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"You're not the kind of girl I'd usually kiss," he says, his eyes latching onto my lips. "But I'll do it anyway." Then the cocky jerk leans in and kisses me. ____ Jude Walker is a troubled soul. As a little boy, he made a mistake that made him grow up with hate from his siblings and unacceptance from his dad. He is depressed, suicidal, and a bad boy. Ava Jo Hansen is a quiet girl who cares too much about others. She seems okay to everyone around her, but she has demons gnawing at her sanity. When their paths cross, Ava finds herself drawn to Jude's darkness knowing very well every step of the way it's a wrong direction to go. But she keeps on. Will it be a happy ending for them?
"My name is Ava Hansen and I..."
"Yes..."
"Seventeen."
"No, but..."
"Please, if..."
The line goes dead on the other side and I slam my phone on the table.
"Where the fuck do they expect me to get experience if nobody will give me my first chance?" I complain out loud, fighting the urge to hurl something across the empty space and down the library balcony. Which would have to be my English textbook, my essay notebook or my copy of Hamlet, so no thanks, I would rather keep my anger in check.
My shitty old phone is obviously out of the question. Shitty, old or not, it's the only one I've got.
"Beats me too," a voice comes from behind me, and I swivel in my seat.
A tall blonde guy is standing behind my chair, carrying a backpack, holding its strap in one hand and a lollipop in the other.
"You are late Jude," I accuse, looking at my wrist watch.
We were supposed to meet at 4.00pm, not 4.12pm.
Jude Walker walks forward and drops his bag on top of my books. I push it away.
"God forbid that we all be on time," he says, taking a seat directly opposite me. His blue eyes rise to mine. "Remind me again, what's your name?"
What? Really?
"Gotta be kidding me," I mutter beneath my breath, collecting my English books and stuffing them in my bag.
"No I'm not," he answers. "Arya? Angela? It's got an A somewhere, right?"
I hold my bag on my lap and stare at him, speechless. He is fúcking serious.
Wow.
I've gone to the same school as this guy for three freaking years, going on to four, and he doesn't know my name? Yes, we are not in any class together but we are in the same year so what the hell?
He lifts his lollipop and pops it into his mouth. He continues looking at me, waiting for my response.
Hah!
I ignore him and start digging for my Math book. I place it, more like slam it, on the table, then follow it up with a workbook and a diary. I place my bag aside and grasp a pen.
I look back at him.
"We need to make a schedule," I tell him.
He frowns, then pulls the candy from between his lips, leaving them glistening and red.
"You're not gonna tell me your name?"
"What do you want? My name, or help with Math?" I snap.
"Both." Then before I can catch on to him, he reaches forward and grabs my workbook. He looks at the cover before returning it. His red lips stretch into a smile. "Ava. Ava Hansen. I knew it had an A somewhere."
I click my tongue against the roof of my mouth loud enough so he doesn't miss the sound. "Congrats on the close guess, genius. How about we work on that schedule now?"
He winks and leans back in his seat, all carefree.
I stare at him and wait for him to say something, but it looks as if he is doing the same thing, waiting for me to say something. Which I already have, but oh well.
"You going to say anything?" I prod.
He leans forward again, twisting the lolly stick between his fingers. "You know, I always thought you were nice."
I groan and press the heel of my palm against my forehead, fighting a fresh urge.
To throw my pen right between his eyes and see what happens.
"And I always knew you were an annoying asshole," I shoot back.
He draws back, his brows actually coming together in a frown.
Did I surprise him?
I know sometimes we don't realise some things about ourselves until another person points them out, but really? That should have been obvious to him.
"No I'm not," he denies.
I throw my hands around, suddenly tired of this pointless conversation.
"Whatever, can we make the fúcking schedule right now?"
He shrugs. "I didn't know you were the cursing type, either," he says, his red lips turning up in a hidden smile.
Oh what the hell.
*****
Jude Walker is the classic blond blue-eyed beauty, trust me when I say.
Don't go getting any cute boy next door images in your mind, though.
Jude Walker is not cute, and he is not nice.
Well, that last one I don't know, but judging from my first ever proper meeting with him, which was a Math study session that ended ten minutes ago - after lasting ten minutes half of which we argued and the other managed to make a schedule - I can confidently say I didn't detect a single nice bone in his being.
Jude is hot. Not cute.
