Rachel Lane is a part-time dance instructor and YouTube content creator. Derek Fraser is a successful businessman at the head of a billion-dollar tech empire who works hard and plays even harder. They meet in a club where he is hanging out alone after a busy day at work, while she is there with her friends to celebrate her birthday. They run into each other at the bar, sparks fly and they leave the club together and end up having a one-night stand at his place. Two months later, she shows up at his office, pregnant. Derek is shocked and denies being responsible for Rachel's pregnancy. Disappointed and heartbroken, she leaves his office, determined to raise her baby on her own. One year after, he comes across her YouTube channel and sees that the baby he had rejected is now an adorable toddler and he yearns to have the child in his life. Derek tracks down his baby mama, trying to mend bridges with her, but she would have none of it. Now, he has to find a way to woo her and convince her that he is a changed man and he is ready to build a family with her. On the other hand, Rachel cannot help but feel that he is only trying to buy her affection, even though she is beginning to get attracted to him and he is turning out to be a great dad to their child. Should she give him a second chance or would that turn out to be a mistake that she might regret forever?
It was Rachel's 28th birthday and she was having the time of her life with her girlfriends who had organized a surprise birthday party for her at The Black Hat.
It was a popular nightclub in town that she'd been looking forward to visiting but had never had the opportunity to. So, she was delighted to find out that it was the venue of her party.
She hadn't planned anything special for herself for the day, and that was why this unexpected get-together brought happy tears to her eyes.
"You girls are the best," said Rachel, emotionally. "I didn't see this coming, but I appreciate your thoughtfulness and love. Thank you, babes."
"Hear, hear," said Brittany, raising her glass with a big grin. She was the brain behind this surprise party and being an event planner, she had no problems setting up the little bash within two days with the help of her other friends.
The four friends sat at one of the VIP lounges in the club, enjoying their drinks and occasionally gyrating to the upbeat music booming from the loudspeakers. Each of the ladies was successful in her own right and they'd all been friends since high school.
Rachel Lane, the birthday girl, was a part-time dance instructor who teaches ballet to little children at her brother's dance studio, and she was also a lifestyle YouTuber with over 200,000 subscribers.
Brittany James was a badass realtor, married to an engineer, and has an adorable toddler son named Jason. Leticia Silva owned a thriving restaurant and was in a long-term relationship with an older guy named Ben Williams. Fiona Atkins was an accomplished realtor who is mostly single but never shies away from a random hookup with an attractive guy.
Rachel was the only one in the group who was eternally single, after swearing off relationships when her last boyfriend broke her heart nearly two years ago when he cheated on her and married the other woman within three months.
They'd dated for three years and he'd featured in some of her highest-grossing YouTube videos, so she'd had to keep those videos up on her channel even though it broke her heart to watch them and see how happy they'd been.
Fiona had once suggested to her that she should take down the videos, but she'd said no. Yes, the videos always broke her heart, but they were still raking in good coins into her bank account, so, they'll stay up. End of story!
"Fiona, that should be your last drink for tonight, 'cause we don't want a drunk woman driving us all home," said Rachel to her blond friend.
"Who says I'm driving? Everybody is doing Uber tonight. Don't kill my vibe, girl."
Everyone laughed. It felt good to just let loose like this and have fun, especially on a Friday night. What an exciting way to ring in the weekend.
"You know what, I think we should have gotten a cake," said Brittany the redhead. "How is Rachel supposed to make her birthday wish now?"
"I don't need a cake to make a wish," Rachel scoffed playfully. "I can do it over a round of margaritas."
"I like the sound of that," Leticia giggled. "Let's do it. Where are those waiters?"
Rachel looked around to see if she could find a waiter nearby to call, but the club was so crowded tonight and it seemed as if all of the waiters were stretched thin, attending to multiple tables.
"You know what, I'll go to the bar and fetch out drinks," said Rachel, getting up.
"Oh, no, no, no," Fiona protested. "You're the birthday girl, you stay here and I'll go get the drinks."
"It's ok, Fiona. I'll go get them. I can't risk you going over there and flirting with the barman, and keeping us waiting here. Thank you, but no, thanks."
"You know me so well, my friend," laughed Fiona. "All right then, if you insist. But don't take too long."
"Sure thing," said Rachel. She stepped out of the VIP lounge with a happy smile on her face. She's having such a great time with her friends, she can't imagine anything more exciting happening tonight. What a way to celebrate her twenty-eight year on earth!
*********************
Derek Fraser has experienced many successes in his career and one would expect that by now, he should be used to it, but he wasn't.
The rush of adrenalin that coursed through his body after sealing a good deal was still there, and so was that buzzing of excitement in his gut when he landed another massive account for his burgeoning business empire.
This feeling of satisfaction was what drove him to keep pushing himself to do more, to keep pushing his limits. Money had never been his motivation, not when he'd always had an abundance of it, coming from a wealthy family.
His motivation had always been the thrill of success, and as long as he had that, his billion-dollar conglomerate would continue to expand.
He'd come to The Black Hat to celebrate his latest win with his best friend, Jonah Branson, but his pal had flaked on him at the last minute for some obscure reason.
