renee carlino before we were strangers

Colette appears to be a quiet, obedient woman. But secretly,she's Leader of the Night Phoenix, a martial arts master who punishes the wicked. When her ailing grandfather arranges a marriage before his death, she reluctantly agrees to ease his final wish. But her new husband, Marc Newton, turns out to be a cruel scoundrel. On their wedding night, he parties with his reckless friends. When Colette confronts them, they humiliate her and capture her loyal bodyguard Martin, who sacrifices himself to protect her. Enraged yet disciplined, Colette hunts them down one by one—bringing them to justice without crossing the law.

The night before his wedding, while decorating the venue, Scott Brawley receives a fire alarm call from their new house. Rushing over, he discovers his fiancee Alison Ritchie in bed with her stepbrother. Alison shamelessly claims it's just "sibling affection" that won't affect tomorrow's wedding. Reflecting on the past,Scott realizes how many times Alison has hurt him for her stepbrother's sake. He always thought marriage would fix things, but seeing the ambiguous kiss marks on Alison's body,Scott finally wakes up. He agrees to his grandfather's arrangement. Tomorrow, he'll marry the arranged bride instead.

When Evelyn was five, her mother died tragically, leaving her alone in a distant village. Many years passed, and now she finds herself back in the city, poised to marry Athoria's wealthiest man, Graham Britton, as a replacement for another. While Graham is rumored to have a cold-blooded nature and fiery temper, Evelyn is taken aback by the handsome figure he cuts as she stands before him. When Graham assumes Evelyn is playing hard to get, she swiftly proves him wrong, and when he belittles her as just a village girl, she reveals herself as a skilled practitioner of medicine, design, piano, and technology. It's only then that Graham realizes he's married a true gem.

After her father's betrayal destroys her family, Jeri Snider abandons her fortune and disappears, only to be saved by struggling entrepreneur Clayton Lynn. She helps him build his empire in secret, but once he rises to power, he turns on her, even cheating with her relative, July. When July exposes Jeri and sets her up to be assaulted, mysterious tycoon Craig Lawson intervenes. But why does he care? Jeri once left him without explanation, and now his sudden return feels… calculated. Is love the real motive? Or is this marriage just another trap? Jeri must outsmart them all—before she loses everything for good.

The little girl, Molly Foster, carried a small basket full of herbs to brew medicine for her mother. But her grandfather scolded her for wandering around outside, asking her not to cause trouble for her father, who was in the army. At that moment, Molly's mother started coughing up blood. Molly asked her grandfather to get a doctor, but he rejected and scolded her again before leaving. As her mother was dying, Molly found the note her father left her 3 years ago and decided to take her mother to the army camp to find him for treatment. They arrived at the camp gate, and Molly believed that she would finally find him to cure her mother.

When Yasmin Conrad was just a kid, she watched her mom get torn apart by vicious dogs because she swept some cherry blossoms wrong. The person who ordered it was Elsie Hudson, who was about to become the Queen.Elsie wasn't satisfied with just one murder; she wanted Yasmin dead too. Right before the wolves could get her, some mystery person saved her and made a deal: learn how to seduce powerful men, get into the palace, and take down the woman who ruined everything. Now Yasmin's ready to use every trick in the book to destroy Elsie, because some things can only be settled with blood.

When Lily and her doctor meet in private to discuss a the results of a cancer screening, her husband Mason accidentally overhears. Believing that Lily has cancer, he divorces her, kicks her out of their house, and shacks up with her best friend—all so he can cut her loose before she can drag him down. Just as Lily is left with nothing, she meets Adam: a billionaire CEO who needs a fake relationship to appease his nagging grandfather. Lily and Adam move in together, even as Mason mocks Lily for being on death's door. But what Mason doesn't know is that Lily isn't the one with late-stage cancer—he is!

Emily Davis has never been in a relationship before. But for a chance to win $210,000, she teams up with her best friend of 24 years, Alex Carter, and pretends to be his ""friends with benefits"" on a steamy reality dating show. She thought she just had to fake it for the cameras. But from the very first night, Emily finds herself having to kiss—and even sleep in the same bed with—other male contestants like Noah Parker and Nathan Harris. For someone who's never been with a man before, this wild, provocative experiment is a whole new world. Can Emily keep her secret and make it to the end for the grand prize, or will her true self be exposed under all the heat?

When Yasmin Conrad was just a kid, she watched her mom get torn apart by vicious dogs because she swept some cherry blossoms wrong. The person who ordered it was Elsie Hudson, who was about to become the Queen.Elsie wasn't satisfied with just one murder; she wanted Yasmin dead too. Right before the wolves could get her, some mystery person saved her and made a deal: learn how to seduce powerful men, get into the palace, and take down the woman who ruined everything. Now Yasmin's ready to use every trick in the book to destroy Elsie, because some things can only be settled with blood.

Emily Davis has never been in a relationship before. But for a chance to win $210,000, she teams up with her best friend of 24 years, Alex Carter, and pretends to be his ""friends with benefits"" on a steamy reality dating show. She thought she just had to fake it for the cameras. But from the very first night, Emily finds herself having to kiss—and even sleep in the same bed with—other male contestants like Noah Parker and Nathan Harris. For someone who's never been with a man before, this wild, provocative experiment is a whole new world. Can Emily keep her secret and make it to the end for the grand prize, or will her true self be exposed under all the heat?

