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Blurb Brent Kenilworth; a young and handsome man from the wealthiest family in Los Altos Hills, California is pushed to the edge by his parents to pick a bride before his thirty-fifth birthday or lose all he had hoped to inherit. Since losing the love of his life in cold-blooded murder, Brent has no time for love. Can he successfully pull strings that would end in a relationship? Amanda Brighton is searching for a man who has the financial wherewithal to clear her family's age-long debts and take care of her ailing mother. Beneath her, is a large world of her family's dark past, hunting her down. Can she be a perfect fit for Brent's wish? Can two people be together in a contractual union without falling in love? How long can they hold up the act of pretending to want to be married? And when the light is cast on her darkest secrets, would they still stand a chance to be together?
Timeless Lounge,
3:am
The night air filled Brent's lungs and he found himself shivering underneath his heavy clothing. He was standing under the tree shade close to the lounge, puffing on a cigarette. Every smoke inhaled sent warmth to his chest but not to his heart. As he stood, scanning the streets that seemed as cold and dead still as a mortuary, save for the sound of music blasting into the night from the stuffy lounge; he noticed a small figure at a distance walking up in his direction.
From the Shadow, he could tell it was a lady. She had taken the bend that would bring her straight to the lounge. She looked damn too hot for a night hawker. Her curves stood out beneath her sweatshirts and leather pants. Her blonde hair glowed in resonance with the moonlight. She was such a beauty. She walked up to him and muttered a greeting and walked past her into the lounge. Brent held her wrist slightly to draw her attention
"Hey" Brent called out with the most awkward voice, whisked away by the cold he felt.
"Hey, have we met"?
The look in her eyes as she spoke sent shock waves and amusement to his spine. He could not let this one go. She would be good company for the night.
"Nope. I am sorry, I am Brent. Are you here with anyone"?
He lets her hand go believing he has gained her attention.
She smiled with a leer and looked up at him.
"How many hours of my cookies would you like to have"?
Her question caused Brent to choke on the smoke he had just inhaled and he coughed out loudly while trying to hold down laughter. She was something beyond description.
"Why are you choking? Am I wrong to assume you are already booked in a hotel nearby and you just came out to find some company"?
"How can you possibly know that"?
"Why else would your eyes follow me the distance it did, obviously mentally undressing me, running your hands over me, and moaning from the pleasure in your head? Or, am I wrong"?
"Okay, you are phenomenal. Not that I did not think about all these in the short time it took you to walk up to me but I am just shocked about how vocal you are about your thoughts".
Her face appeared expressionless. She just looked at him with a daring gaze.
"Do you want to spend the night with me"? Brent asked with a faint smile.
"Does it even occur to You that my initial question is still unanswered? For how many hours would you like to have my cookies"?
"For as long as you want me in there " he replied with a look of confidence.
"You're sure you wanna do this"?
"I dare say yes! He pulled her into his arms and kissed her without a care. His tongue stretched into all the corners of her mouth. She tasted minty and her breath filled his nostrils. She smelled too good. Her soft mush lips filled his and his heartbeat with a longing for more.
Her heartbeat rose faster than normal. This was not the first man she ever kissed but something felt different about this mysterious man. She moved her hands down his legs and felt the huge bulge between his legs. He quickly placed his hands on hers, stopping her from going any further.
"Easy___easy darling". He hesitantly pulled away from her lips.
"I am hiring you for tonight and every other night I feel up to it".
"Is that a way of telling me I have just won your heart"?
" Not my heart, my manhood".
"Hmm , interesting".
"Is there any other business tying you to this lounge tonight? Or should we move on?".
She did have other businesses to clean up. He was not the reason she came to the lounge but he was about to become the only reason she would not regret this night.
She looked on into the large room filled with different species of humans, twirling away in their drunken state to the blaring music.
There among these humans sat a monster, waiting for her to walk in through the door to devour her and divide her amongst other monsters.
But here was a lesser monster, a more humanistic being she could spend the night with and have a breath of fresh air. It was risky to let go of that meeting with the Wolf but for this gentleman, it was a worthy risk to take.
"Are you game, Miss..."
"Amanda", she stated.
"Oh, 'Amanda'. Not bad for such a corky lady". He smiled at his own words. She smiled back and nodded towards the direction where cars were parked.
"Which one is your ride"? She asked matter-of-factly.
Brent put out the cigarette and squashed it with his feet then walked on towards his car. Amanda followed him, walking briskly still mentally struggling with who to be with.
"This is my car". He stopped by a ford Mustang GT 500, version 2022. Amanda quickly swallowed a lump of saliva. From his looks and his car and the confidence she spotted, she could tell his pockets were large.
"Nice ride" she casually muttered while she brushed her hands across the bonnet slightly as she walked around to the passenger's side still wearing her glazed look.
"Nice ride? Brent asked with a quizzical look and a smile. "You are quite a phenomenon that I am about to unbox". He got into the car, started the ignition, and drove away into the dead silent roads, chatting away with his newly found price.
