Too Late, I Married Up

As a dive engineer, I need to go down into the shaft to retrieve a drill bit in order to speed up construction on the 800-million-dollar construction project before Independence Day. Little do I know that I've barely made my way down the shaft when I realize I don't have enough oxygen to last the journey. Amid my panic, I completely lose my sense of direction. So, I dig out my wireless radio in an attempt to communicate with my fiancee, Viola Jenkins. But all I hear is her laughter over the radio. "Aren't you all high and mighty, Elden? I'd like to see how long you can last underwater without oxygen!" Her first love, Ron Carey, adds, "Just sit back and watch the show, Viola! He'll definitely beg you to open the manhole cover for him when the time comes!" That's when I realize Viola and Ron have allied together to kill me. Not only have they closed the manhole cover, but they've also cut off my life-saving oxygen supply. After ensuring that the manhole cover cannot be moved at all, I begin crying for help weakly into the radio. "Hurry… Open the cover for me… I'm running out of oxygen…" Viola's contemptuous voice drifts from the radio. "It's only been five minutes. Why are you playing the pity card already? This is Ron's first time in a construction site, so he's inhaling some oxygen from the canister because he's already lacking in oxygen. You can wait for a while. "If you have the time to moan about the lack of oxygen, you might as well use it to retrieve the drill bit. Stop dilly-dallying around, Elden! You seriously think I'll keep you around if you don't pull your weight around here?" With gnashed teeth, I cover 65 feet downward in the shaft. With the last bit of oxygen in my lungs, I place my hands on the drill bit that's stuck in the deepest part of the shaft that can determine whether or not the 800-million-dollar construction project will be a hit or miss. I'd like to see if Viola and Ron will be able to reap the benefits from this project just by killing me off in the shaft!

Gwendolyn was never meant to be weak but six years of marriage to Cole turned her into a woman who endured everything until he crossed the line. When their five years old daughter Josie is dying as a result of her wolf awakening too soon, destroying poor little Josie from the insides, Cole doesn’t just neglect them, he files for a divorce, cuts Gwen off any means of income and walks away with another woman. Desperate to save her child, Gwen turns to the only man powerful enough to help. Xavier Holt, her husband’s stepbrother. Xavier comes to her rescue, except he has a request. A request that puts Gwen in a dilemma. A marriage, one without boundaries or rules. Gwen doesn’t break, she chooses revenge. With Xavier by her side, she’s no longer the omega they once underestimated. She’s the woman who will destroy them all.

Being the heir of the Han Empire means Jordan has to be perfect, flawless, untouchable, and Alpha to the core. But he’s hiding a dangerous secret… He’s an omega. If anyone finds out, he’ll lose everything. So Jordan hides behind a cold mask—sharp suits, sharper words, and a wall no one gets through. Until he shows up. Alaric Wren. Jordan’s fiercest rival. The man who was never supposed to matter. The man who threatens everything just by looking too close. And when Alaric discovers the truth, he doesn’t use it to destroy Jordan. He uses it to get under his skin… and into his bed. Now Jordan’s perfect life is cracking. Because Alaric doesn’t want to expose him. He wants to own him. And Jordan might let him even if it costs him everything.

It was a full moon, and my mate, Alpha Ethan, bailed on our son's coming-of-age ceremony rehearsal. All because his Omega mistress, Scarlett, was in heat. Then, during the actual ceremony, our son Caleb was ambushed by a rival pack. By the time I heard the news, Caleb had been shot. He was dead, lying in a pool of his own blood. I knelt beside him, completely breaking down, when Ethan's voice, faking an apology, came through the mind link: "Sorry, Scarlett needs me. I'm sure Caleb can handle things. Just make sure Caleb gets some rest early, don't let him run around and mess up tomorrow's celebration." I looked at my son's broken body, my voice trembling, "He won't be running anywhere anymore." "Good," Ethan said, sounding pleased. "Scarlett's bloodline is purer. She's better suited to give the Stone Pack strong heirs. You should understand." I cut the link. After I committed my son's body to the flames, I found the secret ritual to break a mate bond and contacted a wolf I hadn't spoken to in a long, long time: "The protection wards on Stone Pack territory are down. You can make your move."

In the chaos and quiet of her 30s, a woman reflects on the loves that shaped her, the heartbreaks that undid her, and the tender spaces in between. Through fleeting romances, almost-loves, and the weight of expectations—family’s, society’s, and her own—she navigates a world where connection is currency, vulnerability is rebellion, and self-discovery never comes easy. Told with wit, warmth, and raw honesty, this novel is a journey through modern love: messy, magical, and sometimes maddening. It's about the people who entered her life, the ones who left, and the version of herself she’s still becoming.

