C.J

Damn water, girl.! Shouldn’t you just stick to the salad you have in your hands? You keep eating unhealthy foods like pizza. You’re going to get too big to run and fetch me my water.” “Thanks for your concern, Arron, but it’s unwanted and needed because all I’m eating today is my salad.” “You do not have to explain anything to that douche bag,” Sydney hisses at me. “I was being sarcastic, Syd.” Sydney rolls her eyes at Arron, then leads us over to our table. Luckily, I made it to my table without a hitch. Normally, I end up with most of my food on me before I get to my table. “Are you okay Riv? “Sydney asks me once we get sat down. “Yes, I’m used to it by now.” “Wow, River Rock just walked in.” My skin instantly heats at that name. Rock (James Martinez) is not only the hottest guy at school. He is the quarterback and captain, and my biggest hater at Scotts high. To make matters worse, his mom is dating my dad. “Hey water girl, go get me some food.” Rock says, coming over and sitting down at our table like he owns it. “Fuck off Rock.” Sydney says, then gets up and positions herself in between us. I guess she thinks that’s going to stop him from harassing me. I go to get up and get him food so he will leave me alone, but my friend is not having that. “Sit your ass down.” Sydney growls. “Just let me do this Syd so I might eat in peace today.” “You’re going to eat in peace, anyway. I will make sure of it,” Sydney says between clenched teeth. She really doesn’t know what she starts when she does this. Surprising, Rock gets up and walks over to get his own food, then goes and sits with his girlfriend and the other football players. I get to eat my food in peace for the rest of the lunch hour. Once the bell rings, Sydney and I head to our next class. We make it through our last couple classes and then it’s time to go out on the football field to make sure the team has plenty of water. I wonder if I could get away with putting some laxative tablets in their waters see how good they practice having to run to the bathroom every 5 minutes. “Yo water girl, get your ass over here with the damn waters,” Damion, the linebacker, yells at me. Making me jump out of my daydream. You know I’m not the only water girl out here, but I’m the only one that gets picked on. I really don’t understand what I have done to make them target me. Unlike Tiffany, who's dry humping Rock's leg while giving him water, I'm quiet and keep to myself. Walking towards the table, I put some more water glasses down on it. Then I walk over to the guys that are standing around waiting to get on the field to see if they want any water. “It’s about damn time, water girl.” Most of the guys say, but there are some. The freshmen thanked me. But that will soon change once they hear what the other guys call me and the way they treat me, then they will start doing the same. Once that set of guy’s head on the field, the ones that were on the field head off it, so I do the same thing for them. I walk up to them and pour water into the mouths of the ones that want water and get shoved to the side by the ones that don’t want water. God, I really don’t know why I am doing this… I really hate football. But it's either this or having to hear my dad complain about me not doing anything. By the end of practice I have everything packed up, and ready to head to the locker room when Rock and his friend Damion walk up behind me, pushing me so hard I fall and the bottles in my hands go flying around the field. “Oh, damn water girl, I didn’t see you standing there.” Rock says, then bends down to help me up to my feet, but I slap his hand away. “Now, now, River, is that anyway to treat your sum to be stepbrother?” Rock chuckles. God, I hope not. “My dad will never marry your mother. He loved my mother too much.” I spit at him and he sees red. Rock lifts me up off the ground by my shirt, hauling me into his body. “You listen to me, you little bitch.” “James Martinez, put River down right now.” Coach barks at him and Rock chunks me to the ground and I land on my butt hard. Once everyone heads to the locker room, I get up and start gathering the bottles that went flying a minute ago back up and put them back in the bags. Coach must have stayed behind because he helped me with the bottles. “You know, Ms. Darby, you really shouldn’t let them boys treat you that way.” I know I shouldn’t, but I really don’t have any choice. “Thanks coach I say.” Once he helps me up and gives me the bags to carry to the locker room. “River, I’ve known your dad for a long time, and I don’t think he would be too happy to know how bad things are for you at school.” “No offense, coach, but you must not know my dad as well as you think you do, because my father couldn’t care less.” I walk on into the locker room without another word.

