The rich and handsome Kage Crown enters into a contract marriage with his secretary, Andrea Charlton to appease his father and retain his position as head of the family company. Soon, his father demands he provides an heir and he and his secretary-turned-wife are faced with the prospect of parenthood while falling helplessly in love. But will the aching love between them, overcome the hurdles their union will throw at them? Will their love ever overcome their own selves?
CHAPTER ONE
ANDREA'S POV
Mr Crown's eyes bore holes into my skin as I walked over to his desk, almost tripping over my feet. For the past 2 years that I have been working here, he has not looked at me longer than two seconds, and now...
I gulped, trying to push the nerves away as I placed the files on his desk. "These are the files on the..."
"Miss Charlton, would you like to be my wife?" Fits of cough erupted from my throat and I stared at him wide-eyed.
"I'm sorry, what?!" I asked the minute I stopped coughing.
"Will you like to marry me?" He asked again, and I just gaped at him, trying to find the traces of humor in his stoic face and bland eyes, but there was none. Mr Crown never jokes around, at least I've never seen him make a joke.
It was always business.
"Umm..." I wiped my sweaty palms on my skirt, standing upright as I did. "Your meeting with the Marketing board is in 30 minutes, sir." I blurted out.
He finally dragged his eyes away from me and nodded. "You can go now." I gulped and nodded, yet my legs refused to move. One of his brows shot up once he noticed I was still standing in the same spot. "Is there something you want to say?"
I flinched at the hint of annoyance in his voice. "N-no sir." I immediately dragged my feet away from his office.
A deep breath escaped my lips the second I made contact with my chair. I forced whatever the hell happened just a few minutes ago into the back of my mind. I have a lot to do and thinking about an absurd marriage proposal is not on the list.
Letting out a shaky breath, I forced myself back into work. The same work and routine I have been subjected to for the past two years. It was boring, tiring... but hey, it paid the bills.
Some days I felt like throwing in the towel and going after my own dreams, but the thought of her kept me shackled to this desk.
I tucked my bottom lip in between my teeth at the thought of her. I thought I had escaped, I thought I could finally live my life for me the day I escaped that shit hole of a town, but seven years later, she found me and...
My trail of thoughts were broken off by my ringing phone. I gritted my teeth in annoyance as I quickly reached out for it; Mr Crown has a policy against ringtones.
I swiped the green button without looking, in the bid to put an end to the ringtone. "Miss Charlton here" I said, trying to keep my voice calm and neutral.
"This is St. Lucy's nursing home..." My mouth immediately ran dry at the introduction. A torrent of emotions swirled in my head and I could swear the building moved for a brief second.
"Yes?" I mumbled, hoping and praying for... I don't know. I never know what I'm praying for when they call.
"We are calling to inform you of a 30% increase in the monthly payment, this is to..." The loud roaring in my head drowned out the rest of whatever the heck she was saying. A 30% increase. A THIRTY PERCENT INCREASE! That would take up my salary, all of it.
Nothing would be left even for groceries. My breath came out in harsher puffs and I immediately ended the call. I gripped the hems of my skirt as I cajoled myself into taking deep breaths.
A thirty percent increase... That's fifteen grand. My entire monthly pay. I could feel the panic curling in the pit of my stomach and blurring my vision.
"Miss Charlton, are you ready for the meeting?" A familiar voice asked and I snapped my head up to see Mr Crown staring down at me, a curious glint lined his eyes instead of the usual boredom that coated it.
I immediately grabbed the next thing I laid my hands on and stood to my feet, knocking the pen cup over as I did.
His brows furrowed and he stared at my hands before his eyes slowly trailed up to my face and I gulped. "Are you sure about that?"
"What?" I raised my brows and his gaze fell to my hands again, or rather, what they held.
"Are you sure you want to go into the meeting holding that?" I immediately looked down at my hands, and I was holding onto the package for the Chinese food I ordered a while ago.
I felt blood rush up my to face as I immediately threw the package into the bin and picked up my tablet. "Uhh..." I cleared my throat and looked up at him, trying to keep my face neutral like my insides weren't a mess and my face and indication of that. "I'm ready now sir."
He gave me a once over and nodded. "Let's go." He turned and strode out. I gave myself a few seconds to collect my thoughts, before I rushed out to catch up with him.
We both fell into a familiar stride and the usual comfortable silence that accompanied our walk had turned into something more... Awkward.
But the thought of the earlier call didn't give me an opportunity to dwell on that. I couldn't take her out of that home, it was the most sensible option, the most relieving, yet... It was the one option I couldn't consider.
"Miss Charlton?" I put an end to my thoughts and looked over to him.
"Yes, sir"
He stopped, and turned to me, tucking his hands into his pocket. "You seem out of it." He stated, rather than asked and I gulped. "If it has anything to do with what I asked earlier..."
"The proposal," I cut in, taking myself and him, from the obvious change in his demeanor, by surprise. "If I say yes, will..." What the heck was I doing!? He raised both brows, urging me to go on, and against my better judgement, I continued rambling. "Will I get an increase in my salary?"
