She wished to escape from her father and the prison she called home, but she ended up in the hands of his enemy, the ruthless Mafia Don of K County. She proposes marriage to him in order to save herself.
She wished to escape from her father and the prison she called home, but she ended up in the hands of his enemy, the ruthless Mafia Don of K County. She proposes marriage to him in order to save herself.
Eloísa sat on the marble-tiled floor of the castle-like prison she had come to accept as her room. She stared at the ray of sunlight seeping in through the small cavity in the roof so high up. A warm smile appeared on her pale face. This was the only way she could get to see the world outside the confinement of these thick bricks and pillars surrounding her. It was the only shade of the world she had been allowed to see since she got to know herself.
She dragged in a deep breath and the sweet smell of fresh roses filled her nostrils and senses. Looks like the flowers had fully bloomed already. She heaved a long sigh. If only she could get the privilege of stepping outside, even if it was just for the briefest minute.
The door suddenly creaked, dragging her from her thoughts. Turning around, she saw her father, Pedro Vandez walk in. She immediately rose from the floor and walked to meet him.
"Father!"
Pedro Valdez smiled warmly at his daughter, his eyes holding lots of warmth for her. "My dearest child." He said sweetly.
"You're here," Eloisa said curtly. She was quite surprised to have him come visit. Last she checked, he only visited once every four months. But, it had only been a month since his last visit.
"Yes, it's important." Pedro Valdez answered, "You're getting married."
Eloisa froze in place. Marriage? How could she be getting married? The last time she checked, she had always been inside this room all her life. She's never had the opportunity of meeting real people or making any friends, so how was she to get married when she barely even knew anyone? It takes two to tango, doesn't it? How could there be marriage plans when the two involved didn't know each other and had never met, even once? But, on the brighter side, getting married would mean her freedom from this private penitentiary she had been in almost forever.
"If I marry, does that mean I can leave this room then?" She asked.
Pedro Valdez smiled warmly at his daughter. "No, you will continue living in this room, just as you always have been after your groom leaves on your wedding night."
Eloisa's brows creased, and a frown of confusion settled on her forehead. "If I'm still going to remain locked up, then why do I have to get married now?"
"We are planning to merge with the DeLa Cruz's in order to carry out a great cause and we want our both children to seal the oaths the two families have made to each other. The both of you do not necessarily have to live together after marrying, as he isn't interested in that. All that is important is that you bear his name, and his sons if he so wishes. He will come here to you whenever he needs you." Pedro Valdez replied.
Eloisa stared in disbelief at the man she had come to know as her father while trying her hardest to comprehend if indeed he was the one speaking.
"You're saying that I am forced to get married and remain here, just for some business venture, and to bear sons?" She asked and watched her father nod with a smile.
"No," she said, shaking her head in disapproval. "I don't want to, that- is not the kind of marriage I want to have."
Pedro Vandez's countenance dropped at once. "It has already been decided. Just do as you are told."
"But, if I get married just as you want me to, Father, that means I'll have to live my entire life inside of this room."
Pedro Vandez's countenance suddenly softened as he watched his daughter breaking down. Taking deep breaths, he started in her direction, stopping a few inches apart.
"Eloisa dear, you're my only child. After your mother passed from the cruelty of this wicked world, I can't afford to lose you as well. You're my precious daughter, the only thing I have left in this world, and you're going to stay in this room as long as it guarantees your safety."
"What is out there that I need to be protected from, Father? The world is a beautiful place, and if at all there are dangerous people as you say, then I'm sure I can take care of myself."
"No, you can't Eloisa. You've never left the four walls of this tower once, so you don't understand what I'm talking about."
"But father-"
"No buts Eloisa. You will do as I have said and you won't ask any more questions." Pedro Valdez concluded, raising his voice slightly. He snapped his fingers, the sound of it resonating in the room and a bunch of young maids bustled inside. While some carried boxes, others rolled in hangers full of every design of dresses.
"You will meet with your husband soon," He informed Eloisa, his smile fully returning. "Please, look good for your father, Eloisa."
Eloísa watched her father walk away, the huge double wooden doors closing behind him. She exhaled sharply.
"Young Ms." She heard someone call from behind her. Turning around, one of the maids was standing behind her. The girl seemed to be the same age as her, or slightly older. "Please come sit, let's get you ready."
Eloísa nodded and walked past her. The maid girl bowed and followed behind her.
AN HOUR LATER
Eloísa stood in front of the mirror staring with a stunned expression at her reflection. She was wearing a yellow corset-style sun dress with tiny diamond crests around the waistline, and her auburn hair was packed in a loose bun, making her look like a flower princess from a fairytale.
