ABBYO

He offered me six months of his name. I gave him six months of my life. Neither of us expected to lose our hearts. Seven days. That was all Elena Hayes had left before the hotel her late mother had built from nothing was sold at auction, taking the last piece of her family with it. Desperate for a miracle, she walked into the office of Adrian Blackwood, a billionaire who could destroy a person's future with a signature and buy back their loyalty with a smile. His offer was simple. Six months as his fiancée. Public appearances. Family dinners. A convincing performance of a love that didn't exist. In return, he would save her hotel. Elena agreed, but not before making one thing clear: he could buy her time, but he would never own her. Adrian found her defiance amusing. He was accustomed to women who wanted his money, his power, and his attention. Elena wanted none of those things from him, and the more he tried to understand her, the more she became the one woman he couldn't stop thinking about. She challenged him when everyone else obeyed. She saw through his arrogance when everyone else praised his brilliance. And without asking permission, she began reaching the lonely man hidden beneath his expensive suits and perfectly controlled smiles. Then a staged kiss became a memory neither could forget. A simple act of kindness became the one thing he looked forward to. And the woman he had hired to pretend to love him became the woman whose absence he could no longer bear. But Adrian Blackwood has spent his entire life believing that losing control means losing everything. Elena has spent hers learning that love without freedom is just another kind of prison. When their pretend engagement becomes real, a secret buried in her family's past threatens to destroy the very love Adrian has fought to understand. Suddenly, every promise sounds like a lie, every sacrifice raises a question, and the man who taught Elena to trust again may be the one person she can never forgive. Now Adrian must face the one battle his fortune cannot win for him. He must convince the woman he loves that she was never a transaction, that his love was never a lie, and that the man who once believed he could buy anything is finally willing to risk everything for her. Because Elena Hayes was never the woman he could afford to lose. She was the woman he should never have let himself love if he wasn't prepared to become a different man. And when she finally walks away, Adrian will discover that the most expensive mistake of his life wasn't losing his fortune. It was teaching the woman he loved how to live without him. Some men fall in love too late. Some women leave before love can destroy them. And some hearts must break before they learn how to belong to each other.

Everyone thought she was nobody. No powerful family. No impressive career. No famous connections. Just a quiet woman who appeared out of nowhere and somehow became the wife of Darian Vale, the cold, untouchable heir to the most powerful family in the city. Their marriage was supposed to be simple. Darian would give her protection. She would stay out of his business. Neither of them would interfere in the other's life. But three days after the wedding, a priceless artifact is exposed as a forgery-and his supposedly ordinary wife identifies the real one in seconds. The next morning, a sophisticated cyberattack targets his company. Before his security team can respond, someone has already dismantled it from the inside. Then a famous composer hears her casually play a melody and turns deathly pale. That is when Darian begins to suspect his wife is not hiding from him. She is hiding from everyone. People from her past start appearing people who should not know her, people who look terrified when they see her, people who vanish before Darian can question them. Her records are suspiciously clean. Her past contains impossible gaps. Her skills are far beyond anything she has admitted. And powerful people who have never met her are suddenly searching for her. Then Darian finds an old photograph hidden among his father's private files. His father is standing beside a family that supposedly disappeared fifteen years ago. And beside them is a little girl who looks exactly like his wife. The photograph raises one impossible question: Who was she before she became his wife? For the first time, Darian realizes their marriage may never have been an accident. Someone wanted him to marry her. Someone erased her identity. Someone has been protecting her secret for years. And someone is willing to destroy anyone who uncovers it. But the truth is even more dangerous than Darian imagined. His mysterious wife is not helpless. She has been hiding her name. She has been hiding her power. She has been hiding from a world that would kill to possess what she knows. Now the world has found her. Everyone wants her. Some want her fortune. Some want her secrets. Some want her dead. And Darian? He is falling in love with the woman he was never supposed to find.

