Romance

One accident led to An Xin waking up in the body of her best friend. The once domineering Miss An was now suddenly the gentle Madam Ye, but this does not mean that she is without thorns. The first thing to solve, is this cold and unapproachable husband of hers that makes her pity her best friend. At the same time, perhaps squeeze a pretty penny off some hustle, and save up so she can travel. Perhaps she will find a few hunks on the way and her newfound life would not be boring at all. But wait, why is the once unapproachable husband suddenly so clingy? Good sir, I am not your wife, and marrying me is impossible. Unless...you promise to spoil me for the rest of my life, love me like nothing else, and to and over all your wealth and influence, and to be content coming home to do the chores and cook for me everyday. Perhaps then, I would sit on the couch and cheer you on! 

"Carroll Brown is dead! But you have to marry him in your sister's name." My mother said to me in a cold tone. My sister was engaged to the hottest billionaire. It should have been a perfect marriage. Unexpectedly, Carroll was dead in an accident. My sister didn't want to become a widow, so she forced me to marry her dead fiance. And I had no right to refuse her.Actually, I was the biological daughter of the Smith family. My sister was an adoptive one. My sister and I had been swapped at the hospital when we were just born. My parents had already had a deep relationship with her. So they chose to sacrifice me. On the wedding day, I was taken to the mourning hall."Ma'am, please keep Master company and let him feel warm." The housekeeper said with a cold expression. I couldn't help but look up at the portrait above the coffin, and my heart skipped a beat at this glance. The man in the portrait was more handsome than the superstars in Hollywood.Carroll Brown? My dead husband? Wow, he was really handsome!I didn't know how long had passed when my stomach began to rebel. After one glance at the coffin, I swallowed my saliva and then begged with my fingers crossed. "Mr. Carroll, I'm starving! May I eat your pastries? You don't mind, do you?" "I do.""Ah!" Scared, I broke out in a cold sweat. My legs went limp, and I fell to the ground. I shouted, "Ghost!"Carroll curled his lips, leaned over, and touched the black coffin. "Mr. Carroll has risen from the dead. What do you think of this headline tomorrow?" 
Cicely had loved Field from the bottom of her heart for 12 years and always wanted to be the one he loved.However, instead of his love, she received the news of melanoma metastasis.Until she died, she finally understood that he did not love her."Field, stay with me for three months. I'll give you what you want in three months.""No way! In that case, let's get a divorce!""In your dreams!"Three months later, when he met her again, she was on the verge of death."Cicely, I misunderstood you. Can I use the rest of my life to atone for my sins?""It's too late, Field. In this life, you're no longer qualified to love me."A few years later.When she saw him again, he pressed her against the corridor and kissed her forcefully."Mr. Keith, that's enough. I gave my heart to you back then, but you didn't want it. Now you're shameless enough to pursue me?""As long as we can remarry, what does face matter?" Field asked. 
Janet Longfellow finally understood that a loveless marriage couldn't last for long, so she asked for a divorce and left resolutely.Everyone was waiting to have a good laugh at her, and Nathaniel Webster was no exception. He believed Janet would come back to pray for his forgiveness sooner or later.However, he was slapped on the face every day after they got divorced.The heir of Longfellow Group?The mysterious genius of hacking?And she was even the well-known designer he wanted to work with!A popular best actor, a young racing driver, and an excellent rich single lined up to confess Janet. Nathaniel finally couldn't sit still. He knocked on Janet's door and confessed affectionately, "Honey, please forgive me. I love you, let's remarry."Janet responded, "Thank you, but I'm not interested. A loveless marriage can't last long!"The tables had turned. 
A DARK, EROTIC BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE.
"Ah, oh my God, it's coming again..." I moaned, my head thrown back, my vision blurring.
My mouth was open, and I mumbled incoherently, my legs spread wide, facing my boss, Ethan Blackwood.
"Using your virginity to seduce me? In exchange for the power I hold, is that it?"
"You succeeded."
He thrust even more violently into the depths of my soul.
In the shudder of orgasm, he rolled me over, making me lie on my back.
I gasped, feeling him penetrate me more deeply than ever before.
———
"That night, I caught my fiancé sleeping with my sister. From that moment on, I stopped being a good girl."
For seventeen years, Leah Harnes had been blindly loyal to her fiancé, until one day, she caught him in bed with her sister.
Heartbroken.
Desperate to forget as she watched her beliefs crumbled.
So she did something unbelievable: She spent the night with a handsome stranger.
However, her entire world came crumbling down when she discovered that the man was her ruthless, powerful boss.
Ethan offered her a cruel contract: her body in exchange for his power.
However, a man like Ethan would never be gentle.
No romance, no caresses.
He only knew control, pleasure, and pain.
She vowed to hate him.
He vowed to possess her.
Caught between a treacherous stepmother, a vengeful ex-boyfriend, and Ethan's dark obsession, Leah was caught in a vortex of lies, desire, and revenge.
A man like Ethan, who despised being touched, but now, he craves the touch of only one woman—Leah.
And he would never let go of the only woman he truly desired.
Not in this life, not in the next.
~* One Night Of Revenge Turned Into A Lifetime Of Obsession *~ 



