*Mature Content, 18 Plus* Five years ago Anna fled from her marriage, believing it was over. Given a second chance, Anna is thrown back in time to the night of their first wedding anniversary. Now, armed with all the painful lessons the last five years have taught her, including knowledge of her own mistakes, Anna must navigate schemes that threaten her marriage and possibly her life. Can Anna trust her husband and end the schemes against them or will she find it impossible to wake up to love? Waking Up to Love is created by Parker Stevens, an EGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.
It was one of those days that everything that could go wrong had, it seemed like Los Angeles was determined to chew her up and spit her out." But when is that anything different?" Anna grumbled as she gripped the grocery bags tighter to her chest.
"Of course" she muttered with a curse as one of the bags split. She pushed a strand of long red hair back behind an ear and tried to juggle the grocery bags. She really needed to sneak past her landlord's apartment.
"Holy Sh87!" She hissed quietly as the other bag ripped. She sighed, her blue eyes watchful as she stepped around a pile of trash bags. She did not have the money to pay her rent and she knew her landlord liked to collect in other ways.
"Anna," a cold snakelike voice wheezed from the shadows, "can we talk?"
"Mr. Droshky! She said with a gasp barely holding onto her bags as he stepped from underneath the burned out bulb "Can it wait till tomorrow? "I just worked a double and I am dead tired."
"Mr. Droshky was my father," he said with a tisk as he fingered a lock of her red hair, "Call me Nico. We need to talk about the rent."
"I can have it by the end of this week when I get paid." Anna cringed, knowing she was lying. She plastered on a fake smile and held the seams of her bags together.
"Why worry about getting paid?" he laughed softly as he stepped closer. She could smell the sweat coming off him mixing with his imitation Stetson cologne. Anna shivered in revulsion. "Maybe," he said slowly as his eyes examined her breasts "we can make some other kind of arrangement."
"I don't think so" she said as she pulled her hair out of his slimy grasp.
"Aww come on," he huffed "I can be real gentle." Anna doubted that seriously.
"I think I'll stick to paying my bills the old fashioned way." She said as she pushed past him and approached the stairs quickly.
"Your loss" he hollered after her, licking his lips and rubbing his belly as he walked back toward his apartment "Let me know if you change your mind, I'll be waiting." Anna shivered and hurried up the stairs still feeling his eyes on her.
"What a hell hole" she thought to herself as she tried to ignore the roach that scuttled off as the light came on. She put her bags down and opened the fridge putting her meager groceries inside. She wiped her hands on her jeans and sat down heavily letting her head slap into her hands.
"Maybe I can sell my ring, that should keep me afloat for a few months."
Anna did not want to open that can of worms, there were too many painful memories there. Despite the voice in her head screaming for her to stop, she went to the sugar bowl and pulled out the three carat ring and band that hid there.
"I wonder how much you would be worth?" Anna asked the ring as she slid it on her hand and watched it sparkle.
The sound of a floor board creaking alerted her first. She had no pets and the rats that sometimes scuttled around were not big enough to cause the floor boards to creak. Anna's breath caught in her throat and she suddenly wished she'd gotten that dog her friend had suggested.
"Mr. Dhronsky?" she called out in a low voice, almost mad at herself for hoping it was him.
There was no reply and Anna slid out of the kitchen trying to be careful to avoid the light from outside. If someone was in her apartment she had to give them as little information about where she was as possible. She started toward the door as the sound of quiet breathing that was not her own sounded in the room. It seemed loud in the harsh silence almost as if they were holding their breath.
They knew she was there.
Anna made a break for the door as fast as her converse covered sneakers would take her. The intruder loomed in front of her suddenly coming out of the darkness like a phantom.
"NO!" she screamed as hands reached for her. She kicked out and connected with her attacker's leg as she pushed away. She could see the light from the hall, could taste safety but it seemed further away the more she ran toward it. Her breathing was harsh but she knew she had to get out.
"Help! Please help!" she screamed loudly as she ran for the door.
"Not so fast" a gravelly voice crooned as another shadow loomed in front of her cutting her off from the door.
