22-year-old Evelyn Carter is attempting to start over in California while avoiding her past. She will be embarking on a new career path as a private school teacher. She is smart, attractive, and doesn't put up with nonsense. Who wouldn't notice her? However, what happens when she attracts the attention of someone unwilling to let her go? Who wants her and nothing else after falling in love at first sight? A 25-year-old billionaire CEO and single father, Lucian Carrington. He takes what he wants and he is also a very dangerous man. All it needed was one look at a stunning woman to realize she was HIS, even though he doesn't believe in relationships because they always end. Preview: Miss Carter, you will be mine. I say firmly. "Release my arm, Mr. Carrington, before I force you to." She says, seeming to smile at me. I give her a sly smile. Squeezing my wrist with her other hand, she twists it uncomfortably. I gave a painful hiss. "Don't underestimate me, Mr. Carrington." "This is the only time I will allow you to walk away from me, Miss Carter." She glared at me as she turned. "Mr. Carrington, I am no possession of yours." I was left standing there when she opened the classroom door and left.
Let's begin.
-Evelyn's POV
Beep, Beep, Beep
I turned over and slammed my noisy alarm clock to turn it off. My eyes flutter open and I start stretching. As the sunrise approaches, the beautiful morning light is beginning to filter in. Before I yank the curtains open, I throw the duvet off my legs and walk to them. I step out onto my private balcony and look down at the scene. There was nothing to be seen, and the first waves were slamming in. I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and relish the sensation of the wind blowing through my hair.
I return inside, start putting my hair up in a ponytail, and then head to my closet. I put on tight leggings, a sports bra, and tennis shoes and checked in with my best buddy to make sure she made it home safely last night. I see her stretched out on her bed when I open the door. I smile at her before shutting the door and leaving our house. I stroll down to the shore after locking the door. As I start my morning run, the wind is whipping my hair.
Hello, I'm Evelyn Carter. I was hired as a teacher at Dalton Academy, and I am twenty-two years old. After abandoning my family and business in New York, I was just recruited there. I have blue eyes and beautiful blond hair that reaches my waist. Despite receiving compliments on my beauty, I don't give it much thought. Everybody is lovely in their unique way. Cami Taylor, my lifelong best friend, and I currently share a home. I currently work as a bartender at one of the local nightclubs. We collaborated this past summer, but I recently resigned because I will be teaching. After two months of living here, I've become a beach bum. I adore this place! The unending nightlife and the consistently pleasant weather. You'll never grow bored.
"Seriously, this early in the morning H?" As she enters the kitchen, my best friend lets out a moan. She rubbed her face with her hands. I give her a chuckle and then give her a coffee.
"How was your night Cam?" As she settles into a bar seat, I add some milk to her coffee for her in a humorous tone.
"Looonnnngggg." She stretches, then lets out a sigh and takes a drink of her coffee. "At least the money is good." She smiles sheepishly at me, which makes me smile back. "How do you find the energy to get up before the sun every morning just to run?" When she considers exercising, she wrinkles her nose in disgust.
"Cami," I remark, rolling my eyes, "not all of us could be blessed with your beauty." She bursts into hysterical laughter.
"Please, girl... You would still look AMAZING even if you didn't run. She gets anxious, which makes me laugh.
"Whatever you say Cami."
Cami is an amazing, feisty person. She has forced me to come out of my shell because she is gregarious. I would be lost without her since she is so beautiful. Her father served in the military, and we first met in elementary school. Despite her relocation, we remained in contact. Given my current circumstances, I accepted her invitation to move in with her after she lost her father approximately three years ago and her mother was unable to continue living in this property.
"So I gotta work tonight, do you want to come?" She looked at me as she asked. "You know the team would love to see you again."
"Yeah, I think it would be fun." Thinking of all the amazing people I've met while working there makes me happy. The name of the club was Midnight Til Sunrise. It was a local favorite and had been there for many years.
"Great!" "Gleaming," says Cami. She approaches me and plants a kiss on my cheek. "Alright sunrise, this goddess needs to take a shower." I laugh at her as she dramatically says this while tossing her hair over her shoulder. She is undoubtedly unique.
"Welcome back Sunrise!" "With open arms," the club manager said. I rush over to give him a firm embrace. He squeezes me in return. "You miss us yet?"