For five years, Seraphina Vale believed she had everything a woman could ask for-a beautiful marriage, a powerful husband, and a love she thought would last forever. Then, on their fifth wedding anniversary, she walks into a private hotel suite carrying a surprise gift for Lucian Cross and finds him in bed with the woman his family has always wanted him to marry. Vivienne Laurent. What hurts more than the betrayal is Lucian's reaction. He doesn't deny it. He doesn't beg for forgiveness. Instead, he places divorce papers in front of Seraphina and calmly tells her that their marriage has been over for a long time. Heartbroken and humiliated, Seraphina walks away from the man she loved without knowing that her divorce is about to change everything. Hours after leaving Lucian, she is approached by a lawyer hired by her late mother, carrying a secret that has been buried for twenty-five years. Seraphina's mother was never the ordinary woman Seraphina believed her to be. She was Isolde Vale-the last heir of the mysterious Vale Dynasty, a family whose fortune vanished after a devastating betrayal twenty-five years ago. And Seraphina is the sole heir. The divorce has activated a trust deliberately designed to protect her inheritance from anyone who might marry her for money. Suddenly, the woman Lucian discarded has become the owner of an empire his family has spent decades secretly profiting from. But the inheritance comes with a terrifying discovery. The Cross family is connected to the disappearance of the Vale fortune. Worse, evidence suggests that Lucian's father knew exactly who Seraphina was before Lucian ever married her. Was her marriage to Lucian really love? Or was she unknowingly placed at the center of a twenty-five-year-old scheme? As Seraphina begins uncovering the truth, she returns to the world that once dismissed her-not as Lucian Cross's abandoned wife, but as the woman who now holds the power to destroy everything his family built. And Lucian soon realizes the greatest mistake of his life was not losing his wife. It was believing she would remain powerless after he chose another woman. But revenge becomes complicated when Seraphina discovers that Lucian's betrayal was only part of the truth-and that the man who broke her heart may have been manipulated by secrets he never knew existed. Now she must uncover who destroyed her family, why her mother hid her identity, and whether Lucian was ever truly her enemy. Because before Seraphina can decide whether she will forgive the man who betrayed her, she must first discover the truth about the marriage that was never supposed to be love.

On the night she was supposed to become a billionaire's wife, Arabella Laurent discovered the truth about the man waiting for her at the altar and walked away from a fortune worth billions. By sunrise, the most coveted heiress in the country had vanished. She abandoned her name, her family, her inheritance, and the life that had been chosen for her. All she wanted was a quiet life where nobody could tell her who to love or what she was worth. Then she met Damien Devereux. Powerful. Ruthless. Untouchable. He was the last man Arabella should have trusted, but one unforgettable night was enough to make her forget every reason she had learned to run. She disappeared before he could learn her real name. What Damien didn't know was that the mysterious woman who walked out of his life was carrying his child. Months later, he finds her. And the woman he has never been able to forget turns out to be the runaway heiress whose family he has every reason to despise. Now Damien wants answers. Arabella wants freedom. And neither of them is prepared for what happens when desire turns into something neither can escape. Because she ran from one man who wanted to control her future. She never expected to fall in love with another man powerful enough to own the world. This time, running won't save her.

On the day Evelisse Arden discovers she is pregnant, she also discovers her husband has already planned their divorce. For six years, she believed Caelen Varren was simply a cold husband who never loved her enough. Then she finds the divorce papers. And a photograph of a woman who looks exactly like her. Caelen says the woman is dead. Evelisse soon discovers that is only the first lie. Someone has been watching her. Someone knows about her unborn child. And buried beneath her family's past is a secret that Caelen has spent years trying to keep hidden. The more Evelisse investigates, the more terrifying the truth becomes. Her marriage was never as simple as she believed. Her family has been lying to her. And the man she is divorcing may be the only person standing between her and the people who have been waiting for her to remember. But when Evelisse finally discovers why Caelen let her go... She may wish she had never loved him at all.

