/0/22214/coverbig.jpg?v=5ec795c328bb6d70aceb2f544b9481b2)
Tessa is the picture perfect student with good grades, flawless attendance and a charming smile. With one year left to graduate high school and a bucket list imposed by her best friend, her goal is pretty much the same with an extra addition--tick off every item on the cursed bucket list. But trouble comes knocking in the form of blue eyes, muscled body and an ego the size of her head. What happens when the school's bad boy, Benjamin notices her in a boxing ring?
I have always been disliked by my peers. Sure, no one is bold enough to walk up to me and express their dislike but it's evident in their behaviours. The looks, the snickers or low tunes when I pass by. But they never say it to my face. Well, Olivia tries, she has always been the bold one. I don't expect her to change but I can handle her. After all, it's her fault we are no longer friends, if only she had kept it in her pants.
A tug on my shirt snaps me out of my musing, the reflection of my one and only best friend in the whole world appears on my car window and I turn around with a big smile. Her high-pitched scream has me plugging my fingers into my ears, she throws her arms around me in excitement and I return the hug with a slight eye roll, acting like I didn't miss her. She jabs my sides with a scowl, I return the favour.
"Holla," she says in her beautiful Spanish accent, switching into Spanish like I understand the language.
I wait for her to finish talking but the thing with Maria is this-she never stops talking. You have to cut her off so that's exactly what I do. I throw an arm around her shoulders. "Maria. How was the party?"
Some boy from our school hosted a party last night to welcome everyone to the new semester and in Maria's book, you never say no to a cute boy who asks nicely. In my book, you say no to every boy. High school isn't for relationships, it's that period of your life you are forced to endure so you do your best to get by. Stay unnoticed. She shakes her head and shrugs my hand off her shoulders, dragging me away from my car and into the direction of the door.
I hesitate at the front door, Maria takes a step forward and stops. "Tessa?" She turns to me, I shrug.
See, Maria is very pretty. With her waist length blond hair, honey eyes, smooth accent, banging body and beautiful heart, that cheerleader is the kind of person everyone wants to be friends with. And then, you have me. Cool Tessa. I mean, I am a sight for sore eyes, that's what mum says. If I can try to wear something outside black T-shirts, skinny jeans and sneakers, I'll look excellent. Sometimes, I think she's disappointed at the fact her only daughter isn't following her path of fashion. My mum is a fashionista.
"Theresa Mower!" Maria snaps her fingers in my face and my eyes flicker to her. I offer her a sheepish grin, widen my big, brown eyes into what I hope is a puppy-eyed look and she pinches my nose, baring her teeth at me when I try to protest. Placing her hands on her waist, she says, "This is a new session, we promise to try and socialise more, right? We have one more year to go, let's make the best of it."
I nod. By we, she means me alone because she's a social butterfly and I am that friend who will rather spend her weekend binge-watching old movies. She tucks her hand into the crook of my elbow and pulls me to stand on the stairs with her. I am only two inches taller than she is but her heels already took care of the height difference. She pushes the door open, I close my eyes, take a deep breath and step in.
The corridors are quiet as we stroll in, I make sure to stay beside Maria as we head for our lockers. When I'm with her, people seldom glance my way, all attention is focused on her. I can always handle myself but it feels good to have her around me in the mornings since we don't have any class together.
It's too silent. And the silence unnerves me, it's not normal. Broadway Heights is filled with different categories of teenagers. The good, the bad, the ugly and the evil so silence on a Friday morning should worry anyone. And it bothers me. Even Maria. She retrieves her phone from her bag, I laugh on seeing the big fluffy ears attached to the case of her iPhone. She calls it a fashion statement, I call it a miss.
I know she's searching Broadway Gossip site. It's a gossip blog run by an anonymous person. My guts tell me it's Olivia, the whole thing reeks of her-the pink themes, boring interface and girly designs but no one knows for sure. The blog is only good for two things; ruining the reputations of Broadway Heights students or updating us on the latest gist. I pause in front of my locker, waiting for the latest update and Maria's brows furrow as she continues swiping on her screen. I can easily pull out the Samsung phone I got on my last birthday but no, I'll pass. I made a decision to stay away from that blog after they shared a student's nude. I can always get whatever information I need from Maria, she's ever willing to share.
"There's a video of Nate dancing on a pole," Maria says with a laugh. She pushes her phone in front of my face, I grimace at the video of the shirtless boy that appears on her screen. He is drunk, he has to be. No way will a sane boy be grinding on a stick or kissing it with such passion. Ew. "He's so shameless."
Nate is one of many familiar faces I can't place a finger on. Definitely one of the school jocks, look at that body. I nod and return her phone. For sure, he attends my school but we are not friends so he's none of my business. My focus returns to my locker, my first class is AP Calculus so I need to retrieve the textbook. I have no idea why I'm in that class. But on the plus side, none of the cheerleaders offer the subject with me so it makes it bearable. Put me in a class far away from Olivia and I'll be fine for the day.
I open my locker, a smile slips to my lips at the picture glued to the door. It's a picture of me and Maria. I'm standing with my legs apart, arms crossed on my flat chest, body tilted to one side with a massive scowl on my face while Maria is being Maria. Her usual diva self with the most blinding smile, model like pose and her black bodycon gown. I must have been trying to prove a point to my mother, why else would I wear a tux to prom? Admittedly, my fashion sense is dead but I hate tuxes. Skinny jeans please.
