The Belle Behind The Mask

The Belle Behind The Mask

Tomisin Ayoade · Ongoing · 40.7k Words

310
Hot
310
Views
100
Added
Add to Shelf
Start Reading
Share:facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

Introduction

Indulged in a night of mystery and passion at a lavish masquerade ball, where identities are hidden behind elegant masks, Diana Thorton, the assistant to the wealthy and powerful Alexander Stone, is looking for a break from her stressful job and recent heartbreak.

But when she meets a mysterious stranger at the ball, little does she know that he's actually her boss.

Despite recognizing Alexander's face behind the mask, Diana succumbs to their mutual attraction and shares a steamy night with him.

As their desire for each other grows stronger, Diana discovers that she's pregnant and decides to resign from her job.

However, fate has other plans for them. In order to save Alexander's reputation from a media scandal, they must enter into a forced marriage with a lucrative annulment deal.

But can their passion survive the constraints of a contractual relationship, especially when dark secrets from their past threaten to tear them apart?

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

DIANA THORTON

"Fuck, fuck fuck!" I cursed as I raced through the crowd in my trusty sneakers with a handful of items in different shopping bags and coffee in the other- to get my boss's watch from the repair shop. I'd almost forgotten about Mr stick up his butt's overly expensive wristwatch. Hell hath no fury as a livid Alexander Stone should in case I show up without that watch.

"I am so sorry" I apologized after nearly colliding my coffee with a tourist. How did I know? Hat, shorts, sunglasses, a sling bag, and a map in hand- typical attributes of a tourist.

Pushing my glasses up by its bridge; a bad habit, I needed to get that stupid yet pricy enough to pay my salary for nearly a year wristwatch and then high tail it back to the office to finish up other looming tasks.

With my thighs rubbing against each other much to my chagrin as I raced on, beads of sweat forming a small pool and were now dripping down my face, damp armpits, and even my grey-rimmed glasses fogging up as a result of the heat emitting from my body, I knew without seeing my reflection that I looked a mess.

I silently cursed Alexander for making me go through this. I'd taken the job not entirely knowing what it entailed.

Amanda, the previous assistant didn't mention that the role required being at the beck and call of the CEO- maybe she did but it definitely did not include this.

She did list a few errands but did not include, gift shopping for his numerous easy lay arm candies, picking up laundry, treading up and down steep hills just to get his favorite coffee, and the ridiculous likes- or maybe she did, and I wasn't listening. The whole orientation process was a blur because I couldn't pinch myself out of what I thought was still a dream:La Belle freaking hiring me!

What a hidden epiphany I've come to unravel. They needed somebody to clean up his dirty laundry and who better than a girl who didn't go to the university?

Over time, I had concluded that Executive assistants are just as much as slaves and all that I could do was rant and curse to myself, not forgetting to hail my shitty luck.

I'd accepted the job even though I knew next to nothing about being a secretary or Assistant and had to binge the entire season of What's wrong with Assistant Nicki to know the basics. And no, in my case, I won't be working as an assistant for 9 years.

I also hoped that with time, they will come to realize my potential and allow me to work in the product development department- one I had applied for a few times and got rejected. The reason was 'underqualified', which was true. I'd ditched college to go to a vocational beauty school instead, and while I thought it should be enough to kick-start my career in the beauty industry, it looks like society's standard of obtaining a degree will never go extinct.

I needed to show my skills and working directly under the nose of the CEO didn't seem like a bad idea at that time for someone as desperate as I was but, out of all the bosses in the world, it had to be a stuck-up one.

Six months working in La Belle Beauty and now, I know him to the tooth. He is stuck up, intimidating, cold, self-absorbed, lacked self-awareness, and most importantly, didn't care how his actions impacted others. It's his way or the highway.

I joined the short queue of people waiting to get on the bus and finally sunk on a chair to collect myself, wipe the sweat off my face and enjoy the twenty minutes ride.

