Following the death of her father the only surviving child Ana Marson, left college to secure her birthright in Monaco through a marriage contract with Armani Ortega the head of the Ortega family, one of the highest-ranking families and mafia in Monaco. On her arrival, she faces several complications as Armani is already in a relationship with Sofia Arison, the daughter of another high-ranking mafia. Ana has to enact the contract and force him to marry her in exchange for a joint partnership in her family's oil well to entice the agreement and keep her legacy. He eventually leaves Sofia and marries Ana. Ana faces challenges with keeping the inheritance as there was a catch to the contract, due to an outstanding clause that states that if she divorced him, she loses her inheritance. Romance sparks between the both of them and the marriage becomes easier but Fueled with jealousy and hatred, Sofia comes after Ana making sure she destroys every inch of her happiness but then goes too far in the process which breaks a war out between both families. Will they be able to make Sofia pay and at what cost? Find out more in the book!
Ana stands over her father's grave with a tear rolling down her cheeks "I know you don't like it, you don't want me to leave but I have to" she says to her friend Mia standing next to her " I know but what if it doesn't go as planned" Mia responds holding her hands staring at her with uttermost concern written all over her face, Ana blinked and stared back at Mia,
"This is my legacy, I can't just let them absorb my father's Oil Well, that's my inheritance and I need to secure it," she says as she hardens the expression on her face, Mia sigh and looks back at her "I have to meet Armani Ortega, and secure this marriage contract as soon as possible," Ana continuing her statement as she places her hands on Mia's cheek and kiss her on the lips "If that's what you want, the lawyers are ready to meet and make the preparations," Mia says holding her hands and they both walked out of the cemetery.
Later that day Ana meets with her father's lawyer.
" Here are the documents of the contract, it was signed 8 years ago by the head of the Ortega family," the lawyer says, she immediately follows up with his statement "Armani Ortega," she says looking up at him "yes" he replies, she relaxes into her chair narrowing her eyes around the room then asks the lawyer "what is he like?" This she asks with curiosity in her voice, he relaxes into his chair like and exhales "Well he is hum what I would describe as ruthless, unchallenged there is a reason he is still the head of the mafia despite the fact he is the first son of the family, his ways are considered vicious but effective" the lawyer responds to her as he observes her moving uncomfortably on her chair, she could visibly tremble at the thought of him, then he pauses and looks at her with a worried face "are you sure you want to go ahead with this?" she looks up and him and blinks twice taking a deep breath "It's the only way I can't let Mr. Benson and the other shareholders take that Well" she breathes out "Even if I have to marry this ruthless mafia boss, I will" she says with determination and the lawyer nods his head in agreement "alright then".
She arrives at her apartment on campus and throws herself on the bed staring at her ceiling, "How do I leave school in my last year, I've worked hard to get good grades and have a GPA of 4.3" She shakes her head and starts sorting out her stuff to leave for Monaco in the next two days, after hours of preparation, she decides to go out for dinner with her friends one last time. "Hey, bitches what's up, how about one last dinner and you know where," she says as she picks up her phone to make a group call on her friends' group chat and they all laugh at the excitement to hang out.
She arrives at their favorite fancy restaurant in a silk dress that catches every inch of her curve and gets every head turning at the restaurant for her, then she waves her hand at where her friends are already waiting for her to break the stares, "now that's how you dress on your last night out with friends" Mia yells out in excitement and they all giggle along,
"I know right," Ana says as she chuckles with a slight blush over her cheeks.
They all have their seats for drinks while waiting on entrée, conversation starts blurting out between them and laughter follows.
"I can't believe you are actually leaving all this behind," one of her friends says out loud as it draws attention to her, then she continues with the statement " I mean we all started freshman year together and we have come this far, I know it's a matter of family honor but do you really need that Oil Well"
Ana looks at her immediately in annoyance at what she just altered, "You wouldn't know anything about family honor would you now, as you don't have one so no I can't relate with you on that" Ana snaps back at her as she looks back at her meal and continues in silence for a while. Fortunately the meal and champagne come over to their table and that breaks the silence,
"Oh, it's the champagne" Mia yells out breaking the silence, "finally" one of her friends responds in agreement with Mia's outburst, then Ana stands up to make the toast,
"Okay everyone, I can't believe it has been three years of ups and downs with you lot by my side, I'm honored to leave here knowing I had the best college years and I do wish you all a successful final year, it is honestly sad to have to leave without graduating together as planned but I had the best years and I would want it any other way, cheers", "cheers!" they all respond and clink their glasses together as they gulp their wine.
Ana and Mia arrive at her apartment after the night out to have a little time together, "You know what Kate said at the table wasn't all wrong even though she was insensitive about it" Mia says as she strikes a conversation between them, Ana looks at her and exhales then pulls out a bottle of wine with two glasses to continue drinking. "I'm aware of what I'm giving up but I rather give this up than that Oil Well," she says and sips her rich-tasting red wine then looks out her window, Mia moves closer and places her hands on her shoulder as a means of comfort "In that case you need to go in prepared, have you thought of what if he doesn't want to marry you, What would be your resort to that, you cannot come back empty-handed," Mia says and Ana turns to her, her nose grazing hers, "You're right, I need a strategic means, I need to think, this contract might not be enough, I need to bring something else to the table" Ana replies to her suggestion, "exactly" Mia responds as she presses her lips on hers and kiss Ana passionately, " I'm truly going to miss you, Ana Marson".
