One glance. One touch. One note of her mesmerizing voice, and I'm undone. Like a dream I never want to escape, she draws me in, wrapping me in her presence. Consumed. Overcome with need. Fueled by an unshakable desire to claim her as mine. One night, I take more than she's ever given, and it only leaves me craving more. Needing more. Desperate for more. She's the one I've waited for my entire life. And I'll be damned if I let anyone-our families included-stand between us. She trusts me. Yearns for me, just as I ache to possess her. Forever. But fate throws a twist we never saw coming. A curveball no one could have predicted. Still, I cling to her light. She's my Angel. Something about her-about us-makes me believe I've found heaven on earth. She's now my world and I'm never letting her go. Not now. Not ever.
STEPHANIE'S POV
Chills rise up my spine as Momma spins around quickly and locks the door. She pulls on the handle for good measure, making sure the lock is secure.
Nervously, I grab ahold of my suitcase tighter and wrap my arms aroundme. A breeze blows past, making my body shiver.
I don't know if it is the nightaround us, or all that we are attempting to escape, but suddenly a knot begins to form in my stomach and fear rises all around me as I stand on the front porch and wait for my next instruction.
"I won't stay here to be made a fool," Momma grumbles in her thick Georgia accent as she stashes the key in her pocket and turns to face me. Her eyes soften for a moment as she sees me and takes in the look in my eye.
Gently, she reaches up and cups the side of my face. She smiles tenderly for a moment and somehow just that gesture alone eases some of my fear.
"It is just you and me Stephie," she whispers in the night before quickly turning and looking around her as if scared that someone might hear.
My ear hears a noise in the background and we both jump. Birds take flightout of a nearby tree and I watch as they coast through the sky far away from here and I frown knowing that we are about to do the same and there is nothing I can do to stop it.
Soon, everything I ever knew will all be gone. Every place and every person I have ever met will be but a distant far awaymemory. Tears prick my eyes as I turn back and look at my mother.
The tenderness in her stare is now gone, and she grabs my hand tightly, pulling me down the steps from the run-down shotgun house I grew up in and out onto the gravel road.
"Come on baby," she insists, as she tugs my hand harder forcing me tofollow along faster. "I know you don't understand now, but one day you will."
Her words, though worrisome, somehow start to make everything a little more okay.
Momma is the only thing I have. Over the years growing up, I tried to make friends at school; every time I did, they didn't last long. No one wants their daughter associating with white trash. At least that is what I heard one of my short-lived friend's mother say when I was just ten.
The one night I was fortunate enough to attend my only sleepover I have ever been to in the 15 years I have unfortunately been alive.
When I was younger, it was easier to ignore even though I always heard parents whisper when I would come to school. Holes in my sneakers, stains on my dress, I was oblivious to it all. Until the night I finally got up the nerve to beg Momma to let me go to Tracy's party.
Ten years old is young, but old enough to learn the lesson of where I belong, and I didn't belong on the other side of the tracks, no matter how hard I tried.
Momma tugs my hand tighter as we make our way out to the road. Holding my hand is a gesture she hasn't forced since I was little, but tonight she is hell-bent on not letting me go as if she is worried that I am old enough to make up my own mind and fight. Fight to stay behind, in a world where I am not wanted.
And even though the thought occurred to me, I would be lost without Momma. The only choice is to follow. After a few more minutes, I force my hand away and she turns to look at me over her shoulder but never breaks stride.
Once she sees I am not turning around, that I am still following, she smiles and faces forward. We walk in silence as I try and piece together everything that led to Momma's sudden decision to flee. To leave everything behind in the middle of the night. I can't help but think whatever it is has to be worse than I could imagine.
Momma is a strong woman. She always stood up for me and always took my side when kids would tease me or when bullies follow me home. I could never imagine a reason why she would run. She always had more courage than anyone I ever knew and faced everything in life head-on.
She's been fighting for almost as long as I can remember. Soon after Daddy died when I was five, Momma got sick and has been in and out of the doctors since.
I take care of her, and her once full of life exterior has faded to frail and a sad shadow of the woman she once was. Still, I know the woman in front of me never backs down without a fight. So what is making her run now?
We come to a bus stop down the road from the house and Momma takes amoment to drop her suitcase and wrap her coat around her. She begins to cough, a nasty raspy cough, as she pulls her pack of cigarettes from her pocket and lights one.
"Momma," I scold. "You shouldn't be smoking. I thought you quit?"
She takes a large inhale off of her smoke and slowly lets it out. The white cloud mixes with the cool damp evening air and hangs in it as she turns to look at me.
