Ana Huang

King of Greed

Hana 

who attempted to bake one of the elaborate cakes I'd saved on Pinterest for my birthday. His cake had come out decidedly un-Pinterest-like, but I'd loved it anyway. It was the thought that counted.

“You honestly think we’ll be happier if we divorce? That I’ll be happier without you? This is us.” The word ripped from my throat, raw and loaded with emotion. “Você e eu. Para sempre.” You and me. Forever.

Thayer was filled with beautiful girls, but there was beautiful, and there was her.

“I’m past romantic, Alessandra. I’m desperate.”

I hated the effect he had on me. I hated how my eyes always went to him in a room full of people and how I couldn't stop thinking about him no matter how hard I tried. Most of all, I hated how I couldn't hate him, not even a little bit. No matter how many times he broke my heart, there would always be a piece that belonged to him.

Clara

When was the last time he touched me? Not for sex, but for casual affection.

Working. Always working. Even on our ten - year anniversary.

Then I finally did what I should’ve done long time ago. I left.

None of my friends seemed surprised by my decision to leave him

Anxiety and overwork weren’t exactly a winning beauty combo.

It felt unbearably empty without Alessandra.

Dom realising where it started going downhill.

But the way she got quieter and quieter over the years, the way she left events early when she wasn’t hosting them and utter lack of surprise when I canceled plans. 

Most of all, I hated how I couldn’t hate him, not even a little bit.

when I was alone, the hollow in my chest returned with vengeance.

It hadn’t hit me that I was divorced until that moment.

Dom in a sour mood while playing tennis with Dante.

“Fuck Thanksgiving.” There wasn’t much to give thanks for.

Josh and Jules made an appearance while Alessandra is in Brazil.

 The woman’s red hair blazed like fire against the sunset, and the guy had the lean, muscled build of an athlete or outdoors enthusiast.

A brand-new steamy billionaire romance from the bestselling author of the Twisted series Full synopsis TBD.

Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (somehow I always end up ana huang’s books as four stars, maybe because i’m too morally gone, or something, but I like her men, just not as much) 😭

Tropes : billionaire romance, marriage in crisis, contemporary romance.

Characters : i) Alessandra : The story starts with the best line, “once upon a time, i’d loved my husband. his beauty, his ambition, his intelligence.”This line itself pulled me in, and I was invested when I read that line. Ale is sweet, kind, caring, especially because of her mother’s contant affairs and not being able to take care of Marcelo, her brother, and herself. Ale has always been the caretaker, first for her brother, and then for Dominic. Ale wanted a divorce because she felt like she was disappearing, while dom chased his ambition. Ale seemed confusing, or at conflict with her emotions, because one moment she decides she didn’t want anything to do with Dominic, and then she runs to him for comfort. but then, again, she was served for dom’s attention, love, touch, so I understand that she’d want to go to him. it wasn’t annoying for me. i’m sorry, but I don’t have much to say about her. 

I also loved Ale’s will to build something of her own, rather than being a wife of a billionaire. her pressed flowers shop? perfect. I loved at the end of the book, they both had grown, and found each other. 

ii) Dominic : now, I have seen some people say that he did not grovel much, and that Alessandra should have made him grovel more, and I get it. at some points in the book he got used to Ale’s sacrifices and understanding mistaking it for love, and that led to a breakup between them. It is only after the divorce (and I think the blurb of the book even says, “he had her, he lost her…and he’ll do anything to win her back”) I think the divorce was necessary, because i think — it was important for Dominic to realize Ale’s value. and what she gave in their relationship. Dom wanted Ale, he loved her, but he also is arrogant? a little? because he thinks they can just go on a vacation, and more things, before Ale comes back to him. Dom does realize what he lost after he had her, and everything that he thought she loved, or liked, or as a person, was all carefully crafted, and soon he realises that Ale’s wishes are different from her mother’s. 

iii) roman : this man, (I read some reviews on this book, and someone said this man does it hard 😭☠️😂 who came up with this theory, please EXPLAIN to me, not my autocorrect correcting shit in capital) butttt…roman did give me the creeps, but will I want his book? yes. will I swoon over him in his book? also yes. 😂 I loved roman, and his broody, scary demeanour. please give me more of this man. pleajjjj. 

