GENIE IN A BOTTLE
/1/112007/coverbig.jpg?v=a50eb2275df9d10a1189d151a3617521)
My Accidental Billionaire husband
They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, mine didn't. I came back with a marriage certificate bearing a stranger's name, a ring worth more than my parents' love ever was, and a son whose father I've never seen, never known, never remembered. I went to Vegas for a racing competition. I won. I celebrated. And somewhere between the victory and the sunrise, my life changed forever. For six years, I've lived with the consequences of one reckless night. I built an empire. I raised my son. And I searched for the man who changed my life without even knowing it. Then fate laughed in my face. My sister married my ex-fiancé-the man I was promised to since childhood. The man I was supposed to become Mrs. Windsor for. The man who now wears my family name... and looks far too much like my child. Every time I'm near him, the past presses closer. Every glance feels like a question I'm terrified to ask. I shouldn't notice him. I shouldn't feel anything. He is my sister's husband. But some secrets refuse to stay buried. Because the truth about Vegas isn't just in the ring on my finger or the child in my arms. It's standing right in front of me. And when it finally comes out, it won't just destroy a marriage, it will burn an empire to the ground.
Chapter 1 The Arrangement
Katia
I woke up to the sound of people singing badly.
"Happy birthday to you..." I blinked hard against the sunlight filtering through the curtains, my brain slow to reboot. The voices were getting louder, and for a second, I thought I was dreaming. A really weird, off-key dream.
"Happy birthday, dear Katia..."
My bedroom door flung open. I sat up so fast the blanket tangled around my legs like a trap. My vision adjusted just in time to see a small parade entering my room, Delia leading the way with a cupcake on a tray; Dad trailing behind her, holding a phone like he was filming a hostage video; and then, my mother, smiling. I nearly choked because my mom has never smiled at me.
"Happy birthday, sweetheart," she said; her voice was smooth and artificial, like she'd sprayed it with perfume before letting it out of her mouth.
I stared at her like she'd grown a second head. Because here's the thing: Martha didn't do birthdays. Not mine, anyway. Delia got birthdays. Princess themes, balloons, new dresses, and a chorus of relatives pretending they liked each other. I got awkward silences and last-minute gas station cards. I once got a vacuum cleaner. I was twelve.
So this? This felt like a setup.
"Um... thanks?" I said, my voice rough from sleep and suspicion.
Delia plopped the tray down in my lap like she was presenting a peace offering. "I made the cupcake myself," she said sweetly, which meant the maid probably did it while Delia supervised with a glass of wine.
I looked down at it. Vanilla with white frosting and one lonely candle jammed in the center like a warning flare.
"Blow it out," my dad said cheerfully, but his eyes were doing that thing they always did when he was nervous, darting around like they were looking for an exit.
I narrowed my eyes. "Okay, seriously. What's going on?"
My mom gave a soft laugh, as if I was being silly for having the correct instincts. She sat down on the edge of the bed, smoothing the comforter as if she'd ever touched it before.
"You're twenty now," she said gently. "That's a very important age."
"Cool," I said, unimpressed. "Should I be bracing for a tax seminar or something?"
Delia giggled. Dad coughed.
Mom kept going, undeterred. "You're a woman now, Katia. And your father and I have something very exciting and important to tell you."
There it was. The sting in the frosting. The trap under the ribbon.
I sat up straighter. "Okay..."
She looked at me like she was about to hand me a tiara. "You've been chosen to marry Julian Windsor."
The room didn't go quiet; it went hollow.
For a second, I couldn't even process the words. I stared at her, waiting for a punchline, a camera crew, or something.
"Who?" I asked, even though I'd heard her perfectly.
"Julian Windsor," she repeated, like I was the dumb one. "The Windsor heir. Their family has been interested in an alliance for years. You were betrothed when you were sixteen."
I blinked. "What?!"
Dad gave me a sheepish look. "We didn't want to overwhelm you at the time."
"At the time? You mean when I was sixteen?!"
Mom's smile never wavered. "It was a strategic match. His family is very private. Very powerful. This is a good thing, Katia. You're incredibly lucky."
Lucky?
Like this was some kind of prize.
Like I should've been jumping up and down because I was the golden ticket in a billionaire breeding lottery.