I quickly scanned through WhatsApp and my text messages while mentally praying that Alexander didn't leave me another errand. I heaved a sigh of relief when I found no outstanding message from him, and one from my boyfriend. I made a mental note to check his message later.

Finally, I felt like I could breathe even if it was only for twenty minutes.

People passed in my peripheral vision as the bus slipped into the light traffic. It took seeing a boy downing a drink to make me remember that I'd not had breakfast and that my coffee was not with me. A quick trip back in time made me realize that I must have dropped it at the repair shop.

Great! Can this day get any worse?

As if that was the cue mother earth was waiting for, my phone chimed loudly. I hurriedly picked up the call after seeing Alex's name - saved as Mr. Narcissist- stare vividly at me.

"You're late" His voice is as usual, cold

Telling my boss that I had to go back for the wristwatch I forgot which in return cost me an extra twenty minutes isn't exactly the way out. Alexander hates excuses, as well as expects you to own up to your shit with your full chest and then deal with the consequence which of course is his go-to catchphrase "You're fired"

In my six months of working for him, he'd have fired nearly fifteen people over something trivial.

Did somebody tell him being mean was the new cool?

"I will be there in fifteen. There's a lot of traffic and you know tomorrow is Christmas so there's a lot of hustle and bustle."

"Make it five, Ms. Thorton. I don't care if you have to walk, or fly, just be here in five."

The line went dead abruptly before I could say another word.

How am I supposed to get to the office in five?

How the hell did Amanda live through this? No wonder the poor lady had to go only after three months. Honestly, it took the light at the end of the tunnel- which is the big picture, which is my dream to work in La Belle, to stay this long... I would have called it quits after twenty-four hours, six months ago.

It's Christmas Eve and nothing is Christmassy for me, which is a bummer because Christmas is usually my favorite holiday of the year.

It's Alexander's way or the highway and in this case, the highway meant not giving a shit and calling it quits. I didn't want to do that. La Belle would be an eye-opener and a great reference for me in the industry.

In summary, I needed the job for my portfolio and enough money to start my own company which I plan on making when I win the annual La Belle Beauty Entrepreneur competition.

An initiative to fund entrepreneurs with excellent business ideas with one million dollars as the grand prize, I am sure that I am going to win with my killer facial mask for older people idea. There's nothing like it in the beauty world. That part of the industry is too invested in the younger generation to realize that older people need confidence building too and that things like wrinkles and the likes shouldn't limit them from feeling beautiful.

After a brief back-and-forth discussion with myself, I decided it was Alexander's way which meant, running thirty blocks to get to the office building.

"You look like you just got hit by a tornado" Caroline, the receptionist and possibly one of my two work friends in the office couldn't help but point out the obvious.

"Tell me about it." I gave her a tired eye roll as I walked past.

"Break a leg! I heard Mr. Hot Pants is feisty at the moment. He probably has zero endorphins" She added.

Oh no! Here we go again.

Last Chapters

You Might Like 😍

The Human Girl Who Tamed Alpha King

The Human Girl Who Tamed Alpha King

278.6k Views · Completed · Amelia Rivers
Don't stop," I begged, my hips bucking against his touch, every nerve screaming for more. "Fuck, Jace, please…"

"Eyes on me," he growled, voice thick with lust, practically vibrating through me. "I wanna watch you lose it when I make you come."

My climax slammed into me, wild and unstoppable, as he rasped, "That's it, baby."

The next morning, my heart shattered into pieces. There was Scarlett—throwing herself into Jace's arms, her body pressed intimately against his chest, her hands possessively claiming what I thought was mine just hours ago.


Raised by werewolves, human Aria Silverbrook has always lived as an outsider. When her adoptive father flees with her to escape a dangerous Alpha's advances, they find sanctuary with the powerful Moon Shadow Pack. But Aria never expected the overwhelming connection she feels to the pack's mysterious Alpha, Jace Carter—or how his young daughter Aurora instantly claims a piece of her heart.

