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Not many people walk down the streets of New York drunk, especially in the middle of the day. They usually rush along the sidewalks and cross the streets, trying to race with time to earn more money. But not Cassandra. She was taking her precious time wandering around, struggling to walk in a straight line. Trying to keep her smile to herself, she looked around her, wondering why these people wore poker faces as they talked on their phones while walking briskly down the street. She was thankful she was self-employed-well, as what she would call it. Cassandra took a deep breath, the taste of beer still lingering in her mouth. She had been drinking since lunch time for no apparent reason. She squeezed her eyes for a better vision as she slowly walked while trying hard not to drop on the ground every time a passerby bumped into her. She felt her way to the wall and leaned against it, breathing heavily. She shouldn't have drank that much, she thought. Her hands were getting numb, her feet losing their strength. I'm going to faint right here if I don't find somewhere to rest, she murmured to herself. Hope abandoned her when she saw the long crowded street and even her blurred sight was a hindrance. She knew the street very well and she was pretty aware that there was not a place to rest. Fine, I'll sit anywhere then. Squinting one eye, she walked toward the nearest store and dropped on the bottom step, trying to keep her head high. If she dropped it any lower, she'd definitely throw up right there and then. Her phone started ringing again. She didn't answer. She knew it was her father and he had been asking to see her since last week. She thought she should call him tomorrow, once she was back to her sober self. Cassandra didn't have a problem really-she was just like that. She did anything that came to her mind without thinking. When she had ordered her first bottle, she reasoned she wanted to celebrate her upcoming exhibit. When the second one came, she thought she was celebrating life. On the succeeding bottles, thoughts of celebration flew out the window. She stood up after her head cleared a little bit. She needed a cup of coffee, and she knew just the place for a perfect one. The rest must have done something good for she found it less difficult to find her way to the coffee shop. "My head is throbbing, I need a strong one," she told the lady behind the counter the moment she entered the shop. "What would you like?" Cassandra looked up at the menu, the letters merging into one. "Just...fix me something strong." "Okay, one really strong cappuccino coming up," the lady smiled. She fumbled in her purse for some coins, handed the lady a handful and said, "Just get the exact amount. I have trouble counting at the moment," The lady looked at her curiously but did as she asked. She handed Cassandra the rest of the coins and said, "I'll serve you your coffee if you want." She must have noticed her customer struggling to stay on her feet. "Thanks. That will be great." Cassandra went to the nearest table and made herself comfortable, resting her chin on her hand. "Cassandra Anders?" a male voice said over her. "Hmm?" was all she could muster. She sensed some movement across the table from her and when she peered through her heavy lids, she noticed that a man was sitting at the empty chair facing her. "I'm Philip Strindberg and I need to talk to you." "Come back at a good time," she slurred and closed her eyes once again. "Now is the best time," the voice was now etched with irritation so she opened her eyes once again to look at the man, her bluish gray ones meeting his blue ones. "Best time for what?" she asked, not really in the mood for a chat. "To give you an offer you surely won't resist." She snorted, "And what is that?" "To be my wife." The alcohol that had been flowing like crazy through her veins stopped and drained down her head as she looked up at the handsome stranger in disbelief.
Chapter 1
Not many people walk down the streets of New York drunk, especially in the middle of the day. They usually rush along the sidewalks and cross the streets, trying to race with time to earn more money.
But not Cassandra.
She was taking her precious time wandering around, struggling to walk in a straight line.
Trying to keep her smile to herself, she looked around her, wondering why these people wore poker faces as they talked on their phones while walking briskly down the street. She was thankful she was self-employed-well, as what she would call it.
Cassandra took a deep breath, the taste of beer still lingering in her mouth. She had been drinking since lunch time for no apparent reason. She squeezed her eyes for a better vision as she slowly walked while trying hard not to drop on the ground every time a passerby bumped into her. She felt her way to the wall and leaned against it, breathing heavily. She shouldn't have drank that much, she thought. Her hands were getting numb, her feet losing their strength.