"You look stunning young Ms." A maid whispered from her side, and despite her heart filling with sadness, Eloise smiled at her from the mirror, her brown hazel eyes shimmering brightly as she did.
When they were certain she looked perfect, a maid led her out to the front door where a huge bodyguard stood agile. With broad shoulders and thick rigid muscles, he looked like he was related to the legendary 'D Rock' or even still, from the lineage of Undertaker.
Seeing Eloísa, the bodyguard bowed slightly in greeting, then proceeded to open the heavy doors with just one push.
And as the doors spread wide apart, Eloise gasped in surprise and couldn't help staring in admiration at the scenery in front of her.
"Wow!" She exclaimed as she looked around the beautiful flowery yard. It was her first time being outside in seventeen years. After her mother's sad demise when she was four, her father, Don Pedro Vandez locked her up in that completely deserted house. According to him, he was trying to protect her from an evil she knew nothing about, but which existed.
The smell of roses was stronger in this part. She had been right, the flowers had fully bloomed. She spread her arms as the wind blew past her, sweeping her dress along with it. Her hair danced around her back. Looking around, she smiled more genuinely than she had in years. The world she could see right now was beautiful, how could anyone call this evil?
"This way, Ms." She heard the bodyguard calling to her. Bubbling with a different kind of enthusiasm that hadn't been there earlier, she followed behind him.
The guard led her into the main house, a three-story grand palatial-style mansion. As she walked inside, memories she could barely recognize flashed through her mind. She frowned as she wondered what those were.
"Eloísa!" Pedro Vandez's voice made her turn abruptly. Eloísa looked in the direction where her father's voice had come from, there, on the stairway, he was standing with a slightly younger man who looked to be in his early thirties. From afar off, she could notice the man's striking features, he was handsome, no doubt.
"Come dear." Pedro Vandez's voice called her out from her stunned state. She swallowed down the nervousness at the pit of her stomach, straightened her shoulders, then with calm precise steps, she ascended the stairs to meet her father. As she got closer, he offered her his hand. Eloísa stared at the man she called father with absolute uncertainty, but she still took his hand after a few minutes.
"Eloísa dear, meet Dion Carozza, your soon-to-be husband. And Dion, meet Eloísa, my beloved daughter." Pedro Valdez introduced them as they sat in the large dining room in the main house.
"Hi!" Eloísa waved at him, but Dion simply ignored her. Eloísa caught her lower lip with her teeth and lowered her hand in embarrassment.
She looked around nervously. The silence at the table was skin-crawling. She momentarily berated her father for choosing such a man out of every other man in the world he could marry her off to. She didn't want to get married, at least, not yet, but, if he was desperate to get her married against her will, then he could at least just pick someone better. She grabbed the glass of wine in front of the man and downed it after glancing briefly at the liquid, and she involuntarily groaned as the savory taste of blueberry touched her tongue. "This is nice," she murmured to herself, then glanced up at Dion, trying to strike a conversation. "What's your favorite wine flavor?"
"Why do you ask?" He replied, eyes fixated on the screen of his phone.
Eloíse sighed. "Because I'm trying to get to know you. Our parents are setting us up for their own selfish interests, and if we are going to be married, the least we can do is get to know each other."
The young man casually sipped from his glass and put it back down on the table nonchalantly.
"There's no need for that," he started. "We'd only be married in, nothing can happen between us, I
like someone else."
"Little birdy. Aren't you afraid of fire?" The man's mellow voice danced in the night air, sending a tantalizing chill down Evelyn. This person...felt like trouble and even though something within her screamed for her to run away, to flee at that moment. Evelyn had never been the type to back down. Instead, she stepped forward. "If indeed you are fire, then I'd like to be consumed." Desperate to get revenge on those who hurt and betrayed her, Evelyn Dawson strikes a deal with a handsome stranger she meets at a bar. He is hot as hell, and seems powerful too. Just all she needs to punish those scumbags who betrayed her and the jerk who cheated on her. But what Evelyn doesn't know is that this fire is hell's own blaze.
Excerpt: "I don't wish to be indebted to you in the near future, hence I'd like to repay you for saving me." The man's intense gaze fixed on Rina, his brows now drawn together in contemplation. "You don't owe me anything," he repeated, "but if you're truly set on repaying my kindness then, marry me." After being betrayed by her husband of seven years, and her best friend, Rina Powers is left with nothing. However, she decided to make a stunning comeback in the entertainment industry. She'd avenge all those responsible for her past misfortunes, and the family she sacrificed her past glory for. Then, she'd take back all that naturally belonged to her on her way back to the top. Many thought, "An ostracized former A-list actress? What can she possibly do?" but no one knew she was now the wife to the god of the Entertainment industry, and she had his backing. "Do whatever you want, wife, I solely support you."
