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Vanessa Sterling found the good life she always dreamed of with Rodri Darnell, the lone heir of the Dolphin empire, whom she had a surrogate and boss relationship with. But her secrets might be the end of everything for her.
Vanessa's POV
I walked into the church in silence, my shoes clicking when they came in contact with the marble tile as I made my way to the confessional. The sacred and holy environment of the church felt foreign to me, as it was my first time stepping foot in a church.
Not to mention a confessional. But this was where life had pushed me to.
I was so scared, yet at the same time felt so empty inside of me and it felt like every piece of me was going to crumble with every step I took. My heart beat heavily against my rib cage and I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat as I got closer to the confessional.
I took a seat on the unforgiving wooden seat, placing my hand on my chest trying to calm my pounding heart.
I dragged in deep breaths after deep breaths until my heart rate slowed down to a near-normal pace.
I tried to speak once, but my voice failed me. I could almost feel the silent, looming presence of the priest on the other side of the demarcation. Mustering all the courage inside of me, my wet eyes squeezed shut as I whimpered, "Bless me, Father, for I shall sin."
Tears rolled down my cheeks in hot rivulets.
"Young Ms.?" The Father called from where he sat, with confusion evident in his tone. I raised my head and stared at the net that demarcated us. I could only hope he would not see my face.
"Father?" I answered weakly.
"A confession is meant for those who have already sinned, do you know that?"
"Yes, Father," I nodded, responding with a surprisingly stable voice.
"You have sinned, or you shall sin?" He asked, confused.
I sucked in a long breath and exhaled to calm my racing heart before answering him, "Father, immediately I leave here, I'll be going to have an abortion."
Those words felt like a grave sacrilege as they dropped out of my mouth, and his shocked reaction proved it. The priest gasped. "What? Do you know that God doesn't support the killing of an innocent baby?" He questioned. His voice still remained as calm as the sea before a storm.
I nodded to his question, not sure if he could even see it.
He asked next, "Then can you tell me the reason you want to do this?"
I bent my head again to stare blankly at the ground. "I don't think I am ready to care for a baby yet," I replied.
He released a deep and heavy sigh. "Killing is a sinful thing to do, and as a matter of fact, it's written in the Bible that, you shall not kill, and I hope you will have a change of mind. May the good Lord be with you," he said solemnly.
"Your penance is, helping a few random homeless people with alms. Do this while pondering on the mistake you made, and the one you are about to make, then, this grave sin of yours, shall be forgiven. Daughter, go and sin no more."
I nodded. "I really do need forgiveness. But I have to do this," I muttered, looking up at the image of Jesus on the wall.
I briefly wondered if all I really had to do was to help homeless people, then the sin I was about to commit would be completely wiped off. Just like that?
My mind felt crowded as I got up from the seat and walked away, hearing the muted words of prayer from the priest behind the demarcation. I really needed to talk to someone to get the burden off my chest, and I couldn't tell my mom or Estelle, my best friend and that was why I decided to tell the Reverend father. I even felt a bit relieved.
I was anxious to complete my penance, so despite the slowly darkening sky, I spent the last of the money in my purse on some street food. Then, I slowly distributed it to the homeless people in the alleys and corners. By the time I was done, I noticed the sky was very dark when I stood on the porch peering at my surroundings.
It had started to rain heavily, and I watched as people scurry around for shelter from the storm. The rain reminded me so much of how all of this mess started. I stretched my hands forward and smiled emptily as droplets of water from the rain fell gently on my skin.
I vividly remember how it all started, because it had rained non-stop till the next day. I remembered how all of these started and I wished it was never like this. I wished I had not made the bad decisions that led to this pregnancy.
I had just returned from one of my many job shifts, tired and stressed. That Night
I had pushed open the tiny gate and walked through the field heading toward our home. Most people found peace within their homes, but I was not one of them. I detested coming home a lot and I never wanted to come back to such a gloomy atmosphere. But what choice did I have?
I had stopped in my track when I heard sniffles and cries. I had prayed and hoped that my dad hadn't abused my mum again. He did that always and had been locked up before.
"Mom." I called out when I saw her sitting on the bare floor. She was sobbing in a way I had never seen before.
Something twisted painfully in my chest as I dropped my bag on the floor and knelt beside her, cradling her palm in mine. "Mom, what is wrong?" I asked softly.
She couldn't answer me, she just kept crying. I hugged her tightly, letting her cry on my shoulder.
"Can you tell me what is wrong now?" I asked her when she had finally stopped crying. She stared at me with red-rimmed eyes and placed a hand on my cheek.
"You are scaring me," I said to her, nervously. That was when I finally took my eyes off her and saw the state of the house. I gasped in horror, "What happened to the house?!"
Koko Magnus, an ugly and useless she-wolf decided to give her heart to her beautiful twin sister who was supposed to be the next Luna of the red moon pack, as a redemption for causing the death of her father, so as to gain her mother's love. She knew there was no way she'd enjoy the love in death, but what was the use of her life anyways? Alpha Niyol, who was yet to get over the pains of loosing his beloved mate, meets a second chance mate two years after, but she doesn't look anything close to his beloved late mate. How can he accept another woman that is not Erika? Will he even love her?
"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!
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."
Madisyn was stunned to discover that she was not her parents' biological child. Due to the real daughter's scheming, she was kicked out and became a laughingstock. Thought to be born to peasants, Madisyn was shocked to find that her real father was the richest man in the city, and her brothers were renowned figures in their respective fields. They showered her with love, only to learn that Madisyn had a thriving business of her own. "Stop pestering me!" said her ex-boyfriend. "My heart only belongs to Jenna." "How dare you think that my woman has feelings for you?" claimed a mysterious bigwig.
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?
The day Lilah found out that she was pregnant, she caught her fiancé cheating on her. Her remorseless fiancé and his mistress almost killed her. Lilah fled for her dear life. When she returned to her hometown five years later, she happened to save a little boy's life. The boy's father turned out to be the world's richest man. Everything changed for Lilah from that moment. The man didn't let her experience any inconvenience. When her ex-fiancé bullied her, he crushed the scumbag's family and also rented out an entire island just to give Lilah a break from all the drama. He also taught Lilah's hateful father a lesson. He crushed all her enemies before she even asked. When Lilah's vile sister threw herself at him, he showed her a marriage certificate and said, "I'm happily married and my wife is much more beautiful than you are!" Lilah was shocked. "When did we ever get married? Last I checked, I was still single." With a wicked smile, he said, "Honey, we've been married for five years. Isn't it about time we had another child together?" Lilah's jaw dropped to the floor. What the hell was he talking about?
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?"