She burns, he saves. Once I thought you sheltered me from the storm, until later I realised that all the storms started with you. Talented ballerina Olivia has been in a whirlwind of complications since she met billionaire heir Dr Adrian.
After several strong margaritas, a wave of intoxication flushed Olivia's cheeks. She half-squinted her eyes, leaning against the outdoor bar as the cool night breeze, mixed with a hint of chill, brushed past, dispersing the haze. Loose strands of hair fluttered before her eyes, mingling with her eyelashes and blurring her vision.
On this quiet Monday night, the bar had only a few patrons, and even the sound technician couldn't be bothered to play music-it was as quiet as a library.
Her phone remained silent.
Her boyfriend of two years, Matthew, had suddenly announced his engagement to Dorothy, the heiress of the Fleming Hotel Group, without any reasons or explanations.
The chat interface with Matthew still showed her last message from two days ago-a simple "goodnight."
After making seven or maybe eight calls to the same number, with none answered, a chill crept over Olivia's shoulders, and she decided to head back inside.
As she passed the outdoor pool, Olivia noticed a small table between the lounge chairs adorned with a bouquet of roses and several flickering scented candles. An ice bucket held a bottle of champagne at an angle. The area was eerily silent, and Olivia wondered which lucky woman was meant to enjoy this setup. She chuckled softly, recalling the time when Matt had gifted her a huge bouquet of pink Ecuadorian roses.
Men's hearts change faster than New York weather.
Tiny ripples in the pool reflected the bar lights, flickering brightly then dimming. As Olivia walked along the poolside, her necklace suddenly snapped. The pendant shaped like Saturn clinked onto the ground, bounced, and rolled into the pool. The alcohol slowed her reaction, and she only stared as the necklace sank to the bottom. After a few seconds, she blinked, realizing she needed to retrieve it.
Kicking off her high heels, she descended the pool ladder. Misjudging the depth, the water quickly rose above her chest, making her head spin with intoxication. Olivia slipped and fell underwater, struggling weakly to grasp at the splashing water.
A splash behind her signaled someone else entering the water, and a wave of water spread from behind. Olivia felt a hand grab hers, pulling her back against a warm chest. Instinctively, she gripped the person's arm.
Her vision blurred by the water, Olivia took a moment to regain her bearings before looking up into a pair of anxious, restrained eyes.
"Matthew?" she murmured, recognizing the face.
The man hesitated at the name. Water dripped down from his wet bangs across his cheeks, soaking into his drenched white shirt which clung to his sculpted physique. Her gaze drifted down from his tightly pursed lips, over the moving Adam's apple, to the defined muscles of his chest.
With each downward glance, a deeper shade of pink tinged her cheeks.
"Risking yourself for a necklace?" he frowned, his gaze intense.
"Is this necklace really that important to you?"
It was Adrian, who had been quietly drinking alone in the bar. He hadn't met Olivia before, but had seen her photos on his older brother's phone-along with many others.
She had called him by his brother's name, obviously mistaking him for his brother.
Moonlight spilled behind her, illuminating her bare shoulders with a halo effect. The wine-red dress she wore was more stunning than he had imagined. Her head bowed slightly, her curled eyelashes quivering softly against Adrian's chest, tickling him.
Adrian leaned towards the pool edge, helping her out before sitting her down on the stone steps.
"I thought you never wanted to see me again," Olivia murmured, tears spilling from her eyes.
"I was..." Adrian seemed to want to explain.
In the next moment, Olivia leaned forward and kissed him. Her voice, frail and whispering near his ear, said, "Isn't this what you always wanted? Maybe I was wrong before. Take me to a hotel. I'll give you what you like."
Adrian chuckled lightly, biting her lip gently. "Are you sure you won't regret this?"
"As long as you don't leave me."
The dim hotel room light cast a soft glow on the couple engaged in a passionate embrace. The man's tall, handsome figure intertwined with the woman's delicate, supple form, creating a beautiful silhouette against the marble wall.
