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Jade never would have imagined herself caught in the merciless billionaire Alex Callahan. Their one-night meeting was supposed to be a daring getaway from her previous heartache, a brief relationship that would fade come morning. But her world spins on its axis when a turn of events leaves Jade with Alex's kid. Until he finds out she is pregnant, Alex was meant to be just another night. Trust is difficult after experiencing his own prior betrayals, particularly when he learns Jade has a connection to a former family scandal. Though she objects, hurt and mistrust drive him to withdraw himself and seek a quick divorce. Years later, sorrow biting at his conscience, Alex comes to see his faults. Resolved to win her back, he resurfaced in Jade's life, ready to mend their broken relationship and bring their kid forward together. But Jade has created a guarded, strong life of her own and she is no more ready to forgive as he attempts to undo the harm. Can they create something stronger from the ashes of treachery and retribution, or will their terrible past separate them?
Jade's POV
I ought to have turned aside. That was as straightforward as it sounds.
Laughter and conversation abound in the room as Manhattan's finest gathered under sparkling chandeliers clinking drinks. My heart thundered in my chest, every pulse serving as a reminder of the careless choice I was poised on. Having just spent a month at the firm, here I was standing outside the ballroom with a man whose jaw had sharp angles and piercing eyes that suggested menace.
Alex callahan.
Every gossip I had heard about him-calculating, brutal, feared-seemed ridiculous as he stood inches away, staring at me with an intensity that fixed me to the place. Every idea I tried to suppress appeared to be seen by those silver-blue eyes.
His voice was low, just above a whisper, dragging me in even further, "you never answered my question." Why had you left the house?
Heat raced up my neck, my mind whirled at the residual smell of his perfume. I ought to have been professional. I was expected to behave wisely and sensibly, defensively. I had a job to retain. And yet here I was, totally helpless two feet apart from him.
I managed, my voice trembling, "needed air." "Desired...space."
His lips quenched at a corner. He moved in closer, the gleam in his eyes suggesting he understood all I was not mentioning.
Me too, he said, his eyes never straying from mine. He raised his hand, waited for a beat as though allowing me to back away, then brushed a stray strand of hair off my cheek. I stopped breathing.
He remarked gently, "maybe we both needed the same thing."
I passed over an opportunity to respond. Not sure whether I could either. The heat of that moment appeared to destroy all of my resolve, boundaries, rationality, etc. And before I knew it, his lips were on mine, claiming them with a sharp, pent-up yearning that left me utterly caught in him.
His eyes darkened and a breathless smile slid over his lips as he retreated. "Come along."
Though my feet were already following him out of the ballroom, down the hall, and into the empty elevator, my heart was screaming "no." As the doors closed, locking us in, my pulse surged and he turned, his eyes never leaving mine.
My universe was permanently divided between before Alex Callahan and later at that point.
I should have been in some wonder waking up in a hotel suite that seemed taken right from a billionaire's fantasy. Rather, terror tore up my throat as the events of yesterday night returned, each second more stunning than the next.
"Get it together, Jade," I said, pulling on my night-wear from the previous evening. Still rumpled, I glanced over my shoulder to the bed where Alex had fallen asleep only a few hours ago.
Not even could I glance at him. I was not sure if he was still asleep or whether he was already staring at me with his all-knowing glance. But my eyes let me down. When I glanced at him at last, his face was calm, strangely youthful, in a way that defied the guy I had encountered yesterday night.
One night, the guy who had ripped through every barricade I had meticulously erected around me was asleep.
Breathing shakily, I tiptoed to the door, one hand grasping my shoes ready to flee before he woke up. a tidy retreat. I was in need of that. Neither "I'll call you" that both of us knew nor any uncomfortable goodbyes.
But his voice broke through the quiet as my fingers reached the door handle.
"Leaving so quickly?"
My heart stopped in its own time. I turned, the blood flowing from my face meeting his eyes. He was completely awake, those sharp eyes examining me with a serenity only to make me more embarrassed.
