The Wife Is First

When the yacht begins to sink, Penelope Griffith chooses me to fill the last vacant spot on the lifeboat. I'm saved, but Arthur Johnson drowns before the second lifeboat reaches him. He disappears into the ocean, leaving only a corpse behind. Penelope pretends not to care and still marries me. Yet, she proceeds to trample all over me during our five years of marriage, blaming me for Arthur's death. When I can't take it anymore and ask for a divorce, she chooses to end both our lives. The next time I open my eyes, I realize that I've been transported back in time to the day of the yacht accident. I decide to forfeit my chance of survival this time, letting the man Penelope loves the most take my place.

After my father's sudden death, everything was slowly falling apart not until the son of my father's rival proposed to marry me by contract for a year and produce him an heir to continue the Conard's bloodline and slowly discovering the cause of my father's death will make everything complicated and falling for Anthon will be the least of the plan and getting my heart broken as His Contract Wife was never part of the plan.

"Are you really willing to pay someone $100,000 to act as your wife?" Selena asked, a hint of skepticism in her voice. "Yes, I'm considering tripling the offer," I said, my voice betraying a hint of pride. She looked at me with surprise, and I couldn't help but feel insulted by her reaction. It was clear that her experience with poverty had made her skeptical of anyone with wealth. Selena Gardner had no choice but to accept Fred Leonard's offer to be his contracted wife. Although she was a staunch feminist who believed in female empowerment and a fairy tale kind of love,she had no other option. Her sister's life was at stake, and she needed money for her medical treatment. But little did she know that her social media love interest, George, was actually Fred's cousin and rival for the CEO position. This contract marriage and love triangle story will have you on the edge of your seat as you follow Selena's journey as she navigates her chaotic love life while living under the same roof as Fred and George. As the days went by, Selena found herself being drawn deeper and deeper into the Leonard family drama. The more time she spent with them, the more she found herself questioning her own beliefs and values. Would she be able to hold on to who she was, or would she be changed forever by this experience? Will she choose one of them after all the charade was over or will she manage to stay true to herself?

Second Chance Series Book One. ***** To some, marriage is a word. To others, a sentence. ***** Excerpt He unlocked his safe and pulled out some papers. He threw them on my face and gestured me to pick them up. I glared at him, refusing to listen. "Come on, pick them up" he ordered like he was talking to a pet dog. When I didn't listen he crouched down to my level and picked them up himself. "Do you know what it is? It's our marriage contract, read it!" He threw them on my face again. "I said fucking read it!" He yelled loudly. "Don't make me do something, you'll regret afterward, read it, I'll beat you if I have to" he threatened. I picked them up with trembling hands and blurry vision. I saw my signature at the bottom of the page, my breath seized as I stared at it. "Read it!" He ordered, standing tall before me. 1. I will not work. 2. I will respect my in-laws. 3. I will do whatever my husband tells me to. 4. I will take care of my husband as an obedient wife whether I am treated like a wife or not. 5. I will bear children for my husband, I won't have any parental rights over them. My husband will have their sole custody. 6. Finally, I will be ready to go to bed with my husband at his wish whether I like it or not. A single tear fell on the page followed by many others. He snatched the contract back from me. "Now you understand your place?" He asked menacingly.

"Don't you know how to fake a smile anymore? Those irritating little smiles of yours that screamed nothing but desperation? We're making an appearance in front of several high calibre people for goodness sake. You must carry this facade on without any slip, Rosalie.” He said.  My chest pinched, and I looked away, pretending to adjust my bracelet to hide the pain. “I know."  ~                                    ~ “Rosaline...” Ezra murmured. “Why help me to ruin a man you once loved?”   "Why?" I repeated. "Because they took everything from me—the one thing I loved more than life itself. They destroyed my life, my reputation, my happiness, all to serve their own selfish agendas. Him and his mistress. I've been maltreated and betrayed severally, countlessly! But no more. It's my turn to take what I deserve: their pain, their humiliation, their downfall." I paused, my face hardening into an expression of pure, vengeful rage. "And I will make them suffer for it.” *                  *.             * Rosalie’s journey had been a tumultuous one– betrayal and pain. The transactional marriage that she had entered into, hoping one day it would turn around to be a marriage for love, had instead left her heartbroken and betrayed. Her ex- husband’s infidelity, coupled with an unimaginable cruelty that he had subjected her to, had shattered her beyond repair.  Now, fueled by a desire for vengeance, Rosalie had returned to seek revenge on those who had wronged her. Joining forces with her ex-husband's rival, a ruthless business tycoon who harbored his own grudges against her ex-husband, she plotted a scheme that would bring them both justice...and ruin.

Miles Armani’s life is thrown upside down when he loses his mate in a rogue attack, but what pushes him over the edge is when his mother arranges a marriage for him only two weeks after he had lost the love of his life.

I'm his wife. I am his baby's mother. I want to be his love but all I am to him is a responsibility. He was in love with my step-sister but she betrayed him and married another man. One Drunken mistake, forced us to marry each other. He promised me to give everything except love. But all I want is love. Will he ever accept me as his wife? Or this marriage always remain a compromise wife?

Kathalina Ruiz never believed in fairy tales. Her mother's dying wish bound her to enigmatic CEO Thirdie Stone in an arranged marriage she accepted out of duty, not romance. Yet somewhere between quiet nights and fragile smiles, Kathalina fell deeply for her distant husband only to keep her love locked away, too afraid it would never be returned. For three years, their marriage balanced on politeness and silence. Then one stormy afternoon shattered it all. Kathalina walked into Thirdie's office and found another woman-half-naked-sitting on his lap. Without demanding an explanation, she signed the divorce papers he placed before her, his gaze as cold as the ink that sealed their separation. What she never knew was that Thirdie's betrayal was a lie... a desperate act to protect her from the dangerous threats circling his empire. Heartbroken and grieving, Kathalina fled abroad. From the ashes of her pain, she rebuilt herself into a celebrated jewelry designer, admired for her elegance and independence. But fate had other plans. Years later, her mother's lawyer makes a revelation she has inherited a vast fortune and controlling shares in Stone Corporation. The life and the man she tried to escape are waiting for her return. Back in the city where it all began, Kathalina comes face-to-face with Thirdie once more. Old wounds resurface, secrets linger in every shadow, and danger draws closer than ever. Now, she must decide to protect her heart from the man who once broke it or uncover the truth he buried......a truth that could change everything she thought she knew about their past. A story of love, sacrifice, and second chances, The Stones We Keep asks.....is it ever too late to believe in a love that never truly died?

Vanessa Saxon was once married to Luca Kensington, the cold and distant CEO of K Group. But when she was seven months pregnant, her adopted sister, Beatriz Langley, falsely accused her of having an affair with her best friend, Daxton Radcliffe, and carrying his child. The worst part? Luca believed Beatriz. In a fit of rage, Luca demanded their baby be removed prematurely, leading to a tragic event where Vanessa nearly died from the ordeal. Saved by Daxton, Vanessa disappeared. Now, five years later, she returns—stronger and determined—alongside her daughter, Isla Saxon, to exact her revenge on those who wronged her.

On our first wedding anniversary, I took the day off from work and left early, only to find that my wife had probably cheated on me. One day I arrived at home, I found a shocking display where my wife was engaging in some intense activities…