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.
AURORA'S POV
"It's not you, it's me," Reed says, looking at me across the table in this way over the top, and entirely too expensive, FloriBella restaurant.
"I just need space."
I blink a few times as my brow furrows trying to take in all that he is saying.
"I really don't want to hurt you, Aurora."
Hurt me? I've only been seeing the man three weeks. What! Does he think that I've actually fallen in love with him in that small amount of time?
Ridiculous! Then it hits me.
"But it's Christmas," I blurt out.
He doesn't miss a beat, and it's obvious he totally doesn't understand and thinks my sudden outburst has way more meaning behind it than it really does.
"We can stay friends," he suggests, lifting his glass of red wine to his lips. I notice as his eyes wander as I look over and notice him taking in a busty female from a few tables over that actually has the audacity to wink at him and flirt in front of me.
Rolling my eyes, I turn back to the man in front of me and try and focus on what is happening.
A breakup, a little under two weeks before one of the biggest holidays of the year, and only 24 hours shy of when me and Mr. Arrogant across the table were supposed to be leaving for his parent's house in Toronto.
Reed's eyes find mine again and he says, "Staying friends could have its benefits."
His foot rises under the table and he suggestively rubs it against my calf.
I snort, hell I can't help myself. Yeah right, benefits? I didn't know he was such an asshole.
Reed's eyes wander once again and find the woman's stare from across the room and I have to hold myself back from lunging across the table and punching the bastard in the face like I want to.
"Benefits for who, Reed? Because you always were a shitty lay," I force out through gritted teeth. "Don't think I'll be coming back for seconds on that one. Thanks, but no thanks."
His eyes snap to mine before he sits up a little straighter. "Watch it! Lord knows you don't have enough to pay for this dinner tonight. I should drop your poor ass with the check, and we'll see just who will be calling who later, Sweetheart."
He sets his wine glass back down on the table and starts to cut through his steak as the fire inside me explodes and I find it almost impossible to hold back on my earlier thoughts of punching his lights out.
Maybe gouging out his dark brown irises would be best. Would definitely help to save some other innocent female from his nasty habit of wandering eyes.
I take a deep breath and decide it's now or never, telling him off that is, not the eyes gouging bit - and hell if I've never been the girl to wait for anybody to give me a signal twice.
Standing, I adjust my dress and grab my clutch and jacket from the booth. "You're right, Reed. Maybe I will call you later."
His eyes smile as the smug bastard actually thinks that he has won.
"But you know," I say, leaning forward so we are eye to eye as I stand next to our table. "My poor ass prefers the company of a man who actually knows how to please a woman. Not a little boy who lives off Mommy and Daddy's trust fund."
I purposely hit his wine glass, causing the red liquid to spill all over the white table cloth and his white dress shirt.
As I turn to leave, the long line of obscenities thrown at my back makes me crack a smile and giggle.
I notice the girl from a few tables over rise and make her way towards him just as I pass a few waiters rushing past me to his rescue.
He is all yours, Honey! Enjoy! Not that any woman ever would!
I roll my eyes to myself knowing the poor truth the girl is about to stumble on, and then smile thinking it's perfect karma already kicking them both in the head.
After all, justice always feels too damn sweet. Serves the guy right. I should have known better than to let my boss set me up with one of his old college buddies.
My boss at the makeshift job the bureau set me up with, that is, while I've been stationed in New York on assignment.
Stepping outside, I wrap my warm coat around my shoulders as the chill in the air startles me. Opening my clutch, I pull my phone from inside as I make my way to the curb to hail a cab.
Working for the FBI has its benefits. Bouncing all over the place and moving around from town to town is not one of them.
Luckily, with no family to call my own, the toll is less on me than some that are in my line of work. Although, I can't deny that this time of year my reality really sucks and I'd do anything to not spend another holiday season alone. But Lord, that would take one hell of a miracle.
Figures! It's Christmas and this "lonely poor girl" has nowhere to go.
The lonely being true. Poor, not so much since the bureau makes sure I am paid more than my fair share, especially since I am not on the, shall we say "normal," payroll.
Since growing up bouncing in and out of foster care the last year before my 18th birthday, I always wanted a nice family Christmas and thought this year I might actually get the chance to have one. No such luck I guess.
But if I am being honest with myself, I wasn't really into the guy anyway, and it was probable the one excuse that kept me hanging around as long as I did.
His crappy frat boy attitude and lazy bedside manner the tip of the ice berg, and I am sure that we would have broken things off once the holidays were over anyway. Actually, he saved us both time and effort neither of us really wanted to put in the more I think about it.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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!"
Melanie married Ashton out of gratitude, but she quickly found herself entangled in a web of relentless challenges. Despite these struggles, she stayed true to her commitment to the marriage. In the hospital room, Ashton indifferently attempted to draw her blood, disregarding her discomfort. This callous act was a harsh revelation for Melanie, awakening her to the grim reality of their relationship. Resolved to prioritize her own welfare, she decided to sever ties. With newfound resolve, Melanie filed for divorce. In the process, she unveiled her concealed identities, leaving everyone in shock. Throughout these turbulent times, Melanie realized that Derek, Ashton’s uncle, had been discreetly protecting her all along.
After two years of marriage, Kristian dropped a bombshell. "She's back. Let's get divorced. Name your price." Freya didn't argue. She just smiled and made her demands. "I want your most expensive supercar." "Okay." "The villa on the outskirts." "Sure." "And half of the billions we made together." Kristian froze. "Come again?" He thought she was ordinary—but Freya was the genius behind their fortune. And now that she'd gone, he'd do anything to win her back.
To the public, she was the CEO's executive secretary. Behind closed doors, she was the wife he never officially acknowledged. Jenessa was elated when she learned that she was pregnant. But that joy was replaced with dread as her husband, Ryan, showered his affections on his first love. With a heavy heart, she chose to set him free and leave. When they met again, Ryan's attention was caught by Jenessa's protruding belly. "Whose child are you carrying?!" he demanded. But she only scoffed. "It's none of your business, my dear ex-husband!"
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."
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?"