The Night Before I Knew Him Novels & Stories

After the cruise ship strikes a hidden reef, panicked passengers shove me and Kristen Langford into the sea. My boyfriend, Elijah Jensen, is the ship's captain, so he plunges into the water. But instead of saving me, he grabs Kristen and boards the last lifeboat. I thrash and cry for help, but he slaps my hand away. "You can swim. Stop pretending for attention!" Elijah snaps. "Kristen's body temperature is dropping. I have to get her to a hospital!" The waters around me are pitch-black, and his words feel like a death sentence. When the tracking bracelet I always wear is discovered inside a shark, Elijah dives alone into shark-infested waters, searching for three days and nights. In the end, the brilliant captain who once ruled the oceans can never sail again.

Gwen Shivers worked as a fashion illustrator and designer at one of the biggest fashion companies in the country. Charles Emmett is the new CEO of Emmett Inc. met Gwen on an accidental encounter. They fell in love with each other at first sight. Their relationship was kept secret from everyone around them because of Charles status. Gwen got pregnant, Charles was so happy that he proposed to her. Their conversation was heard by his mother who vowed to do anything to split them apart. Seven months into her pregnancy, she was pushed down the stairs by Charles's mother and was rushed to the hospital. When she woke up from her unconsciousness, she got to know that Charles was engaged to another woman and they were planning to get married. She was devastated and vowed not love again and just take care of her child. Charles' mother told him that Gwen said she didn't want to marry him anymore and that their baby is dead. He didn't believe her but she showed him the engagement ring he gave her. He searched everywhere for her but it was as if she disappeared. He also vowed not to love again, he became ruthless and cold to everyone around him.... Six years later, they were brought together again......

Sonia is a struggling bar attendant working alongside her friend Bailey under a cruel manager known for humiliating his staff to please customers. One night, Sonia is sent to serve a client in Room 270, but a mistake leads her to Room 217, where she becomes trapped with a drunk man. Unknown to her, her manager had drugged her water earlier, and she wakes the next morning after a night she barely remembers. Traumatized, Sonia quits her job only to discover 3 weeks later that she is pregnant. On her way back from the Doctor's office, she helps an elderly woman retrieve her inhaler, unknowingly saving the life of the grandmother of Clinton, the town’s powerful billionaire. Grateful, the old woman insists her grandson marry Sonia, believing her kindness is rare. Though Sonia never planned for marriage, fear of raising her unborn child alone pushes her to accept. Now married to a cold, distant man who wed her only to please his grandmother, Sonia’s goal is to get Clinton into her bed and make him take responsibility for her child. Believing marriage will secure her future, Sonia plays the role of a devoted wife while caring for Clinton’s grandmother. She eventually succeeds in getting Clinton to share her bed, pushing the responsibility of her pregnancy onto him and settling into the life of Clinton showering with love. However, her closest friend Bailey grows greedy upon realizing Clinton’s true status and exposes Sonia’s past, turning the grandmother against her and destroying the marriage. Cast out and pregnant, Sonia watches as Bailey take her place. However, she become the long lost heiress overnight and ready to fight back. Watch Your Back For Sonia!

At the company's annual party, my fiancée, the CEO, was chosen for a game called "opposite-gender squats." With the whole room cheering, she did not hesitate. She jumped onto a young male intern and wrapped her legs tightly around his waist. He held her by the hips as he lifted and lowered her again and again, while she laughed as if she did not have a care in the world. Then came the second round: blindfolded face recognition. When her hands reached the intern, her fingers lingered on his lips and traced them slowly. He suddenly licked her fingertips. Right there, in front of everyone, he smirked. "Miss Smith, your hands are really soft. The way you touched my lips just now… that felt amazing. This kind of perk beats any year-end bonus. You smell incredible, Andrea." Her face flushed red, but she did not deny it. She only smiled, shy and pleased. That was when I let out a cold laugh. "If you like it that much, I will assign you as the CEO's assistant. All business trips next year, you two can go together." Her expression changed instantly. "Daniel, what is with the attitude? Can't you handle a game? It's just for fun. Why are you making such a big deal out of it? Who is going to dare play with me after this?" "Fine. If you enjoy playing so much, then go play with him. Because that CEO seat is about to belong to someone else," I muttered.

On our wedding night, my wife led my younger brother onto our marital bed. He was wearing nothing but his underwear. She expected him to consummate our marriage in my place. "Sweetheart, I feel awful about your legs and what the doctors said about your infertility," she said softly. "Elliot will just have to help us for one night." My face hardened as I stepped forward. I was ready to throw Elliot Charlton out of the bedroom. However, my parents immediately sided against me. "You're the one who can't fulfill your role as a husband," they said sharply. "Elliot is willing to sacrifice himself so that you can have a child. What's wrong with that?" Even my brother laughed at me. He said I was not a real man and told me to accept things while I still could. According to him, I should be thankful to gain a son without doing anything. They even suggested that I stay and watch, claiming it would prove the two were only trying to conceive a child and nothing else. I clenched my teeth until my jaw ached, then turned and called my wife's greatest rival. "You win," I said quietly. "The Wallace family's investment will be transferred to your account tomorrow." After ending the call, I raised my eyes and looked at Janet Wallace. "You share his bed tonight," I said. "Tomorrow, we get divorced."

