Almost losing the woman she thought was her mother, Cherry seeks many ways to pay for her Mother's surgery but couldn't get any help. She had no choice but to agree to go into a contract marriage with her boss, the ruthless and arrogant billionaire CEO of the Alphonso construction company, Leonard Alphonso. They fell in love within six months of the one-year contract and lived happily from that moment until Leonard offered her a divorce paper claiming he ran out of love for her; which she vehemently refused. Later on, she had no choice but to sign the divorce papers after Leonard had already put her in a tight condition. Being pregnant and helpless, she left his house and that was when she found out that she is the heiress to a billionaire fortune. Cherry becomes successful, powerful, and independent. Leonard eventually regretted his action and sought many ways to get her back. But will Cherry give Leonard a second chance after being betrayed by the first man she had ever loved?
Prologue (An office) The CEO of the Alphonso Construction company sat in his office with his mind busy with meditation rolling in circles on his swivel chair. He was lost in thought when a knock was heard on the door of his office.
"Yes ,who is it", Mr Alphonso asked.
"It's I, Cherry", the lovely tender voice of mine said.
"Come in", Mr. Alphonso said sternly.
"What is it? Have you handled the documents I gave you properly? And have you sent the mails I asked you to send to our clients?"
His whole face was covered with seriousness . My boss had always been strict from the day I had worked as his Secretary.
"How would I tell him what is on my mind."My thoughts were all occupied.
"Yes sir. I have done all of them. I just sent the emails to our clients yesterday night" I said with my smile almost looking invisible which was covering the fear I had after saying that.
"Just yesterday night!"He shouted with a strong frown on his face.
"How incompetent can you be? I gave you an mail to send to my clients in the evening and you just sent it in the night. Can you just imagine?"He yelled.
Mr Alphonso could be inconsiderate sometimes. The mail had just be sent to me the previous day during in the closing hours to send to his client which was at an ungodly hour. If he wanted the mail to be sent on time, he would have given me in the morning or during work hours not closing hours.
"Yes, what are you here for ?"Mr Alphonso asked. I thought to myself if I would be able to tell him what I had came into his office to tell him. I tried to summon courage thinking to myself that asking for whatever I wanted would not cause me to lose my life. The worst is that he would decline or maybe shout at me.
"Yes? Answer me on time. I don't have the whole day, please. "Mr. Alphonso spoke with his scary face. "Umm-mm" I stuttered .
"I just want to ask you for a favor, sir."
"Okay, what is the favor." He asked.
"I just want to ask you if you could pay me my salary in advance. I need money urgently. I have sought money from where I could, but I have not seen anyone who can render me any assistance. I need the money for my mother's kidney transplant." I said.
"She is the only one I have now because I no longer have a father and I don't want to be an orphan at this stage of my life." I said with tears covered all of my face.
"The money is just $32,000 to cover all of the expenses for her surgery and medications. I promise to work harder than I have ever worked. I wiped away my tears.
"Haha!", he laughed.
"You say "32,000".Where do you expect me to see such? Do you know how much the company needs to spend on expenses? You must be kidding me. I don't have money to give you ."
"Sir, Please I promise to pay you back from my salary or I will borrow from anyone I know to give you back. My mother is in a critical condition and it is so urgent." Mr Alphonso laughed again and stared at me while crying.
That was the first time I would ever see him smiling for the three years that I had worked as his Secretary. As he continued to smile, I felt excited that he was ready to assist me. "Cherry" he called out my name.
"Sir" I replied.
"Do you know you just made me laugh by what you just said?" he asked.
"It is the way the effrontery for you to say you would pay me back or borrow it. My question is; "How would you get it?"When you don't know who you would borrow from? And come to think of it; you only work for me or do you work for anyone else?" he asked and I gave a negative nod.
"You see, why I can't offer you any assistance?"He said with a smile while my eyes were covered with tears. I felt the smile was to make fun of my misery. I guess my boss must not only be arrogant but a sadist.
"But, sir....." I tried to talk before Mr Alphonso interrupted me on purpose.
"Make sure you help me to inform the members of the board office that we will be having a meeting this afternoon. I also want to give you some correspondence for you to handle for me. So that's all I want you to do .You can go now."He ordered.
"Okay sir."My face was covered up with tears. Nothing was pushing me to still beg him or ask for his assistance because I had lost all the courage I had.
"I would be taking my leave, sir." I said with tears almost well.
"Yeah, lock the door after going,please."All his attention was fixated on the file that was in his hands.I turned my back and was already leaving his office .
I cleaned my tears and catarrh I was that was coming out of my nose. I had already gotten close to the door. "Cherry!" I turned back and saw Mr Alphonso's serious face glaring at me. I was already shocked at the spot I was standing. I was already thinking of what I had done wrong.
"I am willing to offer you more than the $32,000 you need for your mother's treatment if you would do my biddings".After he said that, I had a smile on my face without asking what his biddings were.
"I want you to act as my wife for a year and I would pay you $35,000 for accepting my proposal. I just want you to see it as a fake marriage. After a year of the marriage, We would get a divorce. But during the marriage, there would not be any form of intimacy at all. So it would be a contract marriage. When it is already a year, I would give $150,000 by the time we are about to be divorced."
