Mag-log in“You cannot keep me here against my will, Mr. Lincoln!” My voice was hoarse from all the shouting. My wrists bruised from the chains locked tightly around them. “Eat.” He dropped a food pack on the bed. “You are a lunatic. I don't love you and never will.” He retreated to the door, unlocking it slowly. “We will see about that.” Jasmine Harrison never expected the most irresistible man in New York to fall in love with her. He was every woman's fantasy. Once, he had been hers too. But whatever feelings she once had disappeared the moment his condescending attitude surfaced and she met his meddling family. Now the last thing Jasmine wants is the heart of the man who signs her paycheck. What was supposed to be a one-night stand changed everything. Instead of walking away, he forces his way deeper into her life. He meddled in her choices. Controlled her world. And when another man came too close, he kidnapped her. Now Jasmine hates him. And just when she thinks things can’t get worse, she discovers she’s pregnant with his child. Wrecked and terrified, can she ever learn to love the man who has only made her despise him?
view more“The shareholders' meeting is at 8 a.m. and will run until 9 a.m.” I peered up to make sure he was listening. “Then you'll have breakfast with your stepmom and your younger sister at Santiago Restaurant by 12, before joining Dr. Luke for the hospital tour at 1 p.m.”
“Anything else?” he asked, flipping through the document with that deep scowl that never failed to show up. I smiled. “That will be all, sir.” I shut the door and went back to my office. My name is Jasmine Harrison, and I am the personal assistant to the CEO of the largest construction company in New York City. George Corporation. It was a wonderful feeling to manage his time and make his life much easier. I turned around my desk and smiled at how much I had achieved. My mom passed away, leaving us overwhelmed with business debt. The loan sharks constantly hounded us, and Dad often came home with bruises from being beaten. It was heartbreaking. I knew we needed to act. I came to New York despite my dad's warnings. It turned out to be a terrible decision. I burned through my small savings in just a few days and ended up washing dishes at a restaurant for a rough paycheck. That was where I first heard of him. Almighty George Lincoln. The architect whose designs transformed the New York skyline. Magazines dubbed him Angel Hands. But the women were more stirred by the way he looked, and his name remained on the lips of every woman who entered that restaurant. I was intrigued. Every day, while cleaning, I would linger near the TV, waiting for his face to appear on the daily business news. After work, I would browse his company's website to admire his photos and designs, wondering what it would be like to work for a man like him. Then one day, I saw a post. Personal assistant to George Lincoln needed. I applied immediately. The next day, I entered a room filled with women and men dressed in Gucci and Chanel for the interview, while I shrank in my thrifted clothes when it was my turn. I still didn't understand why he chose me, but I still remember that velvety voice. “You are hired, Ms. Harrison.” Everyone said I wouldn't last at George Corporation. He fired assistants every week. But— A loud ring cut through my little reminisce. I grabbed the phone. “Yes, Jasmine from George Corporation speaking.” “I’m calling to inform you that General Ray has agreed to a meeting.” I nodded, already reaching for my notepad. “Date and time, please.” I jot it down accurately, then dropped the receiver and hurried toward Mr. Lincoln’s office. The elevator dinged as I shut my door, and Abbie, the sales manager, stepped out of the elevator with two cups of coffee. “One vanilla latte for you, and a black coffee for our cold boss.” She winked. “Like you didn’t bring that up here just to see him,” I said, taking the cup now used to her bringing coffee up here instead of going down to get it. “A girl has to take risks for what she loves.” She winked again. I chuckled softly. “If you say so. Thanks.” I took a sip and nearly groaned. It tasted even better on an empty stomach. Abbie tapped my shoulder. “What?” “Is the boss still in?” I nodded. She shook her head. “How do you stay so calm around him? Don’t you get flustered?” she whispered. “If I were you, I’d faint.” I rolled my eyes. “You wouldn't.” “That’s a lie. I would pee myself if he looked at me the way he looks at you.” I frowned. “What does that even—” George’s door clicked open. Abbie gasped. “I’m leaving. Good luck.” She dashed for the elevator. “Miss Harrison.” I turned, and there he stood, every woman's fantasy dressed in a perfectly tailored suit. My breath caught, even though I had just been in his office minutes ago. I steadied myself, warning my brain not