Substitute Crossword Clue

"Love finds you in the strangest places.!" Marriage wasn't on Preston's agenda. He was enjoying life as the most eligible bachelor until his family began to mount pressure on him. After a time, he had no choice but to get married to a woman he didn't even know. His close friend teased, "You lucky ! Your wife must be gorgeous." When Preston thought of the woman who slept with a mask on in his bed, his blood boiled. “What was gorgeous about her? Humph!” "You had better stop it. One more word and I'll make her yours!" he cursed. Preston thought he was going to be a miserable married man. However, he received a surprise when his marital life turned out to be the exact opposite. Curiosity killed those around him after some time. His friend asked again, " I know you don't like talking about your wife.But can you describe to me what exactly she looks like? Why does she always have a mask on?" This time, Preston's lips curved into a smile. "My sweetheart is beautiful and adorable. Lower your gaze whenever you see her. If l catch you staring at her, I'll make you go blind." Everyone's jaw dropped when they heard that. They looked at him like he was crazy. One day, Preston's wife suddenly packed her bag and declared, "I can't do this anymore. I've had enough of your humiliation. Please, give me a divorce!" This request hit Preston like a bolt out of the blue. When he saw that she was being dead serious, he held onto her with both hands and begged, "Honey, please don't leave me. I promise to treat you better. If you want, I can give you the whole world. Stay with me!"

Bella had spent her whole life feeling invisible. No matter how much she longed for love, it always slipped through her fingers. How could it not, when her twin sister, Ella, was the perfect one? The one everyone adored? The one who could do no wrong? And Bella? She was just there. A painful reminder of the sister they lost ,Isabella. The sister whose death was somehow Bella’s fault. The stares, whispers, anxiety, sleepless nights, sleepwalking that blurred the line between dreams and reality, but she had learned to live with it . But then, Ella’s wedding changed everything. Ella was supposed to marry ,scout Cromwell. Cold. Ruthless. A man people feared more than they admired. But the night before the wedding, she disappeared. No warning. No goodbye. Just gone. And Bella? They didn’t ask her. They made her take Ella’s place. From the moment she met Scout’s gaze , she knew she was trapped. Those dark, unreadable eyes held a silent promise,I own you now. No escape. Hatred turned into something else. Something dangerous. It crept in slowly, in stolen glances and quiet moments. In the way his touch, once ice-cold, started to linger. In the way he looked at her like she was finally worth seeing. For the first time in her life, Bella felt wanted. And just when she dared to believe it was real. Ella came back. Now, they all expect her to step aside. To diappear like she always does . But how can she, when ,for the first time ,someone is finally seeing her? When, for the first time, she’s the one being chosen? Is she really supposed to disappear again? Or will she finally fight for the love she never thought she’d have?

Baon sa utang at lulong sa casino, ang desisyon ng kanyang ama ay ipagpalit ang kanyang nakababatang kapatid na babae para sa isang contract marriage sa anak ng pinuno ng kanyang pinag-utangan. At upang mailigtas ang kanyang nakababatang kapatid na babae, napilitan si Claire Mariano na palitan ang posisyon ng kanyang kapatid at pakasalan ang susunod na lider ng pamilya ng mga Navarro, si Javier Zen Navarro. Ngunit paano kung higit sa malaking halaga ng pera ang puno’t dulo ng kontrata na ito? Paano kung sa likod nito ay isang sikreto ang nag-uugnay sa mga Mariano at Navarro? Magagawa kaya ng kontrata na pag-ugnayin ang dalawang pusong sangkot sa madilim na katotohanan? O’ ito ang magsisilbing mitsa sa isang malaking gulo sa pagitan ng kanilang pamilya?

Heather's life is turned upside down when she is forced into a marriage with Prince Keith of the powerful Devontae Kingdom, a man she has never met and a kingdom filled with whispered rumors. Determined to resist her fate, Heather braces herself for a life she never chose, only to discover her new reality is far more complicated than she imagined. Keith, the enigmatic third prince of Devontae, is as cold and unwelcoming as the rumors suggest. Bound to his mysterious past and deeply loyal to another woman, he makes it clear their union is nothing more than a political formality. Yet, behind his harsh words and piercing hazel eyes lies a truth Heather never expected, Keith is not the man the world believes him to be. But even with that, everything was pulling them closer because he was her fate and she is his fate.

