"You think I'm your little plaything, Henry? Think again. But every time I look into those eyes... damn, it's like I'm the one who's lost." He's the billionaire who could snap his fingers and have anything-or anyone. But I'm the contract wife who can't be tamed. In his world, secrets lurk behind every door, and danger's my new shadow. The rules? His. The choice to stay? Mine. Just one catch-I can't resist him, and he knows it. He knows everything...
Angele's POV
"What's it going to be, Angele? You going to take a jump or leave nothing to chance?"
The voice had a place with my dearest companion, Marcus, yet my look was locked across the room on him - Henry, the CEO with eyes as cold as his name recommended. He lane in the cowhide seat behind his huge mahogany work area, one corner of his mouth jerking as though he were making an effort not to snicker. An entertained look all over, similar to he definitely knew my response.
All I knew was he believed me should sign some paper that, as far as he might be concerned, implied power and control, yet to me... it was the pass to something I was unable to try and completely handle. An exit plan, perhaps. A future.
"Miss Angele, I accept you've perused the conditions of the understanding?" His voice was low, estimated, similar to each word was being handpicked to one or the other interest or threaten me.
I gestured, gulping down nerves. The agreement on the work area between us was thick loaded up with statements, conditions, things I could half comprehend. However, my fingers shivered with the longing to go after the pen, sign my name, and step into his reality. A world that guaranteed riches and solidness. Also, perhaps something hazier.
"See, kid," Marcus murmured, prodding me, "you don't need to do this."
Be that as it may, Marcus didn't have the foggiest idea what it seemed like to party day in and day out, with nothing certain. My family required this; they required me to do this. I expected to do this.
Also, the CEO staying there, pausing, knew it.
As I went after the pen, he inclined in nearer, his look choosing my hand. "Keep in mind," he said, his voice smooth yet firm, "this isn't simply a piece of paper. When you're in, you're mine. Completely. No space for questions or misgivings."
My heart beat harder as his words sank in; their weight weighty with something I was unable to disregard. Be that as it may, the manner in which he saw me, similar to he could see directly through me - what I needed, what I dreaded - was attractive. I was unable to turn away.
"Fine," I made due, despite the fact that my voice shuddered. "Simply let me know a certain something." I maintained eye contact with him, trying myself not to recoil. "Why me?"
He gave a half-grin, one eyebrow curving in entertainment. "Why not you?"
His response was unclear, purposefully thus, yet there was something in his eyes that let me know he was at that point ten strides ahead, playing a game I didn't have the foggiest idea about the standards to. He recently paused, knowing that ultimately, interest or urgency or perhaps both would take me leap.
With my unique on the paper, he reclined in his seat, watching me like a tracker evaluating its prey. I felt my heart hustling, each thump an update that I had quite recently given over something I was unable to reclaim.
He shut the agreement, the snap of the envelope reverberating in the quietness between us. Standing up, he crossed the distance between us, his tall casing overshadowing me as he expanded his hand. "Welcome to my world, Angele," he mumbled, voice dropping into a murmur that felt like a chill down my spine.
I grasped his hand, the glow of his skin a glaring difference to the cold quiet of his disposition. Interestingly, I felt the implicit commitment he'd made. That I was as of now not free. That he held the strings now.
"Tomorrow," he said, his tone both instructing and quiet, "you'll start to see precisely exact thing you pursued."
He delivered my hand, venturing back, and without another word, he left me there in the faintly lit room, heart dashing, mind turning. I'd consented to his terms, however I had no clue about what I'd recently ventured into.
The quiet in Henry's cool, moderate office was so thick I could nearly hear my own pulse. Sitting opposite him, I paused my breathing, fingers apprehensively following the edges of the agreement he'd put before me. The pen weighed vigorously in my grasp, a tie holding me on the edge of a choice that could make a huge difference.
"Sign it, or don't," he said, his voice quiet however chillingly separated. "However, don't burn through my time, Angele."
He watched me with those cold blue eyes, the touch of restlessness glimmering underneath the surface. There was something unnervingly attractive about the manner in which he took a gander at me - like he could see directly through my endeavors to stay made.
I gulped hard, attempting to cover the faltering ascending in my chest. "I want to understand what I'm getting into, Mr.Thorn," I made due, my voice steadier than I felt.
"Call me Henry," he said without a hitch, that weak, risky grin gracing his lips. "With respect to what you're getting into, I'd say it's precisely exact thing you're expecting - security, independence from monetary concerns, and a day to day existence that will take you a long way from where you are NOW."
His words lingered palpably, weighty with suggestions. Is it safe to say that he was promising me a future, or selling me an overlaid confine?