What I loved : I loved the story, and the plot, and the different destinations ana places in the books that I have read. I loved the pacing. it wasn’t rushed, but I wanted to rush because I wanted to finish the damn book, before I could rest and finish other books which have been sitting on my currently reading shelf for too long. I also loved dom’s early life, and his struggles, and his struggles, something about a hardworking man is a such an attractive turn on. (oops…🫣) I loved how dom’s reason for being ambitious and greedy was to never fall into the situation he worked so hard to get out of. I liked that about him. I also love how ana manages to squeeze a mysterious element in her books, makes reading a romance book worth it. the little element of roman giving creepy vibes? yeah, ma’am, thankyou so much for that, suddenly my reading speed increased. 

What I struggled with : I didn’t struggle much, except when my attention was divided between reading two books simultaneously. 

Loveable characters or not : likeable. (I didn’t love them, but I liked them) 

Strong character development : yes. (there is character development, and it depends on person to person what they seem to deem fit. 

Plot driven / character driven : I didn’t intend to read this book, after I finished twisted lies, but then I wanted to give a shot at reading another ana huang book, and i’m not disappointed. I love ana’s writing, and I loved this book! so, it was plot driven for me. 

Favorite quotes/ highlights : “do you know what I asked myself every night when you were staying late at office again? i wondered, if there was an emergency at work and at home at the same time, who would you choose. me or your investors?” ☠️☠️ Ale woman, you hit the target right where it hurts, don’t you? 😭

“Mrs Davenport. as in my wife. if she wants to see me, she sees me. don’t ever prevent her from doing so again or the only part of new york office you’ll see is the outside when I throw you out. understand?”

“On a first name basis with your lawyer already. I see.”

“Don’t even think about playing the jealous husband card. not when you didn’t care who I spoke to or hung out with before I dented your ego—”

“you think this is what this is about ? my ego?”

“Dammit, Ále, it’s been a week. one week, and you already have that asshole lawyer serving me divorce papers. We haven’t even tried to fix things yet. there’s marriage counseling —”

“you didn’t show up because of a — surprise, surprise — work emergency.”

“fuck you. ” “you already did.” I saw it coming, but the crack of her palm against my cheek hurt more than I’d expected. 

“Broken relationships belonged in the past with the old Dominic, who had nothing to keep people around. no one had cared about me until I made something of myself. the more I accumulated, the more people gravitated toward me. it was a law of human nature. I wasn’t supposed to lose the only person I cared about keeping now, when I was richer than I’d ever been. (poor baby, does not Ale didn’t want his money). 

“we should talk about what happened at the lagoon.”“our kiss—” “was just a kiss.” “We were on a date. kisses happen on dates.” “Ále…” “No. Don’t make it into something more than it was.” “you asked for one date, and I gave it to you. That’s it.”“If it didn’t mean anything, you’d be able to look at me.” “No more lying to each other or ourselves. We deserve that much.”“I don’t know what you want me to say.” “Do you want me to say I enjoyed the kiss and I don’t regret it even though I should?  Fine. I did, and I don’t. But physical attraction has never been the issue. when I look at you, I…”“I think I could never love anymore more than you or after you. that you took everything I had to give, and I gave it freely because I couldn’t imagine a world where we wouldn’t be together.”

“but i’m living in that world right now, and i’m scared.” “I don’t know how to live a life without you, Dom. I haven’t dated anyone else in ten years, and I just…I can’t…” “i can’t promise you anything more than I already have.”

“I know you’re trying. I know what you gave up to be in Brazil, to be here, and I truly appreciate it. but i’m not ready for anything more than we have. i’m not sure I ever will be.” “you broke my heart, and you weren’t even there to witness it.”

“I understand.”“If you need time, take it. if you want to date other people, do it  i won’t interfere. I didn’t appreciate you when I had you, and that’s my cross to bear. but you’ll always be the love of my life, and i’ll always be here, whether it’s a month, a year, or a lifetime from now.” “There are probably hundreds of men who’d line up for the chance to be with you. I only ask that you let me be one of them.” 