He might be a jerk, but I'm a girl with eyes, and when I see eye candy I name it for what it is. I've been around the guy for three years, so I've seen his hotness a lot of times, but one thing is sure.
It never diminishes.
Sometimes when you get used to something it eventually loses its appeal after a while, but this one guy seems to get hotter and hotter as the days go by.
Two days ago, my Math teacher told me there was a student who needs help with his Math, asking whether I could offer to tutor him. I'm good at Math, and always welcome a little practice, so I agreed.
I don't know who I had expected, but Jude had been a surprise.
School football team star Jude Walker, school bad boy Jude Walker.
The moment I left Ms. Fernandez's office, I did a bit of digging here and there, otherwise known as stalking.
Jude is not a dumb kid. In fact, I think he has more As on his transcript than I do. I was wondering why he needed my help when I noticed his Math grades. We were halfway through our last school year, and the highest he had managed was a B, which compared to the rest of his subjects was poor.
He was going all out on As. I couldn't help but admire him.
I was a bit flabbergasted at his high grades, however. Let me confess I was a victim of believing in the stereotype of dumb jocks.
If he wasn't so annoying, maybe I would like him a little.
We have successfully made a schedule, though I wouldn't exactly call it a schedule.
We have the days.
Not the time.
Which, if you ask me, makes the whole thing useless and pointless.
We cancelled out the days he has football practice, and the days I have club meetings.
Drama and Journalism, which he thinks are too many.
Which leaves us with Tuesday and Friday.
"I'm pretty sure nothing will be happening on Fridays," he says as we head out of the library area.
"Why not?" I ask, irked that he is making this hard, even though it's all for him.
He shrugs. "I mean, it's Friday," he says.
The reason of reasons, if you ask me.
"Why are we restricting ourselves to evenings, anyway?" he asks.
"You want to do it early in the morning before classes?" I suggest.
"Hell no, I barely get up in time for the first class."
Makes two of us.
"I'm saying four to six. What about you?"
We walk in silence for a while.
"Only four hours per week?" he asks.
"I'm up for more, just give me the time," I say.
I literally have all the time in the world, since finding a job for after school has proved futile for me. I snicker mentally, remembering the voice over my phone.
"How old are you?"
"Have you had any experience waitressing before?"
"I'm sorry, in that case we can't take you in, we need..."
Like what the fúck, it's a waitressing job in a restaurant at the very edge of town, not a hostess at a five star spa in the middle of the city or something fancy like that.
"I'll let you know," Jude says as we come to the front of the school.
"Cool," I mumble, and start off on my way.
"Hey, wait," he calls, and I look back at him.
I stand still and wait for him to say something.
"Thanks for taking me up," he says, serious for once with no trace of humour in his voice.
I shrug. "It's a way of revision for me," I answer and turn away. This time round, he doesn't call me back.
Jo hasn't heard a word from Jude since he left for therapy after they completed high school. Three years on, she decides to give love another chance. Just when she opens her heart to someone else, Jude walks back into her life. Do the feelings of old still exist? Do they matter anymore? Book 2 of Knowing Jude
Mari is running away from her abusive boyfriend when she runs into Stefan. Stefan, a werewolf king, has mistaken her for his destined mate, and before she can correct him, he bites and mates with her. Mari is happy enough with her newfound life as the werewolf king’s mate, but will her happiness last when his fated mate, who happens to be her long-lost twin sister, shows up?
“Is sex on a boat any good?” He went with her, an amused smile on his face. “Depends on the captain.” 💫💫💫 Amanda Lemaiyan's heart is shattered when she discovers her fiancé was using her to rise the ranks of her father's conglomerate. After a bitter break up, she has a one night stand with a strange man on her short vacation. When she comes back home, she finds out that the man she slept with is the new CEO who has taken over her ex-fiancé's position at her fashion company. Can she trust him when he says he's after her and not her company's fortune? *** Love woes aside, Amanda finds herself in the middle of family drama when her sister tries to take away her control over the fashion company. Rebecca has her eyes set on the family business empire, and she sees Amanda, who has always been the apple of their father's eyes, as her biggest competition. In the ensuing conflicts, secrets and betrayals are revealed that change Amanda's life forever. When everything seems to be working against her, will she find the true love and achieve the dreams that have eluded her so far?
