"Reveal to me who caused you pain," he commanded. I could have succumbed to fear and divulged the entirety of my traumatic past, but instead, I shook my head. There was no way I was sharing my darkest secrets with him. "I will find out... I always find out, cara," he murmured. Despite his assurance, I doubted he could fathom that my father was the source of my nightmares. He gazed at me, and I met his stare head-on. "You have freckles," I whispered, raising my right hand to touch his face. "Do I?" His voice carried a husky tone. He turned his face slightly toward my hand, revealing the firm set of his bold profile. His jaw was rigid as granite, but his eyes softened. Leaning in closer, he hesitated for a moment. I understood he was giving me the opportunity to evade his kiss.
Maria
I opened my bedroom door. As I walked through the entrance, i hit my toe, "Shit" i exclaimed, that's what I get for not looking at where I am going. I got to the kitchen to make myself some tea, well, some people prefer coffee to function, I prefer tea.
I prep some hot water for my tea, I still have about two hours before I get to work. I love cooking myself breakfast in the morning, so I make some too while waiting for the water to boil. I enjoy my solitude and what I love the most about it is the silence, so I bask in it while I sip my tea as browse through my phone. I read my messages and found a message from my best friend Patience.
Patty and I met years ago when I went to spend the summer with my aunt, our friendship wasn't instant, I can't wrap my head around how we became inseparable, but we did. And here we are still each other's besties.
We made a pact that when we clock 50 and still single we should move in together. I know it's crazy, but that is how we are, the thing is, Patty has a crush on her boss who hasn't even realized she exists.
Emotions can be cruel sometimes. I look at how she talks about him with passion sometimes and I can't help but feel sorry for her. Every time we see him on tabloids with different beautiful women locked in his arms, she gets sad. Quite pathetic huh?! but she's the best thing in my life and I wish I could do something about her predicament but my hands are tied.
I wish it was possible to choose the people we love, she would have chosen Shawn. The guy who serves us tea and scones at the cafe across my apartment building happens to adore her.
We are more like neighbors, she doesn't live far from me. I got up and headed to the bathroom to take a shower and dress.
I'm a Realtor and today I have a client who I have to show this really big beautiful house to. I love my job, but it puts me under the pressure of owning a house like soonest.
I don't have enough money at the moment, which would require me to save a lot of money to own one, but I'm saving anyway, dreams come true.
I dress up in a skirt suit, pick up my phone and car keys, jet out of the house, and head to work.
We don't have a parking space in my building, so I park outside, I don't mind. No one in their right mind would steal my car anyway, it's quite too old and rugged to be stolen. I bought it because I needed to be mobile and it was cheap and something I could afford it. It is also very easy to afford. The last thing I need is to get into an accident and harm myself or anybody with me or around me.
Patty hates my car and rarely rides with me, she prefers her Honda. It's better than mine, obviously. It's got AC and comfortable seats, I hope I'll be able to get myself a better car really soon, I think I deserve it. I'd like a Tesla, a girl can only dream, I chuckle at the thought of it. Anyway, I can only take one day at a time and enjoy my beetle Volkswagen till I can afford a better car.
I drive to the house, I want to show the client. It was located in the type of beautiful neighborhood that just exudes wealth, the greenery, and terrace and it had little to nobody walking the streets. Each house has a garage, if I'm going to buy a dream house, it would be in a neighborhood like this. My heart pounds in fear and self-doubt at the thought of owning a house because of my upbringing being a girl who came from nothing, and fathered by a man who told her she'd amount to nothing did something to my self-esteem, but my granny made up for it. She showed me what real love genuinely means, she is my world, which reminds me. I should call her today.
I round my car to the entrance to wait for my client, it's almost 8:30 am which is the time we agreed to meet. I sit up and wait, I'm never late for work I like it that way. I don't want to give my boss any reason to fire me. Although we have never had any disagreement about how I do my job, we have had a few run-ins.
He came to me the first month I started working in the company, he is married and has two beautiful girls. Why would he think I wanted to be the other woman? I would rather end up alone than get mixed up with a married man, God knows I would hate myself.
I want a man to call my own, I want a man who can love me insanely, crazily, passionately and irrevocably. I know, I'm unrealistic, I have been told that a thousand times, but still. I dream, I hope and I pray. This will come from God.
I see a Land Rover pulling beside me, I guess my client is here.
