Novels by Aisha Onekata

~ LENA ~“Good morning, Mr. Blackwood. Good morning, Miss. Hayes.”The maid that got the door greeted us warmly. She smiled at me in a way that immediately made me feel safe and welcome. Like I belonged there.“Good morning, Rosa,” Julian replied as he stepped inside.“Hi, Rosa,” I said, following him in and returning her smile.Up close, she looked to be in her fifties, Latina, with kind eyes and streaks of grey woven through her dark hair, pulled neatly into a low bun that matched her uniform.There was something about her presence that felt safe. Motherly.The door closed behind us, and looking up, I froze. The picture-perfect setting of a grand foyer with warm lighting, curved twin staircases on either side and a massive chandelier in the middle stole the breath right out of my lungs.I wasn’t sure what I’d expected Nathan Blackwood’s home to look like, but this by far surpassed any image I’d built in my mind.I stood there a second too long, taking it all in, until I realized I w

~ LENA ~On our wedding night, every inch of your body will be mine to explore...The words haunted me.They followed me into bed at night, dominating my thoughts as I lay awake beneath the sheets, unable to sleep. When I tried to silence them, they only grew louder in the darkness, replaying themselves again and again in Nathan’s low, intimate voice.They echoed in the shower the next morning too, as hot water streamed down my skin and I scrubbed myself harder than necessary, as though I could wash away the lingering memory of his touch…his kisses…the way my body had shamelessly responded to him so eagerly. Even at breakfast, seated at the small kitchen table, staring down at the plate of fries I’d barely touched, I kept repeating the same lie to myself.It’s okay. You’ve got this, Lena. Everything will be fine. It will all work out in the long run.Eventually, exhausted from pretending, I pushed the plate away.Who was I kidding?There were far too many ways this could go wrong.It

~ NATHAN ~I stood in the kitchen doorway for longer than I meant to. Kim hadn’t noticed me. She was completely absorbed in what she was doing. So focused that she hadn’t heard my footsteps at all.I’d only come to check on her because curiosity wouldn’t let me sit still. I told myself it was only going to be for a minute.But the moment I saw her, I was rooted to the spot.The sight of Kim wearing an apron was…unexpected, pleasant. Shocking.She stood by the counter, seasoning meat with an ease that caught me off guard. She chopped the herbs with practiced precision, looking so relaxed, so at peace, like she belonged there.She was actually cooking.The realization hit me in a way that left me utterly stunned. Because the truth was, Kimberly Hayes hated kitchens. She avoided them the way some people avoided bad memories.She’d once told me that cooking felt like a waste of time and energy when there were chefs and restaurants available for that. I’d simply laughed it off, accepting i

~ LENA ~The world came to a standstill.For a second, I was no longer Kimberly Hayes. No longer wrapped in silk and lies. I was just Lena Martinez again—stripped bare by those eyes, exposed, and confronted by danger.“What?” I whispered, barely hearing the sound of my own voice.Nathan didn’t respond. He didn’t move. He just stood in front of me, towering above me like a man carved from stone. His eyes had an intensity in them that made my skin pickle.It wasn’t anger on his face, I realized. It was scrutiny. He looked like a man re-examining something he thought he knew by heart but suddenly didn’t.“Who are you?” he asked again, tilting his head slightly. His gaze didn’t leave my face.“I—” My throat grew tight. I forced myself to swallow, to remain calm. “W-what do you mean, Nate?”Suddenly, and to my surprise, the tension eased. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as his shoulders relaxed. That seriousness fading away from his eyes, replaced by something lighter. Amusement

~ LENA ~I had to be dreaming. Could it really be—?Nathan’s lips didn’t allow the thought form fully in my head. They didn’t give me the room to think. His mouth devoured mine like a man who’d been starving. Like the past days he’d been away had been torture, and this—me—was his only relief.His hands slowly guided me backwards as the door closed behind us with a soft click, while his mouth continued to ravage my senses.Naturally, I should have panicked. Instead, my body betrayed me, shamelessly melting against him.I had been kissed before—by my ex and a few other men whom I thought knew exactly what they were doing. But none of it had prepared me for this. None of it came close to the way Nathan Blackwood unraveled me with just one kiss.As his hand slid into my hair, deepening the kiss, the rest of the world faded away. For a moment, I forgot everything. The contract, the lies… The name I was bearing that wasn’t mine…My knees went weak. I clutched the lapels of his jacket for su

~ LENA ~The drive to New York felt unreal.Everything happened so fast. One moment, I was standing in the hospital in New Jersey, happy and relieved that Sofia had survived the surgery and was recovering well. The next, I was sitting in the back seat of a sleek black Range Rover, feeling like a slave being transported to her owner.Julian sat beside me in the chauffeur-driven car, calm and composed as usual.“Lena, you really need to relax.” He’d noticed how tense I was. Anyone could see it just by looking at my face. “You have nothing to worry about.”I almost laughed. Nothing to worry about. As if my entire life hadn’t just been rearranged by a signature and my desperate need for money. For the next six months, my life belonged to them. I belonged to Nathan Blackwood.Julian had made it clear what flouting the terms of our agreement would cost me.“Your mother seems like a good woman,” he’d said to me at the hospital, sounding calm as his eyes passed a subtle but firm message. “She