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Valerie Hemsworth has always lived in the shadows, timid, obedient and the perfect assistant to ruthless, demanding billionaire CEO Damien Culligan. She has spent years trying to never step out of line. Their relationship has always been servant-master like, but after a drunken one night stand, she ends up pregnant for him. When Valerie tries to run from the humiliation and chaos, Damien stops her and she is forced into a loveless marriage. Not ready to let go of her long time lover, she decides to run away with him. However, as she enters his apartment, she catches her best friend in bed with him. Read to find out what happens when Valerie discovers the truth behind her marriage with Damien.
Valerie's POV
"Get in here right now!!". I hear my boss screaming from the other end of the phone. It is another typical day at the office for me.
I walk into my office bathroom and stare at my reflection taking in deep breaths. If this had happened two years ago, I would have curled up to a ball and bawled my eyes out, scared out of mind.
Now I am so used to it that nothing surprises me anymore.
I clutch my folder and walk through the hallway of Culligan Inc. Although I'm used to everything, my heart still pounds with anxiety.
I may have gotten used to being yelled at, overlooked and punished, but I can never get used to the anxiety that comes with working for the most ruthless businessman in New York. Damien Culligan.
I rush towards the conference room to deliver some last minute report. You may be thinking, if I am used to working for someone as ruthless as Damien Culligan, why am I still messing up?.
This is not my mistake, I clearly asked Damien if the report would be needed for the meeting several times this week and got the same reply.
"If I want a report pumpkin, I'll ask for a report".
I groan at the memory and rush into the conference, not wanting to get on his bad side. Again. You have no idea how many times it has happened in the past two years.
I get to the hall in time, skeptical about how smooth everything is going, but I speak too soon. I bump hard into someone and the papers I'm holding scatter everywhere. Yup, typical day at the office.
The whole room of all the elite businessmen and women in New York turn around at the chaos. I freeze, praying that the floor opens up and sucks me in.
"Excuse my personal assistant, everyone gets clumsy sometimes", is what I expect Damien to say but boy am I wrong.
I scramble to pick up the scattered papers, embarrassed. Even the entire lobby outside goes silent, all eyes on me as I hastily gather the documents.
To my dismay, a shadow looms over me, and before I can look up, I hear his voice.
"You incompetent fool!" Damien Sinclair's voice booms, dripping with venom. "Do you have any idea what you've just done?"
He doesn't give me a chance to respond. "These are confidential documents, and you have just made a fool of yourself in front of my clients!" His voice echoes through the lobby, making me shrink.
Clutching the papers to my chest, I stammer an apology, but Damien does not wait to hear it. He scoffs, straightens his suit, and with a dismissive shake of his head, turns away.
"Clean up your mess and get out of my sight," he mutters before walking off, leaving me humiliated.
"Do not cry Valerie, no tears, do not let him see you cry" I beg myself. I pick up the rest of the papers, arrange them into a neat pile, hand them to him and rush out of there.
I know I said earlier that I am used to it, but I realize now that I am wrong. I can never get used to being treated this way.
Over the past two years, Damien and I never got along. He has never failed to display his distaste for me and I could not care less. I had to learn to blend into the background, have a small voice and never speak unless absolutely necessary just the way Damien Culligan liked his subordinates.
All these things are clearly not enough because every time, he still makes me feel like a worthless and useless nobody.
I walk back to my office slowly, keeping my head down and avoiding the stares of everyone.
The moment the door shut behind me, I collapse into my chair, burying my face in my hands as hot tears pour out. I feel humiliated. I've tried so hard to stay invisible, to do my job quietly, but I still get treated like this.
After what seems like hours of sobbing, I pick up my phone and notice some missed calls. I'm about to return them when I hear a soft knock on the door startling me.
Quickly wiping my tears, I straighten up, forcing a weak smile as the door swings open.
"Val, what happened? I just heard," Sienna says, stepping inside with a sympathetic frown. She looks effortlessly beautiful, with sleek black hair and gorgeous green eyes. "Did the great Damien Sinclair finally bite your head off?"
"In front of everyone," I whisper.
