. That night, I approach Ethan, who is going through some documents. "You once promised to give me anything I wanted. Does that promise still hold?" Ethan sets down the documents, removes his metal-rimmed glasses, and loosens his tie. His ashen eyes swirl with emotions, and an eager smile curves his lips. "Of course. Tell me what you want." I tighten my grip on the Bond-Breaking Agreement I am holding and place it before him. "I want you to sign this."

Ariadne Herrera had it all— beauty, brains, money and a handsome boyfriend. Hell, even her family is perfect. But when her boyfriend of two years cheated on her with Dahlia Laurel, her best friend since childhood, she wanted to skin them alive. But she’s not going to stoop down to their level. Instead, she went to a bar and drown her sorrows with a few dirty martinis. She met a handsome man and lost her virginity to him that night. She woke up the next morning all embarrassed and left him as fast as she could. Aria was sent overseas and years later, she returned with her twins ready to start anew. Her first day at work became a disaster when her nanny brought the twins to the office and came face to face with the grumpy CEO, Randall Colton, who happens to be her twins’ daddy.

My mother-in-law lives alone. One day, her house suddenly catches on fire. It's a life-threatening situation. I call my firefighter husband several times before he answers impatiently. "I don't care why you're calling—can't it wait? I'm fixing Sophie's pipes!" I tell him about his mother being trapped in a fire, but he merely sneers. "How dare you curse my mother just to make me go home? You're insane!" He hangs up without another word. I'm left helpless. All I can do is wait for his colleagues to arrive, but they only come half an hour later. Their expressions shift to horror when they see the blazing fire. "Didn't Captain Scott say his wife was lying?" My mother-in-law dies due to the delay. My husband even misses the funeral because of his first love. I give up on him and ask for a divorce. However, he rips the divorce agreement to shreds and shatters the urn that contains his mother's ashes. "Drop the act—I would definitely go through with the divorce if not for my mother!" I laugh. He doesn't even know his mother is already dead.