I peered down at the agreement, the fresh dark ink defining clear boundaries around my opportunity. In any case, past the lawful terms, there was something different here - a severe rundown of rules, limits, and that chilling expression, "no inquiries posed."
The truth hit me. He needed my responsibility, my quietness, my acquiescence.
"Appears to be a great deal to ask from somebody you scarcely know," I said, raising my look to meet his. My heart beat as his eyes held mine, looking, working out.
"Do you truly need to know me?" he countered, inclining forward marginally. "Since once you step into my world, Angele, there's no way but forward."
His words were both an admonition and a greeting. I felt the draw, a perilously tempting desire to jump recklessly, despite the fact that I knew the dangers. With a flimsy breath, I went after the pen and marked, fixing my destiny with a strong stroke.
When the agreement was marked, his disposition moved. He stood, his tall, strong edge creating a shaded area that appeared to envelope me.
"Welcome to your new life, Mrs. Thorn," he mumbled, the convention bound with something hazier. "I trust you'll see as my home obliging."
Home. The word sounded strange coming from him.
"I have one rule," he proceeded, his tone firm. "Try not to enter the cellar. My rule is untouchable - for any reason."
The reality in his voice sent a chill down my spine, however I dealt with a little gesture. His appearance relaxed just somewhat, his eyes glinting with something practically delicate.
"I'll give you an opportunity to change," he added discreetly. "Be that as it may, recall, Angele... nothing in this world is free."
That evening, I moved into his penthouse, a shocking pinnacle of glass and steel sitting above the city horizon. It seemed like strolling into an alternate world - extravagance enclosed by an inauspicious calm.
As I got comfortable, I saw a bunch of keys on the kitchen counter, each marked flawlessly. However, one stuck out, silver and engraved with a multifaceted plan. The cellar key.
I got it, a rush and an admonition droning through me. For what reason was it prohibited? What was concealed down there that he expected to keep so firmly locked away?
Interest stewed, however I shoved it to the side. The last thing I needed was to test his understanding on my most memorable evening.
Over the course of the following couple of days, our collaborations were brief, formal, accused of an implicit pressure. Henry stayed away, yet I could feel his presence, a shadow waiting in each side of the penthouse. His quiet look, his deliberate words - they resembled unique pieces I was unable to fit together.
Then, at that point, on the fifth night, he showed up in the entryway of the library, watching me unobtrusively as I perused his books. His eyes mellowed for one minute, and I felt my guards disintegrate.
"Do you appreciate secrets, Angele?" he asked, ending the quietness.
"I do," I answered, practically short of breath under his serious look. There was something hauntingly lovely in his watched disposition, similar to he'd fabricated walls to keep everybody out - and me in.
"Alright," he mumbled, inclining nearer, "think about this house your most memorable secret."
Soon thereafter, I wound up remaining at the highest point of the storm cellar flight of stairs, the prohibited key gripped in my grasp. His words replayed to me; his standard clear. However, a mind-boggling desire filled me - the need to open the insider facts he watched so wildly.
I realized I was wavering on a risky edge, playing with limits I scarcely comprehended. In any case, one inquiry beat to me: What's Henry stowing away?
Similarly as I went after the entryway, a strong hand folded over my wrist, pulled me back. I turned, breath got, as Henry's eyes bore into mine, dim and angry.
"What do you believe you're not kidding?" His voice was a low, hazardous murmur.
Furthermore, at that time, I knew - I'd recently crossed a line I was unable to uncross.
Charlie Bennett is a man who has it all-wealth, power, and success. But behind the walls of his towering corporate empire, he hides a broken heart and a past he'd rather forget. When fiery interior designer Angie walks into his office, challenging him in ways no one ever has, the last thing Charlie expects is to fall for her. She's everything he can't control-creative, passionate, and unwilling to compromise. For Angie, Charlie is everything she's learned to avoid-distant, emotionally unavailable, and dangerously handsome. But as the two clash over the vision for his company, sparks fly, and Angie realizes there's more to the cold CEO than meets the eye. As their connection deepens, old wounds resurface, threatening to tear them apart. In a world where control is everything, can two people with so much to lose find the courage to open their hearts and trust in a love that's warmer than the wind and deeper than their fears?
