"I heard the child belongs to me", Oliver said, crossing his legs stylishly as he sat on the couch, his silver tuxedo suit glittering as the rats of the sunlight hit it. "My child ISN'T YOURS!", Alice barked at him, her veins popping out. Neal stared at them both, tightly holding the young child who was around five. He agreed to the fact that Oliver was more powerful than he was, but he wasn't going to let him take James away from him. After all, he had been taking care of him from birth. After Alice's father took a huge loan from Oliver's father, he offered her in exchange for the money he owed them. Alice falls in love with her boss through a contract marriage, but things take a different turn when Oliver, the popular playboy, comes to take her away. Neal, Alice's boss is eventually granted permission to take Alice after he pays the debt, but will their marriage last long when she realizes she had Oliver's seed in her? Will Oliver come back for his son or will things remain normal between them?
Alice sat in front of the brown mahogany wood table. There was a small heap of old files at the right end of the table, and an old-looking wireless telephone. The interior decoration of the room was purely antique. Most of the paintings were colored in black and white.
Alice stared at the brown envelope in her hand. The mailman had just dropped it off some minutes ago. An address was written on the envelope, but it seemed somewhat strange to her.
She carefully tore off the seal and brought the paper out. She made the sign of the cross, then opened the paper.
"You have to pay back what your father owed my father", she read out slowly. The sentence made no sense to her.
Before his death, her father was a local coffee shop owner. Although things did not really go smoothly for them, he never borrowed from anyone. There were times he'd talk about taking a loan to boost his business, but he never really actualized his plans.
"He took a loan of three hundred thousand dollars from my father's company, to pay back in three years time", the next sentence read.
"What?! Three hundred thousand dollars? Why on earth would my father do such a thing? To think that he never told anyone", Alice exclaimed loudly.
"The agreement as drafted between them is contained in the envelope. Do well to go through it and send a reply immediately", the last sentence read.
Alice quickly reached out for the envelope and took out the contract paper. At the bottom right side of the page was her father's name, and his signature!
She sank back in the chair. Her monthly salary was barely enough to take care of her needs and that of her younger siblings, and her bedridden mother. She had to work extra hours at a restaurant to support her family.
Alice took a second look at the contract paper. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw her name in the contract.
"If by any chance I am unable to pay back the loan within the stipulated time, my daughter, Alice Edwards, would have to take up the payment".
Alice was flabbergasted. Her father plainly offered her to these people in exchange for the money he had borrowed from them.
She looked at the old wall clock, it was twenty minutes past twelve o'clock. She closed at two everyday, but today seemed different. She replaced the letter and the contract in the envelope, and put it in her bag.
She picked up her bag and left her office, locking the door behind her. She needed to rush home to inform her poor mother about the disheartening news. The woman wouldn't be happy to hear it, but she just had to.
Walking out of the compound gate, the street was quieter than normal. It was hard to see a cab or a car pass by.
Her house was a bit far from her workplace, but she had to walk back home, else there would be no food for them to eat. Their only means of survival was the coffee shop their late father ran, but Alice had to sell it when her mother's health deteriorated.
Several thoughts ran through her mind as she walked down the street. The month was just halfway through, and she had run out of money. Her younger siblings had stopped going to school because she couldn't afford to keep paying their fees after their mother became seriously sick.
As she walked into the compound, she could hear the voices of the children playing.
"Anty Alice", they called out to her. After their parents, she was said to be the next oldest in the house. The children respected her, and she would buy them sweets sometimes.
Alice climbed the broken stairs to get to their flat on the third floor. She quietly knocked at the door, and her sister opened it almost immediately.
"Anty Alice, you came back early today", the girl said in a low voice.
Her name was Samantha. She was ten years younger than Alice and called her "anty" because of the age difference between them.
"Yes", she smiled at the girl, trying to hide her emotions. "Where's Dave?"
"He's sleeping, as usual", she answered and walked into the room.
Alice took a short glance at their mini sitting room. It had only two couches and a small wooden table at the center. The television was there, but it served no purpose. There was a small bookshelf even behind the door where some of their important documents were kept.
She quietly headed for her room. Her mother was on the bed as always, a small table containing her essentials beside the bed.
"Mum", Alice pulled a stool to her side.
"Alice, you're home so early. Is there any problem?", the woman asked, trying to sit up.
Despite the fact that she could only struggle to sit and was always on her bed, the woman was able to keep track of the time her daughter returned from work. Whenever she heard the sound of cars and school buses on the street, then she knew the day was over.
"There's no problem", Alice sighed. She thought of how best to break the news to her mother, but she couldn't figure out how to do that. It would only worsen her condition, she thought.
The silence in the room seemed unusual to the woman, and she realized something was wrong.
"Have you been crying all day?", the woman asked with so much concern in her voice.
"No mother, I wouldn't do that", she managed to put up a smile.
"Why did you return home earlier than usual?", she asked her.
"There was nothing for me to do", she answered, her head down.
"Alice, whatever the problem is, you can share it with me", the woman reached out for her hand and held her tight.
Alice thought for a while, then she mustered courage to talk to her mother about the loan "Mum, did father ever take a loan from any one?"
