Alfa Re
His Unwanted Wife, The Hidden Genius
I flew back to New York on my twenty-fifth birthday, carrying vintage gold cufflinks I spent weeks finding for my billionaire husband, Declan. But when I walked into our townhouse, I found him throwing a massive victory party with Sloane, a glamorous socialite, standing by his side as the proud hostess. "Don't cause a scene. Go upstairs." Declan coldly dismissed me in front of his guests. Even Poppy, the rookie player whose shattered ankle I had painstakingly rebuilt, rolled her eyes and ignored me to suck up to Sloane. Hiding in the shadows, I heard the maids gossiping that everyone thought Sloane was the future Mrs. Hartford. To make matters worse, I discovered Sloane had stolen my anonymous, groundbreaking medical algorithm and was planning to present it as her own. First my husband, then the girl I mentored like family, and now the scientific foundation I had built with my own hands. Declan even texted me to cancel our birthday breakfast without a single apology, treating me like an annoying afterthought. My tears vanished, replaced by a freezing clarity. I signed the divorce papers, leaving them on his desk with zero demands for his money. Then I packed my bags, booked a one-way ticket to Boston, and prepared to destroy them on the global stage.
Chapter 1
Aurelia Vance POV:
I had been married to Declan Hartford for three years.
Today was my twenty-fifth birthday, and I had flown back from Boston in secret, hoping for one quiet evening with my husband.
I'd spent a week carefully picking out a pair of gold cufflinks as a gift for my husband.
But the laughter spilling from the front door told me I was already too late: the woman who had taken my place at his side was already inside.
The heavy oak door swung open before I reached the porch. Three young players from the New York Titans, Declan's NHL franchise, stumbled out with crystal tumblers of scotch, laughing loudly. They barely glanced at me as they passed.
I stepped into the grand foyer. The heat hit me instantly,expensive champagne, roasted tenderloin, cigar smoke.
Dozens of people filled the double parlor: executives, scouts, wives in designer dresses.
In the center stood Declan, tall and broad in a bespoke charcoal suit. Beside him, laughing into his ear, was Sloane Whitfield, her backless silver dress catching the chandelier light. Her hand rested on his forearm like she belonged there.
Before I could take another breath, a blur of blonde hair darted past my elbow.
"Sloane!" Poppy Delacroix cried, throwing her arms around Sloane's slender waist. "You were completely right about the catering! This is literally the best victory party the team has ever had!"
Poppy is fourteen, a junior elite forward prospect.
I scouted her two years ago from a crumbling youth league, back when she was at her lowest.
Her parents had once shown me great kindness, and I knew they had already passed away, leaving her all alone in the world.
Declan and I adopted her together.
I rebuilt her shattered ankle with a custom rehabilitation plan.
I had always loved and cared for her as both a mother and a sister.
Now, she did not even glance in my direction.
Declan turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the crowd until his eyes locked onto mine. The easy grin on his sharp jaw vanished instantly. His brows drew together in a hard, irritated line.
He excused himself from Sloane, cutting through the throng of players with long, impatient strides.
"Aurelia," Declan said, stopping two feet in front of me. His voice carried zero warmth. "What are you doing here?"
My throat felt like sandpaper.
"I took the four o'clock flight from Boston," I whispered, clutching the strap of my bag until my knuckles turned white. "It is my birthday, Declan. I thought we could—"
"We are celebrating the division win," he cut in, his tone sharp enough to draw blood. "The board is here. The sponsors are here. Sloane spent four consecutive days coordinating this event so the organization could project stability."
He did not look at me. His gaze slid past my shoulder to the bar, like I was a waitress who had wandered into the wrong room.
"Don't cause a scene," he added quietly. "Go upstairs."
A soft, mocking murmur rippled through a cluster of players' wives standing near the grand staircase. Two women with platinum blowouts exchanged knowing glances over their flutes of Dom Pérignon.
"I didn't know," I said, my voice barely audible over the swelling music. "I am sorry."
I turned toward the staircase, my legs trembling beneath my wool trousers.
Near the landing, Poppy was adjusting her designer jacket in the hallway mirror.
"Poppy," I said softly, pausing beside her. "How is your ankle feeling after Thursday's third period? Did you complete the isometric sequence I sent?"
Poppy rolled her eyes, sighing loudly as she pulled out her phone.
"Aurelia, please, not right now," she muttered without looking at me. "Sloane is introducing me to a marketing director from one of our partners. I don't have time for your spreadsheets."
The dismissive edge in her voice hit me harder than Declan's coldness. I had stayed up until three in the morning reviewing her biomechanical scans while she was recovering from surgery, and now I was just an annoyance in the way of her social ascent.
I walked up the rest of the stairs and entered the primary suite—the massive, sterile bedroom allocated to me under our prenuptial agreement.
I sat on the edge of the mattress and pulled out the velvet box. The gold cufflinks gleamed under the bedside lamp, cold and useless.
Downstairs, cheers erupted. The sound vibrated through the floorboards.
I walked to the French doors overlooking the rear garden. Down on the illuminated patio, Sloane was directing two servers by an ice sculpture. Declan stood beside her, his head bent down as he listened to her speak, his hand casually brushing the small of her back.
They looked like the couple the city expected them to be.
My phone buzzed in my coat pocket. I pulled it out, hoping against hope.
It was an email notification.
"Happy Birthday, Aurelia. Remember that true science requires patience and solitude. You are meant for greater arenas than New York boardrooms. -Dr. Edmund Sterling."
My mentor at Harvard was the only person in the world who had remembered.
I typed a brief "Thank you, Professor" and shut off the screen.
Hours passed. The bass eventually quieted, replaced by the occasional clatter of glassware and slamming car doors. My throat burned with thirst.