"HELP! She screamed louder as he lunged toward her. She managed to dodge but then She felt the rush of air as a heavy bag swung at her head. She tried to duck, but it connected and she hit the floor with a sickening thud.
"I'm going to die." She thought sadly as a roach scuttled across the floor as the blows rained down on her and she watched the world go dark.
My family was on the poverty line and had no way to support me in college. I had to work part-time every day just to make ends meet and afford to get into the university. That was when I met her—the pretty girl in my class that every boy dreamt of asking out. I was well aware she was out of my league. Nevertheless, I mustered all my courage and bravely told her that I had fallen for her. To my surprise, she agreed to be my girlfriend. With the sweetest smile I had ever seen, she told me that she wanted my first gift for her to be the latest and top-of-the-line iPhone. I worked like a dog and even did my classmates’ laundry to save up. My hard work eventually paid off after a month. I finally got to buy what she wanted. But as I was wrapping my gift, I saw her in the dressing room, making out with the captain of the basketball team. She then heartlessly made fun of my inadequacy and made a fool out of me. To make things worse, the guy whom she cheated on me with even punched me in the face. Desperation washed over me, but there was nothing I could do but lie on the floor as they trampled on my feelings. But then, my father called me out of the blue, and my life turned upside down. It turned out that I was a billionaire's son.
"Then let's get a divorce!" With courage, Leora left her husband's house, after being accused of poisoning his mistress. Her in-laws and sister-in-law had planned various ways to kick her out of Peter's house and in the end Leora gave in. However, no one expected that things would turn 180 degrees after the divorce. When everyone who had hurt her was happy with each other's lies, Leora returned. This time, she was no longer the poor orphan girl from the orphanage. She has changed and not only that, she also carries a big secret that will make everyone turn to worship her feet.
Katie was forced to marry Dillan, a notorious ruffian. Her younger sister mocked her, "You're just an adopted daughter. Count your blessings for marrying him!" The world anticipated Katie's tribulations, but her married life unfurled with unexpected serenity. She even snagged a lavish mansion in a raffle! Katie jumped into Dillan's arms, credited him as her lucky charm. "No, Katie, it's you who brings me all this luck," Dillan replied. Then, one fateful day, Dillan's childhood friend came to her. "You're not worthy of him. Take this 50 million and leave him!" Katie finally grasped Dillan's true stature—the wealthiest man on the planet. That night, trembling with trepidation, she broached the subject of divorce with Dillan. However, with a domineering embrace, he told her, "I'd give you everything I have. Divorce is off the table!"
In her previous life, Kimberly endured the betrayal of her husband, the cruel machinations of an evil woman, and the endless tyranny of her in-laws. It culminated in the bankruptcy of her family, and ultimately, her death. After being reborn, she resolved to seek retribution against those who had wronged her, and ensure her family's prosperity. To her shock, the most unattainable man from her past suddenly set his sights on her. "You may have overlooked me before, but I shall capture your heart this time around."
In their three years of marriage, Chelsea had been a dutiful wife to Edmund. She used to think that her love and care would someday melt Edmund's cold heart, but she was wrong. Finally, she couldn't take the disappointment any longer and chose to end the marriage. Edmund had always thought that his wife was just boring and dull. So it was shocking when Chelsea suddenly threw divorce papers at his face in front of everyone at the Nelson Group's anniversary party. How humiliating! After that, everyone thought that the formerly-married couple would never see each other again, even Chelsea. Once again, she thought wrong. Sometime later, at an award ceremony, Chelsea went onstage to accept the award for best screenplay. Her ex-husband, Edmund, was the one presenting the award to her. As he handed her the trophy, he suddenly reached for her hand and pleaded humbly in front of the audience, "Chelsea, I'm sorry I didn't cherish you before. Could you please give me another chance?" Chelsea looked at him indifferently. "I'm sorry, Mr. Nelson. My only concern now is my business." Edmund's heart was shattered into a million pieces. "Chelsea, I really can't live without you." But his ex-wife just walked away. Wasn't it better for her to just concentrate on her career? Men would only distract her—especially her ex-husband.
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."