In the time when marriage is formed by alliance. The Duke of Alfreton, a man of power and prestige, was bound by obligation to marry Lady Lavinia,who was betrothed to him when she was ten years old. Yet beneath the veil of courtly expectations and responsibility, Lavinia's heart belonged to another-a love so fierce that she is ready to undergo any suffering in order to be with the man of her heart. Married secretly to Bernard, Lavinia's cousin, the strong and simple Lady Arvinia, found herself ensnared in a web of deceit. Forced to take Lavinia's place, until she is found. She must navigate a world of deception and intrigue, where she constantly lives in fear of being discovered by the duke of Alfreton. But as she goes deep into the deception, so too does an unexpected connection between Arvinia and the formidable duke grows deeper-one that threatens to expose the truth, ruin reputations, and awaken desires neither of them planned for.
Chapter one
"Lavinia Augustus! You cannot be serious!" exclaimed Arvinia Augustus, staring in open disbelief at the shiny gold ring emblem with the crest of Horatio's; her cousin was holding out to her in the palm of one hand.
"I can't wear that. You know as well as I that the golden ring is a token of your betrothal to Alexander."
"Yes, I know," retorted Lavinia. "And that when it is joined with its twin, which even now adorns the Duke of Alfreton's hand, it will serve as my wedding band," she added in the tone of one reciting a litany. "It would be strange if I did not know."
"Well?" Arvinia questioned, as though she had proved her point. Then, when her cousin showed no sign of relinquishing her outrageous idea, she added, "Faith, Vinia!" Arvinia paced a step and came back. "Alexander believes you are going to marry him! Which means he undoubtedly wishes to take you to Thornhill so that he can make all the arrangements, publish the banns, present you to his family all the things that a beautiful wedding entails. And you want me to go in your place? Good Lord, whatever can you be thinking?"
"Oh, really, Arvinia," Lavinia retorted, as if the request she had just made of her cousin were quite unexceptional.
"There's no need to make more of this than it is. I just want to borrow you for a little while. Is it really so much to ask? Have I ever refused you anything when you needed it? Have I ever asked for anything in return?"
"No," Arvinia admitted reluctantly, though she could think of more than a few times when Lavinia had used that same argument to cajole her participation in a scheme that had subsequently landed them both in trouble. "But-"
"There, you see?" Lavinia interrupted with an air of triumph. "The fact that I mention such things now only demonstrates the extremities of my situation. My future happiness depends on you, Arvinia."
Arvinia threw up her hands in exasperation.
"Now you are roasting me," she protested, rolling her eyes ceilingward. "For God sake Lavinia, why do you not simply tell Alexander the truth?"
"Because," Lavinia replied in the tone of one explaining the obvious, "I do not gain control of Grandma's trust until my twentieth birthday, which is only three weeks away. Until then, I cannot afford to alienate Uncle George's affections. Or had you forgotten he is my guardian? If he found out Bernard and I were married by special license three months ago, he would not hesitate to have the marriage annulled. And, worse, he would exile me to some dreadful place, like he did to Aunt Clara in Hereford, and refuse to let me see Bernard until the poor dear was already on his way to Portugal. Then it might be months, even years, before we could be together again. No, Arvinia, I do not intend to let anything stop me from following Bernard and his comrade when the time comes."
"One shudders at the thought," agreed Arvinia dryly, marveling that anyone, let alone her cousin, whose closest concept of suffering hardship was having her luncheon interrupted by a rain shower, could see anything even remotely desirable in bivouacking with the king's army in foreign places.
Lavinia's eyes sparkled dangerously. "Oh, you may scoff if you wish. But I assure you I am quite serious about this.Oh, do you not see?" she added, a tinge of colour invading her cheeks.
"It is all Uncle George's fault that I am reduced to such a ploy. If he had not unaccountably taken my dearest Bernard in dislike and, furthermore, betrothed me to Alexander when I was a child, none of this would be necessary. As it is, I have no choice but to make it seem as though I have obediently agreed to wed Alexander. When the truth finally comes out, I shall have my competence, and twenty-four hours after that, I shall be with Bernard on the ship to Lisbon."
Lavinia grasped Arvinia's hands earnestly in her own. "I'm only asking you to keep the duke dangling for three weeks, Vinia. That is all the time I need. Then all you have to do is tell Alexander that you have decided you do not suit after all. I shall give you the money you need to save your beloved Hollows, and you need never see the Duke of Alfreton again. You see, it is all very simple."
"Simple!" Arvinia gasped, jerking her hands free as if they had been scorched. "It is despicable. You have a very odd notion of my character if you think I should accept money for such a thing. Why, we should both be beneath reproach. And even if what you propose were not utterly unacceptable, Lavinia, we cannot possibly get away with it."
"I don't see why not," Lavinia demurred with a shrug. "Uncle George and Aunt Alice are gone to Brighton for the waters and know nothing of Alexander's return. They have left me in Aunt Lucia's charge. She, at least, would never dream of putting an obstacle in the way of my happiness."
"Oh, I don't doubt that for a moment," Arvinia retorted acerbically. Lavinia's Aunt Lucia was an irrepressible romantic.
"Well then." Lavinia shrugged, glancing at the mantel clock for perhaps the dozenth time since Arvinia had arrived. "I hardly see where we can fail."
"Well, there is the duke," Arvinia suggested sardonically,gazing at her reflection next to Lavinia's in a great wall mirror. She could not but notice that her cousin's teal blue walking dress and the matching capote perched jauntily atop lustrous brown curls made her own worn and outmoded brown serge carriage dress and hurriedly refurbished beaver with the flimsy feather look even dowdier than usual. "Somehow I cannot think he would ever take plain Arvinia Augustus for Lavinia, London's newest Reigning Beauty."
