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"You're marrying well, Vera. Ivan's family is influential. Don't embarrass us." - Vera's Mother "But Mother, I don't love him. I don't even know him!" - Vera "Love is a luxury we can't afford. Your duty is to secure our family's future." - Vera's Mother But fate had other plans. "Who are you?" Vera whispered, her voice trembling as a stranger's hands explored her body. "I'm the one who'll change your life forever," he replied, his eyes burning with desire. Little did Vera know, that stranger was Ivan, her future husband. Vera is a young, beautiful and talented girl. Raised by her family she grew to be hardworking and loved by everyone around her. Bored with a kind heart, she treat her Olivia with love despite all the hate she receives from her. Seen as a tool to climb the social ladder, her parents decided to arrange a marriage between her and a young master, Ivan, without her wishes. Luck seemed to deviate from her as she loses her virginity to a stranger a night before her in-laws come to get her. Only to discover later, that her husband was the same man who took away her virginity. Will she be accepted by Ivan? Will she succeed in winning over his heart? This novel embraces the struggles, Vera will encounter, the way she handles and goes through each situation with the blooming romance between her and Ivan.
Vera was woken by the sound of the birds and was dumbstruck at the sight she saw. It seems like she was not the only one awake. Ivan seemed to be awake for long with a lit cigarette in his hand as he stood facing the floor-to-ceiling window.
"You're awake," he puffed smoke from his mouth and through his nostrils. He was shirtless and his belt was loosen around his waist.
"What..... What did you do to me?" Vera questioned as she quickly wrapped the blanket over her body aghast.
"What did I do to you?" Ivan laughed nonchalantly as though he had just heard a joke. He smashed the cigarette to ashes before walking to her. She quickly tightened her grip on the blanket and he unconsciously smirked by her actions. He stared into her eyes for a while before leaning towards her for a kiss but was pushed away by her.
"What's wrong? Is this not what you wanted? Why are you pushing me away?" He asked as he caressed her cheeks.
"Stop it, please. She pushed his hand off her. You have already ruin my life, what else do you still want?" Tears flowed down her cheeks like water in a waterfall as the words left her mouth but Ivan just kept staring at her indifferently.
"Here, sign it." He lit a cigarette and puffed out smoke as he threw the document to her face.
"What...... What is this?"
"A marriage contract!"
"What?"
"I do not have all day to spend with you as I have much more important things to attend to, so don't waste my time any further and sign over there," he gestured, using his fingers to show her the blank space with a subscript 'signature' beneath it.
"I'm not signing it," she contradicted as she threw the document to the other side of the bed.
"How dare you!" He held her shoulders tightly which made Vera daunted by his deadly glare.
"What do you take me for? Do you think I am a fool? You were the one who offered yourself to me last night and now I want to take responsibility for what I have done, you are refusing?" He questioned her with authority in his tone as he pushed her forcibly.
"Ah," she winced out of pain when she hit her head on the edge of the bed.
"I.... I do not agree to marry you. No matter...."
"Are you trying to ruin my reputation?" Vera was interrupted by Ivan's direct question. He glared at her angrily and if glares could kill, then Vera might have been dead by the glare Ivan is giving to her.
"Ruin your reputation? What a joke!" Vera contradicted. "I don't care who or whatever you are but all I know is that you are the one who have ruined my reputation," Vera yelled at him, not minding his dreadful glare.
'Huff,' he puffed out smoke as the temperature in the room fell low and there was a brief silent which filled the room.
"Whatever happened last night was all because of you. You came to me and freely offered yourself without me forcing you. So, why are you now blaming me for your own mess?" Ivan said candidly and his tone was soft and comforting as though he was comforting a baby whose candy was taken away from him.
"Here," he placed a pen besides her. "Take the pen besides you and sign the contract right now. As long as you do it, I promise to bear responsibility for my actions and take good care of you." Ivan said as he lit another stick of cigarette.
Not minding her appearance, Vera stood up and quickly dressed in front of him.
"Take responsibility?" She questioned rhetorically. "You may have ruined me but I will never let you ruin my future. No matter what happened between us last night, I think you should keep your kind offer to yourself because I will never in my life agree to marry a pervert like you." She said nonchalantly as she stamped the marriage contract to his face and left the room immediately without giving him a chance to respond, leaving him completely stunned.