to get flustered by this man. It was no use. Still, I froze when he made that move, pulling his suit jacket closer to himself. The fabric barely hid the sharp lines of his body. Only a few hearts could resist skipping for him, including mine. “Mr. Lincoln,” I said quickly, hoping he hadn’t caught me staring. “I was just on my way to your office.” “Were you? I heard voices.” His gaze flicked briefly to the elevator before returning to me. I couldn't implicate Abbie. “No. I stepped out to get the coffee.” His eyes lingered on my face for a moment longer. I quickly changed the topic. “General Ray's assistant called. He agreed to a meeting.” “That’s good.” I smiled, checking my wristwatch. It was two minutes to eight. I lifted his coffee. “I'll take this to the boardroom first.” “Mm. Let's go.” He was already striding forward. I hurried behind him. This was one of the reasons he was so respected. Time bent around him, not the other way around. All his partners had to adapt to his style. The boardroom was already packed. Mr. Lincoln took his seat. I placed his coffee in front of him and moved to sit next to him when one of the investors, Mr. Mark, grabbed my wrists. “Where have you been all these days, Jasmine?” He lifted them to his lips and kissed them tenderly. I shook my head at his playful gesture. He was the youngest shareholder at George Corporation. At just thirty-two, he owned several successful businesses and even had a private jet. We had worked together once on the Federal Project for George, and he had been unusually hands-on. “I know. I have been very busy.” He reached for my hands again, but Mr. Lincoln suddenly appeared beside me. When did he even get up? I lowered my hands, allowing them to shake hands. I turned to take my seat but bumped into George. I stumbled back before I could reach the chair. George's hand slid around my waist, steadying me as I stood up. I caught my breath and opened my eyes to find myself face-to-face with Mr. Lincoln. A shiver ran down my spine. I was panting in his face. “Get seated,” his hand tightened around my waist, and his frown deepened. “I don't pay you to be mingling with my investors.” He let go and sank into his seat as if nothing had happened. I huffed and sat down. He slid a document in front of me and said, “Review them.” I glanced at him, frowning. “Right now?” “Is there a problem with that, Miss Harrison?” he murmured. “Do you have something more important to do?” “Like taking notes for the meeting?” I met his hostile gaze, feeling my chest tighten. Did I offend him? He shrugged and gestured toward the documents. “That's more important.” I picked them up, my frown deepening. Since when did legal review become my responsibility? I slightly shook my head and forced myself to focus on the pages. My phone buzzed. I hesitated before glancing at George and then checking the message. Mr. Mark texted. Would you mind having lunch with me? A clearing of the throat drew my attention. I turned toward George, who was glaring in my direction. “You are distracting me!” I quickly set my phone down, bowed to apologize, and resumed reading the files. But the meeting hadn't even started yet. Most of the shareholders around the table were chatting or scrolling through their phones. I shook my head and flipped to the first page. When the meeting finally began, I quietly put down the document, saving myself the headache of decoding penalties and clauses. My phone buzzed a second time. Mr. Mark sent another text. I couldn't risk getting in trouble, but curiosity got the better of me when my phone stayed lit. George was now presenting the Zee Hotel project. His voice was steady and commanding the room. He wouldn’t notice. Carefully, I slid my phone off the table and onto my lap. Do I have a yes, Ms. Harrison? I shook my head with a smile. George would be busy with his stepmother and sister at lunch. I could go. I started typing— “Ms. Harrison—” The sudden bark sent a ripple through my chest, and my hand trembled. The phone almost slipped out of my hand. George had stopped his presentation, his eyes fixed on me with a hard scowl, while all his partners turned to stare in my direction. I wished I could shrink under the table. “What is your problem?” he threw a marker onto the table. I started when it hit my arm. The conference room fell silent. “Why are you on your phone?” he snapped. “I—I...” My voice wavered despite my efforts to keep it steady. His eyes darkened, and he lowered his chin. “Turn it off or get the hell out of my boardroom.”After searching the entire room and finding nothing else, I gathered the receipts, loan agreements, and the letter. Then I walked to the fireplace.For a long moment, I simply stared at them.Years.Years of my life were buried in those papers.The lies.The resentment.The guilt.I struck a match.The tiny flame trembled in my hand before I lowered it to the edge of the letter.The paper caught almost immediately.I watched the fire crawl across the page, devouring every word, turning the ink black before reducing it to ash. One by one, I fed the other documents to the flames.A strange feeling settled over me.Not peace.Nothing close to it.But it felt as though a heavy log that had been pressing against my chest had shifted slightly.I could breathe.Just a little.Footsteps echoed behind me.I turned.Abbie stood in the doorway, her hair sticking out in different directions and her eyes still heavy with sleep. She blinked at me, then at the dying fire."Big sis?" she asked softly