Jace's royal Primal bloodline makes him exceptional among Alphas, his wolf Phantom towering over others. When Aria enters his territory, something stirs within him. As the Blood Moon approaches, he debates revealing the truth: she is his destined mate who will unlock his full potential.

Near her eighteenth birthday, Aria notices disturbing changes. Her wounds heal unnaturally fast after saving Aurora from a rogue wolf. A strange voice whispers warnings of transformation, while her lifelong wolf-paw birthmark takes on new significance.

Is Aria truly human? What secrets will the Blood Moon reveal? And as she falls deeper for Jace despite jealous pack members threatening their bond, can she embrace a destiny beyond anything she imagined—becoming Luna to a Wolf King?
Letting Go

Letting Go

227.1k Views · Completed · Becky j
Molly's life was perfect. She was married to her high school sweetheart, surrounded by her friends and family and she was looking forward to the future. But that all ends one tragic night when her whole world is turned upside down.
That fateful night leads to Molly and her best friend Tom holding a secret close to their hearts but keeping this secret could also mean destroying any chance of a new future for Molly.
When Tom's oldest brother Christian meets Molly his dislike for her is instant and he puts little effort into hiding it. The problem is he's attracted to her just as much as he dislikes her and staying away from her starts to become a battle, a battle that he's not sure he can win.
When Molly's secret is revealed and she’s forced to face the pain from her past can she find the strength to stay and work through the pain or will she run away from everything she knows including the one man who gives her hope for a happy future? Hope that she never thought she would feel again.
The Pack: Rule Number 1 - No Mates

The Pack: Rule Number 1 - No Mates

1.4m Views · Ongoing · Jaylee
Soft hot lips find the shell of my ear and he whispers, "You think I don't want you?" He pushes his hips forward, grinding into the back of my ass and I groan. "Really?" He chuckles.

"Let me go," I whimper, my body trembling with need. "I don't want you touching me."

I fall forward onto the bed then turn around to stare at him. The dark tattoos of Domonic's chiseled shoulders, quiver and and expand with the heave of his chest. His deep dimpled smile is full of arrogance as he reaches behind himself to lock the door.

Biting his lip, he stalks toward me, his hand going to the seam of his pants and the thickening bulge there.

"Are you sure you don't want me to touch you?" He whispers, untying the knot and slipping a hand inside. "Because I swear to God, that is all I have been wanting to do. Every single day from the moment you stepped in our bar and I smelled your perfect flavor from across the room."


New to the world of shifters, Draven is human on the run. A beautiful girl who no one could protect. Domonic is the cold Alpha of the Red Wolf Pack. A brotherhood of twelve wolves that live by twelve rules. Rules which they vowed could NEVER be broken.

Especially - Rule Number One - No Mates

When Draven meets Domonic, he knows that she is his mate, but Draven has no idea what a mate is, only that she has fallen in love with a shifter. An Alpha that will break her heart to make her leave. Promising herself, she will never forgive him, she disappears.

But she doesn’t know about the child she’s carrying or that the moment she left, Domonic decided rules were made to be broken - and now will he ever find her again? Will she forgive him?
My Husband Wants An Open Marriage

My Husband Wants An Open Marriage

197k Views · Completed · Elysian Sparrow
It’s true what they say about marriage: one partner’s always happier than the other.

Julie's world is shattered when her husband, Ryan, reveals that he wants an open marriage. His reason: he needs a child as they've been unable to have one. Julie reluctantly agrees to save her marriage.

The next day, Ryan returns home with his secretary, confirming Julie’s long-held suspicion that their affair was taking place behind her back.

Julie, heartbroken and enraged, seeks solace in a bar, where she meets a fascinating stranger named Luke, who changes the game. Julie confides in Luke over drinks, and he proposes a risky plan: he will act as her "boyfriend" to turn the tables on Ryan.

Julie agrees, setting off a chain of events that will challenge everything she thought she knew about love, loyalty, and herself.
Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother

Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother

164.1k Views · Ongoing · Harper Rivers
Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother.

