Carla's ordinary and manageable life began to fall apart after she got assigned to investigate the missing case of a hiker in the dark wood Forest. She clashes with Rhys, a mysterious man from the forest fitting into all descriptions from the reports but is in another surprise when things spiral out of her control. Suddenly, Damien Graves, the man who had abandoned her after their one night stand years ago is the CEO and wants to have absolute control over her life, she happens to unlock an ancient being from the past only to find out she has a history with the forest. She's mind blown when it turns out that these three brothers – Damian, Rhys and Caldwell died fighting to have her. Again, she is torn between the three of them. Would fate repeat itself?
She was almost about to hit her head on the glass wall of her cubicle when a tap on it jolted her awake. Her eyes blinked rapidly giving way to sleepy green eyes laced with boredom.
"You really are jobless eh?" It was Ellie, her colleague at the Newday Newspaper company.
"What?" Carla rubbed her eyes and stifled a yawn not ready to banter words with Ellie.
"Vanessa Carter wants you in her office." Ellie eyed her with contempt before leaving.
"I'd be there in 2 minutes." She called after Ellie only to see her pause and turn to look at her like she had lost her mind.
"Madam Vanessa Carter wants you in her office this instant." Ellie stated with a tone of finality and Carla felt the eyes of a few people stare at her from their different cubicles.
"Coming!" She called back, mumbling a few curses beneath her breath and hurriedly gathering her note and pen.
Anna, her 7 year old daughter, had been a pain in the ass last night, forcing her to read out a bedtime story over and again till she found herself dozing repeatedly while Anna just stared at her with her non sleepy, repeatedly blinking eyes.
Peeking her head through the half open door of the Editor-in-chief, she almost recoiled when she met the stern gaze of Madame Vanessa Carter's green eyes behind her glasses.
"Come in." Vanessa's eyes followed her movement till she felt herself about to trip on her own foot.
"There have been strange disappearances close to the Darkwood Forest..." Vanessa started, looking down on the open book before her like she was reading from it.
"In the Darkwood Forest." Carla found herself correcting, her palms were beginning to get sweaty.
Vennessa looked up at her for a second, her glasses resting perfectly on her straight nose which looked just as strict as the owner.
"It's a good thing you follow the recent events." She gave a small smile that hardly qualified for a smile.
"As a jobless reporter, I am officially assigning you to take up the investigation of these disappearances starting with the most recent, report back to office as soon as possible." Carla stood still, her eyes only focusing on Vanessa's moving lips, the words coming out slowly to hit her ear with a force that made her heart tumble down to her stomach.
"Leave." Vanessa's stern and forceful voice jolted her and drove her out of the office in an instant.
Punching the air in frustration, Carla tugged at her hair and almost broke down in tears.
Who doesn't know about the frightening and mysterious Darkwood Forest?
Now, she was assigned to make an investigation on strange disappearances alone! Without a partner!
Back at her cubicle, with her hair now scattered like she had a bird nestle on it, she punched on the buttons of the telephone with anger, her jaws ticking and her eyes frosty.
"Hello?" The male voice rang into her ear on picking the call.
"Is this the Portlag Police Station?" She asked tiredly.
"Yes, any report?"
"This is the Newday Newspaper company and I am Reporter Carla Bennett, officially assigned to investigate the missing cases in the – in the Darkwood Forest." She stated, unsure of what to say next or what to expect.
It had never been this hard, she had never been told to take on an extremely serious case before and suddenly, it's the mysterious and fearsome Darkwood Forest!
There was a bit of silence over the other side, then a shuffle before a grunt voice of a man came on the line.
"Hello?" He sounded like an old man who had done a lot of smoking.
"Hello?" She tried to compose herself and not let her anxiety show.
"This is the Deputy Chief and I would advise you, for your good and the good of your company. Stay away from the Darkwood Forest and anything that has to do with it." He went straight to the point and the phone went dead.
"Hello? Wait...I...hello?" She stared at the jutted part of the telephone and shut her eyes tightly with her lips pressed into a thin line.
Standing up with a new determination, she walked back to Madam Vennessa's office to give the report of what the police had said.
"And how are we supposed to cover the cases if we don't take risks?" Vanessa had asked her instead with a chilling gaze that cooled Carla's blood.
"Take up the case and let's have something to feed the masses with or submit your resignation letter, it's up to you." Vennessa said casually and Carla was left standing in a daze till she found herself back to her cubicle, sagging against her backrest and wanting to cry her frustration out.
Taking her phone from her clustered bag, she sent a text to her best friend, Beatrice.
You: Holla! Caught up with work again. Could you help take Anna from school again today?
Beatrice: Sure!
You: Thanks.
With that, Carla gathered up her things and made an exit from the Editorial department, taking an elevator to the last floor.
On getting to the last floor, she checked her watch to find out it was three minutes to three, she needed to hurry if she was to get to the forest so she could round up on time.
Nodding her greetings to the receptionist and not looking, she took off in a near sprint only to bump into an iron like surface and felt soft yet firm hands stopping her from falling.
"Ouch!" She rubbed her forehead before frowning.
"Watch where you are..." The words died off mid way as she looked up to the person she bumped into only to see the familiar face of the man from eight years ago.
Her eyes widened, her breath hastened and when he frowned, she felt the immediate urge to punch his face.
