Cecile Russo is the princess of the Russo cartel. She lives a sheltered life where she is given everything that she wants on a platter of gold while blissfully unaware of the business her father is into and just how dangerous it could be for her. Danger looms when she takes the risky decision of sneaking past her security details the night before her birthday. Because of that decision, she is plunged into a world of lies, deceit, pain and blood which she is forced to endure. Will she be able to get away from that life or will she be forced to stay in it? Will she lose herself or will she emerge victorious and unscathed? How does she manage as a green eyed woman in a world that was created to be merciless to everyone especially women? Find out in this gripping story that keeps you glued to its pages with every sentence that you read.
~Cecile~
"Come on, Ava, let's go"
I whispered furiously to my best friend, Ava who was still bouncing on her toes and looking suspiciously behind her shoulders for any guards that may have been patrolling.
"Cecile, this isn't right. Let's go back in"After looking left and right and seeing no signs of movement, I shuffled closer to the wire fence and lowered my voice so she could hear me clearly without anyone overheating our conversation.
"We have to go. You know that this is not the kind of life I want for myself"She was making us go over everything again despite going over it earlier. The tides were changing and I wasn't so sure if I liked it. She was the confident one always telling me to stand up against the million and one rules that governed my life while I was the scaredy one who remained comfortable in the miserable life that I was living.
"But..."I rolled my eyes even though she couldn't see me very clearly because of how dark it was. " Ava, you're my best friend. It's my birthday tomorrow. Please, let me have a taste of life beyond these walls before I'm signed off to some man"My father was already hinting at marriage. I knew this because he kept telling the maids to make sure that I was always looking prim and proper. How pitiable was it that in 19 years, I had never gone past the walls by myself? I was always accompanied by a host of guards and I just wanted a free night.
She gazed at me for so long that I feared that she was going to turn around and go into the house to tattle on me so I let out a breath of relief when she rolled her eyes with a small smile on her face because I knew that she was as usual, in my corner.
"Fine"I smiled and moved backwards so she had enough space to roll out of the small hole that we created in the only blind spot from the cameras that were in my fathers mansion. She hesitated for a moment before putting one foot through the hole and maneuvering the rest of her body through it. Once she was out, I grabbed her hand and pulled her along with me while I ran, our laughter loud and carefree.
"Where do you want to go, Cecile?"We were finally in the town of Moscow and I was taken aback by the life that was going on around me. Though it was late at night, people still bustled past us like it was only midday. I turned around, my eyes wide and eager to soak in as much of the life that I could see around me.
"Cecile, we don't have so much time. Do you want to go to the movies? I have some money to purchase the tickets"Ava's hand on my shoulder, I turned to face her with the biggest smile on my face.
"We're not going to the movies"She frowned at me and I knew she was confused because when I told her that we were sneaking out, that was what I told her I wanted to do because though the mansion I lived in boasted of a theatre that could house more than 50 people in one sitting, I really wanted to experience sharing a theatre with a room full of people.
"Then, where would we go?"I took my eyes away from her and pointed down the street. Across from us, there was a long line of people queuing up to get into some place. When the door was opened, I could hear loud music coming from inside and I wanted to know what was going on in there if people were so eager to get in that they didn't mind being on a line.
"You want to go to a club? Your father would have my head"Ava was probably right to be scared. For some reason, people trembled when my father walked into a room but I still didn't know why. To me, he was just father. He loved me and took care of me. He made sure to have dinner with me at least once a week and play with my hair while telling me jokes. There was nothing scary about him to me.
"You exaggerate, Ava"While my father wasn't going to be happy finding out that I went past my security detail and left the mansion to go to a club, he wasn't going to be as livid as to take her head off her shoulders. Besides, my father was simply a business man who was guarded by numerous men because of the risky business of money lending that he was involved in.
"No, Cecile, we can't go in there"She shook her head at me and removed her hand that was enclasped with mine.
"Why not?"
"Have you been to a club before? Do you have any idea how dangerous it can be in there?"I understood that she was looking out for me but I rather wished that she wouldn't. I already had millions of people, yes, I was exaggerating but I already had a truckload of people watching every step I made and reporting back to my father. I didn't need her to join them in that.
"You speak like as though it were a shooting range and not a regular club. Besides, you've been to a club before and so, you know how things go down in them. I've not been to a club before and that's why I want to go in and experience it"
Wasn't the main reason for us sneaking out to have an experience? She already had the experience of being to a club because she didn't have the kind of father that I did so why was she stopping me from having fun with my life?
"Ava, this is just one night. Come on"I nudged my shoulder into hers repeatedly until she smiled and pushed me back. We shared a laugh as she let out a huge sigh and conceded. "We're only going to spend an hour. We'll be out before sunrise"I squealed on the spot and gave her a big hug before grabbing her hand again and running into the street.
