"I won't get married to him, and none of you will make me!" She blurted out in anger and despise. "I won't let you and father do the same thing you did years back." She said, trying not to break down in tears as she clenched her knuckles into a fist. ~ What would you do when after so many years of being away from your family and friends, and then you come back home only to be forced into a marriage? This was the case of Lillian Blake, a young and beautiful lady whose world got shattered when her father forced her to marry a man she knows nothing about. What will happen now that Lillian finally get married to him against her will? Married to a man who knows nothing about love, how would she cope? Will she be able to fit into the Mafia's house, where nothing like love exists apart from the one the family as a whole have for one another? What happens when feelings that weren't supposed to be, arise? Will she be able to tame him? When forces arise and danger lurks around, would she be able to shield herself?
"Hello everyone, I'm home!" Lillian screamed happily and her parents came climbing down the staircase immediately.
"And my darling daughter is here." Mrs Helen said in a wide smile as she immediately embraced her daughter.
"I miss you so much mom." Lillian said embracing her tighter than before.
"Don't I also deserve a hug?" Mr Jeffrey who was standing behind them asked making Lillian and her mother chuckle. She left her mom and went to give her dad a tight hug.
"I missed you my old man." She said as she hugged him and he chuckled. So, she still remembers that name.
Don't be confused. Lillian and her dad had this beautiful father and daughter relationship and 'my old man' was the nickname she gave him when she was still staying with them.
Mr Jeffrey didn't really expect her to call him that after so many years.
"And I missed you more my little princess." Mr Jeffrey replied and Lillian released herself from the hug with a pout.
"I'm no longer little, I'm now a big lady." Lillian said and twirled round making her parents laugh.
"Nevertheless, you're still my little princess." Her dad said making Lillian frown a little.
"I don't want that name any longer, I need a new one." She said with another pout.
"Alright, I'll give you another one. Happy now?" Her dad asked and she smiled.
"It is enough now. Sweetheart, come on, let me show you to your room, so you'd freshen up and come downstairs, I already prepared your favorite." Her mom said in a smile, interrupting the father and daughter's moment then climbed the stairs.
"Okay mom." Lillian replied and followed behind.
The maids that were standing there all these while, watching their little drama carried the luggage and also followed, leaving Mr Jeffrey who went to sit on the couch behind.
MINUTES LATER*
ON THE DINING TABLE*
"So, how was Spain?" Mrs Helen said breaking the silence.
"De eso estuvo bien." Lillian replied in Spanish making her parents laugh.
"And what does that mean?" Her mom said in between laughter.
"It means it was fine." Lillian replied with a smile.
"I'm glad it was." Her dad said in a chuckle.
"But it was boring." Lillian said and rolled her eyes.
"Why was it boring? Didn't you make any friends there?" Her dad asked in a puzzled look.
"I did but like they say, no place like home." She replied in a shrug.
"What?" She asked in a cute smile after seeing the looks on her parents face.
"We're just amazed that you missed us this much." Her mom voiced out.
"Yeah." She said quietly.
"But not to worry, now that I'm back, I'm going to make up for all the boring moments and you both would help me achieve that." She said again and her parents chuckled.
"Anything for a princess." Her mother said and she gave a lip tight smile.
"Do you need more food? You know, after your long flight." Her dad said as he took a sip of his juice.
"No. I don't want to get fat."
"Why?" Her dad said in a questioning look.
"It will make me look ugly and I don't want that." Lillian said and her dad smiled.
"You sure cherish your beauty so much." Her dad mumbled audibly as he shook his head.
"Of course I do. I'd want to remain beautiful everyday and everytime just like mom." Lillian said as she dropped her cutlery and touched her face, making Mrs Helen smile.
"But being fat doesn't make one ugly." Her mom tried to justify.
"To me, it does and I don't ever wish to be." Lillian said stressing on her last statement. Mrs Helen smiled and shook her head.
"Where is Fred by the way? I didn't see him since I came back or has he decided to play some dirty games with me?" Lillian said again and gulped down some quantity of water.
"Dirty games?" Her mom asked in a chuckle.
"Yeah, who knows if he hasn't quit those things." Lillian confirmed as she rolled her eyes and her parents burst into laughter. She lifted her juice and took a sip.
"Actually, he went to take care of some things in the company. He would be back soon." Her mother replied when the laughter died down.
"Oh! I thought otherwise." Lillian muttered.
*********************
"Gosh, I'm so stressed out." Lillian said as she fell on her queen sized bed.
"Can't believe I'm finally back to my family and hometown." She muttered to herself and sighed. The door opened and her mother came in. Lillian sat up and her mother went to sit beside her.
"Do you like the room? Or should I change it?" Mrs Helen asked.
"Of course I do, it looks beautiful." Lillian complimented as she stared round the room.
"Glad you love it, I was scared you wouldn't, considering how long we've been apart." Her mother heaved a sigh of relief as her expression changed.
Lillian could detect the sadness in her mother's tone and she took her hands into hers.
"Mom, you shouldn't feel bad. I already told you that I love it and that should be enough reason for you to be happy." Lillian said and her mom sighed again.
"Now put that that lovely smile on." Lillian said again but her mom still held a sad look.
"Smile for your lovely daughter, please?" Lillian pleaded in a pout that made Mrs Helen burst into laughter.
"Now that's what I'm talking about." Lillian smiled in fulfillment of making her mom laugh.
"We didn't have enough time to talk more on your journey but knowing you must be tired now, I would leave it for tomorrow." Her mother suggested.