I had been married to Derek for six years, and we had a three-year-old son. He was poor, earning only $2,000 a month, but I had no complaints; I took care of everything at home for him. After getting dinner on the table for the whole family, I finally had a minute to check my phone. A video popped up on my feed: a twenty-two-year-old girl from a rural area whose hands, roughened by years of hard labor, looked like they belonged to a sixty-two-year-old woman. I looked down at my own hands, just as worn and scarred, and stared at them blankly before tapping into the comments. I expected people to feel bad for her. However, to my surprise, the comments section was flooded with a single sentiment: "Why would anyone marry a penniless loser?" One of the top-liked comments came from a couple; in their photo, they were pictured holding hands—fingers tightly intertwined—with the girl sporting a massive diamond ring. The accompanying caption read: "A man who truly loves you would never bear to let you suffer." I felt a pang of envy. Given the choice, who wouldn't want a glamorous life? As I was about to close the app, I accidentally tapped on the couple's photo, enlarging it. In the background, previously too blurry to make out, was a face I recognized. It looked exactly like my husband, Derek Sterling. I froze, and almost against my will, I tapped into the account's profile. Post after post of lavish photos of them together flooded my screen. And then I saw him clearly. The scar above his brow, the one he got when a shelf fell on him while protecting me, was still plainly visible. It was my husband. It was Derek.

Daphne Vega has one rule: never feel anything. She's a professional con artist. She seduces, she steals, she disappears. Emotion is a liability she can't afford. So when intelligence broker Adrian Wolfe offers her millions to infiltrate billionaire CEO Celeste Laurent's empire — seduce her, access her classified AI technology, deliver the data — Daphne says yes without blinking. Simple job. Wrong woman. Because from the moment Daphne walks into Celeste's world wearing a fake name and a practiced smile, Celeste looks at her like she already knows every lie she's ever told. And instead of exposing her — she pulls her closer. Now Daphne is living in Celeste's penthouse. Wearing Celeste's arm like a crown at billion-dollar events. Playing the perfect fake girlfriend while executives inside Laurent Axis start dying one by one. Accidents. Suicides. Disappearances. The deeper Daphne falls into Celeste's carefully constructed world, the harder it becomes to remember where the performance ends — and where she begins. Then Celeste says four words that change everything: "I knew from the beginning." And Daphne realizes she was never the spy in this story. She was the trap. But if Celeste already knew she was a traitor… why does she still look at her like she's the only honest thing she's ever touched?

I hid behind a thick tree trunk and watched silently as a grizzly bear attacked my husband. In my previous life, I was a guide. I led my husband—an environmental photographer—and his female colleague into a nature reserve to film wildlife. While scouting the route, I discovered a nursing grizzly bear and immediately warned them not to take any photos and to retreat slowly. To my shock, they intentionally bumped into me, causing my right leg to be cut and bleed. The scent of blood enraged the bear, and it charged straight at me, sinking its massive jaws into my abdomen. After the bear left, my husband calmly stripped me of all my equipment. Then, wrapping his arms around his female colleague, he kissed her. He turned to me with a sinister smile creeping across his face. "Kate," he said, "I'll be honest. I never loved you. You're dying. Now, all your assets will be mine." I bled out and died. When I opened my eyes again, it was the morning of the day we entered the mountains.

Shortly after my boyfriend dies, I prepare to join him in the underworld. However, I'm saved by a rich man who passes by. He's worried that I'll do something rash again, so he stays by my side for three years and helps me move past my trauma. Before Benjamin Zoller's birthday, I receive a call from the hospital and learn that he's been diagnosed with cancer. I head to his company to look for him when I hear his smug voice. "I've always suspected that Cherilyn is still hung up on her ex, so I made up something about being sick to test her. I'll believe that she loves me if she's willing to take her life for my sake." I play along and fake my death before him. He loses his mind after witnessing everything.

On the day I return to the pack once again, my future mate, Kellan Cohen, throws a fancy banquet for me. My younger sister, Lia Smith, asks me loudly while holding a champagne flute, "Ella, I heard that you were exiled to the wilderness where the lowly inbreds roamed instead of patrolling the borders. Is that true?" Everyone gasps in surprise upon hearing Lia's question. Kellan shoots Lia a glare immediately. If this were to happen a year ago, I would've taught Lia a lesson right there and then. But instead of getting mad at her, I even take off the bracelet, which is a family heirloom, and put it onto her wrist just to thank her for showing her "concern" toward me. Not only that, but I also bring up the fact that I want Lia to replace me as a candidate to host the next day's offering ceremony with Kellan. Mom is happy to see me behaving like this. As she pats me on the head, she says, "It seems that Ella finally has learned how to play nice." But Kellan just stares at me with mixed emotions swirling in his eyes. "Didn't you claim that you'd rather die than hand over the position to Lia?" I just sigh quietly on the inside. He's right, but the truth is, I'm about to die.