JOYCEORTSEN

“Why didn’t you tell me?”“Tell you what, Richard? What would you have done?”“I don’t know. Apologized sooner? Bought you a burger to make up for it?”Her eyes lit up with fire, “You think what you did to me… you think a burger can make up for it?” her eyes twinkled like she was fighting tears. Did I hurt her that badly? I was just a foolish teenager.“Nita, I am sorry. I was young, I was stupid. I wish I could take it all back and tell you how I feel instead of being a constant jerk to gain your attention.”“How did you feel that would justify what you did to me?”I paused for a minute, finding the words. “I had a huge crush on you at the time. And I didn’t know how to express myself. I was full of myself, I was the school’s ladies' man and the one girl I had eyes for didn’t even care if I existed,” “And that justified what you did to me? Richard, you broke me. I can forgive you for ‘accidentally’ spilling your ice cream on me, or throwing my due assignment in the toilet, or the gum in my hair, or the glue in my chair but tell me how can I forgive you for what you did that night? Tell me!”“What night? Nita, what are you talking about?”“Remember when you asked me if I knew who sexually assaulted me?”I nodded, but what does that have to do with anything? The more we spoke, the more confused I became.“You did and I cannot believe that you would stand there and pretend like it didn’t happen!”Nita has spent years trying to forget the torment she endured at the hands of Richard. When her family’s financial ruin forces her into an arranged marriage, she is horrified to find out the groom himself was her bully.Richard, a charming and successful businessman meets the first woman to be repulsed by him. Intrigued, he proposes a deal of a one year marriage of convenience.Navigating life as a couple, old wounds reopen, buried memories surface. As Richard learns more about his wife, he finds that he has enemies that followed him from his past to continuously cloud his wife’s judgement.Will Nita believe the truth and bury old wounds or will the pain of the past prove too strong to heal?

“How did it go?” Lily asked the next morning when Ava got to the living room.“Terribly.” Ava replied flatly, dropping into one of the sofas.Sarah entered almost immediately and sent Ava a teasing and wicked smile.“Really? That bad? Lucas is really great in matters of the bedroom. Did you do something wrong?”“Our little new concubine here is a virgin.” Sarah announced. Lily gasped and covered her mouth.“Oh God. That is not the kind of man you want to lose your virginity with,” Lily said.Sarah burst into laughter at Lily's comment.“It's not funny,” Ava scowled.“Actually it is. Better warm up to the idea because when Alpha Lucas Raventhorn wants to take you, he will in the roughest way possible.” Sarah advised.“You mean like last night? I thought he was going to rip you in half.” Ava rolled her eyes.“I like my men rough.”“Well, I don't.” Ava retorted.“If you are looking for flowers, love, and vanilla sex. You are a concubine to the wrong alpha.”“Ain't that the truth.” Ava murmured under her breath