Pursuit of Happiness Anne thought she had everything-love, friendship, and a promising future-until Collins, the man she thought she'd build a life with, abruptly walks out of her life. Reeling from the heartbreak, Anne attends a university dinner where she meets the charming and dangerous Elvis, the notorious son of a billionaire. What begins as an innocent encounter turns into a nightmare when Anne, with the help of her best friend Josephine, is kidnapped by Elvis and his men. When they are caught and arrested, Elvis' powerful father uses his influence to secure their release, leaving Anne trapped in a world of danger and deceit. Fearing for her life, Anne flees the country, leaving everything behind to start fresh as a student and waitress. In her new life, she finds solace in the arms of Alex, a man who seems to understand her pain. But just when Anne begins to believe she has found happiness again, Collins resurfaces, threatening the fragile peace she's built with Alex. Torn between the past and the future, Anne must confront the dangerous web of love, betrayal, and power that refuses to let her go. Will Anne ever truly escape her past and find the happiness she seeks, or will it follow her wherever she goes?
Anne sat at a spot which was overly familiar to her, and stared at the vast empty sky distractedly.
Since she got admitted into the university three months ago, she has felt the presence of a lurking danger, but couldn't tell what it was.
And now, more than ever, she could feel it. It hung heavily above her, like she could reach out and touch it. It filled her senses, making breathing somewhat difficult.
All her attempts to push the feeling aside only brought it more heavily upon her.
With a sigh, she gave up trying , and instead focused on the danger which she could almost reach out and touch, wondering what could possibly go wrong.
"Hey, Anne." Josephine and Naomi called at once, and Anne who was lost in thought was startled.
"You were gone for a long time." Anne pointed out to her friends, happy to be distracted at last.
"You should blame Josephine, it was all her fault." Naomi replied immediately.
"You know how untrue that is." Josephine defended, while she stared daggers at Naomi.
Both Naomi and Josephine had gone to get lunch, and Anne had stayed back to wait on them since she wasn't feeling hungry.
"We should head back to the class." Anne suggested, rising. The presence of her friends did not entirely drive away the feeling, as it came back to tease her senses. She figured out that she will feel safer in a class than in the open.
Her friends, clueless as expected, walked beside her to the class. They had no idea the feeling she fought within.
"Do y'all remember this spot? It's where we all met." Naomi said, pointing at a snacks store.
All three friends had met at the shop for the first time after an exhausted class. They were surprised when they discovered that they were in the same department and in their first year.
"I remember Naomi looking as scared as a frightened chicken." Josephine teased, and all three friends wind up laughing.
"I wasn't scared, I was only cautious." Naomi defended, but the others jeered playfully at her.
They soon got to the class, and located a seat in the middle of the class. The one thousand capacity lecture hall was nearly filled up as it was a combined class.
"I hope this class gets cancelled. I just want to go home." Josephine said, and exchanged knowing looks with her friends.
The hall suddenly became rowdy as students began to leave. Anne and her friends looked around them, and noticed that the students from the same department with them were still seated, and so they remained on their seat.
A few minutes later, the class rep announced the cancellation of the class, and Josephine yelped for joy.
"I said it, didn't I?" Josephine asked.
"No, you only wished it." Anne replied. She too felt pleased at the idea of going home earlier than planned.
"Are you happy now?" Naomi asked.
"We all are. We should head home." Josephine told her friends, rising while they followed suit.
They stepped out of the hall the same way they had stepped in, walking side-by-side, and teasing each other.
* * * * * *
It was 05:04 pm, and having slept for most of the time since she arrived a few hours ago, Anne proceeded to make dinner. She often joked that her family made her school from home not because they loved her too much but so that she could continue with the chores. Even though it is only a joke, Anne knows that to some extent it is true.
She hurriedly prepared dinner, did the dishes, and settled down to browse the internet. Logging into her favorite social media platform, Facebook, she met tons of messages from old and new friends, and as expected, she ignored them all, searching for the familiar name 'Collins-Maxwell' who over the years remained her favorite friend on Facebook.
Their friendship dates back to Anne's Senior secondary school days, Collins was in his first year at Benue State University and their friendship had blossomed since then. Their friendship had only a setback- her delay in responding to his relationship proposal. A message soon popped up at the top of her screen.
"Hello there, good evening."
Good evening, How was your day?" And so they talked about other things
like they always do.
"You mean you hiked to the main gate with your tiny legs?" Collins asked at a point.
"It wasn't so long a journey and mind you, my legs are not tiny " she defended. Just then her phone rang and it was Josephine.
