Elena Wiltshire's dreams were on the cusp of coming true; she just got accepted into Harvard without the sway of the Wiltshire name! But when her twin sister's engagement to Sebastian Dumont, the wealthiest CEO in the UK, falls through due to her sister's shameless deeds, Elena is forced to take her place to avoid a scandal. Will Elena crack the surface of the jaded and heartbroken CEO, or live a wedded life of misery
I stared at my laptop, not believing what I was seeing... Then I let out a shriek so loud that even my mother came running into my room.
"What in the world is going on, Elena?" she cried out, staring at me with eyes as big as saucers. I turn my laptop screen around and point towards it, "I got accepted, mother! Harvard has accepted my application!" I respond with glee, to a very confused mother.
She raised one expertly plucked eyebrow at me, "Excuse me? Harvard, as in The States?"
Fighting the urge to roll my eyes at her, I nod and could not help but grin.
Harvard Law School, my dream Uni has accepted me! Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing could knock me off this high. I've done it! I have proven to myself and my family that I could get somewhere without their influence.
I mean, I could have chosen Cambridge or Oxford, but that would be too close to home and the Wiltshire name. I would immediately have been accepted if they knew I was William Wiltshire's daughter.
My face hurts from grinning, and I look at my mother for a reaction, but as usual, there was none. And it was not the Botox.
"Well now, we will have to see what your father has to say about this. The States, Elena? Why not Oxford? It is, in fact, your father's alumni."
Did I say nothing could knock me off this high? Well, my mother just shot a bazooka straight into it.
I stare at her, a little despondent. I expected this reaction, prepared myself for it even, but it didn't hurt any less. Never in my 20 years on this earth, had my mother been proud of me or showed it. The smile drops from my face and I sigh, "Can't you just be happy for me for once, mother?"
She looked at me as if I had trampled on her favourite Louboutins, "I will be happy when I know you have rejected that acceptance letter and studied closer to home. Come, you need to get ready for tonight's dinner party. The Dumont's will be joining us this evening." With that, she turned on her heels and strode out of my room.
I stare at her back and feel a tear slip down my cheek.
My mother, Susanna Wiltshire, is an upper-class socialite of noble blood so it will always be expected of me to follow in her footsteps. My twin sister, Eliana, slipped into the role much easier than I did. Where I was brash and spoke my mind, she was reserved and soft spoken. A proper lady.
Speaking of which; a face pops into my bedroom door with a smile plastered on her face, my mirror image. With a few alterations.
Where she had soft honey coloured curls set in a natural balayage, I had more of a caramel tint to my balayage. Where her eyes were baby blue and sparkling, mine was more of an icy steel. We both had heart shaped faces, almond shaped eyes and bow shaped lips though.
People have said we were blessed with our looks, my sister seemed to think so. Where she got stares and knew she was beautiful, I had the self-esteem of a rock.
"I heard the news!" She exclaims and rushes over to me, engulfing me in a hug. "I am so proud of you, Elena! This is fantastic news!"
Trust Eliana to be my hype girl. I smile against my better judgement and a giggle escapes from my throat. She let go of me and looked me up and down, her blue eyes sparkling with unshed tears.
"You get to live your dream instead of being forced to live the socialite life." She says, knowing that would have been the bane of my existence. My bottom lip starts to tremble at her words, knowing my father would never allow me to study at Harvard. The sudden realization hits me.
He would never agree to this. How stupid could I have been?
Eliana's smile drops from her face and she regards me with concern, "I was foolish, Eliana." I start, "Father would never allow me to move overseas when he could just have easily gotten me into Oxford. Me and my stupid dreams."
She offers me a thin smile then leads me back to my bed. "You never know, Elena. Speak to him about it. Maybe he wants one of us to experience what the world has to offer." She said, a knowing smile crossed her lips and I had a feeling she was hiding something from me.
Call it twins' intuition, but I could always tell when Eliana was lying to me or withholding something. In this case, it was the latter.
I decide to not push the subject but nod anyway. "I will after this evening's dinner party. I am guessing Sebastian and his parents will be joining us?" I ask.
Ugh, Sebastian Dumont. The most arrogant man God could ever have created. The man oozed self-righteousness and had an ego 10 times larger than his body weight. The first time he came to our estate to visit Eliana, he didn't mistake me for her at all, normally people do. He called me 'podgy' and said he did not understand why people confused the two of us.