“Do you want to play a game with me?” Ash asked, leaning forward as he caressed my chin.
I raised an eyebrow. “A game?”
“A love game…” He placed his lips on my ear, slightly licking my earlobe. “Whoever falls in love first, loses. If you’re really confident that you won’t fall for someone like me, then play the game with me.” Ash bit my ear, and a pool of hits struck my body. “What can you say, Miss good girl? Are you in?”
****
Sapphire only wanted peace. She did her best to become a wallflower so no one would notice her. She avoided everyone, especially Ash Cassius Coleman, the son of the owner of the University where she was studying.
She hated Ash, his guts, his frequent make-outs with different girls…And that hatred caught Ash’s interest. Suddenly, the rebel billionaire came into her life, wanting her to fall in love with him. But does Ash really like her? No. He was just challenged and curious as to why his charms didn’t seem to affect Sapphire at all.
And that was the reason why he decided to ask her to play a game.
A love game. 
On their engagement day, her fiancé cheated with her sister, and pushed her down the stairs even though she was pregnant!Five years later, Charmine Jiang made an impactful return, rooted with a deep hatred for scumbags. She was cold-hearted, ready to fight for the family money, eyed to become a supermodel. She was ready to stun the world.Although she was determined to make her own money for revenge, hordes of men still insisted on helping her, spoiling her.“Who offended my lady? Get the gears ready!”“AK999 ready, I’ve got the scumbags! Dad, Mom, please bring me a little sister!” 

Bonnie Shepard, a country girl, is the talk of the town. Rumors say she's a loser who loves fighting and fooling around.Her fiancé dumps her, and the esteemed Knight family distances themselves, causing the Shepards no small embarrassment. But when the world uncovers her true identity as the nation's leading researcher, everyone is awed.To their surprise, she's not only a math genius, but also a chess prodigy, a medical guru, and a kickboxing expert, outshining even the wealthiest tycoon on the Forbes list.Prominent figures and affluent heirs vie openly for her affection."Bonnie, will you marry me? I'm fit, and I’m the most romantic and considerate partner you'll ever find. Hell, I'll even handle all the household chores!""Bonnie, choose me, please? My family owns a mine, and you can buy anything you want!" Ivor Knight, the CEO who once spurned her, regrets it so much that he can only say, "Fuck off, okay? She's mine!" 



DARK ROMANCE "Sir, I am in a dire need of loan. Its very important, my friends life is at stake. I assure you I'll try my best to return the loan asap." She breathlessly said it all. Her eyes were filled with hope and expectations. He was her last hope.
"Miss Sheharzaad," Shehryaar said, while standing up from his chair causing her to instantly stand up.
"Yes sir" she replied, her voice troublesome yet confident.
He walked towards the other side of the table and sat on the chair parallel to her.
"Keep sitting, please." He said, like a gentleman and she sat down. She tightly held her hands together. A life could be saved by his single yes.
"Sir please," she pleaded.
"I agree. You can have the loan, but I have a condition."
"I agree to your every condition sir" she replied with a little smile of victory on her face.
"Think before you speak, Miss Sheharzaad."
"I trust you."
"I want a one night stand with you." He dropped the bomb.
............
"Every women is nothing but a , a and you're also one of them." He said making her wriggling double against the ropes, which tied her.
"You're wrong." She replied with a sheer determination in her eyes.
He harshly gripped held her chin and bobbed her head up towards him.
"Oh, I'll prove it to you then." He spoke with an immense intensity and a promise in his eyes.
"You'll now serve me as my personal escort, Sheharzaad." He declared and threaded his fingers into her silky locks, pasting his lips on hers, her brutally.
He didn't trust womankind and she was a strong woman.
He wanted shatter and break her into pieces so he could satisfy himself. 
Mitchelle Payne returned from her pregnancy as a surrogate, to hear that her father had passed away. As a result of this, her stepmother and stepsister connived to chase her out of her father's house.Three years later, in a bid to collect back her father's house which was going to be demolished, she had to play to the cards of Patrick, a wealthy business man, and the very man that she got pregnant for three years ago. ''Are you trying to seduce me?'' The arrogant man asked her on one occasion where she was trying to get him to pay attention to her.''I didn't mean to,'' Mitchelle replied. They came to an agreement which got deeper and they eventually agreed to get married, but Patrick was always so jealous and on the edge about her. ''Mommy, give me a little brother to play with,'' Venice cooed as she held on to Mitchelle's leg.And so, after their wedding, every now and then, Patrick was always exhausting Mitchelle in bed. 