Back in the street, right in front of the lounge, a corky man stood, dressed in black glowering over the pair that just drove off. He had a wolfish look and was truly ready to devour.
He spat on the floor angrily and muttered curses under his breath.
"I will hunt you down, bitch"!
With that, he walked back into the lounge.
You are my wife only on paper. There is nothing between us, and you will never have my heart. I belong to someone else, and you know that." Daniel made it clear to Savannah that their marriage was nothing more than an arrangement. Daniel was forced to marry Savannah by his father, even though he loved someone else and had dreams of marrying her. But his opinion didn't matter. Now, he is determined to do everything he can to push Savannah away and make her leave on her own. However, Savannah stands her ground. "I'm your wife now," she says, "and I'm not going anywhere." Determined to get rid of her, Daniel vows to make her life miserable. But Savannah is equally determined to stay. Will Daniel succeed in driving Savannah away, or will Savannah's resilience break through the walls around his heart?
... "Find me a man?" I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper as If trying to clarify if I had indeed heard what I just thought I did. "Yes, I've got a man for you and the arrangements has been finalized" "He's coming for dinner in two weeks time,I'm sure you'll like him once you meet" Great, I'm meeting my husband in two weeks. Saddled with the choice of marriage or an exposure of damning secrets, Brielle and Kyle decide to choose an unhappy life together. To Kyle, it is a decision to keep his mother's secret safe while to Brielle, she is repaying her parents for their kindness. The real question is, how long can these two hate birds survive a day with each other? Will the secrets Kyle hoped to bury remain hidden forever?
In order to fulfill her grandfather's last wish, Stella entered into a hasty marriage with an ordinary man she had never met before. However, even after becoming husband and wife on paper, they each led separate lives, barely crossing paths. A year later, Stella returned to Seamarsh City, hoping to finally meet her mysterious husband. To her astonishment, he sent her a text message, unexpectedly pleading for a divorce without ever having met her in person. Gritting her teeth, Stella replied, "So be it. Let’s get a divorce!" Following that, Stella made a bold move and joined the Prosperity Group, where she became a public relations officer that worked directly for the company’s CEO, Matthew. The handsome and enigmatic CEO was already bound in matrimony, and was known to be unwaveringly devoted to his wife in private. Unbeknownst to Stella, her mysterious husband was actually her boss, in his alternate identity! Determined to focus on her career, Stella deliberately kept her distance from the CEO, although she couldn't help but notice his deliberate attempts to get close to her. As time went on, her elusive husband had a change of heart. He suddenly refused to proceed with the divorce. When would his alternate identity be uncovered? Amidst a tumultuous blend of deception and profound love, what destiny awaited them?
Janice, the long-forgotten legitimate heiress, made her way back to her family, pouring her heart into winning their hearts. Yet, she had to relinquish her very identity, her academic credentials, and her creative works to her foster sister. In return for her sacrifices, she found no warmth, only deeper neglect. Resolute, Janice vowed to cut off all emotional bonds. Transformed, she now stood as a master of martial arts, adept in eight languages, an esteemed medical expert, and a celebrated designer. With newfound resolve, she declared, "From this day forward, no one in this family shall cross me."
Madisyn was stunned to discover that she was not her parents' biological child. Due to the real daughter's scheming, she was kicked out and became a laughingstock. Thought to be born to peasants, Madisyn was shocked to find that her real father was the richest man in the city, and her brothers were renowned figures in their respective fields. They showered her with love, only to learn that Madisyn had a thriving business of her own. "Stop pestering me!" said her ex-boyfriend. "My heart only belongs to Jenna." "How dare you think that my woman has feelings for you?" claimed a mysterious bigwig.
Corinne devoted three years of her life to her boyfriend, only for it to all go to waste. He saw her as nothing more than a country bumpkin and left her at the altar to be with his true love. After getting jilted, Corinne reclaimed her identity as the granddaughter of the town’s richest man, inherited a billion-dollar fortune, and ultimately rose to the top. But her success attracted the envy of others, and people constantly tried to bring her down. As she dealt with these troublemakers one by one, Mr. Hopkins, notorious for his ruthlessness, stood by and cheered her on. “Way to go, honey!”
After two years of marriage, Sadie was finally pregnant. Filled with hope and joy, she was blindsided when Noah asked for a divorce. During a failed attempt on her life, Sadie found herself lying in a pool of blood, desperately calling Noah to ask him to save her and the baby. But her calls went unanswered. Shattered by his betrayal, she left the country. Time passed, and Sadie was about to be wed for a second time. Noah appeared in a frenzy and fell to his knees. "How dare you marry someone else after bearing my child?"
To the public, she was the CEO's executive secretary. Behind closed doors, she was the wife he never officially acknowledged. Jenessa was elated when she learned that she was pregnant. But that joy was replaced with dread as her husband, Ryan, showered his affections on his first love. With a heavy heart, she chose to set him free and leave. When they met again, Ryan's attention was caught by Jenessa's protruding belly. "Whose child are you carrying?!" he demanded. But she only scoffed. "It's none of your business, my dear ex-husband!"