"Cecile!"
She shouted at me when we were almost knocked down by a vehicle that had to steer very quickly away from us. I laughed at the curses that came out from the drivers mouth as we kept on walking.
"You are bad for my health"
I smiled at her and she couldn't help but return the smiles. My red hair blew into my face from the sudden gust of wind and I rubbed my hands up and down my arms at the goosebumps that covered them.
"I didn't think it was going to be this chilly"
I commented as I wished that I at least had the foresight to grab a jacket to throw on my ensemble of simple black shorts with a net like long sleeved top and finished off with knee high boots.
"Seems like a bad omen to me. Perhaps we should just go. We'll still find some good movies to watch"She was just hell bent on us leaving and not going into the club but I was just as fixated on getting in.
"We're going in"
I pulled her to the line and before long, we were standing in front of the bouncer.
"I.D's"
I looked at Cecile who rolled her eyes. I didn't know that we needed I.D's to go in. I didn't even own one. My good mood plumetted at the next words that he said.
"No I.D, no entrance"
Cecile groaned under her breath before digging her hands into her purse and producing two identical slabs of paper from where I was standing. She handed it over to the bouncer who scrutinized it carefully before giving it back to her.
"Enjoy"
He said as opened the door for us and gestured for us to walk in. Still taken aback by that, I was the one who got pulled inside my Ava.
"Where did you get that from? How did you know to take that with you?"Questions started spilling from my lips the moment we were inside as I whispered to her.
"I had a feeling it was going to be needed"
She looked away and focused on the club that was in full swing. I followed suit and my jaw dropped open at the new life that I was being exposed to. The music was so loud that I could barely even hear my thoughts.
"Let's go get a drink"
I was almost bouncing on my heels because of how excited I was.
"No, Cecile"
"Come on, Ava, what harm can it do?"Oh, it really could do a lot of harm. Looking back at that moment, I wished I had known what was going to happen in less than 30 because maybe then, I wouldn't have known what true fear felt like. But alas, it was already too late and I was living in the consequences of my actions with only regret as a companion.
The day Raina gave birth should have been the happiest of her life. Instead, it became her worst nightmare. Moments after delivering their twins, Alexander shattered her heart-divorcing her and forcing her to sign away custody of their son, Liam. With nothing but betrayal and heartbreak to her name, Raina disappeared, raising their daughter, Ava, on her own.Years later, fate comes knocking when Liam falls gravely ill. Desperate to save his son, Alexander is forced to seek out the one person he once cast aside. Alexander finds himself face to face with the woman he underestimated, pleading for a second chance-not just for himself, but for their son. But Raina is no longer the same broken woman who once loved him.No longer the woman he left behind. She has carved out a new life-one built on strength, wealth, and a long-buried legacy she expected to uncover.Raina has spent years learning to live without him.The question is... Will she risk reopening old wounds to save the son she never got to love? or has Alexander lost her forever?
Elena, once a pampered heiress, suddenly lost everything when the real daughter framed her, her fiancé ridiculed her, and her adoptive parents threw her out. They all wanted to see her fall. But Elena unveiled her true identity: the heiress of a massive fortune, famed hacker, top jewelry designer, secret author, and gifted doctor. Horrified by her glorious comeback, her adoptive parents demanded half her newfound wealth. Elena exposed their cruelty and refused. Her ex pleaded for a second chance, but she scoffed, “Do you think you deserve it?” Then a powerful magnate gently proposed, “Marry me?”
"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.
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."
"Please trust me, I didn't do anything." "I don't believe you. I am rejecting you as my Queen and giving you the punishment of death." Alina was living outside her pack for five years. Her parents didn't try to contact her and always ignored her. Her best friend convinced her to go back to their pack and she agreed. But she had never imagined what was waiting there for her. She never thought she would meet her mate and had to face betrayal from everywhere. She had to pay for the crime which she never committed. Aaron Robertson is the king of Lycans. He is a very dominant and powerful King who not only rules Lycans but also rules other ranks of werewolves. Everyone is afraid of Lycans and he is the king of them. But who knew that he would get a mate who was just a simple Omega with no powers and strengths? He called her weak all the time but little did he know that his weak Omega would give him the biggest betrayal of his life for which he had to give her the sentence of death.
After hiding her true identity throughout her three-year marriage to Colton, Allison had committed wholeheartedly, only to find herself neglected and pushed toward divorce. Disheartened, she set out to rediscover her true self-a talented perfumer, the mastermind of a famous intelligence agency, and the heir to a secret hacker network. Realizing his mistakes, Colton expressed his regret. "I know I messed up. Please, give me another chance." Yet, Kellan, a once-disabled tycoon, stood up from his wheelchair, took Allison's hand, and scoffed dismissively, "You think she'll take you back? Dream on."