FIRE CRACKER
/1/127579/coverbig.jpg?v=2ea34f2e2c2f3053a637d5acfe2fbf25)
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.
/0/37661/coverbig.jpg?v=59cef53ed5ba1336d4f3fd2d015d64d9)
Goodbye, My Love
Loraine was a dutiful wife to Marco since they got married three years ago. However, he treated her like trash. Nothing she did softened his heart. One day, Loraine got fed up with it all. She asked him for a divorce and left him to enjoy with his mistress. The elites looked at her like she was deranged. "Are you out of your mind? Why are you so willing to divorce him?" "It's because I need to return home to get a billion-dollar fortune. Besides, I don't love him anymore," Loraine replied with a smile. They all laughed at her. Some believed that the divorce affected her mentally. It wasn't until the next day that they realized she wasn't fibbing. A woman was suddenly declared the world's youngest female billionaire. It turned out to be Loraine! Marco was shocked to the bone. When he met his ex-wife again, she was a changed person. A group of handsome young men surrounded her. She was smiling at them all. The sight made Marco's heart ache severely. Putting his pride aside, he tried to win her back. "Hello, love. I see that you are a billionaire now. You shouldn't be with suckers who just want your money. How about you come back to me? I'm a billionaire too. Together, we can build a strong empire. What do you say?" Loraine squinted at her ex-husband with her lips curled in disgust.
/0/26121/coverbig.jpg?v=54af7595cebc06498308ad5e94a9db8f)
Burning Passion: Love Never Dies
“Drive this woman out!” "Throw this woman into the sea!” When he doesn’t know Debbie Nelson’s true identity, Carlos Hilton cold-shoulders her. “Mr. Hilton, she is your wife,” Carlos’ secretary reminded him. Hearing that, Carlos gives him a cold stare and complained, “why didn’t you tell me earlier?” From then on, Carlos spoils her rotten. Little did everyone expect that they would get a divorce.
/0/64832/coverbig.jpg?v=861eea308fb2813a3ca72fbace815ed5)
The Alpha I Hate: Orion Nightshade
My eyes burned as I watched the scene in front of me. My unrequited love for five years slipped a diamond ring onto my twin sister's finger on our birthday. Or should I say her birthday, because I was never acknowledged. Left in the corner, I stood there, as if I were invisible. Before I could fini
/0/87403/coverbig.jpg?v=459782c3d87b764fcb6b8bdbd7a0f535)
CELESTIAL FIRE
Hunted since birth, Nyxira Rayn is the last Celestial Dragon, hiding her true nature in a world ruled by ruthless supernatural clans. Weak, powerless, and always on the run, her only goal is survival. When she's accepted into Valemorth Academy, the elite school for the world's most powerful beings,
/0/20090/coverbig.jpg?v=bf01837e6310424609364f0756cbe536)
Ice Fire
They called him evil, ruthless, cruel, incapable of mercy. Colder than anything in the realm of winter. Dark as the night sky in the realm of eternal darkness. He was unforgiving, forsaken and long past the point of redemption. He was real and he was here. Iyra couldn't believe the tales were true
/0/22222/coverbig.jpg?v=85f8bfdb5788194621527c2f93540033)
Fire & Ice
The coming together of fire and ice. Tunde and Abby are two incompatible individuals with alpha personalities who bring out the worst in each other. He's cold and dangerous. Ruggedly good looking with devil may care attitude. She's vivacious and sassy. Her beauty's alluring, her personality, hot
/0/39368/coverbig.jpg?v=ab2eb998a9f7f3db1722b7bdaa92552a)
Fire Wolf
For the sake of her family, she accepts to tutor Alpha's. She also becomes a part of the Werewolf academy. Her life was normal....... Until, she comes face-to-face with Alphas's king, Dastien. She couldn't rein the tug. She feels at her heart in his presence and his absence, she couldn't take hi
/0/17663/coverbig.jpg?v=cd2785fd6b5a7a3b37d215dcb8c6a263)
/0/20638/coverbig.jpg?v=20211013171213)
Unconsummated Fire
Life as a puzzle treats us the way it wants to. It seems we are just a chess piece in a game. Emily thought she had all in life but unknowingly to her, it was all an act of deceit. When all of what's hidden comes to light,she finds out she a different person altogether. What could she do to save her
/0/20233/coverbig.jpg?v=42d233955af412b36afc727d02b5df90)
HEART'S FIRE
I love my family but there's no way, I'll get married to the strong headed, stubborn, Alvin Fisher, I quote, "I'll kill him before he does same to me".
