Emma Cole, a nerd in high school and untouched all throughout her life at a community college, was abandoned by her birth parents and grew up in foster care homes all around New York. Whenever her name was mentioned, the people who knew her laughed and called her foul names, since she looked like the female version of Steve Urkel and was easy to pick on and belittle. She had no sense of style. All she wore were big dresses that hid her tiny figure underneath and glasses which didn"t do her eyes any justice. She owned one bag-- a beat-up leather she received as a gift from a spelling bee contest her freshman year in high school. Though she went to school, she had no friends, no family, and no one to teach her about becoming a lady. Emma had done everything by herself since she was one year old-- the age she was dumped by her parents into the foster system. At age twenty three, she lived in a very small apartment by herself. She wasn"t able to land a high-paying job to afford a good house, as of yet. Every time she applied to a vacant position she may have seen in a newspaper in the cafe, they would turn her down when she went to the interviews and the interviewers took one look at her. Appearance was more than her qualifications if she wanted to land a job as a receptionist or personal assistant at one of the big firms in New York City. Emma decided to stop hoping for a better job and stuck with being a waitress at Carl"s Cafe. Her hell on earth. Carl was the manager and owner of the cafe. A grown man, forty-five years old, who had experienced all the things he had chosen to chase in his pathetic life. He was a terrible boss and treated his employees as his personal slaves with low wages. One of his nasty habits was hitting on his female employees while on the job, but he never hit on Emma. Although she was a female, she just wasn"t his type and was too unattractive to even be bothered with.
Emma Cole, a nerd in high school and untouched all throughout her life at a community college, was abandoned by her birth parents and grew up in foster care homes all around New York. Whenever her name was mentioned, the people who knew her laughed and called her foul names, since she looked like the female version of Steve Urkel and was easy to pick on and belittle. She had no sense of style. All she wore were big dresses that hid her tiny figure underneath and glasses which didn't do her eyes any justice.
She owned one bag-- a beat-up leather she received as a gift from a spelling bee contest her freshman year in high school.
Though she went to school, she had no friends, no family, and no one to teach her about becoming a lady. Emma had done everything by herself since she was one year old-- the age she was dumped by her parents into the foster system.
At age twenty three, she lived in a very small apartment by herself. She wasn't able to land a high-paying job to afford a good house, as of yet. Every time she applied to a vacant position she may have seen in a newspaper in the cafe, they would turn her down when she went to the interviews and the interviewers took one look at her. Appearance was more than her qualifications if she wanted to land a job as a receptionist or personal assistant at one of the big firms in New York City.
Emma decided to stop hoping for a better job and stuck with being a waitress at Carl's Cafe.
Her hell on earth.
Carl was the manager and owner of the cafe. A grown man, forty-five years old, who had experienced all the things he had chosen to chase in his pathetic life. He was a terrible boss and treated his employees as his personal slaves with low wages. One of his nasty habits was hitting on his female employees while on the job, but he never hit on Emma. Although she was a female, she just wasn't his type and was too unattractive to even be bothered with.
____________
It was Wednesday morning.
Emma had only just clocked-in. She placed her bag in her designated locker and began to take the orders of the customers, who were already in abundance for their morning coffee or pancakes and eggs or any breakfast meals of their choice from the menus provided.
She was about to deliver the orders to the kitchen when a pair of hands grabbed her by the arm.
'You have to work a double today. Tisha is sick. I need you to fill in.' And he was gone right after his command.
Emma continued to the kitchen to drop off the customers' orders. Since Tisha was sick, she would have to take her place at the cash register and coffee machines. She was about to have another terrible day in hell but, obeying Carl's command, she worked the double shift without complaint.
On Thursday, the same thing happened-- working a double without getting anything extra for filling in. And the same thing happened on Friday.
~~
Emma was drained, but it was finally Saturday, and it was her day off. She decided to visit a library and take several books to the park for a read. It was the beginning of summer, and she needed the fresh air.
