/0/64188/coverbig.jpg?v=af02501dd192d534591a134d0c4323d4)
At her grandmother's insistence, Aurora Quan has a flash marriage with a wealthy man in order to acquire a Green Card. The only problem was, she has no idea who the man is or what he looks like. Moving on with her life, she applies for a job as a personal assistant to the rich and sophisticated billionaire Nathaniel Everleigh. What she doesn't know is that Nathaniel and her husband are the same person. CEO Nathaniel Everleigh needs to get married in order complete his inheritance. He needs a wife on paper but not in real life, where his business dealings consume all his time. When his sexy new assistant begins to linger in his mind for too long, he realizes he's caught between two women - Aurora and the wife he needs to find in order to move on with his life.
AURORA.
"You won't have to see him again for the rest of your life, Bonita." My Abuela's words rang in my ear for the hundredth time. "You just have to marry him."
If only it were that easy. I tapped my stiletto against the tiled floor, keeping my face downwards. The quicker we got this done, the quicker I could get on with my life. On a normal day, I would have run in the other direction. I mean, I still wanted to, but after my parents died a year ago, my Abuela thought starting a new life would be the best for me.
However, I did not see how marrying a man I didn't know would help me achieve that.
I tried not to think about the fact that I was seconds away from signing my life over to some stranger I'd only just met today, and instead focused on the ridiculous amount of people going in and out of the marriage registration office at City Hall. For goodness's sake, I was only twenty-five. Why was I making such a mistake? I swallowed again, my throat dryer than the freaking Sahara.
It's not real, I told myself, it's just a fake marriage-
"Mr. Quan? Miss GarcĂa?" a voice called out and I raised my head to it. "We're ready for you."
Next to me, my husband-to-be stood. Thane Quan. I hadn't even looked at his face. My Abuela had assured me that after today, I would never have to see him again so what was the point of looking at his face? It was all fine and good that he hadn't uttered a word as well or I would never get the sound out of my head.
I stood as well, my eyes firmly on the ground, staring at his well-polished shoes. I vaguely remembered Abuela saying something about how rich he was. Seemed like she had been telling the truth. He didn't look fat from the size of his torso, no pot belly either. His tan suit was pressed to perfection, his slim build impressively accentuated. Maybe he was an old man who kept fit.
Regardless, I didn't care about his money.
I only wanted the Green Card.
Being an American citizen would be the end of all my problems. At least, according to my Abuela. She was still in our little town in Mexico. Though she didn't know it yet, I was partly doing this because of her. Once I became an American citizen, I could bring her to live with me here as a dependent.
Quietly, we marched into the office. The entire ordeal was a blur actually and in a good twenty minutes, we were done.
I was officially Mrs. Quan.
Oh, God.
Shaking, I left the office, marriage certificate in hand, my cheeks hurting from how wide a smile I'd worn. I flexed my jaw, cursing. So, what now? Wham bam, thank you, ma'am? Did we just go our separate ways?
"Here, I want you to have this," my newlywed husband said, stopping in his tracks. I knew he was facing me because his shoes were pointing in my direction. His voice sounded rough, like he didn't talk much and was rusty from lack of practice. Definitely not the voice of an old man. But really, who knew?
I raised my head but only to look at his hand. He was holding out a card, a bank card. "What's that?"
"My debit card," he said, clearing his throat. "You can uh... in case you need... stuff."
Absentmindedly, I reached out and took the card, fingering the plastic. He must be really arrogant about his wealth if he didn't care that he was giving a stranger his bank card that I was sure had no limit. What if I really was a gold digger?
Come to think of it, I knew why I was doing this. But why was he?
I was about to ask when I glanced up to see that I was alone. He had left.
"Okay, then," I muttered to no one. "Goodbye, dear husband."
Does that situation sound strange? Marrying someone I'd never even seen before that day? Maybe it was... but I didn't know how strange it would get.
***
Eighteen months later...
"Lolita! I'm home!" I yelled out as I walked into the two-bedroom apartment I shared with my friend, Lola. We had lived here for the better part of a year, after meeting during one of my shifts at a restaurant I worked at months after my so-called wedding. She was only a year younger than my twenty-six years, but with her petite build, she looked much younger. Her hair was dirty blond and cropped short to her shoulders, her eyes were green like emeralds and her cheekbones stood proud on her face. With full, plump lips, she was a beauty.
People assumed we were siblings for reasons unknown to me as I'd never seen the resemblance.
Unlike her hair, mine was a sandy brown that I'd let grow for far too long that it almost got to my bum. My eyes were a dark shade of brown, my face an oval shape. My cheekbones weren't as pronounced as Lola's and my lips were thinner than hers, a pale pink color.
Lola walked into our small living room just as I plopped down on the sofa. "How was work today? Your Abuela called again. She wanted to know if you've received any word from him."
I turned my head to look at her. "Who?"
"Who else, idiota?" She said the last word in Spanish, settling down on the couch opposite me with a bowl of cereal in her hands. "Tu esposo."
For the past few months, ever since the final paperwork went through, my grandmother had been asking me relentlessly if my husband had reached out to me. Never mind that she had been the one to assure me I would never have to see him again after that dreadful day when he'd lent me his last name and his debit card and walked away.
"I don't know how else to tell her that he hasn't and I didn't expect him to. Hell, I don't even want him to. And stop calling him my husband, por favor."
She shrugged, laughing. As she'd been born in America, Lola hadn't needed to marry anyone for her Green Card. I, on the other hand, couldn't seem to forget the mysterious man from that day or the fact that I was a married woman.
