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"Let go of me, Derek! You let go of me five years ago, why do you want me now? She asked with anger blazingly in her eyes as she stared at the man she first dedicated her life to." I realised that I can't live without you," he answered, staring into her sea-blue eyes." "Well, guess what? I will live without you." After working her a*s for five years to build her husband's company. She comes home one day to discover that her husband has filed for a divorce and is getting married to her best friend who was pregnant with him. She packed her things and signed the divorce papers, ready to start a life of her own. Only to find out that she was pregnant. She decides to leave the city with her child after meeting Andrew, a billionaire who offers to help her. She comes back five years later as the CEO of the company her ex-husband is holding on to pay the debt of his company. What happens when Derek comes back begging her to come back? What happens when Andrew starts falling head over heels in love with her? Will she leave Andrew for Derek or vice versa.
Ava POV
Whoever said being the CEO of a company has the best experience is a great liar. I mean I am just handling
My husband's second company and I were already stressed out.
Sometimes I wonder how my husband coped. He had managed to handle two companies with each one having a revenue of hundreds of dollars every year and here I was trying to handle just one and was already burnt out.
Although it was a stressful life, I enjoyed it a lot. Especially travelling, I just concluded a business deal in California. I am flying back to London to meet my lovely husband and maybe spend time with Annabel, my best friend.
Immediately after the plane landed at the airport my husband's driver came to pick me up. I noticed a change in his usual demeanour but decided to brush it off maybe he was having a bad day at work
"We arrived safely at Derek's mansion. My face with a smile at the thought of seeing him after staying away for a week. Gosh, I missed him a lot.
Bailey, one of our housemaids rushed towards me to carry a bag. I stared at the mansion feeling amiss.
Something was wrong. The atmosphere did not just feel right. I could hear classical music in the background. What was happening? I never knew we were holding a party.
I walked Into the mansion to be welcomed by the party. Most of the people were business associates and other family friends.
"May we welcome the beautiful newly engaged couple Mr Derek Lockwood and Mrs Annabel Shepherd" The announcer said.
Everyone around began to clap, their faces beaming with smiles. My father-in-law stood at the front clapping with the crowd, smiling with pride.
My heart sank into my stomach, and a surge of unnamed emotions filled me. What was happening? How the hell was my husband getting engaged with my childhood best friend?
"They look so happy" A woman at my front said she had an ecstatic smile on her face. She was Mrs. Salvator her multi-million-dollar jewellery business.
"Yes, I particularly hated his former wife. She was the true definition of a gold digger," her twenty-year-old daughter replied
Like a mother, like a daughter. I muttered.
This can't be happening. I needed to stop whatever they were planning on doing. I loved my husband and he knew it, even Annabel knew about the immeasurable love I had for my husband.
"Excuse me" I mumbled to the guest as I made my way to the front where Derek was holding Ann, staring at her passionately. He leaned closer to Ann, staring at her lips that were beaming with a smile.
I stood for a while, losing all the motivation I had felt earlier on. My heart shattered into tiny little pieces. When did this happen, when did they get attracted to each other I never noticed.
"Derek!!" I screamed, stopping his lips from touching hers.
"What the hell is happening here?" I asked direct questions. Staring at his blue arctic eyes.
His eyes softened for a moment as he looked at me before turning into a stoic face.
"What does it look like Ava? We are engaged" he replied and wrapped his arms still wrapped around Annabel's waist. He had a dark smirk on his face.
"How on earth are you and Annabel getting engaged? I am your wife, remember?" I said the last part slowly with a pleading voice. I loved him too much to imagine a life without him.
He furrowed his brow a while before he shouted "Dave!"
Dave, his PA ran towards him, his eyes laced with fear.
"Did you not deliver the divorce papers?" He asked
Divorce papers? He had already filed for a divorce?
God this was too much to bear. Tears flowed freely down my cheeks. He had filed a divorce while I was away working my ass for his company.
