Kathleen's life goes up in flames with the death of her parents, her dream to go to havard, fall in love with a decent man and live a normal life burning to ashes right before her eyes. And just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, she's sold off to a ruthless Mafia boss. Dario DeSantis is a terrifying man and Kat is completely at his whim, her body his to use as he pleases. But what happens when the Devil of Chicago begins to crave more than just her body and his revenge? Could Kat risk giving her heart to a man who is only capable of destruction or will forces much greater than the both of them succeed in ripping them apart?
"We'll be back in about three hours."
That was the first time in fifteen years that my father; Leonard Forrester, had ever lied to me, but at the time, I didn't know it was a lie.
"Okay," I glanced up from the novel I was reading to smile at him.
"Did you get the letter from Harvard yet?" My stepmother walked into the living room, clipping on her earrings distractedly.
I nodded, my smile increasing, "Yeah, but I haven't opened it yet. I don't know if I got accepted or rejected."
Mum laughed, "Don't be so modest. You'll surely get accepted. I trust your brain enough to know that this is a success. You know what? We can open the letter together when we get back. Okay?"
"Okay."
"Love you," she blew me a kiss and a moment later, I heard the door click shut behind them as they left the house for their anniversary date.
Even though my eyes were on the novel in front of me, I wasn't focusing on it. Instead I was a mixture of anticipation, anxiety and excitement over the letter from Harvard law I had received earlier today.
Becoming an attorney like my late grandpa had always been my dream and I was this close to finally achieving it.
While my mates partied and dated around, I kept my face buried in my books and being top of all my classes. After all, the only thing I have ever loved while growing up is books and the more I grew up, the more my fondness for books grew.
"Where's mum and dad?"
I was snapped out of my thoughts by the sound of my half brother's voice. When I raised my head, I found him standing at the doorway leading to the kitchen.
"They just left. Did you need something?" I asked.
Matteo's jaw clenched, "Yeah, but don't worry about it."
"Maybe I can help," I shrugged.
My elder brother just scoffed and then gulped down the bottle of whiskey I had just noticed. My forehead furrowed as I wondered what was making him drink.
"Unless you have seven figures lying around in your savings account, I don't think you can help me."
My jaw dropped open and I hurriedly sat up, "What do you need that kind of money for?"
"None of your business," he snapped, " But dad and mom won't lend it to me."
He dragged a hand through his hair and chuckled bitterly, "It's not fair. I never get what I want."
"What about your inheritance?"
My stepbrother's eyes narrowed at me and then he threw his head back and laughed, "Are you trying to mock me?"
My eyebrows shot up and just as I opened my mouth to voice out my confusion, his phone rang, cutting me off.
I watched him pull the phone out of his pants pocket and tense as he stared at the screen.
"What's going_"
But he pressed the phone to his ear and stormed out the living room, leaving me alone again and very confused.
As soon as he was gone, my anxiety over the college letter returned with full force, pushing the whole scene with Matteo to the back of my mind. I was sure he just wanted to buy a new car or something like that. He was a known spendthrift.
Unable to stand my own racing thoughts anymore, I decided to go bake to distract myself till my parents returned.
I walked into the kitchen and saw Lisa wiping down the counters.
"Hey, Lisa," I smiled at her.
She was the cook's daughter and we had grown up together, so she was kinda my best friend even though she was a maid.
"I'm sure that there's a good news behind this smile of yours" she said with a smile as she washed the dishes.
"What do you mean? I smile a lot, so what makes you think that there's a good news behind my smile?" I asked in confusion.
"Let me guess, you got accepted and you're about to become a fancy lawyer?" She squealed.
I chuckled, "I wish," I told her, "I'm going to wait for mum and dad to get back so we can open the letter together. I'm so nervous."
"It's going to be fine. You'll get in. And then you can leave this city. With your grandfather's former connections, you can get a job at a top law firm and you'll be swimming in money."
I rolled my eyes at her, "I don't want to use Grandpa's connections. I want to do it on my own."
She raised one dark brow, "You want to start scraping at a lowly job when you'll have over fifteen million of inheritance money in your account?"
"Something like that?"
"Ugh," she groaned, "You're so humble for someone who grew up with a whole house staff."