She had just stepped out of her narrow bathroom when her cheap phone, which still had raised keys and couldn't connect to WiFi, rang.
'Emma, I need you to come in right now. Be here in less than twenty minutes!'
Before she could object he had hung up. She had really hoped for some free time to herself, and apart from that, she was exhausted, but she had to comply. How would she afford her crap apartment if she was jobless?
She took her precious time getting ready and arrived an hour later than Carl demanded she be there. He was furious with her and yelled at her as soon as she clocked in.
'I told your malnourished ass to be here in less than twenty minutes!'
Indeed Emma Cole appeared very skinny due to all the over-sized clothes she wore. Without even giving him a glance, she went to the customers to take their orders.
When she was making coffee for an angry, beer belly guy at the front of the line, who was yelling at her and calling her names, she lost her temper and threw the entire cup of coffee in his face. He had called her an incapable, handicapped, low-budget paying maid, who wouldn't even get extra if she shook it at a strip club because she looked like the hobbit in Lord of the Rings.
She had never been so humiliated. Yes, she had it rough in high school but it had gotten a little better at college because everyone there seemed much more mature than the bullies at high school. Now, this grown man was yelling at her because his coffee was ten minutes late. It wasn't even her fault. She was supposed to be off today. Had he kept his mouth shut, she wouldn't have splashed the coffee all over his chubby, beard-covered face.
Carl appeared just as the man was about to throw a table back at Emma. 'Hey hey hey, what's going on here?'
'That incompetent waitress of yours just threw a damn cup of hot coffee in my face, man!'
'Sir, please calm down and put the table down. I'll handle this,' Carl instructed. 'Emma! You're fired!'
'What, you don't even want to hear what I have to say? He embarrassed me and...'
Carl cut her off, 'Get your things and get out. I can't have you throwing coffee in people's faces and still have you working here. GET OUT, EMMA!!'
Emma threw her apron to the ground, took her bag out of the locker and walked out. 'I hated it here anyway,' she said as she passed Carl and the impatient customers on the way out.
When Cassandra's mother is diagnosed of a brain injury with no relative to turn to and no help forthcoming, Cassandra is forced to do the unthinkable which gets her tangled in a web of three men. And the result? Unwanted pregnancy. Amsey has never had a fatherly love and on finding Cassandra stranded and alone, he takes her in, offering to be the father of her child. But things aren't always as they seem as betrayal sets in, secrets get revealed, mysteries; unravelled, or if you'd like, puzzles; solved. Who will the father of the child be? The hypocritical Reverend, The deceitful John or the grumpy Employer? Oh! And not to forget; the foster father who is back after his betrayal? "The Child's Father" is a beautiful Nigerian tale which will keep you at the edge of your seats.
The ancients said: Happiness can't be bought with money! But ancient things aside, by the 23rd century, everything in the world has become private property, and people without money can't even breathe. This is an era when even oxygen has to be sold in supermarkets! "That's right, that is to say-money is omnipotent! Although money may not buy happiness, it can buy magic! As long as you use the latest mobile phone developed by our Miracle Group, it will..." Walking in the spacious street, Su Yue glanced at the advertisement played on the huge display screen of the skyscraper. She didn't know how many times she had listened to this line these days, and her ears were going to cocoon. "Really, Xiaoyueyue, wait for me." Behind the sound almost to let her get goose bumps of affectionate cry, Su Yue helplessly back, see is a drag two huge suitcase difficult in the crowd through the woman. "Qin Hailan, I repeat, don't call me with that strange scale." Very not easy to drag two huge suitcases to the front of Su Yue, then the woman was able to catch her breath, but I don't know why Su Yue always feel she is installed. "Who told Xiaoyueyue that you are so cruel to let people take two suitcases? This is very heavy..."