Call me childish, but I never forgot that day. I had never been so embarrassed in my life. Of course, I never mentioned this to Eliana, I did not want her to think any less of her fiance.
She nods happily, "Yes, he is. Just a few last-minute preparations and alterations were made before the wedding. His parents wish to iron it out before the big day." She says with calm as if she wasn't marrying the wealthiest CEO in the UK.
"Ah okay. I will be expected to attend then?" I ask with a grin, already knowing the answer. She gives me a sarcastic look, "My maid of honour wants to sit this one out? I don't think so." She responded and got up from my bed to leave my room. Then she turned around at the doorway and gave me another smile, "I truly am so happy for you, Elena. You deserve this little bit of freedom. Speak to father after the dinner party. I am sure he will give you his blessing."
Then she was gone.
I flop back down onto my oak four-poster and sigh out loud. Would my father honestly be okay with me studying overseas? If my mother was anything to go on, that would be a resounding no.
I take my cell phone out of my pocket intending to call my boyfriend, Nicholas. He had been my rock the past two years and was the one who encouraged me to apply at Harvard. This made no sense to me at all, because I wanted to be close to him as we were to be wed in a year's time. However, I started to realize that I needed to do this for myself, I needed to pursue my dream.
However, on the fourth ring, I put the phone down as my call goes unanswered. Weird, Nicholas always answered when he saw it was me calling. I shrug and try to push my emotions down. I would tell him my news later on.
The Dumonts would be here soon, I had better make myself look presentable.
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?
Joelle thought she could change Adrian's heart after three years of marriage, but she realized too late that it already belonged to another woman. "Give me a baby, and I'll set you free." The day Joelle went into labor, Adrian was traveling with his mistress on his private jet. "I don't care whom you love. My debt is paid. From now on, we have nothing to do with each other." Not long after Joelle left, Adrian found himself begging on his knees. "Please come back to me."
Due to the plight of her family, Phoebe had no choice but to embark on the path of selling herself. In an accident, she had a tangled night with Alexander. Everything began to derail, and even if she fled to the ends of the earth, she would still be found by him and entangled... *** Phoebe screamed in frustration, "What do you want from me?" What was this supposed to be? He raised an eyebrow wickedly. "What do I want? You'll find out soon enough." With that, he hoisted her up and carried her back into the office. The door slammed shut with a kick, and he cleared the desk with a sweep of his arm before laying her down on it, his body pinning hers in place, completely trapping her in his grasp. Every cell in his body was telling him he wanted her. He wanted to claim her again. This time, there would be no escape for her-he wouldn't let her slip away. Never again. If he had suffered for five years, then this woman wouldn't get off easily either!
When Corynn mustered up the courage to tell Elliot about her pregnancy, she unexpectedly found him gallantly helping another woman from his car. Her heart sank as three years of effort to secure his love crumbled before her eyes, compelling her to leave him behind. Three years later, life had taken Corynn down a new path with someone else, while Elliot was left grappling with regret. Seizing a moment of vulnerability, he pleaded, "Corynn, let's get married." Shaking her head with a faint smile, Corynn gently replied, "Sorry, I'm already engaged."
"Is it considered betrayal to develop feelings for your best friend's boyfriend? What about when fate intervenes, and he turns out to be your destined mate? You might think it's luck and thank the moon goddess for such a twist of fate. That's what I believed until the love of my life uttered those dreaded words: 'I want a divorce!' As I stared at the pregnancy test in my hands, I realized it was better to keep my secret to myself. My name is Violet, and this is my story."
There was only one man in Raegan's heart, and it was Mitchel. In the second year of her marriage to him, she got pregnant. Raegan's joy knew no bounds. But before she could break the news to her husband, he served her divorce papers because he wanted to marry his first love. After an accident, Raegan lay in the pool of her own blood and called out to Mitchel for help. Unfortunately, he left with his first love in his arms. Raegan escaped death by the whiskers. Afterward, she decided to get her life back on track. Her name was everywhere years later. Mitchel became very uncomfortable. For some reason, he began to miss her. His heart ached when he saw her all smiles with another man. He crashed her wedding and fell to his knees while she was at the altar. With bloodshot eyes, he queried, "I thought you said your love for me is unbreakable? How come you are getting married to someone else? Come back to me!"