As soon as Vera left the Emperor's Golden Hotel, she booked a cab back to the apartment she lives in but was stopped halfway by her father's men who he instructed to search for her. It seems like they were finally able to track her location. An hour later and Vera was brought back to the Carter's Mansion by her father's men.
Bang! Vera was welcomed by a hard and loud slap as soon as she stepped into the parlour by her mom.
"Mom, I......"
"Shut up! So, you have finally realized that you have a mother right," Mrs. Carter questioned mockingly.
"No mom, I...."
"You...." She raised her hand to hit Vera again but was stopped midway in the air by Mr. Carter.
"Who gave you the right to raise your hand to her?" Mr. Carter asked.
"Me? No, no. I was only welcoming our Vera back. Come in dear," she put on a fake smile as she led Vera to the center of the parlour where her dad was sitting on the single armed sofa with his leg crossed together.
"For this time being, Vera will have to be treated as fragile as an egg to avoid any scares. Who knows, her in-laws may refuse to accept her even if they notice a single scratch on her," he said indifferently not minding what had happened.
"Why do you hate me so much?" Amara asked, her voice shaking. "I've never done anything to you." Where power, passion, and painful memories collide, Amara Denz never imagined the same man who made her life a living hell at Lyons College would be her ruthless, charismatic boss. Now CEO of a thriving tech empire, CEO Leo reigns with cool efficiency-but beneath his shining exterior blazes an undeniable, forbidden desire for the very woman he once tormented. Amara Denz is desperate. Desperate to find employment to pay for the mounting bills, desperate to bury the pain of her abused past, and desperate to preserve her shattered pride in a company where every glance from Leo sends unspoken tension her way. Torn between old wounds and an incendiary attraction that she cannot deny or manage, Amara must navigate a landscape of office politics and personal demons. "Work hard, be loyal, and maybe you'll earn my respect," Leo declares with a provocative smile during their first meeting. But as the day unfolds, every accidental brush, every lingering look, transforms the mundane into a battlefield of raw emotion and sensual challenge. Set against the high-stakes halls of Baze, this scorching dual-perspective story of redemption and revenge tracks two individuals whose entwined destinies compel them to confront a past defined by brutality-and a present filled with desire. Can Leo demonstrate that he's reformed, or will the wounds of their past continue to keep them apart? And will Amara's need to transcend her past enable her to gamble everything on a second chance at love?
"Is this your idea of a blind date, Ms. Alejandro? Crashing your boss's table with that fiery temper of yours?" Luciana froze, her cheeks flushed as she stared at the one man she swore to avoid: Finlay Maverick, her enigmatic and infuriating CEO. Single mother Luciana Alejandro's move from Mexico City to Dublin was supposed to be a fresh start-a chance to provide her young son a better life. Struggling to rebuild her life after years of disappointment, she lands a job at Maverick's Corp, thanks to her best friend, Maddison. But life takes a chaotic turn when a blind date gone wrong entangles her in the orbit of the magnetic yet aloof billionaire, Finlay Maverick. Known for his icy demeanor and aversion to commitment, Finlay finds his world turned upside down when Luciana's fiery wit and quiet resilience ignite a passion he can't ignore. But Luciana has secrets-secrets that could shatter the fragile connection growing between them. As Finlay battles his own fears of love and fatherhood, Luciana must confront the betrayals of her past, the meddling schemes of jealous friends, and the resurfacing of the man who abandoned her and her child. When scandal erupts, threatening to destroy everything they've built, will their love be strong enough to weather the storm?
"Guy why you dey look me like that?" His voice was steady, but the flicker of confusion and heat in his eyes made my chest tighten. "I'm not," I lied, though my gaze refused to move from the water sliding down his neck, tracing the hard lines of his chest before disappearing beneath the towel. " Huh! Really?" he asked, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Because you're looking at me like I'm some kind of forbidden fruit." I swallowed hard, cursing the way my breath hitched. He wasn't wrong. Something about him-his presence, his confidence, the way he stood there dripping wet like he didn't have a care in the world-had me unraveling. "You're the one standing half-naked," I shot back, though the words lacked bite. "What do you expect?" He laughed, the sound deep and rich, like the rumble of a storm. "I didn't expect you to be so easy to distract." "Distract? I'm not distracted." My words came out too quick, too defensive. He stepped closer, his damp hair falling across his forehead, and for a moment, the space between us felt electric. "Then wati dey make you dey blush?" I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Because he was right-I was blushing, my pulse racing, my thoughts a mess. And then, just as suddenly as he'd appeared, he was gone, leaving nothing but the memory of his smirk and the ache in my chest that told me this wasn't over. --- Can you survive the pull of gravity when it's not just the black hole that's consuming you-but him? Dive into ETHEREAL BLUE, a tale of cursed ghosts, forbidden connections, and the kind of chemistry that stops time itself.