"You know I love this place!" I say with a wide smile.
"Good because you should be an angel and help behind the bar tonight!" "Giving me puppy dog eyes," he says. My jaw snaps open and my eyes bulge open at him. "Oh, Evelyn, hurry up! I'm in a difficult situation. I can't put Cami back there since she's running the floor, and Liz called in." He begs me. I place my hands on my hips and sneer at him, giving him a funny look. He pretends to be praying by putting his hands together. I groan in defeat and roll my eyes. Knowing that he had just won, he raised his hands.
"You owe me, Sam!" As I watch him back away, I yell. I turn to face the smiling Cami, give her a look, and she simply starts to bounce away. "Thanks for the help Cami!" I shout at her.
"You're welcome!" Over her shoulder, she smiles while singing. I head to the lockers and pull on a plain black t-shirt and a pair of short black shorts. I let my blond hair fall down my back without bothering to put it back. I let out a sigh and made my way to the bar. Let's get started!
The evening is passing easily. Tonight's crowd is sizable, and Kurt is behind the bar with me. Sam is keeping an eye on things while Cami and Lexi run the floor. Only a few males got a bit too flirtatious when I was pouring the drinks, but Kurt helped control them. Sam chose to surprise me just as the evening was coming to an end.
"All right, everyone is going to have a great time tonight! Tonight, our very own Sunrise will be back to sing for us. I start shaking my head and glare up at him. The audience starts clapping and turning to face me. Cami approaches me and starts yanking my arm in the direction of the stage.
"Cam halt! I don't want-" Before I can even continue, she pushes me onto the platform and sticks her tongue out at me. I glance at Sam, who is grinning sheepishly.
"Here she is everyone- Please welcome... Sunrise!" He makes the announcement as if I were famous. Before he leaves the stage, I give him a final stare. I turn to face the audience, who are all watching me eagerly to see what I'll do.
"Hi everyone, I apologize I didn't know I would be singing tonight but I will sing one of my favorites." I sigh and close my eyes after saying that.
Ariane Grande's "Breathin" began to play. I started singing the tune while closing my eyes. I just listen to the song and let the lyrics flow from my mouth.
Simply continue to breathe, breathe, breathe, and breathe. Oh, and I must continue to breathe.
Simply continue to breathe, breathe, breathe, and breathe.
Oh, and I must continue to breathe.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Cami grinning broadly at me. As the song played, my hips started to sway and let out all of my emotions. When my gaze fell upon a set of electrifying blue eyes that I was unable to take my eyes off, I resumed singing. I finished the song while looking at the stranger.
Time passes and I lose control of my thoughts as I feel my blood running and swear the sky is falling.
I'm still breathing, mmm.
I turn my attention from the stranger to Sam, who is clapping as he returns to the stage. While he simply gives me a proud smile, I bow and return the microphone.
"Let's give another round of applause for our little Sunrise!" As everyone else cheers louder, he says and keeps clapping. As I leave the stage, I simply wave and bend my head once again. I feel like a lot of eyes are still on me as Cami approaches and gives me a tight hug. I keep looking for the stranger, but I can no longer see him there. Kurt offers me a side hug as I shrug and move back behind the bar.
Sam was appreciative of my assistance, so Cami and I decided to leave early and go home as the night wore on. As soon as we reach home, I collapse onto my bed and curl up with it. I'm drifting off to a deep sleep and contemplating what my new job would be like the following week.
"Hi, I'm here for the job interview," I uttered tremblingly as I turned to face the most attractive man I had ever seen. He looked so attractive; his dark ash brown hair brushed back. His wicked, lethal look might murder with its dark eyes. His face was expressionless due to his tiny lips that created a straight line. His great stature towered over me, as did his exquisite features, sculpted by the hand of God. He embodied everything that made a Greek god. "And you are?" he said in a low, husky voice, maintaining his emotionless demeanor. His icy eyes continued to look into mine as I trembled to speak, "I-I'm Miranda Lucas." He didn't say anything, and when at last his gaze shifted from me to a file in his hands, the room fell silent. Before turning back to face me, he spends a few minutes staring down at the paperwork in his hands. "Age?" "27" was all I said, feeling uneasy once more from his intense looks. He gave a slight nod, then glanced back down at the file. He closed his file and turned to face me, saying only, "You're hired." My eyes widened as I met his. Is that all? Not asking any more questions? • Five years ago, Miranda was drugged by one of her friends and end up pregnant with a stranger's baby. She was against abortion, so when she became despondent, she had no choice but to give birth to the baby. Nine months after giving birth, someone stole her one-week-old baby. After making unsuccessful attempts to find her baby, she was traumatized and spent the rest of her life being afraid to have children or around children. But when she found herself jobless and in debt to her landlord, everything changed. After applying for jobs and getting rejected for every one of them, Miranda found a babysitting job online. All she had to do was look after the CEO's son in exchange for weekly pay, but what would happen if the CEO's son happened to look a little bit like her?