"Just one baby," she pleads. "My nerves are shot." She backs away and tries to smooth out her appearance as she fumbles with her hands, straightening her shirt.
"I mean to look at me you'd swear I was more nervous than a whore in church on Easter Sunday."She laughs, but I can't help but frown as I see her shaking hand come up before she takes another drag off her cigarette. I've seen Momma many ways before, but never as upset as this.
Standing, staring at her for a moment, I watch her as she takes drag after drag from her smoke nervously and looks around us.
A knot forms in the pit of my stomach and I can't help but wonder why. So many questions in my mind begin with that word, and I fear I will never have any of the answers. But Momma has never steered me wrong before, having been the only one I've ever had to rely on, to never leave my side my entire life.
I push those thoughts, the questions, the unknowns, the fear to the back of my mind as I stand next to her in the gravel and wait, scared, nervous, anxious, trying to understand and wrap my brain around just where we are going and what that means for my future.
I hear the tires of the bus come down the road before I even have to look. Headlights shine down the street in front of us as I watch Momma throw her smoke to the floor and snuff it out.
When the bus comes to a stop, I look up just as the large doors swing open and a man who looks like he has been up for four days straight stares back down at the two of us.
"Where you headed?" He asks, as he eyes Momma up and down before licking his lips.
I can't deny Momma has always been a looker, but the gesture makes me shiver and I swallow over a nervous lump in my throat as he turns to look at me and a glimmer flashes in his eyes before a sick grin spreads across his face.
"Anywhere but here," Momma says as she tugs on my hand and we both quickly grab our suitcases. Once each, the only thing Momma would allow us both to take.
She climbs the step in front of me and I follow timidly. Every step up the metal surface a finality of sorts, taking me away from all that I have ever called home. I watch sadly as she hands the man two tickets before we pass by to find our seats.
"Next stop is Colorado." The man says as me and Momma walk towardsthe back of the slightly empty cab. "From there you can catch another ride further West, if you want."
Momma nods, even though the man can't see her, as we make our way to the last row. The doors close as I slump down into my seat and worry my bottom lip between my teeth as I look out the window to my world slowly slipping away.
"Don't look back, baby." I hear Momma say to me. I close my eyes as tears threaten to fall before looking over at her.
"Nothing good ever came from looking back." She smiles at me and pulls me close.
I rest my head on her shoulder as the bus jerks and bounces us down the gravel road, away from home and towards the unknown.
Something even with all the teasing, bullying, and lonely days and nights I never wanted.
He was my first love. And my first heartbreak. Now, he's back-with a ring, a contract, and a proposition I never saw coming. Darius Ferguson is a name that turns heads. Billionaire. Power player. The kind of man who can make or break anyone with a single deal. The world sees him as untouchable, unstoppable. But to me? He's the boy who disappeared without a goodbye. The one who left me picking up the pieces of a heart he had no right to break. Now, years later, he's standing in front of me with an offer too tempting-and too dangerous-to ignore. Marry him. Be his perfect wife in public. Play the role until the ink dries on his biggest business deal yet. In return, he'll make all my problems disappear. One year. No emotions. No messy entanglements. Just a means to an end. It should be easy. Except nothing about Liam has ever been easy. He still knows exactly how to make my pulse race. Still watches me like I belong to him. And when he touches me, I forget every reason I swore I'd never let him back in. But this isn't real. It can't be. Because I refuse to make the same mistake twice. Even if pretending to be his wife starts to feel a little too real.
Everything has with a price. Including her. I'm Damien Anderson. I run this city. Control is everything to me. In business, in pleasure-I never give up the upper hand. So when a stubborn little thing dares to defy me, it gets under my skin. Makes me want to break her, own her, make her beg for everything I know she needs. That fire in her green eyes? I want to watch it flicker and fade into sweet submission. I give her an offer she can't refuse-thirty days in my bed, and her money problems disappear. No strings. No emotions. Just my wealth in exchange for her innocence. But Lily isn't just another deal. She's an obsession. A weakness I never saw coming. And now? I don't care about the contract. She's mine. And I'm never letting her go.
Adeline I was already regretting this blind date when my ex walked into the restaurant-hand in hand with his new girlfriend. The urge to disappear hit me hard, so I did what any self-respecting woman would do . I ran to the ladies' room, unfortunately for me , it was a men's room... and so I had no choice but to climb out the window. Except I didn't exactly stick the landing. Instead, I tripped, tumbled into the dumpster, and almost got shot by a criminal who was on the run from a hot cop. --- Kenneth I was staking out a notorious drug dealer, waiting for the perfect moment to move in. Everything was going smoothly-when a woman fell-yes, fell-from the restroom window and almost got shot by the suspect. The suspect bolted. My cover was blown. And the woman? She looked up at me with the most stunning eyes I'd ever seen... and then tried to run. I caught her before she could get away. Annoyed as hell, I slapped cuffs on her. She was livid. I was livid. But the only thing worse than losing my target? The fact that I couldn't stop staring at her. And I had a feeling that wasn't going to change anytime soon.