/0/18190/coverbig.jpg?v=5789b750d63e931d6092d3af250d65a9)
Fire Phoenix
What would you think of someone riding around the countryside snatching bride and bridegrooms? Is he insane, bisexual? Gay? What if he were only five ? Why then? Here we have the tale of Yun Canglan, who was born into an ancient past after perishing accidentally in the modern world. Her first thou
/0/19457/coverbig.jpg?v=0e2b42d220f804d0bddb5f80b53f6dc3)
Bright Fire
COMPLETE. Half of her life, Clara had been an obedient niece to her Aunt Carlota. She adopted her and gave her everything she needed. Clara treated her as her second mother, but it was not the same for her aunt. For Carlota, Clara was only a robot meant to follow her orders, including marrying the m
/0/48232/coverbig.jpg?v=c901fc067c47ab35a78e1de2e29c2915)
Fire & Gasoline
This is not your Average romance novel. This dark romance novel contains Steamy contents capable of turning your world upside down. - One of your biggest fantasy should not be wanting your boss bending you over his table. - Never allow your boss lead you into darkness, revealing a whole new world
/0/1240/coverbig.jpg?v=7ce9b9cf2a2e6e0f6e1e15f754fa2445)
Fire-Tongue
A new force stalks the fog-shrouded streets of London, bringing death to its victims ... the mysterious Fire-Tongue! Psychic detective Paul Harley investigates, in this mystery classic with supernatural elements. From the author of the Fu Manchu books. "Fire Tongue" is a supernatural novel by Arthur
/0/24687/coverbig.jpg?v=6bba41288f09b5094b1931d823a6c12d)
Unstoppable Fire
What's worse than being an outcast in a school filled with all sorts of supernatural creatures? Crystal had always been the odd one out, and this was because nobody knew what she was exactly and neither did she. The only one who seemed to have an idea about what she was was the new guy in town bu
/0/23398/coverbig.jpg?v=19c609e8fb396776af1bce4ed33c7699)
Baptism Of Fire
Lauren Brienne Lewis was caught up on the catastrophe of her classmates' dreadful past. All of them are being killed one after another. Will she find the significant fragments of the conundrum before it's too late? A tormented soul's vengeance scorches more than a pyre. The wind will ripple in cold
/0/1734/coverbig.jpg?v=20171123152547)
Round the Fire Stories
In a previous volume, “The Green Flag,” I have assembled a number of my stories which deal with warfare or with sport. In the present collection those have been brought together which are concerned with the grotesque and with the terrible—such tales as might well be read “rou
/0/7890/coverbig.jpg?v=b2d6215b3ad39065fa9547307861afa0)
/0/75065/coverbig.jpg?v=66b37eb8b1c7502e6e58caeab2c07925)
Shadows In The Fire
The past and present are on a collision course, when the fates of two women, born hundreds of years apart, intertwine in a story of magic and the power of love... In the present, Faye Bennet, haunted by dreams of a woman burning at the stake, returns to the village of her childhood, to seek answer
/0/80258/coverbig.jpg?v=cdb692e1adcca211539a0fc1508da0ea)
ROSES ON FIRE
"You bastards! You're worthless! How can you not bring me that woman?" I shouted nervously looking around me at how pathetic my people were. Everyone was silent, and that made me even more p*ss*d off. I had already exited through the back door of the auditorium, so nothing stopped me from spilling m
/0/62469/coverbig.jpg?v=20251009135602)
Reborn By Fire
She was an outcast in her own home, the weakest of any supernatural being. She was neither a werewolf, witch, nor vampire, yet she lived amongst them. She was bullied by everyone, including her family, and finally banished into the human world as she was seen a disgrace to supernatural beings.
/0/24297/coverbig.jpg?v=39cda33af5dec699e59c931275387bbf)
ALPHA KING OF FIRE
“PYRO. That’s my name.” Fira was about to die at the hands of hunters when there was a man came to save her. This man had a cold emotion with his unusual strength, good at dodging, and a fighter who can prevent every strike of the opponent without looking at it. She was curious about the identity o