The thing was that my status as a bastard had always segregated me from the kids in school and the other wealthy kids. My upbringing up until age six when my mother had gotten diagnosed with cancer and brought me to the Forrester's house had been very humble.
It made me believe in hard work and paving a way for myself without having to depend on the Forrester's money even though I'm kinda part of them now.
"That's just me I guess."
"Go get some sleep," Lisa urged, "I'll come wake you up when your parents get home. You're just going to worry yourself into illness if you continue like this."
It was both a good and bad thing that Lisa could read me so well.
"I don't think I'll be able to sleep with that letter just sitting on my table and taunting me."
"Try," she ordered sternly, "You're making me nervous."
With a sigh, I nodded and decided to take her advice.
I climbed up the stairs slowly, trying not to think about the life ahead of me at the law school. I couldn't wait to start learning all about the justice system, fighting for good and being on the side of justice.
I would help to put evil guys behind bars forever, and then I would fall in love with a good, decent man, get married and grow old with him.
My future was literally at the tip of my fingers. I could almost feel it.
"Kathleen," my brother's voice called from the end of the hallway, specifically from dad's office.
"Yeah?"
"Don't just stand there," he barked, glaring at me, "Do you expect me to shout from across the hallway?"
I jerked, startled by the irritation in his voice. Did I do something? Perhaps he's just irritated about that problem of his that needs to be resolved with a six figure money, whatever that problem is tho.
Hurrying to the office, I had just crossed the threshold when lightning flashed in the sky and a loud thunder boomed around the house.
I had always been deathly afraid of storms, and so my heart was already pounding in my chest when I faced Matteo.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"They're dead." He dropped the shell bomb and I staggered backwards .
Madison Lane's uncomplicated one night stand turns out to be anything but uncomplicated when the man she had been dreaming about since their explosive night together turns out to be her new, mean and ruthless English literature professor. Lucian Buford is out for her, constantly singling her out in the class. Maddie can say goodbye to having any friends in class or having any fun whatsoever. Nobody wants to come close to her and incurr Professor Buford's wrath and he keeps her too busy with assignments to even have time to breathe not to talk of going to get lunch with the cute boy who's interested in her. Maddie thinks Lucian hates her, but what she doesn't know is that he's doing everything in his power to not drag her into his office and kiss her senseless. What happens when the professor with dark secrets and the fiery red hair he's obsessed with clash in a battle of wills? Will they both come out unscathed or be torn apart by forces that are beyond their control?
How far is she willing to go to get her twin back in her life? London couldn't answer this question if her life depended on it. The limits to what she's willing to do for her twin doesn't exist. Pretending to be her sister for a dinner party? No big deal. That is, until she finds herself in the very complicated position of playing fiancee to a man she barely knows but is quickly falling for. She knows that when this ends, her heart is going to be left in pieces and yet, she's holding unto every second with a man that she has no right to. A man that doesn't know she exists.
Months ago, a case of mistaken identity set off a chain reaction that ended with Millicent Haworth pregnant with ruthless billionaire; Tommy Bradford's child. Her plan is to have his child and maybe, some day in the future tell him about it and let him decide if he wants to be a part of their life. All of a sudden, he's sweeping back into her life and making her feel things she shouldn't be feeling. Millie knows what they have is temporary and there's no future where someone like him ends up with someone like her, but it doesn't stop her from falling a little bit harder every day. She knows he's going to break her heart at the end and there's nothing she can do about it.
Dear readers, this book has resumed daily updates. It took Sabrina three whole years to realize that her husband, Tyrone didn't have a heart. He was the coldest and most indifferent man she had ever met. He never smiled at her, let alone treated her like his wife. To make matters worse, the return of the woman he had eyes for brought Sabrina nothing but divorce papers. Sabrina's heart broke. Hoping that there was still a chance for them to work on their marriage, she asked, "Quick question,Tyrone. Would you still divorce me if I told you that I was pregnant?" "Absolutely!" he responded. Realizing that she didn't mean shit to him, Sabrina decided to let go. She signed the divorce agreement while lying on her sickbed with a broken heart. Surprisingly, that wasn't the end for the couple. It was as if scales fell off Tyrone's eyes after she signed the divorce agreement. The once so heartless man groveled at her bedside and pleaded, "Sabrina, I made a big mistake. Please don't divorce me. I promise to change." Sabrina smiled weakly, not knowing what to do...