"Are you alright?" He asked cocking his head to the side, he didn't look concerned at all.
Realizing she was still in his grasp, she struggled out of his hold and ran out of the building, with her heart thumping in her chest.
"What is Damien Graves doing at The Newday Newspaper?" She asked herself when she paused outside the company to look back at the entrance of the building.
"He didn't seem to recognize me." She muttered in a shaky voice, the realization hitting her hard and creating a film of tears on her eyes that she angrily wiped away before halting a taxi.
The known illegitimate son of the Owens finally has a crush on a lady, putting off all the rumors about his sexuality. His father happily allows him to meet his love interest despite the past between both families. Grace Williams, whose ambition is to belong to the high-class family, only accepts to be engaged to the illegitimate son, using him as a ladder to achieve her goal by sleeping with the legitimate son, her fiancée's bother, and making sure she gets pregnant for him. Now, she is pregnant, and at the right time, when the will has to be read out and properties shared between the two sons of the Owen, table turns, and it turns out her fiancé is a legitimate son and the head of the family. She is in disarray and plans to pin the pregnancy on her fiancé by plotting to sleep with him for the first time in two years. She is in the dark about his own secrets too as she is desperate to get a share of his riches and respect that comes with being the wife to the family head.
'Oh God pretty please! This looks too good to be true.' Mia thought as she pushed her lips forward with her eyes closed to be kissed. Rey's breath got labored, he had to fight against getting a hard-on just looking at her this way. 'What is she doing to me?' He saw the way her eyes closed in earnest, trying to get a kiss from him. He almost gave in but held himself back at the last minute, what was wrong with him!? This is against the contract; she said it herself, 'no strings attached.' This, this whole thing was breaching the contract. "What do you think you are doing?" Rey chuckled loudly making Mia's eyes open abruptly. "What." She looked at his mocking gaze and felt the air being squeezed out of her lungs. "Do you have what it takes to kiss me?" The question rang over and again in her head, and her eyes blurred with tears. Looking down to avoid him seeing her hurt which he already noticed by the way, she shook her head in response. "You must be delusional." Rey avoided looking at Mia after seeing the initial hurt in her eyes. He knew his words were hurtful, but he had to say them to cut any unnecessary bond between them; this was purely a business transaction and nothing else. 'Delusional' repeated itself in Mia's head and whatever romantic thought she had about him died instantly. "What was it you wanted to do? Kiss me even when I pay you. ****** Mia who had sat down on the pile of her clothes with her now dried body, looked about distraught. "I shouldn't have allowed him anywhere close to me." Her eyes were reddened, and her lips pouted as she was about to cry. In such an intense moment, she forgot there were to be no strings attached, and everything was to be transactional. Holding onto the pain and embarrassment of the night, she vowed never to allow herself to fall too cheap for his deliberate deception. ******* "Reynaldo Davies, the first and only son of The Davies, finds himself in a constricted situation of choosing a wife, a command made clear by his Father, Mr Davies, on turning sixty, otherwise, young Davies would forfeit his inheritance to his younger sister. He makes a business proposal with Mia, his cook, who has no expectation of any kind, coming from the fling Reynaldo. In desperation, she agrees but only on the condition that certain lines are drawn and rules are kept. All is fair and clear until Celine, Reynaldo's high school friend, comes into the picture. His mother had arranged an engagement for them against Reynaldo's persistence in dating his cook, "acting as his girlfriend". Would this act bloom into something beautiful? What would be the fate of Mia? Would Celine succeed in her quest for love? Will he gain his inheritance?
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.”
Belinda thought after divorce, they would part ways for good - he could live his life on his own terms, while she could indulge in the rest of hers. However, fate had other plans in store. "My darling, I was wrong. Would you please come back to me?" The man, whom she once loved deeply, lowered his once proud head humbly. "I beg you to return to me." Belinda coldly pushed away the bouquet of flowers he had offered her and coolly replied, "It's too late. The bridge has been burned, and the ashes have long since scattered to the wind!"
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?"
The day Lilah found out that she was pregnant, she caught her fiancé cheating on her. Her remorseless fiancé and his mistress almost killed her. Lilah fled for her dear life. When she returned to her hometown five years later, she happened to save a little boy's life. The boy's father turned out to be the world's richest man. Everything changed for Lilah from that moment. The man didn't let her experience any inconvenience. When her ex-fiancé bullied her, he crushed the scumbag's family and also rented out an entire island just to give Lilah a break from all the drama. He also taught Lilah's hateful father a lesson. He crushed all her enemies before she even asked. When Lilah's vile sister threw herself at him, he showed her a marriage certificate and said, "I'm happily married and my wife is much more beautiful than you are!" Lilah was shocked. "When did we ever get married? Last I checked, I was still single." With a wicked smile, he said, "Honey, we've been married for five years. Isn't it about time we had another child together?" Lilah's jaw dropped to the floor. What the hell was he talking about?
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!
“You need a bride, I need a groom. Why don’t we get married?” Both abandoned at the altar, Elyse decided to tie the knot with the disabled stranger from the venue next door. Pitying his state, she vowed to spoil him once they were married. Little did she know that he was actually a powerful tycoon. Jayden thought Elyse only married him for his money, and planned to divorce her when she was no longer of use to him. But after becoming her husband, he was faced with a new dilemma. “She keeps asking for a divorce, but I don’t want that! What should I do?”