His Queen Her Beast
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.
His Rejected Mate (Her Beast)
Nora's father was a powerful witch who was presumed to have gone crazy and tried to kill the Leader of their coven. The coven shuns her for her dads wrong doings. Until one day she discovers that her father was trying to save them from the leader all along. She is determined to use her magic for goo
HER BEAST
"Get away from me, don't touch me" Angelina cried. As i pinned her to the wall, and watch her as she struggled to leave my arms, she noticed the huge grin on my face. " You bastard, I repeat, don't you dare touch me" An evil smile which was evident on my face, and i said. "Why don't yo
Her Beast
Kristine is a 22 year old media house worker, who is, although sharp mouthed and brave, bullied by her boss. In a bid to find information about the bone chillingly handsome and dangerous CEO of the multi billion dollar company, Gems, she created a pregnancy scandal, causing her to fall into an entan
HIS PLUMPY QUEEN HER BULLY
"I..hate you" I croaked out brokenly, struggling and failing to hold back the tears spilling in waves from my eyes. "Awwww, is my fat queen crying?" Brandon jested mockingly, laughing as if he had just said something funny. His friends echoed his laughter, making the tears spill even faster from h
From His Pawn To Her Queen
I was Kennedy Hall, the rebellious journalist of a political dynasty. My only escape was a secret, passionate affair with Elliot Solis, a powerful CEO carved from ice and logic. He called me his "beautiful disaster," a storm contained within the walls of his penthouse. But our affair was built on a
Taming His Beast
In the middle of a hall, a dangerous looking giant beast was chained. He was groaning in pain, agony. He was missing another part of him. Suddenly he let out a strong, earth wreaking growl. After the growl everything around him calmed down. The beast started shifting and soon there was a man in his
HIS QUEEN
Alpha King Thane is wild and ruthless. He doesn't know how to be gentle. He is exasperated by the slave in red dress. He doesn't want another mate but no one else can have her.Esmeralda is attracted to the king. He acts hot and cold towards her and stirs up emotions she doesn't understand. She has n
Call Her Queen Hatshepsut
Rosa James, known as Hatshepsut, is a young woman with an untold secret. Known in the ballroom circuit, she hides the scars inflicted on her by her mother, Avarice James, a plastic surgeon with mental illness. Rosa navigates her ups and downs with devastating accuracy as she deals with an unloving f
The Beast and His Beauty
We all have that one boy in high school who feels like the demi god of his grade, Elon used to be one of them until his curse. "So are we beginning a new relationship?" Xena asked as she saw Elon walk into the room with his towel hung loose on his waist and water dripping down his rock hard
His Captive, His Mate, His Queen
Ioana has never had it easy. As the wolfless omega of the Redmoon Pack, she's been a constant reminder to everyone of what she isn't. Shunned by her parents, humiliated by her packmates, and heartbroken by the Alpha's cruel rejection, she feels like nothing but a ghost in a world that doesn't want h
Mated To The Beast: Her Hybrid Mate
Immediately we walked into the pack house, he pulled me by the arm. "Welcome to hell, Darling." I tried to pull away from him, giving him a piece of my mind now that he had no leverage over my head. "Firstly, stop with the pet name-calling. It doesn't go well with your image." He pulled me closer, w
His Crazy Queen
25 years old Amara, she's the daughter of the former President Banks. She has been tagged as a sociopath and a crazy one at that,she loves romance movies but hates romance for real. Amara had long stopped believing in love. Life had shown her enough to convince her that romance was nothing but a
His Unseen Queen
The crystal chandeliers sparkled, reflecting the perfect white dress I wore. My hand was tucked into Mark's arm; this was our engagement party. Then, his voice, smooth and charming just seconds before, twisted into a lie. "Sarah is not well," he announced to the silenced room, my mentee Chloe by
His Scarlet Queen Luna
Scarlet Reyes a shy young girl who only has a few friends Jenna and Skylar. She lives with her mother while her father abandoned them after a one night stand. Zane Micheal Black the badboy of Oak tree high and feared by many in all of Baja Despite being young. He likes being with different women inc
IMPRISONING HIS MAFIA QUEEN
"How does it feel to submit Jade, how does it feel to kneel at the feet of your owner," he asked, in a low voice that rumbled like the storm. Raising my head, I stared at him defiantly, knowing deep down that I was consciously breaking his rule and that I would be punished for it. I smirked. "It fe
His Drama Queen
Nicole Vargas. Spoiled, rich, smart, and melodramatic. She graduated Fashion Design in Brazil and was the daughter of a well known artist and the CEO of 'The Vargas' hotel and casino chains. She could get anything she wants at just the snap of her fingers. Even her career. But she didn't. And
His Revenge: Making her his
Stefano Rossi, a multi-billionaire and the CEO of a company. He'd planned his revenge on the smith family, for what they did to him, years ago. Kevin Smith and his parents had duped him of his money when they were still business partners. And he planned on executing his revenge on their sweet, inno
His Rejected Mate, His Secret Queen
He broke her heart when she was nothing... Now she's back with power, secrets, and his child. Once a quiet, gentle omega, Lila was cruelly rejected by her fated mate-Alpha Evan-who chose a high-ranking she-wolf to strengthen his rule. Left in tears and disgrace, Lila vanished without a trace... onl
FROM HIS MAID TO HIS QUEEN
*You love me? No... you can't love a maid-a daughter of a prostitute, a one-night mistake like me. We're not from the same world. We can never be together. It's a dream that won't come true.* *Lily, that doesn't matter. I don't care where you're from or what your past is. I love you–and that's the o
