Luna's main goal when she returned to her ex-husband's company six years after their failed marriage, was to input herself into his board of directors. Showing him, and his evil mother who never liked her, that she was now a phoenix who had risen up from the ashes of her life which they had both burnt to the ground six years ago. And Justin's goal was to remind her of the passion she felt for him during their marriage, and to get her back. Because in his mind, Luna had always been his. But it becomes a dilemma for him when Luna refuses to admit her feelings for him, or even that she'd ever been attracted to him. Even though Luna knew she was lying to Justin, and to herself, she couldn't bring herself to admit the truth, because her growing feelings were a distraction to her goal. One night of heated passion ended up giving Luna the one thing she'd wished for with all her heart while she was married to Justin, a baby. And as if that cruel, but beautiful, twist of fate was not enough, she finds out her little sister was in love with Justin's brother. Will Luna give in to her forbidden desires and take the happy-ever-after she never had with Justin before? Or will she let the ghosts of the past haunt her forever?
Luna was used to men staring at her by now. She was a successful woman in her late twenties, beautiful with- as it's all men seem to be capable of thinking about- a great body.
So she was used to the stares. She didn't let it bother her, because in her opinion, the ones who actually have the guts to walk up to her were the real men. If staring was all a man does at a beautiful woman, then he probably didn't deserve her.
She kept her head high and her gaze focused ahead as she walked into the conference room. There was a long mahogany table in the middle of the spacious room, office chairs lined both sides to the other door at the end of the room. Fluorescent lights shine over the flat surface, making the glass in the middle of the table, glimmer.
Men in suits were seated on both sides of the table, their laptops open in front of them. Some of them were typing on their laptops, while some were idly discussing. They all turn to stare at her as she walked into the room. Idle chatter dies down, open stares were pinned on her.
Again, Luna ignored the stares, she turned to the intern hovering beside her. He was a young fresh-faced kid, just a few months out of college, and jumped slightly every time she spoke to him. He did so again as she turned to him, she ignored it.
"The CEO is not around?" she asked.
"Um, no, um, no, not yet, ma'am," he stuttered.
As Luna processed the information, a smile threatened to spread over her face.
Oh, Justin, she thought to herself. This was a classic move he used, arriving fashionably late to meetings to assert control. She had studied him while they were together and she had seen how effective the move had been then.
A small smile tipped around Luna's lips. The intern's face flushed red, but she didn't notice as she turned away from him to look back at the room.
"Um, do you want me to, um, place a call to his secretary? Ma'am?" he added.
Luna waves the suggestion away with a careless flick of her wrist.
"No, it's fine," she said instead, "we'll just wait for him. He's the one who'll be receiving the shock of his life, after all," she murmured, adding.
At her words, a feeling of glee ran through Luna's body. She had worked hard at the surprise she was going to be unfolding today, for months. She had been meticulous in hiding her identity from Justin's executives all while they'd been discussing the terms of the contract with her own executives. And now today, she was going to reap the fruits of her labor. She was going to enjoy seeing the look on Justin's face when he walks in and sees her. Oh, she was going to soak in every moment of it.
The smile spreads a little.
"It's fine," she said again, absently to the flushed intern, "we'll just wait for him."
As she walked over to the first vacant seat to her right, the intern rushed forward to pull out the chair for her.
"Thank you, Jaden," she said as she took her seat.
She heard the intern suck in a breath beside her. Did he think she didn't know his name? Luna's lips tip wryly as she thought about it. There was no one working for her she didn't know. She might not know each and every one of their history, or family, or life, but she at least knew their name.
By now, some of the executives seated around the conference table had stopped staring at her, the idle chatter had picked up again, but there were still some staring and giving her the side eye.
It really was easy to ignore them, Luna thought to herself, because she knew the real battle she had come to fight today wasn't some random men stares. It was Justin Lucius.
Justin, tall, dark, handsome and dangerous as sin. And her ex-husband.
That was the real battle she came to fight today. Seeing him for the first time in six years was bound to wreak havoc on her entire system. She knew that, and she hoped she was mentally prepared for it.
Justin wasn't the only one who was going to be experiencing a whole range of emotions in the meeting today, the only difference was that she knew what was coming.