"I'm going to tell you what I have in mind," he murmured. "First you're going to strip down until you're completely naked," he whispered against her ear. "Then I'm going to tie you up so you're completely powerless and subject to my every whim." "Mmm, sounds good so far," she murmured. "Then I'm going to insert a plug to prepare you for me. After that I'm going to spank that sweet ass of yours until it's rosy with my marks." She shivered uncontrollably, her mind exploding with the images he evoked. She let out a small whimper as he sucked the lobe of her ear into his mouth. God, she could cum with just his words. She was already aching with need. Her nipples tingled and hardened to painful points. Her clit pulsed and twitched between her legs until she clamped her thighs together to alleviate the burn. "And then I'm going to f**k your mouth. But I won't cum. Not yet. When I'm close, I'll flog you again until your ass is burning and you're on fire with the need for relief. And then I'm going to f**k that ass. I'm going to take you hard and rough, to the very limits of what you can withstand. I won't be gentle. Not tonight. I'm going to take you as roughly as you can stand. And then I'm going to cum all over your ass. Are you ready to be completely and utterly dominated?"
Rosalynn's marriage to Brian wasn't what she envisioned it to be. Her husband, Brian, barely came home. He avoided her like a plague. Worse still, he was always in the news for dating numerous celebrities. Rosalynn persevered until she couldn't take it anymore. She upped and left after filing for a divorce. Everything changed days later. Brian took interest in a designer that worked for his company anonymously. From her profile, he could tell that she was brilliant and dazzling. He pulled the stops to find out her true identity. Little did he know that he was going to receive the greatest shocker of his life. Brian bit his finger with regret when he recalled his past actions and the woman he foolishly let go.
Melanie married Ashton out of gratitude, but she quickly found herself entangled in a web of relentless challenges. Despite these struggles, she stayed true to her commitment to the marriage. In the hospital room, Ashton indifferently attempted to draw her blood, disregarding her discomfort. This callous act was a harsh revelation for Melanie, awakening her to the grim reality of their relationship. Resolved to prioritize her own welfare, she decided to sever ties. With newfound resolve, Melanie filed for divorce. In the process, she unveiled her concealed identities, leaving everyone in shock. Throughout these turbulent times, Melanie realized that Derek, Ashton’s uncle, had been discreetly protecting her all along.
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?"
The whispers said that out of bitter jealousy, Hadley shoved Eric's beloved down the stairs, robbing the unborn child of life. To avenge, Eric forced Hadley abroad and completely cut her off. Years later, she reemerged, and they felt like strangers. When they met again, she was the nightclub's star, with men ready to pay fortunes just to glimpse her elusive performance. Unable to contain himself, Eric blocked her path, asking, "Is this truly how you earn a living now? Why not come back to me?" Hadley's lips curved faintly. "If you’re eager to see me, you’d better join the queue, darling."
"Love is blind!" Lucinda abandoned her beautiful and comfortable life because of a man. She married him and slaved off for him for three long years. One day, the scales finally fell off her eyes. She realized that all her efforts were in vain. Her husband, Nathaniel still treated her like shit. All he cared about was his lover. "Enough is enough! I quit wasting my years with an ungrateful man!" Lucinda's heart was shattered into many pieces, but she summoned up the courage to ask for a divorce. The news caused a stir online! A filthy rich young woman recently got divorced? She was a good catch! Countless CEOs and handsome young men immediately swarmed to her like bees to honey! Nathaniel couldn't take it anymore. He held a press conference and begged with teary eyes, "I love you, Lucinda. I can't live without you. Please come back to me." Would Lucinda give him a second chance? Read to find out!