The following morning, I woke up early. If anything was going to work out, I had to stop acting like this house was a cage and start treating it like a problem that needed solving. Sitting around and panicking wasn't going to bring Dad back or magically pay his debt. Someone had to figure things out. And unfortunately, that someone was me. Ever since I returned and Abbie told me about the loan sharks taking Dad away, my mind refused to settle. He had messed up. There was no point pretending otherwise. He had gambled away money I spent years earning, lied to us, and somehow managed to drag our family into another disaster. Yet, at the end of the day, he was still our father. As I stood in the kitchen making breakfast, I found myself wondering if I should go see him. Just once. To make sure he was alright. Loan sharks were brutal people. I had heard stories growing up. Men returning home with missing teeth. Shop owners waking up to smashed windows because they were late on payme
After I stepped past the factory gate, I took a deep breath and forced myself to look calm.Bosses didn't like desperation.After that long shower and the food Abbie made, I was sure I looked a lot better than I had yesterday. At the very least, I no longer resembled someone whose entire life had collapsed in the span of a week.I walked up to the reception desk and found a young girl in a bright red uniform. She was blowing gum loudly while scrolling through her phone.She didn't even glance at me.I cleared my throat.She looked up sharply, her eyes running over me from head to toe for a few seconds before she slowly put her phone down."How may I help you?""I'm looking for your boss," I said casually.I tried to sound effortless about it. Like people walked into factories looking for owners every day.Her brows pulled together.She pushed her chair back slightly and tucked a braid behind her ear before sliding a large book toward me."Sign in."That wasn't difficult at all.I pick
After I had managed to calm Abbie down, we began retracing her steps to search for the house deed.Deep down, I was scared.It wasn't possible that she had simply forgotten where she kept it. The document was too important. Too valuable. And judging from the state of her room, if it had been here, we should have found it by now.I kept those thoughts to myself.There was no need to make her panic even more.We started with the clothes scattered across the floor. We picked them up one after another, shaking them carefully, even though we both knew there was no way a house deed could somehow be trapped between a pair of jeans and an old sweater.Still, we looked.We checked inside empty bags, beneath the bed, between stacks of books, and inside drawers that held nothing except old notebooks and dried pens.As the piles on the floor slowly disappeared, so did my hope.Abbie was growing more frantic by the second. Her hands shook whenever she reached for something. Her breathing became un
Once I was home, I just collapsed on the couch. I tried not to think of Mr. Lincoln, and failed miserably. He was going to be alright. He had to be. But his stepmother's face kept flashing in my mind. The way her lips curled when she said the name, Sasha Moretto. I rolled my eyes as the mome
I should have known the night would get worse the moment I got those keys from Ariel.I have worked at GEORGE CORPORATION for more than 2 years now, and I have never seen Mr. Lincoln disoriented, grunting, or sweating profusely.And somehow, it scared me to see him this way.It wasn't surprising he
I dragged my leg to the exit, too exhausted to even wave at Miguel, the security officer at the gate.It was 6pm.I spent eight hours reviewing the project reports, only for the system to start working properly by 5 pm. George heartlessly dismissed everything I had done.Even during the break, he o
I felt my face heat up, every eye was fixed on me. Why had he decided to make me his target today? A couple of scenarios ran through my mind. Glare at him and storm out. Grab the marker and hit him in the face. But I just couldn’t. I met his glare, pressing the power button until the scree












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