Playing Hard To Get Monica Murphy

I would say all I wanted was to find my mate and live a peaceful life, but I would be lying; all I wanted was to go to the palace, give up my life, and have them send me to the other side of the world. If it were up to me, I would have done that the very first day everything turned upside down, but that’s far from what Alpha Zander wanted; he wanted me to experience hell on earth; he said death was more than I deserved; accidentally killing not one but two of his mates would cost more than my life; he kept me alive as a slave, tortured, humiliated, and if possible, took my soul, so when I turned out to be his mate as well, it didn’t come as a surprise for him to reject me and bound my powers and send my wolf into a deep slumber; it was no surprise his parents chose him a chosen mate; those people adored their perfect luna, Jocelyn, my dead sister—his first mate. And just when I thought my life couldn’t get any worse, I found myself on the auction stage, men bidding for me like I was some kind of property, and next the ruthless Alpha, who, by the mention of his name, people trembled bought me, “bride, not slave,” his three words. I learned that even though he was ruthless, he was soft on me, and not only that, we had a common enemy (Alpha Zander), and he was willing to help me get my revenge. Oh, Alpha Zander, get ready to be on your knees because my mate and I are coming for you!

I ordered an incubus online, but when the package arrived, there were two of them. One was gentle and obedient, the other was hot-tempered and unpredictable. I immediately messaged customer service to ask if they'd sent the wrong one—I had only ordered the gentle kind. The reply came cheerfully. "Congratulations, you've unlocked the hidden variant! This model is a bit special—buy one, get one free!" Wait… what? I remembered hearing people say that raising an incubus is like raising a puppy, only better—they keep you warm at night and don't shed. Well, if that's true, whether I had one or two made no difference. So I ended up paying the price of one and getting two—what a steal! Or so I thought… until I went to feed them. That's when I realized I was the cookie in the middle of a sandwich. Apparently, "keeping me warm at night" was a strenuous activity.

Three years of marriage. Three miscarriages. The day Stella Rowan lost her baby for the third time, Evan Wright was at the hospital with his sister-in-law, waiting for her to give birth to twins. When Stella walked out of the hospital, she finally made her decision. She handed her soon-to-be ex-husband a divorce agreement. “Let’s divorce. It’s for your own good.” “Divorce?” Evan scoffed. “You really think you can let go? And if you’re trying to hold on to me, don’t dress it up as doing me a favor. That fake concern is pathetic.” Stella just smiled. She didn’t argue. She turned and walked away. She really was doing it for his sake. After all, she’d found a new backer. Even though Evan sits atop Harbor City’s financial empire, he’s about to meet someone he can’t afford to cross. Once she cut ties with the past, Stella stopped pretending. One by one, her new identities came to light, leaving the Wright family completely stunned. Wasn’t she supposed to be the girl with no family backing, the easy target everyone bullied? A multinational CEO said, “Stella, get divorced already. I’ve waited long enough.” A financial tycoon declared, “Divorce. If you don’t, I’ll take the Wright family down.” An international lawyer smiled and said, “The divorce itself is easy. Stella, if you’d just look at me once, I’d have everything I need.” Evan had always believed Stella would never leave him. Not until the day he realized she had become someone far beyond his reach. In that moment, every assumption he’d ever made about her collapsed.

When someone needs an enormous amount of money, what can they do to get it? Sell a kidney? (Yeah, that's an appropriate option) However, I became a game tester. All I have to do is to make sure that the main character and male lead will reach their happy ending. Sweet! Easy Money! What if the game was harder than I thought? And what's this hidden task?! Do I really have to reach my own happy ending too?!

After I, Rosalie Ricci, was stood up 17 times, the mafia don, Daniel Marino, finally holds the perfect engagement banquet for me. In our second year together, we are ready to get married. But every single time, he has an excuse to hold our engagement off. He says he's busy with work, the timing isn't right yet, or that he isn't quite ready. I never blame him because I love him. I have loved him since our school days. In fact, I have loved him for seven whole years. This is the 18th time. I stand in the banquet hall wearing the gown he personally chose for me and watch as he slips the ring onto my finger. He kisses me with a passionate intensity he has never shown me before. At that moment, I believe that I have finally secured my perfect happiness after waiting seven long years. My happiness only lasts until the guests leave. As I step into the back garden, I see Daniel holding my twin sister, Leah Ricci, in his arms. He says in a hushed voice, "I announced my engagement to Rosalie 18 times. This time, you're finally back." That's when I realize that the engagement banquet that I have longed for is nothing more than a ploy by Daniel to draw Leah back to him. But when I decided to let them be together, Daniel panics.

