When billionaire Alexander Westfield acquires a quaint small-town bakery as part of a corporate takeover, he's stunned to learn that the previous owner, spirited baker Lily Monroe, fabricated a fake engagement to him in a bid to save her struggling business. As the media catches wind, Alexander insists they continue the charade to preserve his public image. But as they navigate glitzy galas, intense paparazzi scrutiny, and the undeniable chemistry between them, both Lily and Alexander begin to wonder if their "royal ruse" is turning into the real deal.
Lily's POV
The sharp ringing of a bell announced my entry as I stepped inside. Within moments, the warm sweetened air of freshly baked pastries enveloped me. Sweet Crumbs had always been a refuge, which seemed to be a place of peace. The rich aromas of cinnamon, vanilla, and butter in it made everything seem just a little better no matter what was happening without those walls. But today, those alluring smells simply reminded me how much everything hung in the balance.
I glanced at the clock on the wall, and it was almost noon when the bakery would fill up with people. I pulled up my apron tightly and tied the strings behind my back. It was pending scones to be baked, loaded bread from the oven, and almost endless small chores. My mind, though, kept wandering back to the news I heard early this morning.
Sweet Crumbs was no longer there. At least, it felt like it. A small but suddenly monumental part of me would slip through my fingers realizing that the beloved haunt was no longer just mine-it had grown into something larger, a part of an acquisition, an afterthought in a deal that would likely change everything.
I wiped my hands clean on my apron, my chest feeling tighter. It was hard to wrap my mind around it. How had this all happened so quickly? I hadn't even been given the chance to fight for it. I'd spent years growing Sweet Crumbs from a dream into something real, but the thought of it being torn from me in the blink of an eye felt... suffocating.
Firmly I pushed such thoughts aside. Panic wouldn't assist, I reminded myself, gnawingly wiping flour off the counter and gathering ingredients for the next batch of cookies. Everything would go, having no choice but to find a way to protect Sweet Crumbs.
I glanced at the front door, where yet another customer entered: Mrs. Delaney, a regular favorite of mine, with her bright purple scarf wrapped around her neck like a flag. She always looked like she had just stepped out of a magazine. I gave her a smile, attempting to mask the worry creeping up my spine.
"Morning, Mrs. Delaney. What can I get you today?" I asked, trying to sound cheerful.
She spent some time examining the pastries before deciding on her favorite, the raspberry tart. As I packed it into a box, she raised her eyebrows and leaned a little closer, lowering her voice.
"Have you heard the news, dear?"
I froze, my hand hovering over the box. I had a sinking feeling I knew exactly what she was about to say.
"About what?" I asked, feigning ignorance.
Mrs. Delaney lowered her voice further. "About Mr. Westfield. They say he plans to raze the whole bakery to the ground, you know. The whole town is buzzing about it."
I could feel my stomach drop. There it was, the whisper of something I'd feared ever since I'd first heard Alexander Westfield's name in connection with the acquisition of Sweet Crumbs.
"He's planning to replace it with one of those...what do you call them? A corporate coffee chain, I think. Probably going to bulldoze the place. It's only a matter of time, not now.
Her words were heavy, as if someone had lifted a ton of bricks onto my chest, and I felt the sharpness of panic coming up in me as if it was almost uncontrollable. I smiled weakly as I handed her the tart.
"Thanks, Mrs. Delany," I said, a little unsteady in voice as I had wanted. "I'm sure everything will work out,"
But I knew it wasn't going to work unless I did something to make it so.
Mrs. Delaney gave me an understanding look. "I hope you'll do something about it, dear. This town needs Sweet Crumbs. It's the heart of the Dales. Without it, what would we have left?"
I nodded, but her words were in my ears long after she'd gone. Sweet Crumbs was not a bakery, but a part of the fabric of this town. The regulars who stopped by each morning for their coffee, families who picked up pies for their Sunday dinners, and tourists who had stumbled in, lured by the smells of fresh bread were all part of something bigger. Losing Sweet Crumbs would be like losing a piece of Dales itself.