I get out just as a beautiful stunning blond woman is getting out too. Wow! She must be a model, I thought.
"You must be Maria," she says, with a soft voice, she extends her hand to me, and as we shake hands, I say
"Yes, I am,
"My name is Harriett, I'm here to see the house"
"Yes, of course, nice to meet you Harriett, sorry for staring."
"No problem, can we get started, i kind of have a meeting at 10:30
"Sure, come on in" i tell her
We walk towards the house as I open the door she says "it's so beautiful from outside" and I nod in agreement as we enter.
The living room is big. I have seen it more times than I can count, but every time I see it again it feels like the first time.
"It's beautiful" I whisper in wonder, she looks at me in and nods vigorously.
" I love it, I guess we have a winner"
"You do? Wouldn't you like to see the rest of it"
"I already love it, but I wouldn't mind seeing the master's bedroom"
"This way" I head to the bedroom, I can hear her heels as she follows me, I open and I let her proceed.
"Wow, I love it. I keep saying that, I'm sorry, I don't have another adjective to explain it. I smile at her to show her I understand.
" I guess we'll see you by the end of the week to sign the papers?"
"We?"
"Yes, me and my husband, he is out of the country at the moment, we would have come to see it together, but he will be delighted"
I looked at her deeply skeptical, I lost a bit of my hope, I had been so excited, I had started planning for the commission I would get. But now I didn't know whether her husband would love the house or not, I prayed he would.
"Don't look so forlorn, he is gonna love it. I know my husband, he would love it for the sole reason that I do! So don't worry about it"
"Okay". That was comforting, I guess.
"We should go so I can make that meeting," she says
"Yes of course"
We walk outside in silence, then she turns around to Shake my hand again.
"Thank you for showing me the house, I think you love it as much as I do if not more"
"Yes I do, it's a beautiful house, anybody would."
"I agree with you, I will call you to confirm the day we sign those papers?"
"Okay, see you then."
She gets in her car and waves at me as she drives away.
I made a sale today, I thought, but I will not celebrate until the agreement and the cheque is signed. Nonetheless, that doesn't make me less excited.
I pull out my phone to call Patience.
"Hi sweetie, I think I just made a sale"
"Oh, really? Maybe we should celebrate, she says after a high-pitched screech.
"Gab, that's an annoying sound, do you want your boss to come and throw you out?"
"At least he will notice me"
"Oh Patty_
"No, no, no, this is not about me, its about you, and we need to celebrate, wine is on me."
"I don't want to celebrate right now, we can do after the cheque is signed. I don't want to jinx it."
"Since when do you believe in jinxing anything, I thought you were a strong believer of 'what is meant for you will be yours and no one can do anything about it?'
"I still believe in that but I want to wait for this, please"
" Okay, the wine is still on me when that cheque is signed"
"You won't get an argument from me on that. Thanks, sweetie, I have to go to the office now, see you at Shawn's."
Kristin is a young girl who suddenly wakes up in the basement of the Russian mafia and one of the best Assassins in the world, Aleksandr Ivanovic. what he wants with her, she doesn't know. she is forced to face his harsh and cruel treatment. the strange thing there is, Alek keeps referring to her as Khloe, her twin sister's name. She spends too much time there that she starts making friends and maybe, just maybe, she might understand why Aleksandr has her in his basement. she might see him for the broken mafia Don that he is, and not the vicious, ruthless, and heartless assassin the whole world paints him to be. But will Aleksandr keep his hands to himself before Kristin gets a chance to know him beyond the mask he has on, or will he ruin everything before it even begins?? Warning: This is a very dark romance, with mentions of rape, torture, and gory thing.
Content Warning- Violence, Assault, Foul language, and sexual content. Readers' discretion is advised. "There's no place, I'd rather be than to be with you Afina Jones" - Steve when he was falling deeply for her. "In your eyes I see paradise, I'm lost when i look in your eyes and i dont ever want to be found, you're the true definition of perfection and all i want is to compliment you"- Bradley Haastrup Afina, an orphan with a challenging past, finds a supportive family in the Haastrups. Her close bond with Bradley and Lisa changes when Bradley, harboring a secret crush, is deployed. A traumatic incident sparks a connection between them. Afina discovers her buried feelings as Bradley heads to England. She befriends Nixie on a Hawaiian vacation, meeting businessman Steve. A mysterious love journey ensues, marked by a kidnapping. Steve, a gangster, falls for Afina. Despite a toxic relationship, Bradley's return rekindles their love. Threatened by Steve, Bradley prevails, and Bradley and Afina's enduring love story begins.
