Uss Johnston

"He's gone, Elizabeth," her captain Charles Johnston tells her. Elizabeth blinks back her tears. Her face full of shock and disbelief. Her frozen stare interrupted by his words. "He left his badge." "There's no way," she thought. He wouldn't leave her like this. No warning, no phone call, no letter. She was more to him than that or at least so she thought. That conversation has plagued her for 3 years. For 3 long years, Detective Elizabeth Ryan tried to shut out him, to finally be able to move on. But just as she does, he abruptly returns seeking more than what either of them anticipated. Will Elizabeth be able to forgive him, or will the past be too much to swallow? What happens when life throws her too many twists to handle?

As the male lead, Henry Johnston, forces himself on me, a row of comments suddenly appears before my eyes. "Henry is about to misunderstand and think Aria drugged him! The angst is about to begin!" "I'm thrilled just thinking about Henry regretting dearly after Aria dies!" "Keep up the act, Henry. After she dies, you'll be hugging her corpse and crying every day." That is when I realize that I am the tragic female lead in a story where I am destined to be tormented until I die. The readers treat my death as a highlight to push the plot forward. They are counting down to my death. As I look at Henry, who is panting on top of me, anger courses through me. I grab a table lamp and smash it into him, killing him on the spot. Who says that the one who dies in a toxic romance story must always be the female lead?

On Valentine's Day, I set up a candlelit dinner and waited. At 9 PM, my husband, Alfred Johnston, finally texted. [Something came up at work. Don't wait for me.] Then I saw her post. [On a business trip with the CEO for Valentine's Day. Every hotel is fully booked—awkward...] Vivian Bianca, his secretary. Attached was a photo of a guy in a bathrobe, standing by a floor-to-ceiling window. The comments were all 'ooh, CEO's so hot and girl, you're in for a night.' Vivian? Just dropped a smug emoji. So that's what "something came up" meant—a romantic getaway with his secretary. I screenshotted it, posted it on my own feed, and added a smiling emoji. A second later, Alfred called, fuming. "Vivian was joking! Why are you so petty? She's young, not as calculating as you!" I didn't let him finish. "Then let's get a divorce. That way, I won't have to care when you screw around and catch something."

On the day, my husband, Eugene Doyle, receives the offer to further his studies in the city, he serves me divorce papers instead. I, Maria Johnston, am eight months pregnant with his child. He tries to console me. "Maria, ever since my elder brother, Edgar, passed away, Janice has had nobody taking care of her. She can't survive on her own. "I'll marry her for the time being, just on paper, until she manages to find her footing in the city. After that, I'll come back and marry you again." Everyone assumes that I will patiently and obediently wait for Eugene to return because of my pregnancy. However, I tear up his written oath to me and terminate the pregnancy that same day. Then, with the offer letter for the National Archeology Certification in my hands, I leave our little village and disappear from Eugene's life. Five years later, I become a successful archeologist and return to the same village for a survey. My current husband, Rupert Kingston, can't come at the same time as me due to an emergency meeting, but he has informed the villagers to welcome me with open arms ahead of time. To my surprise, I meet my ex-husband instead. He says, "I know that you lost your baby at eight months. There's no need to be ashamed about it. It's about time you came back after running away from home all those years ago. "Janice is about to give birth. We need you to be her nanny."

Logan Johnston learned life the hard way. He was born out of unwanted pregnancy and his mother despised him so much. Kaka-graduate pa lamang niya noon ng highschool ng iwan silang dalawa ng kapatid niya ng kanilang ina. Kinailangan niyang pumasok sa kung anu-anong trabaho upang matustusan pagkain, tirahan, pati na rin ang pag-aaral ni Laine, ang half-sister niya. Tumigil siya sa pag-aaral, at sa edad na disi-nuwebe, siya na ang tumayong magulang ng kaniyang kapatid. Ngunit talaga yatang mailap sa kanila ang suwerte. Nabuntis kasi nang maaga ang kaniyang kapatid at hindi pinanagutan ng nakabuntis dito. At makalipas ang ilang buwan, kinailangan nila ng malaking pera upang makapanganak ito. Doon niya nakilala si Shan Elton Xanders, isang lalaki na naghahanap ng kapwa nito lalaki upang maitayo ang isang sikretong agency: ang SDS. At ang agency na iyon, s*x ang hatid na serbisyo. Logan willingly joined Shan in order to save his sister's life. Makalipas ang ilang taon, napakarami nang nagbago sa kanilang buhay. Napagtapos niya ang kaniyang kapatid, nakapagtayo ng negosyo na lumago at nakilala sa buong mundo, at nakapagpundar ng ari-arian. Because of the secret 'Services,' he became a billionaire, and now, after twelve long years, gusto na niyang iwan ang SDS. But there is a one rule. To leave the SDS, he must find a wife who will genuinely love him despite the fact that he is a male hooker. That's when he met Rebecca Watkins. A mystery woman who came from a prominent family but is willing to pay him a million for his service. He promised himself that Rebecca will be his last client before leaving SDS. Ngunit tila kakaibang misteryo ang bumabalot kay Rebecca at hindi niya maiwasan ang unti-unting pagkahulog ng kaniyang loob sa dalaga...