Any other details : I know that people have different views on this book, and that’s completely okay. I loved Alessandra and Dominic’s story. this is my first book from the kings of sin series. So, I need to read all the books before I decide which one is my favorite. also, i’m looking forward to roman’s book, need his book so bad. 😭 it’s not funny, ana. 

ruhaani ♡

Plot : ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Story : ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Spice : 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (somehow I always end up ana huang’s books as four stars, maybe because i’m too morally gone, or something, but I like her men, just not as much) 😭

Tropes : billionaire romance, marriage in crisis, contemporary romance.

Pacing : medium. 

💔 spoiler alert ❗

Characters : i) Alessandra : The story starts with the best line, “once upon a time, i’d loved my husband. his beauty, his ambition, his intelligence.”This line itself pulled me in, and I was invested when I read that line. Ale is sweet, kind, caring, especially because of her mother’s contant affairs and not being able to take care of Marcelo, her brother, and herself. Ale has always been the caretaker, first for her brother, and then for Dominic. Ale wanted a divorce because she felt like she was disappearing, while dom chased his ambition. Ale seemed confusing, or at conflict with her emotions, because one moment she decides she didn’t want anything to do with Dominic, and then she runs to him for comfort. but then, again, she was served for dom’s attention, love, touch, so I understand that she’d want to go to him. it wasn’t annoying for me. i’m sorry, but I don’t have much to say about her. 

I also loved Ale’s will to build something of her own, rather than being a wife of a billionaire. her pressed flowers shop? perfect. I loved at the end of the book, they both had grown, and found each other. 

ii) Dominic : now, I have seen some people say that he did not grovel much, and that Alessandra should have made him grovel more, and I get it. at some points in the book he got used to Ale’s sacrifices and understanding mistaking it for love, and that led to a breakup between them. It is only after the divorce (and I think the blurb of the book even says, “he had her, he lost her…and he’ll do anything to win her back”) I think the divorce was necessary, because i think — it was important for Dominic to realize Ale’s value. and what she gave in their relationship. Dom wanted Ale, he loved her, but he also is arrogant? a little? because he thinks they can just go on a vacation, and more things, before Ale comes back to him. Dom does realize what he lost after he had her, and everything that he thought she loved, or liked, or as a person, was all carefully crafted, and soon he realises that Ale’s wishes are different from her mother’s. 

iii) roman : this man, (I read some reviews on this book, and someone said this man does it hard 😭☠️😂 who came up with this theory, please EXPLAIN to me, not my autocorrect correcting shit in capital) butttt…roman did give me the creeps, but will I want his book? yes. will I swoon over him in his book? also yes. 😂 I loved roman, and his broody, scary demeanour. please give me more of this man. pleajjjj. 

What I loved : I loved the story, and the plot, and the different destinations ana places in the books that I have read. I loved the pacing. it wasn’t rushed, but I wanted to rush because I wanted to finish the damn book, before I could rest and finish other books which have been sitting on my currently reading shelf for too long. I also loved dom’s early life, and his struggles, and his struggles, something about a hardworking man is a such an attractive turn on. (oops…🫣) I loved how dom’s reason for being ambitious and greedy was to never fall into the situation he worked so hard to get out of. I liked that about him. I also love how ana manages to squeeze a mysterious element in her books, makes reading a romance book worth it. the little element of roman giving creepy vibes? yeah, ma’am, thankyou so much for that, suddenly my reading speed increased. 

What I struggled with : I didn’t struggle much, except when my attention was divided between reading two books simultaneously. 

Loveable characters or not : likeable. (I didn’t love them, but I liked them) 

Strong character development : yes. (there is character development, and it depends on person to person what they seem to deem fit. 

Plot driven / character driven : I didn’t intend to read this book, after I finished twisted lies, but then I wanted to give a shot at reading another ana huang book, and i’m not disappointed. I love ana’s writing, and I loved this book! so, it was plot driven for me. 

Favorite quotes/ highlights : “do you know what I asked myself every night when you were staying late at office again? i wondered, if there was an emergency at work and at home at the same time, who would you choose. me or your investors?” ☠️☠️ Ale woman, you hit the target right where it hurts, don’t you? 😭

“Mrs Davenport. as in my wife. if she wants to see me, she sees me. don’t ever prevent her from doing so again or the only part of new york office you’ll see is the outside when I throw you out. understand?”

“On a first name basis with your lawyer already. I see.”