I started out on the streets when I was 16 years old — when my parents walked in my room one night and found me in bed with one of my dad's business partners. My parents didn't care that a man came into my room and touched me inappropriately during their party. They were more concerned about their reputation. "A well-respected business executive" like my father couldn't have a whoring daughter like me, bringing his name to shame, so I had to go. And it didn't matter that I had nowhere to go. So, now at 22, I find myself a prostitute with a bad-tempered pimp, and a drug problem. I stay high on anything I can get my hands on just, so I don't have to feel the nasty shit the Johns are doing to me or be sound of mind when I'm blowing them off. I'm in my tiny ass apartment right now getting ready to head out to my corner for the night and get me a John or two.... try to make me some money for the night. I have rent due in a day are two, so as I'm getting ready, I snort me I line of coke and fuck that shit good. I look at myself in the mirror one last time... make sure I don't have any white shit on my nose, are anywhere else, then I head out to the corner. "Hey Layla, any new business tonight?" I ask the lady and my best friend that stands on the same corner as me. "Hey Corky girl. No, it's been kind of quiet tonight, but the night is still young girly... and you're looking fire tonight, so I'm sure you will get a few hits." "I hope so, Layla. I have rent this week, and you know how Martin is about us being late for our rent." "Yes, well, Martin should take the cut we give him after every night as our rent money." Layla spits out. "Watch what you say, Layla. He has ears everywhere." I tell her and sway a little on my feet. "Corky damnit girl, you really need to lie off that shit," Layla shays at me. "Only if I could find another way not to feel I would, Layla." "Corky girl, why won't you get your GED? Carry your ass to college... and get the hell out of New York, away from this shit." Layla says for the 100th time. She tells me the same shit every night. She has since I was 18, and first started prostituting for Martin, our sleaze-bag pimp. I'm smart enough I could get my GED, and get into a community college, and make something of myself, but would Martin let me go? I'm one of his highest paid prostitutes. "Corky, look alive, baby girl. Here comes some action, Layla says," breaking me out of my daydream. "Oh, joy!" Here we go. "Hey there, handsome... what'll be tonight?" I say, leaning into the passenger window. It's a nice-looking older gentleman in his mid-40's not someone you would think you would see picking up a prostitute for an hour. "I would like to rent you for the hour." "Rent me?" This guy has done nothing like this in his life. Poor fucking sap. "Um, sweetheart, you don't rent us. You buy us for as long as you need us. We do whatever you want in that time frame and the price starts at $50 dollars and goes up from there, I tell him." "That's doable he tells me." Then he just sets there for a minute like he's not too sure what to do about the information I just gave him. "Okay sweetheart, if you want to do this, then I have to get into your car. Then we will go to a motel or somewhere and that's where the real fun will begin," I tell him. "Oh, yes, right, sure? Um, get in and then we can figure out where we will go for the night," he tells me, so I open the passenger door and climb in." Your first time I ask him?" "That obvious, huh?" "Yes," I smile at him, "but that's okay. So, what are you looking for tonight?" I ask him, then I kind of glance around his car and find a damn car seat in the back seat of his car. Really, man? "So, you and your wife just had a baby, huh?" "Oh, um, I'd rather not talk about that, if you don't mind."

At my best friend's birthday party, I drank tainted wine and passed out. When I woke up, I heard the doctor say it could cause severe nerve damage. I teased my fiancé Cayden Hewitt, asking who I was and where I was. He hesitated, staring at me, then called my rival Liam Hewitt. "You're Julia. He's your fiancé. You're getting married soon." I froze, thinking he was joking too. My best friend, Vivian Green, slipped her arm through Cayden's, looking every bit like a couple in love. Eventually, I was about to marry Liam. But Cayden, with eyes red from emotion, stood in front of the car to stop it, pleading, "Julia, don't marry him. I've realized I can't let you go."

For three years, I documented the slow death of my marriage in a black journal. It was my 100-point divorce plan: for every time my husband, Blake, chose his first love, Ariana, over me, I deducted points. When the score hit zero, I would leave. The final points vanished the night he left me bleeding out from a car crash. I was eight weeks pregnant with the child we had prayed for. In the ER, the nurses frantically called him-the star surgeon of the very hospital I was dying in. "Dr. Santos, we have a Jane Doe, O-negative, bleeding out. She's pregnant, and we're about to lose them both. We need you to authorize an emergency blood transfer." His voice came over the speaker, cold and impatient. "I can't. My priority is Miss Whitfield. Do what you can for the patient, but I can't divert anything right now." He hung up. He condemned his own child to death to ensure his ex-girlfriend had resources on standby after a minor procedure.

Yelena discovered that she wasn't her parents' biological child. After seeing through their ploy to trade her as a pawn in a business deal, she was sent away to her barren birthplace. There, she stumbled upon her true origins-a lineage of historic opulence. Her real family showered her with love and adoration. In the face of her so-called sister's envy, Yelena conquered every adversity and took her revenge, all while showcasing her talents. She soon caught the attention of the city's most eligible bachelor. He cornered Yelena and pinned her against the wall. "It's time to reveal your true identity, darling."

In the eighteen years of her life, Brianna had endured relentless abuse from her family, living in constant fear. One fateful day, two dignified figures approached her and revealed a shocking truth: she was their long-lost daughter, heiress to the wealthiest family in the city-the Owens. Desperate for love and acceptance, Brianna hoped to escape her past. Instead, she fell victim to Cassie, a cunning impostor who manipulated their parents against her while feigning distress. Rather than forging a connection with her real family, Brianna found herself betrayed and isolated. When a car accident left Brianna in a vegetative state, she found herself able to listen to everything around her, though unable to respond. Bitterly, she realized her parents didn't care for her; they visited just once. A month later, Cassie visited, disconnecting the ventilator before leaning in to whisper coldly, "Goodbye, my dear sister. You shouldn't have come back. You are meant for that despicable, wretched family." Somehow, fate granted Brianna a second chance. Reborn and fueled by rage, she vowed to make everyone who had wronged her pay dearly. This time, she would seize the life that had been stolen from her.

