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"Ouch..." As Maisie gradually regained her consciousness, all she could feel was her splitting headache and the throbbing pain all through her body, as if she had just been hit by a car. She furrowed her brows at the unease, but she could not find the strength to shrug it off. She could barely make out the silhouette of the man in the dark but could smell the unique fragrance of Gucci cologne, lightly wafting through the air. The man stayed silent the entire time while he pressed his body against her, kissing and nibbling her slender neck... As dawn crept up, the morning sun shone in. Maisie suddenly opened her eyes. She was astonished to find herself na*ed in bed with a stranger lying next to her. He had his back turned against her. Maisie's face turned pale as flashbacks of the night before suddenly came back rushing back to her. It was not a dream after all! How had she ended up here?
All Maisie could recall from last night was that she had been celebrating her birthday with Willow. After taking a few sips of the sangria Willow had brought to her, she passed out!
Could it be that her drink had been spiked!?
Maisie gnashed her teeth and walked out of bed. With every ounce of composure within her, she tried to remain as calm as she could. She swiftly slipped on her clothes from last night, tidied herself up, and fled. She needed to get home immediately so that she could talk to Willow and find out what had happened!
When Maisie reached home, she saw her father sitting on the sofa waiting for her.
Stephen asked with a calm expression, "Where were you last night?"
Maisie pursed her lips, thinking about the events of last night before finally replying, "l fell asleep in a friend's house."
'Bam!'
Slamming a picture on the table, he roared furiously,
"l know you spent the night with a man in a hotel room! How dare you lie to me?"
The sight of the photo made the blood drain from Maisie's face. It was a picture of a man she did not recognize, helping her into a hotel room.
Willow rushed down the stairs in her high heels. "Dad, calm down." As she continued to talk, she walked toward Maisie and pretended to nag at her.
"Zee, how could you embarrass the family like this? Even if you are in love with the man, you should know not to cross the line before getting married."
Maisie was completely startled. What did she mean by that?
She had clearly been unconscious at the time!
Just as she suspected, Willow would never be so kind as to celebrate her birthday for her. It had all been a set-up!
Maisie tried to explain herself, "Dad, listen, I was out celebrating my birthday with Willow. There was something in the drink that Willow gave to me-"
"That's enough!" Stephen stood up, pointed his finger at her, and growled,
"Willow is your big sister. Don't you dare blame her for your own actions!"
'Sister?'
Listening to her father's accusations, Maisie clenched both her fists tightly until they trembled. Her mother should have known that her father was an unfaithful man. He had been keeping a woman on the side from the very start.
Who could have guessed that within a year after her mother's passing, even before her ashes had turned cold, he would remarry so quickly with Leila Scott?
What had come as a greater surprise to Maisie was finding out that they had long given birth to a daughter of their own!
Maisie had always known that Willow was trying to win over their father for years now. She would act a certain way in front of their father and turn into something else behind him. Never did it ever occur to Maisie that Willow would try to sabotage her on her very own birthday!
"l was planning to pass on Vaenna Jewelry to you when you finally came of age, but y-you... I can't believe you pulled such a stunt to tarnish the family name!
I never want to see your face again! The Vanderbilt could do better without a shameless wretch like you for a daughter!"
Maisie stuttered, "Dad, a-are you... kicking me out?"
Stephen smashed the mug he was holding right at her feet. "Get the hell out of here!"
Trembling uncontrollably, Maisie lifted her head only to catch Willow sneering back at her along with her father's untrusting grimace. She could not help but feel a chill in her heart.
As Maisie was dragging her luggage out through the front yard, Willow came up to her. Pretending to be sweet, she reached out an arm and offered to help with the luggage. But instead, her reaching hand was slapped away by Maisie.
"Get lost."
Seeing Maisie's hostile attitude toward her, Willow finally showed her true colors.
"I'll be honest with you. I did add a little something into that drink last night. I'm guessing it must feel horrible to be tainted by a man."
With much dismay, Maisie chewed on her lips. "You and Leila got what you wanted by worming your way into our home. What more do you want?"
