"The touch that set her soul ablaze. " ~ He sees her, a woman desperate, longing and almost lost. He wants her, the taste of the peace she brings, a temptation he refuses to resist. With his eyes on her, a spark she thought was long dead was ignited. But can she escape the heated shackles of her marriage to play this dangerous game of desire?
"What are you saying, Rose?"
Rose hid her eyes from the woman across her and replied, "My husband... He has not touched me since we got married."
"Oh Lord, have mercy," Deborah exclaimed. "Are you sure?"
"Am I sure?" Rose tried to hide the sneer on her face, but she could not. "Deborah, what sort of question is that? Last week, we had a class on sex, and I made sure I took notes. Based on the teachings, I AM very sure that my husband has not had sex with me."
"B-But..." Deborah confusedly glanced at the ceiling as though the answer to Rose's predicaments were written there. "You have been married for almost... five years."
"I got married at the age of twenty-five, Debbie. " Rose leaned forward, the devastation and desperation in her soul written all over her. "I am still a virgin at thirty, thanks to my husband."
"But why?" Deborah frowned. "You are attractive. You don't have a terrible personality. You look like you would not be shy in bed, either."
"I am just tired of keeping quiet about this. I used to fear being made fun of if I spoke my mind, but not anymore. I am tired of begging my husband to touch me."
"He does not touch you?! Like, not even holding your hand?"
"Have you ever seen us hold hands in public? Deborah, he does not bother to pretend to care about me. I am a stranger in and out of that house, Deborah. I am nothing but a stranger carrying Richard's last name."
"God have mercy. What do we do now, Sister Rose?"
"That is what I want you to help with! I need your help. I need the church to help me." Rose could not bear to be patient anymore. She could tell that Deborah was trying to be careful with her response, but that would not solve her problem. "If you have to involve the head pastor, please do. I am tired of waiting for a man that does not want me. I have tried to divorce him so many times, but the divorce files are piled up on our dining table. He uses them to taunt me, just as his confusing distance does. That is how bad it is." Rose reached for the woman's hand, her soul wrenching at the contact; that was how much she desired human warmth. "I need Richard to let me go. Please, help me. I am fed up."
"Hmm." Deborah nodded, her middle-agedness briefly revealing itself as she frowned. "All options will be explored. Don't worry, Rose, I will speak to Pastor West, I believe the church will look into this matter and help you out as much as we can. God will take control."
While resisting the push to fill her eyes with tears, Rose bit her lip and nodded, "Thank you."
"Thank you for coming to me, Sister Rose."
Rose left the room as fast as she could.
She never planned to approach the church to solve her problems, after all, she had only recently joined them when she noticed that her husband went to church on Sundays. But, attending church was another failed attempt to get closer to Richard Walms. As usual, he did not pay attention to her even when she forcibly found a way to enter his car before he left for church. The car rides were always filled with small talk; only she did the talking like a fool.
Such car rides were a perfect example of what living with Richard was like. No matter how much she examined the silent treatment, Rose could not find a fault or a reason. During their dating era, Richard was always all over her. He showed her how much he loved her through words and actions. They went on dates and had fun without including physical intimacy because he respected her desire to get married as a virgin. Their relationship was blissful and fantastic.
But things changed when she entered his house as his wife. He went from doting on her to neglecting her, acting like she was invisible. He refused to speak to her, did not eat the meals she prepared, and did not do as much as hug her. The few times he looked at her, she failed to find the affection he once held for her in his eyes.
At first, Rose thought it was a prank. Then, it became too serious to ignore. However, no matter how much she tried to make sense of the situation and how she begged him to look at her, things worsened. Weeks of maddening solitude turned into months of confusion and silence, which turned into years of living with mixed feelings about her situation.
"Hey! Watch where you are going, you fucking idiot!" That was followed by a vicious honk, which made Rose fling her body backwards before the car could rush into her.
Thankful to God that she did not meet her end there, Rose quickly found a bench and sat down. As she sat, she noticed some eyes were pitifully fixed on her.
"Hmm," she released a low groan, distracting her heart from beating fast with anxiety. On days like this, she suspected a stranger or two could tell how much of a burden she was carrying.
"That was close, wasn't it?" a chilling voice beside her commented, nearly giving her a jump scare.
"Wh-who are you?" While it was clear the person was a man, she could not see his face, which concerned her. That morning, she had read about a lunatic who lured troubled women from bus stops to his abandoned warehouse under the guise of helping them. "What do you want?"
"You."