THEY KILLED HER FAMILY. THEY ERASED HER NAME. BUT THEY FORGOT ONE THING SHE SURVIVED. For eighteen years, Elara Vale has believed she is nothing more than an ordinary servant girl. She has no memories of her childhood. No knowledge of her true parents. And no idea why strange things happen whenever the moon is full. Then one night, everything changes. When Prince Kael Draven the cold and feared heir to the throne finds her, his first commandy is simple: "Kill her." But the moment Elara is wounded, Kael feels her pain as if it were his own. A mysterious silver mark appears on both their bodies, and Elara's forbidden magic begins to awaken. Soon, assassins are hunting her, ancient magic is calling her name, and secrets buried for eighteen years begin to surface. Then Elara discovers a portrait of a dead princess who looks exactly like her. Princess Elara Lunaris. The last heir of the fallen Moon Kingdom. The girl who was supposedly murdered eighteen years ago. But there is one problem... The man she has been taught to hate may be the only person capable of protecting her. And the more Elara discovers about Kael, the more dangerous their connection becomes. Because they aren't merely enemies. They are fated mates. Now Elara must uncover who destroyed her family, why her existence was erased, and why the kingdom is terrified of her awakening power. But the deepest secret is still waiting in the shadows Someone who was there the night her parents died knows that Elara survived. And they will do anything to make sure the forgotten princess never takes her throne.

One stolen keycard. One midnight break-in. One mistake that blows everything up. Clara knows her brother's staring down a ten-million-dollar fraud charge and it's all on her to fix it. So she sneaks into the lion's den: Sebastian Vance's penthouse, smack in the heart of Wall Street. He's brutal. Untouchable. Her only shot is to find the evidence and get out fast. She doesn't even make it ten feet before Sebastian catches her in the act. But he doesn't call the cops. He's got something else in mind a twisted deal she can't refuse. Turns out, his board wants him married off to someone squeaky clean. Clara is basically perfect: no high-profile family, nothing to lose, and apparently she looks just right on his arm. Here's the bargain: Clara pretends to be hopelessly in love with Sebastian, wears his ring, sells their engagement to the world and in exchange, her brother walks free. Slip up, and she's facing federal prison, no questions asked. Now she's trapped in a world dripping with money and dread caught between his ice-cold demands and the heat that's growing between them. Every move feels like walking a tightrope. And as danger closes in from all sides, Clara starts to realize the real threat isn't the criminals closing in... It's the man she's supposed to hate but can't stop wanting.

He's a killer with ice in his veins. She's a tech genius who brings chaos wherever she goes. Their marriage? It started as a complete sham but the danger they're in is suddenly very real. Vespera Vance is a billionaire tech heiress, but when her family tries to marry her off to a ninety year-old tycoon, she does what anyone desperate would: she fakes who she is, disappears in baggy sweaters, and takes the most anonymous job she can find a graveyard-shift nobody. Everything goes smooth until one night, she ends up in the basement and spots the new night security guard calmly taking down two armed attackers, all while munching on a turkey sandwich. Lysander Thorne is no guard. He's the legendary Don of the Thorne Syndicate, lying low in his own company to hunt a traitor. He's used to people freezing in fear. What he isn't used to is Vespera: a whirlwind in crooked glasses who barges into his sting operation, flails a plastic broom, trips over her shoes, and knocks herself out right against his chest. Vespera needs a new, clean legal identity to keep her greedy family from touching her fortune. She makes Lysander (who she believes is a broke rent-a-cop drowning in debt) an offer: marry her for six months, she'll clear what he "owes," and he'll never buy a deli sandwich again. Lysander, oddly entertained and in need of a solid civilian disguise, agrees and signs on. Now Vespera's out here leaving receipts for eighty-dollar honey like a sugar mom in their shoebox apartment. Lysander, meanwhile, is secretly sending his massive, terrifying underboss to deliver luxury espresso machines under the excuse of being a local bookie. But things get ugly. Her family finds her, and this time, they're not sending lawyers they're sending elite mercenaries ready to drag her home by force. The silly game's over, and Lysander drops the act. Vespera is about to learn her bumbling roommate doesn't just keep the night shift safe. He rules the shadows and letting his wild, unpredictable wife go isn't on the table. Not now, not ever.

Terminally ill. Betrayed by her husband. Abandoned by the only family she had. Ariel died with nothing... and no one. But fate gives her a second chance. Reborn three years before her death, she walks away from the man who ruined her life-and takes back everything they stole. Her love. Her identity. Her power. Now, the cold billionaire who once ignored her can't take his eyes off her. The brother who abandoned her starts to regret. Too late. Because this time, Ariel isn't the woman who begs. She's the one who makes them kneel.