"What I want is your status!" Willow walked right up to her and stared fiercely into her eyes. "Why am I the illegitimate child when you get to be the crown jewel of the Vanderbilts? You were born noble and proud, weren't you? Well, now you're nothing but a used, torn-up shoe. By now, you should know where you
stand. So, why don't you just move along."
Willow waved her phone in front of Maisie's face with much delight.
"If you don't want this video leaked to the media and risk ruining your life forever, then hit the road.
"And don't ever come back!"
Maisie stared back blankly. She loosened her clenched fists. She hauled her luggage off the ground with a stiff look on her face and headed straight into her car without a second glance.
Willow watched as the car drove farther and farther away. A smug smile spread across her face. Not only did the Vaenna Jewelry now belong to her, but everything else under the Vanderbilt was hers for the taking!
Just as she was about to turn around, a Rolls-Royce stopped right at their front door. Four bodyguards in black got out of the car and stood in a line next to it.
With a long leg forward, a man stepped out. He was tall and had an athletic build.
He wore a black striped suit, elegant and simple, yet posh at the same time.
Willow was frozen in place, 'Isn't that... Nolan Goldmann, the successor of the Goldmann family from the royal capital of Bassburgh?'
The CEO of Blackgold Group, also known as the youngest king of business and commerce in the patriarch of Zlokova. Nolan Goldmann had a net worth of hundreds of millions. Not to mention, he was a very powerful man within the royal capital!
What was he doing here at the Vanderbilt manor?
Nolan Goldmann's unfeeling eyes swept over her. He uttered coldly, "Are you, Willow Vanderbilt?"
Her heart skipped a beat. He recognized her!
She nodded gleefully and chimed, "Yes, that's me."
"Were you the woman who spent the night with me in the Empyrean Hotel, Room 6228?' Willow pressed her lips together.
Empyrean Hotel, Room 6228!
The room she had purposely reserved for that shameless b*tch? Could it be that the man Maisie had slept with last night was not the old fart she had intended?
But rather, it was Nolan Goldmann! 'That darn b*tch! I can't believe she lucked out!
Maisie could have all the luck in the world, but so what? In the end, she was nothing more than just a stepping stone. Oh, Nolam Who in their right mind would ever pass up on the chance of becoming your lover?'
Willow nodded with a grin. "Why, indeed. I'm the woman you were with."
Amelia was a substitute bride. Her husband Oscar was originally in love with some other woman named Cassie, but Cassie put up a front on the day of their wedding and ran away. Four years later, she returned to the city and asked Amelia to step aside so that she could reunite with her lover. Was it going to be that easy? While Amelia and Oscar had come to a truce that love would never exist in their contract marriage, Amelia was very busy falling in love with Oscar. Love You Enough To Leave You Novel narrates the story of Amelia and Oscar, and how love and fate would have them sail in the tides of a love, hate relationship. Amelia was asked to make way for the queen of Oscar Clinton's heart. Her name was Cassie, and she was audacious in her return. Directly asking Amelia to step aside so that she could continue to take care of the love of her life, Cassie was not backing down as she waited tenaciously for Amelia to clear off from her 'destined' path.
Wiltspoon's hot weather in October was a killer. Still, the mornings and evenings were eased by the late autumn breeze. Serenity Hunt got up first thing in the morning to make breakfast for her sister's family of three before grabbing her birth certificate and slipping away ... Serenity had believed that married life would be routine, respectful, and mundane ever since she wed a stranger she had met on a blind date. Her new husband's tendency to cling to her like a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of a shoe never occurred to her. She was utterly shocked to discover that whenever she was in trouble, he could make her problems go away. She questioned, but her husband always said it was just luck. Up until the day she saw an interview with a local billionaire who was renowned for making a big deal out of his wife. She then noticed the billionaire's startling resemblance to her husband. He turned out to be praising his wife, who was actually her!
