Me and Mr Wrong
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.
Mr. Right Or Mr. Wrong
Three years ago, he brought another woman to their engagement party. He humiliated her in public, and she left away without hesitation. When she came back, he realized that she was the one he only wanted. To get her back, he tried everything he could do to get closer to her. Yet, he only got a snee
Kiss Me, My Wrong Bride
Calantha was an orphan girl with poor backgrounds and not even finished high school. She received an offer for a transaction with Lady Selena of the Anderson family while she was working at a café. Calantha would pretend to be Selena and became the bride of the marriage of Selena and her fiancé, Ash
Mr Billionaire Wants Me
Brooklyn is just like any other town in this century; shiny and promising. Which is why Elsa chooses to settle here, far away from her past. However, her presence in town kicks the hornet nest and a string of incidents unfold. Elsa must decide whether to continue her plans for revenge against the to
MR. BILLIONAIRE WANTS ME
"Then let me help you," he said, stepping closer. "Let me prove to you that I'm worth the risk." Her heart ached at the vulnerability in his eyes, but she couldn't ignore the doubts that lingered. "Ethan, what if this doesn't work? What if we both end up hurt?" "Then at least we'll know we tried," h
Mr. Tatto Wants Me
Romance, Adult. Sensitive content 21+ "Saving you to destroy you." Traumatized by his mother's abuse of women, Denis hates the opposite sex, but that doesn't mean he has to be gay. Instead, Denis' hatred leads him to use many women as a means of revenge, toys that he must destroy in such a way aft
Wrong Room, Wrong Groom: Now He Won't Let Me Go
Isabella thought marrying into the Evans family would save her and her sister from two miserable marriages. Instead, one wedding-night mix-up threw them into a new nightmare. After ending up in the wrong room, Isabella was switched to stern Alexander, while her sister was paired with his playb
Mr. Ceo Wants Me
MATURE CONTENT: 18+ This book contains mature content. Readers are advised to be at least 18+ as some themes may be inappropriate or triggering for certain audiences. --- After years of guarding her heart, Aria Vale agrees to a no-strings-attached arrangement with Elliot Blackthorne, the cold an
Marry Me, Mr Consigliere
ON HOLD/UNDERGOING REWRITE As a stripper, she was auctioned to the Mafia Don who was after her since he learnt she was a virgin. But Cloe ran away because she couldn't handle it...and on the way, she got into an accident that almost took her life. To save her, her parents bid her for a night wit
Covet me, Mr. Billionaire
I have power in my hands; I can have anything I want in just a snap of my fingers. People can’t control me; I was born to control people. No one can stop what I want, because if I want it, I get it. And I am ruthless. I’m aware of it and I know that I am selfish, and no one can stop what I want to
Mr. Billionaire, Forgive Me!
Blurb: After her sister runs away two days before her wedding, Jelena is forced to take her place by marrying a man she had hurt in the past to save her mother's business from her wicked stepmother. What happens when they finally meet after years? Will he learn to love her above the past? And
Mr and Mrs contract
He had to have a contract marriage with his secretary, they both had problems to solve, and they decided that staying with one another would solve it. Little did they know that what fate had in stock for them is far beyond their imagination.
Mr. and Mrs. Heinrich
[DISCONTINUED] The story about two souls, Winter and Rafael. Winter thinks that the true meaning of being free and at peace is being alone and isolated. By living alone in one's own bubble, one can be truly happy. Rafael once had a similar thought, but his perspective changed when he met his genuine
Mr Popular And I
My popular has it all, Fame, Money, Popularity, but whats the deal with hidding under a mask? He spends a whole day under a mask just so no one sees his face. What exactly is his secret?, why is he living a double life?. *** She is one of his fans, but she's not obsessed with him, what happens wh
Love and Mr. Lewisham
The opening chapter does not concern itself with Love--indeed that antagonist does not certainly appear until the third--and Mr. Lewisham is seen at his studies. It was ten years ago, and in those days he was assistant master in the Whortley Proprietary School, Whortley, Sussex, and his wages were f
WRONG
" Teach me how to be yours, professor. 'Cause no matter how wrong this is, I still want you." *** It was supposed to be just one night. One night of pleasure. To forget the pain and the heartbreak from her ex. Lauren Gray, an undercover agent, finds herself in bed in the arms of a gorgeous and
WRONG BRIDE WRONG MATE
After the death of her sister on the day of her wedding LUCIA was forced to get married to the Lycan King in place of her sister, to strengthen the alliance between the two families. The Lycan King had a deep-seated hatred for LUCIA with the thought that she had a hand in the death of her sister; af
LET ME GO MR HEARTLESS
SYNOPSIS WARNING!!! THE BOOK CONTAINS VIOLENT AND GROSS LANGUAGES In life it is always said that for each decision and step you take there is a consequence. Pain!!! Pain!!! That is the only thing that Zoey has always experience in life. Zoey having been a victim and survival of an assassinatio
Please love me, Mr George
"Pregnancy: Six weeks!" Holding the report, I stood still in astonishment. It's quite unexpected that I've got pregnant with his baby. What we have is just a contract marriage. What should I do? How to hide this from him?
Let Me Go, Mr. Mafia
"I must have her back within 24 hours, without a single strand of her hair harmed." In a world where loyalty is a rare luxury, Vivian's father seals her fate by selling her to Lincoln Rizzo New York's most feared mafia king. Lincoln Rizzo, infamous for his ruthless rule, harbors an unusual weaknes
Make Me Yours, Mr Billionaire
She was pregnant? How could she be pregnant when she was getting married to another man? How was she going to explain this to her soon-to-be husband? Donovan O'Connell was destined to be the heir to his family's empire but an accident left him disabled and marrying who his grandfather had picked for
