AFFECTION AFTER DIVORCE
With a cheerful jingle, I swung open the door of Douglas Diner, signaling my arrival. The familiar aroma of brewing coffee and the distant hum of conversation welcomed me like old friends. Glancing around the bustling café, my eyes sparkled with anticipation. The morning rush was on the horizon, and I was ready to dance through the tables, ready to receive customer orders.
"Good morning, everyone!" I exclaimed, my voice cutting through the morning buzz. My fellow colleagues looked up from their duty posts and responded with smiles. "Good morning, Alicia."
Swiftly, I made my way to the staff room, reaching my locker to retrieve my crisp notepad and trusty pen. Back on the floor, I weaved through the occupied tables with a smile on my face, greeting customers with a warm "Good morning!" and a sparkle in my eye. The regulars grinned in response, accustomed to the infectious joy I brought to the café.
The jingling of the doorbell signals the arrival of a customer, capturing my attention. In walks a tall, sun-kissed man with tousled dirty blonde hair and vibrant green eyes.
"Good morning! What can I get for you?" I ask, pulling out my notepad and pen.
"Hey there, beautiful. I'll take a regular latte and a chocolate donut," he replies, and I promptly jot down his order.
I stride over to the coffee machine, preparing his latte, and then return to the counter to hand him his donut. Once the latte is ready, I carefully pour it into a coffee cup, seal it with a lid, and offer it to the gentleman.
"Thanks, love," he replies, punctuating his words with a wink that prompts an eye roll from me. As he heads out, he hands me the money for his order along with a card bearing his number. I dismissively roll my eyes at the gesture and discard the card once he's out of sight.
Just in the nick of time, one of my closest friends enters through the doors, causing a smile to light up my face. She makes her way around the counter, and we exchange a warm hug.
"Hey Pete," I greet as we break away from the warm hug.
"Hey Alicia, have you been busy?" she inquires, and I shake my head in response.
"Not really. I just started a few minutes ago, and it's pretty relaxed," I reply.
Pete's roots trace back to Ethopia, but she was born here. Over the last two months, we've had the chance to get to know each other, and she's become a significant part of my life. Pete has gorgeous brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. Joyce is my second best friend, in addition to Pete. I've known Joyce a little longer than Pete, but my feelings for both are the same.
"Well, let's get back to work," Pete declares before her first customer arrives.
*************
More customers begin to arrive, and the diner quickly fills up. Pete and I have been serving customers for the past four hours. Joyce had arrived three hours earlier, around six thirty in the afternoon. When I felt someone poke my arm, I was in the process of producing a smoothie for one of the clients. When I turn to the side, I see Pete and throw her an annoyed expression. I turn off the machine and completely turn my body to face Pete.
"Why are you poking me Pete, can't you see I am working? ." I ask and she responds by grinning like an idiot and pointing at one of the tables.
I follow her finger pointer until I see one of our regular clients seated at one of the front tables. Troy Nulec who is well known as one of Miami's top bachelors as well as one of the city's most well-known playboy. Who could blame him? Who wouldn't be smitten by his fascinating blue eyes, powerful figure, and billions of dollars? Oh, there's someone who wouldn't fall for him, and that is me. haha
Joyce declares, "Behold, your Prince Charming has arrived."
If glances could kill, Joyce would currently be dead with the way I looked at her.
In irritation, I retort, "He's far from being my Prince Charming."
Since Troy, whom I affectionately dubbed Mr. Rich, started frequenting this diner, the two girls sitting beside me have been adamant about him being my Prince Charming and expressing their belief that he holds a liking for me. This perception likely stems from the fact that he consistently requests me to prepare his coffee and the standard plain bagel with cream cheese.
"Yeah okay keep denying it but know that if you could you would let that man do you all day and night." Pete added this time it was Pete's turn to receive the death stare.
I just rolled my eyes at their little comments before walking towards Mr. Rich. I take out my notepad from my apron pocket as well as a pen.
"Good afternoon Mr. R ... Nulec what may I get you today?" I ask with a fake smile I had to give to the costumers.
"The usual." He responds not really paying attention to me.
He had his hand on his chin as he looked out the window deep in thought. I simply nod before I write down what he usually orders.
"Alicia can I talk to you." He adds and I am taken aback.
First off how does he know my name, oh wait yeah the name tag. But second off why does this hunk of a man want to talk to me an ordinary waitress.
"I am sorry but I am on my shift right now and I can't just sit around talking to the customers." I respond.
"What time does your shift end?" He asks.
"At ten." I respond without thinking.
Why did I just tell him when my shift ended?!
"Alright then I will wait for you." He answers before going back to his thinking.
"Mhmm I am sure you will," I stated inside my head before I turn on my heel and walk away to make his order.
"What were you and Mr. Rich talking about back there?" Pete asks with a curious look on her face.
"Nothing." I reply as I finish making the smoothie and start on the coffee and bagel.
