"You have to be my wife in every way possible until a child is sired" he said. "do you agree to those terms?" she thought long and hard before letting out the words. "yes, I do" what she had done would seal her fate forever. What happens when a desperate to survive Alina meets her boss and is offered a choice,Signing over her soul to him or letting her mother die? Will the contract marriage be more than she bargained for?or will it end at the first sign of trouble? Or will a big secret give her a way out?
As she stared up at the blazing hot sky, she wondered what her life was going to look like. The clouds floated around happily in humor to her predicament. Being fired from the only place she had worked so hard to get into after graduation was quite a comic story indeed.
As she crossed the pathway leading up to her rundown apartment close by, a few blocks away from the building that had held all her dashed hopes and dreams, her heel got stuck in the broken cemented sidewalk. Thrusting out with all her might, the heel of her favorite suede stiletto broke. She stumbled backwards and landed on her butt, grazing her hands onto the ground. It hurt. She knew that right at this moment, the universe was mocking her.
Working endlessly and tirelessly for years, only to come out with the best degree and getting admitted into the workplace she had applied for, seemed so far away now. She looked down at her stubbed heel and wept for her bleak life.
"What's a beautiful girl like you doing on her ass on the sidewalk?"
Her head whipped around so fast she was afraid her neck would snap. She raised her head up to look at the stranger who had his hand outstretched with a huge smile on his face.
"Am sorry, who are you?" she spoke before her body could register what she had said.
The said man was gorgeous, with chestnut brown hair and blue eyes; he looked so handsome it took her breath away.
"Why don't I help you up?" he offered, gesturing to his outstretched hand.
She nodded because words had seemed to fail her. "Yes, thank you," she stammered.
He pulled her up; stumbling due to her wobbly legs, she collided with his chest. "Sorry," she said abruptly, straightening up.
"Can I buy you a cup of coffee?" he asked politely.
Nodding, her lips widened in a shy smile as she felt her cheeks redden.
"There's a great coffee shop just two blocks away if we can just make it," he took the lead.
Being careful not to lose him, she walked as fast as her legs could carry her to match his long strides. She noticed that he slowed down a few times to give her time to catch up, which was very thoughtful of him.
"Come on in," he said, ushering her in through the double glass doors that held the coffee sign.
The place had an aesthetically pleasing mahogany feel to it. There wasn't much of a crowd for the lunch hour, but it wasn't completely empty. There were customers scattered around the shop, chatting away and sipping away at their coffees, worry-free.
She let out a defeated sigh.
"What's wrong? Don't you like coffee?" he asked.
She shook her head vehemently. "No, no, I do. I was just... thinking about something else," she reassured him.
He nodded and walked over to the counter to place their orders. Busing herself, she picked a table at the far end of the coffee place and slid into the curved seats overlooking the floor-to-ceiling windows.
She watched as the people breezed by, some tired, some happy, but most of all she noticed the satisfied looks they all had as they passed by, probably on their way back to work.
Clearing his throat, she jerked back away from her internal musings.
"Are you alright?" he asked. Concern etched on the creases at the base of his forehead.
She gave him a wan smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Yes, I'm fine. Just work," she summarized.
She didn't need to bore a total stranger she had just met with her life problems when she was a total mess. She just had to relax and savor this moment.
"Sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Michael. Michael Wheeler," he said, giving her his outstretched hand once again, this time for a handshake, and she obliged.
"My name is Alina. Alina Sanders," she replied.
He nodded, taking the information in, a wistful smile etched onto his lips.
"That's a really nice name," he added.
She felt her cheek go pink. "Thank you. But thank my parents. They're the ones who gave me the name."
He chuckled at her awkward attempt to lighten the mood, feeling his laughter was contagious, she followed suit.
They were so wrapped up in the invisible bubble that they didn't fully notice when the waiter placed their drinks in front of them.
She stared at the leaf design of the sweetened coffee. She wasn't a fan of sweetened coffee.
"Am sorry I went ahead to order your coffee. I figured you would prefer to drink yours sweetened," he explained, as he watched her stare at her coffee, her expression unreadable.
Her eyebrow arched upwards.
"And what gave you that idea?" she asked, a little annoyed now.
"That's the impression you gave off. I might be wrong though," he interjected, raising his hands up in surrender.
"That's much better," satisfied with his answer, she returned to the cup of coffee staring back at her, she stirred before finally taking a big gulp.
"So, about your parents, what should I know about them?" he asked.