"No Sir. I am sorry sir" he pleaded, keeping his eyes away from mine.
Derek hissed in anger as he muttered curse words the veins on his forehead throbbing depicting his level of anger.
He stared at Dave angrily. I am sure if looks could kill Dave would have been dead by now. What did I do to merit this kind of hatred?
"Get lost!" he shouted. Dave nodded immediately and turned his back to go
"No go and get the papers let her sign. Is time to let go of this barren creature" Annabel said in a highly fake girly voice.
I opened my mouth in shock, too lost to say a word. I could not believe my eyes. My best friend of twelve years was standing before me calling me barren.
"Annabel? You called me barren?"I asked in utter disbelief.
She tilted her head to my side, her honey-brown eyes laced with hate.
"What do we call someone unable to give birth for the past five years in marriage?" she asked as she sneered at me.
"Barren!" Her sister and Derek's mother chorused.
I closed my eyes for a while, wishing that everything was a dream and I would wake up to my perfect life one month ago. Their reaction did not surprise me a bit. Derek's mother always had them. To her, I was just a low-life girl who wanted to eat her son's money and she had not spared a chance to make me know that she hated me.
What hurt me was not even what they were saying, it was the fact that Derek just stood there watching them insult me and say nothing.
"Derek, please don't do this" I pleaded in a low voice. My eyes filled with fresh tears.
"Don't give up on what we had for her. Please we can talk about it later" I pleaded, my heart filled with sadness.
"Talk about it? Talk about what? About the fact that you refused to leave me when you found out that you don't have a womb?" He asked angrily, his hands talking into his pocket revealing his tall slender height.
"What? Where are these accusations coming from? I have a womb, we did a test and you know it. The doctor said we should be patient, it won't take long" I pleaded as I walked towards him, my legs shaking.
"Oh please shut up you liar. You knew you were barren and you kept giving me hope. Thanks to Ann, she opened my eyes to your pretence and thankfully she is pregnant for me" he shouted with gritted teeth.
I shook my head in disbelief "Annabel is pregnant with your child?" I asked in a whisper. His silence together with his stoic face gave me the answers I needed.
I staggered back too weak to stand. God, I wish the earth would just open up and swallow me, help me numb this unbearable pain I was feeling.
My best friend lied to my husband that I was barren and my best friend was pregnant for my husband.
Wow! Life has never been this cruel to me.
"Daniel!" He shouted glaring at me as Daniel came running to meet him
"Get this barren woman out of my room and drop her at the low-life family where she came from" he ordered sternly.
That was it! I have had enough. I knew my family was not a wealthy one but I would not allow him to insult my family.
"You know what? You and your fiance and your pretentious mother and hypocritical family can go to hell. You want to be with Annabel right?" I asked my voice sharp with range
" Go ahead, be with her. I am out of your life tomorrow I will be out of your hair but I promise you Derek you will regret it. You all" I said pointing at all of them who had joined in the celebration of my agony.
" You all will regret this' 'I shouted and walked outside, head high, eyes void of emotions but within me, I was broken, with every step I made a part of my heart was ripped apart.
Raze Cromwell was one who had suffered his entire life. A cruel upbringing that had forced his nature to turn sour. In order to survive, he did everything and anything he could, eventually giving him the name Dark Magus. A title that was only given to the very best of mages. "Everything in this world was taken from me, So I shall take everything from the world." The five Supreme Magus had gathered to eliminate the great Raze, on his last legs, the Dark Magus had one more trick up his sleeve. Activating a forbidden spell, he finds himself living in another world, a world full of martial artists. A world where one could destroy mountain tops with their fist, but Magic still exists in the new world, and he's the only one that knows about it.
