ASTRID THOMPSON: 5'9; Brunette of African heritage. Smartest and graduated top of her classes in College with a 1st class Honors. Brown eyes, petite frame, small waist and wide hips. Crisis Analyst Manager, XANDER TECH& SECURITIES INC. Proclaimed Black Sheep of the 'THOMPSONS'. 25 year old Astrid needed just one night where she could forget although temporarily all the things not going right in her life. Home life is absolutely trash and nothing to write home [quite literally] about, love life is just pure ashes and water down the drain after disaster of a relationship with her last boyfriend who happened to stick with her because she had no worth to him other than a bet he wanted to win, apparently she's only worth 50 bucks, that was very tragic. The only remotely good thing going for Astrid is her new job she's landed at one of the biggest tech industries in the whole city, hell even the whole country, to celebrate that win, her friends push her out of her home to have fun, that's even if she knew what that meant being a goody two shoes. One night, that's all it took for everything to change. Now on the quest to find that one night stand stranger, every single search proved abortive until she finds that all she's been looking for isn't so far away and right beneath her nose, after this realization she looks for a way to tell him but nothing prepared her for what he brings forward. ALEXANDER HOLT: 6'3; Piercing grey eyes. A hunk of a man, ripped like he was carved by the gods, [probably was to be honest]. Top 10 billionaires under 30. CEO of XANDER TECH& SECURITIES INC. 28 year old Alexander has never had to look for a woman to fuck, they always come looking for him like moths drawn to a flame. Forced to be out on a night by one of his very good friends, who's celebrating his engagement to his now fiancée. With no option of backing out though he'd rather be home working, he couldn't help but be happy for his friend. Work is going very fucking smooth, just closed a 2-billion dollar deal for some security company. Just one night, everything changed in his life. He keeps trying to look for that woman that flipped his life upside down, but it all seemed so fruitless because, it looks like this woman is not in existence. No social media and nothing, that even makes the search more intriguing, I mean he definitely likes a chase, something different for a change. In the bustling city of New York, the city that never sleeps, beautiful Astrid crosses paths with the charming and successful businessman billionaire Alexander. Sparks fly, one night they end up in bed together albeit mistakenly. Unexpectedly, Astrid discovers she's pregnant with Alex's child, however, they both have no idea of the night that happened because they never saw each other much less know of their names so Astrid is on the quest to find the man with whom she spent the night with, so is Alex on a hunt for the woman who turned his life upside down, everything ignites a rollercoaster of emotions and challenges. When they finally find each other, they come to terms with this new chapter in their lives, confronting their fears and insecurities all the while dealing with the pressure of their careers, trying to find love amidst all these events. Astrid's family is becoming more and more obnoxious which thereby takes a toll on her almost costing her child and endangering her new found happiness, Astrid realizes that putting her foot down and pushing back is the best thing she could do. A mysterious woman from Alex's past threatens to make life difficult for Astrid then him, now it's up to Alex to make sure his family is protected and safe away from the demons of his past while trying not to lose himself in the process.
Astrid walks over to her friends' table, taking a deep breath mentally preparing herself for all the barrage of questions and probable excitement from the news.
She finally takes her seat after sighing, their gazes fixated on her and hesitates before she starts talking "So it came out positive and I think I'm going to keep it" she gives that information some seconds to settle, a series of reactions came from them all ranging from shock to wide eyes and excitement, after some time and the initial reactions wear off, they all start talking at the same time and it got too loud before Astrid quiets them down.
It becomes calm after a moment, one of her friends, Katelyn speaks up first "Okayyy, first of all congratulations love, and I'm going to spoil your kid silly, just so you know" some chuckles make their way around the table and the atmosphere got lighter.
Katelyn is one of those people that love kids and just likes to be around kids, so it doesn't come as a surprise when she stated that.
All of her friends express their heartfelt congratulations and she knew they were so genuine about it, in her heart of heart she knew there's no other set of friends she'd rather do this with.
"Yeahhh, thanks guys, this is all cute and all but now how do I find the guy, I mean this is also his kid right?, how do y'all think about me looking for the guy and informing him of the news?"
