THE first time Arianna and Enrique met was the night she was gifted to grace his bed. When he woke up and discovered the blood on the sheets in the morning, his conscience wouldn't silence him up. He was drunk and all he could remember was how their moans melded and the soft, responsive body under him. But she was a virgin. How could he have been so wrong? ARIANNA knew the wealthy Enrique Quiroz for a very long time. He was the only son of the plantation's Don. She never dreamed he was the man waiting for her that night. When she had dreaded for hell in a stranger's bed... it had been heaven. Bliss. The shocking completion of her womanhood. When she left him, she also left a part of her that only he could give back. ENRIQUE hunted for the stranger whose beautiful face haunts him every night only to discover she was right under his nose. He could have her, make her his lover. He couldn't forget that night, how their kisses made him think only of passion and sweet wine. She has no power to resist him. He is obsessed. He can't not have her again, and again, and again... But Arianna fought him just as much as she fought to survive her miserable life even though he promised her everything. Everything except his heart. And in the war that ensued, their hearts were ruined by love, that power that makes those who surrender win, and those who cower are set free...
SILENTLY, Arianna walked down the driveway from the gate towards the old rest house that seemed to tower in the darkness. It was night and only moonlight served as the guide to see her way. The surroundings are all quiet save from the noise coming from the crickets. It was a bit cold, but she could endure it, especially as nervousness and stress made her sweat in her walk from her house to here.
The noise of the crickets was not enough to drown the loud thumping of her heart. It caused her chest to painfully constrict, as if the organ in its incessant thumping was pushing against her ribs, wanting to escape. She could understand its predicament. She was trying not to think of the hell she was expecting to endure in the next hour. She had read about this, had heard the women talk about it. They gave her all sorts of advice, only to be silenced by one of them as she turned paler and paler. Before she'd left they told her to look at them. They were happy. They could feed their family. They were surviving. It would only be one night. She would get through it, and could move on with her life.
She could move on with her life. Her brother would be home. Her mother would not have to worry further. They would all be okay.
Her dress was red, a symbol of the blood that would flow if her task would be successful tonight. Her hands visibly trembled at the thought. She reached the bottom of the three marble steps and stopped for a moment. She lifted her face to look up at the house... in the window there where she felt like someone was peeking out, a pair of unknown eyes watching her progress. But it was very dark up there that she could barely see if there was even a curtain. She couldn't see if anyone was there, but she felt a presence. Her body shivered.
Arianna was sure there was someone there. A man. The one who was waiting for her.
She looked back down at the house, at the porch that seemed ominous. Then she closed her eyes and for a moment resisted the dizziness that was ready to engulf her. She couldn't get confused or scared. She couldn't afford to be a coward. She was beyond that. She had surrendered to the fact that there was no other choice. There is no other way. Just this.
She had to save his brother. This is the only way.
Hands clasping her stomach, Arianna finally moved. She climbed the stairs and went to the large and heavy double doors. She grabbed one of the brass handles and pushed it back after a squeeze. She didn't know what to expect, but when the door opened effortlessly, she knew it was the moment when she had reached the point where there was no backing down whether she changed her mind or not. There was no turning back. There was no running.
She took the first step into the house.
And screamed when strong hands pulled her into the darkness.
ENRIQUE WATCHED the woman walk from the gate toward the house. There was no hesitant step there, just sure steps, a confident sway of the hips that seemed so natural, so full of grace. He laughed softly at the description he thought of. Full of grace... yeah. So in contrast with the bloody red scrap of thin material that was her excuse for a dress.
He has to admire the woman for not wearing any cover in the cold of the night so she could taunt all that beauty. And she was beautiful... what he could see of her, at least. She had fair skin, and in contrast with the redness of the dress, she floated across the darkness. Brad did promise she was going to be a beauty. Her long hair, looking full and soft, cascaded down her breasts and her back in soft curls.
He felt heat sting his flesh when he saw in his mind his hand fingers twisting strands of her hair on the pillows as he claimed her warm body.
Enrique was surprised at himself. Then he quizzically looked at the glass of liquor he was holding. Lusting over a call girl... he had never lusted over a call girl this hard.
He'd never lusted over a call girl. Period.
So it must be the brandy.