Undeterred, Derek had decided to have a solo celebration, but he was now regretting that decision because the club was packed and even the VIP lounges were all taken. The club owner had offered to clear up a lounge for him, but he'd declined.
He would just sit here at the bar and enjoy his Martini, then maybe call Carrie, his current flame, and ask if she'd like to spend the night with him.
"Hi, can I get four glasses of Margarita?"
Derek turned to the left where the voice came from, and he came face-to-face with a stunning auburn-haired lady with grey-green eyes. Oh. boy!
She wasn't his usual spec (he preferred skinny blonds with long legs like runway models), but there was something... fresh and exciting about this buxom chick with the perfectly rounded bum. There was some kind of bubbly energy about her that he found attractive.
"Kim Kardashian, is that you?" He asked her with a grin.
She turned to look at him and then grinned when she realized that he was speaking to her. "Nice try, Romeo. How many ladies have you scored with that line?"
"Zero."
Rachel laughed. "I'm not surprised. I mean, Kim Kardashian? Really?"
"She's pretty," said Derek with a shrug. "And she's got dark hair like you. Most times, that is."
Rachel laughed again, seeing that this handsome guy with sandy blond hair, blue eyes, and a sexy stubble was doing the most just to get her attention in this noisy dig.
She knew he had an arsenal of hot pickup lines, but he'd chosen a goofy one because he must have sensed that she vibed with goofy stuff.
"But, if I'm being totally honest," he continued. "You are way prettier than her, and that's the truth."
"Easy on the sugar, Romeo, or you're going to give me diabetes," laughed Rachel, thoroughly enjoying this playful banter with the gorgeous stranger.
Derek laughed heartily and it surprised him. He'd never met a woman who made him laugh before. All the women he knew and had been with were always so serious, so he'd assumed that it was one of the qualities of the female gender. What a refreshing discovery this lady was.
"It's Derek. Derek Fraser," he said, extending his hand to her for a shake.
"Rachel Lane," she said, shaking his hand. "It's been nice, sharing a laugh with you, Derek. I wish I could stay and chat some more, but my friends are waiting for me."
"Oh, that's sad. It would have been nice to just sit here and get to know one another," said Derek, soulfully. "You could get a waiter to send their drinks to them."
"Nah, that won't be nice. It's my birthday and they brought me here tonight to celebrate with me. I can't just abandon them in the lounge, you know."
"Wow. Happy birthday to you!"
"Thanks," she beamed. "I've got to go," she said when the barman pushed the tray of Margaritas towards her.
"Well, it was nice meeting you, Rachel."
"Ditto," she said, amazed that she felt a little bit sad at the prospect of simply walking away from what could have been the start of a great friendship.
When she returned to the lounge to join her friends, Fiona was the first one to grill her about her bar escapade.
"Please, tell me you got his number," she said after Rachel had finished telling them about her moment with Derek.
"He didn't ask for mine," said Rachel with a shrug.
"Then he's available for the taking!" Said Fiona.
"No, he's not," Rachel said quickly. "Sit down, Fiona. I'll be right back."
She left her friends in the lounge cheering after her as if she was on her way to secure a treasure chest.
In a small town where reputations were everything, Kate, a pastor's daughter, faces scandal when her boyfriend abandons her while she's pregnant. To salvage her dignity and protect her family's good reputation, she marries Tony, a wealthy widowed stranger she met during an outreach program. Tony's relationship with Kate comes with some complications: his two adult children are unaware of his sudden marriage, and his affluent status stirs vicious gossip in his social circles. As Kate and Tony's marriage begins, romance blooms, but so do troubling rumors about Tony's past. With disturbing secrets emerging and threats looming, Kate must navigate the storm of scandal and deceit to find if the love she shares with Tony can ever survive or be destroyed beyond repair.
All Vivian wants is to go through college without the drama of dealing with debts and angry creditors. Desperate for a way out, she reaches out to her friend, Cynthia, for help. Overnight, Vivian is introduced to a world of pleasure and influence beyond her wildest imagination. Within months, she's debt-free and living her best life. Just when she thinks life can't be better, she meets Oscar, a reclusive billionaire who is hard to please but generous with money. What started as a business arrangement quickly transforms into a whirlwind romance. However, their fairy tale love story is suddenly cut short when Vivian is kidnapped and everything spirals downwards from there. Is this a ploy by Oscar's opponents to torment him? Or are the lovebirds dealing with a familiar enemy who is determined to keep them apart at all costs?
Love is not part of why billionaire CEO, Kane Beaumont marries his virgin bride, Emilia Taylor. It was purely a contract deal to him and nothing more. Saving her family's business from the claws of evil loan sharks is Emilia's motive for marrying a man she barely knew. However, she doesn't count on being hopelessly attracted to him even when he treats her like a worthless peasant. Their relationship is chaotic, thanks to Kane's lover who is determined to ruin any opportunity of their romance ever blooming. Even if it means putting Emilia's life in danger, setting her up and turning the world against her. When sparks begin to fly between Kane and Emilia after an unfortunate accident, their relationship goes through a tough test that destroys the tiny flames of love burning between them. Will love eventually find a way in the end or will this marriage continue to be a high-stakes business deal with dangerous rewards?