I stood right in the center of the bakery, and the very worrisome situation was pressed down on my head, making me feel more hopeless than before. What can I do now? I can't allow this to happen. But what have I got?
It was just then that the thought occurred to me: wild, absurd, and altogether impulsive, but the only thing that I could think of might work.
I turned quickly as I grabbed my phone from the counter and quickly dialed Emma's number. She was my best friend, my rock, and she would help me figure this out.
After several rings, Emma picked up the phone.
"Lily? What is it?", she asked cheerily, but I could tell she was in the middle of the bustling café sound in the background.
"I want you to do something for me. Something big," I said with a sobering undertone in my voice.
I could hear her drawing a breath on the telephone. "What's going on, anyway? You sound tense."
"Emma," I said quickly, heart thumping madly. "I need you to start a rumor. A big one. Enough to get everyone's attention-from Dales and beyond. Tell them that Alexander Westfield proposed to me."
There was a long silence at the other end of the line.
"What?" asked Emma, at last, her disbelief sounding in her voice.
"I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out. I'm going to tell everybody that he proposed to me when he visited this town. That's why he's buying up Sweet Crumbs-to keep it as a romantic gesture for his fiancée." I let out a shaky breath. "I know it's a lie, but I've got to do something, Emma. If this town thinks I'm engaged to him, maybe they will leave the bakery alone."
One moment longer, Emma's silence dragged on before she spoke again, her voice soaked in doubt. "Are you absolutely sure about this? This could backfire, you know."
"No choice," I replied shallowly. "If I don't do something right now, everything slips away."
She sighed, and I could hear the hesitation in her voice. But finally, she spoke again, but more assertively, "Fine. I'll help you. I'll spread the word."
Ana Reed is wallowing in huge debts with no means in sight to pay them, until she meets Asher Howard, the grandson and CFO of the multi-billionaire company, Howard Companies, who offers her more than enough money to pay her debts in exchange for a marriage contract with him. With her creditors threatening her and the mouth-watering offer, Ana is left with no choice than to accept Asher's proposal. Will their fake marriage blossom into something more beautiful or will the various obstacles such as Asher's conniving and overly ambitious cousin who is determined to bring Asher down, his wife, who would support her husband in everything he does, Ana's dirty past as a drug dealer and Asher's inner demons, swallow them whole?
All Lyla remembered was waking up in a pool of blood. She was supposed to get married to Alpha Thorn the following morning but everything was going wrong for her. " I didn't do this. Please believe me." She pleaded with the teary eyes. " Have her locked up!" Thorn shouted seeing the corpses of his father. Lyla had been chosen by the moon goddess to be the next Luna of the Silver moon pack but Georgina had been ever jealous. She was from a prestigious family and a powerful blood line while Lyla was from a lowborn. In fact she didn't know who her biological parents were. She had always believed she was a nobody and she grew up in the orphanage The day Alpha Thorn was to be married to Georgina was the same day Lyla was to be killed but on that day. Lyla was immediately killed but then the. moon goddess gave her a chance to avenge herself. Waking up in the body of the most powerful daughter of the neighbouring Alpha pack. Lyla decided to take revenge on those who lied about her killing Alpha Thorn's parents.
Jason, a hardworking student barely making ends meet, is constantly manipulated by his girlfriend, Linda, who takes advantage of his earnings for her extravagant lifestyle. When Jason discovers that Linda has been secretly involved with Ethan, a wealthy classmate, his world falls apart. Publicly humiliated as Linda denies their relationship and sides with Ethan, Jason resolves to turn his life around and seek revenge on both Linda and Ethan
"Please trust me, I didn't do anything." "I don't believe you. I am rejecting you as my Queen and giving you the punishment of death." Alina was living outside her pack for five years. Her parents didn't try to contact her and always ignored her. Her best friend convinced her to go back to their pack and she agreed. But she had never imagined what was waiting there for her. She never thought she would meet her mate and had to face betrayal from everywhere. She had to pay for the crime which she never committed. Aaron Robertson is the king of Lycans. He is a very dominant and powerful King who not only rules Lycans but also rules other ranks of werewolves. Everyone is afraid of Lycans and he is the king of them. But who knew that he would get a mate who was just a simple Omega with no powers and strengths? He called her weak all the time but little did he know that his weak Omega would give him the biggest betrayal of his life for which he had to give her the sentence of death.
