In a quest for revenge for an unknown truth, Maya Martinez falls head over heels for a Mafia leader known for his cruelty, arrogance, ruthlessness, and uncaringness. What happens after Maya finds out the truth about the root of their love? And his Identity? And what is the truth she hoped to find out?
Third Person's Pov
Maya stopped at the entrance and received a fervent greeting essence from the mélange of orchids and lilies that dominated the room such that it was quite excruciating to smell the bouquet of white roses she had in hand.
Not really sure if it was out of fright or over excitement, perhaps it was a phenomenal something. "Ha!" She breathed out loud before she glanced at her father and managed steps forward.
The whole congregation rose in unison as she entered the Church, footed arm in arm down the aisle with her father as the bridal procession song played placidly in the background to match each baby-taken-steps.
She wore an A-line straight-across neckline cut ivory-white wedding gown that was much more flowery than a ball gown. It had fitted bodices through the waist and cascaded long out to the ground. Her hair was simply tied in a bun, which left her long neck and back a paradisiac exposure.
It could be from an aversion toward jewels whatsoever, she wore no necklace apart from a chandelier earring and a radiant snow-white bracelet.
After what seemed like a decade, they finally got to the altar, and her father bestowed on her rosy cheek a gentle kiss and went back to join the seated congregation.
On her left was Damien, her husband-to-be. He did not divert his attention as Maya beamed through the veil. He returned the smile, in the course which revealed a set of perfect white teeth and attractive dimples.
From the look of his suit, you wouldn't have to win a Nobel prize to tell it was made by the best Italian designer.
He wore a midnight blue expensive-looking slim fitted suit over a white shirt with a gray tie and a neatly folded gray handkerchief tucked in his breast pocket. On his wrist was a dazzled Rolex watch, all encapsulated by a black leather shiny shoe which made him more classic.
The 47-year-old priest called, and shifted their attention back to life.
"Miss Maya Matinez, do you take Mr. Damien Cruz as your beloved husband? And vowed that nothing can separate the bonds from you both until death" The priest asked.
Damien smiled and stared at Maya who nervously glanced at the priest with all her attention.
"Yes, I do." She replied with enthusiasm.
"Please take your vow." The priest proclaimed.
She nodded and crooked her head to look at her mom. She beamed an assuring smile and Maya veered her glance at the rest of the congregation, they held on to each other's hand intimately while some eyes were filled with joyful tears. She turned my gaze back to Damien's and smiled.
"I Maya MartĂnez take Damien Cruz to be my husband. I promise to be good to you in good and bad times, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life. According to God's holy name, this is my solemn vow," she said and ended with a bright smile.
The priest smiled, "you have declared your consent before the church. May the Lord in his goodness strengthen your consent and help you."
He hesitated, glanced at the church then back to Damien. "Damien Cruz? Do you take Maya Martinez as your wife? In all circumstances, to love, uphold and respect her? In good health and sickness? In poverty or wealth?." The priest then again asked as the whole congregation was filled with absolute silence.
"Yes, I..." He didn't complete his statement as his vow was interrupted mid-sentence by a sudden loud high-pitched sound that reverberated throughout the entire building.
It took only a split-second for everyone to be up and ran. The stampede was such that it could only fit Hollywood movies. Except for this time around it was real and so real.
He kept his eyes squinted as he tried his best to conceal the pain from Maya. As Maya looked back at him, reality struck her, Damien was shot and he could die.
He slowly passed one hand to the area between his left rib and the stomach. However, that couldn't stop the blood as it oozed erratically, his eyes slowly turned from her as he slowly took a step backward, then collapsed to the ground.
Maya stood there transfixed as she looked at Damien's body which had fallen to the ground.
He held the area tight as his droopy eyes opened slightly. His head rose and fell repeatedly as he battled for his life. Maya however clenched firmly to the bouquet as tears slowly fell from her eyes and assembled in her gown.
"Maya, are you alright?" A voice called from behind, and asked with a concerned tone.
Though her vision was blurry, she saw and knew her mother was the person who had questioned her. Meanwhile, the sound of an ambulance was noted from afar and two men wrapped in azure attire and with gloves stepped before Damien. They carried him and disappeared from her sight.
"Maya, you are shaking, come let's get you out of here," Her mom said as she held onto her shoulders, and shook her back to existence.
"No." Maya managed to say calmly before she inhaled. "I wanted my Damien, only him and nothing else, I am not leaving without him," she said to herself as the words refused to pout out, she glimpsed at her mom whose face was pale enough that a closer look at her would unveil her visible veins.
"Maya, are you listening to me? Let's get out of here. Damien has been taken to the hospital. Don't you want to see him?" She asked with narrowed brows.
She nodded like a baby, took two steps, and blacked out...
In a room that had just a bed, Maya found herself curled in a fetal position, and cried to herself, the door opened and she lifted her head.
As her eyes met Damien, she scooted out of bed and jumped into his arms. The tears disappeared into thin air as her face joyfully lit up.
For a moment, she felt she was hugging herself and yes, she was. Damien was nowhere to be found.
"Maya," Damien's voice echoed loudly in the room.
And then...
She suddenly woke up and sprang from her bed with as cold sweat dripped down every corner of her face while she barely managed to hold her breath.
Her mom glanced directly into her visions. "Maya my princess, are you okay, it was just a dream, okay?"
She nodded constantly, "yes Mom, I know it's just a dream, I know he can't just leave me like this?" She said and gave a smile that was quite out of line.
She anxiously tried to sit up in bed.
"Can I see him now? Where is he?"
"Calm down sweetheart? The doctor should check you first_ " Her mom cut in, accompanied by a fake smile.