At night, it was already midnight when Asher came home from dinner.He knew that Nora would come to The Howe family today. His grandpa Howard had asked Asher to meet Nora, but he refused on the grounds of work. He was not interested in this fiancee at all, and the engagement would be broken sooner or laterAfter returning to the room, Asher took a bath and went to sleep.Probably because he drank a little too much tonight, Asher didn't realize there were other women in the room until he lay down.He was slightly stunned. In the darkness, Asher could not see the woman's face. She turned over and hugged him. The girl murmured, "Good bear, don't make any noise. Just sleep."Asher was frozen.The woman had a very familiar smell, the same as that person...Probably because of the alcohol, Asher didn't move, lying down with Nora and falling asleep. 
Before the divorce, Gloria White was selfish, vicious, and unscrupulous in Jordy Collins' mind! After the divorce, the man, who claimed that only fools would fall in love with her, was broken!"Gloria, I love you. Will you remarry me?""Gloria, I was wrong. Will you forgive me?""Gloria, I'll make it up to you with the rest of my life. Let's remarry!"Gloria snapped, "Will you leave me alone? Stop pestering me like a fly!"Jordy groveled. "Gloria, call me a simp! You're my one and only!"Gloria laughed out loud. Why would she, an elite lawyer, a world-renowned doctor, and a top hacker remarry him and be his pet? "I said no, you wanker, get out of my face!" 
Lily Brooks grew up in the countryside with her grandmother. Her father went missing when she was a child, and her mother remarried. She ends up becoming what others would call a ruffian—she plays hooky, drinks herself silly, and gets into fights.When she turns 19, her mother, Susan Mckay, takes her to her stepfather's home. Susan tells her, "You should be honored that we're allowing you to marry the son of the Laurier family in your sister's place. Remember to make the most of this opportunity."To Susan, Lily is nothing but a worthless piece of shit. She's something that can be sacrificed to reap more benefits.Everyone knows that Loid Laurier, the son of the Laurier family, has changed drastically since becoming critically ill. Not only has his personality changed, but his good looks have also been destroyed. The doctors say he only has two years to live.To everyone's surprise, he is miraculously cured after marrying Lily. Things start to change everywhere. It's not until someone investigates something that happened a few years ago that they accidentally discover Lily's true identity…Everyone's jaws drop at the revelation—Lily is actually someone beyond powerful! 

Amanda Beller, forced by her father, is married to Christopher, a man older than her by ten years, who after many years of marriage begins to be indifferent and no longer sees her as his wife, one day she discovers her husband being unfaithful for the third time, she asks him for a divorce, but he, He tries to win back her love, asking for her forgiveness and acting as if he really loves her, but it is all an evil plan, so that she can sign the divorce without affecting her patrimony, leaving her in ruins and keeping her lover. Amanda discovers his intentions and decides to look for the woman who is dating her husband and proposes that between the two of them they can teach him a good lesson. Lucia, a very ambitious woman, who has been Christopher's lover for more than three years, must choose between helping Amanda with her plan, or continuing her secret love with Christopher. Will Amanda be able to get away with her husband's evil intentions? Will Christopher be able to resist the union of these two women? A story where what should be enemies become the best of allies. 