He married her to control her. To break her. To own her. Seraphina let him believe it. She plays the quiet wife- soft voice, lowered eyes, perfect obedience. But behind every smile... is a plan he was never meant to survive. Because this marriage was never about love. Not even power. It was revenge. And when Lucien finally uncovers the truth- when he realizes who she really is... he won't be fighting to keep her. He'll be begging to escape her.

"I married him to save my mother... but my husband already owned my past." Cold. Ruthless. Untouchable. He gave me three rules: No emotions. No questions. Stay out of his private wing. I should have listened. Because nothing about this marriage is normal. The staff whisper when I pass. My name makes people freeze. And my husband watches me like I'm a problem he hasn't solved yet. Like he's waiting... For me to remember. I thought I was trapped in a contract. But the truth? I was chosen. And when I finally break his rules, I find a photo that changes everything Me. From years ago. In his possession. "You knew me... before you married me." And the way he looks at me tells me one thing This isn't where my story begins. It's where it comes back to life.

She was taken. He was never supposed to need her. Freya's world shatters the night she is thrust into a life she doesn't understand. A life ruled by power, by silence... and by a man who doesn't believe in mercy. Torren is cold. Untouchable. Dangerous. A man who breaks without trying. But Freya doesn't break. She watches. She learns. She fights in ways he doesn't see coming. And that's when it all changes. What begins as control becomes something darker- obsession, tension, a pull they can't ignore. But the more Freya digs, the more horrifying the truth becomes. Her past isn't missing... It was erased. And the man who has her captive? He knows so much more than he's ever let on. As secrets unravel, and betrayal looms, Freya realizes she was never a pawn in his game- She was the catalyst for its beginning. And when the truth finally breaks her... She will not run. She will rise. Because the most dangerous entity in this world isn't the man who owns it... It's the woman who was born to claim it.

She was betrayed. Forsaken. Branded a scorned wife. Lola Hart's world shattered the day her husband turned his back on her, leaving her to face heartbreak, deceit, and a life she never imagined. But pain became power. Betrayal became strategy. And the woman they thought broken is now a force they can't control. Rising from the ashes, Lola fights to reclaim her empire, protect the people she loves, and destroy the enemies who think they can stand in her way. From the glittering boardrooms to shadowed streets, from secret alliances to explosive betrayals, every move Lola makes is calculated-and every heartbeat brings her closer to the love she never dared to hope for. Adrian, her protector, her ally, and the man who refuses to let her fall, stands by her side. But in a world of wealth, power, and vengeance, can love survive when danger lurks in every corner? Secrets. Lies. Revenge. Passion. This is her story. This is the rise of the wife he regretted losing.

For three years, Avery Woods lived a lie. Trapped in a high-stakes psychological "simulation" designed by her own father, she was forced to endure the life of a discarded trophy wife, scrubbing floors and suffering in silence to temper her mind into a weapon. When the simulation shattered, Avery emerged as the Sovereign-the most experienced CEO in human history, having lived twenty years of strategic warfare in a matter of months. She tore down her father's global conglomerate, erased the world's digital memories, and sought a quiet life in the shadows. But you cannot delete a god. Now, a year after the "Great Erasure," the world has gone dark, but the connection remains. Four hundred million people are syncing up through a biological "Chorus," using their own neural pathways to rebuild a decentralized, inescapable Hive Mind. At its center is Mila, a child who is more code than flesh, and the only anchor strong enough to stabilize a new reality. From the high-tech bunkers of Moscow to the hallucination-filled "Dead Zone" of the Sahara, Avery and her protector-assassin, Julian Vane, must race to stop the Chorus before it rewrites the physical world. The satellites are dead. The servers are gone. But the Silence is screaming.