It was June, at the crack of dawn, a beautiful woman woke up with pains wracking her body and a splitting headache in a presidential suite of a five-star hotel, somewhere in the capital city, Nordeny. She felt utterly exhausted. Her head was killing her. It was as if she had woken up in a stranger's body. The young woman was Anya MacMillan. She forced her eyes open and pushed herself up. The sight before her baffled her. A huge bed. Messy sheets with streaks of dried dubious fluids stained. Clothes strewn across the bed and the floor. Clothes that belonged to her and a man. Anya jerked in shock. She whipped her head around and stared at the other side of the bed. On the huge and messy bed slept the man whom she had been secretly in love with forever. Evan Welton, the most sought-after bachelor in the capital city. The Adonis of Nordeny. Exhaustion lined his handsome face. His eyes were tightly shut. He showed no signs of waking up. He was completely naked, His finely sculpted form laid completely bare to Anya's eyes. The pounding in Anya's head worsened. Her breathing quickened. Did she...had she...with Evan...last night? Anya shoved aside the splitting pain in her head and forced herself to recall what had happened last night. Last night...she remembered that she had paid a visit to her stepmother. What had happened after that? Her memories were a blur. Her head felt heavy and her neck was killing her. Amid the fog clouding her head, snippets of memories flashed. She remembered heated touches, naked flesh and then some... There was no doubt about it. They had sex. It must be her stepmother. Her stepmother must have drugged them! Anya couldn't think of anyone else who would do something so vicious to her! Anya felt an alarm sound off in her head. 'She had to get out of here,' she thought. She tried to clamber out of bed immediately. She knew exactly who Evan Welton was. The man set to inherit the vast fortunes of the wealthiest family in Nordeny and the bachelor whom every young woman from any respectable family sought to marry. A man who loathed the advances of women he didn't know. Angering him would mean death. Anya imagined the possibility of Evan waking up right now. What would he think when he saw the mess? There was no way she could talk her way out of this one. She had been secretly in love with the man since she had been a girl. She didn't want the man to detest her. Anya scrambled to get out of bed. Suddenly, something shot towards her from the other side of the bed. He wrapped himself around her slender waist and yanking her back forcefully. The next moment, she was trapped under someone. She heard a husky male voice, rough with anger and through a clenched jaw. "Anya MacMillan...how dare you drug me..." Anya's mind cleared up. The fog that had clouded her head dispelled immediately. She shook her head frantically. "I didn't do it! It wasn't me..." "You didn't? How did you end up in my bed then?" Evan detested such shameless and stealthy means. His fingers tightened around Anya's pale arms. His strong grip nearly crushed her fragile bones. Pain spiked down Anya's arms. Her eyes reddened as she repeated herself. Evan wasn't interested in listening to her denials. In his view, she was just another despicable, loose woman who drugged him so that she could sleep with him. He released his grip on her and shoved her aside roughly. Then, he got out of bed and began to dress himself. "I don't want to see you again. Ever. Appear in my sight again and you're dead." The young man pulled on the rest of his clothes angrily. It was then that Sydney, Anya's stepsister, burst into the room suddenly. The sight of the mess in the room sent her into an instant rage. She had thought that the drug would make them pa** out and put up a deception of them having had sex. They weren't supposed to actually sleep with each other!
I stared out across the water watching the sunset as the sky puts on its final show for the day. Today was my only day off, and after I helped my parents at our cottage, they let me come to hang out at my favorite spot on the water for the last few hours of the day. The sound of the waves on the water is always a very soothing sound to me, and I need it. I hide out in a spot where I can't be seen unless you know where to look. I have been here hundreds of times and have seen some of the other teenagers from school, but I choose not to show myself. I have to deal with them enough during the school week, and I really don't want to associate with them anyway. My name is Gabrielle Emerson, and I live in the Red River pack in Fairview, CA. We live near the Shasta National Forest, off of Trinity Lake, and it is a beautiful area. Fairview sits at the bottom of Trinity Lake, and it is really nice to live by a body of water. I stay until the sun has completely set in the sky and all you can see is the darkness, pierced by the beautiful light from the stars and the moon high in the sky.
David Lidell vomited blood and passed out when he was enraged by his rival in love. When he woke up, he realized he had obtained a super lavish system, and it was asking him to spend a quadrillion dollars. After that, David embarked on the journey toward the pinnacle of his life.