"Uh... I, um... I stuttered, then forced a grin, not wanting to upset you.
Alex wrinkled a brow, laughter flaring in his gaze. " disturb me?" That's a fresh one.
Though his voice was soft, his eyes were relentless, seeking as though he could see every idea flying through my thoughts. There was a part of me that wanted to grin, to seem as though this was usual, that last night did not complicate matters as they already were.
I should go, I replied, trying to keep my voice consistent. "I... this was a mistake."
He raised himself, slanted back against the headboard, the covers gathering around his waist. "Is that how you actually feel?"
"It's how I have to feel," I said, my voice more pointed than I wanted. Though anxiety was flooding me, a tidal wave I could not control, I hadn't intended to sound so icy. We both know last night meant nothing. We are really strangers.
He was not flinching, but something clouded in his eye. So is it?
Indeed, I said, attempting to swallow the knot in my throat. That is exactly what I mean.
With my heels booming against the frigid, empty corridor, each step counted down until I could lay this evening behind me. I turned and rushed out.
As the doctor said, I started to get light headed.
Pregnant?
"Yes," she said, a little smile on her lips as she handed me the exam findings. "About eight weeks."
The earth appeared to disappear underfoot. Eight weekends. My head raced back to that evening, to Alex, to the rash, careless choices I had worked so hard to ignore.
"What... what do I do now?" The query was hardly a whisper, focused more on me than on everybody else. But even as I asked, the response was beginning to shape my mind-a small, delicate hope that this may be the start of something different.
Then, though, a darker idea started to enter. Alex here. Did he not deserve to know? But I was scared thinking about informing him. I had not even given him another thought, and suddenly... this?
I stumbled out of the clinic clutching my bag as though it contained some sort of lifeline. Though my entire universe had shifted, the metropolis outside hummed on, unconcerned with my inner struggle.
My helper outside would have a few raised eyebrows from the impatient loud knock on my office door. I stayed focused on the papers strewn across my desk instead of bothering to search.
come in.
When the door opened, I anticipated a journalist, a board member, maybe even one of my rivals at last making a show. For Jade, I was not ready.
"Jade," I murmured, keeping the astonishment under control in my voice. My memory flashed unbidden thoughts of that evening. Her face was pale and strained, but those eyes still carried the fire I could not forget. She looked different than I recalled.
"Alex". Her voice was tight, little above a whisper, but her look had a steeliness I had not seen before.
Folding my hands and pointing for her to sit, I replied, "Not that I mind," then "but I didn't expect to see you here."
She continued there, staring at me, and for the first time I felt a little tremor of discomfort. She was not saying something, and it was chewing at her, generating a tension in the atmosphere I could not overlook.
Her voice faltered as though each syllable had more weight than the next, "I... I have something to tell you."
Then go on. Though I kept my face straight, I leaned forward and became interested.
"It's about that evening." Her eyes flicked away from me, and her fingers were quivering. My own pulse appeared to miss a beat.
I made myself cool under pressure. Anything it was, I would manage it.
At last, her voice was nothing more than a whisper, "I'm pregnant."
The words cut through the air like a dagger, and for a second I felt sure I hadn't heard her properly.
"Pregnant? My voice betrayed too raw, too real incredulity.
Indeed. Her eyes locked with me, and one could not misinterpret the truth in them. Shock, wrath, uncertainty collided inside me in an odd mixture of feelings. But more than that, something considerably more perilous.
An agony. One that had nothing to do with the obligations ahead, one I couldn't understand.
But time ran out to consider it. Jade straightened, the fragile lady replaced by someone stronger, her eyes narrowing to show a fire I had not seen before.
Her voice low and unbroken, "If you think I'm here to beg for anything," she added, "you're wrong." I am informing you as you are entitled to know. With it in mind.
She turned and left with that, leaving me with just questions-and the unavoidable sense that my world was about to undergo permanent transformation.
