Scented Doll

After Celine Anderson let her newly-promoted assistant take credit for my billion-dollar project for the ninth time, I handed in my resignation letter. I also refused to show up in the same place as her. Whenever she was interviewed by talk shows as a public figure, I would switch off all the screens in the building. I also got the security guard to stop her from entering even if she brought me a cup of coffee in the middle of a tornado. To see me, she purposely rescheduled three virtual meetings with foreign companies. So, I immediately bought air tickets to leave the country. I blocked her everywhere and formatted the hard disk that contained all of our memories from the past decade. When I was twenty, I studied with her in the university library. When I was twenty-five, I ate the cheapest bread with her when she first started her company. When I was thirty, I finally knew how to let go of things that no longer serve me. On the ninth time I was accused of sleeping my way up, I came across a photo of her and her assistant kissing. Meanwhile, I was sitting at our dining table with food that had turned cold. It turned out that our decade-long relationship had been a joke. However, it was fine. It was not too late to come to my senses.

Betrayed by his fiancée hours before their wedding, CEO Mason Caldwell impulsively finds a last-minute bride, Gianna to spite his ex. Gianna is bound by a contract to Mason, who has vowed to never open up his heart to anyone ever again. But when some unexpected feelings begin to bloom between the two, it seems there might be more danger looming, as well as bitter truths that surface from the past to tear them apart.

She was his forgotten wife. He was her biggest mistake. Four years later, she returns — richer, colder, and carrying his secret. For three years, Yessica did everything right. She made his breakfast, celebrated their anniversaries alone, and loved a man who barely knew her name. When she nearly bled to death during a pregnancy complication — calling Lewis four times while he finished a business meeting — she finally understood: she was never a wife. She was a convenience. So she left. With nothing but the baby growing inside her and a borrowed £50,000, she built Bellamy Holdings into a £500 million empire. She became the woman no one could ignore. Now she's back. And so is Lewis Silverthorn — shattered, desperate, and staring at a four-year-old daughter with his exact gray eyes. He wants forgiveness. He wants his family. But Yessica built her walls from the rubble of his neglect, and a charming rival named Rafferty Montague is offering her everything Lewis never could. Worse — someone has been pulling strings all along. A betrayal runs deeper than either of them imagined, and this time, it could cost them everything. Can a man undo three years of silence with a lifetime of trying? Or is some love too broken to survive?

When a mafia princess wanted to live a normal life, a marriage proposal totally changed her. She embraces life being the wife of the CEO, Bryce Hamilton. Hopeful for a happy family of her own, Fabe Everette realizes that a contracted marriage is like pointing a gun in your own head. Only you are too afraid to pull the trigger. But things got out of control when love hit her like a bomb. Fabe endures all the hardship of being his wife, mistreated and belittled by her husband's family. In hope for Bryce to love her back, the way she learned to love him. But after two years of marriage, Bryce filed for divorce for not giving him a baby. His inheritance depends on it, and it's part of their deal. Fabe raveled in her own foolishness and left. "Loving you is my hell! And I don't want to burn again," Fabe looked straight into his eyes and walked away. She has fooled once and never again. Where the game of rejection and revenge wins, will love prevail in the world of guns?

When I was struck by a stomach illness, my boyfriend, Charles Fischer, was busy blowing out birthday candles with his assistant, Beverly Wagner. I lay there in excruciating pain, but he didn't even glance at me. Instead, he affectionately stroked her nose.  “Bev is a year older! Make a wish, birthday girl!” Later, after I had fainted and was rushed to the hospital, I called Charles, only for him to ignore me.  Meanwhile, Beverly posted a photo on Instagram. Gifts filled the screen, with the caption, [Yay! Charles is the best ever! Charles and Bev, together forever!] When I confronted him, Charles didn’t care at all. "It's Bev’s birthday. Were you expecting me not to spend it with her? If you can't handle it, we're done!" This was the umpteenth time he'd threatened to break up with me, always confident that I wouldn't dare to leave him.  Not this time.

My husband's first love posted a video on her social media. In the video, the two of them were passing a playing card with their lips. When the card fell, their lips met in a kiss. They didn't stop—lost in the moment, they kissed passionately for an entire minute. Her caption read: [Still the same clumsy piggy! PS: Steve's skills are as good as ever!] I quietly liked the post and left a comment: [Congrats.] The next second, my husband called, yelling at me furiously, "No other woman is as dramatic as you! I was just playing a game with Lanie. Why are you acting crazy again?" It was then that I realized seven years of love meant nothing. It was time for me to leave.

Ang first love ng asawa ko ay nag-post ng isang video sa kanyang social media. Sa video, nagpapasa silang dalawa ng playing card gamit ang kanilang mga labi. Nang mahulog ang card ay nagtagpo ang kanilang mga labi sa isang halik. Hindi sila huminto—parang nawala sa sandaling iyon, mapusok silang naghalikan sa loob ng isang minuto. Ang caption niya: [Still the same clumsy piggy! PS: Ang mga skills ni Steve ay kasing galing tulad ng dati!] Tahimik kong ni-like ang post at nag-iwan ng komento: [Congrats.] Sa sumunod na segundo, tumawag ang asawa ko, galit na galit na sumigaw, "Walang ibang babaeng kasing drama mo! Nakipaglaro lang ako kay Lanie. Bakit naman ummakto ka na parang baliw?" Noon ko napagtanto na ang pitong taon ng pag-ibig ay walang kahulugan. Oras na para umalis ako.

At the party, my son, Hughie Peters, deliberately raised his voice and said to my wife, Penelope Peters, "Mommy, you're pregnant with Darren's baby. Are we gonna live with him from now on?" Penelope set the sliced steak down in front of me and said softly, "I made a promise with your daddy. Whoever betrayed the other first would disappear from the other person's world forever. I can't afford for that to happen, so this must stay a secret. After the baby is born, it'll still be your daddy's child." After saying that, Penelope signed to me that she would love me forever. But she didn't notice my reddened eyes. She didn't know I had gotten my hearing back a week ago, nor did she know I had already discovered their affair. And she definitely didn't know I had quietly bought a plane ticket to Lumora for a teaching volunteer program. I was just waiting for the paperwork to be approved in seven days. Then, I would disappear for good.

Pada awalnya hidupku berjalan dengan sangat lancar. Aku memiliki teman baik, keluarga yang utuh, dan kekasih yang sangat mencintaiku. Namun, tak ku sangka semua bisa berubah dalam sekejap. Hal ini diawali dengan putusnya hubunganku dengan sang pacar. Ia harus menikah dengan orang lain. Kukira kesedihan ini akan segera berakhir. Namun, semua semakin parah sebab aku adalah saksi kasus pembunuhan seorang penulis. Pelaku pembunuhan itu sekarang berusaha untuk membunuhku. Bagaimana aku bisa hidup tenang? Siapa yang bisa menyelamatkanku sekarang? Kaukah orangnya? Ku mohon biarkan aku hidup!

In the previous timeline, my younger brother was adopted by a wealthy family, while I was taken in by a scrap collector. Ten years later, he was cast out by the elite household, while I had built the most prominent steel company in Kingsport City. Given a second chance, my brother tried to walk the same path I once did. He begged the scrap collector to take him instead. Though what he never understood was that without me, the steel company that was renowned throughout Kingsport City would never have existed.