In their 6-year marriage, Nora never succeeded in making Austin fall in love with her. Upon learning of her stage-IV cancer, she only begged for ten months. "After ten months, I will divorce you. Please, don't hate me." "What game are you playing?" "I'm tired and want to be free." Childhood sweethearts grew old as time passed. Nora loved Austin for 13 years, while Austin gave all his love to someone else. Austin decided to divorce Nora, who was suffering great pain from illness. "Austin, can you wait a little longer?" "Nora, don't love me anymore." In Austin's world, Nora was a restraint, but losing her felt like losing his heart. When all memories surfaced, Austin woke up and realized that the person he loved was always Nora. Nora died during surgery on the operating table, leaving behind their child. "I'm tired; I can't love you anymore. In the next life, let's not meet again. We forgive each other. From now on, we owe each other nothing!" Austin regretted not realizing it sooner and closed off his heart, living each day as if it were the last until one day. "Sir, I am Hannah, not Nora." 

In a hasty decision, Olive Randall impetuously drags the seemingly bankrupt small-time boss, Neil Meyer, to the altar. Their plan was simple: support each other and lead an ordinary life. Little did Olive know, fate had a grander plan in store for them.After tying the knot, Olive's dreams took an unexpected turn. She aimed to buy a modest Yaris but won a luxurious Porsche in a stroke of luck. In her pursuit of a small apartment through a loan, fate intervened once again, granting her a magnificent villa through a serendipitous lottery win.Whenever she faced adversity, Neil effortlessly rescued her from every predicament, unwavering in his support. But it wasn't until the day she was addressed as Mrs. Meyer that Olive discovered the astonishing truth—Neil Meyer, her husband, was the billionaire tycoon behind a colossal consortium.As their worlds collide, Olive is thrust into a world of opulence and power. Secrets unravel, challenges arise, and their relationship is put to the ultimate test. Will Olive embrace her newfound life as the wife of a billionaire, or will she yearn for the simplicity they once sought?This captivating tale explores the intricacies of love, ambition, and the transformative power of unexpected circumstances. 










The spoiled, willful daughter of the Koch family groveled down to her husband, who loved someone else?The first thing Aylin Koch did when she recovered her memory was divorce her husband!Everyone in New York knew that Gavyn Delacruz married a girl from the slums who was nothing but greedy for money, but one day, she divorced him suddenly.They all thought that it was nothing but a show. She was playing hard to get so that she could get more money from him.Gavyn stated that she would go back to him within three days.To everyone's surprise, she came back to and became the young lady of the Koch family, looking down on him.As time went by, her true identities emerged one by one. She was a top hacker, an outstanding doctor, and America's number-one designer. She was all he was looking for.Finally, he found out the truth...When they met again, on the patio out of a business banquet, he trapped her between him and the cold railing, kneeling and putting on shoes for her reverently with red eyes, asking her the one and only question in his mind, "I'm willing to be a substitute. Aylin, can you let me stay by your side?" 
In the Bennet family, Rue had long been jealous of her twin sister, Rachel. She concocted a plan to get Rachel drunk and send her into a stranger's bed at their birthday party, hoping that she would be expelled from the Bennet family with her ruined reputation. However, in the playful hands of fate, Rachel bedded Edward Bluemel, the richest man in the world, and became pregnant. Edward fell head over heels for Rachel, and actively searched for the woman with whom he only had the fortune to meet once. With Rue's manipulation, the couple’s reunion was prevented. Nine months later, Rachel gave birth to a pair of twin boys, which fueled Rue's flames of jealousy once more. In order to take over Rachel’s place as Edward’s wife, Rue took one of the twins and pretended to be her. With that, she managed to marry Edward, though she never had his favor since then. Five years passed, the other twin that was raised by Rachel had grown up to be a cute, kind prodigy. By chance, he entered an upper-class kindergarten where he met his twin brother for the first time… 
A sudden accident leaves Nicole Watson's kidneys fractured and her life in danger. She's desperately in need of a kidney transplant.
In order to look for a suitable kidney, her fiance, Maverick Pitt, uses all of his connections and wealth. He even goes as far as to put up a bounty of one billion dollars just to save Nicole's life.
During that period, the entire upper crust is swarmed with tales of Maverick's unwavering love toward Nicole. Everyone claims that he's an extremely loyal and devoted man, which is very rare to be found nowadays.
Finally, Maverick's efforts finally bear fruit, as he's able to locate a suitable kidney source.
After the transplant, Nicole wakes up from a long coma. The first thing she sees is a marriage certificate featuring the groom, Maverick, and the bride, Chloe Tucker. The thing is, Chloe is also the same woman who has pined for Maverick over the past decade.
"Nicky, I've scoured the entire city for a suitable kidney. Chloe's kidney is the only one that suits yours," Maverick says apologetically. "But she doesn't want money. Her only request is that… I take her hand in marriage. I don't have any other choice…" 
Even the coldest heart would soon grow warm if she kept holding on to it. That was what she believed. That was why she became his unloved placeholder of a wife. Unfortunately, all her devotion only led to a heartless divorce. “She’s awake now,” he told her. “Step down and step away, you miserable knock-off.”Then, he left. When he came back, it was because he needed her to do something only an impostor could do: go to jail for his dream girl’s crime. Deirdre McKinnon was condemned to perdition. She lost her baby before it was born. She lost her face to violence. She lost the ability to see. It was two months of a hell-like nightmare. At last, something died inside her heart. Two years later, she found herself another man, but when Brendan Brighthall met her by pure happenstance, a new feeling was born in his heart: jealousy. There were no means too terrible, no scheme too underhanded—not if it meant he’d possess Deirdre’s heart again. And yet, she simply refused to love him anymore.“What do you want me to do, Deirdre McKinnon?! What must I do to go back to the good old days?” His eyes turned red. “I’ll give you everything I have!”“You gave me a copper trinket two years ago. It was a sorry excuse for a wedding ring, and yet I cared for it as though it was the most precious jewel in the world…“But now? Nothing you can give would be even remotely worthwhile. Not even you.” 




