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No | 2024-10-03 02:11 | active | 1566 | 0 | đ„ïžclick here to read more FREE chapters! | "Madam, it seems Mr. Lance won't be coming home tonight. Perhaps you should rest first?" Martha Zayne kindly spoke upon noticing the still-lit bedroom. A hint of disappointment crossed Jennifer Yale's eyes. Just then, the sound of an engine revving came from the yard. She didn't care to put on her slippers as she rushed to the window to peer outside. Sure enough, it was Maxwell Lance's silver car pulling into the garage. Jennifer took a deep breath, glancing down at her sensual lingerie while her heart pounded like a drum. Despite being married for two years, Maxwell had always slept in the guest room, and he never touched her. She knew their marriage was arranged by Maxwell's grandfather, Robert Lance, and it was not his choice. However, two years had passed. They couldn't possibly continue on like this. Did Maxwell not like her because she was merely an undergraduate with no experience in relationships? Was it because he found her too passive? With these thoughts, Jennifer quietly approached the guest room, clad in a seducing black lace nightgown. Summoning her courage, she knocked on the door, but there was no response. Carefully, she opened the door and heard the sound of running water from the bathroom. Maxwell must still be showering. The water suddenly stopped, and Maxwell emerged from the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his waist. His muscular physique was in full display with water droplets cascading down his solid muscles. Jennifer was momentarily stunned. So, was this the embodiment of looking slim when clothed but muscular when undressed? "Jennifer!" Maxwell frowned, his tone clipped as he snapped, "Are you done staring? Who let you into my room?" Awkwardly, Jennifer averted her gaze and replied meekly, "You're my husband. Isn't your room also mine?" Then, with blushing cheeks, she blinked up at him and asked, "Do you like how I look?" Her petite, delicate frame stood before him, her soft face flushed red, and her long lashes fluttered. She appeared so innocent yet emitted an irresistible allure at the same time. He never knew his wife had this side to her. Maxwell masked the strange look in his eyes and subconsciously gulped. Quickly, he put on his robe before tossing her one of his shirts. Reining in his emotions, he said, "Go back to your room." Jennifer looked at him aggrievedly, feeling as though she had humiliated herself. In her mind, her best friend Laura Scott's words resurfaced. Laura had said that a young, energetic man like Maxwell, the scion of the wealthiest family in Haven City, coupled with his good looks, would inevitably attract countless women's attention. As he couldn't possibly remain celibate for long, he had to be indulging elsewhere and then coming home with a facade of abstinence. In a moment of doubt, Jennifer blurted out, "Are you seeing someone else?" Maxwell's gaze flickered briefly, and he neither confirmed nor denied it. Calmly, he uttered the cruelest words, "Jennifer, on the day we got married, I told you all I could offer was the position of Mrs. Lance. You shouldn't think about having anything else." Each time he repeated those words, a wave of powerlessness and despair surged within Jennifer, overwhelming her. Perhaps to him, she was just a girl from a modest background trying to climb the social ladder by marrying him. After all, no one would willingly marry a stranger. What he didn't know was that, many years ago, he had been a beacon of light that illuminated her world. While Jennifer was lost in her thoughts, Maxwell had opened the door for her. "Go to bed. Don't dress like that again. It doesn't suit you." At his evident dismissal, Jennifer left his room dejectedly, her face burning with mortification. As soon as she returned to her bedroom, her father, Zion Yale, called. "Dad, I'm sorry. He probably won't be going to Grandma's birthday celebration tomorrow." Jennifer knew she wouldn't be able to persuade Maxwell. Zion sighed heavily, saying, "You've been married for two years, yet he hasn't visited our family once. I've said we weren't worthy of the Lance family. If it weren't for your mother's insistenceâ" "Dad." Jennifer disliked hearing disparaging remarks about her mother. She interjected, "I married him out of my own will!" ⊠The next day, Jennifer had to attend her grandmother Agnes Taylor's birthday celebration alone. Although she knew Agnes wasn't fond of her, she had to offer a toast in front of the guests as a show of respect. Her stepmother, Jocelyn Logan, remarked sarcastically, "Hey, Jennifer, why didn't you bring Maxwell? It's been two years since you got married, and we haven't even seen him." Agnes held a glass of wine and echoed with a fake smile, "I suppose our humble Yale family isn't worth his time! Today is an important day, but it seems like Maxwell doesn't value his grandmother-in-law." Jennifer's stepsister, Bridget Yale, chimed in mockingly, "Jennifer, I think the one Maxwell doesn't value is not Grandma but you. Am I right?" The voices of ridicule buzzed in Jennifer's ears, making her feel miserable. Out of frustration, she emptied her glass in one go. However, the aftereffects of the wine hit her hard, and she soon blacked out. In a car, Jocelyn and Bridget sat on either side of her. "Mom, as long as we get Jennifer into Mr. Zito's bed, I will secure my role as the second female lead in his new show!" Bridget's eyes sparkled with excitement. Jocelyn slyly ordered, "We mustn't let your father find out. Since he dotes on that wretched girl so much, he won't let us alone." "I know, I know," Bridget replied. "I've confirmed with Mr. Zito to bring her to Nimbus Lounge's penthouse suite." Jocelyn chuckled darkly. "What's so great about Jennifer? She doesn't deserve to marry Maxwell. It's only because of her mother who operated on Mr. Lance Senior and saved his life years ago that she got married to him. "On her deathbed, she entrusted Jennifer to them. At the end of the day, she was trying to reach the top. How shameless!" Bridget quickly agreed, "Exactly! If anyone should marry Maxwell, it should be me. What makes Jennifer better than me?" Jocelyn swore through gritted teeth, "Tonight, we will ruin her completely!" ⊠Jocelyn and Bridget had only added a few sleeping pills to Jennifer's drink. When Jennifer felt a man's heavy breath and warmth on her, she immediately snapped awake. "Ugh... Let go of me!" The room was dark, and she couldn't see the man's face. Thus, she could only struggle against him with all her might, knowing the consequences of letting the man have his way would be irreversible. However, the man easily subdued her flailing arms. His warm lips brushed against her ear as he spoke in a low and husky voice, "Shh, behave..." Chapter 2 Maxwell had completely lost his rationality at this point. Whether it was the food or the drinks at the party earlier, something had gone wrong. Now, driven by desire, he found it difficult to control himself. As he touched the woman on the bed, her soft skin and fragrance aroused him considerably. The innocence in her responses and her helpless sobbing nearly drove him mad! An hour later, the man was finally satisfied and fell asleep. Jennifer felt as though her entire body had been crushed, the pain penetrating deep into her bones. Enduring the soreness in her limbs, she hurriedly got dressed and fled from the pitch-black room. In her haste, she collided with a young woman as she entered the elevator. "Sorry." Jennifer's face was deathly pale. She quickly stepped into the elevator and pressed the close button. Rachel Walker immediately looked back after exiting the elevator, staring at Jennifer in disbelief before the door closed. She recognized Jennifer as Maxwell's wife, the woman who'd stolen her place! There was only one penthouse suite on the top floor, so did that mean Jennifer had come out of Maxwell's room? Did they⊠sleep together? Jealousy consumed Rachel. She had put so much effort into bribing the staff at the party and calculating the timing and dosage of the drug in Maxwell's drink, only for Jennifer to beat her to it! Rachel hurried into the room. In the darkness, she heard Maxwell's even breath as he slept. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief. A cunning smile played on her lips as she removed her clothes and lay down beside him. ⊠Jennifer emerged from the club. She was too afraid to return to her and Maxwell's shared villa. She feared being seen in this state by him or the housekeepers. After all, in their two years of marriage, Maxwell had never touched her. But now, her purity had been stolen by a stranger. At the thought of this, Jennifer's mind went blank and her heart was in turmoil. She hailed a taxi, intending to return to the Yale residence. At least, she needed to take a shower and change her clothes first. When she arrived home, Bridget and Jocelyn were waiting in the living room, expecting a call from Daniel Zito. "Mom, do you think Mr. Zito has found Jennifer and⊠Ugh, I'm getting anxious! Why hasn't he called us yet? Shouldn't he just agree to let me be the second female lead already?" Bridget lamented, her eyes filled with greed. Jocelyn squinted and said, "Calm down. It's only past 11 pm. Mr. Zito is known for being play around. He wouldn't let Jennifer slip from his hands." While they were talking, Jennifer walked in with an extremely gloomy expression. "J-Jennifer?" Bridget stammered in shock, "Why are you back?" Jennifer sneered at her reaction. "Why are you so surprised?" Jocelyn looked equally flustered. She forced out a smile and said, "Jennifer, why did you leave your grandmother's birthday celebration? You didn't even inform us. She was very upset with you!" Jennifer slowly approached them. Judging from their behavior, she could roughly deduce who had brought her to Nimbus Lounge. The thought of her innocence being inexplicably tarnished ignited a rage within Jennifer. With a resounding slap, she struck Jocelyn's face mercilessly. Instantly, Bridget erupted in fury. "Jennifer, how dare you hit my mom? I'm going to call Grandma and Dad right now! Just you wait!" Jennifer seized Bridget's wrist, forcefully pulling her back. She shot Bridget a menacing glare as she bit out, "Go ahead, call everyone down. I can retrieve evidence from the surveillance at Nimbus Lounge. Once Dad finds out what happened tonight, let's see if he'll tear you both apart!" Jocelyn and Bridget's faces turned pale at her threat. They were visibly frightened of the repercussions if the night's affair were to reach Zion's ears. Back when Zion divorced his ex-wife, Jennifer was still young. She was reportedly bullied during her middle school days, even suffering from depression. Therefore, he had always felt guilty toward Jennifer, showing her more love. Moreover, what happened to Jennifer was no trivial matter. If things escalated, Jocelyn and Bridget would be in deep trouble! Jennifer sensed their unease and panic. She violently shoved Bridget away, causing her to fall to the floor, then dragged her weary body upstairs. Jocelyn hurriedly helped her daughter up, her sharp gaze fixed on Jennifer's retreating figure. Bridget asked anxiously, "Mom, why did Jennifer come back so soon? Did she and Mr. Zito..." "They must have," Jocelyn affirmed with a malicious smirk. "Didn't you see the marks on Jennifer's neck earlier? Seems like Mr. Zito was rather rough!" Suddenly, Bridget became worried. "But Jennifer must hate our guts now. What if she checks the surveillance and tells Dad about this? Did you not see how she looked just now? I thought she wanted to murder us!" Jocelyn calmly replied, "What's there to fear? Jennifer is married to Maxwell now. Do you think she would dare to reveal today's events? It's her reputation on the line here." The reasoning made sense, and Bridget began to relax. She then hastily urged, "Mom, hurry up and give Mr. Zito a call. Ask him when I can go to the set." Jocelyn dialed Daniel's number and questioned ingratiatingly, "Mr. Zito, were you satisfied with Jennifer tonight?" "Don't even mention it. Someone else has taken my penthouse suite reservation for tonight. I heard he was a big shot." Daniel said dejectedly, "I didn't even get to see the pretty chick you sent over." Jocelyn's face fell. "What? A big shot? Does that mean you didn't go to that penthouse suite?" Who slept with Jennifer then? There were so many marks on Jennifer's neck! "Alright, let's talk about your daughter's audition another time." Daniel's mood soured as he hadn't had his fun. Bridget stomped her foot in frustration, unable to believe that the first role she ever landed was going to be ruined just like that. At the corner of the staircase, Jennifer secretly observed the mother-and-daughter duo. From their conversation, she came to learn the whole situation. It turned out that they had planned to send her to Daniel, but because the penthouse suite was taken by someone even more powerful than him, she had been violated by another man⊠Jennifer tightly shut her eyes, not daring to recall further. The more she thought about it, the stronger her urge to strangle Bridget and Jocelyn became. Yet, she knew she couldn't act on those impulses. This matter involved both the Yale family's and the Lance family's reputation, as well as her own dignity. Hence, she could only swallow her anger and let the matter rest. Jennifer made her way to the bathroom. Standing under the shower, she vigorously scrubbed her bruised body. She felt absolutely filthy. Her innocence had been taken by a stranger instead of her husband. The thought made her sob uncontrollably, the sound blending with the rush of the shower, creating a poignant melody of despair. ⊠Jennifer spent the whole night pondering. She was unable to suppress her indignation. She wanted to know who the man from the night before was. Thus, early the next morning, she went to Nimbus Lounge, hoping to retrieve surveillance footage or guest registration information. Unfortunately, she was told that guest information was kept strictly confidential. Furthermore, their surveillance system was hacked last night and only got back on moments ago. As for the footage, it was gone. Nimbus Lounge was the most upscale entertainment club in Haven City, with complex connections behind it. A young girl like Jennifer couldn't do anything about it. And so, Jennifer couldn't find a single clue. She couldn't seek help from anyone else either. If she were to make a fuss about it, it would cost her pride and dignity. Exhausted, Jennifer returned to the villa she shared with Maxwell. Along the way, she bought emergency birth prevention pills. Even though she was only 22 and inexperienced, she still had some basic knowledge. She took the pills and absentmindedly placed the box in a drawer. Jennifer collapsed onto the bed, falling asleep once again. When she woke up, it was already noon. To her surprise, Maxwell had returned at some point and was sitting on the bedroom couch. He was dressed in a black suit with a silver-gray tie, exuding an air of sophistication and elegance. However, his demeanor seemed extra aloof. Jennifer was startled. Because of what happened to her the previous night, she felt a sense of guilt and unease. Besides, Maxwell usually headed straight for the guest room upon his return, never setting foot in the master bedroom. At this moment, Maxwell stood up and walked over to her. "I came home earlier and heard from the housekeepers that you looked unwell. I thought you were sick, so I came in to check on you." Jennifer heaved a sigh of relief. Then, he tossed a pillbox in front of her. "I was looking for a thermometer in your bedside drawer, and I found this. Care to explain?" His tone was calm, but there was a palpable coldness and questioning in it. Jennifer saw the emergency birth prevention pills she had bought and felt her heart clench. Chapter 3 Jennifer looked at him in a panic, choking out, "Hear me out. Yesterday Iâ" "Enough," Maxwell cut her off, his gaze falling on the marks on her neckline. It was unmistakably the aftermath of a liaison. His tone remained calm and indifferent as he continued, "It's partly my fault for ignoring you these two years. I don't blame you for what you did. But, Jennifer, the Lance family can't accept a tainted woman." Jennifer's mind went blank. All her explanations now seemed futile. Anyway, why would he listen to her when the truth was right before his eyes? Besides, even if she could prove that she had been framed by Bridget and Jocelyn, it was still a fact that she was tainted. Jennifer smiled bitterly. "So, are you asking for a divorce?" Maxwell nodded. "I hope you will make it clear to Grandpa that you're the one asking for a divorce. I can offer you a bit of dignity by keeping him in the dark about your infidelity." Jennifer felt her eyes sting with tears, but she desperately held them back. After a long while, she inhaled deeply and asked, "Can you... answer a question?" "Go ahead." Maxwell's eyes betrayed no emotion. Staring at him, Jennifer quavered, "Are you seeing someone else? In these two years of marriage, have you felt anything for me? If it weren't for her, would you have liked me?" Maxwell's gaze softened slightly, and he replied casually, "Sorry. As I told you on the day we got married, all I can offer you is the position of Mrs. Lance." Although he wasn't answering her question, Jennifer, being a woman, had an intuition that he had long harbored feelings for another woman. "In the next few days, I'll have my lawyer draw up the divorce agreement. You only need to sign it and then explain things to Grandpa." Maxwell spoke of divorce with such casualness, as if he were discussing what to have for dinner. After saying that, he left the master bedroom without hesitation. Jennifer felt cold. Despite it being a hot summer day, she felt like she was trapped in ice. What made her hopeless was not Maxwell's proposal for divorce, but the fact that he believed she had an affair and yet remained so composed. She knew that his calmness was not due to his manners and upbringing, but because he simply didn't love her. Jennifer was in a daze. She had always known their marriage would eventually end like this. But now that day had truly arrived, she found herself unable to bear it. She was unwilling to let go. Taking out her phone, she dialed her best friend's number. "Laura, have you finished work? I... I..." Jennifer's voice choked up. She felt so aggrieved that she couldn't speak. Sensing her distress, Laura said troubledly, "Jennifer, I have to conduct an interview tonight, and it might take a while. How about I send you the address and you come to find me? We can talk after I finish the interview, okay?" "Okay." After Jennifer agreed, she immediately set out. According to the address Laura gave her, she arrived at a dance studio and parked her car downstairs. The studio was holding its grand opening, and the owner wanted to make a splash by arranging an interview with the local TV station in Haven City. When Laura heard that Jennifer had arrived, she ran downstairs and got into her car. "The studio owner is so unreliable. The ribbon-cutting and opening were supposed to be in the morning. I could have finished work early today. But because she changed the time, I had to stay here and work overtime for the interview. I mean, who schedules a grand opening in the evening?" Laura started complaining as soon as she saw Jennifer. Jennifer could only comfort her. "This is Haven Tower. Every inch of space is precious. The rich can be capricious." As the two were talking, Laura received a call from her colleague asking her to go up. "Go ahead, I'll wait here," said Jennifer as she felt too exhausted to tag along. After Laura left, Jennifer's gaze fell on the street not far away. The next second, her eyes widened in shock. That was because she had inadvertently spotted Maxwell get out of a car. He was holding a bouquet of red roses. The bright red color was as glaring as blood. Jennifer's hand on the steering wheel trembled. This man had talked to her about divorce not long ago. And now, he was here with roses that she had never received before. Maxwell headed into Haven Tower. Immediately, Jennifer got out of the car and followed from a distance. At the entrance of the dance studio, the lights were on and the atmosphere was lively. Laura was interviewing the studio's owner, a knowledgeable and beautiful woman. The latter spoke with a warm and friendly smile. In her hands were the roses Maxwell had just given her. Jennifer felt a buzzing in her ears, and her eyes fell on Maxwell. Nonetheless, he didn't see her as all his focus was on that woman. Even the gentle smile on his lips was one she had never seen before. Jennifer clenched her fists tightly, willing herself not to rush over to confront them. ⊠After the opening ceremony, Rachel and Maxwell went to the lounge alone. "Max, did you really bring up the divorce with your wife?" Rachel leaned in his arms, looking aggrieved. "Your grandfather won't blame you, will he? I'm afraid you'll offend him because of me." Maxwell comforted her softly, "You're the woman I cherish the most. If I can't have you as my wife, I'd rather not lay my hands on you. I've felt guilty for letting you follow me in obscurity all these years. Since I took your innocence last night, I will take responsibility." A scheming glint flashed in Rachel's eyes, but she quickly resumed her pitiful expression. "I'm lucky to be your woman. I've never regretted it." Rachel then held her chest and said meaningfully, "Thank goodness your assistant told me that you were drugged. Otherwise, if another woman had entered that room, I... I really wouldn't be able to take it. Max, I don't want to share you with anyone else." Amid their affectionate moment, Maxwell's phone rang. He was surprised to see that it was a call from Jennifer. Why would she call him? "What do you want?" he answered somewhat indifferently. Jennifer said, "Maxwell, I regret the divorce." Maxwell paused. "What do you mean?" "Come home. I think we need to talk." Jennifer hung up the phone after that. Meanwhile, Rachel's expression had changed too. She had vaguely heard that Maxwell's wife didn't want a divorce anymore. "Rach, I need to go home for a bit." Maxwell explained truthfully, "There may be some changes regarding the divorce." Chapter 4 Maxwell arrived home well past 11:00 pm. The villa was eerily quiet, with only a night light switched on in the living room. Jennifer sat on the couch, seemingly waiting for him. As Maxwell took off his coat and loosened his tie, he spoke impatiently, "Didn't we agree on the divorce? I won't shortchange you when it comes to assets. You can rest assured about that." He thought she wanted a larger share of the assets. Jennifer's voice was hoarse when she asked, "Maxwell, did you want a divorce because of that woman?" Maxwell's expression faltered slightly, but he quickly regained his composure. He didn't want to hide anything from her, nor did he care to. "Yes. I owe it to her. That's something I must do," he admitted frankly. Jennifer chuckled bitterly. "I only discovered today how hypocritical you are. You played the victim, making me feel guilty and pushing me to get a divorce. I bet you were secretly pleased, weren't you? You finally caught me making a blunder, and you're now forcing me to leave so you can be with her." Maxwell furrowed his brows. His tone was chilling as he replied, "Jennifer, let's make things clear. Rachel and I were together in the first place. You know very well how you ended up marrying me. Now that you have someone else, we're even. Let's spare each other, shall we?" "No!" Jennifer's words were sharp. "I hate being deceived. You and her have been playing me like a fool for the past two years. Do you think I'll let you off?" Maxwell rubbed his temples, suppressing his irritation. With gritted teeth, he demanded, "Then what do you want?" "I won't get a divorce." With that, Jennifer went to the bedroom. Almost as soon as she turned around, her tears surged out. For two whole years, she had been waiting for him to return her feelings. Before her mother passed away, she was told that most marriages in this world were built on growing affection over time. Love at first sight was just infatuation, like what she felt for Maxwell. But marriage ultimately relied on tolerance and patience. Jennifer thought her perseverance would eventually warm his heart. Now she realized how wrong she was. The presence of that woman had already negated all her efforts and perseverance. ⊠For the next two weeks, Maxwell never returned to the villa. He even stopped staying in the guest room altogether. Jennifer immersed herself in her university's laboratory, focusing on her studies. She was now in her fourth year of medical school, preparing for her postgraduate entrance exam. She didn't want to trap herself in a hopeless marriage. Even if she couldn't have love, at least she would still have her career. Now, concentrating all her energy somewhere else was the only way to keep her thoughts from drifting toward Maxwell. In the evening, after finishing her experiments, Jennifer came out of the laboratory. "You're Ms. Yale, right?" Rachel was standing outside the laboratory building, waiting for her. Jennifer immediately recognized her as the dancer Rachel whom Laura had interviewed. Nonetheless, she pretended not to know her and asked impassively, "I am. Who are you?" Rachel smiled, as smart and gentle as ever. "Ms. Yale, do you mind having a talk? My name is Rachel Walker. I'm⊠a friend of Max's." "A friend?" Jennifer sneered. "Maxwell has too many friends; I've never heard him mention you. Sorry, but I don't have time right now." Rachel blocked her way, still smiling. "Ms. Yale, I won't take up much of your time." Jennifer had long harbored resentment toward this woman. Since she insisted, Jennifer wanted to see what Rachel was up to. So, the two of them went to a cafe near Haven University. "Ms. Yaleâ" Rachel had just opened her mouth when Jennifer interrupted her. "Ms. Walker, since you're a friend of Max, you should know me, right? Please call me Mrs. Lance." Jennifer emphasized "Mrs. Lance" heavily. Rachel looked embarrassed and nodded. "Okay, I'll call you Mrs. Lance for now. I came to apologize to you today. After all, Max has caused you a lot of grievances because of me." "Has he?" Jennifer acted nonchalant, saying, "What grievances has he caused me? I don't know about that. Ms. Walker, aren't you thinking too highly of yourself? Maxwell has been good to me, really." Rachel's smile deepened, and in her softest voice, she pierced through Jennifer's facade. "Is that so? But Max told me you refused to get a divorce. He's quite troubled by it. After all, Max and I met in our university days, and we got together very early on. We were about your age when we fell in love." Although Jennifer was prepared to face Maxwell's mistress, she only realized how far she was from Rachel's level during the actual confrontation, especially when Rachel recounted her past with Maxwell. "Max told me everything about you. Your late mother saved his grandfather's life with a highly complex heart surgery, which made Mr. Lance Senior feel deeply indebted to your family. So, when she entrusted you to him before her death, he couldn't refuse. Of course, you were also a sacrifice in this arranged marriage. You're quite pitiful." Rachel's voice was gentle, neither hurried nor annoyed, but it was enough to insult Jennifer's pride and dignity. Jennifer slowly stirred the coffee in front of her, her heart completely knotted by now. So, it seemed that Maxwell had told this woman everything. She must be a joke to them, right? Jennifer decided to play along and said, "Since you pity me, why don't you be a good person and stop bothering Maxwell and me?" Rachel's smile stiffened. She had expected Jennifer to be furious. However, she was surprised to find that the young girl could keep her composure. With a shallow smile, she responded, "I didn't want things to turn out this way either, but Max insists on taking responsibility for me. After all, even though I'm not his wife, we have consummated. Ms. Yale, you're still young, and you wouldn't understand." Jennifer clenched her fists tightly under the table. Each word Rachel uttered was akin to a dagger stabbing her heart without mercy. She had seen this coming. No man could control himself when it came to the woman he loved. But hearing the blatant truth from Rachel caused Jennifer to feel suffocated. After taking a deep breath, she asked, "So, have you come to me today to ask for my acceptance for you two to be together?" "If possible, I'll make sure Max provides you with more security for your future. You will receive fair compensation." Rachel thought Jennifer was wavering, so she proposed attractive conditions, tempting her with money. Jennifer chuckled at that. "I'm sorry, but I'll get much more than what's in this divorce agreement by continuing being his wife." "But there should be order when it comes to love." Rachel's smile faded as she realized Jennifer wasn't budging. She continued with a hint of urgency, "Even if you insist on staying married, it's futile. I came into Max's life first. It's him and I who are in love." Jennifer nodded. "Yes, you two love each other, but I'm the one married to him. Love may have an order, but the law doesn't care about who comes first. Our marriage certificate is solid proof that you can never be with him legitimately." Just then, Jennifer's phone rang. Seeing that it was Maxwell calling, she was instantly reminded that the fifteenth of every month was the day they would return to Lance Manor to dine with Robert. Intentionally, she put the call on speaker for Rachel to listen. Maxwell's voice sounded. "Where are you? We have to head to Lance Manor today." "Babe, I'm still at the university. I just finished my experiment. Could you come pick me up?" Jennifer's voice was meek with a hint of coquettishness. For a moment, Maxwell was stunned, unable to wrap his head around what Jennifer had called him. Chapter 5 Maxwell had never given her permission to address him as "babe". Just as he was about to reprimand her, Jennifer had already ended the call. Observing Rachel's displeased expression, Jennifer finally broke into a smile of unprecedented satisfaction. "Ms. Walker, did you see that?" She shook her phone while saying, "My husband is coming to pick me up. Regardless of who came into his life first, the person he brings back to Lance Manor will always be me!" Then, she stood up and placed two 100 bills on the table. "Enjoy your coffee. It's my treat." Having said that, Jennifer walked out of the cafe. At that moment, the burden that had weighed on her chest for so many days was finally lifted. ⊠Before long, Maxwell's car arrived at the gates of Haven University to pick Jennifer up. Robert had raised him, and he held an eternal respect for Robert. It was for this reason that he personally came to pick Jennifer up, to avoid displeasing Robert. As she got into the car, Maxwell stated coldly, "Jennifer, don't call me that again." "Understood," Jennifer obediently replied. She didn't bring up Rachel's visit because his favoritism might cloud his judgment. Who knows, he might even accuse her of mistreating his darling. When she didn't argue, Maxwell quit pursuing the matter and drove toward Lance Manor. Lance Manor was situated in the southern part of Haven City, surrounded by hills and water. A wealthy foreigner had once set his eyes on this mansion, offering eight billion to purchase it, only to earn Robert's disdainful smile in return. The fifteenth of every month was the Lance family banquet, where Maxwell's father and stepmother would also be present. Maxwell's stepmother, Lorraine Young, was smiling obsequiously while saying to Robert, "Dad, Jordan heard that you haven't been feeling well lately, and your asthma is acting up frequently. "He specifically went abroad to seek help from medical experts. That's why he couldn't make it back in time for dinner today. He asked me to apologize to you." Robert was slightly taken aback. "Since when did Jordan become so thoughtful?" Lorraine's face revealed a hint of unease as she hurriedly clarified, "Jordan has always been dutiful. Recently, he even mentioned that since he graduated long ago, it's time for him to work at Lance Group to assist Max. He wishes to share your burdens with Max." Maxwell's expression darkened a little when he heard this. In exchange for marrying Jennifer, he had made Robert promise to hand over the executive power of Lance Group to him and not let his stepbrother, Jordan Lance, join the company. From the way Lorraine put it, could it be that Robert hadn't made it clear to them yet? Maxwell's father, Zachary Lance, chimed in, "Dad, why don't you arrange a position for Jordan at Lance Group soon? Although Max is running the company well, Lance Group is too big for him to do it alone." Since Zachary's divorce from his ex-wife and marriage to Lorraine, Robert had relieved him of all his positions at Lance Group and instead allowed Maxwell to take over the company. Zachary and Lorraine were afraid that their youngest son would also be rejected by Robert, hence they spared no effort to speak up for Jordan. Robert cleared his throat and replied bluntly, "Jordan is still young. He should gain more work experience elsewhere. There isn't a suitable position for him at Lance Group at the moment." Lorraine's face fell in an instant. She knew that as long as Maxwell was around, her son would never be valued by Robert. Jennifer had been sitting silently next to Maxwell, eating her meal without a word. However, she understood their conversation perfectly well. At this moment, Robert shifted his attention to her, and his stern expression eased up. "Jennifer, you seem to have lost weight again. You should eat more," Robert said with a