“Don’t even think about playing the jealous husband card. not when you didn’t care who I spoke to or hung out with before I dented your ego—”

“you think this is what this is about ? my ego?”

“Dammit, Ále, it’s been a week. one week, and you already have that asshole lawyer serving me divorce papers. We haven’t even tried to fix things yet. there’s marriage counseling —”

“we tried that once, remember?”

“you didn’t show up because of a — surprise, surprise — work emergency.”

“fuck you. ” “you already did.” I saw it coming, but the crack of her palm against my cheek hurt more than I’d expected. 

“Broken relationships belonged in the past with the old Dominic, who had nothing to keep people around. no one had cared about me until I made something of myself. the more I accumulated, the more people gravitated toward me. it was a law of human nature. I wasn’t supposed to lose the only person I cared about keeping now, when I was richer than I’d ever been. (poor baby, does not Ale didn’t want his money). 

“we should talk about what happened at the lagoon.”“our kiss—” “was just a kiss.” “We were on a date. kisses happen on dates.” “Ále…” “No. Don’t make it into something more than it was.” “you asked for one date, and I gave it to you. That’s it.”“If it didn’t mean anything, you’d be able to look at me.” “No more lying to each other or ourselves. We deserve that much.”“I don’t know what you want me to say.” “Do you want me to say I enjoyed the kiss and I don’t regret it even though I should? Fine. I did, and I don’t. But physical attraction has never been the issue. when I look at you, I…”“I think I could never love anymore more than you or after you. that you took everything I had to give, and I gave it freely because I couldn’t imagine a world where we wouldn’t be together.”

“but i’m living in that world right now, and i’m scared.” “I don’t know how to live a life without you, Dom. I haven’t dated anyone else in ten years, and I just…I can’t…” “i can’t promise you anything more than I already have.”

“I know you’re trying. I know what you gave up to be in Brazil, to be here, and I truly appreciate it. but i’m not ready for anything more than we have. i’m not sure I ever will be.” “you broke my heart, and you weren’t even there to witness it.”

“I understand.”“If you need time, take it. if you want to date other people, do it i won’t interfere. I didn’t appreciate you when I had you, and that’s my cross to bear. but you’ll always be the love of my life, and i’ll always be here, whether it’s a month, a year, or a lifetime from now.” “There are probably hundreds of men who’d line up for the chance to be with you. I only ask that you let me be one of them.” 

Similar authors : no recommendations. 

Similar book recommendations : none. 

Any other details : I know that people have different views on this book, and that’s completely okay. I loved Alessandra and Dominic’s story. this is my first book from the kings of sin series. So, I need to read all the books before I decide which one is my favorite. also, i’m looking forward to roman’s book, need his book so bad. 😭 it’s not funny, ana.

i absolutely loved this so much. half a star off only bc she should’ve made him beg more

Tamara Wood

this is the only second chance romance I will ever read and like

Tiana holt

The love was really remarkable and the second-chance trope was applied really good here. No cheating thankfully. A classic happy ending. Although it is very predictable. 

Ariana Winikeri

i may finish this book a little early than i expected but this was okay read. i expected this would be something really notable, remarkable, but i didn't feel the spark. sure, i like feel like we can relate to dominic's character when we are down so bad for someone. but, something is off. maybe both characters are, because i felt this plot is predictable. however, well, this book screams "i gave you all my best me's and all u dud was bleed as i tried to be the bravest soldier"

aileeeeeeen

i’m in shambles and in love. so bittersweet.

katerina

taylor swift songs: the last time, you’re losing me, exile

While the story between Dominic and Alessandra had potential, it lacked the spark that makes a romance truly captivating. I didn’t find myself eagerly turning the pages, and much of the plot felt predictable, leaving little room for surprises. It wasn’t a bad book by any means, but the pacing and storyline didn’t have the excitement I was hoping for. Overall, it was good—but that’s about it.

Aaliyah Couto 

this might be the worst book of the series so far, I found the characters quite dull and the timeline was a bit sketchy to match the other books 

Kelly Maher

Nora

If you’re losing me was a book, it would be this.

