Seventeen-year old Sarah's life is turned upside down when her single mom is sent to jail. She's forced to move, leaving behind everything she's ever known, including her best friend Sydney. Lost and bitter in a new school, her one goal is to save money and move back home. Then she meets Angel Moreno. Enigmatic but gorgeous, Angel is almost too good to be true. Except for one thing, his archaic belief that guys and girls can never be "just friends". The problem? Sarah's best friend Sydney is not a girl. With their unexpected romance intensifying to places neither ever experienced, how long can Sarah keep Angel in the dark about the guy waiting for her back home? Forever Mine is created by Elizabeth Reyes, an eGlobal Creative Publishing Signed Author.
Sarah
Sarah went numb. This could not be happening. She gripped the phone, her knuckles going white. The knot in her throat was unbearable.
"Sarah, are you still there?"
In an almost inaudible whimper, Sarah answered, "Ah huh."
"I know this is hard, honey, but it's not the end of the world. We talked about this already, and you knew it was a possibility. I tried, Sarah. I really did, but there's no way around it. We've gone over all the other options, but anything else is too much of a risk. It's for the best."
"But, senior year ..." Sarah felt the anger building and the tears burning in her eyes. She felt ready to blow up-lash out.
Then she heard her mom again. Her voice choked up as well."I know, honey. I'm so sorry. I really screwed things up this time."
Her mom took a long, trembling deep breath, and it broke Sarah's heart. She wanted to be with her to hug her and to comfort her."It's okay, Mom. I'll be fine."
Her mom cleared her throat and lowered her voice. Sounding very determined, she spoke again, "I am going to make this up to you. I promise, okay?"
"Okay.""I've already called Aunt Norma. She and Uncle Alfred will be here this weekend. They wanna help us pack, so you and I will have time to spend together. Then I'll have to be in court on Monday."
Sarah gasped. "Monday?"
"Yeah, babe, Monday."Sarah covered half her face with her free hand and shook her head.
Not wanting to make her mother feel any worse, she choked back a sob."All right, mom," she whispered.
"I'm gonna be here a while, honey, so don't wait up for me. We'll talk more about this tomorrow."
She hung up and looked at her best friend Sydney who'd been sitting on the bed next to her the whole time. Sydney stared at her anxiously."She's pleading guilty and gonna do at least three years. I have to go live with my Aunt Norma in California." Sydney kept a strong front, but Sarah fell into his arms crying.
CHAPTER 1
ONE MONTH LATER
La Jolla High School, California
Even as she stood in the middle of a bustling hallway with noisy students rushing by her, Sarah felt utterly alone. One month wasn't nearly enough to prepare her for a new school, new friends-a new life.
God, how she missed Sydney. This wasn't at all how she'd imagined her first day as a senior in high school would be. She had so many plans at her old school, and now she stood here completely lost.
Clenching her backpack in her hand, she walked off in no particular direction. She wanted to get out of the middle of the human traffic jam. Where in the heck was her cousin, Valerie? She had said the main entrance hall just outside the counselor's office, hadn't she?
They'd been dropped off together by her aunt, but Sarah had to go to the counselor's office. Since she'd enrolled so late, her schedule hadn't come in the mail like Valerie's. No sooner than the moment they had walked into school together had Valerie started socializing, promising she'd be right there when she got back from the office.
The bell rang, and Sarah tried not to panic. She glanced at her schedule but had no idea where her first class was. She backed up slowly until her back was against a wall. Had Valerie really abandoned her? No, she wouldn't. She took in some of the faces around her and wondered if she should just ask someone for directions to her first class.
High-pitched squealing got her attention, and she turned to the front entrance to find some girl had her arms wrapped around one of the guys that had just walked in. Sarah rolled her eyes. She'd always hated those types of girls. The guy was obviously a jock because he wore a letterman's jacket and so did his two friends.
Deciding she was on her own, she walked back toward the office and frowned when she realized a map of the school had been just outside the office the entire time. There were a few kids standing in front of it, examining their schedules and then looking up at the map. Apparently, she wasn't the only newbie at this school-not much of a consolation. Sarah looked around for Valerie, feeling more than a little annoyed at her.