"You sure?" Joyce states while raising an eye brow in suspicion.
"Yes I am sure, now leg me get back to my work." I respond as I pour the coffee into a mug and place the bagel on a plate.
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Meek and kind-hearted Robert is stuck in a turbulent marriage with Pamela, the love of his life, whose family appears to harbour an irrational hatred for him. He constantly experiences hostility and abuse from his wife's family because he is the son-in-law. Robert's in-laws are unaware that he is not the poor, common man they believe him to be. In truth, Robert is the last survivor of a sizable wealth that was left to him by a distant uncle who died many years ago. Robert had decided to keep his financial situation a secret from Pamela and her family out of concern that his money would overshadow any true relationship.
(This book has sex scenes is rated 18+)In the elite world of New York City, 19-year-old Sophia Jack's life shatters when her father arranges her marriage to Billionaire Andrew Arthur, the son of a childhood friend. Sophia resists, setting the stage for a tumultuous relationship. Dark secrets surface as Sophia unveils ties between both families and the underground mafia. She faces a gut-wrenching choice: expose her father's past or allow Andrew's family's criminal empire to flourish. With the Mafia closing in, Sophia strikes a dangerous deal to save them both. But danger escalates, leaving them with the consequences of their choices.
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.
He told her to call him Daddy. Not because he earned it, but because he fucking owned her. The moment she signed that contract, she stopped being a woman with dignity and became his filthy little plaything. His holes to use. His mess to ruin. He didn't just fuck her, he rewired her. Stripped her clean of boundaries and filled her with sin. Every punishment made her scream. Every game dragged her deeper into his twisted world. And the way he praised her... Good girl. She should've run the first time he said it. But Daddy doesn't let his toys leave. He breaks them until they beg to stay. ** Mia's life changed the night she let a stranger ruin her. One night. She never expected to see him again. Until she walked into her new job... and her boss turned around. Ace.Her one-night sin in a thousand-dollar suit. Only this time, he wasn't asking her to be his assistant. She was to be his wife.
"You're mine, little puppy," Kylan growled against my neck. A soft gasp escaped my lips as his lips brushed my skin. My mind screamed at me to push him away-the Lycan Prince who had humiliated me again and again, but my body betrayed me, leaning into him before I could stop myself. He pressed his lips against mine, and his kiss grew more aggressive, more possessive as I felt my legs weaken. What was I doing? In a split-second, I pulled away and slapped him hard across the face. Kylan's eyes darkened, but the smirk on his lips exposed his amusement. "You and I both know we can't fight this, Violet," he said, gripping my wrist. "You're my mate." "And yet you don't want me," I replied. "You told me you were ashamed of me, that l'd never be your queen, that you'd never love me. So please, accept my rejection and let me go." "Never," he whispered, his grip tightening as he pulled me closer. "Soon enough, you'll be begging for me. and when you do-I'll use you as I see fit and then I'll reject you."
On the day of their wedding anniversary, Joshua's mistress drugged Alicia, and she ended up in a stranger's bed. In one night, Alicia lost her innocence, while Joshua's mistress carried his child in her womb. Heartbroken and humiliated, Alicia demanded a divorce, but Joshua saw it as yet another tantrum. When they finally parted ways, she went on to become a renowned artist, sought out and admired by everyone. Consumed by regret, Joshua darkened her doorstep in hopes of reconciliation, only to find her in the arms of a powerful tycoon. "Say hello to your sister-in-law."
"Lucien, let's get a divorce," I said in a peremptory tone that was long overdue, the most decisive farewell to this absurd marriage. We had been married for exactly three years-three years that, for me, were filled with nothing but endless loneliness and torment. For three years, the husband who should have stood by my side through every storm, Lucien Sullivan, had completely disappeared from my life as if he had never existed. He vanished without a trace, leaving me alone to endure this empty, desolate marriage. Today, I finally received his message: "I'm back. Come pick me up at the airport." When I read his words, my heart leapt with joy, and I raced to the airport, thinking that he finally understood my love and was coming back to me. But his cruelty was far worse than I could have ever imagined-he was accompanied by a pregnant woman, and that woman was Carla, my closest and most trusted friend. In that moment, all of my previous excitement, all my hope, and all of our shared laughter and tears turned into the sharpest of daggers, stabbing into my heart and leaving me gasping for air. Now, all I want is to escape from this place that has left me so broken-to lick my wounds in solitude. Even if these wounds will remain with me for the rest of my life, I refuse to have anything to do with him ever again. He should know that it was his own hand that trampled our love underfoot, that his coldness and betrayal created this irreparable situation. But when he heard those words, he desperately clung to this broken, crumbling marriage, unwilling to let it end-almost as though doing so could rewind time and return everything to how it used to be. "Aurora, come back. I regret everything!" Regret? Those simple words stirred no emotion in me-only endless sadness and fury. My heart let out a frantic, desperate scream: It's too late for any of this!
"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."