After We Collided: Bound by a deal
Bella arrived New York City with ambitions, goals and desperate hunger to escape poverty. Raised by her single poor mother along side beloved sister Emily, Bella believed the only way to succeed and save her family from the ruthless hands of poverty was education.
After countless denial and rejection letters, she finally gained admission into one of the most prestigious universities in the country. What she doesn't realize is that stepping foot into that campus would pull her into a dangerous world of obsession, wealth, and power She never knew existed.
Benson Vale is everything Bella despised, Arrogant, untouchable and born into privilege.
As the heir to a billionaire empire, Benson is being forced to get married in order to acquire his inheritance something he dreaded with passion, but Bella crashed into his life and his tightly controlled world starts to unravel.
Lurking in the background is Angella Browns, Benson's childhood friend and the campus self proclaimed queen bee. Obsessed and possessive Angella would do whatever it takes to keep Benson all to herself even if it meant destroying Bella's life to pieces.
When tragedy strikes and secrets begins to unfold, Bella and Bensons relationship are bounded together by a dangerous DEAL - one that could either save or destroy them both.
As danger draws closer Bella must not only fight for justice but also uncover the truth behind her sisters death and choose Whether love was meant to survive in a world filled with Wealth, Power, and betrayal.
It was never meant to be love until fate made them collide.
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Chapter 5
VALE MANSION
Benson adjusted his watch, he was fed up and exhausted from his parents' constant pressure to get married.
"Mom, can you and dad just let me breathe?" he sighed irritably.
"Enough of your stupidity, Benson. You're no longer a child, you've got a whole company to run, now listen to me, son. You have just one week!"
"And then what?" Benson cut his father short.
"Just one week to bring home a girlfriend someone you call a wife and if you don't Benson Vale I will give everything to your brother and you do not want to be a disgrace to me" his fathers voice was strict
Benson watched as the old man disappeared from his sight up the stairs into his room with his mother accompanying him, he shook his head violently, his eyes pacing around the living room.
"Sir the car is ready" he heard the loud voice of his driver
He stared at him with anger and walked out without saying a word.
"What do you have for me?" Angella's voice echoed across the room as she stared out the window holding a glass of red wine Drake stood behind her holding a file in his hands.
"According to the records, ma'am,Bella Harper, 21 years old comes from California, her father died when she was little. She has just her mom and her younger sister and from what we were able to source she is extremely close to her sister. Her younger sister is the reason she gained the scholarship to study here."
"Oh she's a scholar student?" Angella asked super excited
"Yes ma'am" Drake's voice was shaking with fear, he knew what she was capable of.
"So she's poor, good I love this" Angella smirked wickedly
"Track her phone and call records I have a job for you Drake, we are going to inflict pain on everyone she loves, just a little warning so she learns not to mess with Angella"
She sounded ruthless as she turned around grabbed the file from Drake glanced through it the heading "BELLA HARPER"
NYC GIRLS HOSTEL
"Mom you know I can't travel back to California school is in season" Bella pouted back for her mom through the phone
"Bella there's no way am leaving you to survive in that school without these croaker fish, they are your favorite and I just had them dried" Mrs Harper argued back
"Mom you know what, give the fish to Emily she should come to my school with the fish an opportunity to get to see my school" Bella excitedly made the offer.
"Bella, listen Emily is still young, I can't let her travel alone?"
"Mom she's 19 she should bring the fish ok"
"Yes mom am not a child anymore I can take the fish to her it's just a one day and few hours journey" Emily supported
"Fine as early as tomorrow Emily will be on her way" her mom finally agreed.
Bella giggled, the joy of having her sister come over to see her school the same school she helped her secure a fully funded scholarship filled her heart with joy.
She couldn't wait for Emily to arrive.
It was morning Benson had grabbed his car keys and fled the house without telling anyone he had a task to bring back a wife in one week and it was driving him mad.
"So what are you going to do?" Leo asked him over the phone
"I don't know if I have a solution. I won't be calling Leo, honestly I don't know why he's on my neck. How does anyone expect me to find a wife in freaking one week!"
Benson sounded pissed, he glared at his time he was late for his meeting he cursed himself.
"Benson calm down let's think of something"
"Think of something huuu? Bro am late for my meeting talk to you later"
"Ok wait! What about Angella?" Leo brought it up Benson exploded
"Angella? Are you serious man? I swear to God I'd rather pick a mad lady than pick Angella" his voice screamed seriously no atom of joke in it was how much he hated her Leo thought.
Without hesitation Benson turned off his phone, he tired stabilizing his breathing, this was the first time he was having a meeting with the executives board in his fathers company he was nervous but at the same time prepared.