"What is wrong with me?

Why does being near him make my skin feel too tight, like I’m wearing a sweater two sizes too small?

It’s just newness, I tell myself firmly.

He’s my boyfirend’s brother.

This is Tyler’s family.

I’m not going to let one cold stare undo that.

**

As a ballet dancer, My life looks perfect—scholarship, starring role, sweet boyfriend Tyler. Until Tyler shows his true colors and his older brother, Asher, comes home.

Asher is a Navy veteran with battle scars and zero patience. He calls me "princess" like it's an insult. I can't stand him.

When My ankle injury forces her to recover at the family lake house, I‘m stuck with both brothers. What starts as mutual hatred slowly turns into something forbidden.

I'm falling for my boyfriend's brother.

**

I hate girls like her.

Entitled.

Delicate.

And still—

Still.

The image of her standing in the doorway, clutching her cardigan tighter around her narrow shoulders, trying to smile through the awkwardness, won’t leave me.

Neither does the memory of Tyler. Leaving her here without a second thought.

I shouldn’t care.

I don’t care.

It’s not my problem if Tyler’s an idiot.

It’s not my business if some spoiled little princess has to walk home in the dark.

I’m not here to rescue anyone.

Especially not her.

Especially not someone like her.

She’s not my problem.

And I’ll make damn sure she never becomes one.

But when my eyes fell on her lips, I wanted her to be mine.
The Alpha King's Human Mate

The Alpha King's Human Mate

407k Views · Ongoing · HC Dolores
“You must understand something, little mate,” Griffin said, and his face softened,

“I have waited nine years for you. That’s nearly a decade since I’ve felt this emptiness inside me. Part of me began to wonder if you didn’t exist or you’d already died. And then I found you, right inside my own home.” 

He used one of his hands to stroke my cheek and tingles erupted everywhere. 

“I’ve spent enough time without you and I will not let anything else keep us apart. Not other wolves, not my drunken father who’s barely holding himself together the past twenty years, not your family  – and not even you.”


Clark Bellevue has spent her entire life as the only human in the wolf pack - literally. Eighteen years ago, Clark was the accidental result of a brief affair between one of the most powerful Alphas in the world and a human woman. Despite living with her father and her werewolf half-siblings, Clark has never felt like she really belonged in the werewolf world. But right as Clark plans to leave the werewolf world behind for good, her life gets flipped upside down by her mate: the next Alpha King, Griffin Bardot. Griffin has been waiting years for the chance to meet his mate, and he's not about to let her go anytime soon. It doesn't matter how far Clark tries to run from her destiny or her mate - Griffin intends to keep her, no matter what he has to do or who stands in his way.
The Luna's Vampire Prince

The Luna's Vampire Prince

144.5k Views · Completed · Bella Moondragon
Prince Rafe leans over me, holding himself up on one elbow as he gazes at my face. I feel his eyes wandering over every surface from my brow to my eyes, down my nose, to my lips and chin, and then returning to hold my gaze for a second. The small smile at the corner of his mouth makes me think he likes what he sees.
His hand is cool when it brushes a loose curl from my cheek, but I don’t jerk away from him. I have no idea what’s going on. I don’t understand why I’m here. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. It seems like a lot of powerful people want me—dead or alive. And yet, all I can think about right now is how badly I want this vampire’s hands on my body.


I live in a desolate village on the edge of the Vampire King’s lands. This used to be wolf shifter territory, but now, we are just trying to survive.
When I mess up and find myself in a culling, I know I’m dead. No wolf shifters ever survive these events.
And after the stunt I pulled in the middle of the village, Prince Rafe probably wants me dead.
Is it a good thing or a bad thing when a vampire looks at you like you’re a snack?
Something tells me, once I reach the castle, I’ll be missing my miserable existence in the village.
But then—it turns out I have no freaking idea who I even am, and when the royals start referring to me as Princess Ainslee, I realize my life is about to take a turn—for better or worse.
The Wolf Prophies