Male laughter erupted just behind her, and she turned to find the same jocks she'd seen walk in earlier with a few more guys horsing around. The tall one who had been greeted at the door by the squealing girl was smiling when their eyes met. The smile on his face seemed to dissolve slowly. She stood there frozen, her lips slightly opened. For a moment, she thought he might say something, and then she heard Valerie.
"There you are!"
Sarah snapped out of her daze and watched as Valerie, who'd already taken Sarah's schedule, smiled wickedly. "We have two classes together!"
"We do?" Sarah's cheeks still felt warm, but she quickly walked alongside of Valerie, incredibly grateful for her timing.
Valerie talked about the classes just until they were far enough away and around the corner of the building. "Oh, my God, Sarah, do you know who that was staring at you?"
Surprised, and not sure why, Sarah pretended not to understand. "Who?"
Valerie gasped. "That was Angel Moreno! Don't you remember? I've told you about him and his brothers."
"No," Sarah lied. Of course she remembered, that was part of the reason she could hardly breathe when she recognized him.
The bell rang again.
"Oh, shit," Valerie looked at her watch. "We're gonna be late on our first day."She grabbed Sarah's arm, and they were off on a foot race to their first class.
TWO WEEKS LATER
Angel
Angel took long, rapid strides around the science building. His stomach tensed up as the bell rang. He was late to practice again, and he knew his coach wouldn't be happy. It was the second time this week, but he had to stay after class to get the extra credit assignment. He was failing Spanish II, again. Spanish! His parents owned a Mexican restaurant, for crying out loud. The only reason he had taken it was because he needed two years of a foreign language to even have a prayer of getting into a four-year college. And now it may cost him time on the field.
Apparently, he was only good at the curse words, and the teacher called his Spanish, Spanglish. It was a Catch 22 though, if he didn't stay late to get the extra credit assignments, he wouldn't be able to make up some of the lousy scores he'd been getting on the quizzes. If he didn't make them up, he wouldn't have the grades to play on the team. Not picking up his grade also meant staying after school for tutoring. Just the thought made him groan.
He made it to the weight room just as they were starting warm ups. The coach barely looked at him and pointed to the bleachers outside in the hot sun."Twenty," he said. "Make 'em fast."
Running bleachers was the worst. As he began to sprint toward them, he heard Dana call out to him from the track area where the cheerleaders were warming up.
"Bleachers again, Angel?"
He nodded, barely looking her way. Some of the other girls laughed and joined in. His dimples made their appearance as usual, although his smile was anything but genuine. The catcalls had stopped making him uncomfortable a long time ago, especially from this group of girls.
At seventeen, Angel was already an impressive six-foot-two. He was very much following in his two older brothers' footsteps. Although it was nice to have the instant admiration as soon as he started high school, there were times he resented having to live up to his brothers' legacies. He had the looks, the build, the popularity but, unfortunately, not the grades.
He frowned at the thought of his two older brothers being on full sports scholarships in college, and here he was struggling to stay eligible to play high school football. It was embarrassing, but he wasn't going to give up. As his father and lately his oldest brother Sal always said, "Failure is not an option."
Lost in his thoughts, and still annoyed with himself, Angel ran slowly and pensively up the bleachers for the fourth or fifth time; he'd lost count. Sweat trickled down his face, and he struggled to keep his breathing steady. He usually could get a rhythm going, but not today. Someone ran right past him a little too closely. Startled, he almost lost his balance. He caught himself and was about to give the guy an earful when he heard her apologize and realized he was a she.
"I'm sorry, did I bump you?"
"No, I'm good." Angel bent over with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
"You sure you're okay?" she asked again.He looked up at her for the first time, still breathing hard. The sun was directly behind her. Angel squinted at a petite silhouette. She shifted slightly, blocking the sun for a moment. The first thing he noticed was her eyes. They were an amazing light green. A startling contrast to her dark features. She stared at him as she too stood there, breathing hard.
Her hair was up in a ponytail, except for a few strands dampened by her perspiration that stuck to the sides of her face and forehead. It surprised Angel that he didn't recognize her from anywhere. He thought he knew everyone in the school. But there was something familiar about her; he just couldn't place it.
