After spending a year abroad, Olivia returns hoping to confess her feelings to her childhood crush whom she carried very close to her heart. When returning she found that he had a girlfriend. Despite feeling devastated, she still felt her and her crush, Nathan had some chemistry between them. Trying to resist it, became harder and harder each encounter. After being caught in a compromising position, Nathan's girlfriend belittled Olivia, making her feel heartbroken and betrayed. This only pushed her decision to return overseas to study abroad at Oxford, but after three years, she finally returned and she still felt more conflicted than ever. She tries to decide whether she should fight to show Nathan that she is the girl for him, or will she turn to his brother and allow herself to fall head over heels in love with him?
As I stare at my reflection in the mirror, analysing every aspect of my appearance, I fall into a daze. I think to myself, 'he likes blue, maybe I should put the blue dress back on'.
In the distance, I hear the a faint voice approaching me. Vaguely, I hear "Olivia!" repeated at least two or three times.
Snapping out of my daze, I turn to my mother, who seems to be irritably frustrated with me. 'She must have been standing in my room calling my name a few times' I think to myself.
"We're going to be late, its just dinner, any dress will do!" She said in an annoyed voice.
"The black one looks lovely." She then added reassuringly.
I looked at her shyly, straightened my dress and then followed her out of my room, walking down the stairs.
"The car is waiting outside. Grab the present and meet me in the car." My mother then added, and before I could reply she was attempting to run from the front door to the car, in her heels.
With the present in one hand, I pulled the front door of the house shut with the other hand and followed my mother into the town car, threw myself into the back seat and pulled the car door shut. The driver took off shortly after I settled in.
Through the camera of my phone, I used it as a makeshift mirror to look at myself as I was anxiously fixing my hair and assessing my makeup.
I wore my long thick dark brown hair down and straight, and kept my makeup simple, with a clear lipgloss and a soft smokey eye makeup look.
My mother looked beside me, gave my a smirk and chuckled "You look stunning Olivia. Nathan will certainly be impressed don't you worry."
I looked at her sheepishly as my face slowly started to turn red, "Please mother" I pleaded and turned away, putting my phone down and resting my arms by my side.
Soon, the car finally arrived at the Middleton household. The house was set back by a long, paved driveway behind a huge gate which let us into the property.
As we approached the huge mansion, which looked historically built and preserved since the early 1900's, the car came to a holt and we opened both sides of the car door and got out.
Adjusting the hem of my dress as I got out of the town car, my mother and I stood beside each other, gave each other a quick glance, and both headed to the front door.
We rang the doorbell, moments after ringing the bell, we were greeted by their butler who opened the door and said, "Ah the Renolds, please come in, the Middletons are waiting for you!"
As he stepped aside, holding the door open, we stepped inside as he motioned us to follow him into the living room after he closed the door behind us.
As we walked into the living room, I could see Mr and Mrs Middleton who both glanced at us with smiles from cheek to cheek as the both rushed to greet us.
"Olivia! You look more stunning since last time we have seen you! I didn't think that was possible." She said kindly as she kissed both sides of my cheek to greet me.
I gave her a polite smile and greeted her and Mr Middleton back.
In the room with them, was their youngest son, Dean, who was a year younger than me. However their oldest son Nathan, was not there.
I thought to myself, 'I wonder where Nathan is... is he coming?' I pondered as my mother was talking to Mr and Mrs Middleton, I heard my mother say, "So where is the birthday boy" she asked curiously.
The mother, Meredith, responded, "He should be here shortly, he must be running late."
As I was watching their conversation from a distance, I felt a light punch on the side of my arm. I turned and it was none other than Dean Middleton.
He looked different since I last saw him. He definitely had grown up. I had been away for a year completing my final year of high school abroad at a boarding school, which I received a scholarship to.
"Hey stranger" Dean said with a cheeky smirk on his face.
I was stunned to see him. Especially considering how much more handsome he had gotten since I saw him last.
He had grown at least a foot or two taller, being at least 6 foot tall, with light brown hair, which had a slight curl in it, gorgeous green eyes and he was dressed neatly in a button up which fitted his chiseled body well.
I looked at him with a delightfully surprised expression on my face as I chucked "Oh my good, hey Dean!" as I leaned in for a casual hug.
"It's almost been a year since I've seen you, how are you" Dean asked casually.
"I'm good, I'm good" I added.