"Huh?" Rose was sure she did not hear wrong. "Me? You are a creep, aren't you?" Her viciousness instantly came out. "If you think you can drag me to a shady place to kill me, think again. I will make a show of you if you do not leave my side, you fucking prick. Oh fuck." Rose recalled the pastor's teaching about swearing. "Shit."
"How amusing," the man maintained his mysteriousness. "Even at this distance, you make me very curious."
"Mister Man." She gripped the neck of his hoodie. "Are you trying to play an expensive joke?" With a firm tug, she tried to yank the covering off his face. "Who exactly are you? Show me that ugly face of yours and-"
His hand rested on hers, and the unsettlement in her soul felt little peace as if the sun had risen to chase away a stormy day. Confused, her grip loosened, and her eyes wandered to the hand covering hers. The hand was nothing like her husband's. It was bigger, had aesthetic veins, and, most importantly, was not just touching her but making contact with her soul.
Rose could not neglect the change hovering over each inch of her body. It forced her to focus on the strange man who had not provided his name.
The man's hoodie came off, and time stopped for Rose.
His features transported her to a new world. His eyes, especially-a mix of purple and silver-made her stare deeply as if treasures were hidden inside them.
"I see you, Rose. And I want you," his velvety and firm voice confessed again. This time, she could not argue. The peace she felt from just looking at him was overwhelmingly great, she did not want to escape from it.
With his short hair dancing with the wind, the man gathered the strays in her hair with his other hand and said, "Soon, we will be together; nothing in between us in all of the realms of this world."
"Oh," Rose replied as if she had already accepted that the man was no longer a stranger but a hero sent to help her escape her troubles. "What is-" Her phone rang, and the thrilling moment ended. Unable to ignore the call since most of her calls were business-related, she distanced herself from the strange man and stood up to receive the call.
A look at the screen revealed the love emojis she had saved her husband's number with. Her heart started thudding, and for a few seconds, her hands shivered. She almost let the phone ring. But she picked up the call, brought the phone to her ear, and, after a couple of deep breaths, said, "Hello. Richie?"
"Come home. Now."
The end tone beeped, and it felt like something had been ripped from her chest. Richard's voice was not pleasant; it reeked of something terrible. Her hands trembling in fear of what could happen, Rose turned to the unfamiliar man, desperate to heal her fear. But he was no longer there. He was gone as if he had never been there.
"Maybe... Maybe I was d-dreaming," she said while pushing her hair back. "I... I should go home. Richard is waiting." She looked around again, something inside her wishing that someone would hold her back. Nothing of that sort happened. "Yeah. Yeah, I should go home."
[break]
Rune wondered if he had left too soon. He had finally caught a closer view of her gorgeous yet sullen face, but it wasn't enough to quench the desire building in his soul. Neither were the many questions he had answered. Indeed, it would not hurt to follow her for a few more minutes, Symon's show would have to wait.
"Alpha Rune!"
"Damn it!" Rune almost punched the man as he turned. Symon surely knew when to ruin things for him.
"You are not trying to escape, right?" Rune laughed as if his life depended on it. "I can't believe you keep doing this. Today's the last day, you can't make more excuses. You promised to do this, Alpha Rune."
Symon had a point. It would be disloyal not to attend his show. After all, Beta Symon forfeited a great life and came to the human world with him; going to his show was one way to show him appreciation.
"I am sorry I haven't been around," Rune muttered, his apology almost choking him.
"You are?" Symon inched closer, curiosity in his eyes. "What have you been up to? You went from sitting at home like a bag of beans to jumping all over town. Also," his eyes drilled harder, "why are you dressed like a creep?"
Rune huffed and began walking. "One more question and you will lose your tongue." As he moved, he stopped himself from glancing back at the path the woman took while his wolf whined about his decision to go to Symon's show.
He scoffed. “I, Alpha Ximun…” Aysu’s eyes bulged. “What are you doing?” “... of the Night Crimson Pack…” Aysu shivered. That was a rival pack. “A- Alpha Ximun. Wait-” “... reject you, Aysu of the Tarmish Pack.” ~~ He was her salvation and death intertwined. He was the hell that consumed her every emotion. But, despite everything, he was the only one she could love and protect with all she was.
After a life-changing event, Grace found herself at the most luxurious hotel in Manhattan with the hope of getting a babysitting job. But the moment she stepped out of the elevator, her entire life changed track. And that was because of Dominic Powers, her employer, the father of a five-year-old. The man who possessed an air of prideful gloom, and appeared hard to approach, the man whose piercing ocean-blue eyes haunted her ever since their first, brief encounter. Will Grace be able to focus on babysitting his daughter? Or will she get distracted and intensely tangled with the irresistible Dominic Powers?