"Carroll Brown is dead! But you have to marry him in your sister's name." My mother said to me in a cold tone. My sister was engaged to the hottest billionaire. It should have been a perfect marriage. Unexpectedly, Carroll was dead in an accident. My sister didn't want to become a widow, so she forced me to marry her dead fiance. And I had no right to refuse her. Actually, I was the biological daughter of the Smith family. My sister was an adoptive one. My sister and I had been swapped at the hospital when we were just born. My parents had already had a deep relationship with her. So they chose to sacrifice me. On the wedding day, I was taken to the mourning hall. "Ma'am, please keep Master company and let him feel warm." The housekeeper said with a cold expression. I couldn't help but look up at the portrait above the coffin, and my heart skipped a beat at this glance. The man in the portrait was more handsome than the superstars in Hollywood. Carroll Brown? My dead husband? Wow, he was really handsome! I didn't know how long had passed when my stomach began to rebel. After one glance at the coffin, I swallowed my saliva and then begged with my fingers crossed. "Mr. Carroll, I'm starving! May I eat your pastries? You don't mind, do you?" "I do." "Ah!" Scared, I broke out in a cold sweat. My legs went limp, and I fell to the ground. I shouted, "Ghost!" Carroll curled his lips, leaned over, and touched the black coffin. "Mr. Carroll has risen from the dead. What do you think of this headline tomorrow?"
Rumors claimed that Fernanda, newly back with her family, was nothing more than a violent country bumpkin. Fernanda just flashed a casual, dismissive grin in response. Another rumor suggested that the usually rational Cristian had lost all sense, madly in love with Fernanda. This frustrated her. She could tolerate gossip about herself, but slander against her beloved crossed the line! Gradually, as Fernanda's multiple identities as a celebrated designer, a savvy gamer, an acclaimed painter, and a successful business magnate came to light, everyone realized they were the ones who had been fooled.
After three years of loveless marriage, Kira was slapped with divorce papers. She has shown him her unrequited love throughout her entire marriage with him, but he decided to turn blind eyes all because of his lover. Distraught and heartbroken, Kira choose to sign the divorce papers with bitter heart. But then and there, she promised herself that when she's back, he will come crawling to her, but she will make him pay for hurting her. Join Kira as she transform to a wealthy heiress and soared as the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar empire, a remarkable healer and make her ex-husband pay!
Two years ago, Ricky found himself coerced into marrying Emma to protect the woman he cherished. From Ricky's perspective, Emma was despicable, resorting to underhanded schemes to ensure their marriage. He maintained a distant and cold attitude toward her, reserving his warmth for another. Yet, Emma remained wholeheartedly dedicated to Ricky for more than ten years. As she grew weary and considered relinquishing her efforts, Ricky was seized by a sudden fear. Only when Emma's life teetered on the edge, pregnant with Ricky's child, did he recognize-the love of his life had always been Emma.
Kaelyn devoted three years tending to her husband after a terrible accident. But once he was fully recovered, he cast her aside and brought his first love back from abroad. Devastated, Kaelyn decided on a divorce as people mocked her for being discarded. She went on to reinvent herself, becoming a highly sought-after doctor, a champion racer, and an internationally renowned architectural designer. Even then, the traitors sneered in disdain, believing Kaelyn would never find someone. But then the ex-husband’s uncle, a powerful warlord, returned with his army to ask for Kaelyn’s hand in marriage.
COALESCENCE OF THE FIVE SERIES BOOK ONE: THE 5-TIME REJECTED GAMMA & THE LYCAN KING BOOK TWO: THE ROGUES WHO WENT ROGUE BOOK THREE: THE INDOMITABLE HUNTRESS & THE HARDENED DUKE *** BOOK ONE: After being rejected by 5 mates, Gamma Lucianne pleaded with the Moon Goddess to spare her from any further mate-bonds. To her dismay, she is being bonded for the sixth time. What’s worse is that her sixth-chance mate is the most powerful creature ruling over all werewolves and Lycans - the Lycan King himself. She is certain, dead certain, that a rejection would come sooner or later, though she hopes for it to be sooner. King Alexandar was ecstatic to meet his bonded mate, and couldn’t thank their Goddess enough for gifting him someone so perfect. However, he soon realizes that this gift is reluctant to accept him, and more than willing to sever their bond. He tries to connect with her but she seems so far away. He is desperate to get intimate with her but she seems reluctant to open up to him. He tries to tell her that he is willing to commit to her for the rest of his life but she doesn’t seem to believe him. He is pleading for a chance: a chance to get to know her; a chance to show her that he’s different; and a chance to love her. But when not-so-subtle crushes, jealous suitors, self-entitled Queen-wannabes, an old flame, a silent protector and a past wedding engagement threaten to jeopardize their relationship, will Lucianne and Xandar still choose to be together? Is their love strong enough to overcome everything and everyone? Or will Lucianne resort to enduring a sixth rejection from the one person she thought she could entrust her heart with?