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He walked closer to Hazel and sniffed her gently, and he could tell it was her scent that had rubbed off on him. Â "Why did you lie?" Ethan's voice sounded calm but terrifying. Â Hazel knew she had been caught, and to keep lying would only put her in a more difficult situation. Â "Em. The thing is, President Ethan, I'm truly sorry! I was just carried away. I'm sorry, please." Hazel felt so embarrassed as she pleaded guilty. **** With the prevalent perspective of the vast disparity between a low and a high class, and the world's view of true love between the two classes as unachievable, Hazel Morton finds herself romantically drawn to her boss (Ethan Roy). Ethan Roy's one night fling with his staff, Hazel Morton made him dislike her. And when his family got to know about Hazel's pregnancy, He was forced to get married to her. Ethan was more in love with his late lover, Amelia Wilson, not making him want to give his heart to anyone. But Ethan was soon disturbed when Amelia's sister, Jane Wilson asked Ethan to fulfil her sister's last dying wish of getting married to her. **** Will Hazel's marriage ever lead to her happily ever after? Will Ethan ever find a reason to give Hazel his heart? Find out in this intriguing story of a forced love between two different classes.
Hazel Morton had woken up earlier to quickly make Ethan Roy a hangover soup and then leave before he would wake up as she was seen rummaging through the cabinets to collect the necessary recipes.
Earlier, she had caught a clear view of Ethan's living room, she could tell it was one with a look of extravaganza. Decadent and very much spacious, decorated with high quality home furnitures. But more was at stake, the reason she had dashed off into the kitchen to quickly finish up her business and then leave quietly.
She tried to avoid making much noise in the kitchen; she wasn't ready to face Ethan that way, as she felt embarrassed by what had cropped up between them last night.
Unfortunately, she couldn't find any suitable ingredients for a hangover soup.
"How does he feed himself when there are no ingredients to cook?" Hazel mused to herself.
After much searching and finding no recipe, she left the kitchen and tiptoed to the room to pick up her pair of shoes and bag.
Her heart romped as she saw Ethan sitting on the bed, already in an awoken state, with a confused expression plastered on his endearing face.
"How did you come in?" Ethan asked with a hint of frostiness in his voice.
"Em. Actually, I managed to bring you home last night after seeing you in a bad state in your office. I'm sorry for that, boss. I'll leave now." Hazel spoke timidly while stuttering, and she hurriedly picked up her belongings to avoid more interrogations from Ethan.
"Hold on."
Hazel paused abruptly, hearing Ethan's cold sounding order.
"You mean you were the one who had brought me home last night? Which means you would have helped me to my bedroom, and then, you stayed back till this morning?" Ethan gave her a suspicious look.
"Did anything transpire between us last night?" His baritone, cool voice queried in a suspicious manner.
"Nothing at all boss! I only stayed over due to the state you were in. "I couldn't bare to leave you all alone in such a state." Hazel lied, trying to cover up whatever had gone down the previous night.
Ethan was smart enough to discern she had cooked up a lie as he could perceive a strange but mild scent on himself.
He walked proximately to Hazel and snuffled her gently, and he could tell it was her scent that had rubbed off on him.
Hazel shivered at his action, she recalled how fascinated she had been last night and how she couldn't resist Ethan.
The winsome eyes that had stared deep into hers with tenderness and pleasure the night before, were now fixed on her in contempt.
I should have just left! Hazel scolded herself inwardly, when she heard Ethan frosty voice pierced through her ears again.
"Why did you lie?" Ethan's voice sounded calm but terrifying.
Hazel knew she'd been caught, and to keep lying would only put her in a more difficult situation.
"Em. President Ethan, I'm truly sorry, I was only carried away. I never meant for anything to occur, I'm sorry, please." Hazel felt so embarrassed as she pleaded guilty.
"From your tone, it truly means we had an encounter yesterday, right?" Ethan probed more, wanting to be sure, as his anger slowly increased.
