314 Pill 93

Axel, handsome, smart, with a secret that hasn't been revealed yet, a secret that could clear up that mess of conflicting feelings that he was just having, that made him feel bad of what he felt for HER. Was it possible to have such strong feelings for someone who was connected to you by blood? But was she? She was the only person who helped him, who got him out of his crisis, who calmed his head when he started thinking too much. Emma was his sleeping pill, and the heartbeat that made his heart live. Ali never let her feelings control her, she didn't want to get hurt, and she never would let anyone get inside that part of her and hurt her. But there was him, Miles, there had always been only him, and he had tried so hard that by now she had become accustomed to his presence, to have him in her bed, but what would have happened if Miles had found something better? Someone who could give him what Ali never did in all those years? Would Alison have understood how important he really was to him or let him fly away from her? Liam had eyes always and only for one person, but that person never looked at him, her attention was focused on someone else, and Liam had done nothing but remain silent, let that love consume him silently until he met her, Ellen. She was everything a man could want in a woman, she consumed him, turned him around in her hands. But what would have happened if that love, that little flash of light had returned when he least expected it? If he had awakened in him that something he thought was lost forever? Who would have chosen Liam?

In the eighth year of helping Keith Hunter pay off his debts, I was diagnosed with stomach cancer. I tested the waters and asked him, half joking, "If I got cancer, would you save me?" He laughed, saying I was overthinking it. Then he added firmly, "If it ever came to that, I would sell my blood to pay for your treatment." I lay awake all night, tossing and turning, still feeling like I couldn't drag him down with me. Before taking a sleeping pill, a notification popped up on my phone about a social media post. [How do I dump an older woman who paid off my debts for eight years without too much drama?] The profile picture looked eerily like Keith's silhouette from behind. He wrote, [Eight years ago, my family went bankrupt. She stuck with me, living off dry toast and squeezing into a rented apartment. She helped me pay back over 600 thousand dollars in debt. [Back then, I thought she was innocent and cute. Now, I feel like she's just a materialistic woman putting on an act. [Last month, she even asked whether I would save her if she got cancer. How does someone even ask that? [Obviously, she was trying to get money out of me. Good thing I didn't tell her that my family recovered three years ago. [Now, my family has arranged a fiancée for me. She's the daughter of a publicly listed company. [I want to cut things off with my girlfriend, but I'm afraid she'll cling to me. After all, she wasted a lot of her youth on me.] By the time I finished reading, I had crushed the stomach cancer diagnosis in my hand into a wrinkled mess.

Over five years I’ve lived a bittersweet lie as David Hargrove’s kept woman, Maria Bell. David’s shown no interest in me beyond what he wants. Love’s a bitter pill to love when it's not returned. I'm bought and paid for. Kept in a gilded cage. David suspects nothing of the secrets I hold. Tonight, David announced he’s marrying my stepsister. He doesn’t know. The level of betrayal I’ve experienced is unbelievable. Everything becomes complicated as the lies surface. Leaving and facing it alone are my only choices. I’m living in fear as I pick up pieces of a life, I believed lost. Blackmail, sabotage, and intrigue dog my steps. I don’t know who I can trust or how to win. I won’t surrender without a fight this time. They don’t recognize me. They won’t see me coming. My name is David Hargrove, and someone is trying to destroy my family. I must marry my rival’s daughter. His stepdaughter signed the contract. Before we learned, she couldn’t deliver the Belgrave empire to me. She can help me secure my family’s empire as my fiancée. I need the ugly biological daughter, Maria Belgrave, who’s hiding. Things get confusing. Maria Belgrave sent two women to represent her. One is my Maria. My missing woman. The betrayal and conflict of interest still stand. I will say when our contract has ended. How can I work with her? I know nothing about her. She owes me answers and loyalty. Perhaps I’ll use this to my advantage. When David learns of Maria’s past life. Will he help her? Or use her and take over the business himself? It starts with an engagement and the death of a patriarch.