Modern elite assassin Morgan Calud dies and transmigrates into a woman with the same name. After Morgan's father died in battle, her mother disguised her as a boy from birth so they could maintain their position in the Calud family. As Morgan grows up, she yearns to reclaim her female identity but fears that discovery would mean death for both her and her mother. Planning to escape with her mother before her secret is exposed, Morgan is unexpectedly noticed by Shane Burke—the Aetheria Dynasty's only duke with a different surname, a man of overwhelming power and ruthless temperament. He brings her back to his estate, and from then on, she must outwit him daily just to survive.

When Netherworld descends upon reality, all humanity awakens professions based on their talents. Advancing through professional ranks requires massive amounts of Netherworld currency, nether credit. Colin Sanders, who died in the Netherworld in his previous life,returns to the past with his game interface intact, right before the descent begins. He frantically recharges his account with nether credit, filling his Netherworld bank account to unlimited capacity. When Netherworld finally arrives, Colin uses his infinite wealth to forge three divine artifacts, upgrading his D-rank blacksmith profession to a divine blacksmith,then advances twice more to become the God of Creation, ultimately defeating Netherworld’s final boss.

Jana was the ultimate admirer of the school heartthrob Zell for three long years. She brought him breakfast, bought him medicine,and was on call 24/7, 365 days a year. On New Year's Eve, after her 1,081st confession was publicly humiliated, she declared "game over" and walked away. It turned out that she was actually the heir to the Carter Group. Three years ago, to win a bet with her childhood friend Zed, Jana had pretended to be a poor girl to pursue Zell. Three years later, with the bet concluded, Jana reclaimed her identity and left Zell. When Zell learned the truth, he was filled with regret. He teamed up with the malicious Wendy to seek revenge at Jana and Zed's wedding, but their plan backfired and they were utterly defeated!

Sophia, the sole heiress of Porthaven's powerful Jason family, spent five years honoring her promise. Five years ago, to save Justin, the man she loved, she struck a deal with Director Cloud.While he worked to develop the cure, she took responsibility for caring for his grandson, Warren, and Warren's young son, Joey, and supporting the declining Cloud Group.Under her protection, the father, the child, and the company all thrived. Yet Sophia's sacrifices were erased. She was treated as nothing more than a nanny. When Warren's ex-wife Quinn returned, they hurt Sophia time and again. When the five-year promise ends, Sophia walks away without hesitation, taking back everything she gave. As Warren loses it all, the truth finally comes to light.

While delivering food, Miles accidentally walked into a conflict between Clare and her uncle, Baron. Baron coveted Clare's family's goods and intended to seize them. Miles not only ruined his scheme but also selflessly shielded Clare, taking a fatal bullet for her. As a result, Clare developed feelings for Miles, believing he was meant for her. However, Miles was already engaged to Winnie. Winnie and her family were greedy, constantly demanding money in the days leading up to the wedding. Miles' mother, Martha, invested everything she had for her son's marriage but still couldn't satisfy their insatiable greed. After learning that Miles was being tormented by Winnie's family, Clare intervened without hesitation. Using her strength to intimidate everyone, she successfully took Miles away, and they held their wedding.

Sophia, the sole heiress of Porthaven's powerful Jason family, spent five years honoring her promise. Five years ago, to save Justin, the man she loved, she struck a deal with Director Cloud. While he worked to develop the cure, she took responsibility for caring for his grandson, Warren, and Warren's young son, Joey, and supporting the declining Cloud Group.Under her protection, the father, the child, and the company all thrived. Yet Sophia's sacrifices were erased. She was treated as nothing more than a nanny. When Warren's ex-wife Quinn returned, they hurt Sophia time and again. When the five-year promise ends, Sophia walks away without hesitation, taking back everything she gave. As Warren loses it all, the truth finally comes to light.

I go into business with my childhood friend, Ian Ziegler. The business is a success, earning 1.2 million dollars in profit. Ian gives me my share—a whopping 5,000 dollars. Noticing my dissatisfaction, Ian puts his arm around my girlfriend, Nina Foster, and tosses the keys to his Bentley onto the table. "What, is five grand too little for you? Fine. Since you're so broke, I'll give you a chance to turn things around for yourself. There's going to be a soccer game tonight. We're both going to place our bets. If you win, you can get all 1.2 million, plus my car. "But if you lose, your girlfriend's mine. You'll also have to get on your knees and lick my shoes right here in front of everyone." Everyone else in the room cackles gleefully, eager to watch me humiliate myself. Smirking, I nod. "Sure. I'll take that bet." These people have no idea that five years ago, I'd single-handedly taken down the Northwest Aravian illegal soccer betting circuit. I'd set a trap for a match-fixing syndicate, beating the crooks at their own game. I'd walked away from that life after that. But now, Ian has seriously decided to challenge me to a soccer bet?

My parents once treated me like a princess, buying me a lavish home, braving the rain to get me cake, and filling albums with my smiles before I turned five.After my sister was born, I lowered the air conditioner by just one degree to keep her cool, only for my mother to slap me and lock me in the refrigerator, saying, "Stay in there until you've learned your lesson." They forgot to unlock the lock, but at five years old, I couldn't escape, just as I couldn't escape being forgotten. It was our neighbor who broke down the door to save me. My parents thought I had died, and when they saw me return, they broke down in tears, begging for forgiveness.