smile. "Is Max treating you well? He hasn't mistreated you, has he?" Jennifer glanced at Maxwell and forced a smile. "Don't worry, Grandpa. Max treats me very well." Lorraine's chuckle followed right after. "Really? How come I heard that Max hardly goes home aside from a few times a month? Even when he does, he's sleeping in guest room." "What? Guest room?" Robert's expression immediately turned sullen. "What's going on?" Maxwell pursed his lips, casting a suspicious gaze at Jennifer. He had handpicked all the housekeepers at the villa. He was sure none of them would gossip, so how was Lorraine well-informed about these things? Afraid that Robert wouldn't believe her, Lorraine added, "Dad, they have been married for two years now, but there's still no news of a baby. They are both so young. They should have conceived by now." A realization seemed to dawn on Robert, and he stood up. "Max, come with me to the study." Jennifer watched in concern as the two left, feeling a bit flustered. Although Maxwell deserved Robert's reprimanding, she couldn't help but worry. ⊠In the study, Robert and Maxwell faced each other in silence. After a long while, Robert spoke solemnly, "Max, I didn't let you marry Jennifer to make her suffer. Her mother saved my life!" "Marrying her was the biggest compromise I could make. As for the rest, I can't promise anything." Maxwell's voice was devoid of any warmth. Robert snorted. "You heard what Lorraine said just now. If this is how you treat Jennifer, then I'll have to reconsider the inheritance issue more fairly. Jordan is also my grandson after all." Ultimately, Maxwell held himself back from mentioning the divorce. He had sacrificed so much to marry Jennifer. He couldn't afford to fail now. When he was six, Zachary drove his mother away and married Lorraine. He had searched for his mother for so long, but couldn't find her. Until now, he didn't know whether his mother was alive or dead. How could he let go of such hatred? "I understand, Grandpa. I know what to do," he agreed in the end. As long as he stayed in power, he would never let Zachary and Lorraine off easy! But Robert didn't easily buy his words. "From today onward, you and Jennifer will move back to Lance Manor," he commanded. "Once you both have a child, I'll hand over all the shares and executive power I hold at Lance Group to you." ⊠And so, Maxwell and Jennifer moved to Lance Manor that night. Of course, Robert had arranged for them to stay in one bedroom. Jennifer nervously gazed at Maxwell's gloomy face, her heart pounding in her throat. Maxwell reached out, pinching her chin and forcing her to look into his eyes. "How did Lorraine find out about our situation? Are you close to her?" Jennifer picked up his suspicion and immediately defended herself. "You hate that woman, and I don't like her either. Why would I be in contact with her?" However, her words lacked conviction. Maxwell smirked wickedly. "Are you that desperate to share a room with me? I shall fulfill your wish today then!" Chapter 6 Jennifer understood the meaning behind his words and instinctively retreated to the corner of the bed. Without a warning, Maxwell effortlessly gripped her calf and pulled her toward him, pinning her down with his weight. Having been rendered immobile, Jennifer could only push at his shoulders, asking in alarm, "Maxwell, what are you doing?" "What do you think? What else can a man and a woman do on a bed?" Maxwell's cool breath swept over her as his fierce kiss landed on her neck. "No!" Jennifer struggled, frightened. "Maxwell, don't do this. Don't touch me!" His actions reminded her of that horrific night when the strange man seemed equally rough. Jennifer didn't want to recall it again. If Maxwell continued, she would break down. Seeing Jennifer crying miserably, Maxwell couldn't truly bring himself to punish her in this way, even if he was always harsh toward her. After all, if this were done without love, it would be a punishment for both sides. He stopped, but his hands remained at her sides as he leaned down to look at the pitiful woman. "Why are you crying?" Maxwell growled. "Since you don't want a divorce, don't try to remain chaste for other men! Get your head straight and remember that I am your husband!" He would never stoop low and force himself on women, especially not Jennifer who had been tainted by another. She was filthy! Maxwell retrieved blankets and pillows from the closet, preparing a makeshift bed on the floor. Jennifer felt extremely aggrieved. She wanted to tell him that she didn't have another man, but then how could she explain the birth prevention pills? Even if she told Maxwell that she had been violated by a complete stranger, he would probably think she was even more indecent, wouldn't he? ⊠The next day, Maxwell felt sore all over as he had never slept so on the floor before. When they went downstairs for breakfast, Robert was already seated at the table. His expression softened slightly when he saw the two coming down together. At that moment, Maxwell's phone buzzed with a WhatsApp message from Rachel. Jennifer glanced at it and saw a photo, probably of breakfast that Rachel had made. It looked quite appetizing. Maxwell looked at the message and stood up without touching the food on the table. He said, "Grandpa, I'm going to the company." "At this hour?" Robert frowned. "Do you think I'm easy to deceive because I'm old?" "I have a meeting today. I want to avoid getting stuck in traffic," Maxwell reasoned. Jennifer sneered inwardly at his excuse. She bet he simply didn't want to miss out on the breakfast Rachel had made. Robert ordered, "Sit down and have breakfast. After that, send Jennifer to class before going to the company." "What?" Maxwell sounded impatient. "Doesn't she have a car?" Jennifer immediately said, "Babe, my car broke down yesterday. It's getting repaired." Babe? She was calling him that again? Maxwell restrained his anger in front of Robert and gritted his teeth. "Fine, I'll send you." After breakfast, Robert deliberately prompted, "Jennifer's car broke down. How will she come home later?" "Grandpa, Max will come to pick me up," Jennifer said, her eyes fixed on Maxwell. "Right, babe?" Maxwell forced a smile. "Right." Only then did Robert grin happily and nod. "That's more like it! Back in our days, people would get married before even meeting each other. Nonetheless, they lived happily ever after. Jennifer is a wonderful girl. You should know how to cherish her!" Maxwell listened to his grandfather's advice, feeling a headache coming on. Upon reaching the garage, Maxwell stopped in his tracks and looked at Jennifer sternly. "Jennifer, I warned you yesterday not to call me that." Jennifer blinked innocently. "Didn't you say last night that I should get my head straight and that you're my husband? So, what's wrong with calling you that?" "Jennifer! Are you trying to piss me off?" Maxwell frowned deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose. Jennifer didn't want to endure his mistreatment anymore. What did she gain from being submissive and obedient every day? She couldn't warm Maxwell's stone-cold heart. Instead, she had let him step all over her with his mistress! With a determined mind, Jennifer haughtily got into his car. On the way, Maxwell said sombrely, "Jennifer, just because Grandpa has your back, it doesn't mean you can act so recklessly. You better rein in your temper. My patience is limited!" "Well, so is mine!" Jennifer smirked as she drawled, "Babe, just drop me off at the intersection across from the campus. Remember to pick me up in the evening." Maxwell slammed on the brakes, yelling, "Don't push your luck! I'm busy tonight. You can take a taxi home by yourself." Jennifer shrugged. "Fine. I'll tell Grandpa to send a driver to pick me up." ⊠As expected, using Robert as leverage was more effective than anything else. At 6:30 pm, Jennifer exited the university campus and spotted Maxwell's conspicuous red car at first glance. Suddenly, chaotic calls for help rang out. "Is there a doctor? Someone has fainted here!" "It looks serious! She seems to have stopped breathing!" As a medical student, Jennifer couldn't stand idly by. She quickly rushed into the crowd, where an elderly woman was surrounded. She lay unconscious on the ground, her face turning purple. Jennifer immediately instructed the crowd to step back and make room. While urging someone to call the ambulance, she began performing CPR on the elderly woman. "Anyone here has asthma? Do you have an inhaler?" Judging from the symptoms of the elderly woman, Jennifer felt she seemed to be suffering from an asthma attack. Due to a lack of medication, it had led to brain hypoxia and cardiac arrest. "I do. I do!" At this moment, a kind-hearted passerby handed over his inhaler. After ten minutes of continuous chest compressions, coupled with the effects of the inhaler, the elderly woman finally began to recover consciousness. The ambulance happened to arrive as well. "Ms. Yale, every second counts. If it weren't for your timely rescue, I'm afraid the old lady wouldn't have made it before we arrived," said the doctor who got out of the ambulance. Coincidentally, he was Jennifer's former lecturer. He generously praised her, feeling proud for raising such an excellent student. The crowd also complimented Jennifer for her heroic act as they had marveled at the thrilling scene earlier. As the crowd gradually dispersed, she noticed Maxwell standing not far away. Jennifer was slightly taken aback upon meeting his gaze. She had never seen such a gentle look in Maxwell's eyes before. It was uncharacteristically warm. Chapter 7 Maxwell seemed like he was smiling as he approached Jennifer. Then, he crouched down and took out a wet wipe with wine, helping her clean the dirt on her knees. It was only then that Jennifer snapped back to her senses. She had knelt on the ground for a full ten minutes, so deeply engrossed in saving a life that she hadn't noticed these trivial details. Now, she realized that her knees were not only dirty but also grazed. "Ouch..." she murmured. "Be gentle." Maxwell said softly, "Bear with it." As he resumed with his head bowed, a strange emotion began to stir in Jennifer's heart. Her knees really hurt, but she felt warm inside. After cleaning the dirt, Maxwell stood up and said, "Your knees are injured. Do you want to go to the hospital to get them bandaged?" Jennifer smiled and casually brushed it off. "There's no need. A band-aid will do for this small injury. Let's go home quickly. Grandpa is waiting for us for dinner!" Then, she started walking toward where he parked the car. Maxwell followed silently, thinking that if Rachel had been in this situation, she probably would have long thrown herself into his arms and wailed. Maxwell felt like he had seen a different side of Jennifer when witnessing her save a life just now. He even felt a hint of pride. Anyway, Jennifer was still his wife. ⊠During dinner, Jennifer ate quite a bit because she was in a good mood. Just then, the housekeeper brought two bowls of tonic to their table. Maxwell wrinkled his nose at the strong smell of medicine and asked, "Grandpa, what is this?" "Aren't you two planning on giving me a great-grandchild after two years of marriage?" Robert chuckled. "This tonic is from a renowned traditional medicine doctor in Haven City. It's very nourishing. From now on, both you and Jennifer will have one bowl each until she conceives." "What?" Maxwell looked at the bowl of tonic speechlessly and then glanced at Jennifer. She also had a conflicted expression, not knowing what to do. Robert urged, "What are you waiting for? Drink up!" Maxwell couldn't force himself to drink it. The smell alone was unbearable. Jennifer thought for a moment before saying to Robert, "Grandpa, we're still young, and there's nothing wrong with us. Isn't it too soon to drink this tonic now?" MMaxwell quickly agreed, "Yeah, it's not like we're incapable. Do we really need to drink this now?" Robert scolded, "Nonsense!" The men in the Lance family were all robust and healthy. How could they possibly suffer from incapablity? To appease Robert, Maxwell compromised. "Grandpa, why not let us try on our own first? If it doesn't work, we can consider taking the tonic." Jennifer gaped at him. Try on their own? How? After contemplating for a while, Robert said, "You'd better not disobey me. If you dare mistreat Jennifer under my nose and make her live like a widow, I'll punish you severely!" Maxwell was speechless again. What did he mean by living like a widow? ⊠Back in the bedroom, Maxwell started laying out the blankets on the floor again. Jennifer couldn't bear to see this. It just didn't seem right for an influential man like him to sleep on the floor. She spoke softly, "Why don't you sleep on the bed? It's big enough to maintain a safe distance." Maxwell paused, glanced at her, and continued his task. He said calmly, "You don't need to take Grandpa's words to heart. I won't tie you down with a child if I can't give you a future." Jennifer's eyes dimmed, a trace of bitterness rising in her heart. She murmured, "I just wanted you to sleep better. You kept messaging your neck just now." "It's nothing." Maxwell returned to his usual coldness. He finished laying out the blankets and went into the bathroom. Not long after, the phone he had left by the pillow rang. Because their phones were the same brand, the ringtone was also the same. Jennifer mistakenly picked it up as her own. It wasn't until Rachel's coquettish voice came from the other end did she realize she had picked up Maxwell's phone. "Max, where are you? I have a fever. I feel terrible... I miss you so much..." Jennifer rolled her eyes and stated curtly, "It's me." "You..." Rachel froze for some time before asking, "Why do you have Max's phone?" Jennifer retorted, "Why wouldn't I have my husband's phone? Your call has disturbed our rest. If you have a fever, go see a doctor. Maxwell doesn't know how to treat illnesses!" She shut down the conversation, tossing the phone aside. Maxwell finished his shower, and Jennifer went in to take her turn. When she came out, Maxwell seemed to have just hung up the phone. He looked at her with a grim expression. "Did you answer my phone just now?" Jennifer knew that Rachel wouldn't give up easily and would definitely call him a second time. She calmly leveled his gaze and replied, "Yes. What's the matter?" Maxwell said bitterly, "Rachel's grandmother passed away, and you didn't tell me about it. Jennifer, I thought you were kind when I saw you save a life today. But I didn't expect you to be more malicious than I imagined. How could you have the heart to insult someone who just lost their loved one?" "Her grandmother passed away?" Jennifer said confusedly, "How would I know about that? She only said she had a fever. She didn't say anything about her grandmother!" "Enough!" Maxwell interrupted her impatiently, hastily putting on his clothes and storming out. After he left, Jennifer suddenly felt freezing. The joy of saving someone earlier had disappeared in an instant. She smiled self-deprecatingly and folded the blankets on the floor. He probably wouldn't be coming back for the night. | LEARN_MORE | https://mn.ikkly.com/market/goodnovel/1?lpid=12134 | Free BOOKS | https://www.facebook.com/61560779513133/ | 496 | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Learn More | 0 | mn.ikkly.com | DCO | https://mn.ikkly.com/market/goodnovel/1?lpid=12134&utm_campaign={{campaign.name}}&utm_content={{campaign.id}}&adset_name={{adset.name}}&adset_id={{adset.id}}&ad_id={{ad.id}}&ad_name={{ad.name}} | 1969-12-31 18:00 | https://scontent-iad3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/449486753_815697437293757_1432673607306831411_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60&_nc_cat=100&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=CDijYADiOpMQ7kNvgELROSm&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&_nc_gid=A2ZWyIPxCOfiPPIGzDw67ut&oh=00_AYBq0AYy3zJUnYBM9iVQSeiQIoBvFZDXupcO4f3-vruxdQ&oe=670415D9 | PERSON_PROFILE | 0 | 0 | 0 | Free BOOKS | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | View Edit Delete | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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đAttention! Do not read in publicïŒđ | Lily POV After my mother slapped me and pushed me down the stairs on the morning of my sister Stephanie's death memorial, I fell unconscious, but the moment I woke up, I was in Stepahnie's memorial while my fated mate Alpha James mind-linked me, "Little Mate, don't you want to know who spent the night in my bedroom last night?" James smirked at me. This is his revenge for Stephanie, his late girlfriend. "You deserve this. Vile murderer! That's how you pay for causing my girlfriend's death!" He roared at me the other day by the waterfall when we found each other to be fated mates. My dead sister's boyfriend and I. What a joke the Moon Goddess plays. But I will not sit idly when the betrayal pains were about to rip my heart apart. "I, Lily Borgen, reject you Alpha James!" I snarled back. ... James POV It's been a few months since I accepted Lily rejection and she ran away from the pack. Regrets are the only thing I ever feel these days. I love her, she is my fated mate! For god's sake. Dr. Hyden from the neighboring pack brought me the information of Lily. Thank godness, she is alive! But she won't come back to the pack that has tortured her for years. "Son, I am sorry for what happened between you and Lily. But you need to move on." My mother comforted me,"Maybe it's a good idea to have another woman to be by your side." I know what she meant. "Mom, I couldn't forget Lily. Please stop this. I was so wrong to her." Thinking back how I bullied her and punished her by sleeping with othe women, my heart ached. "Actually, I have a question for you." Suddenly, I became suspicious of why my mother was so keen on my moving on. "Did you know how Stephanie really die?" An unprecedented terror appeared on her face. | LEARN_MORE | https://getokn.com/market/goodnovel/1?lpid=10745&u | Indulge in story | https://www.facebook.com/61552702618591/ | 806 | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Learn More | 0 | getokn.com | DCO | https://getokn.com/market/goodnovel/1?lpid=10745&utm_campaign={{campaign.name}}&utm_content={{campaign.id}}&adset_name={{adset.name}}&adset_id={{adset.id}}&ad_id={{ad.id}}&ad_name={{ad.name}} | 1969-12-31 18:00 | https://scontent-iad3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/453235275_2360395964309221_1107630094916579806_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60&_nc_cat=106&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=hECU07Z9dkYQ7kNvgGCsUM6&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&_nc_gid=ATJ5fxfyutsPz3mZDTOKQXf&oh=00_AYApA9y-FVgYuqNQCgCRKBtPzFIgy7ZsV_2yAB-sRLzJjQ&oe=67041FFB | PERSON_PROFILE | 0 | 0 | 0 | Indulge in story | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | View Edit Delete | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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đ„đ„Click to read the next chapter for freeđ | Chapter 1 Scented candles, champagne, and rose petals⊠check! Haley strolled across the bedroom. A crimson silk gown hugged her curves, flowing down her ankles, with a daring slit that revealed a glimpse of her slender leg. In the background, a soft melody played, lulling her to give in to the exhaustion from spending the whole day getting ready. For twenty-nine days, she'd been anticipating and preparing for tonight. Liam rarely came home. They'd been married for three years, but their relationship was nothing more than a distant coexistence. Her husband was always conveniently busy with work, hardly having time for her. The only proof of their relationship was the intimacy they shared once a month. Tonight marked their third anniversary. As one of the few nights Liam would get intimate with her, everything must be perfect. If only he'd come home now. The business trip should be over. His assistant told her Liam's plane landed an hour ago. Did an emergency come up at his company and he needed to take care of it? Bored, she picked up her phone, checking into her tiktok to kil-l time. Just then, a piece of news popped up, featuring NK Enterprise, her husband's company. Excited, Haley tapped into the news; "William Nash, Famous CEO of NK Enterprise, Checks Into Hotel With his Mystery Girlfriend, Relationship Revealed" William? Her Liam? Haley stood up, her eyes glued to her phone's screen, shock and disbelief taking over. Angry as well when she saw the image of her husband walking into the famous Eden Suites Hotel, his arm snaked around a woman's waist. And when the woman's face was revealed, so many thoughts flooded Haley's mind at once. Disbelief, fear, and uncertainty. Leah! The girl who looked a lot like Lisa, Liam's Ex. Leah was a mere receptionist at NK Enterprise until one day, Liam noticed the similarities she shared with his Ex. Not a week went by before he promoted her to the secretary position. Rumors were flying around at that time that William Nash had a soft spot for his secretary, Rumors Haley found hard to believe. Liam might be cold and unromantic with her, but he wasn't the kind of person she believed would have an affair, talk more with his secretary. But what was this news about? Liam must have gone to the hotel with his secretary for some business dealings, right? Still, what was with holding Leah's waist? Sinking in confusion was pointless. Haley dialed his number. He didn't answer the phone, heightening her anxiety. On her third trial, he finally picked up. âWhat's up?â His deep voice, heavy with tiredness, murmured through the phone. Haley inhaled deeply, controlling her emotions. âLiam, where are you? Today's our third anniversary, remember?â âSo?â From his careless tone, Haley couldn't help but imagine him rolling his eyes. âNot coming home. Sleep by yourself.â Knowing what she wanted, he still rejected her brutally, his voice holding no remorse, a gut-wrenching punch to her pride. Just then, a female voice, soft and seductive, came on the phone. âWilly, I'm thirsty.â Willy? Even Haley wasn't allowed to call him that. He truly was with a woman! At this hour, her husband was with a freaking woman! The phone beeped. He hung up the call. Dazed, Haley's gaze fell on the decorations; her hard work. She sank onto the bed, her thoughts spinning and that voice echoing. Leah. That was Leah's voice. What was happening? Did she misread Liam's lack of displaying affection for her as a part of his cold personality? Sleep departed Haley's eyes, and her throat was suddenly dry. She longed for anything to distract her from the confusing and heartbreaking thoughts, so she gulped down the champagne, wishing it'd wash her sadness away. Why did he love to hurt her feelings? During the times he never returned home, was he really with his secretary as the rumors had it? Haley stirred in the middle of the night, drowsy and starkly aware of the strong hands fondling with her gown. She found Liam hovering over her, trying to undress her. Haley blinked. Urgh! Why was she dreaming about this man who only knew to break her heart? Yet, as his fingers grazed her body, goosebumps spread across her skin, and she winced. âHey, waitâŠâ Haley stopped him, her voice hoarse from crying, still wanting to confirm if she was dreaming. Liam smirked. âYou called me back. Isn't it for this?â Haley blushed. He came back. Maybe she'd misunderstood again. âI've got you our anniversary present. Wanna see it?â She asked. âBoring.â He trailed kisses down her neck, pulling her nightgown down. âUhm, LiamâŠâ Irritation flashed in his eyes when she interrupted again. Haley gulped, summoning courage, grateful for the whole bottle of champagne she'd emptied in her stomach. âC- Can⊠Can you not wear it tonight?â Liam halted. His dark eyes bore a hole through her heart, his expression frosting over. The atmosphere became so stale and suffocating, and her breathing hitched when he pushed her away. âYou're always okay with me wearing protection.â His dark voice made her shudder. âWhy not now?â Haley cowered to the bed's headboard, flushed and embarrassed. She looked down. âIt's your Grandma. She laments every day about us not having a baby.â âGrandma, huh?â He scoffed, pinning her with a glare. âMore like you're desperate to have a child to keep the title of Mrs. Nash in this family!â His mouth spat venom. Haley held back her tears and clenched her fists, the bitterness in his words spreading from her heart and numbing her whole. Chapter 2 She loved him and wanted to have his baby. Was it a crime to ask? A marriage was supposed to be a union of mutual consent where the couple lived harmoniously. But she didn't even have a right to voice out her heart desires. His words fell over her like chilled water, dousing the wine's effect, and dampening her hope. Haley sobered up immediately, grief clutching her heart. âLiam, do you think I married you just for money?â Haley didn't see those words coming from him. Through her actions, her genuine love was obvious. While he spent most nights outside, she maintained a perfect home for him to return to. She neither complained nor demanded his affection, just giving and never taking. Why couldn't he see it? The suspicion in his eyes as he stared at her hurt more than daggers piercing her heart. If only she could read his thoughts- his mind. âWhat else do you expect me to think!â Liam spat out, unaware of the poisonous effect of his words on her heart. Or maybe he was aware. âHaley Nash, don't overstep your limits. I'll never have children with you. Don't forget how you plotted to marry me in the first place!â His words weren't only insulting, but also heartbreaking, reducing her to a desperate woman eager for his affection. Where did she go wrong? She gave him her heart, and he didn't have any trouble with crushing it at every opportunity he got. âYou're still not over Lisa, are you?â Haley shouldn't have asked the now obvious truth. Back then, Lisa had been the only obstacle to her happiness; the man she loved. While she'd desperately longed for him, he never spared her a glance. His eyes were only for Lisa. However, didn't Leah share a great resemblance with Lisa, his Ex? Instead of acknowledging Haley's feelings, he'd transferred all the love he had for his Ex to Leah. To him, Leah was a mirror, reflecting his first love, Lisa. Liam didn't answer her question, his dark eyes narrowing into slits, the emotions in his eyes unreadable. He left the room, slamming the door. Desperation fueling her grief, Haley scurried off the bed and went after him. Wiping her tears furiously, she hurried to catch up with him. âLetâs get a divorce,â Haley blurted out. Liam halted in his steps. His back facing her, his body went rigid. A moment of silence went by, filled with tension. Haley watched him with bated breath, her heartbeat picking up. âFine.â He moved. Without a glance in her direction, the man walked away. Fine. Just fine? Haley chuckled, her laughter mixed with tears. For three years, she'd overworked herself beyond measure only to please the man she loved. She was the perfect wife, the best daughter-in-law. Whenever he came back home sick, she stayed up all night nursing him. While she always hid her illness from him so as to not bother him. She might look pale and fragile, but he never cast her a glance talk more of asking how she was feeling. Despite that, Haley never complained. She only wanted to be perfect for him, to melt his cold heart someday. Yet, her divorce proposal was only received with a single word, almost insignificant. 'Fine.' It showed he never cared, and would never. If only she'd realized that earlier. On the first day she saw him in college, he stole her heart. That was the most bizarre thing that had ever happened to her. At that time, he was with Lisa. She dared not be the third wheel. Haley had been bold enough to confess her feelings when Lisa left and dumped him. She'd offered him comfort, striving to mend his heart. She worked hard to get his attention, getting into his family's good books, and sacrificing her own familyâs happiness. Her hard work paid off as Liam eventually noticed her. Thinking he'd forgotten Lisa, Haley married him happily. But the nightmare began on their wedding night. He set rules for her; Their intimacy would only happen once a month. She wasn't allowed to call him with any endearing name. She wasn't allowed to cook his food or touch his things. She wasn't allowed to ask more than he gave her. She was never allowed to make their relationship public. Thinking he only needed time to adjust to her, she'd had no objections. Tears blurred Haley's vision. She leaned by the wall, blinking at her phone's screen that suddenly lit up. A message notification appeared. Wondering who was messaging her this late, she clicked on the message. [I'm pre-gnant. It's time for me to become the new Mrs. Nash.] A message from his secretary. To put it accurately, his mistress, Leah. Haley gripped the phone, her body trembling. Accompanying the message was a screenshot of a pregnan-cy test result. It turned out, Liam didn't hate babies after all. He just didn't want to have one with her! How disappointing that she'd wasted her time thinking he only disliked having babies. What's the point in sticking with a man who wouldn't value her? Haley wiped her tears. She'd been having second thoughts whenever the decision came to her mind to just leave the man, because a part of her mind always held hope for a better future for them. But right now, the future seemed ridiculous, almost laughable. Even Leah whom he only hired three months ago was now pragnant with his child. The more Haley clung onto this man, the more he'd enjoy breaking her, reveling in her misery. That night, Haley retrieved the document she'd hidden in a dark corner of the closet. Staring at it, her heart throbbed tremendously, a part of her dying in that moment, A pain brought by watching her years of hard work crumbling right before her. She took in a deep breath, sniffing back the tears she now hated more than anything, Tears that reminded her of how weak and helpless she'd reduced herself to all in the name of begging for love. Never again. Chapter 3 The Next Morning. As Liam ate breakfast in the dining room, the atmosphere was stale and somehow still as if something was amiss. He glanced at the empty chair across from him now and then, his thoughts wiring back to last night. Where was that crazy woman? Was she still inside the bedroom shedding crocodile tears? Spending the whole night in the study room was enough to teach her a lesson. At least, she'd lost the chance of him touching her this month. She would never bring up that ridiculous topic again. Yet, halfway through eating, Liam's indifference turned into a small frown that formed on his face, his eyes darting upstairs. Did she think that starving herself would make him give in and grant her wish? How silly. Liam summoned the maid. âWhy isn't Mrs. Nash coming down? Go and get her.â But the maid lingered, her fearful gaze avoiding his eyes. With a hesitant look on her face, she extended a gift box to him. âActually⊠M-Mr, Nash. Mrs. Nash left the house an hour ago. She left this box for you.â Liam's frown deepened. What was that woman up to? He took the box impatiently, and his eyes caught the tag on it. â3rd Anniversary Giftâ âHow childish.â The corner of his li-ps twitched mockingly, a subtle smile forming. Liam tore the wraps around the box, wondering if this was the present she insisted on giving him last night. Once he revealed the content of the box, however, he narrowed his eyes at the white document with the word âDivorce Agreement!â boldly written at the top. Liam smashed his fist on the table and shot to his feet. He snat-ched the papers. Divorce! Was she serious last night? His nerves rippling with rage, he flipped through the papers, his eyes widening more seeing her signatures on each section. [Reason for Divorce: Disharmony in se-x!] His anger hit the ceiling when he saw that. The words sounded more like he didn't satisfy her enough in bed. How dare she mock him in such a demeaning manner? She was becoming bold, huh? Dramatic! Liam grabbed his phone, clutching it. His breathing ragged, he dialed her number. âWhere the hel are you!!!â âJust sign the divorce, William Nash.â Her calm voice was devoid of the desperation from last night. âThen you're fr-ee to have kids with any woman you want.â She hung up instantly, leaving him in a daze. For several minutes, Liam stood in the same spot, staring at the papers, not believing his eyes. Was she really serious? Then a thought came to his mind and he snickered. After trying all possible means, she resorted to this silly trick to get his attention. That crazy woman never ran out of ideas. Well, an hour was enough for her to return to her senses. She'd soon beg him and claim it was a joke. With that in mind, Liam got ready and left for his company. In the afternoon, he found himself thinking about her tantrum, unable to finish any work. So he took his phone and called the house's telephone, knowing she'd answer it. But instead of Haley, the maid answered the phone. âMr. Nash, is there something you need?â âWhere's Haley?â Liam gritted out. âUhm, Mr. Nash⊠Mrs. Nash hasn't come back,â the maid answered with a sigh. Liam cut the call brutally! Haley! What was she still doing outside? Did she go to his Grandmother to complain about him? When evening approached, Liam dialed the house's telephone again, ready to lash at her. Yet, it was the maid who answered the phone again. âMr. Nash, Mrs. Nash didn't return.â She sounded worried. âShe has never left the house for this long.â Liam cut the call. He tugged at his necktie and began pacing in his office, his emotion a mix of anger and disbelief. Haley was going too far. She'd better end this prank before he extended her punishment. While he was walking back and forth, his assistant, Joye, came in with some documents. âMr. Nash, these are from the HR-â âCheck the money on Haley's card. Is there any change from yesterday?