LOGINTalia Herman thought life couldn’t throw anything worse at her than Maxton Carter, cocky, arrogant, and the hockey heartthrob who once broke her leg and nearly her spirit. But when her mother marries into the wealthy Carter family, Talia is forced to live under the same roof as her worst enemy… who might just be her biggest weakness. Maxton is hiding more than just bruises from the rink, he’s hiding how much he actually feels for the firecracker now sleeping across the hall. Their chemistry is undeniable, their tension explosive, but one dangerous bet threatens to destroy any hope for peace. Between fights, stolen glances, and secrets that could burn the whole Carter mansion down, Talia and Maxton are about to find out what happens when love and rivalry collide, on and off the ice.
View MoreIt was night time and life was just starting in the city. The lights from the numerous bars and clubs shone and danced in a beautiful ambiance decorating the streets.
At one corner inside the Splendour Vouge bar, the drunken Aria, was gulping heavily on alcoholic drinks. An action she decided to do to wash away her pains.
Taking tens of bottles of strong alcohol was he only way she knew to wash off her sorrow. But it wasn't working. The pain was just too much for alcohol to cleanse. The bitter sweet taste of the strong drinks did nothing to numb away the throbbing pain she felt in her heart.
Fuck!
It was hurting too much. She needed more bottles!
Her eyes were bloodshot, not from just the over flow of alcohol in her body but from the tears she had shed. She had cried so much, she started begging herself to stop.
People in the bar gave her strange looks for she was the only person drinking and crying. She also didn't dress as expensive as they did.
"W-waiter!" She called, the words slurring.
The waiter looked at her wearily. He couldn't understand how such a beautiful woman like her was drowning herself in alcohol.
"Waiter! Waiter!" She called, whining like a child.
"Yes ma'am!" He responded quickly before Aria could attract the manager.
"B-ring me mo-re b-ottles! I want- I want more bottles!" Aria's vision was starting to spin. In fact she was moving unsteadily on the couch she sat. She knew the alcohol she had taken was enough but she didn't want to stop. She needed the strong liquid to numb her pain.
The waiter stood confused, he didn't know if it was safe to bring more bottles to this woman. She looked like she would fall off at any moment.
"A-re you b-ringing it or not!" Aria snapped, seeing that the waiter wasn't moving.
Once again, the poor man, didn't want to get into trouble with his manager. So he gave in to Aria's demand and went ahead to serve her more bottles of the strong drink.
"Good, very good boy you are." She slurred, praising him with a smile.
She unsteadily snatched one of the bottles from the table and placed it to her lips, allowing the cold liquid to flow down her system. Her head moved back and forth and her vision got even more hazy.
"Madam don't you think you should head home now? This place isn't safe for you," the waiter said hoping that little pep talk would get her to stop taking so many drinks and head on to her house.
Though the waiter only meant to send Aria off as quickly as possible, the Splendour Vouge Bar was truly a dangerous place for a beautiful woman to come drinking alone. It was the best in the city with fancy requirements and very expensive servings. It was a place meant for the richest and higher people in the society. Anyone who wasn't in their class was either treated as a pauper or a prostitute.
Aria wasnt a part of the high class but her broken heart had led her straight to the doors of Splendour Vouge Bar.
"What are you saying to me? Huh?" She furrowed her brows, glaring angrily at the waiter.
She knew that she didn't belong in this kind of place and that she might be taken for a prostitute or worst, but she didn't care and she most definitely didn't need a waiter to be telling her that!
"I'm sorry ma'am, I didn't mean to sound offensive. I'm just trying to help you before the wolves feed off you." The waiter tried to explain to her; but Aria was too drunk to understand the danger she was puting herself in.
"Will you shut your mouth up! If you don't want to lose your job!" She screeched gaining the attention of some of the patrons at the bar.
She wiped off the dried tears from her face and gulped down more alcohol from her bottle. "Now, tell me... I want a host. A handsome and eye-catching one," she slurred, smiling dreamily to the waiter.
"I'm sorry madam but there're no host for today." The waiter said.
"No host!" She shouted clicking her tongue.
How could there be no host in a place as big as the Splendour Vouge Bar! Since the alcohol wasn't helping, she thought she could get some fun here with the men. She was utterly disappointed by the news the waiter gave to her.
"You know what? This place should not be called Vouge but yarh!" She snapped grabbing the second bottle.
The waiter rolled his eyes in frustration. "Ma'am I'd advise you take a break and go home."
"Blah blah blah!" She sang, turning her eyes to scan the patrons in the bar for the first time.
Just as she was getting bored, the door opened and a man wearing a black suit walked inside with some other men trailing behind him. He had high cheek bones with a chest so broad he could wrap Aria with one palm. He was just the kind of masculine escort she needed. His presence caused a stillness to cover the whole bar as everyone turned to him. Even the ranting waiter had stopped talking.
The other men in the bar felt ashamed of their own looks. Women wished he could look at them but the tall man, walked confidently to the bar. His sparkling sea blue eyes captivated Aria. He was like a god emitting a strong aura that enslaved everyone to his charm. No one compared to him in that room.
Aria's eyes widened as she staggered to her feet and did the unthinkable.