I'm going to faint right here if I don't find somewhere to rest, she murmured to herself.
Hope abandoned her when she saw the long crowded street and even her blurred sight was a hindrance. She knew the street very well and she was pretty aware that there was not a place to rest.
Fine, I'll sit anywhere then. Squinting one eye, she walked toward the nearest store and dropped on the bottom step, trying to keep her head high. If she dropped it any lower, she'd definitely throw up right there and then. Her phone started ringing again. She didn't answer. She knew it was her father and he had been asking to see her since last week. She thought she should call him tomorrow, once she was back to her sober self.
Cassandra didn't have a problem really-she was just like that. She did anything that came to her mind without thinking. When she had ordered her first bottle, she reasoned she wanted to celebrate her upcoming exhibit. When the second one came, she thought she was celebrating life. On the succeeding bottles, thoughts of celebration flew out the window.
She stood up after her head cleared a little bit. She needed a cup of coffee, and she knew just the place for a perfect one. The rest must have done something good for she found it less difficult to find her way to the coffee shop.
"My head is throbbing, I need a strong one," she told the lady behind the counter the moment she entered the shop.
"What would you like?"
Cassandra looked up at the menu, the letters merging into one. "Just...fix me something strong."
"Okay, one really strong cappuccino coming up," the lady smiled.
She fumbled in her purse for some coins, handed the lady a handful and said, "Just get the exact amount. I have trouble counting at the moment,"
The lady looked at her curiously but did as she asked. She handed Cassandra the rest of the coins and said, "I'll serve you your coffee if you want." She must have noticed her customer struggling to stay on her feet.
"Thanks. That will be great." Cassandra went to the nearest table and made herself comfortable, resting her chin on her hand.
"Cassandra Anders?" a male voice said over her.
"Hmm?" was all she could muster. She sensed some movement across the table from her and when she peered through her heavy lids, she noticed that a man was sitting at the empty chair facing her.
"I'm Philip Strindberg and I need to talk to you."
"Come back at a good time," she slurred and closed her eyes once again.
"Now is the best time," the voice was now etched with irritation so she opened her eyes once again to look at the man, her bluish gray ones meeting his blue ones.
"Best time for what?" she asked, not really in the mood for a chat.
"To give you an offer you surely won't resist."
She snorted, "And what is that?"
"To be my wife."
The alcohol that had been flowing like crazy through her veins stopped and drained down her head as she looked up at the handsome stranger in disbelief.
*****
"Don't make me angry, Khione. Do as you're told." Then he stormed out of the dining room. I snapped back to reality when I heard the last girl being called before me. I couldn't shake off what happened before I got here. I'm backstage now, trying to be brave just for tonight. "Three hundred fifty million!" The room fell silent. Well, that's it. The girl's already sold out. "Now, finally! We have reached the last. Are you ready to meet her?" the emcee said thrillingly. A man escorted me up the stage, the curtain still down so no one could see me. Then it happened. "Ms. Khione Fuego!" The curtain parted, and all the bidders looked at me. The emcee started speaking, but I didn't listen anymore. My attention was on the VIP seat at the top. My father, as he intently looked at me. I glanced briefly at the man sitting near my father. He looked at me with interest in his eyes. He looked familiar. I've heard rumors about him, but I don't know his name. I quickly looked away from him. I won't last under his scrutiny. "One hundred million." "Five hundred million." "One hundred billion." I closed my eyes when I heard the last huge amount. I didn't even look at the hundreds of billionaires in this Red Market. I'm scared of what might happen to me. Who will I belong to? I may seem brave, but I'm still scared. I'm just a normal woman. "One hundred billion for the Red Market's Heiress!" the announcer said. We waited for almost five minutes, and when no one raised their bid, the announcer spoke again. "Ms. Khione Fuego is now sold out. Please come upstage Mr. Caspian Lordcan." My eyes widened at the name. I remember him. I didn't know he would spend that much for me. Plus, I barely know him, but I've heard stories about him. Gossips about him. He's a dangerous man.
