i know a secret tess gerritsen

Attending the ten-year high school reunion for the cheerleading squad and football team, I arrived in an old domestic Ford, while the parking lot was filled with Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Maybachs, and even a gold Bugatti. It was as if I were the only relic from another era. The moment I stepped out of my car, a former classmate, whose name I could no longer remember, looked at me with a sneer. “Well, if it isn’t the coach’s pet. How is it that after all these years, you’re still driving this beat-up old Ford?” “This thing looks like it belongs in a scrapyard from the last century!” During dinner, everyone gathered around the Bugatti owner, raising their glasses in celebration, while I was left ignored at the side. Only the cheerleading assistant sat next to me, raising a glass in my direction with a comforting smile. “Don’t let it get to you. Your car may be old, but I believe you’ll be driving a luxury car one day.” I let a small smirk curl at the corner of my lips and lowered my voice. “This car may look unimpressive, but it’s been fully upgraded with a carbon fiber body. It’s already worth over half a million dollars. Too bad, none of you even recognized its true value.”

The youngest female investor on Finance District refuses an arranged marriage with the Golden family. After a drunken night and being drugged, she's saved by her secret admirer and actual fiance, Keir Golden. He pretends to be a poor sugar baby, letting Clara "keep" him. A year later, when family business troubles force Clara to accept the arranged marriage, she tries to break it off with Keir, only to discover her sugar baby is actually her powerful fiance who saves her from the scheming McDowell family.

Xavi, the estranged son of Atheron's wealthiest magnate, leads a double life as a janitor and fortune teller, all while harboring the secret of being the War God. Five years after a chance encounter with the renowned actress Wilma, she reveals that her mute daughter, Xamira, is his child, prompting Xavi to embrace his responsibilities as a father. When Wilma is coerced into marrying a dying patriarch and Xamira endures mistreatment, Xavi intervenes to save them both.

Xavi, the estranged son of Atheron's wealthiest magnate, leads a double life as a janitor and fortune teller, all while harboring the secret of being the War God. Five years after a chance encounter with the renowned actress Wilma, she reveals that her mute daughter, Xamira, is his child, prompting Xavi to embrace his responsibilities as a father. When Wilma is coerced into marrying a dying patriarch and Xamira endures mistreatment, Xavi intervenes to save them both.

After Jane Michael married the rich scum Kirk Jones, she suffered endless abuse from him and his family. One day, her sister Judy stabbed her to death. When she was at her last breath, Judy coldly said, "It's all your fault I'm this miserable." When Jane woke up, she was sent back three years, to the day her family held the husband selection for her and her sister. She realized fate had given her a second chance. At life's crossroads once more, just as Jane was ready to avoid Kirk, her sister snatched him, securing the marriage. But Jane made a choice no one expected. She pointed to a young man in servant's clothes, and said, "I have decided to marry this man."

Kiara hung up her military uniform to get married, dedicating herself to her husband's company with unwavering loyalty—only to be met with his dismissive remark: "Kiara,Yuna is an independent airline captain. You? Just a useless secretary fetching tea and coffee."His friends sneered at her, mocking her worth. Little did they know that she was once the Queen of Special Forces, a fighter pilot who dominated the skies, fluent in five languages, and a top-ranked science prodigy. Even elite hackers bowed to her prowess.Heartbroken and disillusioned, she filed for divorce without hesitation. Clutching her parents' ashes, she headed to the airport!

The mysterious secret agent Peter Rogers was awarded the National Medal of Honor by the President and had retired from the military. While dining out with his daughter Leslie, Peter is mistaken for a blind date by the beautiful CEO Sydney Greenfield, and the two unexpectedly get married. When his classmate and ex-girlfriend, who were unaware of Peter's true identity, encountered him again, they subjected him to various insults and ridicule. Upon hearing about this, Sydney publicly revealed that Peter was her husband, putting everyone to shame.

Kiara hung up her military uniform to get married, dedicating herself to her husband's company with unwavering loyalty—only to be met with his dismissive remark: "Kiara,Yuna is an independent airline captain. You? Just a useless secretary fetching tea and coffee."His friends sneered at her, mocking her worth. Little did they know that she was once the Queen of Special Forces, a fighter pilot who dominated the skies, fluent in five languages, and a top-ranked science prodigy. Even elite hackers bowed to her prowess.Heartbroken and disillusioned, she filed for divorce without hesitation. Clutching her parents' ashes, she headed to the airport!