â Liam interrupted him, his voice sounding desperate. Danmit! Was he desperate? He just wanted to find more reasons to punish that woman in case she spent his money recklessly. âRight away, Mr. Nash!â Joye returned later, the look of horror on his face making Liam wonder if someone died on his way back. âMr. Nash- Mr. Nash, you won't believe this!â Joye barged into the office. Liam was impatient. âWhat is it!? And where's the task I gave you?â Joye opened his mouth wide, looking as if he'd seen a ghost. âIt turns out Mrs. Nash has never touched a single penny on her card! Isn't that strange?â That was impossible. It was hard to believe. If Haley had never spent a single penny on his card, where did she get all the money she used to bu-y meaningless gifts for him? Those expensive wristwatches, the cufflinks made of gold, the expensive neckties and designer shoes⊠and also the expensive perfumes she'd stacked inside his closet, not to mention the limited edition sports car she got him as a birthday gift two months ago! Weren't they all bought with his money? Did she swindle them from his Grandmother? After all, she'd always pretended to be nice to his clueless Grandmother in or-der to get close to him. âErm, Mr. NashâŠâ Joye said, snapping him from his thoughts. His assistant scratched his head nervously, giving him a worried look. âYou look pale and you're sweating⊠is everything alright?â Liam threw him a glare. âIt's nothing.â âUhm, but, Mr. Nash, if you feel sick, I can call the Madam as always,â Joye suggested. âBy the way, isn't she an amazing woman? All women out there would lavish your money, but she-â âGo away.â Liam chased the noisy guy out. For the first time, he was a bit flustered. But as he sat on his chair, he whispered to himself, âWell, she's a nobody without me. She'll soon run back and apologize.â Chapter 4 At IvoryRains Apartment Building, located downtown. Haley settled in her new apartment, the small and cozy interior a stark contrast to the luxury and glam of Liam's Villa. Yet, in this mini apartment, she felt somehow at peace with herself. Her mind, once clouded with thoughts of Liam alone, was now clearing up. Every minute of her life had been filled with thinking about him, brainstorming different ways to make the man happy. Even though she loved Liam, it was worthless to live in a marriage with three people in it. Haley could stomach anything the man threw at her, but not a betrayal as big as having an affair and impregnating another woman. Lost in her thoughts, the sound of her phone's ringtone snapped her back to the present. Haley picked up the phone from the small table stand, staring at the contact display name. She'd developed this habit of shuddering in fear whenever her mother-in-law called, and now she found herself repeating the same thing. âHabits die hard, don't they?â Bracing up herself, Haley pressed the answer button, knowing too well not to put the phone any way close to her ears, lest she risked losing her eardrums. âWhat's keeping you from coming, you stup-id insignificant girl!â Vera Nash seemed to be in a very bad mood, as her voice blared like a trumpet through the phone. âWhy don't you come and help me clean today! Did you forget it's Monday!?â Haley pursed her li-ps. Indeed, she used to go to Liam's mother's place every Monday to do house chores for her every week, under the woman's stern command. Haley replied, âI won't go there today.â âEh? Not coming!?â Vera shouted, disbelief ebbing her tone. âDo you know who's speaking, Haley? How dare you talk to me like that when you're a barren woman? You should be happy I even let you stay with my son!â And so began her train of insults. Vera never missed any opportunity to tell Haley how useless she was without a child in the Nash family. Haley digested the insult, always keeping a perfect attitude in 0rder not to anger her mother-in-law. But right now, she felt abu.sed, the woman's insult angering her so much that her body was shaking. âVera Nash, soon there will be someone to help your son have a baby.â Haley cut the call, something she'd never done before. But it felt so satisfying to hang up on the spiteful woman. She couldn't live like this anymore. Years of hard work didn't get her recognized by Liam's parents. Even if Haley hanged herself someday in the name of her love for the man, she doubted if Liam and his parents would even bat an eye. Why should she live her life for others when she could be herself? With that in mind, Haley unpacked her belongings. She spent half of the day cleaning the apartment, decorating it to her liking, and hanging her clothes on the rack. As the evening approached, Haley left the apartment building, heading to DG Jewelry Corp., her favorite jewelry company. They had recently opened up vacancies for physical applicants. With her portfolio in handy, Haley spent more than an hour in the HR Department, undergoing the initial interviews and some physical tests. âAlthough we're open for applications, this company is top-notch among Its competitors. Don't think you can get in so easily, Young Lady,â Seemingly amazed by Haley's confidence, the manager warned. Haley only smiled, her rapt attention fixed on the pieces of gemstones scattered on the desk in front of her. Carefully, she picked each one with a holder, crafting an intricate design on the plain golden necklace. It was only a demo that lasted for thirty minutes, yet, the outcome had all the employees gathering around, their widened eyes gleaming with awe and astonishment. âOh my Gosh! I can't breathe.â âIt's perfect! How did she even do that in such a short time?â âShe must have years of experience to be able to pull it off so effortlessly without a single mistake.â âWho's she? Can we see her portfolio?â However, the manager in whose hands was her portfolio looked a bit pale, his hands shaking. His voice cracked as he spoke, his gaze darting from Haley to her portfolio. âSo it's youâŠâ Haley raised an inquisitive brow, smiling. âI beg your pardon.â âScratch that! You've been approved, Young Lady. Go ahead and meet the CEO while I forward him your documents!â The Manager's action surprised other employees. Haley wasn't a bit astonished but relieved that the man was quick-witted enough to grasp the situation and hid her secret. The first floor was the fine jewelry customization area and the fifth floor was the designer's office. She lingered by to admire the pieces of jewelry each encased inside a glass stand. Wowed by the glittering objects and inspired by many designs, she lost track of time admiring the jewelry. Some of the jewelry looked very familiar, and for the first time, Haley was happy, seeing the jewelry on display. For a few minutes, she forgot the chaos and the heartache caused by Liam's betrayal. Knowing it was near closing time, Haley proceeded to the fifth floor. She was about to take the elevator when she heard the most annoying voice. "Haley, what are you doing here? It's such bad luck." Chapter 5 Turning around, Haley came face to face with Leah. Her good mood plummeted instantly, replaced by irritation and disgust when Leah all but flashed her a sweet smile, rubbing her flat tummy. âDo I need to tell you where I'm going?â Haley replied. âYou're just a mistress.â Leah's eyes dimmed, and her smile faded into a deep scowl. âI might be a mistress now, but not anytime soon.â Her tone filled with arrogance, she eyed Haley from head to toe. âAs you can see, I'm here to pick out mine and Will's wedding rings.â âOw?â Haley put on a surprised look, feigning happiness. âFinally, someone to pack off my garbage. Congrats, and please talk to Liam and let him sign the divorce papers soon. Or you will still be the mistress.â Her tone light and full of mockery, Haley was surprised at her own calmness as she stood in front of the woman who literally seduced her husband. Forget it. Liam was no better. Leah's expression switched from white to green, her fingernails digging into her palms. She breathed heavily. âI know you're jealous because you can never give Willy even a single child. Doesn't he hate you?â Leah went on caressing that spot in her ab-domen, giving Haley a taunting look. âForget it, I wonât waste my time with you, after all, I'm pragnant now, it's not good for the baby to be angry.â Disgusted, Haley felt like vomiting. Just how morally twisted Leah was to flaunt an affair in public? They'd only met a few times in the past. Haley once visited Liam's office to deliver his launch to pave the way for their closeness. While the man chased her out, Leah was there and had a triumphant smile on her face. Haley disregarded it. To not irritate Liam further, she avoided getting into a fight with any of his employees. But one day, Liam brought her home for dinner with the excuse that they were just back from a business gala. It had been evident in Leah's eyes that she wanted to covet her husband but Haley didn't mind because she trusted Liam. Very funny! The two deserved each other. Deeming standing there a waste of her time, she turned to walk into the elevator when Leah screamed at her. âStop right there!â Leah trotted forward on her high heels, blocking Haley's path. âDid you bu-y jewelry here using Will's card, poor bit-ch? You're such a greedy woman, you're getting divorced and you still spend his money.â Haley pushed her out of the way. âTsk, a cheating man deserves a dumb woman. Who said I came here to bu-y jewelry? I came here for an interview, duh!â Waving her portfolio at her, Haley snickered. She didn't waste time to watch the dumbfounded look on Leah's face, and she walked into the elevator which took her to the fifth floor. There⊠A stream of other applicants was waiting for the final round of interviews. Haley found an empty spot and sat on one of the waiting chairs. She glanced at her wristwatch nervously, tapping her feet on the floor. With this many applicants waiting in line, it would take a miracle for her to get the final interview. âGosh! I'm so nervous!â A female sitting beside her shuddered. âI heard the chairman of the design department is so strict!â Another female whispered. âHe's not only the chairman, but also the CEO of the DG Group,â said the guy sitting by her right. âAwwwn, Andrew Woods. I heard he is handsome and charismatic. Lavishes money on his women mercilessly!â Said the girl sitting close to Haley. âI've pulled many stunts to get to this final interview! I have to get this job!â She added with resolve which made Haley chuckle a bit. âYou're quite ambitious, Amby. Rumor has it that he's married. Can you afford that?â âSo what? As long as he's willing-â Haley shook her head. It turned out not all applicants were here for the job. Her gesture caught the girl's attention. She eyed Haley, a look of displeasure evident in her eyes. âYou're not also here to covet Andrew Woods, are you?â âBelieve me, I'll pass.â Haley chuckled. âIs she crazy?â âI bet Andrew Woods will glance at her twice because she's pretty. Isn't he only into pretty women?â âI think she's just arrogant. Let's see if she even gets the job.â The females whispered among themselves, making Haley the center of attention. The guy sitting by her right sighed. âIt's hard to believe that you're not interested in the god of money, Andrew Woods.â He lowered his voice. âYou just earned my respect, Young Lady.â âYou never know what's inside someone's mind,â said the girl called Amby. âDon't believe her so easily, she might have a trick up her sleeves just like we all do.â âAnother thought. She's giving up early because she knows she'll never stand a chance!â The second female rolled her eyes. âYeah. From the looks of it, she comes from a poor background.â Laughed the third female. Their words fell on deaf ears because, at that moment, the secretary came out and called Haley's name. âMr. Woods requests to see a lady called Haley. Is she here?â Haley raised her hand and stood up. âPlease follow me, Young Lady.â The secretary smiled warmly, leading the way. As Haley followed her into the office, the whispers behind her increased, their voices filled with disbelief and suspicion. Haley stepped into the office. Sitting across the wide mahogany desk was the strong man. The air around the office seemed to thicken, his intimidating presence capable of snatching anyone's breath away. Not Haley's breath, though. Her heartbeat was intact. The man didn't didn't look up, his eyes fixed on the computer screen in front of him, concealing his face. Haley could only imagine, her heart sinking in gloom as she fiddled with her fingers, a slight guilt tugging at her heart. âPlease introduce yourself,â he murmured deeply, his tone lacking patience. Sighing, Haley cleared her throat, her voice crisp and nervous. âI'm Haley, here to interview for the designer position.â Instantly, the man lifted his head as if compelled by a rapid force, and Haley saw his face. Chapter 6 The man's expression was masked by surprise for a few seconds, then he laughed. âWhat took you so long to visit my company?â Haley loosened up. Her li-ps pulled into a happy smile and she ran over and hugged him. âI'm finally here, Brother. How's life treating you?â âFantastic!â He stood up and lifted her in the air, his laughter resounding in the office walls. âIt was boring all day long before you appeared. What a huge surprise!â Seeing the happiness in her brother's eyes as he welcomed her warmly, Haley's guilt expanded. She pursed her li-ps and sighed as he put her down. âWhy the gloomy look? Lemme guess, you miss your husband already just after arriving here.â Her brother pinched her cheek, taunting her. Then his brows pulled together in a displeased frown. âYou've lost a lot of flesh. What's with the skinny look? Are you on a diet?â Haley shook her head. It was true that she'd lost a tremendous amount of weight in the past few years. Ever since she married Liam, Haley couldn't help but notice that. The years of house chores had greatly worn her out. âBig BroâŠâ she tugged at his jacket sleeve, acting spoiled. âThe truth is⊠I'm divorcing Liam-â âWhat!?â Her brother didn't let her finish speaking. Looking flabbergasted, Andrew Woods sank into his chair. âYou're pulling my legs. That is the most ridiculous joke ever! Don't you love that guy like your whole life depends on it?â It hurt to be reminded of how silly she'd been. âYou even went against us, your family, to marry him, remember?â He reminded her. âSo stop cooking up lies. As your Big Bro, I won't punish you for running off to marry him in secret.â Blinking her eyes, Haley fought to hold back her tears. She sat beside him on the chair's armrest and narrated everything to him. âSo you see, it's not worth living in a loveless marriageâŠâ Haley was afraid she would run mad someday because of that heartless man. She was even happy she survived the torture of those three years. After hearing her story, her brother sighed. âThree years ago, you left us to marry William. I thought you could live happily with him. I didn't think he'd dare bully you.â Haley had been so blinded by love that she refused to listen to any word her family said. She ended up getting disowned by her own parents. âHow about forgetting that as-shole and coming home with me today? Mom and Dad miss you,â her brother suggested. Haley would jump at the opportunity, but⊠"I'll definitely go back, but not now. As soon as Liam signs the divorce papers, I'll move back home.â She couldn't meet her parents at the moment. What was she gonna tell them? How was she gonna apologize? Would they be able to forgive her? Her Brother was kind and understanding enough, but sometimes Haley couldn't understand her parents who had a bad temper. Crossing them was one of her biggest mistakes. "In the meantime, how about taking me in as a designer in this company?" Haley asked. "I'm using my first name anyway, people won't know you're my brother." Andrew's eyes shone with happiness. âYou want to work here? As long as you are willing, the whole company can be given to you." âHaha! That's too much to ask, Bro.â Haley laughed. âLook at you being picky.â He ruffled up her hair. âIf it's the DG Group you want, I'll hand it all over. You're my only Sis anyway.â But Haley denied. âI just want to work as a designer.â Disappointed, Andrew nodded. "I donât understand. Why don't you let me announce you to a higher position in the company?" That would be too much. Knowing her brother well, he'd insist on giving her the best. So Haley changed the topic. "Actually, I've been working with this company for a long time." Her brother looked pale immediately. âWait, what do you mean?â âDo you like last month's newest necklace "Treasure"?â Haley asked. Her brother was speechless. âSo you are âCrystalâ? The most mysterious jewelry designer?â Haley smiled and nodded. Andrew looked thoughtful. "I wondered why Crystal is willing to work with our company, it's you!!!â Haley flushed in embarrassment. "I just want to start as a new designer in this company, so I don't need to let anyone else know who I am.â âWhy though?â The frown returned to Andrew's face. âYou're an exceptional designer! Everyone's dying to meet âCrystalâ and I can't wait to boast about you!â The more he spoke, the more embarrassed Haley felt. âCome on, Bro⊠let's keep this our little secret.â She added, âI'm confident that I can prove myself, and I don't want to attract Liam's attention.â Under the alias âCrystalâ Haley had designed countless jewelry and sold them out at huge prices. She wanted to feel confident about her love for Liam, so she worked hard to afford the gifts a powerful man like him would appreciate. But instead of appreciating those gifts, Liam left them to rot. The only sensible thing he'd ever done was hand over the sports car she'd bought as his birthday gift to charity. âYou've suffered all these yearsâŠâ Andrew patted her hair gently. âI'll help you get revenge and teach that heartless man a lesson.â Haley shook her head and whispered, "No need, it's not worth wasting energy on unimportant people.â âHave you really let go?â Andrew asked worriedly. Haley nodded. âThe future is bright. I'll never look back.â âYou've matured a lot.â Her brother stared at her proudly. âSince you've said so, I'll let him off. Just promise me you'll always be happy.â Haley hugged him again. âI promise.â Three years of hardship was enough for her to mature. She would never be stu-pid again. Haley's phone rang, disrupting the silence. Seeing Liam's name blinking on the screen, her eyes dimmed. âHave you made enough of a scene? Now come back home!â The first words he said when she answered the phone. Haley almost laughed out loud, but his words weren't funny. For three years, she'd gotten used to his authoritative voice always 0rdering her around, but now it sounded foreign in her ears. âWilliam Nash, I told you to just sign the divorce papers. Leave me alone,â she replied, her low voice calm. Haley had been so used to him yelling at her but not anymore. | LEARN_MORE | https://redtgb.com/market/buenovela/3?lpid=12277&u | Indulge in story | https://www.facebook.com/61552702618591/ | 806 | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Learn More | 0 | redtgb.com | DCO | https://redtgb.com/market/buenovela/3?lpid=12277&utm_campaign={{campaign.name}}&utm_content={{campaign.id}}&adset_name={{adset.name}}&adset_id={{adset.id}}&ad_id={{ad.id}}&ad_name={{ad.name}} | 1969-12-31 18:00 | https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/449096813_811721290924356_2968776501711336908_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60&_nc_cat=101&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=M1tIg4CKiqgQ7kNvgF90JUA&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&_nc_gid=AtkJKY-qXgNsLlrWEEOzWCE&oh=00_AYADv8GbWjmvkRml4kfjwzXxVZCzZvgdrHKrV0SA0c6flQ&oe=670418FF | PERSON_PROFILE | 0 | 0 | 0 | Indulge in story | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | View Edit Delete | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Yes | 2024-10-03 02:53 | active | 1567 | 0 | Read <The Alpha King'sCurse> on the WhosNovel.đđđ | âIâll get straight to the point. I need you to have my baby.â Jackson King watched the girlâs eyes widen as she looked from him to his Beta, Dylan. âIâm sorry, I didnât get that. I thought you said you needed me to have your baby,â she chuckled. He could sense her unease the same way he could smell her arousal. She was drenched. Even without a wolf telling her she was his, her body knew it, and he hated that. He hated that he had to fight so hard with his beast to stop it from claiming what was rightfully his. He hated the fact that he had to resort to this. She was half-human! Why would the Moon-Goddess curse him like this on top of everything else? Heâd caught her scent even before he had walked into the hotel days before, and now it filled the entire suite, taunting him, reminding him how fucked up everything was. âI did,â he answered. âI need a surrogate, and I will pay you handsomely.â âUm... Iâve just walked into this room to clean. You donât know me; you don't even know my name,â she said. âLayla Carlisle.â Layla looked down at the name tag on her uniform. She covered it briefly before she probably realised it was useless and lowered her hand. But he didnât need her name tag to know who she was. âTwenty-one years old. High school dropout. You live in a trailer with your father and sister.â Laylaâs eyes widened, and for a moment, he sensed her anger. âHave you been stalking me?â she hissed. Dylan snickered. He gave his Beta a look that shut him up before he returned his attention to the human. âNo, I havenât been stalking you,â he said, but he could tell he had already lost the momentum. Layla's anger had grown at an alarming rate, eclipsing even the sweet scent of her arousal. The human stood and smoothed her uniform before she lifted her head and looked him directly in the eye. His beast unfurled, his excitement rippling through him at the thought of accepting his mateâs challenge. âI donât know why you two need to ask a stranger to have your baby, but I donât think I will be right for the job. I wish you all the best, though,â Layla said. It took him a moment to realise what she meant as she walked over to her cleaning cart and started pulling it out of the room. This was the problem with humans. Feeling the pull of their bond wouldn't have been an issue if sheâd had a wolf. He would have marked her the moment he had found her, and she would have been carrying his pup already. âMiss Carlisle, can we talk about this? You havenât even heard what Iâm willing to pay.â âIt doesnât matter. I donât want to be your surrogate,â she answered firmly. âIâll return later to clean your suite.â When she closed the door, he heard her mutter, âItâs always the handsome ones.â She thought he was crazy. And she was rightâhe lost more of his mind the longer he went without a child and the shorter his time on this earth got. âShe thinks weâre gay, Jax,â Dylan pointed out as he sat in the spot she had vacated. âI got that,â he growled. âI donât think she will change her mind,â Dylan said. âI donât understand why you canât pick someone from the pack and be done with it.â He would have had many children already if it had been that easy. Goddess knew how much he had tried. But Fate had messed that up for him, too, and made sure only one woman could carry his children. Only one woman could save them allâhis mate. âI told you why.â At least as much as he could. Dylan was not only his Beta; he was also his only friend. Keeping the truth from him was essential. Keeping it from everyone was crucial. It was bad enough that they would have to accept his heir from a woman who was as useless as a human, but he could deal with that better than the panic that the truth would cause. He had no time to soothe anyone or deal with the packs that would circle his territory when they realised he was about to die. As the Alpha King, the repercussions would be astronomical. âI doubt any of our pack would assume they are the Queen just because they have your child. They can do a blood oathââ âDylan, please,â he sighed as he stood and walked towards the drinks cabinet. It was still morning, but fuck it. He needed something to calm and stop himself from going after the human. To prevent himself from pinning her down and marking her while he buried himself deep inside her body. He closed his eyes as he tried not to imagine what that would feel like, but it was all his wolf wanted and all he could see. Every wolf heâd ever come across dreamed of being lucky enough to one day meet their mate, but he couldnât understand why anyone would think this was a blessing. It was torture! âOkay. Pick another one if that girl doesnât want to do it.â Cain growled in his head, ready to attack Dylan for even suggesting that, but he shoved his wolf back and focused on his drink. And just like that, his mind returned to a place he didnât want to be. He didnât want to think of touching Layla or tasting her. He didnât want to remember the scent of her arousal. Four days since he first caught Laylaâs sweet scent, he was already acting like a lunatic. The first day felt like a gift from the Goddess. He was almost out of time, so finding his mate had given him hope. And then he had seen her. A half-blood. Half-human and cleaning up after everyone else. It felt like a punch in the nuts; heâd wanted to kill someone for this cruel joke. She was not worthy to carry his child; she was not worthy to be the one who saved them all. But there they were. There was no other choice. âJaxââ âGet more information on her. Sheâs human. Youâll find many weaknesses I can use,â he ordered. âSheâs the one Iâve picked, so sheâs the one Iâll have.â Layla would have his child one way or another, and then he could finally have some peace. Dylan felt the command in his words and stood up to do as he had ordered. When he sensed his Beta was far enough away from their suite, he picked up his glass and threw it against the wall, smashing it into pieces. If he told Dylan the truth, he would tie the girl up and offer her to him on a silver platter. But then his child would be a product of rape; that was the last thing he wanted. The child would be his legacy, the only thing left of him on this earth, and would carry his blood. He couldnât taint the child before he had even conceived them. He was a bastard, but not that much. His child would be the best part of him. Layla would change her mind. Humans loved money, and this one, in particular, was drowning in debt. Why hadnât she wanted to know how much he was offering her? He could solve all her problems in a day if she took his offer. That meant Dylan had to find something else he could use. Something she couldnât refuse. The growl came louder in his head as his beast showed his displeasure. But he was in charge here, not Cain. They would do things his way, and at the end of it all, Layla could go back to her life because there was no future for them, even if she wasnât a half-blood. âFind her. Mark her,â Cain growled. âBe patient! She hasnât got a wolf; she doesnât even know we exist,â he snapped as he picked up an entire bottle of alcohol and walked towards his bedroom. And marking her was out of the question. He didnât stay at the Royal Hotel often even though he owned it and it was in his territory, but he was sure Layla hadnât been around the last time he had been there. Her scent was all over the hotel as if she had marked it. Could anyone else smell it? Did they have that sweet, intoxicating scent turning them inside out? Making them drool? Making them think of nothing else except to claim her? One thing was certain now. Ifâno, whenâLayla agreed to this, he would get her pregnant and then stay the hell away from her. Heâd been hard for days, and her scent had made Cain unstable. He didnât need that complication on top of everything else. Not when he had less than a year left to live. chapter 2 Did she have some sign on her head that said she was a pushover or desperate? Layla pushed the cart with more force than necessary until she was far enough away from the penthouse suite and then leaned against the wall. Her knees were still shaking, and she wasnât entirely sure if it was because of the manâs words or the man himself. It surprised her she hadnât fallen flat on her face when sheâd made her righteous exit. The men were in the most expensive suite in the exclusive hotel; they didnât need to ask a stranger to help them out. He might have somehow gotten a hold of some of her personal information, but everyone in Wolfdale knew about her. The kid abandoned by her mother. The kid whoâd dropped out of school so she could work and take care of her little sister because their father was an alcoholic and a gambling addict. That didnât mean she had no dignity left. She wouldnât give up a child! Those men thought they could throw their money around like that, and she would agree just because she wasnât like them, and that made her blood boil. But in her mind, she still saw the man naked and on top of her. If she closed her eyes, she could almost feel it. It was a shame he was gay because she was positive he would be great in bed. Her body was still on fire, still trying to get over the shock of coming face to face with such a perfect specimen of a man. A god. He looked like one. Handsome didnât even begin to describe him. Chiselled jawline, a short beard that probably cost more than her wages to maintain and silky, dark hair styled to look like heâd just rolled out of bed and didnât give a fuck. Heâd turned her knees to jelly and melted her panties in seconds without moving from his seat. Without even cracking a smile. She had never reacted so violently to anyone before. Why was it always the handsome ones that were batshit crazy? She pushed aside the disappointment. The cool wall slightly helped control her overheating body, but sweat still dripped down her back and cleavage. They were in the middle of a heatwave so intense even the hotelâs air conditioning system wasnât helping. Sheâd been like that for a few days as if she was coming down with something for the first time in her life. But it was the stranger with the cold ice-blue eyes that had worked her up like that. She shouldnât care about who he shared his bed with, but something inside her wanted to claw the other guyâs eyes out. It was so strong that she had to make a conscious effort to stop herself from returning to the room. Crazy. She was going crazy. âI donât pay you to have unscheduled breaks, Layla.â Her eyes snapped open to see Andrea looking down her nose at her as usual. And it took a special kind of person to look down their nose at someone who towered over them. Andrea barely reached her chest. âIâm sorry, Miss Roberts,â she said, lowering her head. âIâm almost finished.â Her supervisor insisted on being called Miss Roberts since her promotion, as if that would make her more respectable. Everyone knew how she got that job. âYouâre a mess,â Andrea said, wrinkling her nose. âAnd you smell. Clean yourself up and do something with that hair. We have important guests here today; I donât have time to deal with you.â She self-consciously wiped the sweat on her forehead and patted her hair down, even though she knew it wouldnât help. Her red, curly hair was just a giant unruly puff above her head, and her pale blue uniform had sweat stains under her armpits. Whatever sweat that wasnât being sucked up by her hair was dripping down her face like crazy. Another reason why that stranger had to be out of his mind to make such an offer to her while she looked like that. Andrea turned and carried on down the hallway in her formal suit and high heels. Her manager did indeed look distracted today, so she supposed she had to be grateful for that because usually, she would have shouted at her and threatened to fire her at least a hundred times already. With a sigh, she put Andrea and the handsome stranger out of her mind as she continued cleaning. By the time she finally left the hotel that evening, she looked even worse, but she went out through the staff entrance and straight to her little car without bumping into Andrea again. There was a shower with her name on it at home. It took her almost half an hour to leave the nicer neighbourhoods and cross the tracks to hers. It was so cliched, but the wealthy had separated themselves from the rest of the residents. The difference was stark, but she was used to it. There was nothing shiny on her side, and all the cars were old bangers like hers. Everything needed fixing or was broken beyond repair. But she felt more at home there, even if she itched to leave the dump and discover what was beyond Wolfdale. She parked outside their old trailer home and sighed as she walked in. The TV was blaring, and her father lay on the couch, already passed out. She didnât have to go near him to know he had been drinking again. The dayâs mail was on the counter near the door, placed there where she wouldnât miss it, and it was unopened even though it had her fatherâs name on it. Bills. Overdue bills. The stranger's offer popped back into her mind, but she pushed it away. She didnât need to sell a piece of herself to pay the bills. She sighed again as she picked the mail up and headed for the tiny bedroom she shared with her sister. She carefully opened the creaky door in case Britney was asleep but saw her hunched over her books instead. A small smile formed on her lips. It was worth it. All the shit she had to do to feed her sister was worth it. Brit would forge a better life all by herself, away from this dump. And then she would finally be free, too. Layla felt like sheâd hardly closed her eyes when her alarm went off. She always woke up early to make sure Brit didnât forget to eat her breakfast before school. Her sister always did that, as if by skipping meals, she would lighten the load on her shoulders. There was hardly anything in the fridge, and she probably couldnât do a proper grocery shop for a while with the bills she had to pay. A second job would have been great, but no one was hiring. Another pitfall of living in a small town in the middle of nowhere. She had to do her best until they could leave for greener pastures. And she couldnât leave until Brit left for college. With a loud yawn, she took the eggs out and set about making an omelette for Brit with a couple of slices of toast. Sheâd just poured herself a cup of coffee when she noticed her father through the window. In just his pyjama bottoms, his long, brunette hair was a tangled mess, and his beard was weeks old. Her father didnât care that the neighbours always saw him like this. He was pacing and seemed to be in a heated argument on the phone. He looked tense and had a scowl as he gestured with his free hand like the person on the other side could see him. What the hell had that man done now? She wouldnât get involved. Gerald Carlisle hadnât been a real father to them in a very long time. âSmells good.