Five years ago, Bettina Rowe was wounded in her abdomen to save Asher Lambert, which caused her not to get pregnant. Asher had told her that he would never want a baby. But he eventually entertained the idea of surrogacy. He chose Betsy Sugden, a college student who resembled Bettina, to give birth to his baby. Asher didn't know that Bettina had already decided to divorce him when he brought up that idea.

I always wanted a big brother. Someone to love and protect me. So, when he did come home that day with daddy, I was the happiest. But little did I know my new brother was a monster. A psychopath any sane human should avoid. I needed saving from him. But what do I do when the one person that was supposed to save me from my brother was actually him? ****** Her whole life, Rali has always craved to be loved by the right man. To give her virginity to someone deserving who would cherish her forever. But what happens when she gets stuck with the 'wrong' man? And worst of it, her big brother? How does she run from a man who controls the world? And what does she do when secrets from her past come out to hunt her? PLEASE NOTE: This book is an extremely DARK romance with explicit scenes. The male character is the kind of villain you want to avoid. He does things that might be unacceptable. Please take note before you dive into this extraordinary journey.

For ten years I planned our dream wedding-over and over-while my CEO fiancé Kody Morgan found ways to miss every single one. Ever since Tonya Buckley, his childhood sweetheart, returned to the country, my wedding had become a ticking time bomb. She caused a scene on the eve of my wedding, and Kody always stood me up. This last time, Tonya cut her finger, and a few drops of blood spilled dramatically. Kody anxiously ran red lights, risking everything to rush her to the ER, insisting the doctor check her carefully. Meanwhile, I faced the guests' derisive stares and received only Kody's dismissive excuse. "Does it have to be today? We've canceled the wedding so many times already, let's reschedule for next weekend. Tonya passes out at the sight of blood, so I need to stay with her. I really hope you understand." He reminisces about their childhood bond, granting Tonya every request, while neglecting me. Actually, I didn't have to marry him. When his absence became a pattern, I chose a man who'd actually appear.

Trigger/Content Warning: This story contains mature themes and explicit content intended for adult audiences(18+). Reader discretion is advised. It includes elements such as BDSM dynamics, explicit sexual content, toxic family relationships, occasional violence and strong language. This is not a fluffy romance. It is intense, raw and messy, and explores the darker side of desire. ***** "Take off your dress, Meadow." "Why?" "Because your ex is watching," he said, leaning back into his seat. "And I want him to see what he lost." ••••*••••*••••* Meadow Russell was supposed to get married to the love of her life in Vegas. Instead, she walked in on her twin sister riding her fiance. One drink at the bar turned to ten. One drunken mistake turned into reality. And one stranger's offer turned into a contract that she signed with shaking hands and a diamond ring. Alaric Ashford is the devil in a tailored Tom Ford suit. Billionaire CEO, brutal, possessive. A man born into an empire of blood and steel. He also suffers from a neurological condition-he can't feel. Not objects, not pain, not even human touch. Until Meadow touches him, and he feels everything. And now he owns her. On paper and in his bed. She wants him to ruin her. Take what no one else could have. He wants control, obedience... revenge. But what starts as a transaction slowly turns into something Meadow never saw coming. Obsession, secrets that were never meant to surface, and a pain from the past that threatens to break everything. Alaric doesn't share what's his. Not his company. Not his wife. And definitely not his vengeance.

On the morning of my wedding, I found a voice memo my fiancé of seven years had saved from his 22-year-old intern. But I still walked down the aisle, secretly pregnant with our child. Then, as we stood at the altar, she faked a faint. Blake dropped my hand and ran to her, leaving me alone. He called my heartbreak a "tantrum" while making his special tea-the one I taught him-for her in our apartment. He was certain our baby was his safety net, a guarantee I' d never leave. "She's not going to do anything," he told his mother on the phone while I was at the clinic. "Just let her blow off some steam." He thought my pain was a game and our baby was a bargaining chip. He was wrong. He found me in the recovery room, striding in with a cocky smile and a bouquet of lilies. The smile died when he saw me, pale in the hospital bed, and the flowers slipped from his grasp as he finally understood what I had done.

"Take my last name and reck all the havoc you want, Ocean." .. His last name alone was power, a commanding force, a force that makes even rulers bow... .... Aliyah Malvern's life took a drastic change... a terrible one, when her step mother and brother revealed the truth about her birth, a dirty secret she feared and that was been her father's bastard child, her inheritance was also taken away from her leaving her poor. As if that isn't enough, her step sister snatched her boyfriend, a man Aliyah loved deeply and had envisaged their future together, alongside that, the whole campus was turned against her and in a short while she became the element of ridicule and bully. Drown in sadness and misery, she ended up having a one night stand with a stranger who turned out to be no other person than her ex's Uncle... Kingley Romero.. the world soughted after billionaire bachelor, greatly feared and overly mysterious. And also overnight she becomes the billionaire's wife an offer of revenge was placed right into her laps and she is sure taking it, till every one of them falls to their feet, begged, alongside worship her, she would not stop. The marriage was to serve purpose, he needed a wife, she needed revenge but then undeniable sparks began to fly, oppositions arises, but one thing is that the billionaire has vowed never to let her go, never! He would spoil and pamper so much till she becomes the envy of the world.