When Veil Hart finds herself in an entangling twist with the play boy CEO 'Ander Rodriguez' she can only choose between saving her father's life, or letting him go.
Humiliated for almost all her life and then thrown out of the pack she had grown to call home, she didn't expect that fate could ever smile at her. Once a taunted girl, now an Alpha's stepdaughter. What more does fate have in stall for her? "Hey mate! Wanna play?"
“You need a bride, I need a groom. Why don’t we get married?” Both abandoned at the altar, Elyse decided to tie the knot with the disabled stranger from the venue next door. Pitying his state, she vowed to spoil him once they were married. Little did she know that he was actually a powerful tycoon. Jayden thought Elyse only married him for his money, and planned to divorce her when she was no longer of use to him. But after becoming her husband, he was faced with a new dilemma. “She keeps asking for a divorce, but I don’t want that! What should I do?”
Lyric had spent her life being hated. Bullied for her scarred face and hated by everyone-including her own mate-she was always told she was ugly. Her mate only kept her around to gain territory, and the moment he got what he wanted, he rejected her, leaving her broken and alone. Then, she met him. The first man to call her beautiful. The first man to show her what it felt like to be loved. It was only one night, but it changed everything. For Lyric, he was a saint, a savior. For him, she was the only woman that had ever made him cum in bed-a problem he had been battling for years. Lyric thought her life would finally be different, but like everyone else in her life, he lied. And when she found out who he really was, she realized he wasn't just dangerous-he was the kind of man you don't escape from. Lyric wanted to run. She wanted freedom. But she desired to navigate her way and take back her respect, to rise above the ashes. Eventually, she was forced into a dark world she didn't wish to get involved with.
If desire were a blade, their first encounter left him bleeding in silence. He'd built a life on peril and pleasure, armor forged from recklessness, never imagining a woman could make him lower his guard. But even with the truth veiled in lies, he was already in too deep-entangled in the game, and captivated by the player.
After a one-night stand with a stranger, Roselyn woke up to find only a bank card without a PIN number. Still in a daze, she was detained on charges of theft. Just as the handcuffs were about to close, the mysterious man reappeared, holding her pregnancy report. "You're pregnant with my child," he said coldly. Shocked, Roselyn was whisked away in a helicopter to the presidential palace, where she learned the truth: the man from that night was none other than the country's most powerful and influential leader!
COALESCENCE OF THE FIVE SERIES BOOK ONE: THE 5-TIME REJECTED GAMMA & THE LYCAN KING BOOK TWO: THE ROGUES WHO WENT ROGUE BOOK THREE: THE INDOMITABLE HUNTRESS & THE HARDENED DUKE *** BOOK ONE: After being rejected by 5 mates, Gamma Lucianne pleaded with the Moon Goddess to spare her from any further mate-bonds. To her dismay, she is being bonded for the sixth time. What’s worse is that her sixth-chance mate is the most powerful creature ruling over all werewolves and Lycans - the Lycan King himself. She is certain, dead certain, that a rejection would come sooner or later, though she hopes for it to be sooner. King Alexandar was ecstatic to meet his bonded mate, and couldn’t thank their Goddess enough for gifting him someone so perfect. However, he soon realizes that this gift is reluctant to accept him, and more than willing to sever their bond. He tries to connect with her but she seems so far away. He is desperate to get intimate with her but she seems reluctant to open up to him. He tries to tell her that he is willing to commit to her for the rest of his life but she doesn’t seem to believe him. He is pleading for a chance: a chance to get to know her; a chance to show her that he’s different; and a chance to love her. But when not-so-subtle crushes, jealous suitors, self-entitled Queen-wannabes, an old flame, a silent protector and a past wedding engagement threaten to jeopardize their relationship, will Lucianne and Xandar still choose to be together? Is their love strong enough to overcome everything and everyone? Or will Lucianne resort to enduring a sixth rejection from the one person she thought she could entrust her heart with?
Joelle thought she could change Adrian's heart after three years of marriage, but she realized too late that it already belonged to another woman. "Give me a baby, and I'll set you free." The day Joelle went into labor, Adrian was traveling with his mistress on his private jet. "I don't care whom you love. My debt is paid. From now on, we have nothing to do with each other." Not long after Joelle left, Adrian found himself begging on his knees. "Please come back to me."
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