â She turned from the window to smile at her sister, whoâd already dressed for school. Brit was the spitting image of their father with her brunette locks and hazel eyes. She was also the shortest in the family. People never believed they were sisters because she looked like a sasquatch beside Brit. âArenât you having any?â Brit asked. âNo, Iâll eat at the hotel,â she lied. That was her excuse whenever she didnât have enough money to feed all of them. Andrea never allowed them to take even a piece of fruit from the kitchen. Their father wrenched the door open and marched in. His large frame took up most of the space in the small kitchen. He didnât even bother speaking to them as he went straight to the fridge and pulled a beer out. That was the one thing abundant in their house. When he just threw himself onto the one sofa they had in the house and put the TV on, Brit shook her head and stood. âIâm going to school,â she mumbled. Layla looked at the half-eaten omelette on Britâs plate. âFinish your breakfast,â she said firmly. âIâve lost my appetite,â Brit said as she walked to their bedroom. Layla couldnât help glaring at the disgrace of a man who had already become engrossed in his program. Gerald acted like he was the only one in the family her mother had abandonedâheâd wasted eleven years pining over someone who didnât want any of them. It made her furious, but she didnât have to put up with him much longer. Brit mumbled a goodbye when she came out of their room with her school bag. âWait.â She pulled some money out of her pocket and gave a few notes to Brit. It was supposed to have gone in the money jar she kept hidden for emergencies or to top up Britâs college fund, but keeping her sister healthy was more important. She would find a way to replace it. âLayla_â âTake it. Have something to eat at school,â she insisted. She didnât miss that Gerald had become very interested in that small exchange and would probably ask her for money, too. She finished Britâs breakfast without giving him any attention before she went to shower and dress for work. She didnât bother straightening her hair because it was still early morning, but the heat was already unbearable. At least the hotel washed their uniforms daily, so she didnât have to worry about the sweat stains. She just tied her hair up into a neater puff and looked at herself in the small, cracked mirror in the corner of their cramped room. The inspection was brief because, unlike Brit, she was the image of her mother. Her green eyes were a shade sheâd never seen on anyone else, and it was unnerving. The entire package made her feel like an outsider in her family. She reached for her bag and froze when she heard a crash and loud voices. Her heart hammered loudly, and her hands shook as she inched the door open to stop it from creaking before peeking out. A large man stood over her father, who he had smashed through their wooden coffee table. Gerald tried to get back to his feet, but the man punched him down again. She took a sharp breath when she saw how helpless her father was as he pleaded for mercy. What had he done now? âI already gave you several chances, Gerald,â another man said. He sat in her fatherâs spot on the chair. She could only see the back of his blond head, but it looked greasy and slicked back. Like a baddie out of a horrible B-grade horror movie. She wanted to slip out through her window and let her father suffer alone, but that stupid thing in her head reminded her he was still family. And this was Britâs home; she couldnât allow anything bad to happen here. With a calming breath, she opened the door wider and walked out of the bedroom. âI swear, I only need a little more time,â Gerald said. âIâm good for it this time.â âYou said that last time,â the man said. As he stood, he looked back as if he had already known she was standing behind him. He was young, with a scar across his face that gave him a terrifying look. He wore a suit, but he had a gold tooth and chain around his neck like he really copied his sense of style from a terrible movie. She felt a cold shiver down her spine when he pulled his coloured sunglasses off his face, and his grey eyes looked over her body from top to bottom. Her skin crawled at the blatant violation. âHello, Layla,â the man said. Great. A second stranger knew her name. When she didnât answer, he laughed and looked back at her father. âYouâre lucky this beautiful angel is here,â the man said. âI think you know what you can give me if you canât pay up. Iâll be in touch.â The man turned back to her with another sinister grin before walking out, and the enormous man standing over her father followed. She waited until she heard their car drive off before she stormed to her father. âHow much do you owe?â she hissed. âNot much. Just twenty grand.â Her eyes almost popped out of her head when she heard that figure. Not much? That amount would go a long way in sending Brit off to college. âHow?! What did you do with such a large amount of money? You havenât paid bills here or taken care of us in a long time!â Gerald gingerly sat back in his chair, ignoring the mess the men had made in the living room. âIt was supposed to be a sure bet,â Gerald mumbled. âI would have paid off everything and then had enough to fix things.â Her blood went cold. Her fatherâs gambling had landed them in the trailer park to start with. âYou said you would stop. You said youâd never gamble agaââ âWell, I lied,â Gerald snapped. âAnd I obviously canât fix this myself, so youâll have to think of your sister. Iâll give him what he wants and be done with it.â She remembered the look in the manâs eyes when heâd looked at her, and her meagre breakfast almost came back up. âAnd whatâs that, Dad?â she whispered. âYou. Iâm going to give him you.â chapter 3 âYouâre out of your damn mind if you think for one second that Iâll let you pimp me out!â Somewhere between her mother leaving him with two small girls to raise on his own and now, Gerald Carlisle must have lost his damn mind. Completely. âYou go with him, or we all die. Simple as that,â her father said. âWe donât have to pay for your mistakes! Iâll take Brit and leave,â she snarled. âBrit is still seventeen, and Iâm her father. You canât take her anywhere,â Gerald said as he stood up again. Her father could be intimidating if he wanted to be. He had never been violent towards them, but she knew it wasnât because he wasnât capable of it. She had picked him up from the police station after many bar fights often enough to know the damage he could cause. And she could see the desperation in his hazel eyes as he approached her. âAnd I donât see you dragging Brit out of school in her senior year when you want her to graduate,â Gerald continued. âAnd thatâs what I want, too. Britney has a better chance than us to get out of this shit hole. She can make something of herself. But you, Layla... Youâre a high school dropout. Scrubbing rich peopleâs toilets is all youâll ever be good at. You might as well do this for your sister.â She sucked in her breath. His words cut her deep. Gerald had sliced her open and poured salt all over her wounds. âAnd whose fault is that?â she whispered. âStop blaming me. Youâre resourceful. If youâd wanted to stay in school, you would have found a way,â Gerald snarled. âBesides, you look just like your mother. Iâm sure youâll make more money on your back than at that hotel.â She gasped. Anger mixed with her pain as she turned away from her father and walked back to her bedroom. Tears fell to her cheeks, but she angrily wiped them away. She wouldnât let her father ruin their plans. Her sister was the only good thing in her lifeâshe would not let Gerald break her, too. She would pay the debt off herself if she had to. It wouldnât be the first time sheâd cleaned up Geraldâs messes. It would set them back, but at least Brit could still leave when she graduated. Layla stood and locked her door before easing her bed away from the wall. She pushed one of the square panels on the wall until it shifted enough for her to squeeze her fingers through and pull it open. And then nothing. There was nothing in the hole. Her jar... Her emergency fund was gone. Her anger overtook her pain as she stood and unlocked the door. She wrenched the door open with force and marched to the living room to stand in front of her father. âWhere is it?â she growled. âYouâre blocking the TV, Layla,â her father said with disinterest as he sipped a fresh beer. As if they hadnât just had some wannabe gangsters threaten their lives. âWhere is my money?â she asked, her voice shaky. Her chest was tight, and her breathing harsh. Her body trembled as fury mixed with despair. That jar was everything. All their hopes and dreams for the future. All their problems solved. And it was just gone. How could Gerald sink so low? How could a father... Gerald stopped mid-sip to look at her and then glanced away again. But the guilt was so apparent on his face. âI had to pay him something the first time he came,â he mumbled. All her strength sapped from her body, and her legs became too weak to hold her. She sank to the floor among the debris from the broken table, tears filling her eyes again as she looked at the man who could so casually throw such a bombshell on her. How could he rip their lives apart like this? Did they really not mean anything to him? No, they didnât. They hadnât meant anything to Gerald since their mother had left him. âI will not be a part of your mess,â she hissed as she stood up. âI will help you pay him back with money, not my body, only because I wonât let you taint Britney.â âAnd how will you help me? You earn peanuts,â Gerald sneered. âI earn something, which is more than I can say for you. Get a job and learn some principles. Itâs not okay to sell your children!â She marched back to the bedroom to put everything back in place and pushed her pain to the back of her mind. It was a skill she had learned too early in her life so she could function. Her father would always be a disappointment. The best she could do was try to get Brit away from him, even if it meant leaving before she graduated. The strangerâs offer popped back into her mind. Shame filled her when she considered it a little longer than she should have. But she could do this without his help. She would have to ask for more hours at workâ Work! Shit! She grabbed her bag and car keys and rushed out of the house without another word to her father. Being late would mean a warning, and she couldnât risk this job, not now. Half an hour later, she snuck in through the staff entrance and thankfully found the staff room empty. By the time sheâd changed into her uniform and work shoes, she was confident she could get away with this if no one saw her. But as she pushed her cart out of the cleaning closet, she found Andrea waiting outside, arms crossed and tapping her foot. âThis is the second time this month, Layla.â Right. The first time her junk of a car had given up on her and sheâd had to take a bus. Sheâd forgotten about that. This would be her second strike. One more, and she was out. âIâm so sorry, Miss Roberts. I had a family emergency.â âI donât believe you. You could have called. You think you can waltz around the place and do whatever you want, but the world doesnât revolve around you,â Andrea said as she pulled a notepad from her pocket. âThe rest of us understand we have responsibilities here. This will be your last warning.â âAndrea_â âMiss Roberts,â Andrea hissed. âI understand youâre only twenty-one, Layla, but you must learn to be more responsible. Get to work.â She sighed. How could she ask for more hours if Andrea was on the warpath? Maybe she could pull it off if she gave her some time to cool off and tried at the end of the day. If that didnât work, going over Andreaâs head to ask the manager directly would be her last option. Or she could walk around town after work to beg someone else to hire her part-time. She started working on autopilot, scrubbing a million toilets and cleaning up after the entitled guests of the exclusive hotel while her mind was lost in trying to find a solution. What kind of man would think selling their child was the best way out of their problems? What kind of man would demand that of somebody else? She didnât know who this man whoâd invaded their home was, but she knew she would never give herself to him. Just the thought of it was making her nauseous. A few hours later, she came up to the penthouse suiteâthe room where that handsome stranger had made the ridiculous request. There was too much to worry about that she hadnât thought of him all day, but he filled her head completely the second she knocked on his door. And once again, her body started to react and overheat. There was no answer, thankfully. She didnât know what to do if he made the same offer again. She unlocked the door, pushed her cart in, and had to stop and squeeze her thighs together when she caught a pleasant scent. It had to be his cologne. Spicy and masculine, just like he was. Her toes curled again, just remembering what he looked like. Sheâd only seen him for minutes, but his image seemed to have burnt into her head. But she had to get over it. He was gay. âHousekeeping,â she called out in case the two men hadnât heard her. Maybe they were still in bed or in the shower. Again, the urge to claw the other manâs eyes out took her over. What the hell was wrong with her? She left the cart in the living area and entered the guest bathroom. The heat was worse than the day before, but it hadnât bothered her much until she walked into the penthouse suite. One look in the mirror told her she would have to tidy herself up before she saw Andrea again. Strands of her hair had fallen out of her puff, and rivers of sweat were pouring down her face. Her uniform was beyond saving. It was a good thing the stranger wasnât there to see all that mess. She splashed cold water on her face, but that didnât even begin to cool her down. She looked longingly at the shower behind her and then the sunken tub. What she wouldnât give to soak in a cool bath or stand under a cool spray. But she still had a million more rooms to clean, and showering in the guest rooms would be an automatic dismissal. She splashed more water on her face and then wet one of the clean face towels to cool her heated neck. That didnât help much, either. She was on fire, and nothing would put the flames out. She wet the towel again as she undid all the buttons of her shirt and untucked it from her skirt. Then she placed the cool cloth on her chest. That was better. She sighed in relief when her body started to behave. If the heatwave didnât break soon, sheâd be a puddle on the floor. Half an hour later, she was considerably cooler and late to start the cleaning. There was nothing she could do about her sweaty uniform. At least she was invisible to the guests. All the clientele had money coming out of their eyeballs; the help was always invisible to people like that. She picked up the towels sheâd used and walked out of the bathroom to her cleaning cart. And in walked the biggest man she had ever seen. He had been sitting when sheâd first seen him, so she hadnât realised how tall he was. She didnât often meet people that much taller than her. Her body heated again as if she hadnât just spent all her allocated time cooling herself down. She met that ice-blue gaze again, and her insides melted. He still looked as angry as he had when they had metâmaybe that was his default expression. Maybe rich people looked at others like that because they assumed someone would ask them for money. But a shiver went down her spine at just how cold he was. Still, she didnât look away. There was just something about him... Her heart drummed so loudly she could hear it. Something washed over her whole body that felt gentle and overwhelming at the same time. Her body hummed with a need that shocked her with its intensity. Sheâd been hot before, but now she was burning up, and that fire shot straight down to her core. âWhy are you just standing there? Move out of the way.â Someoneâs voice drifted into her ears. It took her a moment to realise that Mr. Sex-On-Legsâ boyfriend was standing next to him, and he looked at her just as coldly. What was with these people? Did they behave like assholes everywhere they went? The urge to attack him returned, but she knew the consequences would be even more significant than losing her job if she gave in. âAre you sure you want her?â the man continued, looking at her from top to bottom. âShe canât even follow simple instructions.â Her gaze returned to the ice-blue ones. The anger in them almost knocked her back. Was he upset that she had denied his illogical request? âCover yourself up,â the sexy man growled. That voice again. She bit her lip to stop herself from saying something that would get her fired or arrested and squeezed her thighs together again. She couldnât help herself. His full lips parted slightly as if he was breathing through his mouth, and his chest rose and fell as if heâd been running. He looked like he was close to ripping her head off. âCover yourself up.â His words penetrated her lust-addled brain like a bucket of ice-cold water thrown on her. She looked down at her chest, remembering she had unbuttoned it to cool down. Everything was on display! She was bursting out of her old, lacy bra in front of strangers! Gasping, she clutched the shirt together and turned around. Her face heated, and she knew the colour would match her hair. âI was looking for you, Layla. Judging by this warm welcome, I take it youâve changed your mind?â đ„Reading more content about <The Alpha King'sCurse> on the WhosNovel.đđđ | INSTALL_MOBILE_APP | http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.b | PadNovel Zy One | https://www.facebook.com/61555138762971/ | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Install now | 0 | play.google.com | VIDEO | http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.book.padnovel | 1969-12-31 18:00 | https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/461500996_442195598309638_4136490982744203892_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60&_nc_cat=107&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=ah6lav-BRGkQ7kNvgEXZUKm&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&_nc_gid=ASq1PZC8uAECJ015kshcGGe&oh=00_AYB-uqACH8YoOySbr4ihudZ1LWvF87zXPYqclbn1P8UirQ&oe=67040A6D | PERSON_PROFILE | 0 | 0 | 0 | PadNovel Zy One | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | View Edit Delete | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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` What 's Happening !! ' Star Danielle Spencer : In the '70s the Now-Pet Vet Was in a Tragic Car Accident | INSTALL_MOBILE_APP | https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com. | Los Angeles County, CA | https://www.facebook.com/100067623760049/ | 877 | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Install Now | 0 | play.google.com | CAROUSEL | https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.particlenews.newsbreak | 1969-12-31 18:00 | https://scontent-iad3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/461587021_1950604758712571_3370143459406378902_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60&_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=qsTeKfpv9rUQ7kNvgG3r-Cd&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&_nc_gid=AANdEk-9Mwmui9-by6yT9Yp&oh=00_AYDz3O1oohW1Br7FePgRUgEY9i6vIjmKqoMBcB1G3farSw&oe=6704018B | PERSON_PROFILE | 0 | 0 | 0 | Los Angeles County, CA | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | View Edit Delete | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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No | 2024-10-03 02:49 | active | 1567 | 0 | ÆŻU ÄĂI CHá» Tá»Ș 499K >> Äáș¶T Lá»CH NGAY | âĄïž CHĂN MĂY THIáșŸU ÄáșŠU - SỏA NGAY KáșșO Há»I HáșŹN âŻïž MĂ y thiáșżu Äáș§u trong diá»n tÆ°á»ng phong thuá»· ÄÆ°á»Łc coi lĂ m nĂ©t tÆ°á»ng cá»±c xáș„u, gĂąy áșŁnh hÆ°á»ng khĂŽng tá»t Äáșżn má»i máș·t trong cuá»c sá»ng: âïžCĂŽng viá»c tráșŻc trá», dá» bá» trĂŹ trá» vĂ khĂŽng cĂł sá»± thÄng tiáșżn. âïžKhĂł khÄn trong tĂ i chĂnh, thÆ°á»ng gáș·p trá» ngáșĄi trong viá»c tĂch lĆ©y tiá»n báșĄc. âïžDá» xáșŁy ra mĂąu thuáș«n, xung Äá»t trong cĂĄc má»i quan há», cáșŁ vá»i gia ÄĂŹnh vĂ xĂŁ há»i. đŁ Äáșżn ngay LIAM Äá» ÄÆ°á»Łc cĂŽ Nin xem diá»n tÆ°á»ng, khai cung káșżt hợp cĂčng cĂŽng nghá» siĂȘu vi sợi Äá»c quyá»n từ ThĂĄi Lan táșĄo nĂȘn dĂĄng mĂ y chuáș©n phong thủy cĂł Äáș§u - Äá»nh - ÄuĂŽi rĂ” rĂ ng, tá»± nhiĂȘn báșc nháș„t! âšKhai lá»c Äáș„t Äai - Má» cung gia ÄáșĄo - PhĂČ trợ phĂșc Äứcâš đŹ Inbox Äá» ÄÆ°á»Łc chuyĂȘn gia phong thuá»· tÆ° váș„n hoĂ n toĂ n MIá»N PHĂ! _______________________ đźVIá»N PHONG THUỶ LI.AM àžŁàžčàžàž„àž±àžàž©àžàčàžĄàžČàžàžŁàžàžČàžàžźàž§àžàžàžžàčàžąàčàžàžą âĄDIá»N TÆŻá»NG CHUáșšN THĂI LAN đžTĂI Lá»C - GIĂU SANG - PHĂ QUĂ đÄá»A CHá»: 258 ÄÆ°á»ng 3/2, phÆ°á»ng 12, quáșn 10, TPHCM âïžHOTLINE: 0937 512 731 | MESSAGE_PAGE | LIAM - ChĂąn MĂ y Phong Thuá»· Diá»n TÆ°á»ng ThĂĄi Lan | https://www.facebook.com/61566049049960/ | 238 | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Send message | 0 | VIDEO | 1969-12-31 18:00 | https://scontent-iad3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/461271256_2803498303285056_1903595305602617206_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60&_nc_cat=103&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=WnqUjagP5rwQ7kNvgEg-UHz&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&_nc_gid=AVvpXgDdgZrVivKDIC11Cqu&oh=00_AYAs5j9QygZvO0WKJl0URmtGvOiI_GIz1onY-ammh_MIsg&oe=67042082 | PERSON_PROFILE | 0 | 0 | 0 | LIAM - ChĂąn MĂ y Phong Thuá»· Diá»n TÆ°á»ng ThĂĄi Lan | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | View Edit Delete | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Yes | 2024-10-03 02:53 | active | 1567 | 0 | Read <The Alpha King'sCurse> on the WhosNovel.đđđ | âIâll get straight to the point. I need you to have my baby.â Jackson King watched the girlâs eyes widen as she looked from him to his Beta, Dylan. âIâm sorry, I didnât get that. I thought you said you needed me to have your baby,â she chuckled. He could sense her unease the same way he could smell her arousal. She was drenched. Even without a wolf telling her she was his, her body knew it, and he hated that. He hated that he had to fight so hard with his beast to stop it from claiming what was rightfully his. He hated the fact that he had to resort to this. She was half-human! Why would the Moon-Goddess curse him like this on top of everything else? Heâd caught her scent even before he had walked into the hotel days before, and now it filled the entire suite, taunting him, reminding him how fucked up everything was. âI did,â he answered. âI need a surrogate, and I will pay you handsomely.â âUm... Iâve just walked into this room to clean. You donât know me; you don't even know my name,â she said. âLayla Carlisle.â Layla looked down at the name tag on her uniform. She covered it briefly before she probably realised it was useless and lowered her hand. But he didnât need her name tag to know who she was. âTwenty-one years old. High school dropout. You live in a trailer with your father and sister.â Laylaâs eyes widened, and for a moment, he sensed her anger. âHave you been stalking me?â she hissed. Dylan snickered. He gave his Beta a look that shut him up before he returned his attention to the human. âNo, I havenât been stalking you,â he said, but he could tell he had already lost the momentum. Layla's anger had grown at an alarming rate, eclipsing even the sweet scent of her arousal. The human stood and smoothed her uniform before she lifted her head and looked him directly in the eye. His beast unfurled, his excitement rippling through him at the thought of accepting his mateâs challenge. âI donât know why you two need to ask a stranger to have your baby, but I donât think I will be right for the job. I wish you all the best, though,â Layla said. It took him a moment to realise what she meant as she walked over to her cleaning cart and started pulling it out of the room. This was the problem with humans. Feeling the pull of their bond wouldn't have been an issue if sheâd had a wolf. He would have marked her the moment he had found her, and she would have been carrying his pup already. âMiss Carlisle, can we talk about this? You havenât even heard what Iâm willing to pay.â âIt doesnât matter. I donât want to be your surrogate,â she answered firmly. âIâll return later to clean your suite.â When she closed the door, he heard her mutter, âItâs always the handsome ones.â She thought he was crazy. And she was rightâhe lost more of his mind the longer he went without a child and the shorter his time on this earth got. âShe thinks weâre gay, Jax,â Dylan pointed out as he sat in the spot she had vacated. âI got that,â he growled. âI donât think she will change her mind,â Dylan said. âI donât understand why you canât pick someone from the pack and be done with it.â He would have had many children already if it had been that easy. Goddess knew how much he had tried. But Fate had messed that up for him, too, and made sure only one woman could carry his children. Only one woman could save them allâhis mate. âI told you why.â At least as much as he could. Dylan was not only his Beta; he was also his only friend. Keeping the truth from him was essential. Keeping it from everyone was crucial. It was bad enough that they would have to accept his heir from a woman who was as useless as a human, but he could deal with that better than the panic that the truth would cause. He had no time to soothe anyone or deal with the packs that would circle his territory when they realised he was about to die. As the Alpha King, the repercussions would be astronomical. âI doubt any of our pack would assume they are the Queen just because they have your child. They can do a blood oathââ âDylan, please,â he sighed as he stood and walked towards the drinks cabinet. It was still morning, but fuck it. He needed something to calm and stop himself from going after the human. To prevent himself from pinning her down and marking her while he buried himself deep inside her body. He closed his eyes as he tried not to imagine what that would feel like, but it was all his wolf wanted and all he could see. Every wolf heâd ever come across dreamed of being lucky enough to one day meet their mate, but he couldnât understand why anyone would think this was a blessing. It was torture! âOkay. Pick another one if that girl doesnât want to do it.â Cain growled in his head, ready to attack Dylan for even suggesting that, but he shoved his wolf back and focused on his drink. And just like that, his mind returned to a place he didnât want to be. He didnât want to think of touching Layla or tasting her. He didnât want to remember the scent of her arousal. Four days since he first caught Laylaâs sweet scent, he was already acting like a lunatic. The first day felt like a gift from the Goddess. He was almost out of time, so finding his mate had given him hope. And then he had seen her. A half-blood. Half-human and cleaning up after everyone else. It felt like a punch in the nuts; heâd wanted to kill someone for this cruel joke. She was not worthy to carry his child; she was not worthy to be the one who saved them all. But there they were. There was no other choice. âJaxââ âGet more information on her. Sheâs human. Youâll find many weaknesses I can use,â he ordered. âSheâs the one Iâve picked, so sheâs the one Iâll have.â Layla would have his child one way or another, and then he could finally have some peace. Dylan felt the command in his words and stood up to do as he had ordered. When he sensed his Beta was far enough away from their suite, he picked up his glass and threw it against the wall, smashing it into pieces. If he told Dylan the truth, he would tie the girl up and offer her to him on a silver platter. But then his child would be a product of rape; that was the last thing he wanted. The child would be his legacy, the only thing left of him on this earth, and would carry his blood. He couldnât taint the child before he had even conceived them. He was a bastard, but not that much. His child would be the best part of him. Layla would change her mind. Humans loved money, and this one, in particular, was drowning in debt. Why hadnât she wanted to know how much he was offering her? He could solve all her problems in a day if she took his offer. That meant Dylan had to find something else he could use. Something she couldnât refuse. The growl came louder in his head as his beast showed his displeasure. But he was in charge here, not Cain. They would do things his way, and at the end of it all, Layla could go back to her life because there was no future for them, even if she wasnât a half-blood. âFind her. Mark her,â Cain growled. âBe patient! She hasnât got a wolf; she doesnât even know we exist,â he snapped as he picked up an entire bottle of alcohol and walked towards his bedroom. And marking her was out of the question. He didnât stay at the Royal Hotel often even though he owned it and it was in his territory, but he was sure Layla hadnât been around the last time he had been there. Her scent was all over the hotel as if she had marked it. Could anyone else smell it? Did they have that sweet, intoxicating scent turning them inside out? Making them drool? Making them think of nothing else except to claim her? One thing was certain now. Ifâno, whenâLayla agreed to this, he would get her pregnant and then stay the hell away from her. Heâd been hard for days, and her scent had made Cain unstable. He didnât need that complication on top of everything else. Not when he had less than a year left to live. chapter 2 Did she have some sign on her head that said she was a pushover or desperate? Layla pushed the cart with more force than necessary until she was far enough away from the penthouse suite and then leaned against the wall. Her knees were still shaking, and she wasnât entirely sure if it was because of the manâs words or the man himself. It surprised her she hadnât fallen flat on her face when sheâd made her righteous exit. The men were in the most expensive suite in the exclusive hotel; they didnât need to ask a stranger to help them out. He might have somehow gotten a hold of some of her personal information, but everyone in Wolfdale knew about her. The kid abandoned by her mother. The kid whoâd dropped out of school so she could work and take care of her little sister because their father was an alcoholic and a gambling addict. That didnât mean she had no dignity left. She wouldnât give up a child! Those men thought they could throw their money around like that, and she would agree just because she wasnât like them, and that made her blood boil. But in her mind, she still saw the man naked and on top of her. If she closed her eyes, she could almost feel it. It was a shame he was gay because she was positive he would be great in bed. Her body was still on fire, still trying to get over the shock of coming face to face with such a perfect specimen of a man. A god. He looked like one. Handsome didnât even begin to describe him. Chiselled jawline, a short beard that probably cost more than her wages to maintain and silky, dark hair styled to look like heâd just rolled out of bed and didnât give a fuck. Heâd turned her knees to jelly and melted her panties in seconds without moving from his seat. Without even cracking a smile. She had never reacted so violently to anyone before. Why was it always the handsome ones that were batshit crazy? She pushed aside the disappointment. The cool wall slightly helped control her overheating body, but sweat still dripped down her back and cleavage. They were in the middle of a heatwave so intense even the hotelâs air conditioning system wasnât helping. Sheâd been like that for a few days as if she was coming down with something for the first time in her life. But it was the stranger with the cold ice-blue eyes that had worked her up like that. She shouldnât care about who he shared his bed with, but something inside her wanted to claw the other guyâs eyes out. It was so strong that she had to make a conscious effort to stop herself from returning to the room. Crazy. She was going crazy. âI donât pay you to have unscheduled breaks, Layla.â Her eyes snapped open to see Andrea looking down her nose at her as usual. And it took a special kind of person to look down their nose at someone who towered over them. Andrea barely reached her chest. âIâm sorry, Miss Roberts,â she said, lowering her head. âIâm almost finished.â Her supervisor insisted on being called Miss Roberts since her promotion, as if that would make her more respectable. Everyone knew how she got that job. âYouâre a mess,â Andrea said, wrinkling her nose. âAnd you smell. Clean yourself up and do something with that hair. We have important guests here today; I donât have time to deal with you.