At two in the morning, I padded downstairs in my stocking feet to fetch a glass of water from the butler's pantry.
As I rounded the corner near the service hallway, the voices of two newly hired catering maids stopped me dead in my tracks.
"Miss Whitfield is stunning," the first girl whispered, scraping dessert plates into a bin. "Mr. Hartford's girlfriend carries herself like royalty."
"A girlfriend?" the other asked, pausing. "But isn't Mr. Hartford rumored to be married? Is it inappropriate to be this close with Whitfield?"
"Married?Where did that come from? Even if there was one, they must have split long ago. I've worked three events here this month, and Miss Whitfield is the only woman hosting by his side. Everyone knows she's the future Mrs. Hartford."
I shrank back into the cold shadow of the archway, my blood turning to ice.
In the home where I held a legal marriage certificate, my presence had already been wiped clean.
RE FALLING IN LOVE
“Presenting my best friend, Amy Waters.” Leone's eyes widened at the female, surprised at the glow-up compared to what she used to be. She never kept in touch with Amy, despite what they used to be those years, and she wondered if Amy still remembered her and what she had done. Not realizing when s
The Re-Creation of Brian Kent
I have wondered many times, while writing this simple story of life and love, if you would ever forgive me for putting you in a book. I hope you will, because if you do not, I shall be heartbroken, and you wouldn't want me that way, would you, Auntie Sue?
Chloe {Broken Series #1} RE-WRITTEN
A wave of fear washed over me, paralyzing every ounce of my being. The accusation seeped into my wounded soul, and the weight of guilt consumed me. Tears cascaded down my cheeks as i listened to Claudia's bloodshot eyes bore into my own, terrifying me to my core. "AND WE WON'T REST UNTIL YOU JOIN H
THE ESTRANGED ALFA MOONLIGHT VOWS
Synopsis A once-powerful werewolf named Gideon Gray battles with his estranged daughter, Victoria, in the centre of a world where the paranormal is thriving. Their history together has been tarnished by Gideon's spectacular fall from grace and his overbearing protectiveness. Dreaming of escaping he
Bound to the Ruthless Alfa Cassian
Riya Draven, who had endured years of abuse and isolation, was forced to devote her life to the Moon Goddess. Her destiny was written from birth to remain mateless, and be the bridge between her Pack and the Goddess, and never know love. So, she was meant to live and serve in silence as the High Pri
Bestfriends Shouldn't Know How You Taste
Ashley Grey knows better than to get involved with her bestfriend that's in a relationship. She has been keeping her feelings for him a secret for years. Until one day they are dared to kiss each other. Then everything is flipped between them. Stolen kisses, touches and a whole lot of tension. These
Congratulation! My Alpha Ex Is Yours
"Congratulations..." One word I uttered when Jasper, my ex-fiancé-the alpha who once claimed my body and scent-chose to hold another woman. He may have forgotten, but my body still recognizes his touch, and his instincts will never truly let me go. His mating with Helena, his sweetheart, childhood f
The Luna's Awakening: He Desired Me After Dumping Me
Moira wasn't the Luna he wanted. To strengthen the alliance, her father sacrificed her with a classic trap so that she could marry Alpha Jude Hammer from The Night Hunter Pack. The plan worked, but for seven years, Moira felt no happiness or love from Jude. Then, one day, she finds out the reason-Ju
The Silent Duality
After being betrayed by his wife, who had an affair with his best friend, a man tries to rebuild his life, not just as a failed husband, but also as a father fighting for his only daughter. However, his dark past as a mafia involved in the underworld business traps him in a moral dilemma. He respect
Love Over Everything (Zanara's Story)
After learning her husband's dark secret and running away, Zanara meets Jayme, a man who loves her with all his heart. However, a dark past and betrayal make Zanara build a high wall and not give the man a chance. As time goes on, she finds herself trapped in a complicated love story, especially
Suck Me Harder, Mr. Bodyguard!
Ivanna did not expect Jax Alister, the man she hired as a bodyguard, to turn out to be a bloodsucker with the particular purpose of capturing a lycan creature who is Ivanna's fiancé, Damon. However, slowly Ivanna and Jax's relationship is no longer limited to bodyguard and lady. Ivanna feels a dif
Trapped by My Ex's Love Curse
"Bray, I'm pregnant! You have to take responsibility!" "Me? Don't you have a boyfriend and a one-night stand schedule every night? Besides, you are convinced we didn't do anything that night." "I've only slept with you my whole life, asshole! No one else." *** Five years after dumping her boyfri
Billionaire's Secret Lover
She pushed her hands against his chest, with a terrified face: if you dare, I...I’ll sue you. He pinched her chin with an evil and charming smile:” The whole Dongling is my world. You sue me?” A deal bound her to the noblest and most horrible man in the Dongling. In the daytime, she was one of th
Medical Princess Full of Personality and Favored
The first time she saw his thing, she was very disgusted. This thing was really ugly! When they met again, his long and cold fingers flashed across her face. Woman, do you know the price of upsetting the prince? She used to be the first military doctor of the special forces. After her soul was tra
Billionaire's Gorgeous Wife
In the previous life, Maggie Johnson was so cowardly, gullible and stupid that she was coaxed by her fiance and stepsister and then broke her legs and lost everything including her fortune, love and even life. However, she was so lucky that she was reborn in the year before everything happened. Sinc
The Substitute Wife
Winter Josh is a kind and warmhearted girl who had engaged to Etan Lloyd when she was a child. However, her step-sister, who was jealous of her position, appearance, and personality, wanted to take her place to marry Etan Lloyd when she met the handsome and powerful man. And so that’s what she did.
