The Woman I Was Before

For five years, I let my husband’s mistress take whatever she wanted. My birthday. His time. His attention. The tenderness that used to belong to me. I even told myself I could survive watching my own son choose her over me, because a damaged family still had to be better than none at all. It wasn’t. This year, my husband took his mistress away for their birthday trip, and my son ran straight into her arms and called her Mom. That was the moment I finally understood something I should have learned five years ago: no matter how much of myself I gave to that family, I would never be the one they chose. So I filed for divorce. None of them believed I could really walk away. My husband thought I was bluffing. His mistress thought she had won. My son did not even look back. None of them believed I could really walk away. Then a call came from overseas: Matteo Bellandi’s wife was dead. This time, I left them with nothing but my ashes.

Eight years ago, my cousin Wendy Cooper was involved in a drunk driving hit-and-run. Yet, my parents made sure all the evidence pointed toward me. The victim's family waited outside my school every day with gasoline, threatening to die with me. Because of that, the school took away my guaranteed admission to university. That day, my parents and brother all tried to persuade me. "Wendy's terrified. Just give her your spot to make her feel better." I refused, fought back, and even tried to talk them out of it. But the next day, they handed me over to the police themselves. Lance Stewart, my fiance and a powerful business tycoon, had orchestrated it all. As he was afraid I'd run or cause trouble, he personally pinned several charges on me and sent me to an isolated island prison. He left me with no way out. When my sentence began, he made me a promise. "Esme, just endure it for a few years. I'll get you out once Wendy graduates, and then we'll get married."

Every tear I shed feeds his ego. Every whimper, his pride. Every bruise he leaves behind, his silent claim over me. He takes me cold. Leaves me ruined. And I wait - quiet, breathless, for the next time he comes back to break me again. He thinks he has me in the palm of his hand. Thinks I’m nothing without him. A fragile wife, meek, obedient. A weakness he never needed. I let him believe it. I never tried to break the illusion. As long as I have his hands on me, As long as his shadows reach for me, That’s enough. But in the dark, daggers roam. And with every sound my heels make, they fall. He still thinks I’m glass, But he hasn’t heard me shatter.

Framed by her stepmom and stepsister, Jean Mitchell, a rising star in the show business, lost everything—her career, family, friends, and maiden tag.She became embroiled in a deep conspiracy that made her an instant object of hatred and put the lives of those she loved in danger.But she refused to buckle. Instead, she pulled herself out of the jaws of death and launched her vengeance.She would wrest back the right of inheritance from her evil stepmom and marry the powerful man her stepsister desires.She would trample those who set her up and those who humiliated and harmed her underfoot.It's payback time.But she didn’t know that the unsmiling man who controlled the country’s economy was a super pamperer.“They all say I am a bad woman.” Jean wrapped her hands around the man, feeling wronged.“I will feed them to the dog,” the man said with a gentle, loving voice.

At the farewell banquet hosted for my wife, Lorraine Ford, who will be getting assigned into a military unit soon, Lieutenant Chester Johnson speaks up in a sarcastic manner. "You really are generous, Hunter. Commander Ford has already given away your transfer slot in the military to her stepbrother, and yet you're still throwing this banquet for her." I find his words ridiculous, to say the least. "That's impossible! My wife hates pulling strings to make things easier! In the past, she didn't even give me the youth transfer slot even though she had one!" Chester sounds more enthusiastic now. "I've personally read the approval report. Commander Ford has already listed Rowan Langley under the family column! Don't you know that she has already taken him in as her younger stepbrother?" I feel as though lightning has struck me on the spot. Then, I turn to look at my parents and Lorraine, who look quite guilty. My parents quickly grab me by the hand. "Rowan comes from a poor background, not to mention he's a widower, too. If he continues staying in this village, he'll be the subject of everyone's gossip for the rest of his life. "Hunter, you're Lorraine's actual husband, so you must be more gracious toward him." At that moment, I feel sharp pain coming from my heart. Fine. I'll be gracious, as per their request. This time, I'll personally give Lorraine away to her beloved Rowan.

My mom often makes an example out of someone when it comes to parenting. Unfortunately, I'm that someone, while my little brother, Raymond Nelson, benefits from it. Ever since I was four years old, my mom had been using this method. If Raymond breaks a bowl, I'm the one kneeling on the floor to pick up the pieces. If Raymond destroys something belonging to someone else, I'm the one writing the reflection report on his behalf. Mom tells me, "You're the older sister here. Since you can't keep your brother in line, you're the one at fault." But Raymond can never get rid of his bad habit of stealing and lying. When Franklin Harris, the owner of a grocery store, comes knocking on our door, Raymond points at me once again. "She was the one who stole your money!" In order to help Raymond get rid of this problematic habit of his, Mom decides to hand me over to the owner. "Sorry, Franklin. It's my fault for not raising my child well. I'll give my daughter to you. You can do whatever you want to her, be it scolding her or beating her up." Little does she know that I will never go home after Mr. Harris takes me away.