I grew up abroad. My mother feared I might marry a foreign man, so she arranged an engagement for me with a talented and handsome man in Flodon. She insisted that I return home to get engaged. I came back and started shopping for an engagement dress at a luxury boutique. I selected an off-white strapless gown and decided to try it on. Suddenly, a woman nearby glanced at the dress in my hand and told the saleswoman, “That’s a unique design. Let me try it.” The saleswoman immediately yanked it out of my hands. I protested indignantly, “Excuse me, I was here first. Don’t you understand the principle of ‘first come, first served’? Or do you just not care about common decency?” The woman scoffed and retorted, “This dress costs $188,000. Do you really think a broke nobody like you can even afford it? “I’m Lucas Goodwin’s sister in all but blood. He’s the chairman of Goodwin’s Group. In Flodon, the Goodwin family sets the rules.” What a coincidence! Lucas Goodwin was my fiance! I immediately called him and said, “Hey, your ‘sister in all but blood’ just stole my engagement dress. Do something about it.”

I grew up abroad. My mother feared I might marry a foreign man, so she arranged an engagement for me with a talented and handsome man in Flodon. She insisted that I return home to get engaged. I came back and started shopping for an engagement dress at a luxury boutique. I selected an off-white strapless gown and decided to try it on. Suddenly, a woman nearby glanced at the dress in my hand and told the saleswoman, “That’s a unique design. Let me try it.” The saleswoman immediately yanked it out of my hands. I protested indignantly, “Excuse me, I was here first. Don’t you understand the principle of ‘first come, first served’? Or do you just not care about common decency?” The woman scoffed and retorted, “This dress costs $188,000. Do you really think a broke nobody like you can even afford it? “I’m Lucas Goodwin’s sister in all but blood. He’s the chairman of Goodwin’s Group. In Flodon, the Goodwin family sets the rules.” What a coincidence! Lucas Goodwin was my fiance! I immediately called him and said, “Hey, your ‘sister in all but blood’ just stole my engagement dress. Do something about it.”

I grew up abroad. My mother feared I might marry a foreign man, so she arranged an engagement for me with a talented and handsome man in Flodon. She insisted that I return home to get engaged. I came back and started shopping for an engagement dress at a luxury boutique. I selected an off-white strapless gown and decided to try it on. Suddenly, a woman nearby glanced at the dress in my hand and told the saleswoman, “That’s a unique design. Let me try it.” The saleswoman immediately yanked it out of my hands. I protested indignantly, “Excuse me, I was here first. Don’t you understand the principle of ‘first come, first served’? Or do you just not care about common decency?” The woman scoffed and retorted, “This dress costs $188,000. Do you really think a broke nobody like you can even afford it? “I’m Lucas Goodwin’s sister in all but blood. He’s the chairman of Goodwin’s Group. In Flodon, the Goodwin family sets the rules.” What a coincidence! Lucas Goodwin was my fiance! I immediately called him and said, “Hey, your ‘sister in all but blood’ just stole my engagement dress. Do something about it.”

Mike Bert, disciple of the Arcane Exorcist Order, was dispatched down the mountain by his master's order to search for the lost sect-suppressing artifact, the Exorcist's Seal. Penniless, he set up a street stall for fortune-telling, where he inadvertently saved Tess Baker, a female CEO possessing a pure dark physique, thus becoming entangled in urban conflicts. Facing Eden Pater, the wealthy young CEO coveting the Baker Group, and the Dark Warlock, an evil exorcist also seeking the Exorcist's Seal, Mike used Arcane Arts to break evil curses and Truth Spell to expose the truth. Joining forces with Renee Palmer of the Supernatural Investigations Agency and Lucy Pope, an exorcism-obsessed fangirl, he gradually pushed back against the evil forces. During his journey to protect the beauty and hunt for the treasure, he discovered that clues pointed toward the south, while the ultimate boss, Lester Watt, was secretly laying out his scheme. The true crisis had only just begun.

Once a high-ranking and influential figure, Max Brown, also known as the Knight of Peace of Durkh, had fallen into the depths of despair after losing his memory. With no choice but to rebuild his life from scratch, he toils tirelessly as a laborer on the rugged terrain of a construction site, enduring a torrent of injustices along the way. However, Lydia Hale, his once-promised fiancée, remains true to her word. Despite their disparate backgrounds and familial opposition, the two overcome various obstacles and hardships, eventually growing to know and love each other. Together, they embark on a new journey in life.