Prequel Because of a woman, the magic wolf clan suffered the disaster of genocide, and finally there were only three people left: the king, the heaven sacrifice, and the ghost pity-inscription Eight dwarf long-haired white horses, carrying a flaming soft sedan chair, marched at a very slow speed on the white Yuan Ye under the escort of thousands of white knights. The sedan chair is covered with furry snow mink, and there are several soft couches. There are ink, paper and inkstones and various books on the cases, which are like a study. The four corners of the soft sedan chair are equipped with heaters, which are as warm as spring, and seem to be in another world on the cold snow field. Xiao Bingjun knelt on the soft pear mat and was painting at his desk. The bright red skirt is scattered around the body, and the long black hair is draped on it, which makes her as delicate and charming as the hibiscus blossoms in bud. Compared with her twin sister, she always seems to be happy when she turns sixteen. Even if she knew that she was going to marry a man who didn't even know his appearance and temperament, she didn't think it was a serious matter. Since she married the king of Moram two years ago, she woke up lonely every night. But love son said not to let others know that she will wake up at night, she had to go to love son's pear garden every time, and love son's favorite pear tree chat. "Young master, who are you drawing?" Qingyin, one of the little maids kneeling beside her, asked curiously. The other three ladies-in-waiting gathered together, saw the completed portrait of the teenager, and chirped about it. "Silver hair." "Where in the world can there be such a beautiful person?" "It seems... where have you heard of such a person... hey, even your eyes are silver?" The teenager in the picture is wearing an elegant white robe, with long silver hair that grows to the waist hanging on his back. His handsome face is not like a mortal with a gentle smile, which makes the looking figure warm by the warm spring day. Xiao Bingjun bent his eyebrow eye, and two beautiful smiling vortices appeared on his lips. "I don't know, it's a dream person." Since falling into a lethargy at the age of eight, she has often seen things she had never seen before. Beautiful prairie, endless sea and forest, prosperous city than ice city, and people of all colors... When she was ten years old, she saw him, and from then on, "she" always followed him, so long as she looked at him, she would feel extremely happy. She did not know what was wrong with her, but she knew very well that everything she had seen in her dream was true, and so was the young man. After her son left, she even often went to visit her in Moran. It's just that love is always unhappy, which makes her unable to be happy. Now she finally wants to live the same life as Lian Er, and finally wants to know why Lian Er is unhappy. The maid almost lost her manners and opened her mouth. Fortunately, she was well trained on weekdays and controlled it in time, but no one questioned the silver-haired boy again. Ever since young master awoke suddenly in the spring when the pears blossomed, her strange lethargy for nearly eight years has become a taboo topic in the palace and the whole ice city, and no one dares to express any opinion on this issue at this time. Xiao Bingjun didn't feel anything about the sudden silence of the maids. He looked at the teenager in the painting gently and murmured, "I really hope I can really meet him..." I'm just afraid I won't have a chance in the future. Since she awoke, she could no longer go wherever she wanted, and could only stay in the palace every day, let alone look at him or his son again. I heard that the rules of Heiyu Temple are strict. Maybe I can only live there all my life, and I can't go anywhere. Thinking of Heiyu Temple, she can't help but think of the Lord of Heiyu Temple, whom she is about to entrust for life. I don't know what kind of person he will be. When she was in the palace, she overheard the old ladies-in-waiting talking, as if to say that he was very old and had heard of him when they were young. So how big is it? Will it be a white-haired grandfather? But it's amazing. It can make Heiyu Hall stand tall at the border between the Central Plains and the desert without being influenced by various forces. Any race and country should be afraid of him. There is nothing wrong with marrying such a person. Why should Mammy sigh and the attendants look at her with pity? Xiao Bing Jun puzzled and tilted his head, still laughing innocently. The teenager in the portrait in front of her seems to be responding to her thoughts, and her smile looks more dazzling than the sun. The maids looked at the girl's innocent expression, and they couldn't help sighing quietly in their hearts. Clearly, it is exactly the same face. Why is young master, the ice king, not as intelligent and governor as young master without love? It is really worrying. Go back?