NYC SCHOOL
Bella picked up her phone. The joy in her heart knew no bounds. She looked up at the evening sky. It was getting dark but still very bright. At least the light from the school made it possible.
She was just leaving the library when her sister called her to tell her she had just arrived at New York and would see her in her school in few minutes
Bella raced up to the flower shop to get some flowers and chocolate, her sister's favorite. She ran down the bus park as fast as she could. It's been weeks since she last saw anyone from her family and seeing Emily now would bring peace and warmth from home.
Her eyes kept looking straight towards the bus park waiting for the bus to land looking at her worst watch it was already 7:45pm
"Sir your mother said you should buy her some local prawns if you're coming home" Benson's Personal Assistant reminded him
Benson looked at him, sighed and told the driver to move towards the bus park. There was a local market around the area.
Inside the Black SUV with tinted glasses Benson caught sight of super excited Bella as she stood holding a bouquet of flowers and a pack of chocolate.
He smiled to himself she looked so happy and from what he could see she was expecting someone
"Sir I got the prawns" his PA disrupted his thinking as he got back into the car but Benson was so focused on what he was looking at
"Can we go now sir" he asked again
"Shut the fuck up!" Benson screamed at him
Few minutes later Benson watched as a big bus highlighted and stopped in front of the bus park
Passengers rushed out of the bus- signs of excitement, tiredness and hunger filled the air. It was a long journey, some rushing towards their loved ones, others snatching their bags and darting away.
Bella's heart jumped with joy when she spotted her sister Emily. She jumped forward and spinned with joy, Emily was looking much bigger than the last time she saw her.
With joy in her heart and a huge smile on her face she threw her hands apart anticipating a hug
Emily tumbled off the bus sighting her sister, the hunger and tiredness on her face disappeared as they were overshadowed by joy, laughter and happiness, But in the blink of an eye, a shadow in black slipped through the crowd - A burning liquid was hurled towards Emily's face, hot boiling Acid.
"AHARRRRRHHHHH!!!" A piercing scream echoed through the stunned crowd as Bella's face wore her worst nightmare.
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7.1
His grin spread and he leaned closer to me, his scent overshadowing my senses. "I own you and this entire place, Scarlett. Whatever I decide to do to them is none of your business, is that clear?"
"I hate you, Asher. I hate you with every cell in my body!" I seethed through my teeth, but his grin only grew wider.
"We both know that you are lying..." His fingers moved to my chest, slowly making their way over my breasts, searching for my nipple. "Your whole body can't survive without me."
***
Scarlett's holy union to Asher, the feared king of the Forgotten Lands, was meant to unite kingdoms but behind closed doors, her marriage becomes a prison. Asher wants an heir, a throne, and revenge against the family that once ruled over him. Scarlett is only the means to an end.
Caught between a husband who breaks her body yet craves her soul, and a trusted friend whose loyalty hides a thirst for power, Scarlett learns that love in the Crystal Peaks is never gentle. It is claimed, twisted, and betrayed.
As war brews, dark magic awakens, and an enemy long thought dead returns, Scarlett must decide who she truly belongs to... and how much of herself she's willing to lose to survive.
Because in a world ruled by monsters, the most dangerous thing a woman can be is loved.
Book 3 of The Lycan King Series.
9.2
Druscilla Hayes thought heartbreak had a limit.
She was wrong.
On the night of her bachelorette party, she survives a shootout - and is rescued by a dangerously irresistible stranger with mismatched eyes and a criminal smile.
Ivanov Rodriguez is everything she shouldn't want.
Everything her perfect fiance is not.
But when Druscilla discovers her fiancé's betrayal, she runs straight into Ivanov's arms - only to learn too late that she was never more than a pawn in his revenge.
Years later, she's rebuilt her life, her heart, and her future.
Until fate drags her back into the orbit of the man who once ruined her.
This time, she has nothing left to lose.
Except the truth that could destroy them both
⚠️ WARNING:
This book contains immorality, forbidden desire, dangerous attraction, and morally questionable characters.
If you believe love should always be pure and choices should always be right...
This story is not for you.
Proceed only if you enjoy chaos, passion, and bad decisions.
8.1
My fiancé, Freddie, signed the papers to have me committed to a mental asylum. He told everyone my "episodes" were becoming a liability to his family's pristine reputation.
The truth was, he and his mistress, Jessie, wanted me out of the way. They painted me as a hysterical, unstable psycho so their affair could continue without a single complication.