â She self-consciously wiped the sweat on her forehead and patted her hair down, even though she knew it wouldnât help. Her red, curly hair was just a giant unruly puff above her head, and her pale blue uniform had sweat stains under her armpits. Whatever sweat that wasnât being sucked up by her hair was dripping down her face like crazy. Another reason why that stranger had to be out of his mind to make such an offer to her while she looked like that. Andrea turned and carried on down the hallway in her formal suit and high heels. Her manager did indeed look distracted today, so she supposed she had to be grateful for that because usually, she would have shouted at her and threatened to fire her at least a hundred times already. With a sigh, she put Andrea and the handsome stranger out of her mind as she continued cleaning. By the time she finally left the hotel that evening, she looked even worse, but she went out through the staff entrance and straight to her little car without bumping into Andrea again. There was a shower with her name on it at home. It took her almost half an hour to leave the nicer neighbourhoods and cross the tracks to hers. It was so cliched, but the wealthy had separated themselves from the rest of the residents. The difference was stark, but she was used to it. There was nothing shiny on her side, and all the cars were old bangers like hers. Everything needed fixing or was broken beyond repair. But she felt more at home there, even if she itched to leave the dump and discover what was beyond Wolfdale. She parked outside their old trailer home and sighed as she walked in. The TV was blaring, and her father lay on the couch, already passed out. She didnât have to go near him to know he had been drinking again. The dayâs mail was on the counter near the door, placed there where she wouldnât miss it, and it was unopened even though it had her fatherâs name on it. Bills. Overdue bills. The stranger's offer popped back into her mind, but she pushed it away. She didnât need to sell a piece of herself to pay the bills. She sighed again as she picked the mail up and headed for the tiny bedroom she shared with her sister. She carefully opened the creaky door in case Britney was asleep but saw her hunched over her books instead. A small smile formed on her lips. It was worth it. All the shit she had to do to feed her sister was worth it. Brit would forge a better life all by herself, away from this dump. And then she would finally be free, too. Layla felt like sheâd hardly closed her eyes when her alarm went off. She always woke up early to make sure Brit didnât forget to eat her breakfast before school. Her sister always did that, as if by skipping meals, she would lighten the load on her shoulders. There was hardly anything in the fridge, and she probably couldnât do a proper grocery shop for a while with the bills she had to pay. A second job would have been great, but no one was hiring. Another pitfall of living in a small town in the middle of nowhere. She had to do her best until they could leave for greener pastures. And she couldnât leave until Brit left for college. With a loud yawn, she took the eggs out and set about making an omelette for Brit with a couple of slices of toast. Sheâd just poured herself a cup of coffee when she noticed her father through the window. In just his pyjama bottoms, his long, brunette hair was a tangled mess, and his beard was weeks old. Her father didnât care that the neighbours always saw him like this. He was pacing and seemed to be in a heated argument on the phone. He looked tense and had a scowl as he gestured with his free hand like the person on the other side could see him. What the hell had that man done now? She wouldnât get involved. Gerald Carlisle hadnât been a real father to them in a very long time. âSmells good.â She turned from the window to smile at her sister, whoâd already dressed for school. Brit was the spitting image of their father with her brunette locks and hazel eyes. She was also the shortest in the family. People never believed they were sisters because she looked like a sasquatch beside Brit. âArenât you having any?â Brit asked. âNo, Iâll eat at the hotel,â she lied. That was her excuse whenever she didnât have enough money to feed all of them. Andrea never allowed them to take even a piece of fruit from the kitchen. Their father wrenched the door open and marched in. His large frame took up most of the space in the small kitchen. He didnât even bother speaking to them as he went straight to the fridge and pulled a beer out. That was the one thing abundant in their house. When he just threw himself onto the one sofa they had in the house and put the TV on, Brit shook her head and stood. âIâm going to school,â she mumbled. Layla looked at the half-eaten omelette on Britâs plate. âFinish your breakfast,â she said firmly. âIâve lost my appetite,â Brit said as she walked to their bedroom. Layla couldnât help glaring at the disgrace of a man who had already become engrossed in his program. Gerald acted like he was the only one in the family her mother had abandonedâheâd wasted eleven years pining over someone who didnât want any of them. It made her furious, but she didnât have to put up with him much longer. Brit mumbled a goodbye when she came out of their room with her school bag. âWait.â She pulled some money out of her pocket and gave a few notes to Brit. It was supposed to have gone in the money jar she kept hidden for emergencies or to top up Britâs college fund, but keeping her sister healthy was more important. She would find a way to replace it. âLayla_â âTake it. Have something to eat at school,â she insisted. She didnât miss that Gerald had become very interested in that small exchange and would probably ask her for money, too. She finished Britâs breakfast without giving him any attention before she went to shower and dress for work. She didnât bother straightening her hair because it was still early morning, but the heat was already unbearable. At least the hotel washed their uniforms daily, so she didnât have to worry about the sweat stains. She just tied her hair up into a neater puff and looked at herself in the small, cracked mirror in the corner of their cramped room. The inspection was brief because, unlike Brit, she was the image of her mother. Her green eyes were a shade sheâd never seen on anyone else, and it was unnerving. The entire package made her feel like an outsider in her family. She reached for her bag and froze when she heard a crash and loud voices. Her heart hammered loudly, and her hands shook as she inched the door open to stop it from creaking before peeking out. A large man stood over her father, who he had smashed through their wooden coffee table. Gerald tried to get back to his feet, but the man punched him down again. She took a sharp breath when she saw how helpless her father was as he pleaded for mercy. What had he done now? âI already gave you several chances, Gerald,â another man said. He sat in her fatherâs spot on the chair. She could only see the back of his blond head, but it looked greasy and slicked back. Like a baddie out of a horrible B-grade horror movie. She wanted to slip out through her window and let her father suffer alone, but that stupid thing in her head reminded her he was still family. And this was Britâs home; she couldnât allow anything bad to happen here. With a calming breath, she opened the door wider and walked out of the bedroom. âI swear, I only need a little more time,â Gerald said. âIâm good for it this time.â âYou said that last time,â the man said. As he stood, he looked back as if he had already known she was standing behind him. He was young, with a scar across his face that gave him a terrifying look. He wore a suit, but he had a gold tooth and chain around his neck like he really copied his sense of style from a terrible movie. She felt a cold shiver down her spine when he pulled his coloured sunglasses off his face, and his grey eyes looked over her body from top to bottom. Her skin crawled at the blatant violation. âHello, Layla,â the man said. Great. A second stranger knew her name. When she didnât answer, he laughed and looked back at her father. âYouâre lucky this beautiful angel is here,â the man said. âI think you know what you can give me if you canât pay up. Iâll be in touch.â The man turned back to her with another sinister grin before walking out, and the enormous man standing over her father followed. She waited until she heard their car drive off before she stormed to her father. âHow much do you owe?â she hissed. âNot much. Just twenty grand.â Her eyes almost popped out of her head when she heard that figure. Not much? That amount would go a long way in sending Brit off to college. âHow?! What did you do with such a large amount of money? You havenât paid bills here or taken care of us in a long time!â Gerald gingerly sat back in his chair, ignoring the mess the men had made in the living room. âIt was supposed to be a sure bet,â Gerald mumbled. âI would have paid off everything and then had enough to fix things.â Her blood went cold. Her fatherâs gambling had landed them in the trailer park to start with. âYou said you would stop. You said youâd never gamble agaââ âWell, I lied,â Gerald snapped. âAnd I obviously canât fix this myself, so youâll have to think of your sister. Iâll give him what he wants and be done with it.â She remembered the look in the manâs eyes when heâd looked at her, and her meagre breakfast almost came back up. âAnd whatâs that, Dad?â she whispered. âYou. Iâm going to give him you.â chapter 3 âYouâre out of your damn mind if you think for one second that Iâll let you pimp me out!â Somewhere between her mother leaving him with two small girls to raise on his own and now, Gerald Carlisle must have lost his damn mind. Completely. âYou go with him, or we all die. Simple as that,â her father said. âWe donât have to pay for your mistakes! Iâll take Brit and leave,â she snarled. âBrit is still seventeen, and Iâm her father. You canât take her anywhere,â Gerald said as he stood up again. Her father could be intimidating if he wanted to be. He had never been violent towards them, but she knew it wasnât because he wasnât capable of it. She had picked him up from the police station after many bar fights often enough to know the damage he could cause. And she could see the desperation in his hazel eyes as he approached her. âAnd I donât see you dragging Brit out of school in her senior year when you want her to graduate,â Gerald continued. âAnd thatâs what I want, too. Britney has a better chance than us to get out of this shit hole. She can make something of herself. But you, Layla... Youâre a high school dropout. Scrubbing rich peopleâs toilets is all youâll ever be good at. You might as well do this for your sister.â She sucked in her breath. His words cut her deep. Gerald had sliced her open and poured salt all over her wounds. âAnd whose fault is that?â she whispered. âStop blaming me. Youâre resourceful. If youâd wanted to stay in school, you would have found a way,â Gerald snarled. âBesides, you look just like your mother. Iâm sure youâll make more money on your back than at that hotel.â She gasped. Anger mixed with her pain as she turned away from her father and walked back to her bedroom. Tears fell to her cheeks, but she angrily wiped them away. She wouldnât let her father ruin their plans. Her sister was the only good thing in her lifeâshe would not let Gerald break her, too. She would pay the debt off herself if she had to. It wouldnât be the first time sheâd cleaned up Geraldâs messes. It would set them back, but at least Brit could still leave when she graduated. Layla stood and locked her door before easing her bed away from the wall. She pushed one of the square panels on the wall until it shifted enough for her to squeeze her fingers through and pull it open. And then nothing. There was nothing in the hole. Her jar... Her emergency fund was gone. Her anger overtook her pain as she stood and unlocked the door. She wrenched the door open with force and marched to the living room to stand in front of her father. âWhere is it?â she growled. âYouâre blocking the TV, Layla,â her father said with disinterest as he sipped a fresh beer. As if they hadnât just had some wannabe gangsters threaten their lives. âWhere is my money?â she asked, her voice shaky. Her chest was tight, and her breathing harsh. Her body trembled as fury mixed with despair. That jar was everything. All their hopes and dreams for the future. All their problems solved. And it was just gone. How could Gerald sink so low? How could a father... Gerald stopped mid-sip to look at her and then glanced away again. But the guilt was so apparent on his face. âI had to pay him something the first time he came,â he mumbled. All her strength sapped from her body, and her legs became too weak to hold her. She sank to the floor among the debris from the broken table, tears filling her eyes again as she looked at the man who could so casually throw such a bombshell on her. How could he rip their lives apart like this? Did they really not mean anything to him? No, they didnât. They hadnât meant anything to Gerald since their mother had left him. âI will not be a part of your mess,â she hissed as she stood up. âI will help you pay him back with money, not my body, only because I wonât let you taint Britney.â âAnd how will you help me? You earn peanuts,â Gerald sneered. âI earn something, which is more than I can say for you. Get a job and learn some principles. Itâs not okay to sell your children!â She marched back to the bedroom to put everything back in place and pushed her pain to the back of her mind. It was a skill she had learned too early in her life so she could function. Her father would always be a disappointment. The best she could do was try to get Brit away from him, even if it meant leaving before she graduated. The strangerâs offer popped back into her mind. Shame filled her when she considered it a little longer than she should have. But she could do this without his help. She would have to ask for more hours at workâ Work! Shit! She grabbed her bag and car keys and rushed out of the house without another word to her father. Being late would mean a warning, and she couldnât risk this job, not now. Half an hour later, she snuck in through the staff entrance and thankfully found the staff room empty. By the time sheâd changed into her uniform and work shoes, she was confident she could get away with this if no one saw her. But as she pushed her cart out of the cleaning closet, she found Andrea waiting outside, arms crossed and tapping her foot. âThis is the second time this month, Layla.â Right. The first time her junk of a car had given up on her and sheâd had to take a bus. Sheâd forgotten about that. This would be her second strike. One more, and she was out. âIâm so sorry, Miss Roberts. I had a family emergency.â âI donât believe you. You could have called. You think you can waltz around the place and do whatever you want, but the world doesnât revolve around you,â Andrea said as she pulled a notepad from her pocket. âThe rest of us understand we have responsibilities here. This will be your last warning.â âAndrea_â âMiss Roberts,â Andrea hissed. âI understand youâre only twenty-one, Layla, but you must learn to be more responsible. Get to work.â She sighed. How could she ask for more hours if Andrea was on the warpath? Maybe she could pull it off if she gave her some time to cool off and tried at the end of the day. If that didnât work, going over Andreaâs head to ask the manager directly would be her last option. Or she could walk around town after work to beg someone else to hire her part-time. She started working on autopilot, scrubbing a million toilets and cleaning up after the entitled guests of the exclusive hotel while her mind was lost in trying to find a solution. What kind of man would think selling their child was the best way out of their problems? What kind of man would demand that of somebody else? She didnât know who this man whoâd invaded their home was, but she knew she would never give herself to him. Just the thought of it was making her nauseous. A few hours later, she came up to the penthouse suiteâthe room where that handsome stranger had made the ridiculous request. There was too much to worry about that she hadnât thought of him all day, but he filled her head completely the second she knocked on his door. And once again, her body started to react and overheat. There was no answer, thankfully. She didnât know what to do if he made the same offer again. She unlocked the door, pushed her cart in, and had to stop and squeeze her thighs together when she caught a pleasant scent. It had to be his cologne. Spicy and masculine, just like he was. Her toes curled again, just remembering what he looked like. Sheâd only seen him for minutes, but his image seemed to have burnt into her head. But she had to get over it. He was gay. âHousekeeping,â she called out in case the two men hadnât heard her. Maybe they were still in bed or in the shower. Again, the urge to claw the other manâs eyes out took her over. What the hell was wrong with her? She left the cart in the living area and entered the guest bathroom. The heat was worse than the day before, but it hadnât bothered her much until she walked into the penthouse suite. One look in the mirror told her she would have to tidy herself up before she saw Andrea again. Strands of her hair had fallen out of her puff, and rivers of sweat were pouring down her face. Her uniform was beyond saving. It was a good thing the stranger wasnât there to see all that mess. She splashed cold water on her face, but that didnât even begin to cool her down. She looked longingly at the shower behind her and then the sunken tub. What she wouldnât give to soak in a cool bath or stand under a cool spray. But she still had a million more rooms to clean, and showering in the guest rooms would be an automatic dismissal. She splashed more water on her face and then wet one of the clean face towels to cool her heated neck. That didnât help much, either. She was on fire, and nothing would put the flames out. She wet the towel again as she undid all the buttons of her shirt and untucked it from her skirt. Then she placed the cool cloth on her chest. That was better. She sighed in relief when her body started to behave. If the heatwave didnât break soon, sheâd be a puddle on the floor. Half an hour later, she was considerably cooler and late to start the cleaning. There was nothing she could do about her sweaty uniform. At least she was invisible to the guests. All the clientele had money coming out of their eyeballs; the help was always invisible to people like that. She picked up the towels sheâd used and walked out of the bathroom to her cleaning cart. And in walked the biggest man she had ever seen. He had been sitting when sheâd first seen him, so she hadnât realised how tall he was. She didnât often meet people that much taller than her. Her body heated again as if she hadnât just spent all her allocated time cooling herself down. She met that ice-blue gaze again, and her insides melted. He still looked as angry as he had when they had metâmaybe that was his default expression. Maybe rich people looked at others like that because they assumed someone would ask them for money. But a shiver went down her spine at just how cold he was. Still, she didnât look away. There was just something about him... Her heart drummed so loudly she could hear it. Something washed over her whole body that felt gentle and overwhelming at the same time. Her body hummed with a need that shocked her with its intensity. Sheâd been hot before, but now she was burning up, and that fire shot straight down to her core. âWhy are you just standing there? Move out of the way.â Someoneâs voice drifted into her ears. It took her a moment to realise that Mr. Sex-On-Legsâ boyfriend was standing next to him, and he looked at her just as coldly. What was with these people? Did they behave like assholes everywhere they went? The urge to attack him returned, but she knew the consequences would be even more significant than losing her job if she gave in. âAre you sure you want her?â the man continued, looking at her from top to bottom. âShe canât even follow simple instructions.â Her gaze returned to the ice-blue ones. The anger in them almost knocked her back. Was he upset that she had denied his illogical request? âCover yourself up,â the sexy man growled. That voice again. She bit her lip to stop herself from saying something that would get her fired or arrested and squeezed her thighs together again. She couldnât help herself. His full lips parted slightly as if he was breathing through his mouth, and his chest rose and fell as if heâd been running. He looked like he was close to ripping her head off. âCover yourself up.â His words penetrated her lust-addled brain like a bucket of ice-cold water thrown on her. She looked down at her chest, remembering she had unbuttoned it to cool down. Everything was on display! She was bursting out of her old, lacy bra in front of strangers! Gasping, she clutched the shirt together and turned around. Her face heated, and she knew the colour would match her hair. âI was looking for you, Layla. Judging by this warm welcome, I take it youâve changed your mind?â đ„Reading more content about <The Alpha King'sCurse> on the WhosNovel.đđđ | INSTALL_MOBILE_APP | http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.b | PadNovel Zy One | https://www.facebook.com/61555138762971/ | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Install now | 0 | play.google.com | VIDEO | http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.book.padnovel | 1969-12-31 18:00 | https://scontent-iad3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/461228771_1178605246575311_5378559017394028813_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60&_nc_cat=103&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=ucMljKp0JF0Q7kNvgGRAZSu&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&_nc_gid=ADI9SafH_7FguD3hKN9Gfkw&oh=00_AYB6HvOHowHQaWi68FgNabbwTgQWF_HOj6cKJgapZWODYA&oe=67041AD7 | PERSON_PROFILE | 0 | 0 | 0 | PadNovel Zy One | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | View Edit Delete | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Yes | 2024-10-03 02:53 | active | 1567 | 0 | â€ïžClick To Read Moređ | Elicia Dewalt, an orphan from Texas with no ties to anything đ”đ. She begins to find her "dream life" derailing quickly with strange occurrences and it always seems to lead back to the four gorgeous hunks at the club her first night in London đâš. What happens when her entire existence is blown to pieces with only a few words? đŁđ„ Follow Elicia as she discovers what hidden secrets have laid dormant until her chance encounter with the four wild boys known as "The Watchmen" đđ„. #NewBeginnings #MysteryUnfolds #TexasToLondon đșđžâĄïžđŹđ§ #ClubNights #UnexpectedTwists âšđź ------------ âKitten.â A deep timbered voice called to me, floating through the swirling fog with a heavenly scent of Christmas licking darkly against my tingling flesh. Gasping in shock as my trembling body was plucked from the swirling fog, strapped down to a cloud-like bed as four âMuscular Godsâ paced around the swirling fog with glowing amber hazel eyes. âOH GOD!â Gasping between my trembling lips as eight muscular hands, reached from the dense fog, massaging and caressing every inch of my blazing skin into an avalanche of moaning curses. âSuch a âTemptressâ.â Another timbered voice spoke smoothly from the swirling fog as my body jolted and shook with each rushing caress as my core melted into a vast ocean of burning desire and lust. âWhat do you âdesireâ?â Another timbered voice sliced through the rushing electricity as my body rocketed back into the fog, reaching, yearning for the warmth that evaded my body as it plunged faster through the swirling darkness. âBye, Lassie.â A fourth voice spoke almost shyly as my body jolted awake, clenching my thighs together, panting erratically as the âfasten seat beltâ dinged loudly, dropping my head back against the seat. Iâm losing my âever loving mindâ, dreaming about âfourâ men. No, not men. âSex Godsâ or even âMasters of Pleasure and Painâ. Oh, MY God! Elicia, you need to lay off the books for a while, especially that E. Dark. I canât help it! Thereâs something about her books that short-circuit my brain function, and know I am dreaming about âfour hunks of musclesâ devouring my body. ~~ Freshening up, while Randi changed into his ânormalâ cloths before we embarked on our journey into the gorgeous landscape of London. âElicia, you ready girly?â His playful banter filled the quiet bathroom as I tussled my flattened locks back to life with a few finger strokes, adding my final touch of gloss to highlight my natural rose-tinted lips. I wasnât anything spectacular at 5â6 with a little extra curve, emphasized by the black club dress that refused to stay mid-thigh as I strutted out the bathroom with my duffle and hiking bag strapped firmly to my shoulders. âDAMN! Look at you all âMiss Thangâ.â Randi hooted playfully, snapping his fingers in a Diva attitude dressed in a black button-up shirt with the top two buttons undone and dark stone washed jeans with a pair of black suede loafers. If only he was not âGayâ. Easy Elicia, you have been single for not even a day and your ready to jump his bones.Tasting the sweet burst of blue raspberry mixed heavily with the distilled vodka as Randi grabbed my hand, leading me through the crowd towards the thumping bass as my body swayed naturally to the rhythm. Twirling in laughter as the crowd roared to life with the rhythmic beats, while Randi swayed and held firmly to my waist. The vodka mixing with the whiskey from the flight as the lights increased the euphoric sensation that coursed through my body, throwing my hands high as the DJ cranked the bass higher. Hair flying in all directions, hands fisting the hot sticky air as our bodies erupted into a frenzied battle of alcohol induced heat. âI need another.â Leaning back to Randi, holding up my empty drink as he spun me around quickly, snaking through the flowing crowd as hands grazed along my body with fiery snaps of electricity. Looking over my shoulder as the lights played dangerously against the crowd, feeling like I was being watched as the little hairs along my body became alerted. Bumping into Randiâs back as he stopped to talk with a well-defined hunk with gorgeous amber hazel eyes and dark reddish locks in a tight fade with a sexy tight-lined beard that was cut short. âElias.â Was all I could hear over the thumping bass as they shared a weird stare down, slipping past them to the bar to refill my drink that was calling my name. âFive Hoursâ by Deorro thumped seductively against my burning flesh as the bartender slid my refreshed drink back into my hand, sipping the sweet alcohol as fiery snaps of electricity rolled along my spine. Snapping around as Elias and Randi stood on opposite sides of me, looking like some heated argument was being shared between the two. Gingerly sipping my fruity drink as my body ached to release all the frustration from today as three identical hunks appeared behind Elias and Randiâs stare down. Oh, Lort! Forgive me for I have sinnedâŠBadly! An avalanche of Frasier fir, warm cider, cinnamon, and nutmeg rushed through my body, reveling in the fact it smelt like a warm cottage on Christmas, which was my favorite time of year. Each one looked exactly alike with muscular builds, dark reddish locks that enhanced their tight, chiseled facial features with soft pointed noses over plump pink lips that screamed to be kissed over and over. Colorful works of art, graced those delicious forearms with half-rolled sleeves at the elbows, sporting custom watches that paired nicely with their detailed artworks of colors. Involuntarily licking my lips, tasting Christmas mix with the fruity after taste of the blue raspberry and vodka. Shivering in an alcohol induced haze as those ambered hazel orbs, stared at me like I was a gourmet feast waiting to be tasted. Turning sharply to the bartender, pointing to my already empty glass as he quickly looked behind me with a strange flash of crimson across his eyes. Nodding firmly, grabbing my glass with a quick hand returning it with a soft smile before he disappeared back into the flashing lights that danced wildly along the bar. âExcuse me.â Laughing lightly as the music thumped to âFreaksâ by Timmy Trumpet & Savage, throwing my hands up as my hips rolled and swayed to the bass, feeling the world wash away with each beat. Tossing my ombre locks around as the lights swirled and danced along my body, feeling my body quiver in euphoria as the bass grew louder against my sweating flesh. âElicia.â Randi leaned next to my ear, spooking me as his hands grinded along my hips. âWho were those guys?â Shouting slightly over the bass as his body followed the natural flow of my rhythm, popping and grinding against each other. âThe Watchmenâ but donât worry about them.â He laughed against my ear as our bodies melted into a drunken haze of bass induced euphoria. Forgetting about Bain and Krystal, and my lonely life back in Texas. | LEARN_MORE | https://h5.readinkapp.com/ad/fb/template_custom.ht | Books & Art | https://www.facebook.com/100082805332528/ | 427 | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Learn more | 0 | h5.readinkapp.com | VIDEO | https://h5.readinkapp.com/ad/fb/template_custom.html?pixelId=714691314167846&templateId=66f77766506c84133cb5ed44&accountId=1070241090330263&ar=0&arp=30&art=0&ad_id={{ad.id}}&adset_id={{adset.id}}&campaign_id={{campaign.id}} | 1969-12-31 18:00 | https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/461421438_2902128506591772_3187224880428140756_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60&_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=T908Yt_tF7kQ7kNvgGrVdxJ&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&_nc_gid=A1rqEtrgewGHwdXnRIXSwqz&oh=00_AYAg5lJHAAf88XHRkB-kx8YCY1gfhCIhIS1-uaWrNt9gXA&oe=67043693 | PERSON_PROFILE | 0 | 0 | 0 | Books & Art | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | View Edit Delete | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Yes | 2024-10-03 02:53 | active | 1567 | 0 | Read <The Alpha King'sCurse> on the WhosNovel.đđđ | âIâll get straight to the point. I need you to have my baby.â Jackson King watched the girlâs eyes widen as she looked from him to his Beta, Dylan. âIâm sorry, I didnât get that. I thought you said you needed me to have your baby,â she chuckled. He could sense her unease the same way he could smell her arousal. She was drenched. Even without a wolf telling her she was his, her body knew it, and he hated that. He hated that he had to fight so hard with his beast to stop it from claiming what was rightfully his. He hated the fact that he had to resort to this. She was half-human! Why would the Moon-Goddess curse him like this on top of everything else? Heâd caught her scent even before he had walked into the hotel days before, and now it filled the entire suite, taunting him, reminding him how fucked up everything was. âI did,â he answered. âI need a surrogate, and I will pay you handsomely.â âUm... Iâve just walked into this room to clean. You donât know me; you don't even know my name,â she said. âLayla Carlisle.â Layla looked down at the name tag on her uniform. She covered it briefly before she probably realised it was useless and lowered her hand. But he didnât need her name tag to know who she was. âTwenty-one years old. High school dropout. You live in a trailer with your father and sister.â Laylaâs eyes widened, and for a moment, he sensed her anger. âHave you been stalking me?â she hissed. Dylan snickered. He gave his Beta a look that shut him up before he returned his attention to the human. âNo, I havenât been stalking you,â he said, but he could tell he had already lost the momentum. Layla's anger had grown at an alarming rate, eclipsing even the sweet scent of her arousal. The human stood and smoothed her uniform before she lifted her head and looked him directly in the eye. His beast unfurled, his excitement rippling through him at the thought of accepting his mateâs challenge. âI donât know why you two need to ask a stranger to have your baby, but I donât think I will be right for the job. I wish you all the best, though,â Layla said. It took him a moment to realise what she meant as she walked over to her cleaning cart and started pulling it out of the room. This was the problem with humans. Feeling the pull of their bond wouldn't have been an issue if sheâd had a wolf. He would have marked her the moment he had found her, and she would have been carrying his pup already. âMiss Carlisle, can we talk about this? You havenât even heard what Iâm willing to pay.â âIt doesnât matter. I donât want to be your surrogate,â she answered firmly. âIâll return later to clean your suite.â When she closed the door, he heard her mutter, âItâs always the handsome ones.â She thought he was crazy. And she was rightâhe lost more of his mind the longer he went without a child and the shorter his time on this earth got. âShe thinks weâre gay, Jax,â Dylan pointed out as he sat in the spot she had vacated. âI got that,â he growled. âI donât think she will change her mind,â Dylan said. âI donât understand why you canât pick someone from the pack and be done with it.â He would have had many children already if it had been that easy. Goddess knew how much he had tried. But Fate had messed that up for him, too, and made sure only one woman could carry his children. Only one woman could save them allâhis mate. âI told you why.