After two years of marriage, Kristian dropped a bombshell. "She's back. Let's get divorced. Name your price." Freya didn't argue. She just smiled and made her demands. "I want your most expensive supercar." "Okay." "The villa on the outskirts." "Sure." "And half of the billions we made together." Kristian froze. "Come again?" He thought she was ordinary—but Freya was the genius behind their fortune. And now that she'd gone, he'd do anything to win her back.
He told her to call him Daddy. Not because he earned it, but because he fucking owned her. The moment she signed that contract, she stopped being a woman with dignity and became his filthy little plaything. His holes to use. His mess to ruin. He didn't just fuck her, he rewired her. Stripped her clean of boundaries and filled her with sin. Every punishment made her scream. Every game dragged her deeper into his twisted world. And the way he praised her... Good girl. She should've run the first time he said it. But Daddy doesn't let his toys leave. He breaks them until they beg to stay. ** Mia's life changed the night she let a stranger ruin her. One night. She never expected to see him again. Until she walked into her new job... and her boss turned around. Ace.Her one-night sin in a thousand-dollar suit. Only this time, he wasn't asking her to be his assistant. She was to be his wife.
"I, Erika Blackwood, stand before you, Alexander Robertson, with a heavy heart. I hereby reject you as my mate. The bond we once shared has grown fragile, and my soul yearns for a different path. May you find solace in the love of another, and may we both find the happiness we seek." Alexander didn't say a word and looked at me. But he refused to accept. *********** Erika Blackwood is the next Alpha in line of the Ironclaw Pack. She hides her identity and gets mated to the Alpha of the Moonforest Pack, Alexander Robertson. Three years passed, but Alexander is still unwilling to let go of his childhood sweetheart. Erika is mistreated and eventually framed by the same childhood sweetheart. Now she leaves with that humiliation, and goes back to her pack, swearing vengeance on those who hurt her. They all waited for her to return and beg, but what happens when they realize that the famous Ironclaw Pack that was going to help in the rogue war, was ruled by a woman named, Erika Blackwood. Now her Ex mates want her back. Other Alphas want this woman.. But will she accept any of them? Or will she stay independent forever?...
As a simple assistant, messaging the CEO in the dead of night to request shares of adult films was a bold move. Bethany, unsurprisingly, didn't receive any films. However, the CEO responded that, while he had no films to share, he could offer a live demonstration. After a night filled with passion, Bethany was certain she'd lose her job. But instead, her boss proposed, "Marry me. Please consider it." "Mr. Bates, you're kidding me, right?"
"I stood at the edge of my heart and watched him choose her. In the end, I was not the one he needed. I was simply the one he settled for." - Noelle ~~~~~~~ I thought I was the one he loved. But a few days before our wedding, I saw him in a way I never had before. His eyes softened as he spoke to her. His first love, and the very woman who had left him in pieces. Heartbreak was something I knew too well. And as I watched the love he still held for her in his eyes, I realized what I had to do. I couldn't marry a man who wasn't truly mine. With no means to cancel the wedding and lacking the courage to confront him, I made a desperate choice to leave. I painfully gave his first love my treasured engagement ring thinking it was for the best and the only way to free myself. But when he saw that ring on her finger, the fragile world I had tried to escape began to shatter. His obsession to find me and bring me back ignited a dangerous game of cat and mouse.