After he had said that already,the smile on my face dropped and tears began to fall out of my eyes.
"Why? Why do you have to offer me a contract marriage? Of all people why does it have to be me? This seems to be hard for me, sir." I whined.
"Are you kidding me right now? Where you not just crying and complaining about how you need help to save your mother from dying because you don't have money to take care of her. I am rendering you this offer, which is of mutual benefit and you are acting petty."I wondered within myself why he would ask for a contract marriage with someone like me.
"Or do you want your mother to die?" he asked with a smile. Mr. Alphonso is one hell of a mean person. He is a very ruthless and arrogant man. He is also one of every woman's choices in town like who would not want to be with a man like Leonard Alphonso, a wealthy and successful billionaire. Meanwhile, I had also had a crush on him which was because of his charming looks having a height of 6'4 inches and his charisma I would have considered it a dream being in a relationship or being married to Mr. Alphonso.
Chances were not left to me but to accept his proposal because of the risk of losing my mother.Since there is not going to be an intimacy of any such , I would have to accept this marriage proposal. Like.... I mean it's just a year.
" I have agreed to accept your marriage proposal,sir." My face was all squeezed up because I already knew what I was putting myself into something tough which was inevitable.
"Good girl. Now you are talking. I will call my lawyer tomorrow and he will bring the contract for you to sign tomorrow. I guess we have got ourselves a deal right" he said bringing out his hands for a shake. I shook his hand and accepted his offer.
After catching her boyfriend in bed with her high school bully, losing her job on the second day, and struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder. Joana Angelou’s life is in shambles. Before she can even begin to pick up the pieces, she meets James Craig, a ruthless and arrogant billionaire who is inexplicably drawn to her. As she fights to revive her career, James becomes her unlikely ally and potential love interest. But can Joana trust her heart to a man who seems to be hiding the secrets of his owners?
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!"
For ten years, Daniela showered her ex-husband with unwavering devotion, only to discover she was just his biggest joke. Feeling humiliated yet determined, she finally divorced him. Three months later, Daniela returned in grand style. She was now the hidden CEO of a leading brand, a sought-after designer, and a wealthy mining mogul—her success unveiled at her triumphant comeback. Her ex-husband’s entire family rushed over, desperate to beg for forgiveness and plead for another chance. Yet Daniela, now cherished by the famed Mr. Phillips, regarded them with icy disdain. "I’m out of your league."
On her wedding day, Khloe’s sister connived with her groom, framing her for a crime she didn’t commit. She was sentenced to three years in prison, where she endured much suffering. When Khloe was finally released, her evil sister used their mother to coerce Khloe into an indecent liaison with an elderly man. As fate would have it, Khloe crossed paths with Henrik, the dashing yet ruthless mobster who sought to alter the course of her life. Despite Henrik’s cold exterior, he cherished Khloe like no other. He helped her take retribution from her tormentors and kept her from being bullied again.
Ariel, being an Illegitimate child was scorned and hated. She craved for love and affection, thus, was easily betrayed and stabbed in the back. But everything changed for the better when she met Raymond. He helped her get her revenge and in return, used her to get his own revenge. Sparks and flickers of light ignite in their relationship when they realize they were th missing pieces that could complete each other and there was no other for them. Find out how hate and betrayal, jealousy and envy destroy and rebuild the lives of Ariel and Raymond.
Arya stealthily walks towards her boyfriend's room in the middle of her room with a cake in her hand – it's his birthday, and she wants to make sure she is the first person to wish him a happy birthday. Arya, believing her presence is going to be the only surprise, is met with a bigger shock when she finds her boyfriend in bed with not just any other woman, but her stepsister. When Arya's family gives her the ultimate betrayal by being on the side of her stepsister and arranging a quick marriage with the son of a bankrupt businessman for their selfish benefit, she is left with nothing but the broken pieces of her heart to mend, she is let in on a secret being kept by her husband, and things start to fall into place. When her family turns around and tries to convince her to do their bidding, Arya makes sure to exact her revenge on every one of them. But her family is not one to give up on what they want, and they will do anything to get Arya's husband on their side – including putting Arya's life on the line.
Rena got into an entanglement with a big shot when she was drunk one night. She needed Waylen's help while he was drawn to her youthful beauty. As such, what was supposed to be a one-night stand progressed into something serious. All was well until Rena discovered that Waylen's heart belonged to another woman. When his first love returned, he stopped coming home, leaving Rena all alone for many nights. She put up with it until she received a check and farewell note one day. Contrary to how Waylen expected her to react, Rena had a smile on her face as she bid him farewell. "It was fun while it lasted, Waylen. May our paths never cross. Have a nice life." But as fate would have it, their paths crossed again. This time, Rena had another man by her side. Waylen's eyes burned with jealousy. He spat, "How the hell did you move on? I thought you loved only me!" "Keyword, loved!" Rena flipped her hair back and retorted, "There are plenty of fish in the sea, Waylen. Besides, you were the one who asked for a breakup. Now, if you want to date me, you have to wait in line." The next day, Rena received a credit alert of billions and a diamond ring. Waylen appeared again, got down on one knee, and uttered, "May I cut in line, Rena? I still want you."