â At least as much as he could. Dylan was not only his Beta; he was also his only friend. Keeping the truth from him was essential. Keeping it from everyone was crucial. It was bad enough that they would have to accept his heir from a woman who was as useless as a human, but he could deal with that better than the panic that the truth would cause. He had no time to soothe anyone or deal with the packs that would circle his territory when they realised he was about to die. As the Alpha King, the repercussions would be astronomical. âI doubt any of our pack would assume they are the Queen just because they have your child. They can do a blood oathââ âDylan, please,â he sighed as he stood and walked towards the drinks cabinet. It was still morning, but fuck it. He needed something to calm and stop himself from going after the human. To prevent himself from pinning her down and marking her while he buried himself deep inside her body. He closed his eyes as he tried not to imagine what that would feel like, but it was all his wolf wanted and all he could see. Every wolf heâd ever come across dreamed of being lucky enough to one day meet their mate, but he couldnât understand why anyone would think this was a blessing. It was torture! âOkay. Pick another one if that girl doesnât want to do it.â Cain growled in his head, ready to attack Dylan for even suggesting that, but he shoved his wolf back and focused on his drink. And just like that, his mind returned to a place he didnât want to be. He didnât want to think of touching Layla or tasting her. He didnât want to remember the scent of her arousal. Four days since he first caught Laylaâs sweet scent, he was already acting like a lunatic. The first day felt like a gift from the Goddess. He was almost out of time, so finding his mate had given him hope. And then he had seen her. A half-blood. Half-human and cleaning up after everyone else. It felt like a punch in the nuts; heâd wanted to kill someone for this cruel joke. She was not worthy to carry his child; she was not worthy to be the one who saved them all. But there they were. There was no other choice. âJaxââ âGet more information on her. Sheâs human. Youâll find many weaknesses I can use,â he ordered. âSheâs the one Iâve picked, so sheâs the one Iâll have.â Layla would have his child one way or another, and then he could finally have some peace. Dylan felt the command in his words and stood up to do as he had ordered. When he sensed his Beta was far enough away from their suite, he picked up his glass and threw it against the wall, smashing it into pieces. If he told Dylan the truth, he would tie the girl up and offer her to him on a silver platter. But then his child would be a product of rape; that was the last thing he wanted. The child would be his legacy, the only thing left of him on this earth, and would carry his blood. He couldnât taint the child before he had even conceived them. He was a bastard, but not that much. His child would be the best part of him. Layla would change her mind. Humans loved money, and this one, in particular, was drowning in debt. Why hadnât she wanted to know how much he was offering her? He could solve all her problems in a day if she took his offer. That meant Dylan had to find something else he could use. Something she couldnât refuse. The growl came louder in his head as his beast showed his displeasure. But he was in charge here, not Cain. They would do things his way, and at the end of it all, Layla could go back to her life because there was no future for them, even if she wasnât a half-blood. âFind her. Mark her,â Cain growled. âBe patient! She hasnât got a wolf; she doesnât even know we exist,â he snapped as he picked up an entire bottle of alcohol and walked towards his bedroom. And marking her was out of the question. He didnât stay at the Royal Hotel often even though he owned it and it was in his territory, but he was sure Layla hadnât been around the last time he had been there. Her scent was all over the hotel as if she had marked it. Could anyone else smell it? Did they have that sweet, intoxicating scent turning them inside out? Making them drool? Making them think of nothing else except to claim her? One thing was certain now. Ifâno, whenâLayla agreed to this, he would get her pregnant and then stay the hell away from her. Heâd been hard for days, and her scent had made Cain unstable. He didnât need that complication on top of everything else. Not when he had less than a year left to live. chapter 2 Did she have some sign on her head that said she was a pushover or desperate? Layla pushed the cart with more force than necessary until she was far enough away from the penthouse suite and then leaned against the wall. Her knees were still shaking, and she wasnât entirely sure if it was because of the manâs words or the man himself. It surprised her she hadnât fallen flat on her face when sheâd made her righteous exit. The men were in the most expensive suite in the exclusive hotel; they didnât need to ask a stranger to help them out. He might have somehow gotten a hold of some of her personal information, but everyone in Wolfdale knew about her. The kid abandoned by her mother. The kid whoâd dropped out of school so she could work and take care of her little sister because their father was an alcoholic and a gambling addict. That didnât mean she had no dignity left. She wouldnât give up a child! Those men thought they could throw their money around like that, and she would agree just because she wasnât like them, and that made her blood boil. But in her mind, she still saw the man naked and on top of her. If she closed her eyes, she could almost feel it. It was a shame he was gay because she was positive he would be great in bed. Her body was still on fire, still trying to get over the shock of coming face to face with such a perfect specimen of a man. A god. He looked like one. Handsome didnât even begin to describe him. Chiselled jawline, a short beard that probably cost more than her wages to maintain and silky, dark hair styled to look like heâd just rolled out of bed and didnât give a fuck. Heâd turned her knees to jelly and melted her panties in seconds without moving from his seat. Without even cracking a smile. She had never reacted so violently to anyone before. Why was it always the handsome ones that were batshit crazy? She pushed aside the disappointment. The cool wall slightly helped control her overheating body, but sweat still dripped down her back and cleavage. They were in the middle of a heatwave so intense even the hotelâs air conditioning system wasnât helping. Sheâd been like that for a few days as if she was coming down with something for the first time in her life. But it was the stranger with the cold ice-blue eyes that had worked her up like that. She shouldnât care about who he shared his bed with, but something inside her wanted to claw the other guyâs eyes out. It was so strong that she had to make a conscious effort to stop herself from returning to the room. Crazy. She was going crazy. âI donât pay you to have unscheduled breaks, Layla.â Her eyes snapped open to see Andrea looking down her nose at her as usual. And it took a special kind of person to look down their nose at someone who towered over them. Andrea barely reached her chest. âIâm sorry, Miss Roberts,â she said, lowering her head. âIâm almost finished.â Her supervisor insisted on being called Miss Roberts since her promotion, as if that would make her more respectable. Everyone knew how she got that job. âYouâre a mess,â Andrea said, wrinkling her nose. âAnd you smell. Clean yourself up and do something with that hair. We have important guests here today; I donât have time to deal with you.â She self-consciously wiped the sweat on her forehead and patted her hair down, even though she knew it wouldnât help. Her red, curly hair was just a giant unruly puff above her head, and her pale blue uniform had sweat stains under her armpits. Whatever sweat that wasnât being sucked up by her hair was dripping down her face like crazy. Another reason why that stranger had to be out of his mind to make such an offer to her while she looked like that. Andrea turned and carried on down the hallway in her formal suit and high heels. Her manager did indeed look distracted today, so she supposed she had to be grateful for that because usually, she would have shouted at her and threatened to fire her at least a hundred times already. With a sigh, she put Andrea and the handsome stranger out of her mind as she continued cleaning. By the time she finally left the hotel that evening, she looked even worse, but she went out through the staff entrance and straight to her little car without bumping into Andrea again. There was a shower with her name on it at home. It took her almost half an hour to leave the nicer neighbourhoods and cross the tracks to hers. It was so cliched, but the wealthy had separated themselves from the rest of the residents. The difference was stark, but she was used to it. There was nothing shiny on her side, and all the cars were old bangers like hers. Everything needed fixing or was broken beyond repair. But she felt more at home there, even if she itched to leave the dump and discover what was beyond Wolfdale. She parked outside their old trailer home and sighed as she walked in. The TV was blaring, and her father lay on the couch, already passed out. She didnât have to go near him to know he had been drinking again. The dayâs mail was on the counter near the door, placed there where she wouldnât miss it, and it was unopened even though it had her fatherâs name on it. Bills. Overdue bills. The stranger's offer popped back into her mind, but she pushed it away. She didnât need to sell a piece of herself to pay the bills. She sighed again as she picked the mail up and headed for the tiny bedroom she shared with her sister. She carefully opened the creaky door in case Britney was asleep but saw her hunched over her books instead. A small smile formed on her lips. It was worth it. All the shit she had to do to feed her sister was worth it. Brit would forge a better life all by herself, away from this dump. And then she would finally be free, too. Layla felt like sheâd hardly closed her eyes when her alarm went off. She always woke up early to make sure Brit didnât forget to eat her breakfast before school. Her sister always did that, as if by skipping meals, she would lighten the load on her shoulders. There was hardly anything in the fridge, and she probably couldnât do a proper grocery shop for a while with the bills she had to pay. A second job would have been great, but no one was hiring. Another pitfall of living in a small town in the middle of nowhere. She had to do her best until they could leave for greener pastures. And she couldnât leave until Brit left for college. With a loud yawn, she took the eggs out and set about making an omelette for Brit with a couple of slices of toast. Sheâd just poured herself a cup of coffee when she noticed her father through the window. In just his pyjama bottoms, his long, brunette hair was a tangled mess, and his beard was weeks old. Her father didnât care that the neighbours always saw him like this. He was pacing and seemed to be in a heated argument on the phone. He looked tense and had a scowl as he gestured with his free hand like the person on the other side could see him. What the hell had that man done now? She wouldnât get involved. Gerald Carlisle hadnât been a real father to them in a very long time. âSmells good.â She turned from the window to smile at her sister, whoâd already dressed for school. Brit was the spitting image of their father with her brunette locks and hazel eyes. She was also the shortest in the family. People never believed they were sisters because she looked like a sasquatch beside Brit. âArenât you having any?â Brit asked. âNo, Iâll eat at the hotel,â she lied. That was her excuse whenever she didnât have enough money to feed all of them. Andrea never allowed them to take even a piece of fruit from the kitchen. Their father wrenched the door open and marched in. His large frame took up most of the space in the small kitchen. He didnât even bother speaking to them as he went straight to the fridge and pulled a beer out. That was the one thing abundant in their house. When he just threw himself onto the one sofa they had in the house and put the TV on, Brit shook her head and stood. âIâm going to school,â she mumbled. Layla looked at the half-eaten omelette on Britâs plate. âFinish your breakfast,â she said firmly. âIâve lost my appetite,â Brit said as she walked to their bedroom. Layla couldnât help glaring at the disgrace of a man who had already become engrossed in his program. Gerald acted like he was the only one in the family her mother had abandonedâheâd wasted eleven years pining over someone who didnât want any of them. It made her furious, but she didnât have to put up with him much longer. Brit mumbled a goodbye when she came out of their room with her school bag. âWait.â She pulled some money out of her pocket and gave a few notes to Brit. It was supposed to have gone in the money jar she kept hidden for emergencies or to top up Britâs college fund, but keeping her sister healthy was more important. She would find a way to replace it. âLayla_â âTake it. Have something to eat at school,â she insisted. She didnât miss that Gerald had become very interested in that small exchange and would probably ask her for money, too. She finished Britâs breakfast without giving him any attention before she went to shower and dress for work. She didnât bother straightening her hair because it was still early morning, but the heat was already unbearable. At least the hotel washed their uniforms daily, so she didnât have to worry about the sweat stains. She just tied her hair up into a neater puff and looked at herself in the small, cracked mirror in the corner of their cramped room. The inspection was brief because, unlike Brit, she was the image of her mother. Her green eyes were a shade sheâd never seen on anyone else, and it was unnerving. The entire package made her feel like an outsider in her family. She reached for her bag and froze when she heard a crash and loud voices. Her heart hammered loudly, and her hands shook as she inched the door open to stop it from creaking before peeking out. A large man stood over her father, who he had smashed through their wooden coffee table. Gerald tried to get back to his feet, but the man punched him down again. She took a sharp breath when she saw how helpless her father was as he pleaded for mercy. What had he done now? âI already gave you several chances, Gerald,â another man said. He sat in her fatherâs spot on the chair. She could only see the back of his blond head, but it looked greasy and slicked back. Like a baddie out of a horrible B-grade horror movie. She wanted to slip out through her window and let her father suffer alone, but that stupid thing in her head reminded her he was still family. And this was Britâs home; she couldnât allow anything bad to happen here. With a calming breath, she opened the door wider and walked out of the bedroom. âI swear, I only need a little more time,â Gerald said. âIâm good for it this time.â âYou said that last time,â the man said. As he stood, he looked back as if he had already known she was standing behind him. He was young, with a scar across his face that gave him a terrifying look. He wore a suit, but he had a gold tooth and chain around his neck like he really copied his sense of style from a terrible movie. She felt a cold shiver down her spine when he pulled his coloured sunglasses off his face, and his grey eyes looked over her body from top to bottom. Her skin crawled at the blatant violation. âHello, Layla,â the man said. Great. A second stranger knew her name. When she didnât answer, he laughed and looked back at her father. âYouâre lucky this beautiful angel is here,â the man said. âI think you know what you can give me if you canât pay up. Iâll be in touch.â The man turned back to her with another sinister grin before walking out, and the enormous man standing over her father followed. She waited until she heard their car drive off before she stormed to her father. âHow much do you owe?â she hissed. âNot much. Just twenty grand.â Her eyes almost popped out of her head when she heard that figure. Not much? That amount would go a long way in sending Brit off to college. âHow?! What did you do with such a large amount of money? You havenât paid bills here or taken care of us in a long time!â Gerald gingerly sat back in his chair, ignoring the mess the men had made in the living room. âIt was supposed to be a sure bet,â Gerald mumbled. âI would have paid off everything and then had enough to fix things.â Her blood went cold. Her fatherâs gambling had landed them in the trailer park to start with. âYou said you would stop. You said youâd never gamble agaââ âWell, I lied,â Gerald snapped. âAnd I obviously canât fix this myself, so youâll have to think of your sister. Iâll give him what he wants and be done with it.â She remembered the look in the manâs eyes when heâd looked at her, and her meagre breakfast almost came back up. âAnd whatâs that, Dad?â she whispered. âYou. Iâm going to give him you.â chapter 3 âYouâre out of your damn mind if you think for one second that Iâll let you pimp me out!â Somewhere between her mother leaving him with two small girls to raise on his own and now, Gerald Carlisle must have lost his damn mind. Completely. âYou go with him, or we all die. Simple as that,â her father said. âWe donât have to pay for your mistakes! Iâll take Brit and leave,â she snarled. âBrit is still seventeen, and Iâm her father. You canât take her anywhere,â Gerald said as he stood up again. Her father could be intimidating if he wanted to be. He had never been violent towards them, but she knew it wasnât because he wasnât capable of it. She had picked him up from the police station after many bar fights often enough to know the damage he could cause. And she could see the desperation in his hazel eyes as he approached her. âAnd I donât see you dragging Brit out of school in her senior year when you want her to graduate,â Gerald continued. âAnd thatâs what I want, too. Britney has a better chance than us to get out of this shit hole. She can make something of herself. But you, Layla... Youâre a high school dropout. Scrubbing rich peopleâs toilets is all youâll ever be good at. You might as well do this for your sister.â She sucked in her breath. His words cut her deep. Gerald had sliced her open and poured salt all over her wounds. âAnd whose fault is that?â she whispered. âStop blaming me. Youâre resourceful. If youâd wanted to stay in school, you would have found a way,â Gerald snarled. âBesides, you look just like your mother. Iâm sure youâll make more money on your back than at that hotel.â She gasped. Anger mixed with her pain as she turned away from her father and walked back to her bedroom. Tears fell to her cheeks, but she angrily wiped them away. She wouldnât let her father ruin their plans. Her sister was the only good thing in her lifeâshe would not let Gerald break her, too. She would pay the debt off herself if she had to. It wouldnât be the first time sheâd cleaned up Geraldâs messes. It would set them back, but at least Brit could still leave when she graduated. Layla stood and locked her door before easing her bed away from the wall. She pushed one of the square panels on the wall until it shifted enough for her to squeeze her fingers through and pull it open. And then nothing. There was nothing in the hole. Her jar... Her emergency fund was gone. Her anger overtook her pain as she stood and unlocked the door. She wrenched the door open with force and marched to the living room to stand in front of her father. âWhere is it?â she growled. âYouâre blocking the TV, Layla,â her father said with disinterest as he sipped a fresh beer. As if they hadnât just had some wannabe gangsters threaten their lives. âWhere is my money?â she asked, her voice shaky. Her chest was tight, and her breathing harsh. Her body trembled as fury mixed with despair. That jar was everything. All their hopes and dreams for the future. All their problems solved. And it was just gone. How could Gerald sink so low? How could a father... Gerald stopped mid-sip to look at her and then glanced away again. But the guilt was so apparent on his face. âI had to pay him something the first time he came,â he mumbled. All her strength sapped from her body, and her legs became too weak to hold her. She sank to the floor among the debris from the broken table, tears filling her eyes again as she looked at the man who could so casually throw such a bombshell on her. How could he rip their lives apart like this? Did they really not mean anything to him? No, they didnât. They hadnât meant anything to Gerald since their mother had left him. âI will not be a part of your mess,â she hissed as she stood up. âI will help you pay him back with money, not my body, only because I wonât let you taint Britney.â âAnd how will you help me? You earn peanuts,â Gerald sneered. âI earn something, which is more than I can say for you. Get a job and learn some principles. Itâs not okay to sell your children!â She marched back to the bedroom to put everything back in place and pushed her pain to the back of her mind. It was a skill she had learned too early in her life so she could function. Her father would always be a disappointment. The best she could do was try to get Brit away from him, even if it meant leaving before she graduated. The strangerâs offer popped back into her mind. Shame filled her when she considered it a little longer than she should have. But she could do this without his help. She would have to ask for more hours at workâ Work! Shit! She grabbed her bag and car keys and rushed out of the house without another word to her father. Being late would mean a warning, and she couldnât risk this job, not now. Half an hour later, she snuck in through the staff entrance and thankfully found the staff room empty. By the time sheâd changed into her uniform and work shoes, she was confident she could get away with this if no one saw her. But as she pushed her cart out of the cleaning closet, she found Andrea waiting outside, arms crossed and tapping her foot. âThis is the second time this month, Layla.â Right. The first time her junk of a car had given up on her and sheâd had to take a bus. Sheâd forgotten about that. This would be her second strike. One more, and she was out. âIâm so sorry, Miss Roberts. I had a family emergency.â âI donât believe you. You could have called. You think you can waltz around the place and do whatever you want, but the world doesnât revolve around you,â Andrea said as she pulled a notepad from her pocket. âThe rest of us understand we have responsibilities here. This will be your last warning.â âAndrea_â âMiss Roberts,â Andrea hissed. âI understand youâre only twenty-one, Layla, but you must learn to be more responsible. Get to work.â She sighed. How could she ask for more hours if Andrea was on the warpath? Maybe she could pull it off if she gave her some time to cool off and tried at the end of the day. If that didnât work, going over Andreaâs head to ask the manager directly would be her last option. Or she could walk around town after work to beg someone else to hire her part-time. She started working on autopilot, scrubbing a million toilets and cleaning up after the entitled guests of the exclusive hotel while her mind was lost in trying to find a solution. What kind of man would think selling their child was the best way out of their problems? What kind of man would demand that of somebody else? She didnât know who this man whoâd invaded their home was, but she knew she would never give herself to him. Just the thought of it was making her nauseous. A few hours later, she came up to the penthouse suiteâthe room where that handsome stranger had made the ridiculous request. There was too much to worry about that she hadnât thought of him all day, but he filled her head completely the second she knocked on his door. And once again, her body started to react and overheat. There was no answer, thankfully. She didnât know what to do if he made the same offer again. She unlocked the door, pushed her cart in, and had to stop and squeeze her thighs together when she caught a pleasant scent. It had to be his cologne. Spicy and masculine, just like he was. Her toes curled again, just remembering what he looked like. Sheâd only seen him for minutes, but his image seemed to have burnt into her head. But she had to get over it. He was gay. âHousekeeping,â she called out in case the two men hadnât heard her. Maybe they were still in bed or in the shower. Again, the urge to claw the other manâs eyes out took her over. What the hell was wrong with her? She left the cart in the living area and entered the guest bathroom. The heat was worse than the day before, but it hadnât bothered her much until she walked into the penthouse suite. One look in the mirror told her she would have to tidy herself up before she saw Andrea again. Strands of her hair had fallen out of her puff, and rivers of sweat were pouring down her face. Her uniform was beyond saving. It was a good thing the stranger wasnât there to see all that mess. She splashed cold water on her face, but that didnât even begin to cool her down. She looked longingly at the shower behind her and then the sunken tub. What she wouldnât give to soak in a cool bath or stand under a cool spray. But she still had a million more rooms to clean, and showering in the guest rooms would be an automatic dismissal. She splashed more water on her face and then wet one of the clean face towels to cool her heated neck. That didnât help much, either. She was on fire, and nothing would put the flames out. She wet the towel again as she undid all the buttons of her shirt and untucked it from her skirt. Then she placed the cool cloth on her chest. That was better. She sighed in relief when her body started to behave. If the heatwave didnât break soon, sheâd be a puddle on the floor. Half an hour later, she was considerably cooler and late to start the cleaning. There was nothing she could do about her sweaty uniform. At least she was invisible to the guests. All the clientele had money coming out of their eyeballs; the help was always invisible to people like that. She picked up the towels sheâd used and walked out of the bathroom to her cleaning cart. And in walked the biggest man she had ever seen. He had been sitting when sheâd first seen him, so she hadnât realised how tall he was. She didnât often meet people that much taller than her. Her body heated again as if she hadnât just spent all her allocated time cooling herself down. She met that ice-blue gaze again, and her insides melted. He still looked as angry as he had when they had metâmaybe that was his default expression. Maybe rich people looked at others like that because they assumed someone would ask them for money. But a shiver went down her spine at just how cold he was. Still, she didnât look away. There was just something about him... Her heart drummed so loudly she could hear it. Something washed over her whole body that felt gentle and overwhelming at the same time. Her body hummed with a need that shocked her with its intensity. Sheâd been hot before, but now she was burning up, and that fire shot straight down to her core. âWhy are you just standing there? Move out of the way.â Someoneâs voice drifted into her ears. It took her a moment to realise that Mr. Sex-On-Legsâ boyfriend was standing next to him, and he looked at her just as coldly. What was with these people? Did they behave like assholes everywhere they went? The urge to attack him returned, but she knew the consequences would be even more significant than losing her job if she gave in. âAre you sure you want her?â the man continued, looking at her from top to bottom. âShe canât even follow simple instructions.â Her gaze returned to the ice-blue ones. The anger in them almost knocked her back. Was he upset that she had denied his illogical request? âCover yourself up,â the sexy man growled. That voice again. She bit her lip to stop herself from saying something that would get her fired or arrested and squeezed her thighs together again. She couldnât help herself. His full lips parted slightly as if he was breathing through his mouth, and his chest rose and fell as if heâd been running. He looked like he was close to ripping her head off. âCover yourself up.â His words penetrated her lust-addled brain like a bucket of ice-cold water thrown on her. She looked down at her chest, remembering she had unbuttoned it to cool down. Everything was on display! She was bursting out of her old, lacy bra in front of strangers! Gasping, she clutched the shirt together and turned around. Her face heated, and she knew the colour would match her hair. âI was looking for you, Layla. Judging by this warm welcome, I take it youâve changed your mind?â đ„Reading more content about <The Alpha King'sCurse> on the WhosNovel.đđđ | INSTALL_MOBILE_APP | http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.b | PadNovel Zy One | https://www.facebook.com/61555138762971/ | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Install now | 0 | play.google.com | VIDEO | http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.book.padnovel | 1969-12-31 18:00 | https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/461270254_866206425468161_9024268954427655369_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60&_nc_cat=101&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=OaLSmTyypsQQ7kNvgHcovzs&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&_nc_gid=ASq1PZC8uAECJ015kshcGGe&oh=00_AYAG5tLVOpEETKF95t-VJ4jUIXuvfj-xEmHhcSRhmqyH1Q&oe=670418B4 | PERSON_PROFILE | 0 | 0 | 0 | PadNovel Zy One | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | View Edit Delete | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Los Romances y la Historia de Alejandro Fernandez | Todos los detalles en esta nota | LEARN_MORE | https://drivepedia.com/trending/alejandro-fernande | Drivepedia | https://www.facebook.com/100064860548030/ | 123,794 | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Learn More | 0 | drivepedia.com | DCO | Los Romances y la Historia de Alejandro Fernandez | https://drivepedia.com/trending/alejandro-fernandez-vida-amorosa-syn/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_campaign=Alejandro%20Fernandez%20Dated%20SPT%20V2%20Sami1609%20SITE%20Dynamic%20DR%20PHS606%20CRP%20a1b0%20-%20Unknown%20USA%20FB%20CRP&network_code=CRP&utm_term=content&v=5 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/461593443_456212774114172_127825602945524224_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60&_nc_cat=102&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=yU1xA2bNOm0Q7kNvgEObgj4&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&_nc_gid=AEdIg1m3JMu1F0Cxfn5b2x9&oh=00_AYAd_12UA02odpjkjrdmgWHRggON84_19PLTfe2ZO1cYyQ&oe=67042EF7 | PERSON_PROFILE | 0 | 0 | 0 | Drivepedia | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | View Edit Delete | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Yes | 2024-10-03 02:53 | active | 1567 | 0 | Read <The Alpha King'sCurse> on the WhosNovel.đđđ | âIâll get straight to the point. I need you to have my baby.â Jackson King watched the girlâs eyes widen as she looked from him to his Beta, Dylan. âIâm sorry, I didnât get that. I thought you said you needed me to have your baby,â she chuckled. He could sense her unease the same way he could smell her arousal. She was drenched. Even without a wolf telling her she was his, her body knew it, and he hated that. He hated that he had to fight so hard with his beast to stop it from claiming what was rightfully his. He hated the fact that he had to resort to this. She was half-human! Why would the Moon-Goddess curse him like this on top of everything else? Heâd caught her scent even before he had walked into the hotel days before, and now it filled the entire suite, taunting him, reminding him how fucked up everything was. âI did,â he answered. âI need a surrogate, and I will pay you handsomely.â âUm... Iâve just walked into this room to clean. You donât know me; you don't even know my name,â she said. âLayla Carlisle.â Layla looked down at the name tag on her uniform. She covered it briefly before she probably realised it was useless and lowered her hand. But he didnât need her name tag to know who she was. âTwenty-one years old. High school dropout. You live in a trailer with your father and sister.â Laylaâs eyes widened, and for a moment, he sensed her anger. âHave you been stalking me?â she hissed. Dylan snickered. He gave his Beta a look that shut him up before he returned his attention to the human. âNo, I havenât been stalking you,â he said, but he could tell he had already lost the momentum. Layla's anger had grown at an alarming rate, eclipsing even the sweet scent of her arousal. The human stood and smoothed her uniform before she lifted her head and looked him directly in the eye. His beast unfurled, his excitement rippling through him at the thought of accepting his mateâs challenge. âI donât know why you two need to ask a stranger to have your baby, but I donât think I will be right for the job. I wish you all the best, though,â Layla said. It took him a moment to realise what she meant as she walked over to her cleaning cart and started pulling it out of the room. This was the problem with humans. Feeling the pull of their bond wouldn't have been an issue if sheâd had a wolf. He would have marked her the moment he had found her, and she would have been carrying his pup already. âMiss Carlisle, can we talk about this? You havenât even heard what Iâm willing to pay.â âIt doesnât matter. I donât want to be your surrogate,â she answered firmly. âIâll return later to clean your suite.â When she closed the door, he heard her mutter, âItâs always the handsome ones.