Marriage Of Convenience
By: Cher Etan
A marriage of convenience, the love of a lifetime
A complete story with no cliff hanger, brought to you by best selling author Cher Etan.
Jonathon is facing losing it all.
His grandfather has given him an ultimatum:
Marry and be in a stable relationship by the time you're 30, or lose out on your inheritance.
There's just one problem; the women Jonathon has so far associated himself with are less than marriage material, and would probably cause more issues in the long run than they're worth.
So when he 'bumps into' Leila on the way to a benefit she's organizing, he soon decides she's the perfect woman for the deal.
Smart, caring and attractive, and not the kind of woman who would get greedy and take him for all he's worth.
But how will Leila, a woman who's been heartbroken in the past, feel about marrying for convenience?
And when Jonathon's granddad realizes his grandson's marrying a woman of color on an average salary, how will he react?
Find out in this touching romance story by best selling romance author Cher Etan.
Suitable for over 18s only due to sexual scenes so hot you'll need an ice shower.
Chapter 1
Leila followed the wheelchair, in which her mother sat, down to radiology preoccupied with the details of how they were going to get through this. There was some sort of problem with insurance and the term ‘pre-existing condition’ was being bandied about with disconcerting frequency. The cost of this test alone, if not covered was going to wipe out at least a quarter of her savings. She tried to school her delicate features when she saw her mother glance back at her. No doubt she realized the seriousness of their situation but still Leila didn’t want her to worry. They’d get through this somehow, the money would be found or insurance would pay. What they would not do was despair.
*****
Her mother retired directly after they came home from the hospital, too tired to even attempt to pretend to keep her eyes open. She had an oxygen mask with her that they’d been given at the hospital for her use. The difficulty she had breathing seemed to get worse with each day. Leila knew she hated it. Raychelle Masters was a vibrant, energetic woman who hadn’t let her weak chest stop her from working a day in her life. That was probably why she had to practically collapse at work for her to acknowledge there was a problem. Leila had been called at work by her mother’s supervisor and informed that her mother had been rushed to hospital. She had dropped everything and rushed to Emory University Hospital where her mother was. They told her they’d had to resuscitate her because she stopped breathing at some point. It was a miracle she was well enough to come home at the end of the day. Well, not well enough…but she’d refused to be admitted and what with the insurance people playing games, the doctors hadn’t insisted too hard.
Leila slumped on the chair and let out a breath, trying not to think too hard. There wasn’t much she could do tonight anyway, except make sure her mother got through it. The loud astringent tones of Shenaynay telling her to pick up her damned phone startled her quite badly. She frowned at it, making a mental note to beat her cousin Sheila over the head the next time she saw her. Obviously she’d been tampering with Leila’s cell phone again.
She picked it up, seeing it was actually Sheila calling…she hesitated, not having the energy to deal with her drama. Not today.
“What?” she asked as she picked up at last.
“Girl what twisted your knickers today?” Sheila replied.
Leila sighed, she really did not have the time. “What do you want Shay?” she asked.
“Relax, my mama asked me to call to ask how your mama is doing. Sorry to disturb you and what not but she insisted.”
Leila took a deep breath; there was suddenly a lump in her throat. She tried to get words out but they couldn’t seem to get past the lump.
“Leila?” Sheila prompted.
Leila tried again to get the words out but the lump was blocking her passage completely.
“Okay then, give me thirty minutes, I’ll be right there,” Sheila said in a completely different tone.
Leila tried to tell her not to be stupid; she had class the next day, it was late – too dangerous for her to be out on the street alone; but again, no words came out. And then it was too late, Sheila had hung up.
There was a knock on the door exactly twenty eight minutes later; Sheila was coming from one street over where she lived with her parents and little brother Peter. She was a decade younger than Leila and in university but seeing as their families were close, they tended to act more like sisters and the age difference was easy to overlook.
“Hey,” Sheila said as soon as Leila opened the door.