The Wolf Prophies

146.4k Views · Ongoing · Catherine Thompson
Lexi has always been different than others. She is faster, stronger, can see better and heals quickly. And she has an odd birthmark in the shape of a wolf's paw. But she never thought of herself as special. Until she gets close to het twentieth birthday. She notices all of her oddities get stronger. She knows nothing about the super natural world or mates. Until the birthmark starts to burn. Suddenly she finds herself involved with werewolves that think she is the prophesied one that is supposed to unite the packs against a vampire that wants her dead. She has to learn how to handle her new powers as well as not one but two mates. One wanted to reject her because he thought she was human. The other accepts her completely. The prophecy says she has to have both. Wha twill she do. Will she accept both or reject one and hope for a second chance mate? Will she be able to handle shifting and her powers before it is too late?
You Rejected A Silver Wolf

You Rejected A Silver Wolf

184.6k Views · Completed · Princess Treasure Chuks
After being hated and rejected her entire life, for a mistake she made in the past, Lady Rihanna, daughter of the Beta decided to leave Black Hills.
Wandering off as a rogue, she heightened her powers and became the fearsome dread called Your Silver.
Accompanied by her silver wolf, she was ready to unleash hell on all who rejected her but then she meets her second chance mate, Alpha of Black Rose, who she couldn’t refuse.
An evil is rising that'd need the blood of the silver wolf to succeed. Would Rihanna forsake her pain and work with her mates, old and new?
Or would she charge head-on to the evil risking her own life? Enjoy this enthralling read!!
A pack of their own

A pack of their own

462.4k Views · Completed · dragonsbain22
Being the middle Child ignored and neglected, rejected by family and injured, She receives her wolf early and realizes she is a new type of hybrid but doesn't know how to control her power, she leaves her pack with her best friend and grandmother to go to her grandfather's clan to learn what she is and how to handle her power and then with her fated mate, her best friend and her fated mate little brother and grandmother start their own pack.
Unwanted Mate Of The Lycan Kings

Unwanted Mate Of The Lycan Kings

100.7k Views · Completed · Jessica Hall
Caught in a deadly game, Zirah must outwit three savage Lycan Kings and their lethal pets to survive. But what happens when she finds herself in the heart of the maze, not just alive, but protected by the very beasts sent to kill her? It is supposed to be a game—a game of life and death. But what started with the maze trials ended in a prize that is more than Zirah bargained for. She never thought the prize would be for her to choose between the three Lycan Kings fighting for their father’s throne.

Upon meeting the three Lycan kings, Zirah learns that the Kings are no prince charmings. That this would be no fairy tale love story, but one where her life is constantly balanced on the sharp edge of a knife's blade. A knife that is poised to take her life or leave her horribly broken. The Kings want nothing to do with her or each other and plan to get rid of her.

What they don't expect is for Zirah to fight back, only she plays with something far more dangerous than weapons. She’ll play with their hearts.

Zirah has to pick one King, but secrets will be revealed, and the battle between the Kings will be for more than just the throne. They will battle for the queen that they tried to break. But there's just one issue: Zirah wants revenge, and what better revenge than taking away their precious throne?
A FORCED CONTRACT MARRIAGE WITH THE DEVIL

A FORCED CONTRACT MARRIAGE WITH THE DEVIL

83.7k Views · Completed · Alice Tumusiime
"Love me or hate me either way, I will fuck you every night.."
MXM R18+
A FORCED CONTRACT MARRIAGE WITH THE DEVIL.
I sucked in my breath when he all of a sudden took hold of my jaw and kept my other hand above my head" "Let go of me, you devil," I beat against his chest repeatedly. I wanted to shove him off me but he didn't even budge a bit. Within minutes , l brought my knee up and kicked him in the shin. As soon as I did, he groaned out in pain and I took that as an opportunity to free myself from his grasp. I rushed quickly to the other side of the room desperate to get away from him.

He wasn't going to do as he pleases with me and yet we are fellow men