With his index finger, he tilts my head in his direction, captivating my attention and making me laugh with the savage expression on his face. I get a jolt right up my spine as I see the weight and dark yearning in his grey eyes. I feel the hardness pressing between my legs and him while everything else around us fades away. "What are you doing to me, Clara?" His voice hoarse and completely enthralled, he whispers. I'm closing my eyes and waiting for his lips to gently meet mine as his face dips. I'm holding my breath waiting for his touch, my entire body burning. The disturbed bad boy Hudson Zane, who nearly killed another kid in the middle of the school corridor, is well-known to everyone in Clara Oliver's village. When one looks into Hudson's eyes, all that is seen is utter loathing and rage. Everyone, even Hudson, believes he's beyond saving. Not Clara, though. Clara noticed more in those seductive grey eyes than just the seemingly idealistic nice girl. Something to cling to. Both Hudson and Clara sense the strong, unmistakable connection between them as soon as their eyes meet, but they are unable to pinpoint the exact reason for it. Clara must question if she is rescuing Hudson from his darkness as they get closer and more exposed. Is she merely drawing him closer to her?
Kallie, a mute who had been ignored by her husband for five years since their wedding, also suffered the loss of her pregnancy due to her cruel mother-in-law. After the divorce, she learned that her ex-husband had quickly gotten engaged to the woman he truly loved. Holding her slightly rounded belly, she realized that he had never really cared for her. Determined, she left him behind, treating him as a stranger. Yet, after she left, he scoured the globe in search of her. When their paths crossed once more, Kallie had already found new happiness. For the first time, he pleaded humbly, "Please don't leave me..."Â But Kallie's response was firm and dismissive, cutting through any lingering ties. "Get lost!"
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!"
"You're a creepy bastard." His eyes smolder me and his answering grin is nothing short of beautiful. Deadly. "Yet you hunger for me. Tell me, this appetite of yours, does it always tend toward 'creepy bastards'?" **** Widower and ex-boss to the Mafia, Zefiro Della Rocca, has an unhealthy fixation on the woman nextdoor. It began as a coincidence, growing into mere curiosity, and soon, it was an itch he couldn't ignore, like a quick fix of crack for an addict. He didn't know her name, but he knew every inch of her skin, how it flushed when she climaxed, her favourite novel and that every night she contemplated suicide. He didn't want to care, despising his rapt fascination of the woman. She was in love with her abusive husband. She was married, bound by a contract to the Bratva's hitman. She was off-limits. But when Zefiro wanted something, it was with an intensity that bordered on madness. He obsessed, possessed, owned. There'd be bloodshed if he touched her, but the sight of blood always did fascinate him. * When Susanna flees from her husband, she stumbles right into the arms of her devilishly handsome neighbour with a brooding glare. He couldn't stand her, but she needed him, if she was ever going to escape her husband who now wanted her dead. Better the devil you know than the angel you don't. She should have recalled that before hopping into Zefiro's car and letting him whisk her away to Italy. Maybe then, she wouldn't have started an affair with him. He was the only man who touched her right, and the crazy man took no small pains in ensuring he would be the last.
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?"
"Sign the divorce papers and get out!" Leanna got married to pay a debt, but she was betrayed by her husband and shunned by her in-laws. Seeing that her efforts were in vain, she agreed to divorce and claimed her half of the properties. With her purse plump from the settlement, Leanna enjoyed her newfound freedom. The constant harassment from her ex's mistress never fazed her. She took back her identities as top hacker, champion racer, medical professor, and renowned jewelry designer. Then someone discovered her secret. Matthew smiled. "Will you have me as your next husband?"
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."