"Hey, good evening ".
"Good evening, Exam timetable is out, we have less than two weeks before the exams commence ".
"Are you for real?? They've barely taught us anything worthwhile ".
"Maybe they will be more serious now before the exams ".
"I doubt that, anyway thanks for calling, did you call Naomi?"
"I will, after this call".
"Okay bye".
Wow! She exclaimed inwardly and told Collins of the latest development.
"You should quit Facebook for now and face your books instead ".
"I still have a week plus to prepare sir".
"I know but I want you to be serious and make me proud ".
"Make you proud as my Father or what?"
"As your would-be husband of course ".
"I have told you to stop dreaming, Collins".
"But seriously when will you give me a reply to my proposal?"
"You are right, I have to study for my exams. Good night Collins".
Alice discovers that she has been betrothed to the most brutal Mafia king in the province, he who the Mafia Lord himself reverences and runs off with Jared, her young sweetheart who she believes has no dealings with Mafia related business. She soon discovers that all that glitter is not gold.
On her wedding day, Khloe’s sister connived with her groom, framing her for a crime she didn’t commit. She was sentenced to three years in prison, where she endured much suffering. When Khloe was finally released, her evil sister used their mother to coerce Khloe into an indecent liaison with an elderly man. As fate would have it, Khloe crossed paths with Henrik, the dashing yet ruthless mobster who sought to alter the course of her life. Despite Henrik’s cold exterior, he cherished Khloe like no other. He helped her take retribution from her tormentors and kept her from being bullied again.
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?"
They don't know I'm a girl. They all look at me and see a boy. A prince. Their kind purchase humans like me for their lustful desires. And, when they stormed into our kingdom to buy my sister, I intervened to protect her. I made them take me too. The plan was to escape with my sister whenever we found a chance. How was I to know our prison would be the most fortified place in their kingdom? I was supposed to be on the sidelines. The one they had no real use for. The one they never meant to buy. But then, the most important person in their savage land-their ruthless beast king-took an interest in the "pretty little prince." How do we survive in this brutal kingdom, where everyone hates our kind and shows us no mercy? And how does someone, with a secret like mine, become a lust slave? . AUTHOR'S NOTE. This is a dark romance-dark, mature content. Highly rated 18+ Expect triggers, expect hardcore. If you're a seasoned reader of this genre, looking for something different, prepared to go in blindly not knowing what to expect at every turn, but eager to know more anyway, then dive in! . From the author of the international bestselling book: "The Alpha King's Hated Slave."
Rena got into an entanglement with a big shot when she was drunk one night. She needed Waylen's help while he was drawn to her youthful beauty. As such, what was supposed to be a one-night stand progressed into something serious. All was well until Rena discovered that Waylen's heart belonged to another woman. When his first love returned, he stopped coming home, leaving Rena all alone for many nights. She put up with it until she received a check and farewell note one day. Contrary to how Waylen expected her to react, Rena had a smile on her face as she bid him farewell. "It was fun while it lasted, Waylen. May our paths never cross. Have a nice life." But as fate would have it, their paths crossed again. This time, Rena had another man by her side. Waylen's eyes burned with jealousy. He spat, "How the hell did you move on? I thought you loved only me!" "Keyword, loved!" Rena flipped her hair back and retorted, "There are plenty of fish in the sea, Waylen. Besides, you were the one who asked for a breakup. Now, if you want to date me, you have to wait in line." The next day, Rena received a credit alert of billions and a diamond ring. Waylen appeared again, got down on one knee, and uttered, "May I cut in line, Rena? I still want you."
Janet was adopted when she was a kid -- a dream come true for orphans. However, her life was anything but happy. Her adoptive mother taunted and bullied her all her life. Janet got the love and affection of a parent from the old maid who raised her. Unfortunately, the old woman fell ill, and Janet had to marry a worthless man in place of her parents' biological daughter to meet the maid's medical expenses. Could this be a Cinderella's tale? But the man was far from a prince, except for his handsome appearance. Ethan was the illegitimate son of a wealthy family who lived a reckless life and barely made ends meet. He got married to fulfill his mother's last wish. However, on his wedding night, he had an inkling that his wife was different from what he had heard about her. Fate had united the two people with deep secrets. Was Ethan truly the man we thought he was? Surprisingly, he bore an uncanny resemblance to the impenetrable wealthiest man in the city. Would he find out that Janet married him in place of her sister? Would their marriage be a romantic tale or an utter disaster? Read on to unravel Janet and Ethan's journey.
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!"