"I'm fine," he said.
"Good." She started untangling the earphone wire. Apparently, she'd taken it out of her ear when she stopped to check on him. She didn't smile back or ask anything else but seemed eager to be on her way. He watched as she adjusted it in her ear and got ready to go back to her running.
With his heart pounding and palms sweating, to his own surprise, he stammered, "So, you like to run?"
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
She turned and looked at him without responding. Maybe she hadn't heard him-he hoped.
"I'm Angel. What's your name?"
"Sarah."
All he could manage was a smile as the name sunk in.
"Well, have a good one," she said and ran off.
He watched as she ran up and across the bleachers. From a distance, she looked very small with little to no curves. Then it hit him-lost girl-from the first day of school. That's where he'd seen those eyes. He'd noticed them even then. He remembered feeling struck, but he hadn't seen her since and had almost forgotten about it. Almost.
He started his bleachers again, and his thoughts went back to his grades. Was he really gonna need to be tutored? He shook his head in disgust and picked up his pace.
On their wedding night, Rogelio wrapped his fingers around Marian's neck and spat at her, "Congratulations! From now on, you live in hell!" The reason for his wrath was that he believed she was responsible for the death of his elder brother. So, he married her but refused to touch her, determined to make her suffer for the rest of her pitiful life! However, due to an unforeseen accident, Marian was forced to sleep with Rogelio in order to save him, and she ended up getting pregnant. Concealing her pregnancy, Marian lived cautiously under Rogelio's watchful eyes. He hated her and relentlessly humiliated her, yet he would never allow anyone else to lay a finger on her— "Mr. Bailey, your wife got into a fight with someone!" Rogelio secretly took action, eliminating that person completely. "Sir, your wife claimed that all of your family's wealth belongs to her!" Rogelio quietly transferred all the shares to her. Unaware of all this, Marian only wanted to escape, but Rogelio pulled her into his warm embrace, whispering, "Mrs. Bailey, where do you intend to go with our unborn child?"
Melanie married Ashton out of gratitude, but she quickly found herself entangled in a web of relentless challenges. Despite these struggles, she stayed true to her commitment to the marriage. In the hospital room, Ashton indifferently attempted to draw her blood, disregarding her discomfort. This callous act was a harsh revelation for Melanie, awakening her to the grim reality of their relationship. Resolved to prioritize her own welfare, she decided to sever ties. With newfound resolve, Melanie filed for divorce. In the process, she unveiled her concealed identities, leaving everyone in shock. Throughout these turbulent times, Melanie realized that Derek, Ashton’s uncle, had been discreetly protecting her all along.
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?
The day Raina gave birth should have been the happiest of her life. Instead, it became her worst nightmare. Moments after delivering their twins, Alexander shattered her heart-divorcing her and forcing her to sign away custody of their son, Liam. With nothing but betrayal and heartbreak to her name, Raina disappeared, raising their daughter, Ava, on her own.Years later, fate comes knocking when Liam falls gravely ill. Desperate to save his son, Alexander is forced to seek out the one person he once cast aside. Alexander finds himself face to face with the woman he underestimated, pleading for a second chance-not just for himself, but for their son. But Raina is no longer the same broken woman who once loved him.No longer the woman he left behind. She has carved out a new life-one built on strength, wealth, and a long-buried legacy she expected to uncover.Raina has spent years learning to live without him.The question is... Will she risk reopening old wounds to save the son she never got to love? or has Alexander lost her forever?
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?
"Never let anyone treat you like shit!" I learned that the hard way. For three years, I lived with my in-laws. They didn't treat me as their son-in-law but as a slave. I put up with everything because of my wife, Yolanda Lambert. She was the light of my life. Unfortunately, my whole world came crashing down the day I caught my wife cheating on me. I have never been so heartbroken. To have my revenge, I revealed my true identity. I was none other than Liam Hoffman—the heir of a family with trillions of dollars in assets! The Lamberts were utterly shocked after the big reveal. They realized what fools they had been for treating me like trash. My wife even knelt down and begged for my forgiveness. What do you think I did? Did I take her back or made her suffer? Find out!