Sarah

God I love them so much!!! Not much smut which is perfect, the lengths he’s ready to go for her!!! Everything was perfect!💕 And glimpse of the next couple had me giggling. Cant wait for King of Sloth.

second chance and groveling trope U WILL ALWAYS BE LOVED BY ME!

logan lea

was HOOKED at the beginning god it was so good esp when he rocked up at her hotel room 😖😖😖 i would fall back in love w him too 

but a good couple years of neglect is CRAZYYYYY what took her so long to take some action

Kelsey 🎀

Dominic and Alessandra 

i love when men grovel 

Minahil Fatima 

this sort of proves that i will never be a fan of second-chance romances - also maybe just me but dom didn't really have a fleshed-out personality?

kalenga 

2.5 stars / 5.5 out of 10

i was really looking forward to this one, one of my most anticipated reads of the year. and while i can’t necessarily say i was disappointed, i was a bit underwhelmed.

don’t get me wrong, i enjoyed it quite a bit, there were sweet moments i couldn’t help gushing at, the book was the perfect length, i loved to see some of my favourite characters making appearances, it was nice.

but i kind of expected more, the grovelling didn’t hit as much as i thought it would despite it being the main theme of the book, i didn’t get to see them in love as much as i hoped, their romance didn’t do it for me as much as the other books did.

having said that, i did have a relatively pleasant experience reading the book, it wasn’t horrible and i can safely say i enjoyed it, i just wanted a little more and i think things could’ve been developed better.

clau☁️

cute at times but boring all the way through
edit: actually i lied i finished it five minutes ago and i don’t remember a single cute thing. just boring.

sani

“but i broke her heart once, and i’d let her break my heart a thousand times in return if it meant that one day, she found her way back to me.”

4★ bc i love, love, love marriage in crisis and second chance romance so much! 

dom being an absolute simp for ale was so cute, so cute, so cute, drown me in it. what wouldn't i do to get him simping after me like that

I love how this series is the most realistic love stories (that could be when it’s millionaires), this book is not my favorite but I love it none the less. The strong female lead to die for

Ester Waclavova

Ellie M.

This is possibly the lowest I gave to an Ana Huang book and it’s justifiable by how rushed Dominic and Alessandra’s story was. This book wasn’t entirely terrible, but the amount of marketing that this was a marriage in crisis, second chance romance did not fully live up to the content to read here. This is because it never fully explored how it is to fix a broken marriage individually. It was clear Dominic and Alessandra both had their issues and insecurities to fix, but it happened so fast and it never gave us good character development. I didn’t feel much reading this and it was so disappointing. It deserved better writing but we got a rushed, messy version that Roman’s appearance was more interesting than the most vanilla sex I’ve ever read in my entire life because no way in hell this is a book from the woman who wrote Twisted Hate. The dantevivian and kaisabella cameos were more entertaining to me than the grovelling. To me, it was just dominic following her around with alessandra falling back into this cycle with her ex-husband so there wasn’t much to work with; a 10-year marriage is not easy to get over with, but I wish we could’ve gotten them working more on their individual selves before fixing their relationship. It felt so underwhelming due to the amount of issues swept under the rug. Also, the flashbacks were so randomly placed throughout the book I felt they could’ve had their very own instead. These are just my honest opinions because her books are great comfort to me and I will eat up possessive billionnaire clichés all the goddamn time so I expected a lot. 

[OLD REVIEW] 
if ana does this right, and i know she will, dominic and alessandra will ruin the fuck outta me it's not even a question anymore because i know they will break me

Krys C.

Hmm. The pacing and development (both plot- and character-wise) was odd and discombobulating. The groveling did not feel like groveling, but rather the them running into each other and rebounding. Felt emotionally-detached from this one, unfortunately. :/

Selin Igten

aleksandra

2/5

Me looking for the much needed groveling in this book

 ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ 

beacuse where? It’s unfortunate to say, but famous singer Alex Volvov deserves the groveling king title, and I say this as someone who hated his book.

This story was the only one I actually planned to read from this series, only because I wanted to see if this author can handle the marriage in crisis trope. I tried to read the previous books, but the word 'CEO' was mentioned enough times to give me a headache so I gave up. At least now I know that I have to stop reading the next stories in this series, because when this book let me down, I don't think the rest of it will change my mind about it.



Let's get to the point of this review. Why I didn't like it. These are my thoughts, so please be aware that you may not agree with them. Spoilers also start here!