Olivia married John against all odds—despite the whispers, the wealth gap, and a mother-in-law who made no secret of her hatred. For three years, Olivia gave her all to the marriage, but her inability to conceive became a weapon used to tear her down. When a woman from John’s past reappears with a son she claims is his, Olivia’s fragile world shatters. Betrayed and accused of crimes she didn’t commit, Olivia is cast out with nothing but her pride and pain. But the woman who once crawled through life rises stronger than ever. A new city, a new life, and an unexpected connection with a mysterious prince help her reclaim her worth—but fate isn’t finished with her yet. When Olivia’s job unexpectedly leads her back into John’s world, long-buried secrets begin to surface—secrets that could not only clear her name, but destroy everything the Luther family has built. Love, lies, and legacy collide as Olivia fights not just for justice, but for the truth about her past. And just when it seems the wounds are healing, a devastating revelation threatens to undo everything. The man she once loved is the son of the very people who destroyed her family. Will Olivia choose vengeance, or will love have the final say.

Betrayed, humiliated, and discarded, Serena had always thought that she had nothing left to lose. Married to a man that she once adored, Alexander Calloway, she endured years of neglect and emotional torture, while she watched his childhood sweetheart, Pristine , play the innocent victim and get all the love. When Serena is asked to sign the divorce papers, she is left with nothing but a broken heart, and a hunger for revenge. She finally signs it, while Alexander realizes too late that the woman he so easily discarded was the one he should have fought for. But when fate brings them back together, Serena is no longer the weak, submissive wife, she’s a woman that is determined to make him pay for what he did to her. Will Alexander win back the love he destroyed, or will Serena’s revenge consume them?

Lyra Halstead is a hardworking young woman who spends most of her time creating and helping her fiance Elias build his company. She was so preoccupied with making everything work that she know that one person she trusted most in the world was orchestrating her downfall. On the morning she completes the final update for Aegis, the software destined to save his company, she walks into his office to find him in the arms of her best friend. In that crushing moment, her love, loyalty, and career are stripped away, leaving her with nothing but rage and a fierce desire for revenge. With Elias taking credit for everything she had worked for and created and Chloe smiling in triumph at stealing what was valuable to Lyra, Lyra realizes that talk alone won’t bring justice. She had to hurt him as bad as he had done her. She knew to destroy a man like Elias she needed an alliance with someone who has all the resources to dismantle her ex fiance's empire. from the inside to the outside. The only man with everything she needs is Xavier Thorne. He is the only man who ever challenged her genius and the one adversary Elias fears. Seeking him out in the city’s tallest tower where he is Lord, she offers her skills and her secrets in exchange for the resources to destroy the man she once loved. Xavier approves aof her strategy. He was game. Lyra transforms into a powerful executive face, ready to infiltrate boardrooms and manipulate contracts to destroy Elias. Xavier carries secrets of his own, secrets that could change everything if they came out. When Lyra glimpses a photograph of his daughter, she finds herself staring at the child that had been stolen from a few years ago.

Three years ago, Lucian Vale destroyed her father's empire without a second thought. Now Aurora King is dead buried with her grief and Aurora Miller has taken her place. She built herself from nothing, fueled by one goal: make him pay. But revenge gets complicated when the enemy doesn't know you're alive. At a Manhattan charity gala, Aurora comes face-to-face with the devil himself. Lucian is younger, sharper, and more intoxicating than she imagined. One heated conversation leads to a private penthouse, his arrogant mouth on hers, and his dominant hands stripping away every vow she ever made. She hates him. She craves him. And when she flees into the night, she realizes the most dangerous weapon in this war isn't his money, it's the way he makes her feel. Forced into close quarters when Vale Industries needs her consultancy, Aurora must play the professional while hiding the truth: she's the daughter of the man he broke. But Lucian doesn't let go of what he wants. And after one taste, he wants her. As lines blur between enemy and lover, Aurora's revenge plan crumbles beneath stolen kisses and forbidden nights. Because the only thing more dangerous than his secrets… is hers. A steamy enemies-to-lovers billionaire romance featuring a dominant CEO who always gets what he wants, and the woman willing to burn his world down if his touch doesn't destroy hers first.