"Take off your dress, Meadow." "Why?" "Because your ex is watching," he said, leaning back into his seat. "And I want him to see what he lost." ••••*••••*••••* Meadow Russell was supposed to get married to the love of her life in Vegas. Instead, she walked in on her twin sister moaning on top of her fiance. One drink at the bar turned to ten. One drunken mistake turned into reality. And one stranger's offer turned into a contract that she signed with shaking hands and a diamond ring. Alaric Ashford is the devil in a tailored Tom Ford suit. Billionaire CEO. Brutal. Possessive. And completely uninterested in love until a broken girl in a white croptop with the word, "BRIDE" written on it, slurs out her pain and dares him to ruin everything. But their marriage is built on rage, power and secrets. Alaric wants control. Meadow wants vengeance. And what starts as a contract quickly turns into obsession. Alaric doesn't like to share what's his. Not his company. Not his wife. And definitely not his revenge.
Meadow's POV
"Hi. I have a reservation. Meadow Russell."
The receptionist raised her gaze to look at me, and then she jerked back slightly, eyes raking over me from top to bottom. Her deep red-colored lips were pulled down in a sneer.
"You're kidding, right?" she scoffed, turning to the lady beside her who had a similar expression on her face.
I blinked, frowning. "Excuse me?"
The receptionists exchanged another look that made my skin crawl. What the hell was wrong with them? All I wanted to do was get the keys to my room and wait for my fiance, Tyler.
We were getting married in a few hours. It was going to be a private ceremony, just me and him. And I wasn't going to let anyone shit on my plans-much less a couple of rude receptionists.
The red-lipped receptionist tilted her head at me. "You already checked in two hours ago. If this is some kind of prank, I'd suggest you quit it now before I call security."
My brows furrowed. "What? I haven't checked in." A nervous laugh escaped my mouth.
The second receptionist glanced at me as if she was considering something, and then she turned to red lip. "Show her."
Red lip scowled at me, but she did as she was told. She turned her laptop to face me, clicking on a button. And then she pointed at something.
The check-in list.
And sure enough, my name was there. Meadow Russell.
"Oh," I let out a laugh. "It's probably my fiance. He must have checked in with my name. I was supposed to get here before him though, that's why I'm so surprised."
The receptionists exchanged another look. They seemed confused.
"That's not a funny joke, miss," the second receptionist said. "You checked in with a man two hours ago. I know that because I complimented that cute top you're wearing."
I glanced down at the white crop top with the word, "BRIDE" written across it.
Tyler had gotten me this top a few days ago. He said he saw it and thought it would look really good for the wedding.
"And then you said you're getting married real soon," red lip finished for her.
Something heavy-along with my heart-dropped into my stomach. Something was wrong.
"This has to be a misunderstanding..." I trailed off.
Because there was no way... No fucking way.
"That wasn't me," I said firmly this time.
They exchanged another glance, and when they both looked at me, I could see something resembling pity in their expression.
I didn't like that look. At all.
Finally, Red lip sighed. "I don't know why, but I believe you. Then she leaned backward to search for something.
She emerged with a key card. "I hope you get things sorted out," she muttered, forcing a smile on her face.
I couldn't breathe the entire way up the elevator.
This wasn't possible. She wouldn't...
No. Not after everything.
But even as I swiped the key card to unlock the door to our room, my heart raced, and bile rose up my throat.
Opening the door only confirmed my fears.
My twin sister, Juniper, was straddling my fiance, moaning out loud as he rammed into her from under.
For a full minute, all I could do was stare. I stood there, my bag dropping onto the floor with a soft thud. The insides of my cheek hurt because of how hard I was biting them. Tears had long blurred my vision.
And they hadn't even noticed me.
'Maybe he didn't know,' I said to myself. 'Maybe he thought Juni was me.'
But even without saying those words out loud, I realized how awfully stupid they sounded.
Tyler and I had never had sex.
"Mmhm, yes. That's it, baby," Juniper moaned. "You fuck me so good, babe."
Something inside of me broke, screaming at me to turn around, leave quietly and never show my face again.
But something stronger dared me to stay.
So that's what I did.
"Juniper...?" My voice cracked. "Tyler?"
They both turned to look at me at the same time.
Surprise and something else flared in Tyler's expression, but it was gone before I could blink.
He pushed her off him, and Juniper had the nerve to moan. "Seriously, Ty? I was close."
Ty?
"Meadow," Tyler heaved as he jumped out of the bed, not even bothering to cover his junk. "I swear, I thought she was you. I didn't-"
He started to reach for my arm but I jerked back, my eyes focused on one person and one person alone.
Juniper.
She had a smug grin on her face as she arranged her disheveled hair. "Oh, please, baby," she said airily. "It's time we cut the act, don't you think? It's getting too pathetic."
Tyler turned to face her. "Come on. It's fun."
