Pandora thought she would have a white picket fence and 2.5 kids with her high school sweetheart. That was until he stood her up on their date and she caught him cheating. Newly divorced Pandora goes to Vegas and lets her hair down. A wild night with a stranger results in her waking up with a terrible hangover. Moreover, she couldn't remember his name or what he looked like! Life after that should have been boring-apart from fighting off her ex-husband and putting the mistress in her place. Who could have known that one night of passion would lead to unexpected and lifelong consequences? Now, Pandora needed to search for the baby of her father. But what is she to do when she is attracted to her doctor? Will she forget about the mystery man who made her laugh or will she start anew with this handsome and polite doctor? Will the demons of her past allow her a happily ever after?
Mrs. Pandora Preston hadn't had a moment to herself in almost a month. She had pulled a twelve-hour shift at work already and when she got home, she would have to clean the house, do shopping, make dinner, and take care of all the bills. By the end of the month, Pandora didn't know how much longer she could hold on.
A jerk at work didn't think a petite five-foot-one and twenty-eight-year-old woman should be the creative director. Being the nice 'gentleman' that he was, he had decided to let his opinion known... in front of all her coworkers and clients. His ideas were from the middle ages, but what bothered her was that nobody stood up for her in front of the smelly, balding man.
To add on top of that, when she stood outside the restaurant for their weekly 'date', she found that her husband had not arrived, and he wasn't even picking up his phone like he was supposed to.
Pandora sighed, remembering that he had also not mowed the lawn like she had asked him to and the Karens in the neighborhood were going to knock on their doors soon. Now, you might be wondering why her husband Derrik was being shown in such a bad light, but you will be appalled to know that he was not working and never picking up his weight in the household.
It had been six months since he was fired from his last job and he hadn't attended even one interview. Pandora was beginning to doubt that he was even looking for work. All Derrik did when she broached the subject of getting him into her company was that he would look like a fool and less of a man because his 'little woman' would be his superior at work.
Mind you, Derrik was six-foot-five inches and towered over everyone. He was the last person who should feel emasculated.
The restaurant Derrik had chosen for their date was situated on top of someone's house. It overlooked a few apartments and Pandora wondered how Derrik had found such a cozy place. She was seated near the window and stared out after looking at her watch again. Her husband was fifteen minutes late.
The blinds of the apartment she could see were wide open. Throw them, she could see directly into the kitchen and some woman was surely using her kitchen. She was awash with lust, oblivious to the eyes on her while a huge man stood in front of her, his ass bared to the world as he thrust into her.
Pandora was jealous for a quick second, remembering the lack of action in her marriage bed.
Pandora's stomach dropped when the woman stared in horror through the window, realizing she had forgotten to close the blinds. Her lover followed her horrified gaze, looking over his shoulder.
The first words Pandora uttered through half-formed thoughts were: "These assholes."
A woman gasped and turned to her. "Miss, please watch your language. My son just heard you."
Pandora ignored them and cursed under her breath as she raised her phone and started taking pictures. She snapped photographs constantly, thanking god that she had invested in a phone with a camera that could pass off as a telescope.
The woman and Pandora's husband scurried out of the kitchen, scrambling to dress. Her vision tunneled and she got out of her seat, ignoring the scandalized woman. She raced down the stairs and to the next building where she knew her husband and his mistress were. No guard was stopping her and Pandora grinned as she burst into the building.
The elevator door opened, revealing the hastily dressed woman and her husband, stepping out. Pandora stopped short.
"Caught you."
Pandora vaguely noticed the presence of a handful of people in the lobby leaving and entering the building, taking their mail. They stopped their mundane activities to watch.
The woman froze, but Derrik took two steps towards her, palms up. "Pandora, calm down."
"You're a bastard," Pandora growled. "And you, do you know he has a wife and he is trying for a child with her? Me?" she addressed the other woman.
"Pandora..." the woman said shakily.
There were gaps around them as Pandora spoke, "So you did know he was married and still fucked him."
"This is my apartment building and you are embarrassing me," the woman hissed.
Pandora jerked back. "Oh, I am embarrassing you? You should have remembered that when you were screwing my husband with the windows open, making sure I saw you two... because you guys knew for damn sure that I was going to be there."
"Mackenna, please..." Derrik said. "Step back." He sighed and turned to Pandora. "This is your own fault. You were a nag and I got sick of you."
Pandora swallowed the agonizing tightness in her throat, pushing back the sting in her eyes and the mortification his words caused her. She refused to cry in front of the cheating pair.
"Is that so? Am I a nag because I asked you to contribute to the house?" she asked.
"It's not a big deal," Derrik started but Mackenna cut him off.
"It wasn't a mistake. Why do you think you two stopped having sex? He doesn't want you! What's more, I know all about how you climbed to the top of your company. You have no talent and you can't even have children. Years of trying and you can't even give him a baby? Meanwhile, he and I have been together for three months, and I am two months-"
"You should stop talking while I am still calm. The last thing you want is to be handed your pregnant ass by the woman you called barren. And that sick jerk you claim to love? He is going to be on the market and single very soon. I hope you enjoy having a bum hanging around all day."