"It's my fault, please. I'm truly sorry!" Hazel pleaded as tears rolled out of her eyes. She truly regretted letting such a thing ensue.
"Did you do this because of money? Or so you could blackmail me? Or did someone send you to ruin my image, and you feel getting on my bed is the best way?"
"Well, that has been achieved! But note, I won't let this go." Ethan threatened her, meaning every word he'd uttered.
"No! No! It's really not what you think; I could swear on it... I only lost control; that was all. I dare not blackmail you. Do not worry, boss, I will treat this like it never happened; please, President Ethan, believe me." Hazel pleaded more as tears kept rolling out of her eyes.
"Believe you? You know what? I only find you despicable! Because even if I had seduced you due to my drunken state, you could have pushed me off or run out; you could have stopped it! But I see you have your selfish notions; the reason you'd allowed it! And I so much detest people like you!" Ethan thundered at the top of his voice as he felt cheated. His eyes full of chills that could ice up a furnace.
"Now-get-the-hell-out-of-my-house." Ethan said it carefully while panting from anger.
"President Ethan, I'm so...
"Get the hell out!" Ethan yelled louder, not letting her finish her statement.
Hazel could only pick up her shoes and bag and walked out in sheer embarrassment.
****
Hazel headed straight home and didn't bother to resume work for that day.
She flumped on her bed and cried bitterly. She'd never been embarrassed the way she had been at Ethan's house earlier.
She had suffered heartbreaks from two different relationships, and in these recent years, she had gradually healed from the pain and permitted an affection to slowly surge in her heart again, even though it was one sided.
She criticized herself.
She blamed her selfishness and wishful thinking.
How could she think Ethan would want her?
A man like Ethan would surely have a lot of women around him, right?
And if he could have truly loved someone so much, then it meant such a lady couldn't be compared to anyone; every other woman would surely be like dirt to him.
What was she assuming?
Hazel weeped more at her conceptions.
She switched off her phone, as all she wanted was to be alone and cry her heart out.
****
The next morning, Hazel awoke, feeling famished. She strode to her less spacious kitchen to prepare an omelette for herself when she heard her doorbell rang. Earlier, it didn't occur to her to check what the time said as the hunger in her was more intense.
She strode forward to check and she saw the familiar face while she unclinched the door to let him in.
"You seem to be idle, coming to a spinster's house early in the morning." Hazel said while stroding back to the kitchen.
"When it comes to you, I don't mind being idle." Alfric Gagmon replied with a beaming smile that Hazel missed as she was turning her back against him.
Alfric leaned on the kitchen door casually staring at Hazel as she prepared her omelette. One could tell, he was very much apprised with Hazel's home.
"Do you care?" She asked Alfric, referring to the omelette.
"I care!" Alfric replied while he laughed.
"Why do I seem to feel like you're hiding your face from me, huh? It ain't the first time I've seen your morning look when you appear to look like a little witch, especially with your ruffled hair. Alfric teased mockingly.
Hazel couldn't resist the urge to hurl back as she turned and snapped at him.
"Say one more word, and I'll throw you out of my house!"
"Oh, here comes the little witch threat..." Alfric paused his speech and gazed closely at Hazel.
"Hazel! Is there something I need to know?" Alfric questioned in curiousity.
Hazel realized Alfric had caught a glimpse of her swollen, red eyes, and she swiftly spun around to continue cooking, not giving Alfric a response.
"For real? You aren't going to tell me?" Alfric sounded playfully hurt.
"It's nothing, Alfric; I was only reminiscing on the past; you know, that's human nature; we recall some past event once in a while." Hazel replied eventually, not being entirely truthful.
"I already told you to let me kick their asses then, but you refused. I really don't know why you have such a kind and soft heart, Hazel." Alfric took the bait, believing all that Hazel said was the truth.
"Enough of the talk; let's eat." Hazel lifted the two plates of omellete she had placed on a tray to the small wooden table in her crampy living room.