When Zora was sick during the early days of her pregnancy, Ezrah was with his first love, Piper. When Zora got into an accident and called Ezrah, he said he was busy, when in actual fact, he was buying shoes for Piper. Zora lost her baby because of the accident, and throughout her stay at the hospital, Ezrah never showed up. She already knew that he didn't love her, but that was the last straw for the camel's back, and her fragile heart could not take it anymore. When Ezrah arrived home a few days after Zora was discharged from the hospital, he no longer met the woman who always greeted him with a smile and cared for him. Zora stood at the top of the stairs and yelled with a cold expression, "Good news, Ezrah! Our baby died in a car accident. There is nothing between us anymore, so let's get a divorce." The man who claimed not to have any feelings for Zora, being cold and distant towards her, and having asked her for a divorce twice, instantly panicked.
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.
For as long as Emily can remember, she has wanted to overcome her shyness and explore her sexuality. Still, everything changes when she receives an invitation to visit one of the town's most prestigious BDSM clubs, DESIRE'S DEN. On the day she chose to peruse the club, she noticed three men, all dressed in suits, standing on the upper level, near the railing. Despite her limited vision, she persisted in fixating on them. Their towering statues belied the toned bodies concealed by their sharply tailored suits-or so she could tell. The hair of two of them was short and dark, and the third had light brown-possibly blond-hair that reached the shoulders. The dark, crimson background incised their figures, exuding an air of mystery and strength. They stood in stark contrast to the unfiltered, primal energy that pulsed through the club. Shocked by the desires these men aroused in her, she was disappointed to learn that they were masters seeking a slave to divide and conquer. She couldn't afford the fee, and she also realized that they were outside her league. Emily hurriedly left the club, feeling disappointed and depressed, unaware that she had also caught the group's attention. A world of wicked pleasure, three handsome men. Over the years, they have lived a life of decadence, their lavish lair serving as a stage for their most sinister desires. But despite the unending parade of willing subjects, one woman sticks out. A mysterious stranger with white porcelain skin and a killer body, a slave, a name with no address, the first lady to attract their eye and they will go to any length to obtain her no matter the consequences.
After being kicked out of her home, Harlee learned she wasn't the biological daughter of her family. Rumors had it that her impoverished biological family favored sons and planned to profit from her return. Unexpectedly, her real father was a zillionaire, catapulting her into immense wealth and making her the most cherished member of the family. While they anticipated her disgrace, Harlee secretly held design patents worth billions. Celebrated for her brilliance, she was invited to mentor in a national astronomy group, drew interest from wealthy suitors, and caught the eye of a mysterious figure, ascending to legendary status.
To the public, she was the CEO's executive secretary. Behind closed doors, she was the wife he never officially acknowledged. Jenessa was elated when she learned that she was pregnant. But that joy was replaced with dread as her husband, Ryan, showered his affections on his first love. With a heavy heart, she chose to set him free and leave. When they met again, Ryan's attention was caught by Jenessa's protruding belly. "Whose child are you carrying?!" he demanded. But she only scoffed. "It's none of your business, my dear ex-husband!"
22-year-old Evelyn Carter is attempting to start over in California while avoiding her past. She will be embarking on a new career path as a private school teacher. She is smart, attractive, and doesn't put up with nonsense. Who wouldn't notice her? However, what happens when she attracts the attention of someone unwilling to let her go? Who wants her and nothing else after falling in love at first sight? A 25-year-old billionaire CEO and single father, Lucian Carrington. He takes what he wants and he is also a very dangerous man. All it needed was one look at a stunning woman to realize she was HIS, even though he doesn't believe in relationships because they always end. Preview: Miss Carter, you will be mine. I say firmly. "Release my arm, Mr. Carrington, before I force you to." She says, seeming to smile at me. I give her a sly smile. Squeezing my wrist with her other hand, she twists it uncomfortably. I gave a painful hiss. "Don't underestimate me, Mr. Carrington." "This is the only time I will allow you to walk away from me, Miss Carter." She glared at me as she turned. "Mr. Carrington, I am no possession of yours." I was left standing there when she opened the classroom door and left.