"You are truly here," said the man softly, his eyes running over her as if trying to make sure she was who he thought she was. Erin couldn't hide her confusion. "Do I know you? I'm not sure we've met before.” “Not in this lifetime, but you are mine," he replied confidently. “Excuse me?" Erin asked in utter confusion. Who was this guy, and why the heck was he saying this weird stuff to her? “I know you don't know me yet," the man continued.“But you will, Edvana. You will know me because you are my mate.” ************ When Erin agreed to take Devon up on his claim of being her destined mate, she did not expect to be transported back in time to a pre-civilization era during a werewolf civil war! How was she going to make it back to the future/present alive, when she was now caught in the middle of an apocalyptic battle?
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!"
Loraine was a dutiful wife to Marco since they got married three years ago. However, he treated her like trash. Nothing she did softened his heart. One day, Loraine got fed up with it all. She asked him for a divorce and left him to enjoy with his mistress. The elites looked at her like she was deranged. "Are you out of your mind? Why are you so willing to divorce him?" "It's because I need to return home to get a billion-dollar fortune. Besides, I don't love him anymore," Loraine replied with a smile. They all laughed at her. Some believed that the divorce affected her mentally. It wasn't until the next day that they realized she wasn't fibbing. A woman was suddenly declared the world's youngest female billionaire. It turned out to be Loraine! Marco was shocked to the bone. When he met his ex-wife again, she was a changed person. A group of handsome young men surrounded her. She was smiling at them all. The sight made Marco's heart ache severely. Putting his pride aside, he tried to win her back. "Hello, love. I see that you are a billionaire now. You shouldn't be with suckers who just want your money. How about you come back to me? I'm a billionaire too. Together, we can build a strong empire. What do you say?" Loraine squinted at her ex-husband with her lips curled in disgust.
Joelle thought she could change Adrian's heart after three years of marriage, but she realized too late that it already belonged to another woman. "Give me a baby, and I'll set you free." The day Joelle went into labor, Adrian was traveling with his mistress on his private jet. "I don't care whom you love. My debt is paid. From now on, we have nothing to do with each other." Not long after Joelle left, Adrian found himself begging on his knees. "Please come back to me."
Janet was adopted when she was a kid -- a dream come true for orphans. However, her life was anything but happy. Her adoptive mother taunted and bullied her all her life. Janet got the love and affection of a parent from the old maid who raised her. Unfortunately, the old woman fell ill, and Janet had to marry a worthless man in place of her parents' biological daughter to meet the maid's medical expenses. Could this be a Cinderella's tale? But the man was far from a prince, except for his handsome appearance. Ethan was the illegitimate son of a wealthy family who lived a reckless life and barely made ends meet. He got married to fulfill his mother's last wish. However, on his wedding night, he had an inkling that his wife was different from what he had heard about her. Fate had united the two people with deep secrets. Was Ethan truly the man we thought he was? Surprisingly, he bore an uncanny resemblance to the impenetrable wealthiest man in the city. Would he find out that Janet married him in place of her sister? Would their marriage be a romantic tale or an utter disaster? Read on to unravel Janet and Ethan's journey.
"Love is blind!" Lucinda abandoned her beautiful and comfortable life because of a man. She married him and slaved off for him for three long years. One day, the scales finally fell off her eyes. She realized that all her efforts were in vain. Her husband, Nathaniel still treated her like shit. All he cared about was his lover. "Enough is enough! I quit wasting my years with an ungrateful man!" Lucinda's heart was shattered into many pieces, but she summoned up the courage to ask for a divorce. The news caused a stir online! A filthy rich young woman recently got divorced? She was a good catch! Countless CEOs and handsome young men immediately swarmed to her like bees to honey! Nathaniel couldn't take it anymore. He held a press conference and begged with teary eyes, "I love you, Lucinda. I can't live without you. Please come back to me." Would Lucinda give him a second chance? Read to find out!
Rena got into an entanglement with a big shot when she was drunk one night. She needed Waylen's help while he was drawn to her youthful beauty. As such, what was supposed to be a one-night stand progressed into something serious. All was well until Rena discovered that Waylen's heart belonged to another woman. When his first love returned, he stopped coming home, leaving Rena all alone for many nights. She put up with it until she received a check and farewell note one day. Contrary to how Waylen expected her to react, Rena had a smile on her face as she bid him farewell. "It was fun while it lasted, Waylen. May our paths never cross. Have a nice life." But as fate would have it, their paths crossed again. This time, Rena had another man by her side. Waylen's eyes burned with jealousy. He spat, "How the hell did you move on? I thought you loved only me!" "Keyword, loved!" Rena flipped her hair back and retorted, "There are plenty of fish in the sea, Waylen. Besides, you were the one who asked for a breakup. Now, if you want to date me, you have to wait in line." The next day, Rena received a credit alert of billions and a diamond ring. Waylen appeared again, got down on one knee, and uttered, "May I cut in line, Rena? I still want you."