I will start with the most important point. This book wouldn't even be fifty pages long if the "conversation" in chapter 37 had taken place before their divorce. They could have easily talked about giving each other a second chance before Dom signed the papers. This is what mature and grown people would do before signing the divorce papers of a ten-year marriage. Not after. 


The fact that he signed the divorced papers. I thought he would fight for Alessandra with tooth and nail, that he would literally beg on his knees and do everything to make their marriage work, not that he would agree to a divorce in a month or so. Look, I know she asked him for a divorce and said that if he loved her he would let her go, but he should not do it. It's a great trait for a man to do what his woman asks him to do, but this wasn't the best time to use it. The fact that he neglected his wife for three years and couldn't even fathom why she wanted a divorce was convincing enough to me that he had to find out the reason, and do everything in his power to get her back, not sign the divorce papers.

I hated that he kept saying how much he loved her, his life made no sense without her, she was everything to him, but then he did this. The author made it seem like divorcing is so easy, he signed the papers and then boom they are not together. You're literally ending a ten-year marriage. It's not that simple. I know they were filthy rich, but has she ever read anything about any big divorces between rich and known people? If it had been some small town couple with normal problems, it might have been less complicated, but Dom was a damn billionaire, known to many people. And still, he was like "Yeah, we divorced, but it doesn’t change anything." Yeah, it does. For you, it does. 

The groveling, or rather lack of it. Okay sorry, not lack of it, nonexistent part of it, because when?


  
    “I’m past romantic, Alessandra. I’m desperate.”
  


Desperate? Where? He send her flowers once, called every day, banged her in some dirty ass bar bathroom, and then agreed to finalize the divorce after about a month. His inner monologue and actions did not match. 


  
    "she was already moving on when I’d been slowly dying inside for the past six weeks, five days, and four hours."

"How had I ever willingly spent so many hours away from her when I would give up my fucking kidney for a moment alone with her again?"
  



He definitely didn't act like he said here. All he did after the divorce to get her back was:

one He followed her to Brazil and left his job for a while ( oh wow finally, after years of not doing it )
two Help cleaning her store ( helping the love of his life cleaning? omg the bare minimum )
three He was jealous, but still let her date other men. ( Nice of him to let a single woman date, I still didn't like it though. I like my man a little bit more possessive and jealous. I blame booktok and dark romances for this. ) 
four He bought her a mug. ( There was some meaning behind it, but a mug? )
five He booked an entire museum for her for the night and instead of telling her how he felt and blah blah blah, he banged her there. 

We love a good groveling. Look, I know there shouldn't be a comparison between Alex's groveling and Dom's groveling because they're two different situations, but Alex groveled for a year. No, 4-5 months like Dom, and Alex was only Ava's boyfriend, not her partner of eleven years like Dom.
 

I don’t even know what to say more about Dominic, because this man had no personality. Being rich and on top was the meaning of his life, if not his wife. Typical alpha male behavior. Typical Ana Huang man behavior, but this time the hero was blond. Josh might be the exception though. 

The nickname 'amore' made me want to laugh. I picture him saying it with some weird American accent and I end up laughing. Like, you are not a Romeo, just call her sweetheart. I strongly believe that Ana typed "Portuguese nicknames" into Google search and that was the first thing that came up.

It's actually the first thing that comes up.


I also, don’t know what to say about Alessandra. She was a rich wifey (I mean, good for her), she had a pressed flowers business and didn't even try to make her ex-husband work for it, because she ran to bang him every chance she got. She actually made the right decision by remarrying him because I don't think her "Etsy shop turned pressed flower boutique" business will keep her afloat for long.


I still rate it two stars, so it's not like I completely hated it. I really liked that they grew and became rich together. They went from bankrupt students to a couple of billionaires. At least Dominic did it because Alessandra's family wasn't broke. There were also some good quotes here. Honestly, I'd rather read a book about them being young and falling in love than about whatever happened here. 



Sadly a big disappointment. At least this book was short so I finished it quicker.


——————————


edit: it did not happen lol

that's how i see the guys trying to cheer up Dominic when he grovels 

Kai: Never back down never what?
Dominic: Never give up ..
Dante: NEVER BACK DOWN NEVER WHAT?
Dominic: NEVER GIVE UP!

King of Greed

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