Maria took her sister’s place and was engaged to Anthony, a disabled man who had lost his status as the family heir. At first, they were just a nominal couple. However, things changed when things about Maria were gradually exposed. It turned out she was a professional hacker, a mysterious composer, and the sole successor to an international jade sculpting master… The more that was revealed about her, the less Anthony could rest easy. A famous singer, an award-winning actor, an heir of a rich family—so many excellent men were chasing after his fiancee, Maria. What should Anthony do?
I am the most talented doctor, the genius artist, the most famous jeweler designer, and I am going to be the richest one, making Conor, the king of a super powerful family, lose his crown… Conor was hunt down me for six years because I raped him. No, because he raped me. It didn't matter anyway. Since be selling by my father, I was gonna be Conor's fake wife. The noble people thought I would be a disgrace to their family since I was the mentally handicapped. What fuck! When I was going to be gotten rid of as rubbish, a baby boy showed up and called me mom. Conor gaped at baby boy since the baby boy just looked like child version of him. Conor sheathed in my body, moaning, “Don’t hide from me. Tell me everything, sweetheart.” I blinked, grinning, “Our baby girl also misses her daddy.” Conor, "…"
The day Lilah found out that she was pregnant, she caught her fiancé cheating on her. Her remorseless fiancé and his mistress almost killed her. Lilah fled for her dear life. When she returned to her hometown five years later, she happened to save a little boy's life. The boy's father turned out to be the world's richest man. Everything changed for Lilah from that moment. The man didn't let her experience any inconvenience. When her ex-fiancé bullied her, he crushed the scumbag's family and also rented out an entire island just to give Lilah a break from all the drama. He also taught Lilah's hateful father a lesson. He crushed all her enemies before she even asked. When Lilah's vile sister threw herself at him, he showed her a marriage certificate and said, "I'm happily married and my wife is much more beautiful than you are!" Lilah was shocked. "When did we ever get married? Last I checked, I was still single." With a wicked smile, he said, "Honey, we've been married for five years. Isn't it about time we had another child together?" Lilah's jaw dropped to the floor. What the hell was he talking about?
I ran after I died. The moon goddess gave me another chance to live. Married to a ruthless Lycan that was rumored to be cursed by the moon goddess herself. But I was killed by his minion... behind the bars of her torment... A new story began and he battled with his demons, in a world where truth was far fetched. I was his pawn, his toy, his game...until I discovered one night, when I was soaked in blood that I regretted the day I met him. I'd given up the Lycan beast, to marry a monster. I fled from the Alpha of Bloodmoon Park, the gruesome Lycan that every person feared, to be with this man that seemed soft at first glance. It made me wonder, what if I had stayed? The gruesome Lycan might be fearsome but I never heard him pierce a woman's heart with his claw. In a world where wolves howled at the moon and the lines between man and beast are blurred, danger lurked through the shadows, after the day I married the beast that visited my bed every night. Caught in a web of betrayal and deceit, the man I had fallen in love with had become the monster I wished I could flee from. A deadly threat to my life especially when I realized he was getting married to my step sister, the same girl that made my life hell when I was an omega. I wished I could get my revenge, but how could I, when I was lying in a pool of my own blood, dead? Will the goddess grant me another chance?
On the day of their wedding anniversary, Joshua's mistress drugged Alicia, and she ended up in a stranger's bed. In one night, Alicia lost her innocence, while Joshua's mistress carried his child in her womb. Heartbroken and humiliated, Alicia demanded a divorce, but Joshua saw it as yet another tantrum. When they finally parted ways, she went on to become a renowned artist, sought out and admired by everyone. Consumed by regret, Joshua darkened her doorstep in hopes of reconciliation, only to find her in the arms of a powerful tycoon. "Say hello to your sister-in-law."
As a simple assistant, messaging the CEO in the dead of night to request shares of adult films was a bold move. Bethany, unsurprisingly, didn't receive any films. However, the CEO responded that, while he had no films to share, he could offer a live demonstration. After a night filled with passion, Bethany was certain she'd lose her job. But instead, her boss proposed, "Marry me. Please consider it." "Mr. Bates, you're kidding me, right?"