Get the APP hot

Another Chance

His Unwanted Wife, The Hidden Genius

His Unwanted Wife, The Hidden Genius

Modern

4.5

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.

Continue Reading
Another Chance

Another Chance

Fantasy

5.0

Life will always be ready with many gifts; He had no idea about that. What if you get an opportunity to change everything from scratch which you missed in your life? What if life presents you with another chance? An HIV Positive patient lost his life after battling with life for five years, His onl

One Another Chance to Love Rachel

One Another Chance to Love Rachel

Romance

5.0

When Rachel gets drunk at a bar, hurt letting herself fall in love with her boss, even after knowing it would hurt her the most in the end. She doesn’t like alcohol because it takes her emotions out of control. But on that day, she’d rather be drunk than remember the one she loves. She knows Jayce

Another Chance With My Broken And Rejected Mate

Another Chance With My Broken And Rejected Mate

Werewolf

4.0

"So, you're asking me to sacrifice my life, mother?" "And what of it? Are you so proud of your pitiful and disgraceful life? You are a blight and a curse! This is the only way you can redeem yourself!" "By dying?" Winona asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "Yes, by dying and performing a nob

He Abandoned Me, Then Begged For Another Chance

He Abandoned Me, Then Begged For Another Chance

Romance

5.0

The night Sonia Hale gave birth should have been the beginning of her new life. Instead, it became the night she lost everything. Still lying in a hospital bed after giving birth to her son, Sonia watched as her husband, billionaire Kayden Wolfe, walked through the door with divorce papers in his

Another day

Another day

Young Adult

5.0

"We cannot find Lakshmi, it is a predicament because we need her if not the girls won't be able to perform" innocent Mia quickly blurted out. Bella scoffed at how innocent Mia really could be, she just smiled and looked at Juliet.

Another Sheaf

Another Sheaf

Literature

5.0

Well-known as a playwright and novelist, John Galsworthy was also a passionate patriot and supporter of Britain during World War I. Although he himself was too old to engage in active combat, he volunteered the use of his family estate to be used as a convalescent home for wounded soldiers, and he h

Another Mother

Another Mother

Horror

5.0

The body of my sister, Annabelle, was found brutally stuffed inside an ottoman in our living room. The house was locked from the inside, and the police didn't have a single lead. Before she died, Annabelle left a note: "Beware of the Other Mom."

Another world

Another world

Romance

4.8

Ashley transmigrates to another world, to find herself pregnant with a cheating husband, who doesn't love her, so she decides to run away from him and live away from him, but not for long, because she comes back, not once but twice for different reasons.

Just Another Fling

Just Another Fling

LGBT+

5.0

He could be the baddest of all, ruining himself in other's body, while him? He was looking for the soul. 'The perfect soul', the one that he could call the love of his life. Jake could fuck the whole town. While Andrew just wanted to preserve himself for "the one". Andrew would prefer love over eve

One Murder to Another

One Murder to Another

Others

5.0

Jim mowe an amature investigator who is looking to prove himself finally lands himself a case, and a simple one at that. He had been asked to monitor the late Billionaire's son Tami. Things takes a bad turn when Tami ends up missing and Jim becomes prime suspect number one. To clear his name and sav

Another Love Awaits

Another Love Awaits

Romance

5.0

Celine often experiences heartbreak. The pain she experienced taught her not to open her heart easily to men. She prefers to live alone even though she must endure the pain whenever people question her about when to get married. When the figure of Zack, who also has the same past wounds, comes into

Mated to Another

Mated to Another

Werewolf

5.0

Amelia grew up orphaned and neglected by the Nightshade Pack. Her dream is to turn twenty-one and run away from her abusers. But the Moon Goddess had other plans for her, and Amelia soon found out that Alpha Elijah is her mate. The one man that she hates the most and wants to run away from... Or is

Just Another Chapter

Just Another Chapter

Young Adult

4.9

A romance writer who dosen't believe in romance. Full name: Peachie Royal Nickname: Peach Age: 18 Birthday: October 10, 2002 Zodiac: Libra Height: 5'2 Most embarrassing moment: Peachie Royal is a romance writer who dosen't believe in romance. Okay. She will admit it that she does believe in fair

Love In Another Shadow

Love In Another Shadow

Mafia

5.0

Alicia Perth has a special ability, she has high intuition to detect things. But great terror awaits her when she is asked by Detective Nicholas to help solve a murder in the dormitory. Stuck with two handsome men, Detective Nicholas and Ace Blake, the son of the CEO of Golden Group, will Alicia be

Another side of her

Another side of her

Romance

5.0

How far is she willing to go to get her twin back in her life? London couldn't answer this question if her life depended on it. The limits to what she's willing to do for her twin doesn't exist. Pretending to be her sister for a dinner party? No big deal. That is, until she finds herself in the ver

She Left Me For Another

She Left Me For Another

Romance

5.0

Carlos and Lydie are two young teenagers who love each other with crazy love, and who dream of ending their days side by side. Lydie, who comes from a rich family, still holds to him despite the opposition of his family, except that a misfortune arrives and certain circumstances want to divide them.

Maybe in Another life

Maybe in Another life

Romance

5.0

Nira Kova practically lives in the shadows-unseen, unheard, and unnoticed. Trapped in a life that offers no solace and burdened by the unrelenting silence of her existence, she clings to a secret so devastating it threatens to consume her: she suffers from Hanahaki Disease, a rare and fatal illness

Us, In Another Ending

Us, In Another Ending

Short stories

5.0

A love that bloomed too early. A truth that shattered too much. And a finale that questions everything. Mikey Ledger wasn't supposed to fall for Crizzle Hamilton. She was loud, chaotic, and constantly stole his fries but somewhere between college rooftops, shared secrets, and everything they never

Just Another Roomie.

Just Another Roomie.

Romance

5.0

After my world came crashing down - read between the lines, lost my job, my land lord threw me out, my purse was stolen...- I accepted my best friends idea. To move in with her brother. Cliche right? Let me tell you. It gets worse. We hated each other since like...Forever? But suddenly there is this

Husband In Another World

Husband In Another World

Fantasy

5.0

Telling the story of three women, one of whom is named Indri, when they get lost in a forest, they are eventually found by soldiers. That was the first time Indri met Bima who was the commander of the soldiers who found them. Love blossomed but was hindered by the harsh reality, Bima turned out to b

MoboReader