Fading facades: love beyond the deal

After my rebirth, I avoided my family and my boyfriend like the plague. When they tried to throw me a birthday party, I faked an urgent business trip to dodge it. When my parents pleaded with me to move back, I secretly bought my own house that very night. When my boyfriend popped the question, I spun on my heel and married someone else. In my previous life, my sister and I were swept away in a raging flood. By sheer luck, a jagged tree branch snagged my clothes, saving me from the depths, but my sister drowned in the merciless current. My parents, consumed by grief and rage, gripped my throat and screamed, "If it weren't for you, Andrea would still be alive!" My boyfriend acted like it was no big deal, offering half-hearted comfort before we tied the knot. But on our wedding anniversary, during a family cruise, they cornered me on the deck and shoved me overboard. "Time to taste drowning yourself!" they hissed. It turned out they had never gotten over Andrea's death. My boyfriend had never forgotten about her. When my eyes fluttered open again, I found myself back on that fateful day. This time, I vowed to live for myself, reclaiming the joy they'd stolen from me.

“Next question.” His eyes locked on her. He was close. Too close. Emily raised the tablet between them. “If your brand—” Scott pressed down on the tablet. Emily backed into the desk. Nowhere left to go. Scott placed his hands on either side of her, caging her in. His face inches from hers. “Scott—” “Next question.” His voice was rough. Emily’s breath caught. Heat flooded her body. “If your brand was a person,” she whispered, “how would you describe her—them?” His eyes dropped to her lips. “Resilient.” His thumb traced her jawline. “Beautiful.” His breath warmed her skin. “Irresistible.” The word hung between them. Emily’s heart pounded. One movement—one inch—and his lips would touch hers. She wanted it. God, she wanted it. “I should go.” Her voice shook. Scott’s jaw clenched. But he didn’t move. “The contract says no physical contact.” His blue eyes burned into hers. “It doesn’t say anything about wanting to.” Emily’s arranged marriage to Ian Hunter was a transaction—his family’s money for her father’s freedom. For three years, she endured his coldness, his cruelty, his mistress. The day his grandmother died, Ian filed for divorce and walked away with everything. Emily’s business collapsed. Ian’s empire grew. Now, she’s desperate enough to make a deal with the devil’s half-brother. Scott Hunter is pitched against his half-brother to claim his billion-dollar inheritance. One of the three requirements is a wife. Emily needs capital to rebuild—and revenge on the man who destroyed her. It shouldn't be. It's unheard of. It's supposed to be a simple contract: one year of marriage, no feelings, no complications. Except Scott can’t stop touching her. And Emily realizes she’s stopped pretending.

In the modern day, where fixed marriages seem trivial, Gianna Emilia never thought she'd be in that situation. She never planned on getting married at the age of twenty-five, but fate had its own way of playing her life that one morning, and she woke up married. It was fine with her since it was her dad's wish, and she never said no to his wishes. She was that kind of daughter; she would always obey and follow. But for the first time in her whole existence, she regrets agreeing to that marriage. "This will only be on papers." She remembered what he said on the day of their marriage. His voice was so cold and full of irritation, making her feel the same. She regrets marrying him, the arrogant and cold-hearted Maverick Jaxon De Chavez. The guy who made her feel more unwanted and irrelevant and shattered her heart into a million pieces But how can she hate him if she has fallen for him? Will Emilia finally choose herself for the first time?

Forestia Renae Frost is a twenty-two years old model who has always hated Adamson Rockwell, her enemy since high school and now the CEO of the Rockwell Group of Companies. In their class batch reunion held in a high-class resort, the two met again after years of not seeing each other and fell into a heated confrontation after getting drunk that ended up burning with long kept desire and passion. Forestia thought it was just a one night stand, but what if she suddenly received a call from Adam after a week of their first night and offered her an engagement contract? Will she accept the role of being her enemy's fiancé?

After four years of marriage, Liam Burrey found himself shouldering all blame without complaint. Instead of gratitude, he was met with a divorce agreement. Despite his four-year relationship with Serena Lloyd, it could not withstand Liam's apparent mediocrity.Serena was a renowned and esteemed CEO, but little did she know that everything she achieved was intertwined with Liam. The moment Liam signed his name on the divorce agreement, he made a decision: if he weren't going to choose modesty anymore, then the entire world would have to bow down at his feet!