I never thought my neatly ordered existence to fall in one night. That night, the guy I only knew as Damon made me forget everything-my profession, my regulations, my values. He was intoxicating, dangerous, and completely immoral. We lost ourselves in the darkness, and before daybreak, he was gone, leaving me with nothing save a memory I pledged to forget. Months later, my business is on the point of failure, and the devil himself walks into my life again. This time, he's Damon St. Clair-tech tycoon, rich playboy, and now, the person offering a contract marriage to salvage my business. I have no alternative but to agree. But the limits between hatred and want blur rapidly. Damon isn't only the arrogant, vicious guy he pretends to be-he's the man I once loved and lost. He claims he wants to protect me. He says he wants to fix what he ruined. But when secrets unravel and betrayal resurfaces, I'm forced to reevaluate everything. He broke my heart once. Can I risk letting him do it again?
"Ahh!" She was in a moaning mess. She did not want to feel anything for this man. She hated him. His hands began to move all over her body. She gasped when he pulled down the back chain of her dress. The chain stopped at her lower waist, so when he zipped it off, her upper back and waist were exposed. "D-Don't touch m-ummm!" His fingers rolled around her bare back, and she pressed her head against the pillow. His touches were giving her goosebumps all over her body. With a deep angry voice, he whispered in her ear, "I am going to make you forget his touches, kisses, and everything. Every time you touch another man, you will only think of me." - - - Ava Adler was a nerdy omega. People bullied her because they thought she was ugly and unattractive. But Ava secretly loved the bad boy, Ian Dawson. He was the future Alpha of the Mystic Shadow Pack. However, he doesn't give a damn about rules and laws, as he only likes to play around with girls. Ava was unaware of Ian's arrogance until her fate intertwined with his. He neglected her and hurt her deeply. What would happen when Ava turned out to be a beautiful girl who could win over any boy, and Ian looked back and regretted his decisions? What if she had a secret identity that she had yet to discover? What if the tables turned and Ian begged her not to leave him?
Blinded in a crash, Cary was rejected by every socialite—except Evelina, who married him without hesitation. Three years later, he regained his sight and ended their marriage. "We’ve already lost so many years. I won’t let her waste another one on me." Evelina signed the divorce papers without a word. Everyone mocked her fall—until they discovered that the miracle doctor, jewelry mogul, stock genius, top hacker, and the President's true daughter… were all her. When Cary came crawling back, a ruthless tycoon had him kicked out. "She's my wife now. Get lost."
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.
For as long as Emily can remember, she has wanted to overcome her shyness and explore her sexuality. Still, everything changes when she receives an invitation to visit one of the town's most prestigious BDSM clubs, DESIRE'S DEN. On the day she chose to peruse the club, she noticed three men, all dressed in suits, standing on the upper level, near the railing. Despite her limited vision, she persisted in fixating on them. Their towering statues belied the toned bodies concealed by their sharply tailored suits-or so she could tell. The hair of two of them was short and dark, and the third had light brown-possibly blond-hair that reached the shoulders. The dark, crimson background incised their figures, exuding an air of mystery and strength. They stood in stark contrast to the unfiltered, primal energy that pulsed through the club. Shocked by the desires these men aroused in her, she was disappointed to learn that they were masters seeking a slave to divide and conquer. She couldn't afford the fee, and she also realized that they were outside her league. Emily hurriedly left the club, feeling disappointed and depressed, unaware that she had also caught the group's attention. A world of wicked pleasure, three handsome men. Over the years, they have lived a life of decadence, their lavish lair serving as a stage for their most sinister desires. But despite the unending parade of willing subjects, one woman sticks out. A mysterious stranger with white porcelain skin and a killer body, a slave, a name with no address, the first lady to attract their eye and they will go to any length to obtain her no matter the consequences.
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."
As a simple assistant, messaging the CEO in the dead of night to request shares of adult films was a bold move. Bethany, unsurprisingly, didn't receive any films. However, the CEO responded that, while he had no films to share, he could offer a live demonstration. After a night filled with passion, Bethany was certain she'd lose her job. But instead, her boss proposed, "Marry me. Please consider it." "Mr. Bates, you're kidding me, right?"