The mysterious man had to be the one she would take home. He couldn't escape it. His perfect body would be just perfect to numb her pain and make her throbbing heart return to normal.
"I want him!" She squealed, pointing a well manicured finger to the god of a man.
There were gasps in the room as everyone gawked at the woman who dared to point a finger at the stranger. She obviously didn't know who he was, other wise, she wouldn't have dared to alter the words that came out of her mouth.
"I said, I want him!" She repeated even louder than before.
"Madam, I think you should sit down and continue your drink. You're digging your own grave!" The waiter whispered.
"Oh shut the fuck up! I want him and I will get him!" She screamed again, ignoring the waiter's warning.
Her loud voice finally got the attention of the mysterious man. He looked around him and noticed that the beautiful drunk woman was indeed pointing at him.
"I said I want him! He is the host!" She was saying.
A wicked smirk curled up the mysterious man's lips as he observed Aria. She would make a good meal for the night.
"Go bring me that woman" he whispered to one of his men.
Talia’s POV Pain.That was the only thing I could focus on. Everything else, time, space, even my own thoughts blurred into the background. It felt like I was being torn apart from inside out. It came in waves. Relentless and totally overwhelming. The nurses tried to calm me down, but they weren’t going through this pain.And for a moment, I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. I sighed heavily.“Breathe, Talia. Just breathe.” The nurse’s voice sounded distant, like it was coming from somewhere far away.I tried. I really did. I tried with all I had within.But it felt like my body had taken over completely, like I was just along for the ride.Hours passed. Or at least, it felt like hours. I had lost track of time. Time seemed to go by slowly.Lost everything except the pain and the desperate need for it to end. I felt the pain incessantly. And then.It did. A sound broke through everything. Sharp and clear, a cry. A voice I’d eventually come to love.My baby. My breath hitched
Maxton’s POV Five months later.That was how long it took for everything to change. Not slowly. Not subtly. It all changed completely.Dad had given his blessings right there at his office five months ago. We had asked for one thing in unison, and he had accepted. If someone had told me months ago that this would be our life now, I probably wouldn’t have believed them. Back then, everything felt like survival, like we were constantly reacting, constantly trying to stay one step ahead of something waiting to pull us down.Now? We were building something instead. Talia had stepped gracefully into life like she was born for it, and she was.I leaned back slightly in my chair, my phone pressed to my ear as she spoke on the other end, her voice steady, confident, and annoyingly calm for someone who was very pregnant. She was handling it all without much fuss.“No, that’s not sustainable,” she was saying. “If we keep pushing expansion without stabilizing internal operations, we’ll crash b
Talia’s POV The days that followed were nothing short of exhausting. There was no clean break between one event and the next, everything blurred together into a cycle of court appearances, statements, and long, draining hours of answering the same questions in slightly different ways. I was tired out.“What happened that night?”“How certain are you?”“Can you confirm this message?”Over and over again.At some point, it stopped feeling like I was telling my story and started feeling like I was reliving it. And yet, It didn’t break me the way it used to.If anything, it did the opposite. It fueled me.Each time I spoke, each time I confirmed the truth, it felt like I was taking something back. Like I was reclaiming pieces of myself that had been taken from me. It was strange. Yet I was willing to go through it all.Outside of that chaos, things weren’t any less intense.The company was barely holding itself together. News of the scandal had spread faster than anyone could control, an
Talia’s POV I didn’t know what I was expecting when Maxton dragged me out of my room. But it definitely wasn’t this. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much.The television screen flickered as we stepped into the living room, the sharp tone of a news reporter already filling the space. My eyes locked onto the screen instantly, my heartbeat picking up for reasons I couldn’t explain yet. I needed some reassurance, I hoped whatever it was would provide that.“It is alleged that she has attempted to flee the country earlier today……”I froze.The words didn’t fully register at first. I stood stiff, eyes gorged in the direction of the television.“but she was apprehended at the airport before departure……”My breath caught in my throat. I knew what it was before I heard the entirety of the news.“No way!” I whispered. Entirely caught up.The screen shifted to the footage. It was blurred, and a bit chaotic, but still clear enough for me to see.“Bambi. My goodness!” I whispered.Even in the blurre
Maxton's POV. My muscles had frozen into a temporary stiffness. My eyes were the only thing moving in my body, and it barely glanced at Talia and my father. I wanted to step in to stop my father from screaming at her. He could see the way she was terrified, panicking and shaking, but a thought oc
Maxton's POV. Micheala had the widest smirk on her lips almost as if she thought she had done a number on me. The news was a shock, making an opening for me to wonder what else Johnny casually kept away from me. What else was she going to make public?“Oh, don't be sad, Maxton. It's life for you.
Maxton's POV. He enjoyed the look on my face, he loved it as much as it surprised me. I turned speechless for a minute as he chugged another mouthful of wine down his throat.“Don't give me that look, we both know this was going to come,” he hissed. “You defy my orders on purpose, break my rules
Talia's POV. My jaws fell wide open, my head was a trainwreck of thoughts, and at the same time, the sounds in my ears faded into silence. Cold, piercing silence. Pregnant! My life was ruined. I was done for, a failure, a disappointment. Worse, my mother stood frozen, her jaws threatening to fa
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