The next day Ana requests a meeting with the lawyer to go over one final detail.
"I need you to draft an offer today," Ana says in a hasty tone looking up at him, legs crossed "You're leaving for Monaco tomorrow what could you possibly need at the last minute," he asks in confusion, " I thought about it last night, I'm walking into another man's life and literally forcing him to marry me, the question stands, what if he doesn't want to?" she tilts her head in his direction allowing him to analyze the question,
" I see no reason why he won't," he answers shaking his head in disagreement,
" you said it yourself, he is ruthless and has his way of life, he could decide not to even with the contract, maybe offer me some compensation," she says biting her finger slightly
"Okay so what kind of offer do you have in mind," he asks,
" state that I would offer him 49% of the Oil well after the marriage, it would be my wedding gift to him," she demands with a straight face and seriousness in her eyes. He chuckles for a moment but can tell by her face that she is dead serious.
" Do you have any idea what 49% is?" he asked placing his fingers on his forehead, she sat up and stared straight into his eyes,
" I'm aware what it is, but if I want this mafia boss to wed me on time I need to entice the contract so he can keep to it, it would be my trojan horse when he turns the contract down" she exhales loudly " I need to go in there strategically." She appeals to him,
He then shuffles through some documents, picks up his phone, and makes a call to his office to get going with it immediately. " I've made the call but I'm sure you know what you are doing, this Well is your inheritance," he says with concern.
"And I would be left with nothing if he doesn't marry me so half bread is better than none" she replies looking down at her fingers hoping she made the right call.
"Alright then the papers will be ready tonight before your flight tomorrow, I do wish you good luck on this journey, and stay safe, I know your father very well and I think of you as a daughter," he says placing his hands on her shoulder, she takes his hand in comfort " I will, by the end of this my father would be glad I took this path," she says as she walks out of the office.
The next day, she boards her first-class flight to Monaco, as they take off she feels a sense of nervousness knowing there is no going back. She has taken this path and she needs to make sure her sacrifice isn't in vain. She arrives in Monaco city at 1600, she is then ushered to her hotel by the detail sent by Armani Ortega. She takes a deep breath as she arrives at her room, throws her stuff on the floor flings herself on the soft mattress, and has dinner in her room before meeting with Armani.
Her meeting with him is at 8 pm that night at his mansion in Monte Carlo, she wakes up at 7:30 pm then hurriedly starts dressing up to leave and she eventually arrives at 8 pm sharp.
The mansion is so big and has this aura of dominance all around it, she is escorted to his office door by the detail sent to pick her up, and then she stands at the door for a while and takes a deep breath "You can do this'" she encourages herself. She opens the door and she sees Armani Ortega sitting on his chair like a God sent by Zeus to punish women, just as described fierce and handsome, he asks with a deep but calm voice "You must be Ana Marson ''.
Charlotte, a freelance photographer who fell into unpaid bills and needed a way out, meets Eric Northman a successful tech CEO accused by the tabloids of being gay, his solution is to find a girl to pose as a girlfriend to put an end to the rumors and control the narrative, they come together to agree on a contract for her to be his fake girlfriend while she gets paid a huge amount for her role. But things get interesting when she can't keep her hands off him and he can't bring himself to love her. Will his rejection make her fall into the hands of another successful CEO with fewer complications? If she does, how well does that turn out for her? Will she survive the trauma from this new relationship? Find out more in the book.
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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.
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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!"
"Lucien, let's get a divorce," I said in a peremptory tone that was long overdue, the most decisive farewell to this absurd marriage. We had been married for exactly three years-three years that, for me, were filled with nothing but endless loneliness and torment. For three years, the husband who should have stood by my side through every storm, Lucien Sullivan, had completely disappeared from my life as if he had never existed. He vanished without a trace, leaving me alone to endure this empty, desolate marriage. Today, I finally received his message: "I'm back. Come pick me up at the airport." When I read his words, my heart leapt with joy, and I raced to the airport, thinking that he finally understood my love and was coming back to me. But his cruelty was far worse than I could have ever imagined-he was accompanied by a pregnant woman, and that woman was Carla, my closest and most trusted friend. In that moment, all of my previous excitement, all my hope, and all of our shared laughter and tears turned into the sharpest of daggers, stabbing into my heart and leaving me gasping for air. Now, all I want is to escape from this place that has left me so broken-to lick my wounds in solitude. Even if these wounds will remain with me for the rest of my life, I refuse to have anything to do with him ever again. He should know that it was his own hand that trampled our love underfoot, that his coldness and betrayal created this irreparable situation. But when he heard those words, he desperately clung to this broken, crumbling marriage, unwilling to let it end-almost as though doing so could rewind time and return everything to how it used to be. "Aurora, come back. I regret everything!" Regret? Those simple words stirred no emotion in me-only endless sadness and fury. My heart let out a frantic, desperate scream: It's too late for any of this!