The day I'm exposed as a fake heiress of a wealthy family, the real heiress, Rowena Fairchild, storms into the house and stabs me repeatedly in the abdomen. She robs me of my chance to ever become a mother.
My fiance, Thaddeus Crowley, flies into a rage, and my parents also rush to declare that they'll never acknowledge her.
To appease me, Thaddeus proposes to me almost immediately, and my parents even issue a document officially cutting ties with Rowena. They tell me to just focus on my recovery.
Later, they tell me that Rowena has fled overseas and has been sold to Corovia, a country up north. They say it's karma, and I believe them.
It isn't until six years into my marriage that I see the woman who's supposed to be suffering in Corovia. She's nestled in my now-husband's arms, heavily pregnant.
Sighing, she says, "If I hadn't lost my temper and made that mistake six years ago, it wouldn't have been Marisol who married you.
"It's a good thing you, Mom, and Dad all took my side. Otherwise, I would've been sent to prison by that fraud. I bet that damn imposter never once imagined that I've been living under her nose all these years, or that I'm carrying your child.
"Once I give birth, you can just find an excuse to adopt the baby. Then that fraud can spend the rest of her life as the nanny to my child.
"Thank you for everything you've done these past years, Thaddeus."
Her loving gaze makes Thaddeus' cheeks flush red.
"Don't say that. Marrying her was the only way to keep your reputation intact. As long as you're safe and happy, everything I do is worth it."
As it turns out, the husband I believe to be my true love has been lying to me all along, and my parents have only just been covering for their real daughter, too.
In that case, I don't want any of them anymore. 


Yohan Morris, the CEO of Morris Corporation, is a handsome man. He's already 30, yet he remains unmarried. His grandmother urges him to marry, and he huffily drives to the courthouse to wait for a bride to descend from the heavens.He thinks this is enough for his grandmother to get off his back, but there's a plot twist when a young woman he doesn't know knocks on his window and asks, "Are you waiting for the heavens to give you a wife?"Before he can answer, she smiles and continues, "It just so happens that I'm waiting for the heavens to bring me a husband. I'm willing to marry you, and I have all the necessary identification with me. Should we head inside to get that marriage certificate?"After marriage, he thinks his wife is insane. She constantly talks to the air, yet she can occasionally save people from danger.One day, he can't help asking, "Why do you keep talking to the air?"She says, "I'm not talking to anyone.""What, are you talking to ghosts, then?""Yeah, I am. I can see ghosts, so I might not just see humans on a daily basis. They might be ghosts, too."Yohan is lost for words. 