With a final glare, Pandora turned and put the phone to her ear. "Do you know a lawyer who can help me get divorced?"
"I have a proposal." Nicholas softly stroked my skin as he watched me. "I want children. And I want you to help me with that." He wanted me to give him a child! "In return, I will give you everything you could ever want.” - - - - - Orphaned and with no place to call home, Willow's only chance at happiness was to attend college. When her scholarship fell through, she could only contact Nicholas Rowe, a mysterious and downright sinful billionaire, to give her the money she rightfully deserves. How would she have known that not only would he be willing to fund her education, but he also wanted her to be the mother of his children! This was not part of the plan. But when faced with temptation, Willow could only accept the indecent proposal and fall into the older man's clutches. Will their relationship last? What will happen when the ghosts of Nicholas’ past appear to tear the couple apart? Can they survive the storm?
"Mr. Evans, please maintain some dignity. Don't forget I'm your brother's wife!" Having caught her husband and best friend together in the bed, Elena wanted nothing more than to exact revenge on the people she once called family. She refused to be a pitiful divorcee and vowed to make everyone who had once looked down on her beg for forgiveness. And to start with her newfound freedom, Elena indulges in a one-night stand with a stranger. However, what was meant to be a fleeting escape turns into a nightmare when she learns that the stranger is none other than her husband's older brother! Would Elena be free from the shackles of her marriage? Or would the mysterious stranger make her life a living hell since he seemed to have a personal vendetta against his family? [The story is 18+ and involves mature content.]
Trigger warning!!! Intended for mature readers who enjoy morally complex, slow-burn, poseesive, forbidden, dark romance that pushes boundaries. ***EXCERPT*** Blood everywhere. Trembling hands. "No!" My eyes blurred. His lifeless eyes stared back at me, his blood pooling at my feet. The man I loved-dead. Killed by the one person I could never escape - my stepbrother. *** Kasmine's life was never hers to begin with. Kester, her stepbrother, controlled and monitored her every move. At first, it was all sweet and brotherly until it began to turn into an obsession. Kester was the Alpha, and his word was law. No close friends. No boyfriends. No freedom. The only consolation Kasmine had was her twenty-first birthday, which was supposed to change everything. She dreamt of finding her mate, escaping the sickening control of Kester, and finally claiming her own life. But fate had other plans for her. On the night of her birthday, not only was she disappointed that she wasn't mated to the love of her life, but she found out that her mate was none other than him - Her tormentor. Her stepbrother. She'd rather die than be mated to a man whom she had known as her big brother all her life. A man who would do just anything to make sure she was his. But when love turns to obsession, and obsession turns to blood, how far can one girl run before she realizes there is nowhere else to run to?
She was a world-renowned divine doctor, the CEO of a publicly traded company, the most formidable female mercenary, and a top-tier tech genius. Marissa, a titan with a plethora of secret identities, had hidden her true stature to marry a seemingly impoverished young man. However, on the eve of their wedding, her fiance, who was actually the lost heir to a wealthy dynasty, called off the engagement and subjected her to degradation and mockery. Upon the revelation of her concealed identities, her ex-fiance was left stunned and desperately pleaded for her forgiveness. Standing protectively before Marissa, an incredibly influential and fearsome magnate declared, "This is my wife. Who would dare try to claim her?"
Her fiance and her best friend worked together and set her up. She lost everything and died in the street. However, she was reborn. The moment she opened her eyes, her husband was trying to strangle her. Luckily, she survived that. She signed the divorce agreement without hesitation and was ready for her miserable life. To her surprise, her mother in this life left her a great deal of money. She turned the tables and avenged herself. Everything went well in her career and love when her ex-husband came to her.
Elena, once a pampered heiress, suddenly lost everything when the real daughter framed her, her fiancé ridiculed her, and her adoptive parents threw her out. They all wanted to see her fall. But Elena unveiled her true identity: the heiress of a massive fortune, famed hacker, top jewelry designer, secret author, and gifted doctor. Horrified by her glorious comeback, her adoptive parents demanded half her newfound wealth. Elena exposed their cruelty and refused. Her ex pleaded for a second chance, but she scoffed, “Do you think you deserve it?” Then a powerful magnate gently proposed, “Marry me?”
Corinne devoted three years of her life to her boyfriend, only for it to all go to waste. He saw her as nothing more than a country bumpkin and left her at the altar to be with his true love. After getting jilted, Corinne reclaimed her identity as the granddaughter of the town’s richest man, inherited a billion-dollar fortune, and ultimately rose to the top. But her success attracted the envy of others, and people constantly tried to bring her down. As she dealt with these troublemakers one by one, Mr. Hopkins, notorious for his ruthlessness, stood by and cheered her on. “Way to go, honey!”