After a mysterious pregnancy, nineteen years old Leona found herself entangled with a web of ruthless criminals and the boss Lando, had his hawk-like eyes set on her. Totally abandoned by her family, she ran to hide under the wings of a billionaire after her escape from Lando. With an unknown connection between the two men, Leona had to fight for her freedom and uncover the father of her son.
_________________________________
👩🎓LEONA 👩🎓
"And our Valedictorian for this year 2019 goes to.." the emcee paused as he smiled mockingly at us.
He has us, especially me right where he wanted. In between his tight gripping suspense.
My heart hammered furiously against my ribcage as I exchanged looks with my best friend. She smiled nervously at me then her gaze goes back to the man at the podium who in no time will be declaring the hero of this year.
It's the best student award. Valedictory, to be precise. At the end of the day, a student with the highest rank of the entire graduating class will leave here with a price and bragging rights.
Rhoda and I are anxious because we happen to just be one of the nerds who worked hard just to acquire the title.
For all the things, I need it mostly for the money and the juicy offer that comes with it but for my friend, she seems to have the silver spoon already glistening in her mouth so surely, it's for the bragging rights. Whatever reason we both have, it's certainly going to make us happy.
Clearly, It was the day of graduation, and I'm just excited as everyone here. After years of schooling, I can finally say bye to college.
Though I have come out with a first-class degree, my family and I will be done a great favor if my name should be called as it's going to open many possibilities for us. It will go a long way.
For someone who comes from a lower-class family, I surely need this greatly. After I lost my mom, my dad remarried and had three more children who are all girls with Tasha.
I'm Leona Grande the second child and the only daughter my mom gave birth to before passing on. My dad got remarried to Tasha and they had three kids, all girls. I have a brother, Raymond who has made it out of high school only.
My dad is a fashion designer who manages a small shop which wasn't doing too well as my education ate deep into it.
Having a jobless stepmom made it worse because the burden was on dad alone which as a result, my step-siblings had to drop out of middle school.
As if that wasn't enough, my stepmom, Tasha was quite a headache and her three girls are also something else. Especially the eldest who's called Elsie.
Now here's the deal, I have to shoulder my family's financial burdens once I am out of college since the family's greater wealth got invested into my education. It's now time to pay back every single dime and more.
I'd have to get a good job, send my siblings back to school, and take care of the family. This is why this award is very important to me because it comes with a job and a fixed salary. Which means I won't have to go searching for a job once I'm done. I've worked and sacrificed a lot for four years and almost all my life.
Only if my elder brother had agreed to this but he hates to be controlled. Not that I like it but I was my dad's only option.
At the early stage of sixteen, I was out of high school and now at the age of twenty, I made it out of college. My life was simple yet intense.
I was really serious with my books, they had me indoors most of the time. I earned the nerd title very easily way back in high school only that I didn't put on huge glasses.
I wanted to keep a low profile but my grades kept me popular.
Since my dad didn't make me work part-time, I had to really make it worth it. Friends will be a distraction so I entertained none until I met Rhoda at NYU.
Being the daughter of a wealthy family, I was shocked that she chose to befriend a church mouse like me.
I was not the normal teenage girl who chats and gossip about boys goes to parties and has sex. I lived my life differently, mentally, psychologically, physically, and emotionally.
My red platinum hair was overgrown because I had no time to attend to it and even if I had the time, there was no money for that. The length of my hair is almost below my butt anytime I lose it. Other than that, it was always wrapped on my head.
I had no time to apply makeup or wear beautiful clothes. I was always cladded in faded denim trousers and hoodies.
Well, let's say all the few clothes I have are all faded out of excess use. It didn't bother me because I had nowhere to go or someone to impress.
I'm under the no-boyfriend policy and my dad always makes sure that I wasn't seen around the opposite sex even now that I am 20. He's very protective over me.
Being a future breadwinner or should I say, caretaker or heir? Whichever way, it wasn't an easy task.
The way I lived my life should make it difficult for us to get along but Rhoda and I clicked perfectly.
I looked around and admired the beautiful academic gowns we were wearing.
I can't wait to throw my cap out into the air with Rhoda. We have...
"As you are all aware, the student with the highest grades in all the subjects is the one considered as a Valedictorian and that is none other but our very own miss Leona Grande. She deserves.."
My heart leaped into the pit of my stomach just hearing my name. I can't breathe. I tried to process what I heard. But my heart was beating loudly and the noise from the students was also loud. I can't tell which one is louder.
I fan my face with my hand.
The whole graduate cheered and chanted my name wildly. I was overwhelmed. Now if I didn't hear the emcee correctly, the chanting of my mates cleared the doubts.
Rhoda's smile and the crushing of her body against mine as she screamed congratulations registered it in my mind.
My eyes darted to the gold medal and the sight teared me up.
Oh my God! I made it! I made it! I made it! I chanted in my head.
The cheering was so loud that I can imagine my father doing a victory dance back home, my stepmom's relief smile, her children's happy faces, and my brother's proud smile.
I jumped up happily and muttered a YES! Meanwhile, I couldn't stop my tears.
With this award, I don't need to go searching for work because the government is gonna employ me instantly.
"Kindly come forward miss Grande." The emcee called.
I glance at Rhoda as if to ask for permission. She urged me on by pushing me off towards the podium. I take in deep breaths before beginning to walk towards the big stage but suddenly, everything began to spin around me and I felt oddly dizzy.
I tried to keep my eyes open as I walk and even though it was difficult, I somehow managed to get closer to the stage.
Finally, up there, I didn't know what happened and everything suddenly went blank. I felt my knees go weak beneath me and slowly let loose.
