LightReader

contractmarriage

THE WORK OF DESTINY

Esther Besson is a brilliant, kind-hearted, and determined young woman, raised within a powerful yet deeply united family. The only daughter of Alex Besson, an influential businessman, and Asaël, a strong and loving woman, Esther has always grown up surrounded by love, strong values, and high expectations. Trained from a very young age to one day take over the family business, she moves through life with calmness, intelligence, and remarkable maturity. When her parents entrust her with leading a strategic meeting abroad, Esther has no idea that this journey will turn her entire life upside down. What was meant to be a simple business merger becomes a political and emotional trap: the family company must unite with that of the Arrisons, led by Jon Arrison, her father’s longtime best friend. But the real shock comes from Tony Arrison. Cold, distant, arrogant, and mysterious, Tony is the heir to the Arrison empire. Forced by his father to marry Esther in order to ensure the continuity and stability of the company, he accepts an arranged marriage he never chose. Esther, on her side, discovers that this engagement is the only way to protect her family and her future, after being betrayed by Malik, the man she thought she loved—manipulated by his father’s hatred and thirst for revenge. Trapped in an agreement that goes far beyond them, Esther and Tony find themselves bound by an imposed alliance filled with silence, tension, and confrontation. He shields himself behind a wall of ice. She responds with dignity, respect, and a quiet strength that gradually disarms every attack. In a world where business dictates feelings, where alliances are sealed through marriage, and where past grudges threaten the future, Esther must learn to make a choice: submit to her destiny or transform it. What if this forced marriage, born of constraint and conflict, were to slowly become a place of rebirth, healing… and perhaps an unexpected love?
Luméra_Cinma · 72.2k Views

I became the villainess and married the cold duke

"So naive, Melanie. So stupid." Those were the last words I heard before a bullet ended my life. Betrayed by my best friend and murdered by the man she loved, I thought the darkness of death was final. Instead, I woke up inside a web novel. Not as the beloved heroine. Not even as a lucky side character. I opened my eyes as **Seraphina Helene Valemont**—the spoiled, doomed villainess destined to be brutally executed for treason by her own husband, the notoriously cold and terrifying Duke Draven Everfrost. Armed with complete knowledge of the original plot, my survival strategy was simple: 1. Avoid making fatal mistakes. 2. Avoid the high-society enemies. 3. Above all else, **AVOID THE DUKE.** Except, the story refuses to follow the script. The monstrous Duke who was supposed to despise me is suddenly dragging me out of blood wars, tossing me swords to fight my own battles, and lazily controlling my limbs with dark magic just to mock my executioners. The events I memorized by heart are fracturing. Deeply buried political secrets are clawing their way to the surface, and the future I relied on changes with every passing sunrise. As deadly conspiracies threaten the empire and old legends refuse to stay buried, I am caught between a fate I desperately need to escape… and a demon masquerading as a man whom I was never supposed to trust. But the deeper I dig into the dark history of the North, the more terrifying one question becomes: *What if the most dangerous thing in this story was never the villainess?* Because some monsters are not born. Some monsters choose to chain themselves. And some names should have remained forgotten. **[MISSION UPDATE: SURVIVE.]** **[WARNING: ORIGINAL STORYLINE HAS DEVIATED.]** **[WARNING: UNKNOWN ENTITY DETECTED.]** **[CURRENT RISK LEVEL: CRITICAL.]** --- **~Author's Note:~** *First time writing a long, serialized story! Thank you so much for your patience, support, and love while I learn, improve, and build this world!* **THE READER'S PACT ** * **35 FREE CHAPTERS.** 0 excuses. Jump straight into the chaos! * **Kindly add this book to your Library** and Draven will personally protect you from Stephen's schemes. * Refuse... and Malaki wins. The choice is yours. ** THE VOTE REWARDS ** * **Power Stones** = Extra bonus chapters unlocked! * **Golden Tickets** = Mass chapter drops to satisfy your binge-reading! This is my official **WSA 2026** entry. Vote for the Everfrosts today... or watch Stephen try his luck again. **[Daily Chapter Releases — Never Miss a Beat]** **Connect with the Lore:** Instagram: **@merah_writes** TikTok: **@merah_writes**
Me_rah · 92.7k Views