After Leo Carter’s older brother passed away, his mother proposed that he marry his late brother’s pregnant wife, Ariel Sullivan. Leo refused. “Fawn is my life,” he said coldly. “I’d rather give up inheriting my brother’s position as the don than ever betray my wife.” I was deeply moved by his devotion. That was until I accidentally overheard a conversation between Leo and his mother. “The child in Ariel’s womb is clearly yours,” his mother said sharply. “So why won’t you marry her?” Leo exhaled a cloud of smoke. His gaze drifted somewhere far away, unreadable. “I promised Ariel I’d leave my brother with an heir,” he said calmly. “But this stays between us. If Fawn ever finds out, I’m dead.” His mother’s expression darkened. “So what if she finds out? She can’t even have children herself. Are you going to end the family bloodline because of her?” Leo cut her off, his voice suddenly cold and dangerous. “If she finds out, she will leave me. And I can’t survive losing her. If you want a grandson, then keep your mouth shut.” I stumbled away in a daze, and the blood in my veins slowly turned cold. Leo understood me better than anyone. He knew that in my world, love could not tolerate a betrayal. So the moment he betrayed me, I made my decision. I was leaving.

I was not expecting to pick the wrong man to marry even after I had a chance to redo my life. In my previous life, I chose to marry James Howard, my then fiance. But he cheated on me with Verde Sala, a fake heiress, for three years. They even had a child together. For her sake, he broke my legs so that I would hand over my role as the principal dancer to her. This time, I chose to marry Elwood Howard, James’s uncle. I thought that this meant that I had escaped my fate and could fulfill my dreams, but on the day the principal dancer was supposed to be picked, I got into an accident again. After learning about this, Elwood sent Verde to jail, even if it meant offending all of the powerful people in the city. I was touched and thought that I had made the right choice in this life. That lasted for five years until I heard Elwood’s conversation with our son. “Dad, Verde said that you only married Mom so that you could provide a letter of forgiveness as the victim’s family. “Since Verde is out, could you divorce Mom? I want Verde to be my mother.” Upon hearing that, Elwood remembered my trust in him and shook his head. “No. I’ve betrayed your mother by destroying the evidence and giving Verde a new identity to avoid being indicted, so I’m going to make it up to her for the rest of her life. “She will always be my wife. Don’t ever say such things to your mother and make her sad.” The pain from before could not compare to the pain in my heart at that moment. Our marriage was just a scheme to protect Verde? Elwood only loved Verde? And my son was the same? If that was the case, I did not want Elwood anymore. Nor my son.

This isn't your typical Cinderella or damsel in distress tale. Briella served as the CEO of Star Airlines. Beautiful, successful, and badass. Despite her wealth, her parents never loved her as much as they did Sage, her step-sister. Sage wasn't particularly bright. She spent her parents' money and manipulated them to get what she wanted, but she was still the most loved. Sage was engaged to be married to a business tycoon with operations all over the world. A day before the wedding, she changed her mind. Why? She didn't want to marry him because she had found someone better. Briella had to step in and be the bride because their parents and Kendrick's parents refused to cancel the wedding. Was she willing to spend her life with someone she'd never met? When Kendrick's wife loses her memories of him, the tables are turned. Will his efforts be fruitful?

The very day she came back into her home country, she heard the most absurd news. "Your sister is getting married with Mr. Stephenson". "What did you say?" She couldn't believe it. At the engagement party, she was shocked to see her sister getting engaged to her fiancé. "Daniel, remember this, I dumped you! Did you hear that? I dumped you, not the other way round." ..... Who could have guessed that after being betrayed by her fiancé and sister and being labelled as a home wrecker, someone would still want to marry her? "Don't you want to get revenge on your fiancé for what he did?" Nathan Clemon asked Hilda. "What has that got to do with you?" She snapped back. "It has got everything to do with me. I am the only person who could help you achieve that whiles giving you the happiness that any woman would wish in this world."

Two pink lines on a pregnancy test. I was going to surprise my husband, Vince, the Moretti family heir. Instead, the surprise was on me. A pair of black lace panties—not mine—left in his car. The air reeked of cheap perfume and betrayal. I stormed his casino, demanding answers. But I found her in his private suite. Sophia. She smirked, looking me up and down. “You must be the wife. I’ve seen your picture on the nightstand. Vince says you’re a boring little nun. Says he can’t even get hard looking at you.” I snapped. My hand shaking, I hurled a glass of red wine in her face. She shrieked, stumbled back, and crashed into a glass cabinet. Blood bloomed across the carpet. Vince burst in and slapped me so hard I hit the floor. "Are you insane?! She's carrying my heir!" My heart shattered. As I fell, a darker pool of blood spread beneath me. Our baby. I was miscarrying. And when forced to choose between his wife and his whore, Vince chose her. He forgot who put him on his throne. I’m not some trophy wife he can discard. I am a DeLuca. A princess of the underworld. So for revenge, I married his worst enemy, Dante Costello. And when we burned his empire to the ground, Vince finally broke. He got on his knees and begged me to come back.