In the fog-choked steam city of Verlock, Chloe Ashborne survives a brutal family massacre and hides herself as a disfigured, mute maid sneaking into the obsidian Clock Tower Manor—the stronghold of the cold and powerful Duke Liam. Covered in wax scars and pretending to be timid and clumsy, she hides her true identity as the last heir of the Ashborne mechanical clan, a master toxic healer, top gear decoder, and deadly combat fighter. Her only goal is to retrieve the sealed case files that record the truth of her family's murder from the manor's confidential machine room. As she lurks in the shadows, she repeatedly arouses Liam's suspicion and curiosity. She narrowly escapes frame-up and fatal traps set by the jealous captain of the female guards, saves Liam from fatal steam poison and assassin attacks, and secretly controls the manor's defense gear system in crisis. While the line between hatred and attraction blurs, Chloe's layered disguises are gradually stripped away one by one. When she finally breaks into the secret chamber to obtain the files, she falls into a carefully laid trap, and her true face and identity are completely exposed to Liam. The two fall into misunderstanding and confrontation, until the real murderer behind the massacre launches a full-scale attack on Clock Tower. Standing amid fire, gunsmoke and collapsing steam machinery, Chloe and Liam lay down their hatred, fight side by side to defeat the evil guild, uncover the buried truth, and turn a revenge disguise into a fated love bonded by gears, steam and redemption.

My adopted sister won the Elixir Challenge by stealing my potion. To her shock, she was informed that the event was a selection event for the future wife of the Serpentkins' future head—the same heir who was infamously impotent, barbaric, and hideous. When the Serpentkins sent over a proposal letter, demanding her hand in marriage, my fiance panicked and promptly took my adopted sister away for a quick marriage and even consummated. Once the deed was done, she returned triumphantly, showing off the mark on her lower back. "Well, what are you going to do now, Winnie?" she gloated. "Your fiance is mine now, and you'll be twenty-five in three days. If no one comes to pick you up, you'll just be dumped into the hands of some wife-beating Rogue who is ageing and unwanted…" Actually, she was wrong—I had a choice. I went to the parlor where my parents—who were busy fixing the mess my adopted sister made—were, announcing, "If she refuses to marry the future head of the Serpentkins, I will!"

My adopted sister won the Elixir Challenge by stealing my potion. To her shock, she was informed that the event was a selection event for the future wife of the Serpentkins' future head—the same heir who was infamously impotent, barbaric, and hideous. When the Serpentkins sent over a proposal letter, demanding her hand in marriage, my fiance panicked and promptly took my adopted sister away for a quick marriage and even consummated. Once the deed was done, she returned triumphantly, showing off the mark on her lower back. "Well, what are you going to do now, Winnie?" she gloated. "Your fiance is mine now, and you'll be twenty-five in three days. If no one comes to pick you up, you'll just be dumped into the hands of some wife-beating Rogue who is ageing and unwanted…" Actually, she was wrong—I had a choice. I went to the parlor where my parents—who were busy fixing the mess my adopted sister made—were, announcing, "If she refuses to marry the future head of the Serpentkins, I will!"

"Once the undisputed king of the Northlands underworld, Leon Hart has long retired and now lives as a pork seller. When street thugs try to extort him, his former subordinate Damon steps in. Leon reveals his reason for walking away—to keep his son, Felix, far from violence.That peace ends with a sudden phone call. Three hours earlier, Felix and his childhood friend Lillian are harassed at a bathhouse by Casper, the spoiled son of Damon. To Felix's shock, Casper's girlfriend is his own fiancée, Tamara, who openly abandons and humiliates him. For amusement, Casper locks Felix and Lillian inside a high-temperature sauna, intending to kill them. Leon arrives in time, defeats Casper's men, and breaks them out. Desperate, Casper pulls an illegal gun and forces a game of Russian roulette.As the trigger is about to be pulled, Damon bursts in with armed men, shouting at his son to stand down. In the grip of the gun's silence, the storm long buried beneath the surface finally erupts."

Willa Stone, heiress of the prestigious Stone family,is bathing when she is told that they've found the boy she once helped—now a beggar. She rushes out without a second thought. On the street, thugs smash Travis Langley's bowl. His eyes darken as he prepares to strike. Just then, Willa appears and proposes to him in front of stunned onlookers.