The gasps of my lectures and my colleagues were the last thing I heard as I succumb to the pain from my fall and eventually darkness.
After Amelia's arranged marriage, she single handedly tried to make it work but all her efforts were thrown out of the window by her husband whose behavior got worse by the day. Little did he know that he was throwing her into the arms of another man. When he finally decided to accept her, Amelia was also stuck between keeping her Vows or breaking them all to pieces. But when deadly secrets from her family and about her husband began to slap her from every angle, even FOR BETTER OR WORSE might not be capable of holding her chivalry for long. And with the identity of her new lover out to the open, will the SINFUL MATRIMONY end or thrive?
Kiara Collins has a curse. A curse that goes by the name of clumsiness. Despite being confident and bold, she tumbles over anything and everything; whether it's furniture or air, Kiara is almost positive that no one can beat her when it comes to her eternal embarrassment of being a klutz. So, when her so-called 'curse' causes her to trip onto Connor Blake, the academy's richest student, and end up locking lips with him, Kiara is absolutely mortified and is sure that the rest of her life will end up with her digging herself into a hole and never coming out. After all, a boy like him is sure to take every chance he can get to embarrass her over the incident, right? Wrong. Instead of doing what most people would do, Connor decides to befriend the clumsy yet confident girl. And somewhere along the way, he realizes that maybe a kiss with her won't be so bad. •-•-•
Warning: Mature contents 🔞 Tracy Lyn-Tyler is a beautiful model who is struggling for fame but the little opportunity that comes by only get snatched by fellow models who would do anything to prove that she's incapable of being a model to belittle her. It came out as a shock when Jake Langford, the famous billionaire celebrity specifically recruited her to feature in his video which was by popular demand. The ticket to fame is finally here but Tracy is reluctant to take the golden offer. She eventually agrees only for her past which she was hiding from the world to exhume, putting Jake's years of sweat at stake. Jake's BFF who didn't like the affection Jake gave Tracy in the first place vowed to bring hell to her, using the effect of Tracy's past as an excuse to cover her devious motive. Will Jake sit and watch Tracy suffer because of what she caused him or come through for her?
June Rivera was divorced by her husband after three years of marriage because he wanted to be with her sister who was pregnant for him. Kicked to the curb with a divorce and rejected by her parents,she struggles to make ends meet and get a job until she saves Luis Ambrose from an accident - the only child of Rafael Ambrose, a widowed man and the CEO of Ambrose Corporation. When little Luis asks to have her as a nanny, and Rafael's mother pressures him to get married, they draw a contract. To be Luis's nanny and his fake wife for one year in exchange for 50 million dollars!
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?"
"Ahh!" She was in a moaning mess. She did not want to feel anything for this man. She hated him. His hands began to move all over her body. She gasped when he pulled down the back chain of her dress. The chain stopped at her lower waist, so when he zipped it off, her upper back and waist were exposed. "D-Don't touch m-ummm!" His fingers rolled around her bare back, and she pressed her head against the pillow. His touches were giving her goosebumps all over her body. With a deep angry voice, he whispered in her ear, "I am going to make you forget his touches, kisses, and everything. Every time you touch another man, you will only think of me." - - - Ava Adler was a nerdy omega. People bullied her because they thought she was ugly and unattractive. But Ava secretly loved the bad boy, Ian Dawson. He was the future Alpha of the Mystic Shadow Pack. However, he doesn't give a damn about rules and laws, as he only likes to play around with girls. Ava was unaware of Ian's arrogance until her fate intertwined with his. He neglected her and hurt her deeply. What would happen when Ava turned out to be a beautiful girl who could win over any boy, and Ian looked back and regretted his decisions? What if she had a secret identity that she had yet to discover? What if the tables turned and Ian begged her not to leave him?
There was only one man in Raegan's heart, and it was Mitchel. In the second year of her marriage to him, she got pregnant. Raegan's joy knew no bounds. But before she could break the news to her husband, he served her divorce papers because he wanted to marry his first love. After an accident, Raegan lay in the pool of her own blood and called out to Mitchel for help. Unfortunately, he left with his first love in his arms. Raegan escaped death by the whiskers. Afterward, she decided to get her life back on track. Her name was everywhere years later. Mitchel became very uncomfortable. For some reason, he began to miss her. His heart ached when he saw her all smiles with another man. He crashed her wedding and fell to his knees while she was at the altar. With bloodshot eyes, he queried, "I thought you said your love for me is unbreakable? How come you are getting married to someone else? Come back to me!"
Brenna lived with her adoptive parents for twenty years, enduring their exploitation. When their real daughter appeared, they sent Brenna back to her true parents, thinking they were broke. In reality, her birth parents belonged to a top circle that her adoptive family could never reach. Hoping Brenna would fail, they gasped at her status: a global finance expert, a gifted engineer, the fastest racer... Was there any end to the identities she kept hidden? After her fiancé ended their engagement, Brenna met his twin brother. Unexpectedly, her ex-fiancé showed up, confessing his love...
After hiding her true identity throughout her three-year marriage to Colton, Allison had committed wholeheartedly, only to find herself neglected and pushed toward divorce. Disheartened, she set out to rediscover her true self-a talented perfumer, the mastermind of a famous intelligence agency, and the heir to a secret hacker network. Realizing his mistakes, Colton expressed his regret. "I know I messed up. Please, give me another chance." Yet, Kellan, a once-disabled tycoon, stood up from his wheelchair, took Allison's hand, and scoffed dismissively, "You think she'll take you back? Dream on."