It had been heard that Gu Qingrong, a handsome short track speed skater in University A, was a cold man of bad temper. It turned out that he was witnessed helping a cute girl to carry belongings on the day of freshman registration. People laughed and asked him to introduce that cute girl. He said in an aloof tone, "Zeng Ranran, my girlfriend." Born a family full of doctors, Zeng Ranran accidentally knew the secret of Gu Qingrong, a prince of University A. So she wanted to help him achieve his dream to be a member of the national team and take part in the Olympic Winter Games. One day, he stood in front of her, face aloof and voice hoarse, "Zeng Ranran, I don't want my secret revealed again. So there is a solution to it now.""What?""How about being my girlfriend?"
Shu Ya had never doubted Zhuo Hao's love to her until she found a hickey on his shirt.
"Sir, I am sorry to say, I have not the slightest of affection towards you , BTW, the dinner is on me, and never see you again." I am proud with myself for the perfect ending dialogue for the annoying appointment , turn around and dart towards the entrance, when the weird man suddenly grabs my arm ferociously and throw me into his arm, ..... "Ouch", I close my eyes tightly and await the unwilling embrace of the man with a painful look. "Miss, are you alright."A masculine magnetic voice penetrates into my ear. Instead of falling the man's arm, I unexpectedly drop into the bosom of a strikingly dignified guy,whose face is planted with a dimple grin. My body is releasing the bonding hormone that creates the physical addiction I have to this man.
Elodie took a deep breath and knocked, the sound echoing in the quiet corridor. A moment of silence passed, broken only by the pounding of her heart. Finally, the door snicked open, revealing a surprised Dashiell. 'Can't you see the Do Not Disturb sign? We don't want-' His initial frown quickly morphed into confusion at the sight of his wife. 'What are you doing here?' he demanded. 'Your girlfriend invited me,' Elodie replied, her voice laced with icy calm. She tried to peer past him, but his broad frame blocked the view. A saccharine voice chimed in from within the room. 'Elodie? Oh dear, we didn't mean for you to find out this way. It's just that-' Elodie cut her short. 'Oh please, Selene. Spare me the fake apologies. You wouldn't have sent me all those texts if you didn't want me to know.' Dashiell shifted uncomfortably, his face a mask of annoyance. 'What texts?' Elodie stepped past him, taking in the luxurious suite with a sardonic smile. The king-sized bed, the scattered rose petals, the lingering scent of sex – it all painted a vivid picture of their betrayal. She looked up at Dashiell, her gaze unwavering. 'I want a divorce.' ****** Dashiell lived a life of luxury, surrounded by the best things money could buy. But when a car accident left him vulnerable, he met Elodie, a seemingly ordinary woman who nursed him back to health. Mistaking her for just another employee, Dashiell entered into a loveless marriage with her solely for convenience. However, fate had a different script in store. Elodie, the 'ordinary nurse,' held a secret more precious than any diamond: she was the sole heiress to Northstar, a vast and powerful enterprise. Unaware of her true identity, Dashiell cast her aside when his ex-girlfriend returned, leaving Elodie humiliated. But Elodie was not one to be easily broken. She shed the facade of the meek nurse, reclaiming her rightful inheritance and stepping into the role of Northstar's CEO. Now, the woman Dashiell discarded was the one holding the reins of power. As Elodie thrives in her new role, Dashiell is consumed by regret. He finally sees Elodie for the extraordinary woman she truly is, realising the depth of his mistake. But will his remorse be enough to win back the heart he so carelessly discarded?
