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Warning: 18+ contents in few chapters. Athena Stanford and Terrence Adams are used to be childhood friends but tied into marriage. He was attracted to her but he hated her. She hated him but she secretly likes him. Similar to fire and ice, their relationship were hidden under some circumstances. Obstacles are nailed in their ways making their bond sweeter and rougher than ever.
Somewhere in I city, at 24:00...
"Baby, you gotta phone call from an unregistered number..." Mike called out holding his girlfriend's mobile phone.
He peered at her screen sneakily and ignored the urge to invade her privacy. It's been a year since they were together but he hadn't had gathered the courage to interrogate his girlfriend's origin. He was extremely puzzled by her. She looked so beautiful and according to her she was raised on by her grandparents in the countryside. She left her elders to find a job somewhere and then they meet here in I city. He couldn't help feeling suspicious about it. He assumed that his girlfriend was hiding something from him.
"Answer it, please. Tell whoever that caller that I'm taking a shower..." Athena shouted poking her head in her bathroom door. A playful wink was thrown towards her boyfriend.
"Are you sure about this? What if it's about work or perhaps one of your family members?" Mike huffed with a gentle smile on his face.
Though he was too eager to answer the call, he restrain himself hard and hide his eagerness. He put on a gentle smile on his face as he awaited her affirmation. His finger was now itching to swipe the answer mode.
Athena rolled her greenish eyes. "The same statement, babe..." She commanded and finally slammed the door shut leaving no room for an argument.
Whoever that caller was, she was sure it was less important than anything else. Her warm bath is the most important for her as she felt so sticky all over her body. She felt extremely uncomfortable and disgusted.
Athena made her way towards her half-human-sized mirror and stared at her reddish cheeks. She had just recovered from her high fever and she felt sticky all over from her sweat, thus she insisted to take a warm bath fighting hard against Mike - her boyfriend's firm avoidance as per the physician's instructions. To hell with those instructions? She is well aware of her own body and she swore that she is strong as a horse! She can even kick some hard in the gut if she needs to!
Remembering the days during her first arrival in the City, her inner muscles tightened. Memories of those lingered on her mind. Those fights... And the guy that she happen to save that day! Since then, she began to appear on some hidden gathering to accompany him.
She wasn't supposed to be far away from her family and endure some hardships in life every day but she was pissed off because of her marriage arrangement way back. Helpless, she could only endure their insistence to marry that person. It was a sudden marriage for the sake of two old people who wants to be united as a family and she became their target for that hilarious agreement. After that day, she swore that she would never go back to her homeland unless she was really needed to do so. She flew to I city, hide her real identity as an heiress, and worked her ass day and night to sustain her daily needs. Her accounts were loaded though but she didn't touch any dime of it. She wanted to be free from her families' stupid shits! She wanted to prove herself to them that she had grown to be an independent woman who could simply live her life without having much cash to spend.
Perks of a successor were to consume a lot of fortune wherever and whenever it was needed or rather it was just for a heartbeat. Unlimited shopping spree! Partying like an animal at night! Spent and spent then, in the end, she has to oblige. Follow the families' stupid arrangements. No sovereignty for its own self. This was what she hated about being cornered in such kind of situation. She didn't want it! She just craves to live a simple and joyful life without any heavy burdens being put on her shoulders.
A bitter smile formed on her lips as she remembered the words that completely broke her hopes to love someone. Those words really pierced her heart until now. Though she didn't actually expect that person to pay attention to her, nonetheless she felt a sharp pain in her heart. She wasn't that desperate to get his affection, but the elder's insistence made her have the impression of being one. The guy hated her guts because of that arrangement.
'I would never love her! I only love my girlfriend! Sooner, I would divorce her and marry Hannah! She is the one that I love!'
Those furious words hurt her deeply that day when his elders came to their home with him to discuss their sudden nuptials. She accidentally heard him say it to his parents while walking out of her room. She had turned speechless for that. She never know that starting that day, she would hate him so much. It was unintentional, but still, it left a huge scar in her heart - an irreparable one.
Though by now she had Mike as her boyfriend for almost a year, she didn't entirely feel the word 'LOVE' that could sting and make her heart race towards him. She couldn't feel any emotions aside from enjoying his company. She assumed that perhaps, that little thing called LOVE wasn't as majestic as the others actually said. It was just a pure exaggeration! A momentary complicated emotion that makes someone's life shook with a few twists and turns. Yeah right! That's just it! That's the ironic thought that she describes for that Stupid love.