I didn't know him, but for some reason I'd stayed single. I supposed I should reach out to him for a divorce or something sometime soon, but for now I was perfectly okay being single. And if I had to use him as an excuse to ward off advances from men, then so be it. I'd even bought a ring that I wore to work every day.
For what it was worth, my Abuela had been right. Coming to America and starting anew had been a good idea. It had given me a new perspective on life and helped me move on from my parent's death. While I worked on getting my papers, I'd done menial jobs to survive, one of which was where I had met Lola. I'd gotten an online degree in Business Management which helped me to get the current job I had now, as a secretary in a tech company. Nothing glamorous, but the pay was good and it catered to my needs and allowed me to save for the future. The plan was to work hard enough to bring my Abuela over here so she could live with me. Which was why I'd sent in my application for the new open position as the CEO's personal assistant.
"What time is it?" I asked, searching my handbag for my phone. "HR announced today that emails regarding the assistant role would be sent out at eight."
"Oh, it's 7:57," Lola answered. "Almost time."
"Thank God," I muttered as I found my phone and swiped it open. My heart was in my throat as I waited for the time to clock eight before opening my email.
"Give it. I'll open it for you," Lola more like commanded and against my better judgment, I handed over my phone to her.
With a serious expression, she swiped left and right, tapped about a hundred times on the screen - which I was sure was her being dramatic - before her eyes widened and she gasped.
"What?" My heart was beating through my chest. "Did I get it? Answer me, por favor, Lolita!"
Impatiently, I reached forward and snatched the device out of her hand.
'Congratulations, Mrs. Aurora Quan! You have been promoted to the role of the Personal Assistant to the CEO of Trek Tech. Please find attached your job description and you are to resume tomorrow by 9 a.m.'
For a working girl like Makenna Barnes juggling her writing career and family problems, peer pressure have always been something of a no sweat until the dreaded finally happened - her novels are starting to lose taste with the audience! So what's a daring girl to do? Gather intel and inspiration, of course. Circumstances lead her to a singles' party where she meets tall, dark, enigmatic and sexy Wolfe Wilder, who just seems to take a charm to her creative mind. Small talk with the tempting stranger becomes a passionate night, but the magic needs to be over by daylight and so she runs away, with inspiration in sight. But it seems fate is not yet done playing jokes with her as her editor introduces her to a clientele in need of a literary inspiration for his next artwork, and guess who it turns out to be? Yup. The one and only Wolfe Wider. Is this a love in the making, or are their artistic catharsis a one night stroke of luck?
In a world where werewolf packs dominate, Arya Shelby is an Omega despised by her pack and family altogether. She can't transform and she's been convinced from birth by her father that she's utterly useless. To make things worse, she gets rejected by her mate, the Alpha of her pack who accuses Arya of trying to bewitch him into marrying her. Bound for death, a twist of fate sees her escaped and she finds herself in a rogue pack, led by a man she thought was long dead. Arya has to fight against the enemies that surround her as well as confronting her demons. Now that her previous mate is back and she's torn between two Alphas who have the power to make or break her, Arya finds herself in a conundrum and the worse part is, she's not sure who to trust. Everyone wants her gone. Tyler Lockhart is the Alpha of the rogue pack. After his younger brother usurped his pack and threw him out, he left to a faraway kingdom with a promise to never return where he built another home from scratch. However, all of that calm
Looking at the divorce papers my lips curled up into a mocking smile. 'How big fool I am? How can I think that he will give a chance to this marriage? How can I forget that I was nothing more a tool in his eyes to vent his anger until his beloved Tara is back. Since, she was back, how can he let me stay there?' "After you will sign these papers, you will receive 100 million dollars as alimony." the lawyer added. Because of his words, I came back to my senses took the pen from him, and signed the name. I have also gotten exhausted from this marriage both physically and mentally. Even though I had wanted my child to be born into a complete family, I didn't want my child to have a stepmother and live miserably like me for the rest of his life. After taking the papers from my hand, the lawyer gave me the bank card, turned around, and was about to leave when he paused at the door. He then turned around and added, "Mr. Carter said that he hoped that you won't pester him, or you have to bear the consequences." The lawyer's words were like a knife stabbing in my heart, but I still nodded. Anyway, I also don't plan to have anything to do with him anymore. I just want to live a good life with my children. After the lawyer left, the ward fell into silence. I placed my hand on my belly and said to my children, "Baby, I am sorry, Mommy can't give you a complete family! But I promise you, I will do my best to give the love of both mother and father." 'As for giving one of my child, I will never do that. They are my babies and my alone. I and I will give birth to all of them and raise them no matter what.' Four Years Later... Anya came back to the country with her three kids, to inherit the company left by his grandfather...
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.
Sheila had her back against the wall when her family tried to force her to marry an awful old man. In a fit of rage, she hired a gigolo to act as her husband. She thought the gigolo needed money and did this for a living. Little did she know that he was nothing like that. One day, he pulled off his mask and revealed himself to be the world's top magnate. This marked the beginning of their love. He showered her with everything she could ever want. They were happy. However, unexpected circumstances soon posed a threat to their love. Would Sheila and her husband make it through the storm? Find out!
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?"
To the public, Arabella was Owen's trusty secretary who catered to all his needs and served as the primary blood donor of his beloved, who was in a coma. Behind closed doors, she was Owen's submissive wife. Arabella was quiet and obedient, and she endured every humiliation without a word of protest. Rumored to be a neat freak, Owen had tossed the last woman who had dared to kiss him into the river. Yet he pinned Arabella against the wall and demanded, "Give me a child, and I’ll let you go!" Arabella pushed him away and flashed him a cold smile. "You are not worthy!"
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."