"You guessed right mom. I just feel like laying down now and going to sleep immediately." Lillian said demonstrating with her hands.
"That's alright. You should get some sleep now. You had a long day." Mrs Helen said and made her lie on the bed. She placed her head properly on the pillow and tucked her well in the blanket.
"Sleep tight." She kissed her on the forehead.
"I will." Lillian replied in a smile and Mrs Helen left the room. She was about turning off the nightstand when the door opened again revealing her brother, Fred.
She immediately got out of the bed and jumped on him. He twirled her around till they both got dizzy and fell on the bed with laughter on their lips. Fred finally sat up and Lillian did same.
"How was your flight?" Fred asked after the laughter died down.
"It was awesome, especially when I knew I was finally coming back home after a long time." Lillian replied in a smile.
"Wow, I must confess you've grown really big and.......beautiful too." Fred said in smiles as he stared at Lillian. He still couldn't believe this was the same Lillian he knew years back. What was he even expecting?
"You can say that again and you don't look bad yourself. I wouldn't have recognized you if I haven't seen your picture before I came back." Lillian giggled and hit him lightly on the head.
"And you haven't changed that habit of yours." Fred replied in a grin.
"What habit are you referring to?" Lillian asked in a lopsided smile.
"The habit of hitting my head even though I'm older than you." Fred replied.
"Well, maybe because I'm sure you can't do anything to me." Lillian mocked jokingly.
"Really? Then I'd show you that I can do something." Fred replied pouncing lightly on her. He pinned her to the bed and started tickling her.
"I can do something." Fred said again as he continued tickling Lillian who was laughing really hard.
"Please stop,,,, stop." Lillian managed to say as a tear rolled down her cheek.
"Stop it Fred, I promise not to do it again." She pleaded again and this time Fred left her. She hurriedly stood up from the bed, breathing heavily like she ran a marathon race.
"You son of the devil, you almost killed me." Lillian said after she finished catching her breathe and he hummed.
"You know what? Get out of my room. I'm tired and I want to have my beauty sleep." She said and glared at him.
"Alright then." Fred said standing up.
"Goodnight." He said again and blew her a kiss then left the room.
Lillian sat back on her bed with a great thud. She laid properly on her bed and went into her fairytale world.
AT 3:00am
Lillian got out of her bed and walked out of her room. She suddenly felt thirsty and needed to quench it. She yawned as she walked down the stairs and went into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and took a bottle water and a glass cup. She poured water into the glass cup and drank it.
When she was done, she kept them back and left the kitchen. She climbed up the stairs, going back to her room but stopped when she heard voices in her parents' room. She decided to move further but stopped abruptly when she heard,
"She would have to get married to him."
Huh??? Who were they talking about?
Brittany Anderson is a young lady who has done nothing but made her father's company remain in the top three list of companies in the whole of America. The time to make a bigger sacrifice came, and that was to marry Ace Miller, a young CEO in America. What happens when Brittany is arranged to marry him, to make her claim what was rightfully hers? He was once the reason behind her smiles each day, but all of a sudden, became her nightmare. What possibly went wrong? She has agreed to marry him even when they both had a sour past together, but that wasn't enough to get what she wanted. She still needed to make more sacrifices and, this time, something greater than getting married to him. Would she come out successful? Or would she allow her anger ruin all that she has worked for? Would she still let her hatred from the past lead her? Or would she let go of the past and let the present lead? What happens when secrets, lies, betrayals began to reveal itself, leaving everyone guilty, including Brittany? Let's find out......
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."
It took only a second for a person's world to come crashing down. This was what happened in Hannah's case. For four years, she gave her husband her all, but one day, he said emotionlessly, "Let's get divorced." Hannah's heart broke into a million pieces as she signed the divorce papers, marking the end of her role as a devoted wife. Within Hannah, a strong woman awakened, vowing never to be beholden to any man again. Embracing her new life, she embarked on a journey to find herself and command her own destiny. By the time she returned, she had experienced so much growth and was now completely different from the docile wife everyone once knew. "Is this your latest trick to get my attention?" Hannah's ever-so-arrogant husband asked. Before she could retort, a handsome and domineering CEO pulled her into his embrace. He smiled down at her and said boldly to her ex, "Just a little heads-up, mister. This is my beloved wife. Keep off!"
In the previous life, Maggie Johnson was so cowardly, gullible and stupid that she was coaxed by her fiance and stepsister and then broke her legs and lost everything including her fortune, love and even life. However, she was so lucky that she was reborn in the year before everything happened. Since her life restarted, how could she repeat a previous tragedy? Therefore, in this life, she took the opportunity to improve herself and take revenge on the ones who had ever insulted her. Facing the people who had humiliated her previously, she became smart and experienced to break their frames and tricks that had caused her to hurt in the previous life. Finally, no one could stop her pace to amaze the world any more.
Ava Adler was a nerdy omega. People bullied her because they thought she was ugly and unattractive. But Ava secretly loved the bad boy, Ian Dawson. He was the future Alpha of the Mystic Shadow Pack. However, he never gave a damn about rules and laws, as he only liked to play around with girls. Ava was unaware of Ian's arrogance until her fate intertwined with his. He neglected her and hurt her deeply. What would happen when Ava turned out to be a beautiful girl who could win over any boy, and Ian looked back and regretted his decisions? What if she had a secret identity that she had yet to discover? What if the tables turned and lan begged her not to leave him?
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.
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?