â She thought he was crazy. And she was rightâhe lost more of his mind the longer he went without a child and the shorter his time on this earth got. âShe thinks weâre gay, Jax,â Dylan pointed out as he sat in the spot she had vacated. âI got that,â he growled. âI donât think she will change her mind,â Dylan said. âI donât understand why you canât pick someone from the pack and be done with it.â He would have had many children already if it had been that easy. Goddess knew how much he had tried. But Fate had messed that up for him, too, and made sure only one woman could carry his children. Only one woman could save them allâhis mate. âI told you why.â At least as much as he could. Dylan was not only his Beta; he was also his only friend. Keeping the truth from him was essential. Keeping it from everyone was crucial. It was bad enough that they would have to accept his heir from a woman who was as useless as a human, but he could deal with that better than the panic that the truth would cause. He had no time to soothe anyone or deal with the packs that would circle his territory when they realised he was about to die. As the Alpha King, the repercussions would be astronomical. âI doubt any of our pack would assume they are the Queen just because they have your child. They can do a blood oathââ âDylan, please,â he sighed as he stood and walked towards the drinks cabinet. It was still morning, but fuck it. He needed something to calm and stop himself from going after the human. To prevent himself from pinning her down and marking her while he buried himself deep inside her body. He closed his eyes as he tried not to imagine what that would feel like, but it was all his wolf wanted and all he could see. Every wolf heâd ever come across dreamed of being lucky enough to one day meet their mate, but he couldnât understand why anyone would think this was a blessing. It was torture! âOkay. Pick another one if that girl doesnât want to do it.â Cain growled in his head, ready to attack Dylan for even suggesting that, but he shoved his wolf back and focused on his drink. And just like that, his mind returned to a place he didnât want to be. He didnât want to think of touching Layla or tasting her. He didnât want to remember the scent of her arousal. Four days since he first caught Laylaâs sweet scent, he was already acting like a lunatic. The first day felt like a gift from the Goddess. He was almost out of time, so finding his mate had given him hope. And then he had seen her. A half-blood. Half-human and cleaning up after everyone else. It felt like a punch in the nuts; heâd wanted to kill someone for this cruel joke. She was not worthy to carry his child; she was not worthy to be the one who saved them all. But there they were. There was no other choice. âJaxââ âGet more information on her. Sheâs human. Youâll find many weaknesses I can use,â he ordered. âSheâs the one Iâve picked, so sheâs the one Iâll have.â Layla would have his child one way or another, and then he could finally have some peace. Dylan felt the command in his words and stood up to do as he had ordered. When he sensed his Beta was far enough away from their suite, he picked up his glass and threw it against the wall, smashing it into pieces. If he told Dylan the truth, he would tie the girl up and offer her to him on a silver platter. But then his child would be a product of rape; that was the last thing he wanted. The child would be his legacy, the only thing left of him on this earth, and would carry his blood. He couldnât taint the child before he had even conceived them. He was a bastard, but not that much. His child would be the best part of him. Layla would change her mind. Humans loved money, and this one, in particular, was drowning in debt. Why hadnât she wanted to know how much he was offering her? He could solve all her problems in a day if she took his offer. That meant Dylan had to find something else he could use. Something she couldnât refuse. The growl came louder in his head as his beast showed his displeasure. But he was in charge here, not Cain. They would do things his way, and at the end of it all, Layla could go back to her life because there was no future for them, even if she wasnât a half-blood. âFind her. Mark her,â Cain growled. âBe patient! She hasnât got a wolf; she doesnât even know we exist,â he snapped as he picked up an entire bottle of alcohol and walked towards his bedroom. And marking her was out of the question. He didnât stay at the Royal Hotel often even though he owned it and it was in his territory, but he was sure Layla hadnât been around the last time he had been there. Her scent was all over the hotel as if she had marked it. Could anyone else smell it? Did they have that sweet, intoxicating scent turning them inside out? Making them drool? Making them think of nothing else except to claim her? One thing was certain now. Ifâno, whenâLayla agreed to this, he would get her pregnant and then stay the hell away from her. Heâd been hard for days, and her scent had made Cain unstable. He didnât need that complication on top of everything else. Not when he had less than a year left to live. chapter 2 Did she have some sign on her head that said she was a pushover or desperate? Layla pushed the cart with more force than necessary until she was far enough away from the penthouse suite and then leaned against the wall. Her knees were still shaking, and she wasnât entirely sure if it was because of the manâs words or the man himself. It surprised her she hadnât fallen flat on her face when sheâd made her righteous exit. The men were in the most expensive suite in the exclusive hotel; they didnât need to ask a stranger to help them out. He might have somehow gotten a hold of some of her personal information, but everyone in Wolfdale knew about her. The kid abandoned by her mother. The kid whoâd dropped out of school so she could work and take care of her little sister because their father was an alcoholic and a gambling addict. That didnât mean she had no dignity left. She wouldnât give up a child! Those men thought they could throw their money around like that, and she would agree just because she wasnât like them, and that made her blood boil. But in her mind, she still saw the man naked and on top of her. If she closed her eyes, she could almost feel it. It was a shame he was gay because she was positive he would be great in bed. Her body was still on fire, still trying to get over the shock of coming face to face with such a perfect specimen of a man. A god. He looked like one. Handsome didnât even begin to describe him. Chiselled jawline, a short beard that probably cost more than her wages to maintain and silky, dark hair styled to look like heâd just rolled out of bed and didnât give a fuck. Heâd turned her knees to jelly and melted her panties in seconds without moving from his seat. Without even cracking a smile. She had never reacted so violently to anyone before. Why was it always the handsome ones that were batshit crazy? She pushed aside the disappointment. The cool wall slightly helped control her overheating body, but sweat still dripped down her back and cleavage. They were in the middle of a heatwave so intense even the hotelâs air conditioning system wasnât helping. Sheâd been like that for a few days as if she was coming down with something for the first time in her life. But it was the stranger with the cold ice-blue eyes that had worked her up like that. She shouldnât care about who he shared his bed with, but something inside her wanted to claw the other guyâs eyes out. It was so strong that she had to make a conscious effort to stop herself from returning to the room. Crazy. She was going crazy. âI donât pay you to have unscheduled breaks, Layla.â Her eyes snapped open to see Andrea looking down her nose at her as usual. And it took a special kind of person to look down their nose at someone who towered over them. Andrea barely reached her chest. âIâm sorry, Miss Roberts,â she said, lowering her head. âIâm almost finished.â Her supervisor insisted on being called Miss Roberts since her promotion, as if that would make her more respectable. Everyone knew how she got that job. âYouâre a mess,â Andrea said, wrinkling her nose. âAnd you smell. Clean yourself up and do something with that hair. We have important guests here today; I donât have time to deal with you.â She self-consciously wiped the sweat on her forehead and patted her hair down, even though she knew it wouldnât help. Her red, curly hair was just a giant unruly puff above her head, and her pale blue uniform had sweat stains under her armpits. Whatever sweat that wasnât being sucked up by her hair was dripping down her face like crazy. Another reason why that stranger had to be out of his mind to make such an offer to her while she looked like that. Andrea turned and carried on down the hallway in her formal suit and high heels. Her manager did indeed look distracted today, so she supposed she had to be grateful for that because usually, she would have shouted at her and threatened to fire her at least a hundred times already. With a sigh, she put Andrea and the handsome stranger out of her mind as she continued cleaning. By the time she finally left the hotel that evening, she looked even worse, but she went out through the staff entrance and straight to her little car without bumping into Andrea again. There was a shower with her name on it at home. It took her almost half an hour to leave the nicer neighbourhoods and cross the tracks to hers. It was so cliched, but the wealthy had separated themselves from the rest of the residents. The difference was stark, but she was used to it. There was nothing shiny on her side, and all the cars were old bangers like hers. Everything needed fixing or was broken beyond repair. But she felt more at home there, even if she itched to leave the dump and discover what was beyond Wolfdale. She parked outside their old trailer home and sighed as she walked in. The TV was blaring, and her father lay on the couch, already passed out. She didnât have to go near him to know he had been drinking again. The dayâs mail was on the counter near the door, placed there where she wouldnât miss it, and it was unopened even though it had her fatherâs name on it. Bills. Overdue bills. The stranger's offer popped back into her mind, but she pushed it away. She didnât need to sell a piece of herself to pay the bills. She sighed again as she picked the mail up and headed for the tiny bedroom she shared with her sister. She carefully opened the creaky door in case Britney was asleep but saw her hunched over her books instead. A small smile formed on her lips. It was worth it. All the shit she had to do to feed her sister was worth it. Brit would forge a better life all by herself, away from this dump. And then she would finally be free, too. Layla felt like sheâd hardly closed her eyes when her alarm went off. She always woke up early to make sure Brit didnât forget to eat her breakfast before school. Her sister always did that, as if by skipping meals, she would lighten the load on her shoulders. There was hardly anything in the fridge, and she probably couldnât do a proper grocery shop for a while with the bills she had to pay. A second job would have been great, but no one was hiring. Another pitfall of living in a small town in the middle of nowhere. She had to do her best until they could leave for greener pastures. And she couldnât leave until Brit left for college. With a loud yawn, she took the eggs out and set about making an omelette for Brit with a couple of slices of toast. Sheâd just poured herself a cup of coffee when she noticed her father through the window. In just his pyjama bottoms, his long, brunette hair was a tangled mess, and his beard was weeks old. Her father didnât care that the neighbours always saw him like this. He was pacing and seemed to be in a heated argument on the phone. He looked tense and had a scowl as he gestured with his free hand like the person on the other side could see him. What the hell had that man done now? She wouldnât get involved. Gerald Carlisle hadnât been a real father to them in a very long time. âSmells good.â She turned from the window to smile at her sister, whoâd already dressed for school. Brit was the spitting image of their father with her brunette locks and hazel eyes. She was also the shortest in the family. People never believed they were sisters because she looked like a sasquatch beside Brit. âArenât you having any?â Brit asked. âNo, Iâll eat at the hotel,â she lied. That was her excuse whenever she didnât have enough money to feed all of them. Andrea never allowed them to take even a piece of fruit from the kitchen. Their father wrenched the door open and marched in. His large frame took up most of the space in the small kitchen. He didnât even bother speaking to them as he went straight to the fridge and pulled a beer out. That was the one thing abundant in their house. When he just threw himself onto the one sofa they had in the house and put the TV on, Brit shook her head and stood. âIâm going to school,â she mumbled. Layla looked at the half-eaten omelette on Britâs plate. âFinish your breakfast,â she said firmly. âIâve lost my appetite,â Brit said as she walked to their bedroom. Layla couldnât help glaring at the disgrace of a man who had already become engrossed in his program. Gerald acted like he was the only one in the family her mother had abandonedâheâd wasted eleven years pining over someone who didnât want any of them. It made her furious, but she didnât have to put up with him much longer. Brit mumbled a goodbye when she came out of their room with her school bag. âWait.â She pulled some money out of her pocket and gave a few notes to Brit. It was supposed to have gone in the money jar she kept hidden for emergencies or to top up Britâs college fund, but keeping her sister healthy was more important. She would find a way to replace it. âLayla_â âTake it. Have something to eat at school,â she insisted. She didnât miss that Gerald had become very interested in that small exchange and would probably ask her for money, too. She finished Britâs breakfast without giving him any attention before she went to shower and dress for work. She didnât bother straightening her hair because it was still early morning, but the heat was already unbearable. At least the hotel washed their uniforms daily, so she didnât have to worry about the sweat stains. She just tied her hair up into a neater puff and looked at herself in the small, cracked mirror in the corner of their cramped room. The inspection was brief because, unlike Brit, she was the image of her mother. Her green eyes were a shade sheâd never seen on anyone else, and it was unnerving. The entire package made her feel like an outsider in her family. She reached for her bag and froze when she heard a crash and loud voices. Her heart hammered loudly, and her hands shook as she inched the door open to stop it from creaking before peeking out. A large man stood over her father, who he had smashed through their wooden coffee table. Gerald tried to get back to his feet, but the man punched him down again. She took a sharp breath when she saw how helpless her father was as he pleaded for mercy. What had he done now? âI already gave you several chances, Gerald,â another man said. He sat in her fatherâs spot on the chair. She could only see the back of his blond head, but it looked greasy and slicked back. Like a baddie out of a horrible B-grade horror movie. She wanted to slip out through her window and let her father suffer alone, but that stupid thing in her head reminded her he was still family. And this was Britâs home; she couldnât allow anything bad to happen here. With a calming breath, she opened the door wider and walked out of the bedroom. âI swear, I only need a little more time,â Gerald said. âIâm good for it this time.â âYou said that last time,â the man said. As he stood, he looked back as if he had already known she was standing behind him. He was young, with a scar across his face that gave him a terrifying look. He wore a suit, but he had a gold tooth and chain around his neck like he really copied his sense of style from a terrible movie. She felt a cold shiver down her spine when he pulled his coloured sunglasses off his face, and his grey eyes looked over her body from top to bottom. Her skin crawled at the blatant violation. âHello, Layla,â the man said. Great. A second stranger knew her name. When she didnât answer, he laughed and looked back at her father. âYouâre lucky this beautiful angel is here,â the man said. âI think you know what you can give me if you canât pay up. Iâll be in touch.â The man turned back to her with another sinister grin before walking out, and the enormous man standing over her father followed. She waited until she heard their car drive off before she stormed to her father. âHow much do you owe?â she hissed. âNot much. Just twenty grand.â Her eyes almost popped out of her head when she heard that figure. Not much? That amount would go a long way in sending Brit off to college. âHow?! What did you do with such a large amount of money? You havenât paid bills here or taken care of us in a long time!â Gerald gingerly sat back in his chair, ignoring the mess the men had made in the living room. âIt was supposed to be a sure bet,â Gerald mumbled. âI would have paid off everything and then had enough to fix things.â Her blood went cold. Her fatherâs gambling had landed them in the trailer park to start with. âYou said you would stop. You said youâd never gamble agaââ âWell, I lied,â Gerald snapped. âAnd I obviously canât fix this myself, so youâll have to think of your sister. Iâll give him what he wants and be done with it.â She remembered the look in the manâs eyes when heâd looked at her, and her meagre breakfast almost came back up. âAnd whatâs that, Dad?â she whispered. âYou. Iâm going to give him you.â chapter 3 âYouâre out of your damn mind if you think for one second that Iâll let you pimp me out!â Somewhere between her mother leaving him with two small girls to raise on his own and now, Gerald Carlisle must have lost his damn mind. Completely. âYou go with him, or we all die. Simple as that,â her father said. âWe donât have to pay for your mistakes! Iâll take Brit and leave,â she snarled. âBrit is still seventeen, and Iâm her father. You canât take her anywhere,â Gerald said as he stood up again. Her father could be intimidating if he wanted to be. He had never been violent towards them, but she knew it wasnât because he wasnât capable of it. She had picked him up from the police station after many bar fights often enough to know the damage he could cause. And she could see the desperation in his hazel eyes as he approached her. âAnd I donât see you dragging Brit out of school in her senior year when you want her to graduate,â Gerald continued. âAnd thatâs what I want, too. Britney has a better chance than us to get out of this shit hole. She can make something of herself. But you, Layla... Youâre a high school dropout. Scrubbing rich peopleâs toilets is all youâll ever be good at. You might as well do this for your sister.â She sucked in her breath. His words cut her deep. Gerald had sliced her open and poured salt all over her wounds. âAnd whose fault is that?â she whispered. âStop blaming me. Youâre resourceful. If youâd wanted to stay in school, you would have found a way,â Gerald snarled. âBesides, you look just like your mother. Iâm sure youâll make more money on your back than at that hotel.â She gasped. Anger mixed with her pain as she turned away from her father and walked back to her bedroom. Tears fell to her cheeks, but she angrily wiped them away. She wouldnât let her father ruin their plans. Her sister was the only good thing in her lifeâshe would not let Gerald break her, too. She would pay the debt off herself if she had to. It wouldnât be the first time sheâd cleaned up Geraldâs messes. It would set them back, but at least Brit could still leave when she graduated. Layla stood and locked her door before easing her bed away from the wall. She pushed one of the square panels on the wall until it shifted enough for her to squeeze her fingers through and pull it open. And then nothing. There was nothing in the hole. Her jar... Her emergency fund was gone. Her anger overtook her pain as she stood and unlocked the door. She wrenched the door open with force and marched to the living room to stand in front of her father. âWhere is it?â she growled. âYouâre blocking the TV, Layla,â her father said with disinterest as he sipped a fresh beer. As if they hadnât just had some wannabe gangsters threaten their lives. âWhere is my money?â she asked, her voice shaky. Her chest was tight, and her breathing harsh. Her body trembled as fury mixed with despair. That jar was everything. All their hopes and dreams for the future. All their problems solved. And it was just gone. How could Gerald sink so low? How could a father... Gerald stopped mid-sip to look at her and then glanced away again. But the guilt was so apparent on his face. âI had to pay him something the first time he came,â he mumbled. All her strength sapped from her body, and her legs became too weak to hold her. She sank to the floor among the debris from the broken table, tears filling her eyes again as she looked at the man who could so casually throw such a bombshell on her. How could he rip their lives apart like this? Did they really not mean anything to him? No, they didnât. They hadnât meant anything to Gerald since their mother had left him. âI will not be a part of your mess,â she hissed as she stood up. âI will help you pay him back with money, not my body, only because I wonât let you taint Britney.â âAnd how will you help me? You earn peanuts,â Gerald sneered. âI earn something, which is more than I can say for you. Get a job and learn some principles. Itâs not okay to sell your children!â She marched back to the bedroom to put everything back in place and pushed her pain to the back of her mind. It was a skill she had learned too early in her life so she could function. Her father would always be a disappointment. The best she could do was try to get Brit away from him, even if it meant leaving before she graduated. The strangerâs offer popped back into her mind. Shame filled her when she considered it a little longer than she should have. But she could do this without his help. She would have to ask for more hours at workâ Work! Shit! She grabbed her bag and car keys and rushed out of the house without another word to her father. Being late would mean a warning, and she couldnât risk this job, not now. Half an hour later, she snuck in through the staff entrance and thankfully found the staff room empty. By the time sheâd changed into her uniform and work shoes, she was confident she could get away with this if no one saw her. But as she pushed her cart out of the cleaning closet, she found Andrea waiting outside, arms crossed and tapping her foot. âThis is the second time this month, Layla.â Right. The first time her junk of a car had given up on her and sheâd had to take a bus. Sheâd forgotten about that. This would be her second strike. One more, and she was out. âIâm so sorry, Miss Roberts. I had a family emergency.â âI donât believe you. You could have called. You think you can waltz around the place and do whatever you want, but the world doesnât revolve around you,â Andrea said as she pulled a notepad from her pocket. âThe rest of us understand we have responsibilities here. This will be your last warning.â âAndrea_â âMiss Roberts,â Andrea hissed. âI understand youâre only twenty-one, Layla, but you must learn to be more responsible. Get to work.â She sighed. How could she ask for more hours if Andrea was on the warpath? Maybe she could pull it off if she gave her some time to cool off and tried at the end of the day. If that didnât work, going over Andreaâs head to ask the manager directly would be her last option. Or she could walk around town after work to beg someone else to hire her part-time. She started working on autopilot, scrubbing a million toilets and cleaning up after the entitled guests of the exclusive hotel while her mind was lost in trying to find a solution. What kind of man would think selling their child was the best way out of their problems? What kind of man would demand that of somebody else? She didnât know who this man whoâd invaded their home was, but she knew she would never give herself to him. Just the thought of it was making her nauseous. A few hours later, she came up to the penthouse suiteâthe room where that handsome stranger had made the ridiculous request. There was too much to worry about that she hadnât thought of him all day, but he filled her head completely the second she knocked on his door. And once again, her body started to react and overheat. There was no answer, thankfully. She didnât know what to do if he made the same offer again. She unlocked the door, pushed her cart in, and had to stop and squeeze her thighs together when she caught a pleasant scent. It had to be his cologne. Spicy and masculine, just like he was. Her toes curled again, just remembering what he looked like. Sheâd only seen him for minutes, but his image seemed to have burnt into her head. But she had to get over it. He was gay. âHousekeeping,â she called out in case the two men hadnât heard her. Maybe they were still in bed or in the shower. Again, the urge to claw the other manâs eyes out took her over. What the hell was wrong with her? She left the cart in the living area and entered the guest bathroom. The heat was worse than the day before, but it hadnât bothered her much until she walked into the penthouse suite. One look in the mirror told her she would have to tidy herself up before she saw Andrea again. Strands of her hair had fallen out of her puff, and rivers of sweat were pouring down her face. Her uniform was beyond saving. It was a good thing the stranger wasnât there to see all that mess. She splashed cold water on her face, but that didnât even begin to cool her down. She looked longingly at the shower behind her and then the sunken tub. What she wouldnât give to soak in a cool bath or stand under a cool spray. But she still had a million more rooms to clean, and showering in the guest rooms would be an automatic dismissal. She splashed more water on her face and then wet one of the clean face towels to cool her heated neck. That didnât help much, either. She was on fire, and nothing would put the flames out. She wet the towel again as she undid all the buttons of her shirt and untucked it from her skirt. Then she placed the cool cloth on her chest. That was better. She sighed in relief when her body started to behave. If the heatwave didnât break soon, sheâd be a puddle on the floor. Half an hour later, she was considerably cooler and late to start the cleaning. There was nothing she could do about her sweaty uniform. At least she was invisible to the guests. All the clientele had money coming out of their eyeballs; the help was always invisible to people like that. She picked up the towels sheâd used and walked out of the bathroom to her cleaning cart. And in walked the biggest man she had ever seen. He had been sitting when sheâd first seen him, so she hadnât realised how tall he was. She didnât often meet people that much taller than her. Her body heated again as if she hadnât just spent all her allocated time cooling herself down. She met that ice-blue gaze again, and her insides melted. He still looked as angry as he had when they had metâmaybe that was his default expression. Maybe rich people looked at others like that because they assumed someone would ask them for money. But a shiver went down her spine at just how cold he was. Still, she didnât look away. There was just something about him... Her heart drummed so loudly she could hear it. Something washed over her whole body that felt gentle and overwhelming at the same time. Her body hummed with a need that shocked her with its intensity. Sheâd been hot before, but now she was burning up, and that fire shot straight down to her core. âWhy are you just standing there? Move out of the way.â Someoneâs voice drifted into her ears. It took her a moment to realise that Mr. Sex-On-Legsâ boyfriend was standing next to him, and he looked at her just as coldly. What was with these people? Did they behave like assholes everywhere they went? The urge to attack him returned, but she knew the consequences would be even more significant than losing her job if she gave in. âAre you sure you want her?â the man continued, looking at her from top to bottom. âShe canât even follow simple instructions.â Her gaze returned to the ice-blue ones. The anger in them almost knocked her back. Was he upset that she had denied his illogical request? âCover yourself up,â the sexy man growled. That voice again. She bit her lip to stop herself from saying something that would get her fired or arrested and squeezed her thighs together again. She couldnât help herself. His full lips parted slightly as if he was breathing through his mouth, and his chest rose and fell as if heâd been running. He looked like he was close to ripping her head off. âCover yourself up.â His words penetrated her lust-addled brain like a bucket of ice-cold water thrown on her. She looked down at her chest, remembering she had unbuttoned it to cool down. Everything was on display! She was bursting out of her old, lacy bra in front of strangers! Gasping, she clutched the shirt together and turned around. Her face heated, and she knew the colour would match her hair. âI was looking for you, Layla. 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No | 2024-10-03 02:53 | active | 1567 | 0 | Read <The Alpha King'sCurse> on the WhosNovel.đđđ | âIâll get straight to the point. I need you to have my baby.â Jackson King watched the girlâs eyes widen as she looked from him to his Beta, Dylan. âIâm sorry, I didnât get that. I thought you said you needed me to have your baby,â she chuckled. He could sense her unease the same way he could smell her arousal. She was drenched. Even without a wolf telling her she was his, her body knew it, and he hated that. He hated that he had to fight so hard with his beast to stop it from claiming what was rightfully his. He hated the fact that he had to resort to this. She was half-human! Why would the Moon-Goddess curse him like this on top of everything else? Heâd caught her scent even before he had walked into the hotel days before, and now it filled the entire suite, taunting him, reminding him how fucked up everything was. âI did,â he answered. âI need a surrogate, and I will pay you handsomely.â âUm... Iâve just walked into this room to clean. You donât know me; you don't even know my name,â she said. âLayla Carlisle.â Layla looked down at the name tag on her uniform. She covered it briefly before she probably realised it was useless and lowered her hand. But he didnât need her name tag to know who she was. âTwenty-one years old. High school dropout. You live in a trailer with your father and sister.â Laylaâs eyes widened, and for a moment, he sensed her anger. âHave you been stalking me?â she hissed. Dylan snickered. He gave his Beta a look that shut him up before he returned his attention to the human. âNo, I havenât been stalking you,â he said, but he could tell he had already lost the momentum. Layla's anger had grown at an alarming rate, eclipsing even the sweet scent of her arousal. The human stood and smoothed her uniform before she lifted her head and looked him directly in the eye. His beast unfurled, his excitement rippling through him at the thought of accepting his mateâs challenge. âI donât know why you two need to ask a stranger to have your baby, but I donât think I will be right for the job. I wish you all the best, though,â Layla said. It took him a moment to realise what she meant as she walked over to her cleaning cart and started pulling it out of the room. This was the problem with humans. Feeling the pull of their bond wouldn't have been an issue if sheâd had a wolf. He would have marked her the moment he had found her, and she would have been carrying his pup already. âMiss Carlisle, can we talk about this? You havenât even heard what Iâm willing to pay.â âIt doesnât matter. I donât want to be your surrogate,â she answered firmly. âIâll return later to clean your suite.â When she closed the door, he heard her mutter, âItâs always the handsome ones.â She thought he was crazy. And she was rightâhe lost more of his mind the longer he went without a child and the shorter his time on this earth got. âShe thinks weâre gay, Jax,â Dylan pointed out as he sat in the spot she had vacated. âI got that,â he growled. âI donât think she will change her mind,â Dylan said. âI donât understand why you canât pick someone from the pack and be done with it.â He would have had many children already if it had been that easy. Goddess knew how much he had tried. But Fate had messed that up for him, too, and made sure only one woman could carry his children. Only one woman could save them allâhis mate. âI told you why.â At least as much as he could. Dylan was not only his Beta; he was also his only friend. Keeping the truth from him was essential. Keeping it from everyone was crucial. It was bad enough that they would have to accept his heir from a woman who was as useless as a human, but he could deal with that better than the panic that the truth would cause. He had no time to soothe anyone or deal with the packs that would circle his territory when they realised he was about to die. As the Alpha King, the repercussions would be astronomical. âI doubt any of our pack would assume they are the Queen just because they have your child. They can do a blood oathââ âDylan, please,â he sighed as he stood and walked towards the drinks cabinet. It was still morning, but fuck it. He needed something to calm and stop himself from going after the human. To prevent himself from pinning her down and marking her while he buried himself deep inside her body. He closed his eyes as he tried not to imagine what that would feel like, but it was all his wolf wanted and all he could see. Every wolf heâd ever come across dreamed of being lucky enough to one day meet their mate, but he couldnât understand why anyone would think this was a blessing. It was torture! âOkay. Pick another one if that girl doesnât want to do it.