After two years of marriage, Kristian dropped a bombshell. "She's back. Let's get divorced. Name your price." Freya didn't argue. She just smiled and made her demands. "I want your most expensive supercar." "Okay." "The villa on the outskirts." "Sure." "And half of the billions we made together." Kristian froze. "Come again?" He thought she was ordinary—but Freya was the genius behind their fortune. And now that she'd gone, he'd do anything to win her back.
"Sign the divorce papers and get out!" Leanna got married to pay a debt, but she was betrayed by her husband and shunned by her in-laws. Seeing that her efforts were in vain, she agreed to divorce and claimed her half of the properties. With her purse plump from the settlement, Leanna enjoyed her newfound freedom. The constant harassment from her ex's mistress never fazed her. She took back her identities as top hacker, champion racer, medical professor, and renowned jewelry designer. Then someone discovered her secret. Matthew smiled. "Will you have me as your next husband?"
Rumors said that Lucas married an unattractive woman with no background. In the three years they were together, he remained cold and distant to Belinda, who endured in silence. Her love for him forced her to sacrifice her self-worth and her dreams. When Lucas' true love reappeared, Belinda realized that their marriage was a sham from the start, a ploy to save another woman's life. She signed the divorce papers and left. Three years later, Belinda returned as a surgical prodigy and a maestro of the piano. Lost in regret, Lucas chased her in the rain and held her tightly. "You are mine, Belinda."
When Zora was sick during the early days of her pregnancy, Ezrah was with his first love, Piper. When Zora got into an accident and called Ezrah, he said he was busy, when in actual fact, he was buying shoes for Piper. Zora lost her baby because of the accident, and throughout her stay at the hospital, Ezrah never showed up. She already knew that he didn't love her, but that was the last straw for the camel's back, and her fragile heart could not take it anymore. When Ezrah arrived home a few days after Zora was discharged from the hospital, he no longer met the woman who always greeted him with a smile and cared for him. Zora stood at the top of the stairs and yelled with a cold expression, "Good news, Ezrah! Our baby died in a car accident. There is nothing between us anymore, so let's get a divorce." The man who claimed not to have any feelings for Zora, being cold and distant towards her, and having asked her for a divorce twice, instantly panicked.
"I stood at the edge of my heart and watched him choose her. In the end, I was not the one he needed. I was simply the one he settled for." - Noelle ~~~~~~~ I thought I was the one he loved. But a few days before our wedding, I saw him in a way I never had before. His eyes softened as he spoke to her. His first love, and the very woman who had left him in pieces. Heartbreak was something I knew too well. And as I watched the love he still held for her in his eyes, I realized what I had to do. I couldn't marry a man who wasn't truly mine. With no means to cancel the wedding and lacking the courage to confront him, I made a desperate choice to leave. I painfully gave his first love my treasured engagement ring thinking it was for the best and the only way to free myself. But when he saw that ring on her finger, the fragile world I had tried to escape began to shatter. His obsession to find me and bring me back ignited a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
Lindsey's fiancé was the devil's first son. Not only did he lie to her but he also slept with her stepmother, conspired to take away her family fortune, and then set her up to have sex with a total stranger. To get her lick back, Lindsey decided to find a man to disrupt her engagement party and humiliate the cheating bastard. Never did she imagine that she would bump into a strikingly handsome stranger who was all that she was currently looking for. At the engagement party, he boldly declared that she was his woman. Lindsey thought he was just a broke man who wanted to leech off her. But once they began their fake relationship, she realized that good luck kept coming her way. She thought they would part ways after the engagement party, but this man kept to her side. "We gotta stick together, Lindsey. Remember, I'm now your fiancé. " "Domenic, you're with me because of my money, aren't you?" Lindsey asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Domenic was taken aback by that accusation. How could he, the heir of the Walsh family and CEO of Vitality Group, be with her for money? He controlled more than half of the city's economy. Money wasn't a problem for him! The two got closer and closer. One day, Lindsey finally realized that Domenic was actually the stranger she had slept with months ago. Would this realization change things between them? For the better or worse?