"What is... what are you...?" I was speechless. Stunned.
It didn't look like this was some kind of first time mistake. It looked like they knew each other really well.
And there's no way that was even possible. Because I'd never introduced Juniper to Tyler.
I hadn't even seen Juniper in two years.
"How-"
Juniper let out a sharp laugh as she stood up. She also didn't bother to cover up, so both of them were stark naked in front of me.
"She's going into shock, baby. We should put her out of her misery right away, shouldn't we?" She mused, walking over to where Tyler stood.
And then she pulled him toward her and kissed him right in front of me, letting out a soft moan and a giggle.
I wanted to leave so badly, but my feet wouldn't move.
For some reason, they were glued to the floor.
And for an even more fucked reason, I couldn't look away. I watched Juniper grab Tyler's still-hard dick in her hand and jerk it back and forth while her eyes remained on mine.
"Y–you said..." I struggled to form words. I couldn't even recognize my own voice. "You said you weren't ready to have sex yet, Tyler," I said shakily. "You said you'd wait till we were married."
Tyler threw his head back and laughed, biting his lip and groaning slightly due to the pleasure he was receiving. My knees buckled from under me and I had to hold on to the wall to steady myself. "I thought you loved me!" I said louder now, feeling the tears begin to run down my face.
Juniper let go of Tyler and he took a few steps closer to me.
And when he took a hold of my jaw, I couldn't move.
"You thought I loved you, Meadow? No. Juni's the love of my life."
Corinne devoted three years of her life to her boyfriend, only for it to all go to waste. He saw her as nothing more than a country bumpkin and left her at the altar to be with his true love. After getting jilted, Corinne reclaimed her identity as the granddaughter of the town's richest man, inherited a billion-dollar fortune, and ultimately rose to the top. But her success attracted the envy of others, and people constantly tried to bring her down. As she dealt with these troublemakers one by one, Mr. Hopkins, notorious for his ruthlessness, stood by and cheered her on. "Way to go, honey!"
Maia grew up a pampered heiress-until the real daughter returned and framed her, sending Maia to prison with help from her fiancé and family. Four years later, free and married to Chris, a notorious outcast, everyone assumed Maia was finished. They soon discovered she was secretly a famed jeweler, elite hacker, celebrity chef, and top game designer. As her former family begged for help, Chris smiled calmly. "Honey, let's go home." Only then did Maia realize her "useless" husband was a legendary tycoon who'd adored her from the start.
Katherine endured mistreatment for three years as Julian's wife, sacrificing everything for love. But when his sister drugged her and sent her to a client's bed, Katherine finally snapped. She left behind divorce papers, walking away from the toxic marriage. Years later, Katherine returned as a radiant star with the world at her feet. When Julian saw her again, he couldn't ignore the uncanny resemblance between her new love and himself. He had been nothing but a stand-in for someone else. Desperate to make sense of the past, Julian pressed Katherine, asking, "Did I mean nothing to you?"
"Ms. Crawford, it’s time for you to divorce Mr. Larsen and come home. You're the only heiress the Master's waiting for.” ~•~ For the sake of love, Amara accepted the arranged marriage with Tobias William Larsen. She did everything to gain her husband’s heart but when his old love returned, she realized that all her effort was all for naught. Tobias demanded a divorce on the night of their wedding anniversary, even at the price of threatening her. Heartbroken, she finally dropped all her illusions about him and returned home to be the heiress. The next time she met Tobias, they were no longer couples but opponents. "Mr. Larsen, should I remind you again? We've divorced." "Amara, that's the stupidest mistake I've ever made. Please come back to me."
"End her, and burn her body." Those words rolled off cruelly from the tongue of my destined one-MY MATE. He stole my innocence, rejected me, stabbed me, and ordered me to be killed on our wedding night. I lost my wolf, left in a cruel realm to bear the pain alone... But my life took a twist that night-a twist that dragged me into the worst hell possible. One moment, I was the heir to my pack, and the next-I was a slave to the ruthless Lycan King, who was on the brink of losing his mind... Cold. Deadly. Unforgiving. His presence was hell itself. His name a whisper of terror. _He swore I was his, craved by his beast; to satisfy even if it breaks me_ Now, trapped in his dominant world, I must survive the dark clutches of the King who had me wrapped around his finger. However, within these dark reality, lies a primal fate....
Scarlett was left betrayed and broken beyond repair when her best friend Megan set her up with the male escort who stole her virginity...Or at least, that's what she thought he was. There was something odd about the strong and strikingly beautiful man that she spent a night with. Despite the pure hatred she felt for him, the deals he ended up offering wasn't one she could refuse. Scarlett always thought she'd marry her soulmate but turns out, that won't be the case for her. But could her mysterious husband make his way through her broken heart and fix it? It's hard to imagine but love has funny ways to manifest in places where it's least expected....