"I've never even met him," I said, still struggling to wrap my head around the casual horror of what she'd just dropped on me like it was a brunch topic.
"Neither has Delia," she replied smoothly. "But if things had gone differently, she would've married him instead. You should be grateful it's you."
"Wow," I muttered. "How generous of you, Mother."
Delia leaned against the bedpost, swirling her hair around her finger. "He's supposed to be really handsome. And rich. Like... rich rich. The Windsors own, like, everything. Casinos. Oil. Maybe a spaceship? I don't know. They're super secretive."
"Oh great," I snapped. "So I'm marrying a ghost with a trust fund, and you know this how?"
My mom's eyes hardened, just for a second. "Don't be dramatic. He's real. And they chose you. That should mean something."
"No," I said. "What means something is that you waited four years to tell me I was promised to a complete stranger like this is a medieval auction."
My dad cleared his throat. "We thought we'd wait until the Windsors reached out. And... they have."
I stared at him. "You mean this is happening now?"
"They've arranged to meet in a few weeks," my mother said. "There will be dinner. Formalities. You'll get to know each other before the engagement becomes public."
Public? Right. Because this wasn't a relationship. It was a press release waiting to happen.
"I can't believe this," I said, my voice flat. "You didn't even ask me."
"You don't ask about opportunities like this," she said firmly. "You accept them."
That was her tone now. The mask was slipping. She wasn't the smiling mother with a cupcake anymore. She was the CEO of this family, and I was a failed acquisition being forced into a merger.
I got out of bed, shoving the tray off my lap. The cupcake toppled sideways, the candle smearing frosting across the blanket like a smear of white lies.
"I need air," I said.
Mom stood up. "Katia, don't be ridiculous-"
"No. I need to think. I'm going to Vegas."
That caught her off guard. "Vegas?"
"Just a weekend," I lied. "To clear my head. You want me to marry a stranger? Fine. But let me have one moment of freedom first."
She looked like she wanted to argue, but Dad touched her arm. "Let her go. She'll come around."
I watched the silent war play out in her expression. In the end, control won. Because she thought she already had it.
"Fine," she said, that awful smile returning. "Go. Take some time. But don't forget what's waiting when you come back."
I didn't answer.
I was already packing the second the door closed.
They thought they were giving me space. What they didn't know was that I wasn't going to Vegas for air. I was going for speed.
/0/11740/coverbig.jpg?v=c1477cbcf9aeee33e2b7c18c2f8ca033)
/0/9595/coverbig.jpg?v=0db1b8c07cbb8a137709bfaf66dd5738)
The Brass Bottle: A Farcical Fantastic Play in Four Acts
This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preservin
/0/23056/coverbig.jpg?v=ca1982578059e4dc1ae1cfdc7f33fda3)
Spin the Bottle
It all started with a kiss during the game of spin the bottle. * When Stephanie Valentine - a wallflower who only focuses on getting good grades for college - goes to her first high school party in senior year, she hopes nothing crazy happens. But then she somehow ends up in the same room with Ch
/0/5443/coverbig.jpg?v=8d3af310aa9fbc2bcb3a7933f4cdc619)
/0/11983/coverbig.jpg?v=1d948f6940b0b2b6a07b4fb230c221d0)
/0/1747/coverbig.jpg?v=5aceba08d9b545456354de7fab3cd36a)
/0/1127/coverbig.jpg?v=a3fa7b54bf430a76671795de5da96418)
A Damsel in Distress
When Maud Marsh flings herself into George Bevan’s cab in Piccadilly, he starts believing in damsels in distress. George traces his mysterious traveling companion to Belpher Castle, home of Lord Marshmoreton, where things become severely muddled. Maud’s aunt, Lady Caroline Byng, wants Maud to marry
/0/32513/coverbig.jpg?v=f840c71ca2b1c1bd40d0185cf75b1ca5)
A Billionaire In Disguise
Audrey left home to avoid getting into an arranged married by her father, she was someone who believes marriage should be based on love and when two people already agreed to get married because they're in love, not an arranged marriage where you don't even know the person you're getting married
/0/47355/coverbig.jpg?v=66b37eb8b1c7502e6e58caeab2c07925)
A Lady In Disguise