The day Raina gave birth should have been the happiest of her life. Instead, it became her worst nightmare. Moments after delivering their twins, Alexander shattered her heart-divorcing her and forcing her to sign away custody of their son, Liam. With nothing but betrayal and heartbreak to her name, Raina disappeared, raising their daughter, Ava, on her own.Years later, fate comes knocking when Liam falls gravely ill. Desperate to save his son, Alexander is forced to seek out the one person he once cast aside. Alexander finds himself face to face with the woman he underestimated, pleading for a second chance-not just for himself, but for their son. But Raina is no longer the same broken woman who once loved him.No longer the woman he left behind. She has carved out a new life-one built on strength, wealth, and a long-buried legacy she expected to uncover.Raina has spent years learning to live without him.The question is... Will she risk reopening old wounds to save the son she never got to love? or has Alexander lost her forever?
22-year-old Evelyn Carter is attempting to start over in California while avoiding her past. She will be embarking on a new career path as a private school teacher. She is smart, attractive, and doesn't put up with nonsense. Who wouldn't notice her? However, what happens when she attracts the attention of someone unwilling to let her go? Who wants her and nothing else after falling in love at first sight? A 25-year-old billionaire CEO and single father, Lucian Carrington. He takes what he wants and he is also a very dangerous man. All it needed was one look at a stunning woman to realize she was HIS, even though he doesn't believe in relationships because they always end. Preview: Miss Carter, you will be mine. I say firmly. "Release my arm, Mr. Carrington, before I force you to." She says, seeming to smile at me. I give her a sly smile. Squeezing my wrist with her other hand, she twists it uncomfortably. I gave a painful hiss. "Don't underestimate me, Mr. Carrington." "This is the only time I will allow you to walk away from me, Miss Carter." She glared at me as she turned. "Mr. Carrington, I am no possession of yours." I was left standing there when she opened the classroom door and left.
"There will be no falling in love, we will only act as a loving couple when we are in public, we will share a room to make it believable, but no intimacy, touching is off-limits. We'll only have sex once a month, and that's solely to produce an heir. You won't interfere in my business, and I won't interfere in yours. You will be my wife in every sense and you will not be involved with any other man," he said, arrogance seeping from every word. I watch his mouth move, I'm not ready to fall in love with any man, especially not one as arrogant and egoistic as him. I can handle acting as a loving couple, and as for intimacy once a month. I can agree to that just to satisfy my sexual cravings with no strings attached. "Where can I sign?" I asked since I had nothing to lose. *** Nadine's wedding dreams turned to nightmares when she caught her sister and fiancé cheating! With a secret recording, she's ready for revenge. But then mysterious billionaire Logan West offers a deal: A Contract Marriage to take down her ex's empire. But what Nadine doesn't know is her life is getting complicated as she takes her chance to get revenge or risks everything for a chance at love?"
It was supposed to be a marriage of convenience, but Carrie made the mistake of falling in love with Kristopher. When the time came that she needed him the most, her husband was in the company of another woman. Enough was enough. Carrie chose to divorce Kristopher and move on with her life. Only when she left did Kristopher realize how important she was to him. In the face of his ex-wife’s countless admirers, Kristopher offered her 20 million dollars and proposed a new deal. “Let’s get married again.”
Lindsey's fiancé was the devil's first son. Not only did he lie to her but he also slept with her stepmother, conspired to take away her family fortune, and then set her up to have sex with a total stranger. To get her lick back, Lindsey decided to find a man to disrupt her engagement party and humiliate the cheating bastard. Never did she imagine that she would bump into a strikingly handsome stranger who was all that she was currently looking for. At the engagement party, he boldly declared that she was his woman. Lindsey thought he was just a broke man who wanted to leech off her. But once they began their fake relationship, she realized that good luck kept coming her way. She thought they would part ways after the engagement party, but this man kept to her side. "We gotta stick together, Lindsey. Remember, I'm now your fiancé. " "Domenic, you're with me because of my money, aren't you?" Lindsey asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Domenic was taken aback by that accusation. How could he, the heir of the Walsh family and CEO of Vitality Group, be with her for money? He controlled more than half of the city's economy. Money wasn't a problem for him! The two got closer and closer. One day, Lindsey finally realized that Domenic was actually the stranger she had slept with months ago. Would this realization change things between them? For the better or worse?