Athena pushed aside her thoughts and went on ahead bathing herself and scrubbing her sweats off from her body. After a few minutes, she dried herself up and went back to Mike while drying the existing water from her long hair. She strides forward and her jaw dropped at the sight of her boyfriend staring at her in a daze. She eyed him suspiciously as she inched closer to him.
"Babe, what's the matter with you?" She asked raising her perfect brows in confusion.
"Baby, your caller..." Mike trailed off his words and gulped hard. His eyes bore bottomless sadness that he had never shown to her ever since they meet each other. But why is that?
"Oh, who called me?" She huffed, staring at him. Her heart thuds loudly beneath her chest feeling uneasy.
"T-Terrence... He said, his name is Terrence Adams..." Mike muttered intently staring at his girlfriend. His quizzical stare made her heart skip a beat.
"Hmph!" Athena gives out a cold snort hiding her anxiety. "Don't mind that person. Just ignore him." She assured and strode towards her small dresser to apply her skincare products.
"But... Baby, he told me that he will be picking you up after 12 hours at the airport." Mike stood up from Athena's bed and sauntered towards her with a few strides. He stopped behind her and snaked his arms on her waist hugging her from behind.
"Why is that?" Athena whispered askance. Her heart began to hammer furiously inside her rib cage. She felt odd to hear that Terrence Adams would call her. He hated her! Why should he waste his time and money calling her? Was there something wrong with her family? It couldn't be...
"Baby... You need to get back home..." Mike mumbled softly gluing his face on her back. His hold on her waist tightened.
"I'm not going somewhere, Babe... I'm staying here with you. I can't be absent in the office, you know that..." She declined without hesitation. She then rubbed her lotion on her arms slowly trying to conceal her racing heart. What was there waiting for her if she would go back? Hatred? Burdens? Humiliation? There's no way she would allow herself to suffer that way! She was used to living a normal life, why bother to go home?
"By the way... Who is this Terrence Adams to you, hmmm?" Mike asked, his voice turned cold at the mention of his girlfriend's caller. He seemed to be jealous at the mention of the man.
"A childhood friend," Athena muttered curtly.
"Then you must really be needed to go home, Baby... He said that the elders are now in critical condition..." Mike muttered patiently urging the woman in his arms.
Athena widely opened her eyes in astonishment. "What did you just say?" She tilted her body facing her boyfriend. Her body jerked out from his arms as she went to the window. She was feeling a sudden anxiousness. Her grandfather... The person who had the softest part of her heart was now fighting for his life.
"The elders are in critical condition. That's what he said before he dropped the call." Mike released out a long and deep sigh. "Thena, you can't just escape and run away from home like this. You have to go back and face them all..." He urged tenderly and lovingly. His heart sank at the sight of his empty arms.
"Fine... I'll go back!" Athena swallowed hard and finally groaned in defeat. She nodded her head showing her agreement with his words. This time she is indeed needed to go home.
"Then pack your things up and I'll go get the car ready. I'll send you to the airport." Mike urged again and took his heels off from her apartment leaving her with a heavy heart.
Right there and then after Mike's exit, her mobile phone rang furiously snapping her back to her senses.
Careless and shaken from the urgent news, she forgot to peer at her screen and just answered it in a hurry.
"Athena, speaking..?" She asked, striding towards her small wardrobe. Her phone glued on her ear held by her shoulder as she began to pack up her things.
"It's me..." It was a man's voice huskily answering her inquiry.
Athena froze, held her phone, and peered on her screen with inexplicable hatred. 'Unregistered!' She cleared her throat and gritted her teeth. "What's up?" She huffed impatiently.
"They're fighting for their lives now and you are needed here... It's time to come back. I'll pick you up at the airport in 12 hours." The man announced coldly.
"I'll be there. No need to pick me up!"
Oliver Mitchell's focus was singular: securing his position as CEO. He never imagined the consequences of his actions, especially his betrayal of Roselle Ventura. Three years later, she's back, not as a gentle and compassionate therapist, but as Ruella, a woman of formidable power and chilling resolve. Their paths collide once more, a dangerous dance of attraction and vengeance. Can love bloom in the ashes of betrayal, or will their intertwined destinies lead to destruction?
A 26-year-old surgeon, Bianca Martinez, was startled when a bloody stranger pointed a gun at her temple, demanding to let him into her room for some unknown reason. Later on, she realized that the person she encountered was none other than the most dangerous person in the country, Zebastian Brent. Facing a few coincidental events together, the two formed a deep attraction they never thought existed until the day they parted ways. Who will give in and follow its heartbeat?