Vincenzo Costa and I have been in love with each other for eight years. Everyone knows that the heir of the Costa family loves me more than life itself. In order to marry me—an orphan—Vincenzo has knelt outside Costa Estate for three days and three nights. At the same time, he has received 99 whips from his father, the Don of the Costa family, which almost kills him. In the end, Don Edmondo Costa finally agrees to let Vincenzo marry me. But the catch is, Vincenzo must date Sofia Camorra, the Principessa of the Camorra family, and have an heir with her. So, Vincenzo tells me to wait for him for a little longer. I end up waiting for a very long time while watching him traveling to Sofia's villa time and again. At first, Vincenzo still takes three showers and scrubs his skin so much that it turns red. He tells me that once Sofia has given birth to the child, which allows him to fulfill the promise he has made to the Costa family, he'll whisk me far away from the violence and spend the rest of his life with me. Alas, everything has changed. Vincenzo no longer showers frequently. He constantly smells like Sofia's perfume now. He doesn't inform in advance whenever he goes on dates with Sofia. To make things worse, there's nothing but affection in his eyes whenever he looks at her. When Sofia burns up from a fever during her pregnancy, Vincenzo doesn't leave her side at all. She pretends to be gracious by telling him about how understanding she is about his situation. Because of that, Vincenzo wastes no time in admonishing me for being spoiled and pampered. Through the gap in the ward door, I can hear how close and intimate Vincenzo and Sofia are. At the same time, I notice the flash of provocation in Sofia's eyes. Vincenzo has made me wait year after year, not knowing that my biological parents have already found me. They want me to go home with them so that they can give me a real home. That's why this time, I won't be waiting for Vincenzo anymore.

On Valentine's Day, I suggest going to a restaurant to celebrate, but my boyfriend, Michael Nelson, refuses. He says impatiently, "Why should we celebrate some lousy holiday? I don't want to waste good money on it." He turns around and happily chats away on his phone, completely absorbed in the conversation. Then, I hear the system's notification going off in my head. "Congratulations. You have received 2,860 dollars." This means that Michael just transferred 1,430 dollars to his side chick. He doesn't know it yet, but I have a system. It's called the Infidelity Cashback System. Every time he spends money on his other woman, I get double the cashback in my bank account.

I've been in a relationship with Wendy Hudson for ten years. Somehow, I'm not surprised at all when I find out that she's been cheating on me. But what surprises me is the fact that she's been cheating on me with her uncle, Timothy Zuckerman. On our wedding anniversary, Wendy finally fulfills her promise to go on another honeymoon trip with me to make it up to me for the lost one. But as soon as we arrive at the airport, her phone gets crammed with text messages instantly. All it takes is one glance at the phone for her brows to be tangled into a frown, which is weird, considering that she's the type who keeps her composure at all times. "Darling, my best friend has been hospitalized because of an acute disease. I need to visit her right now." The way Wendy speaks is very rapid. The genuine anxiety on her face makes it difficult for me to say no. As I watch her silhouette disappear from the VIP passageway, I rip up the ticket in my hands. Then, I tap on my phone to see the photo my assistant has just sent me. Heh… The truth is, Wendy's best friend is currently on a honeymoon trip with her boyfriend in another country. How is it possible for said friend to get hospitalized due to an acute disease? I'd like to see who on earth Wendy is actually visiting at the hospital!

By my third month on the job, I discovered that my coworkers had been calling me "the old crow" behind my back. The nickname came from none other than Jace's condescending secretary—because at 32, I was still clutching onto an eight-year relationship that hadn't ended in marriage. I confronted Jace. "Do you know your employees have been calling me the old crow?" He didn't even bother to look up. "That's just Sadie—she speaks her mind and means no harm. You're 32; why get so worked up over what a young girl says?" Then he gave me a faint, mocking smile. "Though honestly, it's a pretty fitting nickname." It felt like a cold hand had wrapped around my heart. So that was it—eight years of my youth, nothing more than a joke to him. I turned and walked away, handed in my resignation, and blocked every way he could reach me. But for the first time, the man who had always seemed so calm and untouchable finally panicked. "Elara," he pleaded, "please come back."

She came for revenge. He wasn’t supposed to see her. Alina Reyes takes a job with her ex’s billionaire father, Dominic Cole, with one goal: make him choose her — and destroy the son who called her “temporary.” But Dominic doesn’t play games. He sees through lies. And he sees her. What starts as a cold-blooded plan turns into late nights, stolen coats, and a kiss in a blackout that ruins everything. When the truth explodes, she loses the job. He loses the company. Ethan loses them both. Now there’s nothing left but ashes — and a choice. She wanted revenge. He gave her a reason to stay.