Thirty Fourth

“We signed the divorce papers six months ago. Tonight I’m wearing the lingerie he bought me on our honeymoon…and I’m not leaving his penthouse until he remembers why he put a ring on it.” Lila Grant never begged,not when Ethan built his empire on her late-night sketches. Not when he shut her out with silence colder than the marble floors of their Manhattan tomb. Not when she scrawled her signature on the line that severed them. But six months of celibate nights and whiskey-soaked memories have carved her hollow. One look at him across a crowded gala with his new fiancée draped on his arm like a cheap trophy and something primal snaps inside her. She kisses him in front of the cameras. Claims the mouth that once whispered mine against her throat and then she issues the ultimatum that detonates their carefully buried war: Thirty nights. His Hamptons fortress. One bed. No safe words. No surrender. If either of them says the word divorce, the other walks away with everything,money, pride, the last shred of sanity. Ethan never lost until Lila walks back in wearing red silk and the scent of ruin. What begins as a vicious game of who-blinks-first spirals into something darker. Jealousy that tastes like blood on the tongue. Sex that leaves bruises shaped like vows. He wants to punish her for leaving. She wants to burn the memory of his touch out of her skin. Both get exactly what they came for,until the one thing neither planned explodes between them: She’s pregnant. And the man who swore he’d never beg is on his knees

The Job: Save the career of the man she hates. The Boss: Her arrogant and damaged step-brother. The Rule: One month on a bus and no crossing boundaries. °°•°°•°°•°° Anya Sharma is a professional hater because she gets paid to ruin reputations. As a top music critic, she has spent years dragging Kai Rhodes for his lack of talent and his massive ego. She does not do it for fame but for the money she needs to fund her secret charity for immigrants. It is a noble cause fueled by a very dirty job. But after a career-ending car wreck leaves Kai broken, his manager offers Anya an offer she cannot refuse. She must join the tour and play his loyal assistant while writing a story to save his image. If she succeeds, her charity gets millions. If she fails, she loses everything. Trapped on a luxury bus for thirty days, Anya expects to find a monster. Instead, she finds a man who looks too good in the dark and knows exactly how to push her buttons. They're supposed to despise each others guys, but the tension between them is a live wire ready to snap. Anya thought she was the one in control until she found things she wasn't supposed to find. She thought he was the one she was saving until she realized he was the one setting the trap. Kai knows her secrets and she is starting to love his. But the contract ends in three days and only one of them is getting out with their heart.. and life, intact. PS- Do not read this if you want a sweet and normal romance. Read this if you want to watch a professional hater get wrecked by the one man she is legally supposed to avoid.

“Is this a…contract?” “It has everything you would need if you want to go on dates with me for the next couple of weeks. From the times you can call me to the days I would not be available to pick up calls or even respond to text messages no matter how urgent they are. There’s also a number of locations we can have our dates and another number of places I would never set foot in. Things you can talk about and things you should stay out of. There’s a detailed list of questions you can ask me there and an even more detailed list of things you should never mention. It’s not too much. All you need to do is go through it, sign the contract and we’re good to go. I’ll text you the dates and locations of our dates and have my driver come pick you up.” Emily was bewildered. “You’ve got to be joking.” ——- Emily Stark was given a choice- to either get married to a billionaire she had never met her entire life in place of her sister who had ran away in fear of getting married or somehow find a way to pay her parents’ debt of thirty million dollars in a day. She is immediately stuck at a crossroad but knows she has no choice but to succumb and get married. After all, it was just marriage? How much complicated could it be? Well, unless your husband to be is a cold ruthless billionaire who only cares about his work and has absolutely no interest in you. And to make it worse, thinks marriage is nothing but another business deal. A contract to be signed and simply gotten over with with time.

At my three-year anniversary dinner with Vincent Hartwell, his secretary deliberately poured red wine over my head. I finally reached my breaking point and slapped her in front of all the guests. That very night, the incident spread like wildfire through high society circles. When my mother saw the leaked bedroom photographs of the two of them, the shock triggered a heart attack. She collapsed and died on the spot. When I learned the news, I sank to the floor and cried all night. Meanwhile, Vincent stayed by his secretary's side, comforting her. When he came home, he brushed past my disheveled state without a glance, loosened his tie, and spoke in that careless tone of his. "I've already buried the story. Don't let it happen again. "I have a meeting tonight. Pull yourself together and get to the villa within thirty minutes. Madison needs you." As he walked toward the door, he added over his shoulder, "She's fragile right now because of the pregnancy. If you do anything to harm my only child, I won't forgive you." I listened without crying or arguing. However, after he left, I pulled the divorce agreement from my drawer that I had prepared weeks ago. Beneath it lay my own positive pregnancy test. 'Vincent, I'll leave to find my biological father in three days.' This time, I was really leaving. I would make sure my father paid for every grievance I had endured over the last few years.