"I wish you would not belittle yourself, Arvinia. You are anything but plain," Lavinia insisted. "And as far as the duke is concerned, I hardly think he will be a problem. I was only ten, after all, when he saw me last, and you must admit that any description he has of me might just as easily fit you."
My marriage to Mathias was supposed to make me the happiest woman in the world. Although I knew he didn't love me, I thought he would fall for me once I showered him with all the love I had to give. Five years passed and Mathias still didn't give a damn about me. Instead, he met his true love and cut all ties with me because of her. He showed her off; something he never did for me. His abandonment pushed me into depression. I was broken in every sense of the word. Even on my deathbed, my so-called husband didn't come to say goodbye to me. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself reborn. I was still Mathias's wife and it was two months before he met his true love. In this life, I refused to be hurt by him again. After talking some sense into my head, I asked him for a divorce in other to escape being heartbroken like I was previously. Mathias tore up the divorce papers time and time again while also shutting me down. "Rylie, stop all this nonsense! Playing hard to get doesn't work anymore!" To show him that I was dead serious, I went ahead to file for divorce. Only then did he panic. He abandoned the "woman of his dreams" and came to my side. "Please give me a second chance, Rylie. I promise to do right by you. You'll be the only woman in my heart from now on. Don't leave me, okay?" A war broke out in my mind after this apology. On one hand, I didn't want to be hurt again. And on the other, I didn't want to let go of the man I loved so dearly. What should I do?!
After three secretive years of marriage, Eliana never met her enigmatic husband until she was served with divorce papers and learned of his extravagant pursuit of another. She snapped back to reality and secured a divorce. Thereafter, Eliana unveiled her various personas: an esteemed doctor, legendary secret agent, master hacker, celebrated designer, adept race car driver, and distinguished scientist. As her diverse talents became known, her ex-husband was consumed by remorse. Desperately, he pleaded, "Eliana, give me another chance! All my properties, even my life, are yours."
Caught in a web of betrayal, Nicole's life shatters in a single evening when her mother-in-law, Veronica, sets her up in an elaborate scheme. Blindsided, Nicole faces her husband Taylor's cold rage as he casts her out of his life and home, accusing her of infidelity and theft. As she tries to defend herself, her best friend, Sarah, adds another blow by denying their loyalty. "Please, Taylor, you have to believe me!" Nicole pleads, her voice breaking, but his icy response is a dagger to her heart. "I don't hate you, Nicole," he sneers. "I despise you." When Nicole reveals she's pregnant, she hopes for compassion, but it only fuels Veronica's determination to rid the family of her. After signing the divorce papers, a dejected Nicole wanders alone, where a brutal attack leaves her bleeding, helpless, and desperate to protect her unborn child. Six years later, Nicole returns from the ashes to inflict seven times the pains upon those who humiliated her and left her to die. "I'll make them pay so dearly that they'd regret ever been born!" She declares. This is a story of romance and revenge you don't want to miss!
PERMISSION IS TAKEN FRIM THE ORIGINAL, BE WARNED!! Do you believe in Myths? Just when she thinks it can't get any worse, it does. Lucy lost everything four years ago in a rogue attack. She's been abused, starved, rejected, and broken. As her eighteenth birthday approaches, strange things start to happen, things that only happen once every century. She finds friendship in the most unlikely place and escapes to find her true self with the help of the most dangerous Alpha. Warning: This werewolf trilogy is not intended for anyone under the age of 18 or anyone who doesn't enjoy a good spanking. It will take you on adventures around the world, make you laugh, fall in love, crush your heart and possibly leave you drooling.
P-please, I beg you. Come let's go tell Christian I had no hand in whatever happened, p-please." I clutched the lapel of his jacket desperately. "Let's go. You need to tell my husband you were paid." "Young lady, you're harassing me." His tone was cold and his stare granite. But I could care less. "You harassed me first! You had sex with me without my consent, my husband knows and now I'm pregnant with this child he doesn't want. You ruined my marriage! I-I hate you!" ************************************ Caught by her husband with another man on their matrimonial bed the morning after her birthday, Hailey Codza could not defend herself. As though it's not enough, she gets pregnant. Her enraged husband decides to pay her back for her infidelity by having an affair with his ex-girlfriend - Denise Kellers, the family Hailey never knew she had. Losing her family's wealth and company to her husband and his ex (now girlfriend), she is devastated, homeless and penniless as all her credit cards are blocked by her husband. She sees the man who is responsible for her pregnancy. The man she has no idea how he'd found his way to her matrimonial bed - Jared Johnson. Jared is annoyed when this strange woman disrupts his meeting and accuses him of ruining her life, marriage and impregnating her. It affects his business deals and having no choice, he marries her to calm the public whilst engaged to someone else. But he loathes her and allows his family treats her badly. Hailey who has fallen in love with Jared is broken when she can no longer take the humiliation. She signs the divorce papers and leaves, only to arrive six years later to the country as a self-made, secret billionaire and a mother of twins. Now her two ex-husbands are begging to have her back...
"Sign the divorce papers and get out!" Leanna got married to pay a debt, but she was betrayed by her husband and shunned by her in-laws. Seeing that her efforts were in vain, she agreed to divorce and claimed her half of the properties. With her purse plump from the settlement, Leanna enjoyed her newfound freedom. The constant harassment from her ex's mistress never fazed her. She took back her identities as top hacker, champion racer, medical professor, and renowned jewelry designer. Then someone discovered her secret. Matthew smiled. "Will you have me as your next husband?"