BLURB
."Ever have that feeling nothing you ever do matters?"
This is Lila Vitale's story, being overshadowed by her elder sister all her life no matter the efforts she puts in.
Finally, she is put in the spotlight when her elder sister, Lily, abandons her husband because he went blind, and she ( Lila) has to be the replacement by pretending to be her.
Lila is not happy about this at first but steps up to the challenge as she is finally seen and relied on by those she cares about.
Lucien, a year later regains his eyesight due to surgery. Lila, hopeful to be set free by the truth, gets disappointed when her sister Lily miraculously appears to take back the place she abandoned and the man Lila had grown to love.
To make matters worse, Lila realizes she was just a pawn being used all along and overhears death plots about her unborn child.
As the betrayal deepens, Lila tries reaching out to Lucien who treats her like a pest, hurting and giving her no choice but to disappear. Not too long after, Lucien figures out the truth and seeks out for her but isn't he too late?
Will Lila ever want to let him back into her life again, especially when she is hell-bent on revenge?
EXCERPT.
"You have to come back, Lila. To me. You and our children". He whispered gently, his blue eyes filled with care towards me, his hands on my cheeks, stroking them softly.
I closed my eyes, rubbing my face against his palm, enjoying the texture. How I had longed so much for this.
"Our children? Remember Mr. Knight. I never married you neither are my bastard children yours". I commented, repeating his exact same words five years ago as the side of my lips curled up in disdain. 
"When you were a child, we made someone a promise for you to marry them, Nessa. Now that you're almost all better, are you willing to return to Jirphia for the wedding? If you're not, I'll discuss this with your father, and we'll call it off."Vanessa Shepherd only hears silence in the dim room. The person on the other end of the line thinks she still can't be convinced when she suddenly says, "I'll do it."Her mother, Diane Norman, is taken aback and evidently surprised. "Y-You will?"Vanessa says calmly, "I will, but I need some time to handle things in Xerton. I'll be back in half a month. You guys can start preparing for the wedding."She says a few more things before hanging up. 
"Will you take me to be your wife, Mr. Lu?""Sure, but I won't love you."These were the words Elizabeth Liang got from James Lu after they slept together and had a crazy night.Set up by her cousin, Elizabeth would've been sent to an old man as a gift, but she misread the room number and had a one night with the hot CEO James. Elizabeth wanted to query her cousin, but she caught her fiance and cousin on the bed. The truth was revealed to all.In desperation, Elizabeth proposed to James to escape from her family. To her surprise, James agreed. They started a titular marriage, but James and Elizabeth gradually fell in love with each other. When she thought they would have a happy ending, she saw James secretly meeting a woman. Finally, she found out why he agreed to marry her... 


After three years of marriage, Cason Baldry's first love returned to the country. Ainsley Easton received the divorce agreement from Cason, who she had loved deeply for three years.At the entrance of the Civil Hall, Cason confessed to his first love affectionately, "It has been three years, but I have never had sex with her. I only love you."Ainsley was completely heartbroken. She felt that all her love for Cason in the past three years had gone down the drain. She resumed her old business to earn money and to reach the pinnacle of life.It was only then that people learned that Ainsley, who had been abandoned, was beautiful and rich, and she was an excellent female in the real world.Three months later, late one night, Cason called Ainsley with red eyes, saying, "Aisy, I regret it..."The only sound that came from the phone was the weary mumbling of a woman. "Manuel, who is it..."Manuel Gage, who had a beauty in his arms, hung up the phone with a smile and kissed the person in his arms. He said, "It's a call from a salesman." 
Margaret Henson found herself in a situation where her husband of three years didn't even recognize her. Their first encounter after the separation was unexpected - in bed.Relieved, Margaret willingly signed the divorce agreement, believing that their paths would never cross again. Little did she know, this was only the beginning of a new chapter in their lives.In the bustling city of Los Angeles, rumors began to circulate about Robert Frost, the president of Frost Group, a man known for his disinterest in women, developing an interest in a talented new designer. On multiple occasions, he extended his support to her, offering assistance in dealing with unsavory individuals and putting an end to her romantic pursuits.Curiosity piqued, someone inquired, "May I ask about your relationship with Mr. Frost?"Margaret Henson smiled and replied, "Besides being employer and employee, we are... ex-husband and ex-wife."