"I am married!" I spat into his face. "You can't just walk in here and spew nonsense just because I am carrying your baby." His smirk returned and I realised that I made a mistake that day. That day, I thought I was getting into bed with a gentle soul. But this man in front of me has the darkest of auras. It is the kind that makes it hard to look away or slam the door in his face. So, when he took two more steps closer, I could barely move. Then, he said, "I don't care if you are married because now that I have seen you, it is a must you come with me." ~~~~~ Carrie, on the run from her impending wedding, found herself entangled in a reckless one-night stand with a mysterious and affluent stranger. Little did she know that this fleeting moment of passion would weave a fate she could never escape.
"I stood at the edge of my heart and watched him choose her. In the end, I was not the one he needed. I was simply the one he settled for." - Noelle ~~~~~~~ I thought I was the one he loved. But a few days before our wedding, I saw him in a way I never had before. His eyes softened as he spoke to her. His first love, and the very woman who had left him in pieces. Heartbreak was something I knew too well. And as I watched the love he still held for her in his eyes, I realized what I had to do. I couldn't marry a man who wasn't truly mine. With no means to cancel the wedding and lacking the courage to confront him, I made a desperate choice to leave. I painfully gave his first love my treasured engagement ring thinking it was for the best and the only way to free myself. But when he saw that ring on her finger, the fragile world I had tried to escape began to shatter. His obsession to find me and bring me back ignited a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
It was supposed to be a marriage of convenience, but Carrie made the mistake of falling in love with Kristopher. When the time came that she needed him the most, her husband was in the company of another woman. Enough was enough. Carrie chose to divorce Kristopher and move on with her life. Only when she left did Kristopher realize how important she was to him. In the face of his ex-wife’s countless admirers, Kristopher offered her 20 million dollars and proposed a new deal. “Let’s get married again.”
Kara Martin was known as Miss Perfect. She was a beauty with good personality and successful career. Unfortunately, her life changed at one night. She was accused of adultery, losing her job, and abandoned by her fiance. The arrogant man who slept with her did not want to take responsibility. He even threatened to kill her if they met again. What's worse, Kara was pregnant with twins and she chose to give birth to them. Four and a half years later, Kara returned to work at a large company. As the secretary, she would frequently face their notorious CEO. Kara thought it wouldn't be a problem, but as it turned out ... the CEO was the father of the twins!
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."
COALESCENCE OF THE FIVE SERIES BOOK ONE: THE 5-TIME REJECTED GAMMA & THE LYCAN KING BOOK TWO: THE ROGUES WHO WENT ROGUE BOOK THREE: THE INDOMITABLE HUNTRESS & THE HARDENED DUKE *** BOOK ONE: After being rejected by 5 mates, Gamma Lucianne pleaded with the Moon Goddess to spare her from any further mate-bonds. To her dismay, she is being bonded for the sixth time. What’s worse is that her sixth-chance mate is the most powerful creature ruling over all werewolves and Lycans - the Lycan King himself. She is certain, dead certain, that a rejection would come sooner or later, though she hopes for it to be sooner. King Alexandar was ecstatic to meet his bonded mate, and couldn’t thank their Goddess enough for gifting him someone so perfect. However, he soon realizes that this gift is reluctant to accept him, and more than willing to sever their bond. He tries to connect with her but she seems so far away. He is desperate to get intimate with her but she seems reluctant to open up to him. He tries to tell her that he is willing to commit to her for the rest of his life but she doesn’t seem to believe him. He is pleading for a chance: a chance to get to know her; a chance to show her that he’s different; and a chance to love her. But when not-so-subtle crushes, jealous suitors, self-entitled Queen-wannabes, an old flame, a silent protector and a past wedding engagement threaten to jeopardize their relationship, will Lucianne and Xandar still choose to be together? Is their love strong enough to overcome everything and everyone? Or will Lucianne resort to enduring a sixth rejection from the one person she thought she could entrust her heart with?
Yelena discovered that she wasn't her parents' biological child. After seeing through their ploy to trade her as a pawn in a business deal, she was sent away to her barren birthplace. There, she stumbled upon her true origins—a lineage of historic opulence. Her real family showered her with love and adoration. In the face of her so-called sister's envy, Yelena conquered every adversity and took her revenge, all while showcasing her talents. She soon caught the attention of the city's most eligible bachelor. He cornered Yelena and pinned her against the wall. “It's time to reveal your true identity, darling.”