Sienna sighs dramatically and perches on the desk. "You should quit. Honestly, no paycheck is worth that kind of humiliation."
Before I can answer, her phone buzzes. She grabs it, and hands me the phone when she sees Ethan's name.
"Hey," I answer, trying to hide the emotion in my voice.
"Val, are you okay? Sienna just texted me. What happened?" Ethan's voice is soft, warming me up.
I swallow hard. "It's nothing to worry about, I messed up, and Damien got mad."
"Again?" Ethan sighs. "Baby, you don't have to put up with this. I don't like how he treats you."
Sienna rolls her eyes. "Oh please, Ethan, if she quits, who pays for our weekend trips?" she teases, making me shoot her a glare.
"I just need to get through this week and then I can relax on our vacation ," I murmur into the phone, ignoring Sienna's comment.
Ethan exhales heavily. "I hate seeing you like this, Val. Maybe we should just...."
The door suddenly swings open, and Sienna flinches as Damien's cold voice fills the room.
"Valerie. My office. Now."
I stiffen as Damien turns and walks away without another word.
Sienna smirks. "Well, that doesn't sound terrifying at all."
I swallow the lump in my throat. Whatever this is, I have a feeling it would not end well.
Gia Alessandro is the daughter of a very popular mafia boss who is feared and respected but for his whole life he has been at war with a rival mafia gang. How he made his money and she did not ask questions but she made sure it was clear from the beginning that she would be in control of her love life. So when her father told her she would be marrying the rival gang's heir, she was livid and rebelled. Lorenzo Federico, the rival gang's heir, is a cold, ruthless and dominating Playboy and he makes it clear that he would never love her or treat her like a woman. They both end up in a loveless marriage which leads Gia into the arms of another man who treats her well. Read to find out what happens when Gia finds herself trapped in a marriage with a monster.
"Just kill me please", Serena begged as cold chains tightened around her wrists. Born a Luna heir, she would rather die than serve a pack that brutally murdered her family. But when death denies her mercy, revenge becomes her only reason to live. Fate offers her a second chance as she is sent to serve the alpha family of her enemies, but Serena faces a tough choice: to continue on her quest for vengeance or surrender to a love she never expects.
For as long as she can remember, Aria Caelan has been invisible, a ghost in the halls of her high school, a shadow in her own home. Bullied mercilessly, ignored by her father, and tormented by a stepmother who relishes making her life hell, Aria has only ever longed for one thing, to belong. So when her class takes a field trip to a wildlife reserve, she defies her father's orders and sneaks out, hoping for one moment of escape. Lured into the dense forest by a cruel prank, Aria soon finds herself trapped, outnumbered, and at the mercy of her tormentors. But just as fists are raised and she prepares to welcome the darkness, a bone-chilling howl echoes through the trees. A stranger emerges. Tall, fierce, and dangerous. His eyes glow silver in the moonlight. His presence sends her attackers fleeing in terror. And when he takes her hand and whispers, "Run," she doesn't hesitate.What she doesn't know is that she hasn't escaped the wolves. She's just been claimed by one. Aria wakes in an unfamiliar place, a world hidden in the depths of the wilderness. Her rescuer is no ordinary boy. He is Ronan Sinclair, heir to the Midnight Pack. A war is brewing. A stolen relic must be found before the next blood moon. And Aria? She may be more connected to the wolves than she ever imagined.With a dangerous love square, buried family secrets, and a brewing war between rival packs, Aria must choose: return to the human world where she was nothing or embrace the wild, where she might be everything.
Chandler Su who had cheated by her boyfriend then got drunk at a bar. To take revenge, she grabbed a man randomly and took him to the room. After a crazy night, Chandler found the strange man was a super handsome guy the next morning. Shy and shocked Chandler run away after leaving 150 RMB and scorning the man of his poor bed skills. However, she never thought the story would become so dramatic as the next day, she found out that the new coming president of her company was exactly the man she slept the last night! Worse than that, this new boss seemed very narrow-minded as he asked Chandler to come to his office on the first day.