This question makes the table a little silent before another of her friends, Desiree voices out her opinions. "I think that we should find the guy and let him know, and if he decides whether or not he wishes to be in the kids life, you know that you did your best" Astrid internally approves her opinion since she'd actually thought about that before she even found out about the pregnancy.
Astrid nods her head in agreement, a few "yeahhs" go around the table too, besides I'm sure her friends know her well enough to know that her conscience wouldn't let her be at peace until she made that information known to him.
"So where do we begin, I mean it was really dark that night and I have no idea what his name is much less how he looks like" Some of them ponder this before another person makes a statement responding with "There were CCTV cameras around the bar you both sat that night, right?" Donnie, ever the journalist and investigator, the CCTV cameras were most definitely there, I mean no one else but Donnie noticed that.
"Donnie definitely saw them for sure, always so observant, we love you girll", as though Katelyn read my mind, we of course love Donnie, so many times we could've been kidnapped but thanks to her vigilant outlook, we were protected.
Donnie smiles in appreciation, and that's it, Donnie has always been the really quiet one in the group and we do not take her for granted.
"We should start from there and what if they don't let us access the footage for privacy purposes of course and we understand that but this is really important" Eva finally speaks up after almost certainly a lot of thinking, Eva always quick to finding solutions to any problems anyone could ever have in the group.
And just like that, 'Operation find the Daddy' has commenced. As if Astrid just recalled that she's still got work which she's starting very soon, in thoughts, is she going to have to take a maternity leave just as quick as she got the job?
"My job though? How am I going to make it work? I just got this job and I'm starting in a couple of weeks" Her distress has become obvious and Eva takes the initiative to pat her back being the one closest to her and rubs it gently in circles,
"Breathe darling, we're going to figure it out, we always do" and that relaxes her by a ton because that is actually the most accurate thing anyone's said at the table this evening.
"Okay, okay, we'll figure it out" Everyone at the table is looking at her with beaming excitement and it's contagious so she cracks a smile and it's clear that she's going to be okay even though it seems scary, she's got her friends who are basically her claimed sisters and that's all she needs.
The air at the table feels calm and happy so much that they all slip into other conversations catching up with each other being that they all have busy schedules so it's hard for them to meet up most of the time. There's only so much that face times can do and the energy is different over the phone and in person for real.
It's wonderful that this news brought them together and that they all dropped whatever the other was doing, because this was very important and this can be seen as a win for them all.
After some hours have passed and it's starting to stretch into midnight, they all decide to call it a night so everyone could get ready for work tomorrow, thankfully they did not have alcohol, since they all drove here. Hugs and kisses were shared before they all went separate ways.
Astrid makes it to where her car is parked by the valet, gets in and drives home while all the previous conversations and plans made earlier is swimming in her head. Everything makes sense and hopefully it all works out.
She drives up to the underground parking of her apartment complex, she strode to the elevators pressing the button for her floor, after it dings for the stop, she walks to her door and slides the key card to open. Closing the door behind her, she slumps on the sofa letting the exhaustion of the day seep into her body, taking over. Not letting her body surrender to sleep, she makes sure that her make-up is taken off, hops into the shower washing away the day's tiredness, does her skincare routine and slips into bed sliding her comforter over her body.
As soon as her head hits the pillow, she drifts off. The thought of tomorrow being better takes her mind into a deep sleep.
"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?"
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."
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."
Madisyn was stunned to discover that she was not her parents' biological child. Due to the real daughter's scheming, she was kicked out and became a laughingstock. Thought to be born to peasants, Madisyn was shocked to find that her real father was the richest man in the city, and her brothers were renowned figures in their respective fields. They showered her with love, only to learn that Madisyn had a thriving business of her own. "Stop pestering me!" said her ex-boyfriend. "My heart only belongs to Jenna." "How dare you think that my woman has feelings for you?" claimed a mysterious bigwig.
“You need a bride, I need a groom. Why don’t we get married?” Both abandoned at the altar, Elyse decided to tie the knot with the disabled stranger from the venue next door. Pitying his state, she vowed to spoil him once they were married. Little did she know that he was actually a powerful tycoon. Jayden thought Elyse only married him for his money, and planned to divorce her when she was no longer of use to him. But after becoming her husband, he was faced with a new dilemma. “She keeps asking for a divorce, but I don’t want that! What should I do?”
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?"