After three secretive years of marriage, Eliana never met her enigmatic husband until she was served with divorce papers and learned of his extravagant pursuit of another. She snapped back to reality and secured a divorce. Thereafter, Eliana unveiled her various personas: an esteemed doctor, legendary secret agent, master hacker, celebrated designer, adept race car driver, and distinguished scientist. As her diverse talents became known, her ex-husband was consumed by remorse. Desperately, he pleaded, "Eliana, give me another chance! All my properties, even my life, are yours."
I received a pornographic video. "Do you like this?" The man speaking in the video is my husband, Mark, whom I haven't seen for several months. He is naked, his shirt and pants scattered on the ground, thrusting forcefully on a woman whose face I can't see, her plump and round breasts bouncing vigorously. I can clearly hear the slapping sounds in the video, mixed with lustful moans and grunts. "Yes, yes, fuck me hard, baby," the woman screams ecstatically in response. "You naughty girl!" Mark stands up and flips her over, slapping her buttocks as he speaks. "Stick your ass up!" The woman giggles, turns around, sways her buttocks, and kneels on the bed. I feel like someone has poured a bucket of ice water on my head. It's bad enough that my husband is having an affair, but what's worse is that the other woman is my own sister, Bella. ************************************************************************************************************************ “I want to get a divorce, Mark,” I repeated myself in case he didn't hear me the first time—even though I knew he'd heard me clearly. He stared at me with a frown before answering coldly, "It's not up to you! I'm very busy, don't waste my time with such boring topics, or try to attract my attention!" The last thing I was going to do was argue or bicker with him. "I will have the lawyer send you the divorce agreement," was all I said, as calmly as I could muster. He didn't even say another word after that and just went through the door he'd been standing in front of, slamming it harshly behind him. My eyes lingered on the knob of the door a bit absentmindedly before I pulled the wedding ring off my finger and placed it on the table. I grabbed my suitcase, which I'd already had my things packed in and headed out of the house.
Janet was adopted when she was a kid -- a dream come true for orphans. However, her life was anything but happy. Her adoptive mother taunted and bullied her all her life. Janet got the love and affection of a parent from the old maid who raised her. Unfortunately, the old woman fell ill, and Janet had to marry a worthless man in place of her parents' biological daughter to meet the maid's medical expenses. Could this be a Cinderella's tale? But the man was far from a prince, except for his handsome appearance. Ethan was the illegitimate son of a wealthy family who lived a reckless life and barely made ends meet. He got married to fulfill his mother's last wish. However, on his wedding night, he had an inkling that his wife was different from what he had heard about her. Fate had united the two people with deep secrets. Was Ethan truly the man we thought he was? Surprisingly, he bore an uncanny resemblance to the impenetrable wealthiest man in the city. Would he find out that Janet married him in place of her sister? Would their marriage be a romantic tale or an utter disaster? Read on to unravel Janet and Ethan's journey.
For seven years, Jillian pursued Bryan with unyielding passion, but he remained distant, his emotions tightly sealed. Disheartened, she left for overseas after graduating from college. Three years later, Jillian, now a successful attorney, sat provocatively on the lap of Bryan's competitor. She flashed Bryan a playful smile and taunted, "What's wrong, Bryan? Are you impotent?" Bryan's restraint shattered in an instant. In a swift motion, he scooped her up and tossed her onto the bed. The next morning, as Bryan woke up, Jillian flashed a mischievous smile. "Let's keep things casual, okay?"
“You need a bride, I need a groom. Why don’t we get married?” Both abandoned at the altar, Elyse decided to tie the knot with the disabled stranger from the venue next door. Pitying his state, she vowed to spoil him once they were married. Little did she know that he was actually a powerful tycoon. Jayden thought Elyse only married him for his money, and planned to divorce her when she was no longer of use to him. But after becoming her husband, he was faced with a new dilemma. “She keeps asking for a divorce, but I don’t want that! What should I do?”