He looked back down at the approaching woman again and felt satisfaction welling up in his chest. Well and good, for the first time in weeks, he'd felt a stirring in his loins that didn't involve Helena. After the bitch dumped him for someone richer, Enrique had been living in a swirl of shock. He couldn't believe money was the only reason why she loved him and it was also the reason why she left him. He couldn't believe that in their eight-month long relationship, she was able to hid from him that part of her. He couldn't believe that the woman he had thought to dedicate his future to was a big fake.
He couldn't believe that he, Enrique Quiroz, had been fooled but a woman. Blindsided by a fucking bitch. Didn't he swear he wouldn't be like his father?
Enrique's chest filled with bitterness and anger as he continued to watch the woman. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs. His eyes narrowed when he saw her jerk a little, as if she was reluctant. Even scared. He smiled slightly. Cynically.
Go on, run away. Be scared. It's not going to be easy for you tonight...
But she didn't run.
Instead, she looked up - and stared straight into his eyes as if she knew exactly where he was.
It wasn't only that direct stare, or the perfect beauty of her face, but the vulnerability there was like a spear that pierced his heart.
He felt it like an emotional assault that he barely managed to catch the recoild of his body. As if she dealt a physical blow to his solar plexus.
It's a trick of the light, he reasoned.
Or he was not drunk enough.
When he recovered from the shock, the woman was no longer looking up at him in the window. He sighed deeply, then wondered why he did. Then he finally drained the remaining brandy from the glass, suddenly impatient.
He was in a hurry to get downstairs. To get to her.
To take her.
And conquer her.
Another fucking daughter of Eve.
Get this over with, with gnashing teeth he commanded himself. Get this over with. Get over that... that look on her face that seem to say she was about to cry. Bitches don't really cry, they crack a laugh so pure and evil, the sound would make any self-respecting asshole cry. Get over her. Get over Helena's fucking shadow. Get over them bitches. This is for you, Helena. This is for you, mother!
He reached for the door as it opened, and the moonlight from outside exposed the shape of the woman's body at the gap. She looked so sexy. His hand reached out and he pulled her inside.
He heard a small scream. He'd shocked her. But she caught it before it got full-blown. Good. That spurred on the awakened devil in him. He pushed the door shut with one hand behind her and then pulled her towards his hard body.
He brought his hand and his fingers combed through the softness of her hair. As soon as his brain registered that it was softer than he'd imagined, he touched her chin with his other hand, then rubbed her jaw with his thumb.
It was all just a second. He couldn't wait anymore.
And he lifted her lips to his for a hot, wet kiss.
After two years of marriage, Sadie was finally pregnant. Filled with hope and joy, she was blindsided when Noah asked for a divorce. During a failed attempt on her life, Sadie found herself lying in a pool of blood, desperately calling Noah to ask him to save her and the baby. But her calls went unanswered. Shattered by his betrayal, she left the country. Time passed, and Sadie was about to be wed for a second time. Noah appeared in a frenzy and fell to his knees. "How dare you marry someone else after bearing my child?"
"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!
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?
Daisy is the illegitimate daughter of Mr. Hubert. His company went bankrupt, so he asked for help from Drkov's house. They agreed to help Mr. Hubert but with one condition. One of his two daughters must marry their nephew - Atlas Drkov. Atlas Drkov is a billionaire but he is disabled and uses a wheelchair. Yaretzi - daughter of Mr. Hubert's official wife - does not accept marrying a disabled man. She and her parents made a plan. They kidnapped Daisy's mother, threatened her, and forced her to marry Atlas. To save her mother, she accepted. However, after getting married, she fell in love with this man, and so did he. Difficulties start from here.
Life was perfect until she met her boyfriend's big brother. There was a forbidden law in the Night Shade Pack that if the head Alpha rejected his mate, he would be stripped of his position. Sophia's life would get connected with the law. She was an Omega who was dating the head Alpha's younger brother. Bryan Morrison, the head Alpha, was not only a cold-blooded man but also a charming business tycoon. His name was enough to cause other packs to tremble. He was known as a ruthless man. What if, by some twist of destiny, Sophia's path were to intertwine with his?
After three secretive years of marriage, Eliana never met her enigmatic husband until she was served with divorce papers and learned of his extravagant pursuit of another. She snapped back to reality and secured a divorce. Thereafter, Eliana unveiled her various personas: an esteemed doctor, legendary secret agent, master hacker, celebrated designer, adept race car driver, and distinguished scientist. As her diverse talents became known, her ex-husband was consumed by remorse. Desperately, he pleaded, "Eliana, give me another chance! All my properties, even my life, are yours."