The most powerful Godfather in the mafia underworld—Dante Costello—had an expensive diamond signet ring custom-made to fit my finger perfectly and sent straight to our home. He said that whoever could wear the ring would become the lady of his family. The Monroe family had long since fallen from grace. All that remained were four women. On ordinary days, we fought endlessly, tearing each other apart. Every single one of us wanted to marry Dante because marrying him meant preserving a life of dignity and comfort. In the first life, the fake heiress, Blair, secretly had the ring resized smaller and married into the family. Dante took one look at her, then had her thrown into the river to drown. “Not her.” In the second life, my cousin, Chloe, underwent plastic surgery to alter her fingers and force the ring on. Dante gifted her a staged car accident. “Still not her.” In the third life, my stepmother, Catherine, clenched her teeth and forced the ring onto her finger. Her blood hadn’t even dried when she married Dante. He coldly slashed her face, then locked her in the basement, where she slowly wasted away until death. By the fourth life, all three of them were terrified. None of them dared to marry him anymore, so they hurriedly pushed me forward instead. I put on the ring. This time, the size was perfect. Just when I thought my good days had finally begun, Dante stabbed me to death on our wedding night, his eyes burning red with madness. After my rebirth, the consigliere of the Dante family delivered the ring once again. This time, all four of us avoided it like the plague.

(Ahmed Haddad's Story) Four years ago, Clarissa, desperate for money and desperate to win her mother’s approval, gave up the chance to attend Juilliard school and agreed to be a substitute bride for her stepsister. Three and a half years ago, she actually fell in love with the man she married. She even risked her life to save her husband, Ahmed, when a building collapsed. That accident left her infertile—a secret she carried alone, afraid that if Ahmed found out, Clarissa would lose him completely. Naive as she was, she thought Ahmed just needed more time. But on their fourth anniversary, Clarissa found him kissing his true love, Brianna, the woman who was meant to be his original bride. ***** “Did you cheat, Ahmed?!” dagundong ang boses ng lolo ni Ahmed. “No!” “Did you ignore your wife? Or any mistake that made her want to divorce you?” Bago pa makasagot si Ahmed ay biglang sumulpot si Brianna. Sa likod nito ay ang mga security guards na pilit pinipigilan ang babae. Inilapag nito ang pamilyar na envelope sa mesa. Pinanlalamigan si Clarissa. “Ahmed has nothing at fault! Clarissa, the infertile, should be blamed!” ****** “Mama, inaway ako ni Reirey," iyak ng batang babae na may magagandang uri ng mga mata. After their divorce, a miracle daughter came. Wala na si Ahmed sa buhay nila. Matapos nitong ipakulong siya at nalaglag ang pinagbubuntis ay hindi na bibigyan ni Clarissa si Ahmed ng pagkakataon na malaman nitong ibinalik sa kanya ng Panginoon ang nawalang bata. Hinding-hindi nito makikilala ang anak nila. Ahmed and Clarissa (COMPLETED) Rios and Kaye (COMPLETED) Altero and Mihrimah (COMPLETED)

On the day we were supposed to get engaged, my fiance, Christopher Vittorino, slid the ring—that was supposed to be mine—onto Lina Sorenzo, my stepsister's finger, right in front of the entire family. Christopher's uncle, Don Mark Vittorino, was the one who had specifically ordered his subordinates to deliver the ring that symbolizes the wearer's status as the future Donna of the Vittorino family to Christopher himself. I could only stare at Christopher's deep blue eyes in disbelief. Just as I was about to question him, he just gazed at me with a stony expression. Even his tone was cold and rigid. "The Don intends to send me to Maravena for the next five years to develop my own business there. Once I return, I'll take over the family business. "You don't have any skills at all, Isla. If you stay with me, you'll just be a hindrance to me and cause me unwanted trouble. "Lina, on the other hand, is fluent in Maravenese. Not to mention, she knows how to expand the family business overseas. She will serve as a brilliant assistant for me." After that, Christopher took Lina's hand and left the venue with her, not caring about the fact that the leaders of the other branch families as well as the elders kept murmuring among themselves. Because of that, I ended up becoming the laughingstock of the entire family. Five years later, Christopher and Lina return to the country. When he spots me showing up at a family gathering held by Mark with a ruby ring that signifies my status as the Donna on my finger, his expression changes instantly. "I can't believe you learned to steal, Isla!" I just ignore Christopher's accusations in favor of looking for the Black Rose Medal that my son, Toby Vittorino, has lost. That medal is a gift he received on his fourth birthday from Mark. Poor Toby has been sobbing for a long time because of its disappearance. I need to hurry up and find it as soon as possible.