I spent my last days in a chemical haze, trapped and forgotten. My final memory wasn't of love or compassion, but of orderlies forcing my head under the stagnant, drugged water of an asylum bathtub. Freddie just watched, his face cold and indifferent as I drowned.
He stole my life, my sanity, and my future. He got away with murder while playing the part of the devoted, heartbroken fiancé to a world that believed his every lie.
Until I opened my eyes again.
The blinding Hampton sun stabbed my retinas, and the smell of chlorine filled my lungs. I wasn't in the asylum. I was back at the Madden family's annual summer party, three years before my death.
Across the pool, I saw Freddie laughing with Jessie. They thought they had won.
They had no idea I was back from the dead to burn their entire world to the ground.
8.4
I stood in front of New York City Hall in my vintage lace wedding dress, my heart pounding with a nervous joy. I was minutes away from marrying Bradford Sterling, a move I thought would finally help me reclaim my mother’s legacy from my family’s crumbling empire.
But as I reached for his arm, he flinched. A black Lincoln Navigator screeched to the curb, and his mother, Victoria, stepped out, slamming a restructuring document against his chest. She didn't even look at me as she delivered the killing blow: my sister, Eden, had just seized every cent of my voting rights and family trust.
"Marrying her is a net negative yield," Victoria said coldly. Bradford didn't fight for me; he didn't even blink. He simply pushed my hand away and adjusted his tie as if I were a junk bond he was ready to offload. Seconds later, my sister Eden arrived in a red Ferrari, wearing her own bridal gown, and stepped into my place by his side.
I was standing on the pavement, humiliated in front of a crowd, while the man I loved for three years treated me like a failed transaction. My sister laughed in my face, calling me a "liability" while she stole my wedding and my life. The grief was instant, but the rage that followed was a white-hot rupture in my chest.
I didn't just walk away; I slapped the life out of Bradford and dove into the first black SUV I saw, desperate to escape. I didn't check the plates, and I didn't see the man in the wheelchair sitting in the shadows of the backseat.
I had just "carjacked" Jefferson Montgomery, the most dangerous billionaire in the city. To save him from a parole violation during a sudden police raid, I agreed to a fake marriage that very night. They wanted to treat me like a negative asset? Fine. They have no idea that they just handed a world-class hacker the keys to the Montgomery fortune, and I’m going to liquidate them all.
8.4
To save her legacy, she'll marry her greatest enemy. To save her life, she'll have to trust his lies.
Aria Hale has only one objective: to destroy the Veridian family. Twenty years ago, they ruined her mother's career and her family's reputation. Now, as Hale Enterprises is about to go out of business, she is forced into a marriage of convenience with the man she dislikes most: Luca Veridian.
Luca is a ruthless, calculating, and cold-hearted man. He doesn't just want the Hale company; he wants proof of their wrongdoings. He makes the deal for the marriage contract for one year for his own purposes: to get close enough to Aria to put her in jail.
The rules are simple: Live together. Act as if you're in love. Don't show your true intentions.
As they play a deadly game of cat and mouse in their shared penthouse apartment, the lines between protection and sabotage get blurred. Luca, the ruthless man, is hiding his own demons, and Aria, the ruthless woman, has a secret that might destroy both their empires.
Yet, when a shadow from their past, the mysterious "Architect," comes back to finish what was started all those years ago, Aria and Luca learn that they are not the players in this game, but the pawns instead.
Betrayed by blood, bound by contract, Aria and Luca must now choose whether to keep their secrets and die, or fall in love and burn the world down together.
7.8
Rosalind Rivers has only ever wanted one thing - revenge.
The Lycan Prince, Aklan Draven, murdered her brother in cold blood. Or so she's believed her whole life. Now, forced to serve under him at the Lycan Academy, she has no choice but to obey the man she swore to hate. But hating him becomes harder with every clash, every stolen glance, every heartbeat that refuses to stay loyal to her rage.
Because fate has a cruel sense of humor.
He's her fated mate.
Aklan doesn't understand why this stubborn, sharp-tongued wolf gets under his skin or why her scent feels like home. He only knows she's trouble. The kind that tests his control, drags buried memories to the surface, and makes him question everything he thought he knew about loyalty and guilt.
But when a hidden truth comes to light - that Rosalind's brother didn't die by Aklan's hand but by choice, their world begins to unravel. Old wounds reopen. Ancient forces stir. And Rosalind learns she is no ordinary wolf, but something far rarer, something worth killing for.
Between vengeance and love, duty and destiny, one wrong move could ignite a war between realms.
And the cruelest part?
She might just lose her heart to the man she was born to destroy.