â Cain growled in his head, ready to attack Dylan for even suggesting that, but he shoved his wolf back and focused on his drink. And just like that, his mind returned to a place he didnât want to be. He didnât want to think of touching Layla or tasting her. He didnât want to remember the scent of her arousal. Four days since he first caught Laylaâs sweet scent, he was already acting like a lunatic. The first day felt like a gift from the Goddess. He was almost out of time, so finding his mate had given him hope. And then he had seen her. A half-blood. Half-human and cleaning up after everyone else. It felt like a punch in the nuts; heâd wanted to kill someone for this cruel joke. She was not worthy to carry his child; she was not worthy to be the one who saved them all. But there they were. There was no other choice. âJaxââ âGet more information on her. Sheâs human. Youâll find many weaknesses I can use,â he ordered. âSheâs the one Iâve picked, so sheâs the one Iâll have.â Layla would have his child one way or another, and then he could finally have some peace. Dylan felt the command in his words and stood up to do as he had ordered. When he sensed his Beta was far enough away from their suite, he picked up his glass and threw it against the wall, smashing it into pieces. If he told Dylan the truth, he would tie the girl up and offer her to him on a silver platter. But then his child would be a product of rape; that was the last thing he wanted. The child would be his legacy, the only thing left of him on this earth, and would carry his blood. He couldnât taint the child before he had even conceived them. He was a bastard, but not that much. His child would be the best part of him. Layla would change her mind. Humans loved money, and this one, in particular, was drowning in debt. Why hadnât she wanted to know how much he was offering her? He could solve all her problems in a day if she took his offer. That meant Dylan had to find something else he could use. Something she couldnât refuse. The growl came louder in his head as his beast showed his displeasure. But he was in charge here, not Cain. They would do things his way, and at the end of it all, Layla could go back to her life because there was no future for them, even if she wasnât a half-blood. âFind her. Mark her,â Cain growled. âBe patient! She hasnât got a wolf; she doesnât even know we exist,â he snapped as he picked up an entire bottle of alcohol and walked towards his bedroom. And marking her was out of the question. He didnât stay at the Royal Hotel often even though he owned it and it was in his territory, but he was sure Layla hadnât been around the last time he had been there. Her scent was all over the hotel as if she had marked it. Could anyone else smell it? Did they have that sweet, intoxicating scent turning them inside out? Making them drool? Making them think of nothing else except to claim her? One thing was certain now. Ifâno, whenâLayla agreed to this, he would get her pregnant and then stay the hell away from her. Heâd been hard for days, and her scent had made Cain unstable. He didnât need that complication on top of everything else. Not when he had less than a year left to live. chapter 2 Did she have some sign on her head that said she was a pushover or desperate? Layla pushed the cart with more force than necessary until she was far enough away from the penthouse suite and then leaned against the wall. Her knees were still shaking, and she wasnât entirely sure if it was because of the manâs words or the man himself. It surprised her she hadnât fallen flat on her face when sheâd made her righteous exit. The men were in the most expensive suite in the exclusive hotel; they didnât need to ask a stranger to help them out. He might have somehow gotten a hold of some of her personal information, but everyone in Wolfdale knew about her. The kid abandoned by her mother. The kid whoâd dropped out of school so she could work and take care of her little sister because their father was an alcoholic and a gambling addict. That didnât mean she had no dignity left. She wouldnât give up a child! Those men thought they could throw their money around like that, and she would agree just because she wasnât like them, and that made her blood boil. But in her mind, she still saw the man naked and on top of her. If she closed her eyes, she could almost feel it. It was a shame he was gay because she was positive he would be great in bed. Her body was still on fire, still trying to get over the shock of coming face to face with such a perfect specimen of a man. A god. He looked like one. Handsome didnât even begin to describe him. Chiselled jawline, a short beard that probably cost more than her wages to maintain and silky, dark hair styled to look like heâd just rolled out of bed and didnât give a fuck. Heâd turned her knees to jelly and melted her panties in seconds without moving from his seat. Without even cracking a smile. She had never reacted so violently to anyone before. Why was it always the handsome ones that were batshit crazy? She pushed aside the disappointment. The cool wall slightly helped control her overheating body, but sweat still dripped down her back and cleavage. They were in the middle of a heatwave so intense even the hotelâs air conditioning system wasnât helping. Sheâd been like that for a few days as if she was coming down with something for the first time in her life. But it was the stranger with the cold ice-blue eyes that had worked her up like that. She shouldnât care about who he shared his bed with, but something inside her wanted to claw the other guyâs eyes out. It was so strong that she had to make a conscious effort to stop herself from returning to the room. Crazy. She was going crazy. âI donât pay you to have unscheduled breaks, Layla.â Her eyes snapped open to see Andrea looking down her nose at her as usual. And it took a special kind of person to look down their nose at someone who towered over them. Andrea barely reached her chest. âIâm sorry, Miss Roberts,â she said, lowering her head. âIâm almost finished.â Her supervisor insisted on being called Miss Roberts since her promotion, as if that would make her more respectable. Everyone knew how she got that job. âYouâre a mess,â Andrea said, wrinkling her nose. âAnd you smell. Clean yourself up and do something with that hair. We have important guests here today; I donât have time to deal with you.â She self-consciously wiped the sweat on her forehead and patted her hair down, even though she knew it wouldnât help. Her red, curly hair was just a giant unruly puff above her head, and her pale blue uniform had sweat stains under her armpits. Whatever sweat that wasnât being sucked up by her hair was dripping down her face like crazy. Another reason why that stranger had to be out of his mind to make such an offer to her while she looked like that. Andrea turned and carried on down the hallway in her formal suit and high heels. Her manager did indeed look distracted today, so she supposed she had to be grateful for that because usually, she would have shouted at her and threatened to fire her at least a hundred times already. With a sigh, she put Andrea and the handsome stranger out of her mind as she continued cleaning. By the time she finally left the hotel that evening, she looked even worse, but she went out through the staff entrance and straight to her little car without bumping into Andrea again. There was a shower with her name on it at home. It took her almost half an hour to leave the nicer neighbourhoods and cross the tracks to hers. It was so cliched, but the wealthy had separated themselves from the rest of the residents. The difference was stark, but she was used to it. There was nothing shiny on her side, and all the cars were old bangers like hers. Everything needed fixing or was broken beyond repair. But she felt more at home there, even if she itched to leave the dump and discover what was beyond Wolfdale. She parked outside their old trailer home and sighed as she walked in. The TV was blaring, and her father lay on the couch, already passed out. She didnât have to go near him to know he had been drinking again. The dayâs mail was on the counter near the door, placed there where she wouldnât miss it, and it was unopened even though it had her fatherâs name on it. Bills. Overdue bills. The stranger's offer popped back into her mind, but she pushed it away. She didnât need to sell a piece of herself to pay the bills. She sighed again as she picked the mail up and headed for the tiny bedroom she shared with her sister. She carefully opened the creaky door in case Britney was asleep but saw her hunched over her books instead. A small smile formed on her lips. It was worth it. All the shit she had to do to feed her sister was worth it. Brit would forge a better life all by herself, away from this dump. And then she would finally be free, too. Layla felt like sheâd hardly closed her eyes when her alarm went off. She always woke up early to make sure Brit didnât forget to eat her breakfast before school. Her sister always did that, as if by skipping meals, she would lighten the load on her shoulders. There was hardly anything in the fridge, and she probably couldnât do a proper grocery shop for a while with the bills she had to pay. A second job would have been great, but no one was hiring. Another pitfall of living in a small town in the middle of nowhere. She had to do her best until they could leave for greener pastures. And she couldnât leave until Brit left for college. With a loud yawn, she took the eggs out and set about making an omelette for Brit with a couple of slices of toast. Sheâd just poured herself a cup of coffee when she noticed her father through the window. In just his pyjama bottoms, his long, brunette hair was a tangled mess, and his beard was weeks old. Her father didnât care that the neighbours always saw him like this. He was pacing and seemed to be in a heated argument on the phone. He looked tense and had a scowl as he gestured with his free hand like the person on the other side could see him. What the hell had that man done now? She wouldnât get involved. Gerald Carlisle hadnât been a real father to them in a very long time. âSmells good.â She turned from the window to smile at her sister, whoâd already dressed for school. Brit was the spitting image of their father with her brunette locks and hazel eyes. She was also the shortest in the family. People never believed they were sisters because she looked like a sasquatch beside Brit. âArenât you having any?â Brit asked. âNo, Iâll eat at the hotel,â she lied. That was her excuse whenever she didnât have enough money to feed all of them. Andrea never allowed them to take even a piece of fruit from the kitchen. Their father wrenched the door open and marched in. His large frame took up most of the space in the small kitchen. He didnât even bother speaking to them as he went straight to the fridge and pulled a beer out. That was the one thing abundant in their house. When he just threw himself onto the one sofa they had in the house and put the TV on, Brit shook her head and stood. âIâm going to school,â she mumbled. Layla looked at the half-eaten omelette on Britâs plate. âFinish your breakfast,â she said firmly. âIâve lost my appetite,â Brit said as she walked to their bedroom. Layla couldnât help glaring at the disgrace of a man who had already become engrossed in his program. Gerald acted like he was the only one in the family her mother had abandonedâheâd wasted eleven years pining over someone who didnât want any of them. It made her furious, but she didnât have to put up with him much longer. Brit mumbled a goodbye when she came out of their room with her school bag. âWait.â She pulled some money out of her pocket and gave a few notes to Brit. It was supposed to have gone in the money jar she kept hidden for emergencies or to top up Britâs college fund, but keeping her sister healthy was more important. She would find a way to replace it. âLayla_â âTake it. Have something to eat at school,â she insisted. She didnât miss that Gerald had become very interested in that small exchange and would probably ask her for money, too. She finished Britâs breakfast without giving him any attention before she went to shower and dress for work. She didnât bother straightening her hair because it was still early morning, but the heat was already unbearable. At least the hotel washed their uniforms daily, so she didnât have to worry about the sweat stains. She just tied her hair up into a neater puff and looked at herself in the small, cracked mirror in the corner of their cramped room. The inspection was brief because, unlike Brit, she was the image of her mother. Her green eyes were a shade sheâd never seen on anyone else, and it was unnerving. The entire package made her feel like an outsider in her family. She reached for her bag and froze when she heard a crash and loud voices. Her heart hammered loudly, and her hands shook as she inched the door open to stop it from creaking before peeking out. A large man stood over her father, who he had smashed through their wooden coffee table. Gerald tried to get back to his feet, but the man punched him down again. She took a sharp breath when she saw how helpless her father was as he pleaded for mercy. What had he done now? âI already gave you several chances, Gerald,â another man said. He sat in her fatherâs spot on the chair. She could only see the back of his blond head, but it looked greasy and slicked back. Like a baddie out of a horrible B-grade horror movie. She wanted to slip out through her window and let her father suffer alone, but that stupid thing in her head reminded her he was still family. And this was Britâs home; she couldnât allow anything bad to happen here. With a calming breath, she opened the door wider and walked out of the bedroom. âI swear, I only need a little more time,â Gerald said. âIâm good for it this time.â âYou said that last time,â the man said. As he stood, he looked back as if he had already known she was standing behind him. He was young, with a scar across his face that gave him a terrifying look. He wore a suit, but he had a gold tooth and chain around his neck like he really copied his sense of style from a terrible movie. She felt a cold shiver down her spine when he pulled his coloured sunglasses off his face, and his grey eyes looked over her body from top to bottom. Her skin crawled at the blatant violation. âHello, Layla,â the man said. Great. A second stranger knew her name. When she didnât answer, he laughed and looked back at her father. âYouâre lucky this beautiful angel is here,â the man said. âI think you know what you can give me if you canât pay up. Iâll be in touch.â The man turned back to her with another sinister grin before walking out, and the enormous man standing over her father followed. She waited until she heard their car drive off before she stormed to her father. âHow much do you owe?â she hissed. âNot much. Just twenty grand.â Her eyes almost popped out of her head when she heard that figure. Not much? That amount would go a long way in sending Brit off to college. âHow?! What did you do with such a large amount of money? You havenât paid bills here or taken care of us in a long time!â Gerald gingerly sat back in his chair, ignoring the mess the men had made in the living room. âIt was supposed to be a sure bet,â Gerald mumbled. âI would have paid off everything and then had enough to fix things.â Her blood went cold. Her fatherâs gambling had landed them in the trailer park to start with. âYou said you would stop. You said youâd never gamble agaââ âWell, I lied,â Gerald snapped. âAnd I obviously canât fix this myself, so youâll have to think of your sister. Iâll give him what he wants and be done with it.â She remembered the look in the manâs eyes when heâd looked at her, and her meagre breakfast almost came back up. âAnd whatâs that, Dad?â she whispered. âYou. Iâm going to give him you.â chapter 3 âYouâre out of your damn mind if you think for one second that Iâll let you pimp me out!â Somewhere between her mother leaving him with two small girls to raise on his own and now, Gerald Carlisle must have lost his damn mind. Completely. âYou go with him, or we all die. Simple as that,â her father said. âWe donât have to pay for your mistakes! Iâll take Brit and leave,â she snarled. âBrit is still seventeen, and Iâm her father. You canât take her anywhere,â Gerald said as he stood up again. Her father could be intimidating if he wanted to be. He had never been violent towards them, but she knew it wasnât because he wasnât capable of it. She had picked him up from the police station after many bar fights often enough to know the damage he could cause. And she could see the desperation in his hazel eyes as he approached her. âAnd I donât see you dragging Brit out of school in her senior year when you want her to graduate,â Gerald continued. âAnd thatâs what I want, too. Britney has a better chance than us to get out of this shit hole. She can make something of herself. But you, Layla... Youâre a high school dropout. Scrubbing rich peopleâs toilets is all youâll ever be good at. You might as well do this for your sister.â She sucked in her breath. His words cut her deep. Gerald had sliced her open and poured salt all over her wounds. âAnd whose fault is that?â she whispered. âStop blaming me. Youâre resourceful. If youâd wanted to stay in school, you would have found a way,â Gerald snarled. âBesides, you look just like your mother. Iâm sure youâll make more money on your back than at that hotel.â She gasped. Anger mixed with her pain as she turned away from her father and walked back to her bedroom. Tears fell to her cheeks, but she angrily wiped them away. She wouldnât let her father ruin their plans. Her sister was the only good thing in her lifeâshe would not let Gerald break her, too. She would pay the debt off herself if she had to. It wouldnât be the first time sheâd cleaned up Geraldâs messes. It would set them back, but at least Brit could still leave when she graduated. Layla stood and locked her door before easing her bed away from the wall. She pushed one of the square panels on the wall until it shifted enough for her to squeeze her fingers through and pull it open. And then nothing. There was nothing in the hole. Her jar... Her emergency fund was gone. Her anger overtook her pain as she stood and unlocked the door. She wrenched the door open with force and marched to the living room to stand in front of her father. âWhere is it?â she growled. âYouâre blocking the TV, Layla,â her father said with disinterest as he sipped a fresh beer. As if they hadnât just had some wannabe gangsters threaten their lives. âWhere is my money?â she asked, her voice shaky. Her chest was tight, and her breathing harsh. Her body trembled as fury mixed with despair. That jar was everything. All their hopes and dreams for the future. All their problems solved. And it was just gone. How could Gerald sink so low? How could a father... Gerald stopped mid-sip to look at her and then glanced away again. But the guilt was so apparent on his face. âI had to pay him something the first time he came,â he mumbled. All her strength sapped from her body, and her legs became too weak to hold her. She sank to the floor among the debris from the broken table, tears filling her eyes again as she looked at the man who could so casually throw such a bombshell on her. How could he rip their lives apart like this? Did they really not mean anything to him? No, they didnât. They hadnât meant anything to Gerald since their mother had left him. âI will not be a part of your mess,â she hissed as she stood up. âI will help you pay him back with money, not my body, only because I wonât let you taint Britney.â âAnd how will you help me? You earn peanuts,â Gerald sneered. âI earn something, which is more than I can say for you. Get a job and learn some principles. Itâs not okay to sell your children!â She marched back to the bedroom to put everything back in place and pushed her pain to the back of her mind. It was a skill she had learned too early in her life so she could function. Her father would always be a disappointment. The best she could do was try to get Brit away from him, even if it meant leaving before she graduated. The strangerâs offer popped back into her mind. Shame filled her when she considered it a little longer than she should have. But she could do this without his help. She would have to ask for more hours at workâ Work! Shit! She grabbed her bag and car keys and rushed out of the house without another word to her father. Being late would mean a warning, and she couldnât risk this job, not now. Half an hour later, she snuck in through the staff entrance and thankfully found the staff room empty. By the time sheâd changed into her uniform and work shoes, she was confident she could get away with this if no one saw her. But as she pushed her cart out of the cleaning closet, she found Andrea waiting outside, arms crossed and tapping her foot. âThis is the second time this month, Layla.â Right. The first time her junk of a car had given up on her and sheâd had to take a bus. Sheâd forgotten about that. This would be her second strike. One more, and she was out. âIâm so sorry, Miss Roberts. I had a family emergency.â âI donât believe you. You could have called. You think you can waltz around the place and do whatever you want, but the world doesnât revolve around you,â Andrea said as she pulled a notepad from her pocket. âThe rest of us understand we have responsibilities here. This will be your last warning.â âAndrea_â âMiss Roberts,â Andrea hissed. âI understand youâre only twenty-one, Layla, but you must learn to be more responsible. Get to work.â She sighed. How could she ask for more hours if Andrea was on the warpath? Maybe she could pull it off if she gave her some time to cool off and tried at the end of the day. If that didnât work, going over Andreaâs head to ask the manager directly would be her last option. Or she could walk around town after work to beg someone else to hire her part-time. She started working on autopilot, scrubbing a million toilets and cleaning up after the entitled guests of the exclusive hotel while her mind was lost in trying to find a solution. What kind of man would think selling their child was the best way out of their problems? What kind of man would demand that of somebody else? She didnât know who this man whoâd invaded their home was, but she knew she would never give herself to him. Just the thought of it was making her nauseous. A few hours later, she came up to the penthouse suiteâthe room where that handsome stranger had made the ridiculous request. There was too much to worry about that she hadnât thought of him all day, but he filled her head completely the second she knocked on his door. And once again, her body started to react and overheat. There was no answer, thankfully. She didnât know what to do if he made the same offer again. She unlocked the door, pushed her cart in, and had to stop and squeeze her thighs together when she caught a pleasant scent. It had to be his cologne. Spicy and masculine, just like he was. Her toes curled again, just remembering what he looked like. Sheâd only seen him for minutes, but his image seemed to have burnt into her head. But she had to get over it. He was gay. âHousekeeping,â she called out in case the two men hadnât heard her. Maybe they were still in bed or in the shower. Again, the urge to claw the other manâs eyes out took her over. What the hell was wrong with her? She left the cart in the living area and entered the guest bathroom. The heat was worse than the day before, but it hadnât bothered her much until she walked into the penthouse suite. One look in the mirror told her she would have to tidy herself up before she saw Andrea again. Strands of her hair had fallen out of her puff, and rivers of sweat were pouring down her face. Her uniform was beyond saving. It was a good thing the stranger wasnât there to see all that mess. She splashed cold water on her face, but that didnât even begin to cool her down. She looked longingly at the shower behind her and then the sunken tub. What she wouldnât give to soak in a cool bath or stand under a cool spray. But she still had a million more rooms to clean, and showering in the guest rooms would be an automatic dismissal. She splashed more water on her face and then wet one of the clean face towels to cool her heated neck. That didnât help much, either. She was on fire, and nothing would put the flames out. She wet the towel again as she undid all the buttons of her shirt and untucked it from her skirt. Then she placed the cool cloth on her chest. That was better. She sighed in relief when her body started to behave. If the heatwave didnât break soon, sheâd be a puddle on the floor. Half an hour later, she was considerably cooler and late to start the cleaning. There was nothing she could do about her sweaty uniform. At least she was invisible to the guests. All the clientele had money coming out of their eyeballs; the help was always invisible to people like that. She picked up the towels sheâd used and walked out of the bathroom to her cleaning cart. And in walked the biggest man she had ever seen. He had been sitting when sheâd first seen him, so she hadnât realised how tall he was. She didnât often meet people that much taller than her. Her body heated again as if she hadnât just spent all her allocated time cooling herself down. She met that ice-blue gaze again, and her insides melted. He still looked as angry as he had when they had metâmaybe that was his default expression. Maybe rich people looked at others like that because they assumed someone would ask them for money. But a shiver went down her spine at just how cold he was. Still, she didnât look away. There was just something about him... Her heart drummed so loudly she could hear it. Something washed over her whole body that felt gentle and overwhelming at the same time. Her body hummed with a need that shocked her with its intensity. Sheâd been hot before, but now she was burning up, and that fire shot straight down to her core. âWhy are you just standing there? Move out of the way.â Someoneâs voice drifted into her ears. It took her a moment to realise that Mr. Sex-On-Legsâ boyfriend was standing next to him, and he looked at her just as coldly. What was with these people? Did they behave like assholes everywhere they went? The urge to attack him returned, but she knew the consequences would be even more significant than losing her job if she gave in. âAre you sure you want her?â the man continued, looking at her from top to bottom. âShe canât even follow simple instructions.â Her gaze returned to the ice-blue ones. The anger in them almost knocked her back. Was he upset that she had denied his illogical request? âCover yourself up,â the sexy man growled. That voice again. She bit her lip to stop herself from saying something that would get her fired or arrested and squeezed her thighs together again. She couldnât help herself. His full lips parted slightly as if he was breathing through his mouth, and his chest rose and fell as if heâd been running. He looked like he was close to ripping her head off. âCover yourself up.â His words penetrated her lust-addled brain like a bucket of ice-cold water thrown on her. She looked down at her chest, remembering she had unbuttoned it to cool down. Everything was on display! She was bursting out of her old, lacy bra in front of strangers! Gasping, she clutched the shirt together and turned around. Her face heated, and she knew the colour would match her hair. âI was looking for you, Layla. Judging by this warm welcome, I take it youâve changed your mind?â đ„Reading more content about <The Alpha King'sCurse> on the WhosNovel.đđđ | INSTALL_MOBILE_APP | http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.b | PadNovel Zy One | https://www.facebook.com/61555138762971/ | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Install now | 0 | play.google.com | VIDEO | http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.book.padnovel | 1969-12-31 18:00 | https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/461295835_2265843700446532_4096163762559733682_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60&_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=dptktoD07hAQ7kNvgEUsJJT&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&_nc_gid=AH4DyWqOpGPUbqb56GK8SK6&oh=00_AYC2teSIwjwoKDwhD37sKZqa5On6ZoYO_zlW2HoPT3Aa6w&oe=67041A72 | PERSON_PROFILE | 0 | 0 | 0 | PadNovel Zy One | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | View Edit Delete | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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No | 2024-10-03 02:52 | active | 1567 | 0 | ÄĂNH THỚC Váșș ÄáșžP BĂN TRONG - TOáșą SĂNG NĂT ÄáșžP BĂN NGOĂI | MINH TUYáșŸT GIáșąI ÄĂP THáșźC MáșźC "Táș I SAO U50 MĂ DA VáșȘN CÄNG ÄáșžP, NHAN SáșźC Äá»NH CAO?" Káș» thĂč sá» 1 của chĂșng ta chĂnh lĂ thá»i gian: lĂ n da xuá»ng sáșŻc, náșżp nhÄn, Äá»m nĂĄm, da khĂŽng Äá»u mĂ u, gÆ°ÆĄng máș·t thiáșżu sức sá»ng,... 1 pháș§n nguyĂȘn nhĂąn chĂnh lĂ do thiáșżu COLLAGEN!!! Äá» cĂł ÄÆ°á»Łc lĂ n da cÄng má»n, tráșŻng sĂĄng Minh Tuyáșżt pháșŁi nhá» quĂĄ trĂŹnh duy trĂŹ sá» dỄng sáșŁn pháș©m lĂ m Äáșčp, Äáș·c biá»t nháș„t khĂŽng thá» thiáșżu bÆ°á»c uá»ng Pure Collagen+ chá» cáș§n uá»ng má»i ngĂ y 1 láș§n. "Thức uá»ng tháș§n kỳ" mĂ cĆ©ng lĂ "bĂ quyáșżt lĂ m Äáșčp" của Minh Tuyáșżt lĂ 1 tuĂœp Pure Collagen+ vá»i 4000mng Collagen Peptide, ta biáșżt thiáșżu gĂŹ nguyĂȘn nhĂąn chĂnh á» ÄĂąu thĂŹ nĂȘn bá» sung ngay vĂ luĂŽn. H.iá»u quáșŁ x10 láș§n sau thá»i gian ngáșŻn kiĂȘn trĂŹ sá» dỄng, giá» ÄĂąy Minh Tuyáșżt tháș„y lĂ n da Äáșčp, tráș» trung vĂ sức khoáș» tá»t hÆĄn, má»i ngÆ°á»i cĂł gáș·p gụ hoáș·c tháș„y Minh Tuyáșżt qua cĂĄc trang máșĄng xĂŁ há»i thĂŹ sáșœ tháș„y rĂ” lĂ n da của Tuyáșżt cÄng Äáșčp nhÆ° tháșż nĂ o, báș±ng chứng sá»ng lĂ anh Äan TrÆ°á»ng cĆ©ng Äang xĂ i giá»ng Minh Tuyáșżt nĂš. Pure Collagen+ xuáș„t hiá»n phiĂȘn báșŁn nĂąng cáș„p theo Ăœ muá»n của khĂĄch hĂ ng cáșŁi tiáșżn vá» cháș„t lÆ°á»Łng vĂ nhu cáș§u nhÆ° sugar-free, organic collagen... Ä.áșŁm báșŁo cho táș„t cáșŁ khĂĄch hĂ ng cĆ© hoáș·c má»i Äá»u cĂł tráșŁi nghiá»m tá»t vá»i má»t lĂ n da khoáș» Äáșčp. NhĂąn tiá»n cĂł cÆĄ há»i sá» hữu Voucher Æ°u ÄĂŁi lĂȘn Äáșżn 50% cĂčng hĂ ng ngĂ n quĂ táș·ng háș„p dáș«n cho ngÆ°á»i may máșŻn nháș„t hĂŽm nay. HĂŁy "GỏI TIN NHáșźN" hoáș·c liĂȘn há» Hotline Äá» ÄÆ°á»Łc tÆ° váș„n ngay: âïžHotline TÆ° váș„n Miá» n PhĂ 24/7: âą (+1) 323-320-6996 (Má»č) âą (+1) 438-807-8286 (Canada) âą (+61) 0480 023 688 (Ăc) #Dpure #CollagenThuyPhanPhap #Purecollagen #Purecollagenplus #sugarfree #organiccollagen | MESSAGE_PAGE | D'Pure - Pure Collagen+ LĂ m Äáșčp Chuáș©n PhĂĄp | https://www.facebook.com/collagenthuyphantop1phap.us/ | 230 | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Send message | 0 | VIDEO | 1969-12-31 18:00 | https://scontent-iad3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/461508653_2726600647513293_553349026324603714_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60&_nc_cat=103&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=mZA6cKDjaaMQ7kNvgFCqAju&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&_nc_gid=A_Px6KTXKn99l8Kga87w4Z8&oh=00_AYA4cmIQC3A7izMsbKDQF4WpOAWMhvrLadIEnq0uoQ-NGg&oe=67040ADB | PERSON_PROFILE | 0 | 0 | 0 | D'Pure - Pure Collagen+ LĂ m Äáșčp Chuáș©n PhĂĄp | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | View Edit Delete | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Yes | 2024-10-03 02:48 | active | 1567 | 0 |
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VIEW_INSTAGRAM_PROFILE | http://instagram.com/zaza_dior | zaza_dior | https://www.instagram.com/_u/zaza_dior | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Visit Instagram Profile | 0 | instagram.com | CAROUSEL | http://instagram.com/zaza_dior | 1969-12-31 18:00 | https://scontent-iad3-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-19/461567806_1213069689915890_5512083680628304808_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s206x206&_nc_cat=108&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=01e7c5&_nc_ohc=Qkh906KVfm0Q7kNvgGMkj6A&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.cdninstagram.com&oh=00_AYDtz2vF6-D9J8HF4jFFB_R-aNgskto_aIJq0Ixnp1mgVA&oe=6704040F | IG_ADS_IDENTITY | 1 | 0 | 0 | zaza_dior | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | View Edit Delete | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Yes | 2024-10-03 02:49 | active | 1567 | 0 | âïž This is a proof of my direction đ KING đ The guy who did not prove that he is gay: @kusaka.cringy #motivation #sketch #funny #mentalhealth #run #laps #runner #running #marathon #athlete #gay #lesbian #lgbtq | VIEW_INSTAGRAM_PROFILE | http://instagram.com/sandersax_create | sandersax_create | https://www.instagram.com/_u/sandersax_create | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Visit Instagram profile | 0 | instagram.com | VIDEO | http://instagram.com/sandersax_create | 1969-12-31 18:00 | https://scontent-iad3-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-19/457041381_515473864302107_2095163458276171453_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s206x206&_nc_cat=110&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=01e7c5&_nc_ohc=j5uoIgSJA44Q7kNvgGQimFy&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.cdninstagram.com&oh=00_AYCECzG2fZU8F6Cz70t-uCeSrrB29N5-CfY2UF8467wheA&oe=6704008A | IG_ADS_IDENTITY | 1 | 0 | 0 | sandersax_create | 0 | 0 | 1969-12-31 18:00 | View Edit Delete |
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