She stroked her temples as she felt a sharp pain, since she did not want to be noticed, she smiled anyway.
"I am very calm and fine. I just want to see him, let's go."
Their attention veered to the door as footsteps approached.
"Dad?" Maya called as her father entered. The suit that he had professionally worn earlier was loose now. He was now in just a shirt without even a tie.
His brows creased beneath his black eyes as he saw his only daughter in such a terrible condition.
"Honey?"
He took her mom's place after she stood. He then collected Maya's hand in his and pressed it warmly in an affectionate manner.
"Maya's eyes found a safe oasis in her fathers', though they did not say a word, their souls connected and understood each other.
A young lady entered, she had no makeup on but she was just as beautiful as a model. Her short brunette hair was styled perfectly. She wore a blue blouse over loose jeans which were masked by a white overall.
She paced towards Maya and smiled graciously.
"I suppose you are good."
"Yes, I am good and I want to leave."
The doctor nodded approvingly, "yes, I will see to it that your discharge note gets signed now."
Maya nodded and the doctor turned to face her parents.
"Please I will need you both in my office for a few minutes."
They kissed Maya's hair and followed the doctor's lead. They stopped as Maya questioned the doctor.
"Um, doctor, please how's Damien doing?"
She opened her mouth to answer but then stopped, she looked at her parents for a while then turned her gaze back to Maya and administered an assuring beam.
"I'm not the person treating Damien but I think he's fine."
Just then, Damien's father. Unlike everyone, he did not look unduly affected, well maybe because he's mature and a male. Men hardly showered emotions.
He passed by them and walked towards Maya, he took her hand affectionately.
"Well Maya, Damien is..." he stopped and exhaled then diverted his attention to the doctor and her parents.
"Please excuse us, I want to be alone with your daughter."
Corinne devoted three years of her life to her boyfriend, only for it to all go to waste. He saw her as nothing more than a country bumpkin and left her at the altar to be with his true love. After getting jilted, Corinne reclaimed her identity as the granddaughter of the town’s richest man, inherited a billion-dollar fortune, and ultimately rose to the top. But her success attracted the envy of others, and people constantly tried to bring her down. As she dealt with these troublemakers one by one, Mr. Hopkins, notorious for his ruthlessness, stood by and cheered her on. “Way to go, honey!”
There was only one man in Raegan's heart, and it was Mitchel. In the second year of her marriage to him, she got pregnant. Raegan's joy knew no bounds. But before she could break the news to her husband, he served her divorce papers because he wanted to marry his first love. After an accident, Raegan lay in the pool of her own blood and called out to Mitchel for help. Unfortunately, he left with his first love in his arms. Raegan escaped death by the whiskers. Afterward, she decided to get her life back on track. Her name was everywhere years later. Mitchel became very uncomfortable. For some reason, he began to miss her. His heart ached when he saw her all smiles with another man. He crashed her wedding and fell to his knees while she was at the altar. With bloodshot eyes, he queried, "I thought you said your love for me is unbreakable? How come you are getting married to someone else? Come back to me!"
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."
Allison fell in love with Ethan Iversen, the soon-to-be Alpha of the Moonlight Crown pack. She always wanted him to notice her. Meanwhile, Ethan was an arrogant Alpha who thought a weak Omega could not be his companion. Ethan's cousin, Ryan Iversen, who came back from abroad and was the actual heir of the pack, never tried to get the position nor did he show any interest in it. He was a popular playboy Alpha but when he came back to the pack, one thing captured his eyes and that was Allison.
She was a world-renowned divine doctor, the CEO of a publicly traded company, the most formidable female mercenary, and a top-tier tech genius. Marissa, a titan with a plethora of secret identities, had hidden her true stature to marry a seemingly impoverished young man. However, on the eve of their wedding, her fiance, who was actually the lost heir to a wealthy dynasty, called off the engagement and subjected her to degradation and mockery. Upon the revelation of her concealed identities, her ex-fiance was left stunned and desperately pleaded for her forgiveness. Standing protectively before Marissa, an incredibly influential and fearsome magnate declared, "This is my wife. Who would dare try to claim her?"
⚠️ WARNING ⚠️ This Book Contains Matured Contents, reader's discretion is advised. *** "Do you have any idea how much I want to be inside you right now?" he asked as he stood to his feet. "Then why aren't you?" I responded, loving the feel of him pressed so close, my back to the mirror, my front to him. But even still, in some far corner of my lust-fogged mind, I realized that we were still in a bathroom. Anyone could walk in and see us. The thought of getting discovered was scary and erotic at the same time. "Oh, we're not done. Spread your legs a bit for me, Kitten." He commanded. When I did as he instructed, he settled between my legs again. "Now close your eyes. And try not to move." Dominic Rutherford murmured. I drew in a sharp breath as his fingers slipped into me with a silky, wet ease. First one. Then another. A feverish tide rose inside me, and I groaned. I jerked in response, causing me to unconsciously move my hips towards his teasing, clever hand, seeking more. "Ohh-" My body trembled under his touch. "Please..." *** Ruby escapes a stifling marriage filled with betrayal, eager to reclaim her freedom. At a masquerade ball, she meets Dominic, a mysterious older man always wearing a mask and has a complex past. Their intense attraction ignites a passionate and dangerous affair. Dominic, who was tasked by Ruby's unknown brother to find her, is captivated by her defiant spirit. As Ruby gets entangled in Dominic's dark world and faces threats from her vengeful former husband and an enemy within, she struggles with her fear of love. Will Ruby and Dominic overcome their pasts and the secrets that threaten to tear them apart? Can Ruby submit to love even after the truth is revealed?