Unscramble Quietly

The day after we set our wedding date for the tenth time, my fiancé reached past me to kiss his adopted sister. He presented crimson roses to her as she descended from the stage. "My princess, in this lifetime, I'll only ever be your protector." I stood quietly beyond the cheering crowd, then turned and walked away without looking back. After five years of engagement, this was the moment I finally gave up hope.

"I never imagined that in my new environment, I would feel at ease, much less like I would fit in. Although I don't know where I'm going or how long I'll walk, I just want to live my life by reaching out to the people who matter. I've always thought the journey is long and exhausting, but as I wear these shoes, I feel strengthened "— Kiara Michaelson. "I've come to understand that, despite our best efforts, life often presents us with unexpected twists that we are forced to deal with. I had to accept and experience this twist because it was mine "— Ian Calloway ******** Meet Kiara Michaelson, a typical person who only wants to live peacefully and in the moment with the people she loves the most. But for some reason, she was trapped in a society where everything she did was watched, and everything she had ever worked so hard for could go in a matter of seconds. Ian Calloway is everyone's dream boyfriend and the nation's hero. Despite the advantages of his job, he longs for privacy and the ability to live quietly like everyone else, yet that goal in and of itself is unattainable. What happens when fate decides to play a tragic game with these two people after they encounter. Will they stand up for what they have each worked for and value, or will they give up? Join Kiara and Ian as they fight through life's ups and downs and discover what its true plan is for them.

Three years into her marriage to Caleb Hampton, Sydney Wilson finally learned the truth: the woman he loved was his sister-in-law. On the night his brother died, Sydney saw Caleb's true nature. At the funeral, she did not even flinch when Caleb took a slap meant for his sister-in-law. She always knew he had married her because she was quiet, obedient, and easy to control. She proved it, even in the way she left him. No dramatic fights. No tearful confrontations. Just a divorce quietly signed, sealed, and hidden. What Caleb didn't know was that they were already divorced. Sydney had stopped being quiet and was already seeing someone else. The day Sydney's breakthrough cancer drug took the world by storm, she received accolades and glory. Everyone cheered—except Caleb, who dropped to one knee, his eyes bloodshot with desperation, begging for a second chance. But a possessive arm wrapped around Sydney's waist, declaring to the world, "Sorry, but she's getting married. To me."

Back when we were still in love, I heard from someone else that Charlie Grant had been getting unusually close to his secretary. He never offered an explanation. He let me dig for the truth on my own. Over the past five years, I quietly collected countless photos of them together—having lunch, leaving late-night meetings, even traveling for business—but none of them offered conclusive proof of cheating. Until the day he proposed to me. There was a giant screen set up. It was supposed to play a romantic video Charlie had prepared just for the proposal, but the screen suddenly cut to something else. A video of Charlie at a hospital, standing beside his secretary as she underwent a pregnancy check-up. In the video, the doctor clearly referred to Charlie as her husband… and the father of her child. His secretary burst into tears on the spot and apologized to me repeatedly. She sobbed as though she were the victim. Charlie, however, stood there with a cold expression and said flatly, "She's an unwed mother. She was helpless. I was just accompanying her for the checkup. The doctor must've misunderstood." Everyone braced for a dramatic scene. However, I didn’t scream. I didn’t cry. I only reached up and slowly removed the delicate flower hairpiece from my head. I set the hairpiece down. Then I looked Charlie in the eyes and spoke calmly. "You're right. It is sad that she’s pregnant and all alone. "This marriage proposal was meant for her. Not me." I gave a faint smile. "May you enjoy a blissful life. And… congratulations on the baby."