To help her husband build his business empire, Veyra worked two jobs, skipped meals, and sacrificed everything she had. When her mother desperately needed life-saving treatment, she couldn't even scrape together the money. Then, on a New Year's Eve flight, fate seated her beside her husband's mistress. That's when she discovered the cruel truth. Her husband had secretly amassed millions long ago. The wedding ring that belonged to Veyra now glittered on another woman's finger. The $500,000 that could have saved her mother's life had been spent instead on luxury gifts and pocket money for his lover. She lost her baby. She lost her mother. And finally, she lost every illusion about the man she'd loved for years. After leaving the airport, Veyra walked into a bar, kissed the most dangerous-looking stranger she could find, and spent one reckless night in his arms. By sunrise, she disappeared without leaving so much as her name. She thought it was nothing more than a farewell to her broken past. She was wrong. The stranger was Dorian-the most powerful, mysterious billionaire in the business world. Meanwhile, her cheating husband finally realized what he had thrown away. He begged on his knees, signed a postnuptial agreement worth billions, and swore he would give up everything if she would come back. But just as Veyra began plotting to reclaim everything that had been stolen from her, a mysterious car accident brought Dorian back into her life. Only then did she learn the truth. He wasn't a stranger at all. He was her ex-husband's older stepbrother. Now two powerful men are fighting for the same woman-one consumed by regret, the other determined to make her his. Sorry, cheating ex... I choose your brother.

One lab error. Two betrayals. And a billionaire who doesn't believe in accidents. Emily Vance thought she was carrying a miracle. After her fiancé, Julian, ended up in a coma following a horrific car crash, she underwent IVF to keep his legacy alive. It was supposed to be her anchor. Instead, a clinical mix-up reveals that the child in her womb isn't Julian's at all. It belongs to Alistair Wolfe, a man whose name is synonymous with ruthless power and a heart made of ice. The nightmare doesn't stop at the doctor's office. When Julian finally wakes up, he doesn't call for Emily. He calls for her stepsister, Chloe, revealing a secret affair that turns Emily's years of loyalty into a joke. Backed into a corner by a family ready to sell her to a predatory debt collector to save their failing business, Emily is left with a devastating choice. Her doctors warn her that this is her last chance at motherhood. To keep her baby and escape her family's reach, she has to make a deal with the wolf at the door. Alistair Wolfe wants his heir. Emily wants protection. No love. No strings. Just a temporary union until the child is born. But as Emily moves into Alistair's world, she quickly learns that playing the wife of a man like Alistair is a high-stakes game where the heart is the first thing you lose.

"You want a divorce? Fine. Complete an IVF cycle, give me an heir to unlock my trust fund, and I'll sign the papers." In the dim underground garage, my cheating husband gripped my wrist tightly, his face twisted in a mocking sneer. "Stop dreaming, Ellie. Your family is bankrupt! You think if you leave me, some Wall Street billionaire is going to be blind enough to be your knight in shining armor?" Looking at his arrogant face, I felt nothing but pure disgust. For three years of a dead marriage, he paraded his mistress into our marital bed, letting her wear my clothes and carry my bags. When I demanded a divorce, my own vain mother tried to force me back to be his incubator, all for a seven-million-dollar bribe. "I'd rather die than have your child." I looked at him coldly and slammed the "PETITION FOR DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE" right into his face. Infuriated, he tightened his grip on my arm, ready to explode. Just then, blinding LED headlights tore through the darkness of the garage. A custom black Bentley Mulsanne glided silently out of the shadows, stopping inches behind us. The tinted window rolled down, revealing a sharp, lethally handsome face. The most ruthless, untouchable billionaire on Wall Street-Cosmo James. He also happened to be my husband's former best friend. Cosmo's ice-blue eyes locked onto the hand gripping my arm. His deep voice cut through the freezing air like a blade: "Take your hands off her." Cosmo leaned slightly forward, radiating sheer, predatory authority. A cold, ruthless smirk touched his lips. "You asked which Wall Street billionaire is going to be her knight in shining armor." "It's me."