Annette Vasquez is broken and desperate to talk to Ryan, her ex-boyfriend who broke up with her a month ago. When an intimidating man appears on her door dressed in all blacks, she runs for cover and sends Ryan a text for help. Vicente Di Alberto is the Don of the Italian Mafia, cold, ruthless and untouchable. A strange message pops up on his phone which has him acting on impulse. He hates men who hurts women and he is ready to save and protect the woman calling for his help. Rescued by a sinfully handsome man, Ann feels safe around him until she finds out his real identity and also finds herself married accidentally to the most feared man in Italy. She wants out but Vicente is ready to use the accidental marriage to his advantage.
"I want a divorce!" Ryan demanded, despite the fact that he had cheated on her with his ex. ~ Serena is no longer the quiet, romantic lady Ryan Winters married and divorced five years ago. Now the CEO of Rocky's Designs, she is bright, unwavering, and unapologetic about her independence-a far cry from the woman Ryan remembers. When fate brings them back into one another's lives, Ryan is forced to confront the truth about their past, their newfound hot chemistry, and a surprising revelation; Serena has a daughter who may be his. But Ryan's girlfriend, Kate, isn't prepared to lose him again. She will do whatever it takes to keep Ryan in her grasp-even if it means destroying Serena's life and the corporate empire she has built. What happens when Serena's now peaceful life is being disrupted? Will Serena lose once again or will she seize this billionaire's heart?
Janet was adopted when she was a kid -- a dream come true for orphans. However, her life was anything but happy. Her adoptive mother taunted and bullied her all her life. Janet got the love and affection of a parent from the old maid who raised her. Unfortunately, the old woman fell ill, and Janet had to marry a worthless man in place of her parents' biological daughter to meet the maid's medical expenses. Could this be a Cinderella's tale? But the man was far from a prince, except for his handsome appearance. Ethan was the illegitimate son of a wealthy family who lived a reckless life and barely made ends meet. He got married to fulfill his mother's last wish. However, on his wedding night, he had an inkling that his wife was different from what he had heard about her. Fate had united the two people with deep secrets. Was Ethan truly the man we thought he was? Surprisingly, he bore an uncanny resemblance to the impenetrable wealthiest man in the city. Would he find out that Janet married him in place of her sister? Would their marriage be a romantic tale or an utter disaster? Read on to unravel Janet and Ethan's journey.
For the whole 17 years of her existence, Alana did not know the word freedom and happiness having been confined in the basement of her family's house accused of killing her own mother. She's beaten, cursed at, and barely survived from crumbs of food thrown at her. She thought this is her final destiny and has accepted the bitter fate of her life not until the night of her 18th birthday, a mysterious alpha appeared at her door telling her that she is the long-lost daughter of the alpha king and claiming her as his mate he's been looking for several years now.
For as long as Emily can remember, she has wanted to overcome her shyness and explore her sexuality. Still, everything changes when she receives an invitation to visit one of the town's most prestigious BDSM clubs, DESIRE'S DEN. On the day she chose to peruse the club, she noticed three men, all dressed in suits, standing on the upper level, near the railing. Despite her limited vision, she persisted in fixating on them. Their towering statues belied the toned bodies concealed by their sharply tailored suits-or so she could tell. The hair of two of them was short and dark, and the third had light brown-possibly blond-hair that reached the shoulders. The dark, crimson background incised their figures, exuding an air of mystery and strength. They stood in stark contrast to the unfiltered, primal energy that pulsed through the club. Shocked by the desires these men aroused in her, she was disappointed to learn that they were masters seeking a slave to divide and conquer. She couldn't afford the fee, and she also realized that they were outside her league. Emily hurriedly left the club, feeling disappointed and depressed, unaware that she had also caught the group's attention. A world of wicked pleasure, three handsome men. Over the years, they have lived a life of decadence, their lavish lair serving as a stage for their most sinister desires. But despite the unending parade of willing subjects, one woman sticks out. A mysterious stranger with white porcelain skin and a killer body, a slave, a name with no address, the first lady to attract their eye and they will go to any length to obtain her no matter the consequences.