When my best friend died, his wife, Mia Lewis, was eight months pregnant. Mia said she didn't want her baby growing up without a father. I owed my best friend my life. He saved me, literally pulled me from death's door. So I stepped up, marrying Mia and raising their son as my own. Mia loved her career, so I quit mine. Traded my job for diapers and school runs. For seven whole years, I cooked, cleaned, folded laundry, and handled the housework. Rain or shine, sickness or health, I was there—every single day. Mia, though? She stayed cold, distant. Her warmth only surfaced in the bedroom—and even then, it was a flicker, never a flame. Just soft sighs and breathy murmurs, like she was playing a role she couldn't wait to finish. Afterward, she would quietly check the condom, as if she couldn't trust me. Then came New Year's Eve. A snap. A tear. A broken condom. Her fury struck like a thunderclap. She locked me out on the balcony, left me standing in the freezing rain, soaked to the bone as the wind howled like a wounded beast. Teeth chattering, I shivered as I watched the door like a dog, waiting to be let in. Then I saw him. Our boy, Ethan Bailey. Six years old. My son, at least in name. He came running with an umbrella in his hand. For a second, my heart leapt. 'Maybe, just maybe…' But he didn't even look at me. Just walked past in silence and handed the umbrella to the nanny heading out. Right then and there, something inside me cracked. I knew it was time to go.

Celine Winston is the girl who was rejected and disowned by her family for a crime she never commited. Now she is living quietly as a lonely waiter at a restaurant. Williams Herringbone is the CEO of the Diamond Empire, a multi billion dollar global company he inherited from his grandfather. He is hated by his step siblings and father for this very reason. How could two such opposite fates collide in such a steamy fashion? What about the deadly mafia boss, Lucius Del Aviv, who wants to hurt Celine for supposedly killing his only brother? Don't forget vengeful exes plotting and manipulating ways to get their selfish desires, enemies posing as blossom friends to cause harm and family members with nothing but gaining wealth on their minds. When terrible secrets from their pasts comes back to haunt them, everything seems to fall apart. For how could Celine claim to love the man who destroyed her life years ago? Can the love between Celine and Williams survive all this and more? What keeps such a precarious relationship going strong?

On our eighth anniversary, Claire Young announced that she had already registered her marriage with her childhood friend. She took him home, ordering me around as if it was only natural. "Move to another room. Stan loves sunshine." "Stan doesn't like sweets, so don't bake any when you're at home. He'd be upset if he saw it." I kept quiet through it all and bought a ticket to leave. My friend wanted to help me out of the predicament, but she didn't think it was a big deal. "He's just being dramatic again. Let him be—he'd be caving in just a few days." Everyone laughed at that, and quietly made bets as to when I'd come crawling back to Claire's feet. None of them knew I was already inducted into the national weapons program, and that I was really leaving.

Penelope Rivera's little boy toy, Theodore Schneider, is throwing another tantrum. She slides the divorce papers across the table toward me. "Just sign them for show. It's to keep Teddy happy." I clench the cuff of my suit and nod in silence. I sign my name in one swift stroke. As I'm walking out, I hear one of her girlfriends teasing, "Samuel's way too easygoing. Does he actually do everything you say?" Penelope takes a graceful sip of red wine and smirks. "Wanna bet?" They bet that I will quietly go through with the divorce at the courthouse, even if my eyes are red with tears. Listening their laughter, I rub my thumb over my phone screen and reply to the message I've just received. "Will you marry me?" it says. "I will."

I used to think my husband was the angel who saved me from the depths of hell. Five years ago, I would have died for my ex-fiance, Marco Lombardi, but his carelessness caused Mom's kidneys to fail. He ignored 99 of my calls, and with an empty bank account, I couldn't even afford the surgery to donate my kidney to her. Only later did I discover that during that time, he was having romantic getaways with my stepsister, Penny Rossi. When I hit rock bottom, mafia Don Leon Costa showed up. He got me the best doctors, handled everything when Mom died, and even proposed to me when I was a complete mess. In our five years of marriage, he has spoiled me rotten. I've almost forgotten how much Marco and Penny hurt me. Then, today, I overhear his phone call with Penny. "Leon, thank you for giving my sister's kidney to my mother back then." My beloved husband just brushes it off. "Don't worry about it. I'll look after your sister. She won't ever know." He laughs quietly, and his voice is full of warmth. "You know I hate seeing you cry."

One week before the wedding, I accidentally came across a copy of my girlfriend's abortion procedure report. She always insisted she was uninterested in being intimate, yet behind my back, she had secretly aborted another man's baby. Instead of questioning her, I quietly put the report back where I found it. For the next week, I went along with the wedding planning, picking out the outfits and rings. But on the day of the wedding, the bride, waiting endlessly for the groom who never came, lost her mind.