Too Busy

Everyone said the Alpha, James Black, loved me deeply. He would always make me breakfast and send me to work. Whenever I got sick, he would stay up all night to watch over me. I thought the same thing too. One day, a she-wolf humiliated me by treating me like a servant and demanding I grill meat for her. James did not refuse. Instead, he nonchalantly told me, "What are you standing there for? Go and grill some meat." I stood up, left the banquet hall, and never went back. Later, he knelt at my door and begged me to come home, but I already had a new mate.

I was Randy Johnson's contract wife. For five years, I tried every possible way to make him fall in love with me. But aside from showing me concern in bed, he ignored me the rest of the time. When a piece of equipment at the amusement park fell and struck me, the first thing he did was rush to his beloved first love. She was startled but unscathed. Yet, he rushed her straight to the hospital. When a towering cake display collapsed on me, leaving blood streaming down my arm, he still chose to comfort his first love, who merely had a stomachache. Since he loved her so deeply, there was no reason for me, his contract wife, to stay. So I let him go and freed myself in the process. I chose to study abroad, vowing never to see him again for the rest of my life. I never expected… this time, he would be the one to regret it.

Cold divorce papers. A shattered heart. And a man who realized her worth far too late. For three years, she endured a loveless marriage, clinging to the hope that one day he would choose her. But the moment his first love returned, he didn’t hesitate. He cast her aside without a second glance. Even her final, desperate question couldn’t make him stay. So she walked away… burying her love along with their past. Years later, she signs the final divorce papers from a hospital bed, ready to erase him from her life forever. That’s when the untouchable CEO breaks. In front of everyone, he falls to his knees, his voice trembling as he begs her not to leave him. He once let her go without regret. Now, he will do anything to have her back. But some wounds don’t heal… And some love stories don’t deserve a second chance.

Si Anna Alejandra ay isang ulirang anak na walang ibang hiling kundi ang mai-angat sa laylayan ang pamilyang siya lang ang inaasahan. Isang probinsyanang nakipagsapalaran sa siyudad para tugunan ang pangangailangan ng mga kapatid. Namasukang kasambahay sa pamilyang Martinez, at nakilala ang isang binatang babago sa kapalaran nya, si Javier Martinez. Kontento na si Anna sa panakaw tingin nya sa binata noong una, ngunit habang tumatagal ay humihiling sya nang higit pa. Nangyari naman ito nang maging malapit sila sa isa't isa, at naging magkaibigan hanggang sa nagkagustuhan. Subalit sa halip na mauwi sa happily ever after, isang bangungot ang kaniyang naranasan.

Inside the tattoo studio, Seth Jones let his fingertips trace the dip of Rita Searle's waist and move slowly up her spine. With a soft rustle, her dress slipped to her ankles. He stood over her, taking in the blood-red rose inked across her chest. They had been married for three years, and this was the anniversary gift he'd be giving her—999 roses tattooed into her skin. A broken sob scraped up Rita's throat. "Seth, it hurts… Please, stop…" Her tears splashed onto the back of his hand, but he only pressed the needle deeper, dragging it along until angry red welts marked her body. "Victor wanted those damn roses so he could give them to another woman, and that led to Tara falling off that cliff and ending up in a vegetative state. I'm just giving him what he wanted. You should be grateful." Lying on the cold tattoo table, Rita felt the chill spreading through her. Her eyes stung, weighed down by grief churning behind them. "Isn't it enough? You bought out Searle Group, you hung Victor over a cliff, and left him for the vultures. What else do you want from us?" Seth grabbed her by the throat and forced her chin up. "And isn't Tara innocent in all this? Rita, you and Victor destroyed her life. Don't you owe her for that?"

On New Year's Eve, I returned home. At the welcome party, my boyfriend, Grayson Caldwell, suddenly appeared, holding a bouquet of red roses and a diamond ring, dropping to one knee. "Although this proposal comes a full three years late, our love will never be late," he said. "Alexa, marry me!" Friends cheered from the sidelines, all expecting me to nod through tears and say yes. But they had forgotten that three years ago, on New Year's Eve, he had promised to propose. That night, I dressed to the nines and waited until dawn—but he never showed up. Instead, there was only a cold phone call. "Tanya is sick. I'm busy taking care of her. You'll have to wait a little longer for the proposal." And so, on New Year's Day, I left the country alone, bound by a family-arranged marriage. I had already married someone else three years ago.

Katherine Harrison swore one night with Dorian would be nothing more than a reckless mistake. A secret to bury. But when her father drags her into a summer of forced family bonding with her new stepmother, Katherine finds herself under the same roof as the one man she can’t stand and can’t stop craving. Dorian lives to provoke her. Every smirk, every filthy word, every brush of his body against hers feels like a dare she’s seconds away from losing. He knows exactly how to get under her skin, and the line between hate and desire blurs more with every stolen glance. She tells herself to ignore him. To remember he’s off-limits. To keep her distance. But Dorian has other plans…plans that could expose their darkest secret and burn their world to the ground. This summer, Katherine will have to decide, fight the fire or let it consume her whole.

I masterminded a half-billion-dollar art auction to wash money for Miles’s family. But at the celebration party, Miles gave all the credit to Rebecca. His childhood friend. The daughter of the family’s consigliere. I stormed into his study. “Miles, head curator was Rebecca? Are you sure about that?” He looked up from a cloud of smoke, pulling me into his arms. His voice was a low, soothing rumble. “Valerie, I know you want to prove yourself, but this was all Rebecca. Especially the Caravaggio. The real one, worth three hundred million. She’s the one who pulled it off.” His lips brushed my forehead, his breath hot. “I don’t love you because you can fix some old paintings. You’re my queen, always. My girl. You don’t have to worry about her.” I almost laughed. The anger was choking me. “She can’t tell the difference between oil and acrylic. How the hell would she know a real from a fake?” “Enough!” Miles cut me off, his tone leaving no room for argument. “I know what Rebecca can do. Don’t make a scene just because you’re jealous.” His hands tightened, trapping me in his smoky embrace. “Don’t disappoint me, Valerie.” But he already had. When I’d had enough of his favoritism and his blindness, I walked. And that's when he went crazy. Scoured the earth looking for me. Begging me to come back, saying he was blind, that he’d been wrong about everything.

I'm getting married soon—but not to my boyfriend of six years, Soren Cruz. He's the mafia boss based in Mehico and is currently busy "working" with his new underboss, Thea Ramirez. Lately, he's been so swamped with work that he completely forgot about me and our promise to get married on our sixth anniversary. At the Christmas party, he ordered Thea's favorite almond cake. He forgot I'm allergic to almonds. While his friends were messing around, a slice of cake hit me right in the face. I fainted on the spot. When I woke up, I told Mom I didn't want to marry Soren anymore. I'm going back.

Sophie, who deeply loved Dylan, had been enduring constant pain because Dylan was in love with a lowly maid. Dylan believed the maid was his lifesaver, and he forced Sophie to donate a kidney to her. Only then did he realize he had mistaken the wrong person—but by that time, Sophie had already left him forever.