To revenge herself on her unfaithful fiancé Kevin, Isidora hides her striking beauty behind a plain disguise, and targets his uncle - the most formidable man Kevin fears. After one reckless night, Isidora leaves cash as payment and says lightly, "You were good last night." She tries to leave quietly, but is pulled into his arms. "You think you can walk away after this?" he says, his tone low and possessive. Cedrick is a feared, untouchable titan on Wall Street - elegant, aloof, and completely uninterested in women. Not even the most beautiful socialites in the city can catch his eye. When gossip spreads that he was seen pressing a woman against a wall and kissing her fiercely, no one believes it. When the rumors name Isidora, the crowd scoffs. He rejects even the most beautiful women, so why would he notice a plain girl like her? All doubt disappears when they see the dignified Cedrick drop to one knee to help Isidora with her shoe, pleading softly for just one kiss. When Kevin finally sees Isidora's true beauty and begs for forgiveness. But Cedrick kicks him out at once, slams a marriage certificate on the table, and says sharply. "Call her Aunt."

SEVEN DAYS BEFORE MY WEDDING, I walked into our bedroom and found my neurosurgeon fiancé plowing my cousin on our bed. Six months later, Oliver and Vanessa are married, my humiliation is office coffee-break gossip, and I've done everything possible to disappear off the face of the earth. Then I find out my grandmother is dying. This birthday might be her last, and I refuse to let my ex take that from me too. Problem is, going means facing my own personal nightmare head-on: Oliver and Vanessa, happy and married, right in front of me, while the rest of my family looks at me like I'm a walking tragedy. That's when Simon Hart-my billionaire boss, arrogant as hell, and the only man who can irritate me, make me laugh, and dismantle every single one of my defenses in the same conversation-makes me an absolutely ridiculous proposal. "Just think about it." He spreads his hands. " You're tired of everyone pitying you. I'm rich as fuck, handsome as hell, and charming as fuck. Who's going to feel sorry for you when you show up with Simon Hart on your arm?" The problem is, he's right. I need a boyfriend to survive my grandmother's birthday weekend without turning back into the official family disaster. And Simon needs a serious girlfriend to prove to all of New York that the city's most eligible bachelor has finally settled down. It was supposed to be simple. Fake dating. Two events. Some convincing touching. Absolutely zero feelings. Until we added new terms to the agreement. No-strings sex. No jealousy. No expectations. Just sex. And it worked perfectly. Right up until everything went completely off the rails.

They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, mine didn't. I came back with a marriage certificate bearing a stranger's name, a ring worth more than my parents' love ever was, and a son whose father I've never seen, never known, never remembered. I went to Vegas for a racing competition. I won. I celebrated. And somewhere between the victory and the sunrise, my life changed forever. For six years, I've lived with the consequences of one reckless night. I built an empire. I raised my son. And I searched for the man who changed my life without even knowing it. Then fate laughed in my face. My sister married my ex-fiancé-the man I was promised to since childhood. The man I was supposed to become Mrs. Windsor for. The man who now wears my family name... and looks far too much like my child. Every time I'm near him, the past presses closer. Every glance feels like a question I'm terrified to ask. I shouldn't notice him. I shouldn't feel anything. He is my sister's husband. But some secrets refuse to stay buried. Because the truth about Vegas isn't just in the ring on my finger or the child in my arms. It's standing right in front of me. And when it finally comes out, it won't just destroy a marriage, it will burn an empire to the ground.

Amelia sat alone at the City Marriage Bureau, watching the clock tick down to closing time. Fifteen minutes before the doors shut, a phone call shattered her last flicker of hope. Her fiancé, Kayson, wasn't coming. He had abandoned their wedding registration because Kamila-her stepsister-had twisted her ankle. It was his ninth broken promise. When Amelia returned home, there was no comfort. Her biological mother sneered at her humiliation, shielding the stepsister while ordering Amelia to apologize to Kayson. "Who would she marry without Kayson?" her mother mocked. "Let's see how long she survives out there without his money." Meanwhile, Kayson arrogantly dismissed her absence. Finding out she had vanished, he just laughed it off with his assistant. "It's just a tantrum to force my hand," Kayson smirked. "She still can't live without me." After nine years of absolute devotion, she was nothing but a convenient placeholder to the man she loved, and a worthless joke to her own family. The suffocating weight of their betrayal finally snapped something inside her. She packed a single suitcase, threw away nine years of anniversary gifts, and permanently blocked Kayson's number. Standing in the freezing wind, she pulled out her phone and dialed the private number of Kayson's biggest, most ruthless rival. "Mr. Thornton, what you said seven months ago... does the offer to marry me still stand?" Ten minutes later, a sleek black Maybach pulled up to the curb.