Florrabelle Valdez once existed as Suzzane Brooks molded into hardships and maltreatment of her known family. However, during her journey of difficulties, she meet the guy that captures her heart and even married him against her own will. During those times, she was pushed into an abyss but someone came for her rescue and brought her back to where she really belongs. 8 years morphed her into different person and it yields her to come back and collect what they owed to her. With such an unfathomable profession, she was hellbent to get justice that has been denied from her even if that person involves the man that owns her heart - Maxwell Davis.
Warning: R18+ This book contains a few mature contents. Izzabelle Smith was only 17 years old when she lost her mother and brother into an accident. Her father tried to find out the real cause of their tragic death but end up failed. During her senior year, she met Ethan Scott and eventually they became a couple. One day he just disappeared with out a word leaving her confused, hurt and puzzled. 5 years later, she’s back with new appearance and full of determination to find out the missing pieces of her puzzled past.
They don't know I'm a girl. They all look at me and see a boy. A prince. Their kind purchase humans like me for their lustful desires. And, when they stormed into our kingdom to buy my sister, I intervened to protect her. I made them take me too. The plan was to escape with my sister whenever we found a chance. How was I to know our prison would be the most fortified place in their kingdom? I was supposed to be on the sidelines. The one they had no real use for. The one they never meant to buy. But then, the most important person in their savage land-their ruthless beast king-took an interest in the "pretty little prince." How do we survive in this brutal kingdom, where everyone hates our kind and shows us no mercy? And how does someone, with a secret like mine, become a lust slave? . AUTHOR'S NOTE. This is a dark romance-dark, mature content. Highly rated 18+ Expect triggers, expect hardcore. If you're a seasoned reader of this genre, looking for something different, prepared to go in blindly not knowing what to expect at every turn, but eager to know more anyway, then dive in! . From the author of the international bestselling book: "The Alpha King's Hated Slave."
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.
Rose looked at the reports in her hand and was in shock... The reports said that she was one month pregnant, however, how can she get pregnant when she didn't have any man in her life... "Was it because of that dream? Could I get pregnant because I have sex in my dream?" She thought... She didn't have any mental problems, however, except for this she can't able to think about anything... However, she still didn't get out of her surprise when she met the man in her dream... Kevin Davis looked at the reports in her hand and asked, "Is this child mine?" However, Rose didn't answer but asked... "Was that night not a dream?" Kevin was angry because it was his first time and she thinks it was a dream... Kevin forced her to marry him however, Rose didn't want it... She wanted to abort the child but he didn't let her... In the end... Rose agreed to marry him... She looked at Kevin's blue eyes and said, "I will marry you, however, I had two conditions..." "First, after marriage, you can't control my freedom, I still had the right to do whatever I want. Don't worry I won't harm the child." "Second, if I ever found out that you had cheated behind my back then I will leave with my child and you can't stop me..." Both of them got married... However, after she falls in love with him... She found there are hidden secrets in his past...
"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?"
"There will be no falling in love, we will only act as a loving couple when we are in public, we will share a room to make it believable, but no intimacy, touching is off-limits. We'll only have sex once a month, and that's solely to produce an heir. You won't interfere in my business, and I won't interfere in yours. You will be my wife in every sense and you will not be involved with any other man," he said, arrogance seeping from every word. I watch his mouth move, I'm not ready to fall in love with any man, especially not one as arrogant and egoistic as him. I can handle acting as a loving couple, and as for intimacy once a month. I can agree to that just to satisfy my sexual cravings with no strings attached. "Where can I sign?" I asked since I had nothing to lose. *** Nadine's wedding dreams turned to nightmares when she caught her sister and fiancé cheating! With a secret recording, she's ready for revenge. But then mysterious billionaire Logan West offers a deal: A Contract Marriage to take down her ex's empire. But what Nadine doesn't know is her life is getting complicated as she takes her chance to get revenge or risks everything for a chance at love?"
After spending a night with a strange man on the day before her wedding, Arianna left the country to start her life afresh. The 22-year-old Arianna Jason lived her life pleasing those she loved the most, without knowing that she was simply a prey being nurtured for the day of her ruin. Her life has tasted the butter pill of betrayal. She wants to give back to the world what she's got but how can she change her good, innocent personality to fit into a cruel society and world? Can her sweet nature be contaminated, or will she make it through, paddling on the right path?