I was just about to drink a soup meant to supplement my pregnancy, a frantic voice suddenly called out. "Mommy, don't drink it! It's an abortion drug. Someone's trying to harm you!" Startled, my hand jerked, and I knocked the soup over. My husband's cousin teared up, her voice choking, "B-But I cooked that soup myself as an apology…" I didn't pay her any heed, only checking the contents of the medicinal soup. There was a large amount of poison in it, enough to not just harm the baby, but even make it impossible for me to ever conceive again! "Mommy, it was me! I protected you!" I caressed my pregnant belly, listening as the child inside told me that he was the incarnation of a lucky star, sent to bring me good fortune. Because of this, we even gave him the nickname Lucky. And sure enough, under his guidance, I helped my husband secure numerous contracts. The whole family was overjoyed. I grew to love him even more, consuming precious supplements as if they were free. Within just three months, my family's assets grew tenfold, while I grew thirty pounds. Just as I stuffed the roast pork into my mouth, I heard a weak, faint voice. "Mom, don't listen to him! He was switched into your womb, and he stole my good luck! "If you continue listening to him, he'll be the death of us both after he's born!" Confused, I stopped eating. Who was I to believe, when there were two voices within my womb?

"Oh my goodness! This is exactly what I've been saying!" Mikan said, annoyed. "Why do you still refuse to break up with that Jiro? What does he have?" "M, it's normal for lovers to have disagreements," I replied calmly. "K, he's always the one causing issues. Aren't you tired of it?" Selena asked me. I shook my head. "I understand him, girls. Sometimes I'm moody too. Maybe his temper just flared up at the wrong time." I've been defending Jiro to them since we started dating in my second year of high school, and now we're in our fourth year of college. We had another argument recently, and I've been apologizing to him since the other day, even though I didn't know what I did wrong. But he hasn't been answering any of my texts or calls. So tonight, even though I didn't want to go with them to the Spade Club, I had no choice because they dragged me along. I just hope Jiro doesn't find out about this because he doesn't like it when I go clubbing without him. It might make him even angrier. "I think there's nothing we can do about Kylie. She's head over heels for Jiro," Ariana said. Ariana isn't this quiet usually when she's drunk. They all laughed while I forced a smile. Go ahead, laugh at me, but when you fall in love, I'll be rolling on the floor laughing. "Alright, cheers to Kylie's love madness," Mikan raised her shot glass, and A and S followed suit, while I watched them. I just sighed. "Hey! K, don't be a killjoy. Come on, raise your shot glass!" Selena shouted at me because the music was loud in the Spade Club. It was already ten in the evening.

ADRIANNA GREY: Father called me cursed—a mistake that should never have existed. He blamed me for my mother’s death and treated me like a burden he couldn’t wait to discard. In the end, he sold me to the Alpha King, a man worshipped by the kingdom but a devil in private. He made me his sex slave, stripping me of my dignity. Just when my suffering was nearly over, his sister framed me. As punishment, he resold me—this time to another Alpha King even crueler than him. Every day of my life felt like drowning in darkness. I saw no reason to keep living. Then he appeared. My unexpected savior. He risked his life to free me, protected me like I was made of something precious, and treated me with a gentleness I’d never known. He would burn the world to keep me safe. But after everything men have done to me… can I really trust him with my heart? Especially after discovering the truth about what he truly is? ⸻ ERIC BLACKWELL: She was a small, innocent-looking girl in shabby boy clothes when I first saw her, but her doe eyes caught me instantly. After saving her from being burned alive at the market, something inside me changed—something I had never felt in thirty years. Then she disappeared. I searched for her everywhere, only for fate to return her to me in the worst way: she was a sex slave to my boss. Knowing she was in danger, I didn’t care what I had to lose or what I had to do—I was going to save her again. But saving her woke the ghosts of my past, and now those secrets threaten the fragile bond I’ve risked everything to build with her.