I carried a thermos of homemade chicken soup to the VIP lounge to surprise my husband after his ice time. But through the unlatched door, I caught him tangled naked on the sofa with Kyleigh—the "grieving sister" of a fallen teammate he claimed desperately needed our family's charity. I froze in the hallway, pressing my back against the cold concrete, only to hear something even more chilling. "What if she finds out the Nevada marriage certificate you gave her is completely fake?" Kyleigh purred. My husband scoffed, calling me a cold, arrogant idiot. He bragged that once he finished draining my family's century-old hockey trust funds into his agency's account, he would discard me. Even worse, I realized the four-year-old orphan he had begged me to sponsor was actually their biological child. Three years of my complete devotion and financial support, all built on a forged piece of paper and a calculated lie. He really thought I was just a sheltered heiress he could bleed dry and toss aside. I didn't kick the door open, and I didn't scream. Instead, I pulled out my phone, calmly recorded their naked betrayal, and dumped the three-hour soup into the trash bin. Since I was legally a single woman, I immediately called my Wall Street counsel to freeze all my offshore assets. He thought he was a mastermind, but he had no idea who he had just provoked.

Being second best is practically in my DNA. My sister got the love, the attention, the spotlight. And now, even her damn fiancé. Technically, Rhys Granger was my fiancé now-billionaire, devastatingly hot, and a walking Wall Street wet dream. My parents shoved me into the engagement after Catherine disappeared, and honestly? I didn't mind. I'd crushed on Rhys for years. This was my chance, right? My turn to be the chosen one? Wrong. One night, he slapped me. Over a mug. A stupid, chipped, ugly mug my sister gave him years ago. That's when it hit me-he didn't love me. He didn't even see me. I was just a warm-bodied placeholder for the woman he actually wanted. And apparently, I wasn't even worth as much as a glorified coffee cup. So I slapped him right back, dumped his ass, and prepared for disaster-my parents losing their minds, Rhys throwing a billionaire tantrum, his terrifying family plotting my untimely demise. Obviously, I needed alcohol. A lot of alcohol. Enter him. Tall, dangerous, unfairly hot. The kind of man who makes you want to sin just by existing. I'd met him only once before, and that night, he just happened to be at the same bar as my drunk, self-pitying self. So I did the only logical thing: I dragged him into a hotel room and ripped off his clothes. It was reckless. It was stupid. It was completely ill-advised. But it was also: Best. Sex. Of. My. Life. And, as it turned out, the best decision I'd ever made. Because my one-night stand isn't just some random guy. He's richer than Rhys, more powerful than my entire family, and definitely more dangerous than I should be playing with. And now, he's not letting me go.

I was Landon Mercer's secret girlfriend and loyal assistant for four years. I thought my absolute devotion would eventually win his heart. But he casually announced his engagement to a wealthy heiress, reminding me I was just a convenient nobody from an orphanage. When I got trapped in a horrific car crash and begged him to call an ambulance, he just hung up on me, annoyed that my bleeding was ruining his romantic getaway. He even blackmailed me with my orphanage's land lease, forcing me to attend his engagement party as a prop. At the party, his elite family and friends brutally humiliated me. They deliberately crushed my broken arm, poured red wine over my head, and kicked me into a freezing pond. When Landon finally pulled me out, he didn't care that I was suffocating and turning blue. "Are you out of your mind? You come out here and cause a scene during my engagement party?" He threw a stack of cash at my shivering body, furious that I had embarrassed him in front of his wealthy guests. Looking at the hundred-dollar bills floating in the muddy water, my four years of foolish love completely died. To him, I wasn't even human; I was just a cheap toy he could abuse and pass around. I didn't cry, and I didn't beg. I dragged my soaked, battered body into a car and headed straight to the penthouse of his biggest billionaire rival. It was time to burn Landon Mercer's world to the ground.