Lockjaw

“This is your cheque.” He said, making her frown. “I didn’t ask for your money.” She said, and he rolled his eyes. “You didn’t need to. But you served, and you are getting paid for it.” He said coldly before walking toward the door. “Now just be sure to keep that mouth of yours shut about it…” ********************************** She gave him one night. He gave her money for it. Mia knew it was reckless. Sleeping with a stranger, no names, no promises, just a fleeting escape from the weight of reality. But when the night ended, and he left cold bills on the nightstand like she was just another transaction, the burn of humiliation carved into her soul. She hated him for it. Hated herself for needing the money too much to throw it back. She never expected to see him again. But fate has a cruel sense of humor. Because now he’s standing in her office… powerful, arrogant, and very much her new boss. Nathan Lockwood doesn’t recognize her at first. To him, it was just one night. But for Mia, it was the night everything changed. And when he finds out the secret she’s been hiding, the game between them turns into something far more dangerous than either of them ever anticipated. He paid to forget her. Now he’ll pay anything to keep her.

“Name your price,” he said, that arrogant smirk still intact. “Do you want your job back?” I didn’t hesitate. “Make me a director. Only then will I pretend to be your loving girlfriend.” I thought he’d laugh. I didn’t expect him to say yes. “Deal,” he replied, his gaze locking on mine. “Just remember, Amaris Kennerly once you sign that contract, you belong to me.” ***** I’ve always wondered if I was cursed from birth because the kind of bad luck that haunts me feels almost supernatural. People call me a computer genius, but my real talent is something no one sees. They say I’m beautiful, yet I bury that behind oversized clothes and a mountain of insecurities. After dumping my cheating boyfriend, the only steady thing left in my life was my soul-sucking job until I lost that too. And the man responsible? Theron Lockhart.——My high school bully didn’t just return, he returned as the new CEO of my company. And his first executive move? Firing me and my entire department, like history repeating itself in the cruelest way. He didn’t recognize me, which should’ve felt like relief. But fate clearly wasn’t done toying with me. One moment, he was rescuing me from a run-in with my ex. The next, a rumor had spread: I was his girlfriend. And then the tables turned because Theron needed to avoid a scandal, and I was his best option.

My sister, Judy Easton, skipped school and started dating way too early, but our parents sent me, the straight-A kid, to a juvenile behavioral correction center, saying it was to teach her a lesson. "Judy, take a good look at William. Act up again, and you're going there, too." My family showed up to visit every so often. The first year, an instructor blew out my eardrum. I was covered in blood, gripping the bars, begging for help. Dad pointed at me while talking to Judy. "Look at him. Still can't follow simple instructions. If you don't listen to us, you'll end up just like him." The second year, the instructor broke both my legs. My parents stood over my bed and said, "Look at you, lying there like a useless wimp. We came all this way to see you, and this is the welcome we get? How ungrateful." The third year, the instructor pumped me full of hormones. I swelled up like a whale. The instructor smirked. "That's probably shot now. Let's see how you go after girls now." Judy stood outside the cage holding her acceptance letter to a top college. The whole family looked pleased. "William, Judy got into a top college. You did your part. I'm taking you home." I blinked, my vision hazy, trying to make sense of it. "Who's William? They all call me Runt."

The new security guard watching over the neighborhood is a university student named Jake Gould, who happens to be sponsored by my wife, Jenna Hudgens. My mother-in-law's illness suddenly gets triggered for no reason. But Jake has the audacity to have my car clamped over the excuse that I've illegally parked it. I'm worried that my mother-in-law's condition will take a turn for the worse, so I quickly call an ambulance. But as soon as I leave the apartment block, I see the ambulance's tires getting clamped down as well. Furious, I yell, "How dare you clamp an ambulance! If anything happens to Mom, I will never let you off the hook! Now unclamp the ambulance right now!" Jake looks at me with an aggrieved expression. "Mitch, I was just doing my job according to the policy. Can you please not make it difficult for me to do my job?" Jenna begins shifting the blame to me coldly. "Jake is a newbie, which means he must be listening to his boss' instructions. Why are you acting like a madman for no reason? "Besides, your mom seems to be in good health. Why does she even need an ambulance, to begin with? From the way I see it, she's just kicking up a fuss!" At that moment, the doctor suddenly yells, "The patient's heart has just stopped! She won't make it if we don't go to the hospital right now!" Jake's expression goes stark white immediately. He then rushes off to remove the clamps.

My husband, Jacob Morris, wrongly believed that I had pushed the woman he loved down the stairs. So, he locked me in the basement to make me reflect on my actions. He hired people to punish me, trying to break my spirit. I suffered inhumane torture. My tendons were cut, and my face was disfigured. Four years later, he finally remembered me and let me out. But by then, I was too broken to love him anymore.

"If I have to shoot you to save the lives of myriad, I will without a second thought." His grip tightened on my throat as he leaned forward, mere centimeters away from me, his warm breath licking my face. "Try it, love." "I will. Just you wait." *** Ambition or Love, what will win? A plague has enveloped the whole world into a tight embrace. Just few at different corners of the world succeeded at surviving; including them are the 94 people belonging to Charleston, Carolina. Among these survivors are two doctors; Amelia and her Junior, Erin. Amelia does not only play the part of being a doctor and an amiable friend, but also as a huntress who sets off to a menacing journey to hunt for the daily requirements. Everyday, when the sun sets off and the darkness drinks in the place, silence is followed and not even a whisper is heard as the 'Infected Creatures' starts to crawl out, bringing danger along. Whoever gets bitten by these creatures also gets infected, threatening the life. Unfortunately for The Beasts, (the group of humans with demon like minds and behind the commencement of the plague) the leader of their group, Jake gets bitten by his very own plagued creature. Emergency calls for a rush. This results in Amelia to get kidnapped in order to cure Jake, whom she abhors to her full, for being the cause of the almost ending of the world. She is forced to cure him, which she does, but in between sparks fly and heat intensifies. Jake helplessly falls in love with Amelia. With thousands of lives at risk, both of theirs desire of love keeps getting denser. Will Amelia be able to seal her desire and work on her ambition? What or Who will hinder her mission? Time to dig into the book!