6 years ago, Lydia suffered a brutal betrayal orchestrated by her own husband and step-sister, who drugged her and framed her. In a twist of fate, she ended up having a one-night stand with a stranger. Don't even remember what he looked like. Later, in the throes of death, she discovered the truth about her mother's death all those years ago. In the blink of an eye, she lost everything. 6 years later, Lydia returned with her genius son, vowing to exact revenge on all her enemies! Little did she know, she encountered an incredibly familiar man at the airport! *** The man was briskly pushing open the door to the restroom, heading to the urinal. Even with such a mundane action, he did it with unparalleled elegance and grace. Lydia, following him in a daze, saw his fierce lower body and suddenly snapped back to reality. She let out a high-pitched scream, instinctively covering her eyes with her hands, her cheeks flushed, and stood there stiffly, unsure of what to do. Lambert furrowed his brows slightly but remained calm as he continued to relieve himself. The sound of water hitting the urinal made Lydia's face even redder. She angrily shouted, "You pervert!" Little did Lydia know that Lambert, seeing her in this state, had a flicker of recognition in his eyes. Memories from many years ago flashed through his mind, and his heart couldn't help but stir. It was her!
Charlee was left at the altar and became a laughingstock. She tried to keep her head high, but ultimately lost it when she received a sex tape of her fiance and her half-sister. Devastated, she ended up spending a wild night with a hot stranger. It was supposed to be one-time thing, but he kept popping up, helping her with projects and revenge, all while flirting with her constantly. Charlee soon realized that it was nice having him around, until her ex suddenly appeared at her door, begging for another chance. Her tycoon lover asked, “Who will you choose? Think carefully before you answer.”
Betrayed by her mate and sister on the eve of her wedding, Makenna was handed to the ruthless Lycan Princes as a lover, her indifferent father ignoring her plight. Determined to escape and seek revenge, she captured the interest of the three Lycan princes, who desired her exclusively amid many admirers. This complicated her plans, trapping her and making her a rival to the future Lycan queen. Entwined in jealousy and vindictiveness, could Makenna achieve her vengeance in the intricate dance with the three princes?
Desperate to handle her grandmother's towering medical bills, Gianna agreed to a contract marriage with Tristan, the enigmatic man she'd once shared a one-night stand with. She assumed they'd fulfill each other's needs and dissolve the arrangement once the terms expired. Unbeknownst to Gianna, this marriage was a dream Tristan had clung to for ten relentless years. Certain she was just filling someone else's role, Gianna prepared to leave when that other woman returned. But Tristan, his eyes burning with unspoken emotion, seized her trembling hand and declared, "You’re mine. Now and always."
"There will be no falling in love, we will only act as a loving couple when we are in public, we will share a room to make it believable, but no intimacy, touching is off-limits. We'll only have sex once a month, and that's solely to produce an heir. You won't interfere in my business, and I won't interfere in yours. You will be my wife in every sense and you will not be involved with any other man," he said, arrogance seeping from every word. I watch his mouth move, I'm not ready to fall in love with any man, especially not one as arrogant and egoistic as him. I can handle acting as a loving couple, and as for intimacy once a month. I can agree to that just to satisfy my sexual cravings with no strings attached. "Where can I sign?" I asked since I had nothing to lose. *** Nadine's wedding dreams turned to nightmares when she caught her sister and fiancé cheating! With a secret recording, she's ready for revenge. But then mysterious billionaire Logan West offers a deal: A Contract Marriage to take down her ex's empire. But what Nadine doesn't know is her life is getting complicated as she takes her chance to get revenge or risks everything for a chance at love?"
Linsey was stood up by her groom to run off with another woman. Furious, she grabbed a random stranger and declared, "Let's get married!" She had acted on impulse, realizing too late that her new husband was the notorious rascal, Collin. The public laughed at her, and even her runaway ex offered to reconcile. But Linsey scoffed at him. "My husband and I are very much in love!" Everyone thought she was delusional. Then Collin was revealed to be the richest man in the world. In front of everyone, he got down on one knee and held up a stunning diamond ring. "I look forward to our forever, honey."