She went to her fridge and brought out a jug of fruit drink. She sat down, poured some into a glass cup, and passed it to Alfric.
Alfric picked it up immediately and gulped some down his throat.
"Madison brought this three days back." Hazel spilled this, seeing how Alfric had hurriedly drank the juice.
"Pfft!!!" Alfric spat out the juice left in his mouth in shock. His dark-brown eyes turned reclusive instantly.
★★★
BLURB. Alva Martinez, a con artist, had a one-night fling with a young billionaire (Leandro Watson) after being drugged by her pals, which was arranged by Alva's boss (Dario Martinez) and Leandro's fiancée (Emma Morgan), but she resented Leandro for taking advantage of her because of her naivety. She later fell in love with him after being assigned to her final mission. A mission she discovered was related to him. Alva soon discovered who her biological mother was and how she ended up in an orphanage, as well as how she and Leandro had met in her adolescence and discovering Leandro's ex-lover, was her half sister. Would you call Leandro and Alva's love 'fortunate'? Will Alva be able to overcome her infamous boss? Would Alva prefer Leandro over her job loyalty? revealed in this twisty, suspenseful romance story.
In order to fulfill her grandfather's last wish, Stella entered into a hasty marriage with an ordinary man she had never met before. However, even after becoming husband and wife on paper, they each led separate lives, barely crossing paths. A year later, Stella returned to Seamarsh City, hoping to finally meet her mysterious husband. To her astonishment, he sent her a text message, unexpectedly pleading for a divorce without ever having met her in person. Gritting her teeth, Stella replied, "So be it. Let’s get a divorce!" Following that, Stella made a bold move and joined the Prosperity Group, where she became a public relations officer that worked directly for the company’s CEO, Matthew. The handsome and enigmatic CEO was already bound in matrimony, and was known to be unwaveringly devoted to his wife in private. Unbeknownst to Stella, her mysterious husband was actually her boss, in his alternate identity! Determined to focus on her career, Stella deliberately kept her distance from the CEO, although she couldn't help but notice his deliberate attempts to get close to her. As time went on, her elusive husband had a change of heart. He suddenly refused to proceed with the divorce. When would his alternate identity be uncovered? Amidst a tumultuous blend of deception and profound love, what destiny awaited them?
"I heard you're going to marry Marcelo. Is this perhaps your revenge against me? It's very laughable, Renee. That man can barely function." Her foster family, her cheating ex, everyone thought Renee was going to live in pure hell after getting married to a disabled and cruel man. She didn't know if anything good would ever come out of it after all, she had always thought it would be hard for anyone to love her but this cruel man with dark secrets is never going to grant her a divorce because she makes him forget how to breathe.
After three loveless years, Neil's betrayal deeply wounded Katelyn. She wasted no time in getting rid of that scoundrel! After the divorce, she devoted herself to career pursuits. Rising to prominence as a top designer, skilled doctor, and brilliant hacker, she became a revered icon. Neil, realizing his grave mistake, tried in vain to win her back, only to witness her magnificent wedding to another. As their vows were broadcast on the world's largest billboard, Vincent slid a ring onto Katelyn's finger and declared, "Katelyn is now my wife, a priceless treasure. Let all who covet her beware!"
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.
Three years ago, Cecilia was left battered and alone by the man she loved most, Alston, yet she bravely completed the wedding ceremony while pregnant. Three years later, although they were married, they grew apart over time. Cecilia focused on her career, no longer foolishly believing in love. But her transformation instantly threw Alston into a panic... And what is the secret from 11 years ago that Cecilia has always been reluctant to reveal? *** "She went to a law firm, met with a lawyer..." A lawyer? Is Cecilia suing someone? Who? Is there any recent litigation against the company? Alston suddenly chuckled coldly, "Who could she sue? I'm the CEO of this company. How come such a matter doesn't come to me first?" The assistant swallowed nervously, speaking softly, "Sir, there's no litigation against the company. She met with... a divorce lawyer."
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?"