Perfect Buddy

We're all broken, all beautifully Imperfect. They say these would be the best days of our lives but does that mean it could be the worst too? For a typical Nigerian teenager, secondary school days, especially the senior years are supposed to be the best, endless fun, happy memories, hangouts, friendship and even first loves but for Kunmi, a girl who suffers extreme low self esteem due to bodyshaming, she just wants to remain unseen for the rest of her secondary school days. A friendship with the queen bee of her school leads her to other group of teenagers, especially Adam, the pretty boy with the golden smile and for the first time, she felt she could truly belong somewhere but then, all is not the what it seems with the group of teenagers as some of them have even bigger demons and secrets, secrets that'd mar them forever. Follow these teenagers on their journey to self love, self discovery admist secondary school drama, set ups, make ups and well, brain bursting twists.

When the girlfriend of my childhood friend, Shane Sheridan, comes over for the first time, I help to prepare a feast to welcome her. Lydia Forestwood glances at the garlic butter shrimp and suddenly flies into a rage. "You deliberately made something I'm allergic to! You want to embarrass and badmouth me in front of my boyfriend so you can take my place. Stop dreaming! If he were ever interested in you, then I wouldn't be here." I'm confused and quickly explain that his mom broke her leg and asked me to come and help. I also explain that I already have a fiancé and have zero interest in Shane. She lets out a cold laugh. "Stop playing hard to get. I can spot a scheming woman in a glance. You cling to my boyfriend shamelessly by claiming to be his close childhood friend every day. It's disgusting! "Take a good look at yourself. You're old and ugly. What man would ever want you? If there's one, he'd have to be blind." Shane is holding back laughter the whole time. Just as I clench my fists, ready to lose my temper, he wraps an arm around his girlfriend and shows off smugly. He says, "She has a sharp tongue, doesn't she? Finally, there is someone who can put you in your place. You won't be able to bully me from now on." I stare at his indifferent expression and slap him hard across the face. "Get lost! Both you and your girlfriend aren't even worthy of my time!"

Mabel Landry and I have been in love with each other for ten years. Our relationship has started since our school days, and we've been married for years. All in all, we're the perfect couple that everyone envies. But I get into an accident on our tenth year anniversary. When Mabel arrives at the hospital, she looks at me with pain and sorrow in her eyes. "Why are you this careless, Dustin? If anything does happen to you, I might as well die!" I'm about to console Mabel when I suddenly see two live comments streaking across my vision. "Mabel Landry is nothing but a filthy cheater! Despite that loving facade of hers, the truth is, she's already slept with her side piece behind Dustin's back!" "When will Dustin finally realize that Mabel has already cheated on him with someone else?"

Blurb. All she wanted was to impress her boss and become very popular. All she had to do was to get a person with dark secret and expose them but in the process of doing that she got married to a very famous business man. He was hard to get and she will have to make him fall in love with her. Along the line she fell in love with him. Will she still be able to accomplish her goal?

During a round of truth or dare, my boss, Victoria Hale, leaned in and kissed my husband, Ethan Graves. As just another junior employee, I didn’t even have the chance to call her out in front of everyone. Instead, I slipped away to the restroom and asked Ethan for a divorce. He brushed it off as if I were only sulking. "Don’t take it so seriously. She’s just had too much to drink. In the corporate world, you have to entertain, play along for the sake of the project." However, in the very next round, when Victoria was dared to kiss someone else, Ethan flipped the table in front of everyone. "Touch her, and see what happens."

My husband woke me at 2 AM, demanding I come to the hospital to operate on Ava Foster— his first love. When I arrived, Ava was lying ghostly pale in the hospital bed. The chart showed end-stage uremia; she desperately needed a kidney transplant. I explained that her condition was critical, and without a matching donor, there was nothing I could do. My husband mistook my professional assessment for jealousy. He slapped me hard across the face. "What kind of doctor are you?" he snarled. "Are you just going to let her die? Test more people until you find a match!" I rubbed my cheek and nodded calmly. "Actually, we already found one." "Your kidney is compatible with hers. You'll be the donor."