Pauwi na sana sina Jenyfer Caluttong sa bahay nila para sana mag-celebrate ng katatapos na graduation ng kapatid niya, nang bigla na lang harangin ang sinasakyan nila at sapilitan sila tinangay ng mga armado lalaki. Pagdating nila sa malaking bahay na pinagdalhan sa kanila. Doon lumabas ang tinatawag na boss ng mga armadong dumukot sa kanila. Sobrang gulat ni Jenyfer dahil ito ang lalaking may tama ng bala sa tagiliran na humingi ng tulong sa kaniya. Nagpakilala itong si Rhys Zhumalde. Mala-model sana ang ka-guwapuhan at umiigting din ang panga sa sobrang seryoso nito at sa tuwing tumititig sa kaniya ay tila may panganib na dala ang mata nito. Pakakawalan lang daw pamilya niya sa isang kondisyon. Magpapakasal siya rito. Labis ang galit ni Jenyfer nang marinig niya iyon kay Rhys Zumalde. Ngunit wala siyang choice kahit na ang tingin niya ay mapanganib ang magpakasal dito. “As long as you fulfill our deal to release my family, I'm willing to marry you even though it's dangerous to be your wife,”—Jenyfer Callutong.

Sebastian Sterling was the CEO of the Sterling Group, ranked third among the world's wealthiest business leaders. We had a five-year-long relationship, three years of which we lived together. He told me he loved me so much that he was willing to sacrifice himself for me, yet he never gave me the title of Mrs. Sterling. During those three years of living together, he betrayed me three times, pushing me into hell with his own hands. The first time, he secretly obtained a marriage certificate with his close friend's widow. However, he knelt before me, crying and begging me to believe that it was just for protection. The second time, under the spotlight of media cameras and thousands of watching eyes, he held her hand and announced that she was his wife and the lady of the Sterling family. Backstage, he gripped my hand and swore in a low voice that he would marry me once everything ended. The third time, he spent a passionate night with her and got her pregnant. I discovered the truth when I saw them at the hospital, attending a prenatal appointment together. Loving him was death by a thousand cuts. I forgave him again and again, yet he betrayed me every time. One day, I finally walked away. In my pocket was my positive pregnancy test—I was carrying the child he had always wanted. Only then did Sebastian collapse to his knees in regret, crying out my name with a broken voice. However, he had lost not just me, but the heir he never knew existed too!

"Oral? Rough nights? That's what I've become-the plaything of a man whose name echoes across Asia. We've done things in places where we could have been caught, places where his men could see us, and yet we didn't care. The only thing that mattered was quenching the fire raging inside our bodies. Free? No. Nothing is free anymore. Every desire, every twisted fantasy he wants to play out on me comes with a price-and he pays it without hesitation. Even when it's degrading, even when it crosses boundaries I once thought I had, I take it. No questions asked. But here's what keeps me awake at night: is this all I'll ever be? Are we bound to this cycle, trapped in this dangerous game forever?"

The new teacher gave the wrong medicine, causing a child to suffer sudden cardiac arrest and die after failing to receive timely help. My fiance, who was also the vice principal, forged evidence on her behalf and pinned all the blame on me. I was fired and reported by the child's parents. Due to insufficient evidence, I was acquitted. But the child's devastated parents broke into my home with a kitchen knife and hacked me to death, severing me in multiple places. My fiance chose to cover it up for them. He disposed of my body and even comforted the parents. "A life for a life. Let this be my atonement." When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the very day the teacher gave the child the wrong medicine.

I never in my wildest imagination thought that my life would one day take such a huge turn: signing a marriage contract with Jonathan Wells, the coldest billionaire in Wells Enterprise, so my sister could stay alive. It was supposed to be cut and dry: I’d be his wife on paper, and in return, he would take care of my sister’s medical bill and promise our future. No attachments. No strings. Business only. But life rarely adheres to a simple script, does it? Pulled into his ruthless world, secrets of my past start to resurface, putting everything in jeopardy. I, Chloe Jackson, was the illegitimate daughter of his biggest competitor-a man I had been running from my whole life. Now my estranged father wants me back under his control, just when I’m starting to see that maybe Jonathan isn’t as heartless as he seems. Torn between the board’s merciless scrutiny, Jonathan’s mistrust, and a corporate war driven by my father, I’m adrift in a maelstrom of power, betrayal, and something even more dangerous—love. I wasn’t supposed to fall for him. I wasn’t supposed to care. But in the end, it might not be the contract that keeps our worlds apart-but rather the very thing that could mend my heart. Because Jonathan Wells isn’t just a billionaire. He’s the only man who can break me-or save me.