The woman glared at her, then nodded her head negatively."None that I know of. You know how much your father despised borrowing. Why do you ask?"
She handed the envelope to her mother. "Here, someone brought this to me at the office. It's from a company I guess. They claim that father had borrowed some money from them".
The woman looked at the envelope in her hand. Her husband was a diligent man, borrowing was something he would never do. "Are you certain about this?"
"His signature is in the agreement. You won't believe that he used me as a collateral ligament", Alice spoke with so much pain in her voice.
"Don't talk like that. Father loved you so much, he wouldn't do such a thing!", her mother reprimanded her.
A drop of tear rolled down her face. They all loved their father so much, she was his favorite child. She never believed he would let her down just like that.
"How much is the money?", her mother asked calmly.
Alice looked up. How could she tell her it was three hundred thousand dollars? It would break her. After all, she sold the coffee shop for only ten thousand dollars.
"I'm afraid mother, it's three hundred thousand dollars", Alice cried out.
"Three hundred thousand? What did he need such money for? How do we repay these people?", the woman lamented.
Alice felt sorry for her mother. She was not prepared to receive such news, not now, not ever.
"What? Could you please be serious? I have no idea who this man is, I can't possibly get married to him". Kayla looked at the two men and realized they really meant business. "We're serious, miss Kayla", Mr Leon said calmly but authoritatively. "You both must be crazy, and I don't even know him! ", Kayla yelled at them. She felt so used. First, she had sex with the stranger without her knowledge. And now, she was being forced to marry him.
Renea was trying the wedding dress, when suddenly the man rushed in the dressing room and held her neck tightly... “Bitch! Are you still trying to pretend innocent!” Jasper said as he tightened his grip on her neck and choked her harder. Then he used his other hand and took out the phone from his suit pocket and played the video of two people having sex in front of Renea… However, what was even more shocking, was that the woman in the video was, Renea Morris, however, the man in the video was not Jasper. Renea struggled to take a phone away from Jasper’s hand and tried to explain, “Jasper, it was not what you think… I… I can…” Jasper looked at Renea with his eyes full of disgust, as he said, “Let’s call of the wedding. I can’t marry a woman like you.” After saying that Jasper walked out of the shop Renea chase after Jasper... But then she sees Jasper passionately kissing her sister Kailey. And she hears everything, that her sleeping with strange men was all a plan of the vipers of the last two days, and that their goal was to get out of this stupid marriage. Even her adopted parents were also involved in this matter... They all do this with her because of the inheritance left by her grandfather... Renea heart was filled with anger and she wanted to expose their true colors to the public... However before she could do anything, Kailey had pushed her in front of the car and she got killed... However, when Renea open her eyes, she found herself sitting in the car with Kailey... She realized that she was reborn and went at the time when everything started... Renea looked at the people who had hurt her in her previous life and her lips curled up in a cold smile... She was back... However, this time... she was back for revenge...
Betrayed by her mate and sister on the eve of her wedding, Makenna was handed to the ruthless Lycan Princes as a lover, her indifferent father ignoring her plight. Determined to escape and seek revenge, she captured the interest of the three Lycan princes, who desired her exclusively amid many admirers. This complicated her plans, trapping her and making her a rival to the future Lycan queen. Entwined in jealousy and vindictiveness, could Makenna achieve her vengeance in the intricate dance with the three princes?
Rosalynn's marriage to Brian wasn't what she envisioned it to be. Her husband, Brian, barely came home. He avoided her like a plague. Worse still, he was always in the news for dating numerous celebrities. Rosalynn persevered until she couldn't take it anymore. She upped and left after filing for a divorce. Everything changed days later. Brian took interest in a designer that worked for his company anonymously. From her profile, he could tell that she was brilliant and dazzling. He pulled the stops to find out her true identity. Little did he know that he was going to receive the greatest shocker of his life. Brian bit his finger with regret when he recalled his past actions and the woman he foolishly let go.
There was only one man in Raegan's heart, and it was Mitchel. In the second year of her marriage to him, she got pregnant. Raegan's joy knew no bounds. But before she could break the news to her husband, he served her divorce papers because he wanted to marry his first love. After an accident, Raegan lay in the pool of her own blood and called out to Mitchel for help. Unfortunately, he left with his first love in his arms. Raegan escaped death by the whiskers. Afterward, she decided to get her life back on track. Her name was everywhere years later. Mitchel became very uncomfortable. For some reason, he began to miss her. His heart ached when he saw her all smiles with another man. He crashed her wedding and fell to his knees while she was at the altar. With bloodshot eyes, he queried, "I thought you said your love for me is unbreakable? How come you are getting married to someone else? Come back to me!"
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."
When Corynn mustered up the courage to tell Elliot about her pregnancy, she unexpectedly found him gallantly helping another woman from his car. Her heart sank as three years of effort to secure his love crumbled before her eyes, compelling her to leave him behind. Three years later, life had taken Corynn down a new path with someone else, while Elliot was left grappling with regret. Seizing a moment of vulnerability, he pleaded, "Corynn, let's get married." Shaking her head with a faint smile, Corynn gently replied, "Sorry, I'm already engaged."