Olivia felt herself being gently laid down, Adrian's robust frame pressing down upon her. His kisses trailed down her neck to her collarbone, each touch sparking sensations like electricity, tinged with a moist masculine scent.
Suddenly, the phone rang.
Olivia, slightly dazed and weak, lay helplessly on the bed, hearing fragments of conversation about a hospital and someone named Roberts.
"It's handled," Adrian said after hanging up, looking down at Olivia with a mix of tenderness and amusement in his eyes. Shaking his head, he remarked, "I'm not interested in women who throw themselves at me so cheaply," before dressing and leaving the room.
The next morning, Olivia woke with a throbbing headache. She checked her clothes. Aside from a few undone buttons, everything was intact.
She called the front desk, and the clerk politely informed her, "Mr. Roberts instructed us to allow you extra rest, so feel free to take your time."
Matt had remembered their past, after all. She had been with him for two years.
The thought left Olivia feeling hollow. Last night's familiar yet strange scent lingered in her mind. Now, in the quiet hotel room, even the air felt cold.
Olivia got out of bed to freshen up in the bathroom. Seeing her lipstick-smudged lips in the mirror brought a blush of embarrassment, recalling the previous night.
Her phone rang. It was from the hospital.
"Is this Miss Olivia Williams? This is Roberts Hospital in New York. Your father has just been brought in by an ambulance; he collapsed and is in critical condition."
The news hit her like a thunderbolt. Olivia, trembling, hung up and quickly grabbed her bag to check out and rush to the hospital.
"Please, drive as fast as you can," she urged the taxi driver, clutching her purse tightly. Olivia had grown up with her father, her only family, as her mother had been incarcerated for a crime since Olivia's birth.
"Lord, please bless my father," Olivia prayed silently.
Bailey seems to be never destined to fit in, a little geeky, but under it all, a hidden beauty that so many seem to miss, but still not what her pack Alpha is looking for in a fated mate... so he is determined to reject her and make her life hell. Bailey, knowing her life will likely never be the same focuses on what she can control, her future, and heads off to study; becoming a teacher. Asher is the Beta of Autumn Valley Pack, a neighbouring pack. A broken man having suffered the loss of his mate after a rogue attack, Asher is slowly crumbling. Falling to pieces. A shadow of his former self, and not a man that anyone wants to be around anymore... Until, Autumn Valley Pack require a new teacher, and Bailey finds herself there and pushed together with the Beta. Is there a connection building or is that in their imaginations? And what will happen when Bailey's mate comes back to claim what is his?
In her previous life, Kimberly endured the betrayal of her husband, the cruel machinations of an evil woman, and the endless tyranny of her in-laws. It culminated in the bankruptcy of her family, and ultimately, her death. After being reborn, she resolved to seek retribution against those who had wronged her, and ensure her family's prosperity. To her shock, the most unattainable man from her past suddenly set his sights on her. "You may have overlooked me before, but I shall capture your heart this time around."
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. .
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?"
"There will be no falling in love, we will only act as a loving couple when we are in public, we will share a room to make it believable, but no intimacy, touching is off-limits. We'll only have sex once a month, and that's solely to produce an heir. You won't interfere in my business, and I won't interfere in yours. You will be my wife in every sense and you will not be involved with any other man," he said, arrogance seeping from every word. I watch his mouth move, I'm not ready to fall in love with any man, especially not one as arrogant and egoistic as him. I can handle acting as a loving couple, and as for intimacy once a month. I can agree to that just to satisfy my sexual cravings with no strings attached. "Where can I sign?" I asked since I had nothing to lose. *** Nadine's wedding dreams turned to nightmares when she caught her sister and fiancé cheating! With a secret recording, she's ready for revenge. But then mysterious billionaire Logan West offers a deal: A Contract Marriage to take down her ex's empire. But what Nadine doesn't know is her life is getting complicated as she takes her chance to get revenge or risks everything for a chance at love?"
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?