She raised her head up from her cup of coffee to collide with his amused gaze smiling back at her. She looked at him over the rim of her coffee and wondered why he was interested in knowing about her parents. What kind of stranger gets into such details? she wondered, and suddenly felt unsafe. Secluded in the corner with him, in a room full of people, was supposed to reassure her, but she felt goosebumps crawl up her skin.
Who was this stranger? And what the heck was she doing with him? The questions kept bugging her. She eyed him skeptically as he sipped his coffee, waiting for her response.
"Am sorry, but as nice as you are, I don't feel comfortable telling you about such details of my life," she responded, almost apologetically.
He chuckled. Settling back in his seat, he leaned back and looked at her for a while.
"Look, like I said, I'm Michael Wheeler. Doesn't that seem to ring a bell for you?" he spoke.
Shaking her head vehemently in confusion, she tried to grasp where this conversation was going until...
"Wheeler of Wheeler Enterprises?" she asked hesitantly.
He blinked in confirmation.
She gasped as she suddenly realized who and where he was. He was her boss.
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!
Eliana was framed by her best friend and her fiance into sleeping with a boy toy in the club and getting impregnated by him. Five years after she had given birth to twins, she returned home and worked under the Moran Group, where she met the CEO-- Maurice. Maurice was a brilliant businessman who did his job well. But in order to stay under the radar, he lived a double life. One as Maurice, and one as Preston. Fate brought the two together again, roping them in on an exciting love story. It all became more complicated when Eliana faced Preston, the man she had slept with before, once again. Now that she was being pursued by two men, how could she ever choose? When would Eliana uncover the secret of Maurice's identity? When was Maurice going to know that he already had two children of his own? How would Eliana face this man when the truth came to light one day? Come and find out.
Loraine was a dutiful wife to Marco since they got married three years ago. However, he treated her like trash. Nothing she did softened his heart. One day, Loraine got fed up with it all. She asked him for a divorce and left him to enjoy with his mistress. The elites looked at her like she was deranged. "Are you out of your mind? Why are you so willing to divorce him?" "It's because I need to return home to get a billion-dollar fortune. Besides, I don't love him anymore," Loraine replied with a smile. They all laughed at her. Some believed that the divorce affected her mentally. It wasn't until the next day that they realized she wasn't fibbing. A woman was suddenly declared the world's youngest female billionaire. It turned out to be Loraine! Marco was shocked to the bone. When he met his ex-wife again, she was a changed person. A group of handsome young men surrounded her. She was smiling at them all. The sight made Marco's heart ache severely. Putting his pride aside, he tried to win her back. "Hello, love. I see that you are a billionaire now. You shouldn't be with suckers who just want your money. How about you come back to me? I'm a billionaire too. Together, we can build a strong empire. What do you say?" Loraine squinted at her ex-husband with her lips curled in disgust.
“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?”
On her wedding night, Natalie's stepmother set her up to marry Jarvis, a disfigured and disabled man. Fortunately, she managed to escape, but little did she know that later she would fall for the man she was betrothed to.Jarvis pretended to be a poor man, but he didn't think that he'd fall head over heels for this woman.Their life went on until one day, Natalie found out her boyfriend's little secret."Huh? How could you have billions of dollars' worth of assets?" she asked in disbelief.Jarvis didn’t know how to respond.Being met with silence, she gritted her teeth angrily. "They said that you couldn't walk, but as far as I can see, you're strong enough to run a marathon."Still, he remained silent.Natalie continued, "They even said that you only have a few years to live. What about now?"Finally, Jarvis opened his mouth to explain. "Honey, this is all just a misunderstanding. Please calm down. Think about the baby.""Jarvis Braxton!"The man knelt down immediately.
Leah Orbert is trapped in a loveless marriage with an arrogant, indifferent man who never touched her in the year they were together. Devoid of intimacy and happiness, her life was marked by hardship and sorrow. Her husband, eager to divorce her, orchestrated a cruel plan that left her devastated. She was drugged and ended up in another man's bed, providing her husband the excuse to accuse her of infidelity and divorce her swiftly. Leah found herself destitute, alone, and begging on the streets. Just weeks later, she discovered she was pregnant by the stranger. Despairing and wishing for death, she struggled to survive, hoping for a miracle. Richard Leo, a billionaire, had a fleeting encounter with Leah during a drunken night, unaware of her identity but haunted by her memory. Seven years later, he encounters twin boys bearing a striking resemblance to him, complete with his family's birthmark. Determined to find their mother, he exclaims, "Take me to your mother, this instant!" Join me as we unravel Leah's journey from misfortune to redemption, and witness the unfolding drama and romance.