My past is a locked door. Sealed shut. Guarded by the lies I tell to survive. A mask. A façade. A carefully crafted illusion. But no disguise is perfect. No wall is unbreakable. And he-relentless, unyielding- shatters through every barrier I built. He gets too close. Sees too much. Draws me in with a fire I can't control. Our connection is raw, reckless- a beautiful kind of destruction. But love is dangerous. Secrets are deadly. And there's one truth I swore he'd never know. One part of me I refuse to expose. Because he's just as fractured as I am. And together, we might be the only thing standing in our way.
He's not just a criminal-he's a king in the underworld. A ruthless leader who commands two of LA's most dangerous gangs. And now, I belong to him. Kidnapped. Trapped in a gilded cage with no escape. I should be terrified, desperate to run. But his touch is intoxicating, his presence irresistible. He says he took me for a reason. That my father wants him dead. Can I trust the man who stole me? Or is he playing a game far deadlier than I realize? The truth will shatter everything. And when it does, I'll have to make an impossible choice: Betray the family I've always known... Or surrender to the man who owns my soul.
"Hello , Nicholas" Eight years ago, Nicholas Chesterfield had made a wrong decision of choosing his father's attention and acceptance over Amelia and her father. He lost Amelia in the process and he regretted it ever since. Now as the CEO and partner in NW International, he needs to finalize a property deal but there is one major obstacle: Amelia is contract negotiator for the owner and she doesn't trust him. Amelia had sworn never to have anything to do with Nicholas Chesterfield again after her and her father lost everything years ago when Nicholas' father lied about his intentions for buying her family's resort. But now she's facing him across the negotiating table and sparks that had previously been stumped out re ingnite between them. Will Amelia be able to resist Nicholas' charm this time around or fall for him once again like she did years ago? Will they be able to put their past behind and act professionally? Could this deal be a second chance at love for both of them?
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?"
"Is it considered betrayal to develop feelings for your best friend's boyfriend? What about when fate intervenes, and he turns out to be your destined mate? You might think it's luck and thank the moon goddess for such a twist of fate. That's what I believed until the love of my life uttered those dreaded words: 'I want a divorce!' As I stared at the pregnancy test in my hands, I realized it was better to keep my secret to myself. My name is Violet, and this is my story."
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?"
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."
In order to fulfill her grandfather's last wish, Stella entered into a hasty marriage with an ordinary man she had never met before. However, even after becoming husband and wife on paper, they each led separate lives, barely crossing paths. A year later, Stella returned to Seamarsh City, hoping to finally meet her mysterious husband. To her astonishment, he sent her a text message, unexpectedly pleading for a divorce without ever having met her in person. Gritting her teeth, Stella replied, "So be it. Let’s get a divorce!" Following that, Stella made a bold move and joined the Prosperity Group, where she became a public relations officer that worked directly for the company’s CEO, Matthew. The handsome and enigmatic CEO was already bound in matrimony, and was known to be unwaveringly devoted to his wife in private. Unbeknownst to Stella, her mysterious husband was actually her boss, in his alternate identity! Determined to focus on her career, Stella deliberately kept her distance from the CEO, although she couldn't help but notice his deliberate attempts to get close to her. As time went on, her elusive husband had a change of heart. He suddenly refused to proceed with the divorce. When would his alternate identity be uncovered? Amidst a tumultuous blend of deception and profound love, what destiny awaited them?
Marrying her best friend was a dream come true for Kelly, but everything truly has a limitation. Pierce is Kelly’s first love, but as his best friend, she knew well there was always another woman deep in his heart. Lexi Gilbert. The woman Pierce could never forget even if he had already been arranged to marry Kelly. *** Kelly finally realized their happy marriage of the last three years was just a beautiful dream when Pierce asked for a divorce just because Lexi returned. She could only be his best friend even if she was carrying his baby. *** Since their friendship had become a cage, Kelly chose to set him free, as well as the miserable herself. But why then, it was Pierce who became the one who refused to move on? To make matters worse, her devil stepbrother also domineeringly stepped in at the same time, asking her to be his. *** Her Prince Charming vs. Her Devil Stepbrother? How could Kelly save her heart in this battle of love and hate?