Alejandro Brothers Series #1: Pretending to be My Stepsister to Marry the Billionaire Ako si Lileanne Monteverde, and I pretend to be my stepsister Marga to marry the billionaire. Ginawa ko ito hindi dahil gusto kong agawin ang buhay niya, kundi dahil kailangan ko ng pera para sa tuition fee ko. Wala na akong ama, at hindi man lang ako binigyan ng parte sa naiwan niyang ari-arian. Kaya kahit labag sa loob ko, tinanggap ko ang alok ni Marga kapalit ng malaking halaga — isang kasunduang magpanggap ako bilang siya, upang makilala ang lalaking nakatakda niyang pakasalan. Until I slowly fall in love with the billionaire, Ziven Alejandro... Hindi ko inakalang sa likod ng pangalan, yaman, at seryosong tindig ay may lalaking marunong makinig, umunawa, at magpahalaga. Mas lalo akong nalito nang maramdaman kong masarap palang mahalin — kahit alam kong hindi ako dapat masangkot. Paano kung ang puso ko’y pumili sa gitna ng kasinungalingan? At kung malalaman ni Ziven Ang katutuhanan, na nagpapanggap lang ako? Tatanggapin at mamahalin niya pa rin ba ako?

In Reychelle City, a contest was held to crown the most beautiful woman. After my cousin scarred my face, she seized first place with ease. What she never expected was that this year's contest wasn't for fame; it was to select the future wife of the Third Prince, a ruthless, bloodthirsty eunuch. That very afternoon, gifts poured in by the cartload. My betrothed panicked. That night, he tore up our engagement contract and carried my cousin into the bridal chamber. The next day, she trailed her lacquered fingertips across my cheek and sneered, "Alicia, with your ruined face, who would ever want you? Perhaps the beggar at the street corner might take you in." I caught her wrist, let out a cold laugh, and said, "Who told you I would marry a beggar?" Before her stunned eyes, I pushed open my parents' chamber doors. "Mom, since Maggie doesn't wish to be the prince's consort… let me take her place." Three years later, before the eyes of a shocked court, the Third Prince entered the grand hall with me at his side, with two children in tow. No one had foreseen it. This body of mine, blessed with the rarest gift of fertility, was the perfect match for a man believed incapable of siring heirs.

Everyone in Vallermoore knew I was Cole Mitchell and Finn Archer's most treasured princess. At 12, Cole saved me from my abusive dad's grip and gave me a second shot at life. He vowed to protect me always. At 13, Finn rented out an entire amusement park for my birthday and whispered that guarding my smile was his mission for life. Now I was 23, and they locked me in a pitch-black, freezing attic for three winter days. As I slowly lost consciousness, they were busy fawning over Zoey Hart, their long-lost childhood friend. "Everything you have is mine, so it's time to give it back." After hearing what Zoey said, I left without making a scene or shedding a single tear. However, for years after, they tore the city apart and tried to find me like mad.

My mate's adoptive sister asked me to go for a walk in the mountain forest and we encountered a sudden flash flood. My mate Nathan, the Alpha of Snow Peak pack, rushed to save us. But because we were both trapped on a breaking tree branch above the raging flood, he could only save one person at a time. To save his physically weak adoptive sister, my mate abandoned me - his Luna who was five months pregnant. I begged him desperately to save me. He watched as the flood waters dragged me under. "Sarah has always been weak since childhood. If we leave her here, she'll die." "Your wolf is strong enough to swim, but Sarah can't swim." But after my death, he went mad.

“Abram, please… give me the ring,” she sobbed, tears streaking down her naked skin as she fell to her knees before the man she once called her husband. His cruel laughter filled the room, the sound of a predator savoring his prey. “Crawl to me,” he ordered, his eyes glinting with sadistic pleasure. She was drowning in guilt...for she had taken her sister’s life. He was consumed by vengeance...already plotting her ruin. What began as a marriage built on convenience has rotted into a cage of hatred and regret. One night will ignite a storm of passion, punishment, and twisted redemption that will bind them together in ways neither can escape. In this tale of obsession, betrayal, and burning desire, can two broken souls survive each other, or will love itself become their final weapon? Explicit Dark Romance 18+ | Read at Your Own Risk

“You’re a liar. And a coward. And you broke me twice.” I laughed—hollow, bitter. Then bent to pick up the torn pieces of the file. I couldn’t believe I’d fallen for the same man twice in one lifetime. If this was a dream, it was a cruel one. When I walked past him, I didn’t look back. “I know I hurt you,” he said behind me, his voice low and raw. “But I never stopped loving you… not even for a single day.” --- They were never supposed to end up together...again, but fate had other plans. Alina has always been the unwanted twin—the quiet, overlooked sister living in the shadow of her perfect twin. So when her father faces financial ruin, he makes a chilling decision: marry one of his daughters off to save the family name. The groom? A powerful, mysterious heir hidden from the public eye. The chosen bride? Alina’s stunning sister. But at the last moment, her father switches them. Now, Alina finds herself married to a man she doesn’t know—yet strangely feels drawn to. A man who might just remember her from a forgotten moment in their past. As sparks begin to fly, she finds herself falling in love with a familiar stranger again. But dark secrets begin to unfold—and a family desperate to reclaim their “true” daughter fights dirty. She was never supposed to be the bride. But she just might be the woman he’s waited for all along.