"You're going to find this so funny, Nathan is coming tonight and for the first time he's bringing his girl-" Dean suddenly stopped talking when the front door opened.
Nathan walked in. He looked amazing. I didn't think the mental image I had of him last time I saw him a year ago could be topped. But there he was. As he walked in with that gorgeous grin on his face, I couldn't help myself but stare.
He was wearing an all black outfit, his shirt buttoned almost alway the way up, leaving the top to buttons undone, exposed his tanned, muscular chest. His hair was sleek back but kind of looked a little messy. I wondered why. He had beautiful bright, white teeth and alluring blue eyes. He was the textbook definition of the male beauty standard.
Behind him, holding his hand, a girl walked in, trailing closely behind him. She walked in smiling at everyone innocently. She looked pretty, had porcelain skin, long blonde hair, with a curl put through it, and she wore a short blue satin dress with black heels.
She looked well bred but I couldn't help but envy her. I wanted to hate her. I wanted to be the girl walking in holding Nathan's hand. I wondered who she was to him, how they knew each other and every other detail that came to mind.
They greeted everyone as they walked in, and Nathan introduced his parents and my mother to this girl.
"Vivian, this is my mother and father, Meredith and Charles, and this is our close family friend Kirsten." Nathan said formally as he acquainted everyone to Vivian.
She smiled at them and praised them for inviting her to join us tonight.
Nathan added, "Kirsten is Olivia's mother" as he pointed over towards me.
As I saw Nathan pointing at me, I tried to look away and focus on my conversation with Dean, as if I hadn't been watching Nathan and Vivian since they walked through the door.
Vivian turned to look at me and then started approaching me, followed by Nathan.
"Oh my god, Olivia I have heard so much about!" She sounded excited but to me, I felt it was a bit disingenuous.
"Nice to meet you" I said with a formal smile.
I turned to Nathan, and casually said "happy birthday" with a sincere smile, I handed him the present I had been holding.
After handing Nathan present, I corrected my gaze back to Dean after he smiled at me and said "Why thank you Olivia" with that gorgeous smile of his, as he jokingly pinched my cheek.
"This is Vivian" Nathan repeated to us. "My girlfriend." He then added casually.
We all exchanged smiles at each other. I found it hard to force a smile, as I had not mentally prepared for Nathan to bring back a girlfriend. It hurt a bit, I must admit.
But then again, it had been a year since I had last seen him. It was naive for me to expect to see everything was the same as it was the day I left for boarding school.
Before we could continue any further conversation in the living room, the private chef had announced that dinner was ready and before I knew it, we all made our way to the dining room to take our seats.
Kallie, a mute who had been ignored by her husband for five years since their wedding, also suffered the loss of her pregnancy due to her cruel mother-in-law. After the divorce, she learned that her ex-husband had quickly gotten engaged to the woman he truly loved. Holding her slightly rounded belly, she realized that he had never really cared for her. Determined, she left him behind, treating him as a stranger. Yet, after she left, he scoured the globe in search of her. When their paths crossed once more, Kallie had already found new happiness. For the first time, he pleaded humbly, "Please don't leave me..."Â But Kallie's response was firm and dismissive, cutting through any lingering ties. "Get lost!"
Rumors said that Lucas married an unattractive woman with no background. In the three years they were together, he remained cold and distant to Belinda, who endured in silence. Her love for him forced her to sacrifice her self-worth and her dreams. When Lucas' true love reappeared, Belinda realized that their marriage was a sham from the start, a ploy to save another woman's life. She signed the divorce papers and left. Three years later, Belinda returned as a surgical prodigy and a maestro of the piano. Lost in regret, Lucas chased her in the rain and held her tightly. "You are mine, Belinda."
Elena, once a pampered heiress, suddenly lost everything when the real daughter framed her, her fiancĂ© ridiculed her, and her adoptive parents threw her out. They all wanted to see her fall. But Elena unveiled her true identity: the heiress of a massive fortune, famed hacker, top jewelry designer, secret author, and gifted doctor. Horrified by her glorious comeback, her adoptive parents demanded half her newfound wealth. Elena exposed their cruelty and refused. Her ex pleaded for a second chance, but she scoffed, âDo you think you deserve it?â Then a powerful magnate gently proposed, âMarry me?â
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?"
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."
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 townâs 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. âWay to go, honey!â