Luna took a deep breath as the seconds ticked on. She resisted the urge to check the time, she knew it couldn't have been more than a few seconds since she had sat down. It only felt like hours because of the anticipation thrumming through her.
Just then, the door to the conference room opened behind her. The men, who had been staring at her before, all turned their head towards the door. Luna could feel the change in the air, like a higher presence than a human being was entering the room. That was the effect Justin had on people, he exuded command and dominance like a regular man exuded cologne.
Luna found she couldn't turn her head to look at the door, a tingling sensation was running through the tips of her fingers and her heat was hammering so loudly against her chest it felt like-
"Mr. Lucius is on his way," a voice said from the doorway.
Luna's head snapped toward the entrance. She stared hard at the man standing at the threshold like he had two heads. That's not Justin, she thought to herself.
Her heart pounded hard against her chest as she realized what just happened. It wasn't Justin that had come in, it was just some random executive announcing Justin. Just the thought of Justin had made her freeze up like that! What would happen when he finally came in? Could she handle it? Could she keep-
And then Justin stepped to the doorway like a figment of her worst fear.
Two years ago, Ricky found himself coerced into marrying Emma to protect the woman he cherished. From Ricky's perspective, Emma was despicable, resorting to underhanded schemes to ensure their marriage. He maintained a distant and cold attitude toward her, reserving his warmth for another. Yet, Emma remained wholeheartedly dedicated to Ricky for more than ten years. As she grew weary and considered relinquishing her efforts, Ricky was seized by a sudden fear. Only when Emma's life teetered on the edge, pregnant with Ricky's child, did he recognize-the love of his life had always been Emma.
It was supposed to be a marriage of convenience, but Carrie made the mistake of falling in love with Kristopher. When the time came that she needed him the most, her husband was in the company of another woman. Enough was enough. Carrie chose to divorce Kristopher and move on with her life. Only when she left did Kristopher realize how important she was to him. In the face of his ex-wife’s countless admirers, Kristopher offered her 20 million dollars and proposed a new deal. “Let’s get married again.”
Desperate to handle her grandmother's towering medical bills, Gianna agreed to a contract marriage with Tristan, the enigmatic man she'd once shared a one-night stand with. She assumed they'd fulfill each other's needs and dissolve the arrangement once the terms expired. Unbeknownst to Gianna, this marriage was a dream Tristan had clung to for ten relentless years. Certain she was just filling someone else's role, Gianna prepared to leave when that other woman returned. But Tristan, his eyes burning with unspoken emotion, seized her trembling hand and declared, "You’re mine. Now and always."
"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.
Lindsey's fiancé was the devil's first son. Not only did he lie to her but he also slept with her stepmother, conspired to take away her family fortune, and then set her up to have sex with a total stranger. To get her lick back, Lindsey decided to find a man to disrupt her engagement party and humiliate the cheating bastard. Never did she imagine that she would bump into a strikingly handsome stranger who was all that she was currently looking for. At the engagement party, he boldly declared that she was his woman. Lindsey thought he was just a broke man who wanted to leech off her. But once they began their fake relationship, she realized that good luck kept coming her way. She thought they would part ways after the engagement party, but this man kept to her side. "We gotta stick together, Lindsey. Remember, I'm now your fiancé. " "Domenic, you're with me because of my money, aren't you?" Lindsey asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Domenic was taken aback by that accusation. How could he, the heir of the Walsh family and CEO of Vitality Group, be with her for money? He controlled more than half of the city's economy. Money wasn't a problem for him! The two got closer and closer. One day, Lindsey finally realized that Domenic was actually the stranger she had slept with months ago. Would this realization change things between them? For the better or worse?
The whispers said that out of bitter jealousy, Hadley shoved Eric's beloved down the stairs, robbing the unborn child of life. To avenge, Eric forced Hadley abroad and completely cut her off. Years later, she reemerged, and they felt like strangers. When they met again, she was the nightclub's star, with men ready to pay fortunes just to glimpse her elusive performance. Unable to contain himself, Eric blocked her path, asking, "Is this truly how you earn a living now? Why not come back to me?" Hadley's lips curved faintly. "If you’re eager to see me, you’d better join the queue, darling."