A Lady In Disguise; 5 "They may see you as how you try to be, but what I see is what you try not to be." SHE IS A BASTARD... Maxine Theobald hid herself from the rest of society to protect her father's name. But as she grows tired of her role playing games every year during the famous Theob
/0/73806/coverbig.jpg?v=bc3f3fb57dbd72261fb92527e3e24396)
A Debt In Blood
Chapter 1: BLOOD ON THE DOCKS The scent of iron hung vividly in the air. Lorenzo De Luca stepped into the dimly lit warehouse, his gaze immediately locked onto the body lying lifeless on the cold concrete floor soaked in a pool of his blood. He was too late. His jaw tightened as he took in the bruta
/0/9048/coverbig.jpg?v=583cb011c385c94a518044cd332c6738)
Life in a Tank
Richard Haigh was an Infantry lieutenant in the 2nd Royal Berkshire Infantry Regiment serving in the Somme area in 1916. Shortly after Tanks were first used in battle in September of 1916 the British Army asked for volunteers, Lieutenant Haigh signed up and was accepted in December of 1916. He descr
/0/51440/coverbig.jpg?v=b649f3acfdf27ad66099a681614b6244)
A Night In Vegas
Krystal Wallace never thought her life would have any dent on it, until she caught her long-term boyfriend cheating on her with another lady, during their trip to Vegas. Heartbroken, Krystal opted to vent her anger on alcohol at a local pub nearby. A decision that got her drunk and landed her on the
/0/81125/coverbig.jpg?v=fa4a9db3b0d776ab94749901975a86de)
A Reckoning in Flames
My life was beautiful: a loving husband, Ethan, a precious baby on the way, and the serenity of our lake house getaway. Then, during a quiet afternoon, Ethan's ex, Olivia, found her daughter Daisy drowned in the lake, turning on me with a shaking finger, screaming, "You did this! You let her drown!
/0/37074/coverbig.jpg?v=0efd2c02b60af22be57a0d0d7f2de9a0)
A deal in Despair
Adrianna is an orphan who was trained to be an assassin by Victor, a man who took her and her best friend from the street. People call her The Poison cause she is cold, heartless and also because of her torturing skills. Ace Vincenzo is the Italian mafia don. He is feared by everyone even kids. He
/0/40681/coverbig.jpg?v=0af43d98f71abf0dfa0a5fe8bb7c0e68)
A Moment in Time
Same with the tales of the end times, which even around many other parts of the Multiverse end from many parts of the multiverse. It was all that happened in an instant of time, when everything changes, even with the hidden beings of the multiverse, he gains many allies and watches the planets. When
/0/67698/coverbig.jpg?v=89f351f0621e1b12735360ace401189b)
BREAKS IN A SIGH
With money and things it could influence, Axel is able to sweep the family of former Miss Mississippi, Luna, the daughter of one of the Night Club Managers on Farish Street, Mr Spencer Gabriel, off their feet, and that pushes them to influence their daughter to marry this Mississippi's billionaire.
/0/58876/coverbig.jpg?v=382760b1c4f4c3f45f3e4e94a3a9a2e6)
Trapped in a Marriage
Money cannot buy love, but it sure can make marriages possible. It may not be genuine and warm, but for a woman hanging by a thread, what else is there to choose? Gabrielle Angelique–blonde woman, golden eyes, and pale skin. Though beautiful and extremely irresistible, she is an orphan who is under
/0/57105/coverbig.jpg?v=3d5ae32d74c894f2273a438d3a8450fa)
A Twist In Assassination
Araceli Beckham is an orphan striving to make ends meet. The only problem she had was working her butt off to put food on her table, pay for her little apartment, transportation and pay for her tuition for her last year in college. All these were already a pain in the ass and hard to keep up with
/0/11785/coverbig.jpg?v=e9265873aee8eb4daa65c45dad0c57e7)
A Diplomat in Japan
LARGE PAPERBACK. Sir Ernest Satow's well-known best-seller \"A Diplomat in Japan\" (first published in 1921) which is still widely available is based mainly on his diaries (\"journals\") for 1862-69. The unabridged diaries in this volume, carefully transcribed from original documents held at the U.K
/0/1149/coverbig.jpg?v=071c629e2891e3ef7b380a5c46d61d7e)
A Study in Scarlet
'There's a scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it.' From the moment Dr John Watson takes lodgings in Baker Street with the consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, he becomes intimately acquain