Surprise flickered in his eyes, and what seemed like a ghost of a smile hovered on his lips. "And if I say yes?"
"Then..." I licked my lips, taking a deep breath. This feels like I'm selling my soul to the devil. "I'll say yes."
Abram Astor and Anya King were born enemies due to a long time unexplainable family feud. They hated each other's guts, and competed over everything. But, when their families betroth them to people they deem worse than each other, they are forced to form an alliance, which they sealed with a lie. With a thin line between love and hate, would they find love when forced into an alliance? Or would the secrets discovered in the long run solidify the line that had been drawn already?
She was a world-renowned divine doctor, the CEO of a publicly traded company, the most formidable female mercenary, and a top-tier tech genius. Marissa, a titan with a plethora of secret identities, had hidden her true stature to marry a seemingly impoverished young man. However, on the eve of their wedding, her fiance, who was actually the lost heir to a wealthy dynasty, called off the engagement and subjected her to degradation and mockery. Upon the revelation of her concealed identities, her ex-fiance was left stunned and desperately pleaded for her forgiveness. Standing protectively before Marissa, an incredibly influential and fearsome magnate declared, "This is my wife. Who would dare try to claim her?"
Everyone was shocked to the bones when the news of Rupert Benton's engagement broke out. It was surprising because the lucky girl was said to be a plain Jane, who grew up in the countryside and had nothing to her name. One evening, she showed up at a banquet, stunning everyone present. "Wow, she's so beautiful!" All the men drooled, and the women got so jealous. What they didn't know was that this so-called country girl was actually an heiress to a billion-dollar empire. It wasn't long before her secrets came to light one after the other. The elites couldn't stop talking about her. "Holy smokes! So, her father is the richest man in the world?" "She's also that excellent, but mysterious designer who many people adore! Who would have guessed?" Nonetheless, people thought that Rupert didn't love her. But they were in for another surprise. Rupert released a statement, silencing all the naysayers. "I'm very much in love with my beautiful fiancee. We will be getting married soon." Two questions were on everyone's minds: "Why did she hide her identity? And why was Rupert in love with her all of a sudden?"
For three years, Shane and Yvonne were wed, sharing heated nights, while his devotion clung to his ex. Yvonne strove to be a dutiful wife, yet their marriage felt hollow, built on desire rather than real warmth. All changed when she became pregnant, only for Shane to thrust her onto the operating table, warning, “Either you or the baby survives!” Broken by his cruelty, she vanished in grief and later returned, radiantly accomplished, leaving everyone awestruck. Haunted by remorse, Shane begged for another chance, but Yvonne only smiled and replied, “I’m sorry, men no longer interest me.”
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?
Once upon a time, there were two kingdoms once at peace. The kingdom of Salem and the kingdom of Mombana... Until the day, the king of Mombana passed away and a new monarch took over, Prince Cone. Prince Cone, has always been hungry for more power and more and more. After his coronation, he attacked Salem. The attack was so unexpected, Salem never prepared for it. They were caught off guard. The king and Queen was killed, the prince was taken into slavery. The people of Salem that survived the war was enslaved, their land taken from them. Their women were made sex slaves. They lost everything, including their land. Evil befall the land of Salem in form of Prince Cone, and the prince of Salem in his slavery was filled with so much rage. The prince of Salem, Prince Lucien swore revenge. 🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳 Ten years later, thirty-years old Lucien and his people raided a coup and escaped slavery. They went into hiding and recuperated. They trained day and night under the leadership of the fearless and cold Lucien who was driven with everything in him to get back their land, and take Mombana land too. It took them five years before they ambushed and attacked Mombana. They killed Prince Cone and reclaimed everything. As they screamed out their victory, Lucien's eyes found and pinned the proud princess of Mombana. Princess Danika. The daughter of Prince Cone. As Lucien stared at her with the coldest eyes anyone can ever possess, he felt victory for the first time. He walked to the princess with the slave collar he'd won for ten years rattling in his hand as he walked. He reached close to her and with a swift movement, he collared her neck. Then, he tilted her chin up, staring into the bluest eyes and the most beautiful face ever created, he gave her a cold smile. "You are my acquisition. My slave. My sex slave. My property. I will pay you in spades, everything you and your father ever did to me and my people." He stated curtly. Pure hatred, coldness and victory was the only emotion on his face. .
After three loveless years, Neil's betrayal deeply wounded Katelyn. She wasted no time in getting rid of that scoundrel! After the divorce, she devoted herself to career pursuits. Rising to prominence as a top designer, skilled doctor, and brilliant hacker, she became a revered icon. Neil, realizing his grave mistake, tried in vain to win her back, only to witness her magnificent wedding to another. As their vows were broadcast on the world's largest billboard, Vincent slid a ring onto Katelyn's finger and declared, "Katelyn is now my wife, a priceless treasure. Let all who covet her beware!"