Sheila had her back against the wall when her family tried to force her to marry an awful old man. In a fit of rage, she hired a gigolo to act as her husband. She thought the gigolo needed money and did this for a living. Little did she know that he was nothing like that. One day, he pulled off his mask and revealed himself to be the world's top magnate. This marked the beginning of their love. He showered her with everything she could ever want. They were happy. However, unexpected circumstances soon posed a threat to their love. Would Sheila and her husband make it through the storm? Find out!
Feeling as though she was on fire, Sheila Jones ached for some kind of relief. It was as if she'd taken a swan dive right into a pool of molten lava.
A man's firm chest pushed against her, and she arched her back in response, whispering, "Niko, how could you forget me? I miss the days when you still loved me."
Hearing the name "Niko," the man's eyes narrowed just a smidgen, and he pressed against her even more intensely.
"Hmm..."
As the first light of dawn crept through the window, Sheila shifted, and her hand met a searing chest. Blinking her eyes open, she saw a strikingly handsome face.
"Hey! Who are you? Why are you in my bed? What happened?"
Confirming she wasn't stuck in some weird dream, Sheila realized she was naked under the covers and let out a shriek.
Leaning against the headboard, Shane White looked her up and down, taking in the red marks dotting her skin.
"I think the question is, what did you do to me?" said Shane, his voice a sultry growl. "The moment I stepped out of that elevator last night, you were all over me. Anyone would think you were the desperate one there."
Sheila felt a cocktail of shame and rage. Did this arrogant guy just compare her to a sex worker?
She started to lift her hand for a good old-fashioned slap. But as her hand went up, the sheet slid down, leaving her completely exposed.
Pulling up the sheet, Sheila gave him a stern warning. "Look, what happened last night stays in this room. Once we're outside, we're strangers. If you even hint at this to anyone, you're going to wish you hadn't."
Having laid down the law, Sheila gathered her strewn clothes from the floor and dressed.
The idea that she'd lost her virginity to some random guy made her eyes well up.
Swiping away her tears with a quick, angry motion, she refused to let her softer emotions show.
Sensing her struggle, Shane toned down his voice. "Last night wasn't planned, obviously. But if you're open to it, I could make an honest woman out of you."
"You mean to marry you?" Sheila couldn't contain her disbelief and indignation. Eyes blazing, she snapped, "You think one night together makes it okay to keep this going, but just with a ring on my finger?"
The audacity! It was like a twisted comedy sketch.
Shane hadn't seen that coming.
Women had practically lined up for a chance to be with him over the years, but he'd never felt the need to commit. Now that he offered, she didn't want it?
Finishing his own morning dress ritual, Shane reached for a gold-embossed business card from his pocket and set it on the nightstand.
"This has my number. If you change your mind, you know how to reach me."
Once he was gone, Sheila sank into the bathtub, scrubbing away the marks on her skin as if she could wash away the entire episode. The world seemed a little darker than before.
The night before, she'd been at a family party where her half-sister, Rita Jones, had handed her a glass of wine. She didn't remember anything after finishing that drink.
While she knew she wasn't a heavyweight when it came to alcohol, one glass of wine shouldn't have had that kind of effect.
It had to be Rita messing with that wine!
Six months earlier, Niko Evans, the man Sheila had been with for two years, got into an accident. When he came to consciousness, he didn't remember her. Worse still, he'd fallen head over heels for her sister Rita.
Sheila had tried everything to get him to remember their time together, but nothing worked.
Now, she was left with nothing, as Rita seemed to have stolen both her love and her family from her.
That was it. She couldn't let it slide any longer.
After her bath, Sheila caught a cab back to the Jones family's home.
The Jones' household was eerily quiet that early morning.
Just as she was about to walk into the living room, she picked up the sound of her stepmother and half-sister talking.
"Mom, we missed a golden opportunity last night! The guy didn't film Sheila while they were, you know, together. Imagine if he had! We could've shown that video to Niko, and he'd be done with her for sure."
Then another voice, tinged with a sneer, joined the conversation. "Don't sweat it. Video or not, Sheila won't be a problem between you and Niko anymore."
Rita was clearly confused.
Her mother, Paula, snickered quietly. "Remember Timothy, who was at the party last night?"
"Timothy Green? That unsettling older guy? I heard he's gone through six wives, and none of them are alive to tell the tale. Now he's in the market for unlucky number seven."
Natalie used to think she could melt Connor’s icy heart, but she was sorely mistaken. When at last she decided to leave, she discovered that she was pregnant. Even so, she chose to quietly leave his world, prompting Connor to mobilize all of his resources and expand his business to a global scale—all in a bid to find her. But there was no trace of Natalie. Connor slowly spiraled into madness, turning the city upside down and leaving chaos in his wake. Natalie finally surfaced years later, with wealth and power of her own, only to find herself entangled with Connor once again.
Rachel used to think that her devotion would win Brian over one day, but she was proven wrong when his true love returned. Rachel had endured it all—from standing alone at the altar to dragging herself to the hospital for an emergency treatment. Everyone thought she was crazy to give up so much of herself for someone who didn’t return her feelings. But when Brian received news of Rachel’s terminal illness and realized she didn’t have long to live, he completely broke down. "I forbid you to die!" Rachel just smiled. She no longer needed him. "I will finally be free."
"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.
"You're a creepy bastard." His eyes smolder me and his answering grin is nothing short of beautiful. Deadly. "Yet you hunger for me. Tell me, this appetite of yours, does it always tend toward 'creepy bastards'?" **** Widower and ex-boss to the Mafia, Zefiro Della Rocca, has an unhealthy fixation on the woman nextdoor. It began as a coincidence, growing into mere curiosity, and soon, it was an itch he couldn't ignore, like a quick fix of crack for an addict. He didn't know her name, but he knew every inch of her skin, how it flushed when she climaxed, her favourite novel and that every night she contemplated suicide. He didn't want to care, despising his rapt fascination of the woman. She was in love with her abusive husband. She was married, bound by a contract to the Bratva's hitman. She was off-limits. But when Zefiro wanted something, it was with an intensity that bordered on madness. He obsessed, possessed, owned. There'd be bloodshed if he touched her, but the sight of blood always did fascinate him. * When Susanna flees from her husband, she stumbles right into the arms of her devilishly handsome neighbour with a brooding glare. He couldn't stand her, but she needed him, if she was ever going to escape her husband who now wanted her dead. Better the devil you know than the angel you don't. She should have recalled that before hopping into Zefiro's car and letting him whisk her away to Italy. Maybe then, she wouldn't have started an affair with him. He was the only man who touched her right, and the crazy man took no small pains in ensuring he would be the last.
Linsey was stood up by her groom to run off with another woman. Furious, she grabbed a random stranger and declared, "Let's get married!" She had acted on impulse, realizing too late that her new husband was the notorious rascal, Collin. The public laughed at her, and even her runaway ex offered to reconcile. But Linsey scoffed at him. "My husband and I are very much in love!" Everyone thought she was delusional. Then Collin was revealed to be the richest man in the world. In front of everyone, he got down on one knee and held up a stunning diamond ring. "I look forward to our forever, honey."
Janice, the long-forgotten legitimate heiress, made her way back to her family, pouring her heart into winning their hearts. Yet, she had to relinquish her very identity, her academic credentials, and her creative works to her foster sister. In return for her sacrifices, she found no warmth, only deeper neglect. Resolute, Janice vowed to cut off all emotional bonds. Transformed, she now stood as a master of martial arts, adept in eight languages, an esteemed medical expert, and a celebrated designer. With newfound resolve, she declared, "From this day forward, no one in this family shall cross me."