Maria made us take that picture. Maybe to have something to laugh about or simply for the memories. Liv-Olivia and I were still friends, her picture used to be beside this but I guess old things have passed away. I will never admit it to Maria but this is one of my favourite pictures of us from sophomore year.
My hands locate the textbook, I'm still smiling at the memories from the party, how I embarrassed us with my horrible dancing skills when someone rams into me from behind. Everything stops. A sharp pain spreads to my shoulder, my forehead connects with the metal bar and stars dot my vision for a second.
I hear Maria's sharp intake of breath. "Are you blind?" she screams at the person behind us and I spin, ready to punch the demon who shoved me into outer space when I see who it is and my throat dries up.
The witch. The witch is here.
“Marry me, Leilani.” “What?” “We will have rules. There will be a contract.” Eyes widened in shock, she muttered, “You want me to be your wife? A contract wife?” * * * After her Tinder date goes horribly wrong, Leilani heads off to join her best friend at a wedding. There, she meets a man with the strangest proposal ever. A contract marriage. A normal person would have said no but a lonely person would consider the idea. So, she says yes to this hot, handsome stranger. Marrying a stranger wouldn’t be the worst decision she has taken. Or so she thinks, until she heads to the office the next work day and the head of department tells them the company has experienced a major change. A change as major as getting a new boss, who also happens to be her new husband.
When the Alpha of Zebulun dies without an heir, the throne automatically falls to his sister, Hadiza, the mateless beta. But there's one problem. Female wolves cannot lead. Desperate to find her mate and keep the throne in her family, she joins a dating site that connects humans and werewolves. One mistake--a matchmake gone wrong leads Hadiza to an unexpected date with her mate, a human besotted by his long term girlfriend.
“In my world, there is no lovemaking, just plain fucks with no strings attached. I cannot love you, Elna.” Grinding my waist against his groin, I cup his face and say, “Then fuck me.” * * * When Elna's father first suggests an arranged marriage between her and Brandon Stark—the hot British billionaire—she is reluctant to go on a date with the man. On realising the dire state of their family business and the stress it puts on her beloved parents, Elna makes the bold decision to go ahead with it. Her family comes first. What she expects is a cold, cordial marriage. What she hopes is for their relationship to eventually lead to something more, as was the case with her parents. Ambitious go-getter that she is, Elna takes it upon herself to make her calm, controlling, anti-romance husband fall helplessly in love with her. But what she doesn't expect is to be drawn into Brandon's BDSM world of chains and whips, doms and subs. Will Brandon's love be more than Elna can handle?
It was supposed to be a marriage of convenience, but Carrie made the mistake of falling in love with Kristopher. When the time came that she needed him the most, her husband was in the company of another woman. Enough was enough. Carrie chose to divorce Kristopher and move on with her life. Only when she left did Kristopher realize how important she was to him. In the face of his ex-wife’s countless admirers, Kristopher offered her 20 million dollars and proposed a new deal. “Let’s get married again.”
Kallie, a mute who had been ignored by her husband for five years since their wedding, also suffered the loss of her pregnancy due to her cruel mother-in-law. After the divorce, she learned that her ex-husband had quickly gotten engaged to the woman he truly loved. Holding her slightly rounded belly, she realized that he had never really cared for her. Determined, she left him behind, treating him as a stranger. Yet, after she left, he scoured the globe in search of her. When their paths crossed once more, Kallie had already found new happiness. For the first time, he pleaded humbly, "Please don't leave me..." But Kallie's response was firm and dismissive, cutting through any lingering ties. "Get lost!"
The whispers said that out of bitter jealousy, Hadley shoved Eric's beloved down the stairs, robbing the unborn child of life. To avenge, Eric forced Hadley abroad and completely cut her off. Years later, she reemerged, and they felt like strangers. When they met again, she was the nightclub's star, with men ready to pay fortunes just to glimpse her elusive performance. Unable to contain himself, Eric blocked her path, asking, "Is this truly how you earn a living now? Why not come back to me?" Hadley's lips curved faintly. "If you’re eager to see me, you’d better join the queue, darling."
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!
Rumors claimed that Fernanda, newly back with her family, was nothing more than a violent country bumpkin. Fernanda just flashed a casual, dismissive grin in response. Another rumor suggested that the usually rational Cristian had lost all sense, madly in love with Fernanda. This frustrated her. She could tolerate gossip about herself, but slander against her beloved crossed the line! Gradually, as Fernanda's multiple identities as a celebrated designer, a savvy gamer, an acclaimed painter, and a successful business magnate came to light, everyone realized they were the ones who had been fooled.
After hiding her true identity throughout her three-year marriage to Colton, Allison had committed wholeheartedly, only to find herself neglected and pushed toward divorce. Disheartened, she set out to rediscover her true self-a talented perfumer, the mastermind of a famous intelligence agency, and the heir to a secret hacker network. Realizing his mistakes, Colton expressed his regret. "I know I messed up. Please, give me another chance." Yet, Kellan, a once-disabled tycoon, stood up from his wheelchair, took Allison's hand, and scoffed dismissively, "You think she'll take you back? Dream on."