The Clan Healer told me that without the vial of Progenitor's Blood, the Blood Blight afflicting me meant I had only seventy-two hours to live. But my husband, Miles, the new Duke of our world, gave the only vial of the precious cure to my adopted sister, Vivienne, the woman I had turned three years ago. "She's in agony from the rejection, Isolde. It's a pain you can't possibly understand." His tone was self-righteous, devoid of any concern for the patch of skin on my collarbone already turning to stone. I nodded, watching as the life-saving, dark red liquid slid down another woman's throat. I accomplished a great deal in the time I had left. As I signed the documents, the lawyer's hand trembled. "Are you certain you want to transfer everything, Your Grace? The territorial rights of a thousand-year-old clan..." I didn't hesitate. "Yes. To Vivienne." My adopted daughter, Lily, the girl I had risked everything to save, who was now forever frozen at the age of eight, cowered in Vivienne's arms, pointing at me and screaming, "Aunt Vivienne is my real mommy! You're the witch who turned us into monsters!" I offered no defense. "Yes, that's right. Be a good girl and listen to your new mother now." The Progenitor's Ring, the symbol of the clan's supreme authority, now rested on Vivienne's hand. "Oh, sister, you're too kind," she sobbed, her sobs a practiced performance. "I'll be sure to protect the family in your stead." I nodded. "You'll run things better than I ever did." I even signed away my control over the Elder Council, a council sustained by my own blood. For the first time in a century, a shadow of complex emotion crossed Miles's face. He stared at me,"Isolde, stop fighting. It's better this way. You need to rest." Yes. On my deathbed, I had finally become the perfect, submissive Isolde they always wanted. An Isolde who was about to turn to dust. The seventy-two-hour countdown had begun. I wondered, when I finally turned to ash,

"You make it sound like I did something wrong?" Niklaus says with a sly smile before stepping back to avoid the punch I swing at him. His hand grabs my wrist tightly before he spins and presses me back on his desk, with my upper body facing him. His hips press against my parted legs. "Really...Luci, I missed you like crazy. How can you say such harsh things to me?" He says with a pout. Wait…wait, what is that pressing against me? "You crazy b*stard." I all but scream the words, but the manic excitement in his eyes doesn't waver as he forces his hips against me. Eight years ago, novice recruit Lucien Sinclair had the perfect partner and brother-in-law anyone could ask for; everything vanished in the blink of an eye when the 'perfect' man, Niklaus Heinrich, turned out to be the perfect devil, an arms dealer masquerading as the perfect CEO to the largest company in Ferndale. What happens when the two are forced to work together again? {This is a stand-alone book}

The day before the wedding, I go to the bridal shop to pick up my custom wedding dress. The clerk informs me apologetically, "I'm sorry, Ms. Stone. Yesterday, a woman called Ms. Lovelett came and picked up your dress." My best friend, Sherry Lancelot, suddenly remembers something. "Isn't that the surname of your fiance's secretary? He's so thoughtful. He had your dress picked up in advance for you." But in the next second, Mary Lovelett posts a social media update. In her photo, she is wearing my one-of-a-kind custom wedding dress that is worth hundreds of millions and posing coquettishly in front of the camera. The caption reads, "Zachary is the best boss in the world. I casually said I wanted to take some portraits. He generously bought me a globally limited outfit for a photoshoot so that I can take the photos to my heart's desire!" I look at the post and reply coldly, "That's the wedding dress I personally chose for myself. Since when did it become your photoshoot outfit?" The post is deleted instantly. My fiance, Zachary Everdon, calls me angrily. "What nonsense comment was that? I just lent your stupid dress to Mary for a bit. It's a cheap, one-time thing anyway. I can buy you a dozen more to make up for it." I let out a cold laugh and record the call. Then, I send him a screenshot of the 200 million dollars purchase record. I say, "Sure. Will you pay by check or by direct transfer? Hurry up. Once you pay, we're calling off the engagement."

I messed up—big time. Blurting out at a family dinner that my boss, neighbor, and best friend’s brother, Arnold, asked me to be his wedding date was not my finest moment. Mortified, I’m ready to apologize and smooth things over with his family, but Arnold? He’s not having it. Instead, he doubles down, proposing a wild plan: a fake relationship that suits us both.The deal? Three months of playing the perfect couple while my toddler and I live in his house, rent-free. In return, Arnold shields me from my toxic ex, and I help him dodge the town’s relentless matchmaking efforts. It’s the perfect arrangement—until the lines between fake and real start to blur.Arnold’s not just playing a role. He’s reading bedtime stories to my son, cooking us meals, and kissing me like the world might end if he stops. With every tender touch and stolen glance, he makes me feel seen, desired, in a way I’ve never known. The guestroom feels colder each night when his strong, tattooed arms are just down the hall, calling to me.As our forbidden kisses deepen, so does the risk. Are we crafting a love that could break us? Or are we building something breathtakingly real?