Bailey seems to be never destined to fit in, a little geeky, but under it all, a hidden beauty that so many seem to miss, but still not what her pack Alpha is looking for in a fated mate... so he is determined to reject her and make her life hell. Bailey, knowing her life will likely never be the same focuses on what she can control, her future, and heads off to study; becoming a teacher. Asher is the Beta of Autumn Valley Pack, a neighbouring pack. A broken man having suffered the loss of his mate after a rogue attack, Asher is slowly crumbling. Falling to pieces. A shadow of his former self, and not a man that anyone wants to be around anymore... Until, Autumn Valley Pack require a new teacher, and Bailey finds herself there and pushed together with the Beta. Is there a connection building or is that in their imaginations? And what will happen when Bailey's mate comes back to claim what is his?
In order to fulfill her grandfather's last wish, Stella entered into a hasty marriage with an ordinary man she had never met before. However, even after becoming husband and wife on paper, they each led separate lives, barely crossing paths. A year later, Stella returned to Seamarsh City, hoping to finally meet her mysterious husband. To her astonishment, he sent her a text message, unexpectedly pleading for a divorce without ever having met her in person. Gritting her teeth, Stella replied, "So be it. Let’s get a divorce!" Following that, Stella made a bold move and joined the Prosperity Group, where she became a public relations officer that worked directly for the company’s CEO, Matthew. The handsome and enigmatic CEO was already bound in matrimony, and was known to be unwaveringly devoted to his wife in private. Unbeknownst to Stella, her mysterious husband was actually her boss, in his alternate identity! Determined to focus on her career, Stella deliberately kept her distance from the CEO, although she couldn't help but notice his deliberate attempts to get close to her. As time went on, her elusive husband had a change of heart. He suddenly refused to proceed with the divorce. When would his alternate identity be uncovered? Amidst a tumultuous blend of deception and profound love, what destiny awaited them?
Darya spent three years loving Micah, worshipping the ground he walked on. Until his neglect and his family's abuse finally woke her up to the ugly truth-he doesn't love her. Never did, never will. To her, he is a hero, her knight in shining armour. To him, she is an opportunist, a gold digger who schemed her way into his life. Darya accepts the harsh reality, gathers the shattered pieces of her dignity, divorces him, takes back her real name, reclaims her title as the country's youngest billionaire heiress. Their paths cross again at a party. Micah watches his ex-wife sing like an angel, tear up the dance floor, then thwart a lecher with a roundhouse kick. He realises, belatedly, that she's exactly the kind of woman he'd want to marry, if only he had taken the trouble to get to know her. Micah acts promptly to win her back, but discovers she's now surrounded by eligible bachelors: high-powered CEO, genius biochemist, award-winning singer, reformed playboy. Worse, she makes it pretty clear that she's done with him. Micah gears up for an uphill battle. He must prove to her he's still worthy of her love before she falls for someone else. And time is running out.
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."
After three years of loveless marriage, Kira was slapped with divorce papers. She has shown him her unrequited love throughout her entire marriage with him, but he decided to turn blind eyes all because of his lover. Distraught and heartbroken, Kira choose to sign the divorce papers with bitter heart. But then and there, she promised herself that when she's back, he will come crawling to her, but she will make him pay for hurting her. Join Kira as she transform to a wealthy heiress and soared as the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar empire, a remarkable healer and make her ex-husband pay!
"I've warned you from the beginning. Don't marry him, but you won't listen." She stood close to me and smiled with concern. "You are not a woman worthy of a man as handsome, rich, smart, and virile as Blaze." My whole body trembled at her words. "Have you no shame?" I asked in a quivering voice. "Take a good look at yourself, Heather." She looked at me in the mirror. "You can't even look at your ugly face. Do you think Blaze can endure a lifetime of looking at that face?" Heather Bailey had a surprise from her husband that night: a divorce agreement. After a year of marriage and facing ups and downs, she couldn't believe Blaze intended to divorce her. But she was devastated when she saw him gazing lovingly at another woman because that person was closest to her. Shortly after she put her signature on their divorce papers, shock waves caught her up. Her flower shop was severely burnt, beyond repair. Her father's company collapsed, and her parents blamed her. She struggled to rebuild her life from the ground up and became more successful than ever. Having many customers who came from influential families, she started her action against Blaze. She won the very thing he wanted. But that was just the beginning.