Once Burned Twice Desired
/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.
/0/87230/coverbig.jpg?v=11023336066d13553f87392f3e277373)
Once Burned, Twice Desired
She thought she was the one he chose. Until she saw him on live TV - waiting at the airport with flowers... for the woman he never forgot. That same night, he came home and handed her divorce papers. Now she's back - richer, colder, untouchable. And suddenly, he wants her again. But so does the m
/0/74822/coverbig.jpg?v=f5182acf9ed8702fa9b3c7a74aa47d89)
Twice Burned Twice Desired
"You're back."Dominic's voice was low, unreadable. Elena tilted her chin, her lips curling into a smirk. "Did you miss me? Or just the woman who let you walk all over her?" His jaw tightened. "You left." "You threw me away,"she shot back, eyes blazing. "And now, I'm here to return the favor."
/0/88419/coverbig.jpg?v=c07e7ef3f346ebdf9ac427d18ad165cb)
Twice Burned, Twice Desired
Five years ago, he used her. Now, she's back to destroy him, until revenge starts to feel a lot like love. Rita Hale once loved Cosmas Moretti so deeply, she married him only to be betrayed, humiliated, and discarded like a pawn in his corporate game. Now, she's returned as a ruthless CEO with a b
/0/87743/coverbig.jpg?v=0a39472f60f3bb3f6678e972cdede5f2)
Twice burnt, Once Loved
Heartbroken. Betrayed. Expecting a child. A passionate one-night stand with a dangerously attractive stranger is the last thing Susan Brooks expects when she drowns her sorrows at a lavish party thrown by her best friend. She disappears the following morning, only to find out weeks later that her en
/0/47632/coverbig.jpg?v=7aaeaa26e1345798907958b8b944ab04)
Once rejected, Twice accepted
Eva was the orphan and the capture slave of the pack. This pack result in the demise of her own family. She is the daughter of two Alpha, so she has a potential of super powerful talent. Even vampire want to possess her to get the talent. At her 18, she know her mate is the son of the Alpha, who kil
/0/46223/coverbig.jpg?v=15965512747534b66faf2b9ba48cca6c)
Once Divorced, Now Desired
"How could you love and marry someone you didn't even meet?"---Olivia Martin Olivia Martin got married to a man she had never met before. She can't do anything else but follow her parent's orders. But how could she ever have feelings for a man like Matthew Huxley, who was insufferable, more frustra
/0/18635/coverbig.jpg?v=273480d1a7442d3c23f7a251ca5c4fd4)
Live Twice, Love Once
Kate, a top coroner from the twenty-second century, had landed the exciting opportunity of time traveling. She went back in time as a sexy cheerleader, a completely different persona than her original one. In all the books that she had read, the heroine would meet all kinds of charming, handsome
/0/85513/coverbig.jpg?v=8b65fd600117773b116bc45852a3b0e0)
Once Rejected Then Desired
To Ronan, I was nothing but a weak, wolfling girl. So he did what cold-hearted Alphas do-he rejected me. Now I'm stronger. Wilder. Dangerous. And when he returns, burning with jealousy over the Alpha I let touch me... it's too late. Or maybe, it's just the beginning. Because the bond between us st
/0/95043/coverbig.jpg?v=6a8742a1864a3b19e9a6b280fb98a24b)
Married Twice Loved Once
Aria Carter died betrayed. Her husband ignored her. Her best friend stabbed her in the back. Her family sold her off like a pawn. When she opened her eyes again three years earlier, on the night of her arranged marriage to the city's coldest CEO she swore this life would be different. No more weak
/0/38602/coverbig.jpg?v=d7dff00e563fb1dc4350b4cbceb8c51e)
Once Bitten Twice Shy
What was that dripping sound? It sounded like an echo, a noise from far away repeating itself in an effort to wake her up. What had happened? Her eyes pulled open but she wasn't able to see much, her vision was foggy and her mind was blur. The car door fell open and she found herself struggling to
/0/43924/coverbig.jpg?v=eee6d93efce66125dc2a6ef32e0dd891)
Sold once, Married twice
Choice denied, hope gone, dreams lost, not even a happy ever after had a spot for Ryan. Being sold to the most feared and cruel Alpha wasn't exactly thrilling. She needs to bear him an heir for her freedom but once again, fate throws her another blow. Running away is her only option. Five years
/0/90945/coverbig.jpg?v=a4798b0d0252cca10bb102775971210c)
Once Discarded, Now Desired
After three years of giving her all to the marriage, Eleanor's reward was nothing but a ruthless divorce! Trouble brewed from her ex-husband's old lover, and the in-law eagerly piled on. Coffee splashed the cheating pair; a recording exposed the sister-in-law; their family name sank. The me
/0/47555/coverbig.jpg?v=0817531f16778690cbec634cc32f712f)
Reborn Wife: Once Bitten, Twice Shy
My marriage to Mathias was supposed to make me the happiest woman in the world. Although I knew he didn't love me, I thought he would fall for me once I showered him with all the love I had to give. Five years passed and Mathias still didn't give a damn about me. Instead, he met his true love and
/0/46505/coverbig.jpg?v=310fb3e873072a35263a5a027a0fcb2a)
BITE ME ONCE, KISS ME TWICE
After being betrayed by a woman he truly loved, a vampire named Sebastian Kensington decided to sleep to ease his heartache. It was cowardly, but he did it for fear of harassing innocent humans. He had been sleeping for more than a hundred years, but one day, he suddenly woke up. He was thirsty for
/0/79788/coverbig.jpg?v=71f6bde167c3be02e4b9f174b496260c)
Twice Marked, Twice Chosen
Lyra, a beautiful but bullied Omega werewolf, is thrown into a whirlwind of destiny after discovering her forbidden powers and being rejected by her mate, Alpha Donovan. Heartbroken, she flees to a nearby witch clan and forms a bond with Jason, the rogue King of the witches, only to discover the t
/0/88330/coverbig.jpg?v=b480a5f3b58d6094f6494d7328f2bb8e)
Desired By The Once-Bullied, Billionaire Soccer Player
Pregnant for her high school boyfriend at seventeen, Dahlia Harold, the beloved and pampered heiress of the Harold family is rejected and disowned by her parents when she refuses to abort to save the family's reputation. When her boyfriend, William Redford, rejects the pregnancy and breaks up with h
/1/131537/coverbig.jpg?v=fc6397267b492ff448cd27446be625e0)
Once Disgraced, Now The Galaxy's Most Desired Queen
Cathy woke in an interstellar empire as its disgraced princess. Her predecessor had no pheromones, tormented her three powerful mates, and chased a worthless man until she lost her claim to the throne. While her beloved sister basked in admiration, Cathy became the empire's laughingstock. T
/0/22230/coverbig.jpg?v=e873718eff5cb5c01296bb6bf023c8ca)
Desired
Love, please tell me how you got hurt? How can I fix it, if I dont know what's wrong?" Calum asked, his focus on his concern for her wellbeing, and not his own evident lust which was growing by the second at her close proximity. "I'm fine." Colt said through gritted teeth, wondering why her legs s
/0/3146/coverbig.jpg?v=38d47693d5f39848fb47fac2f316b888)
/0/23936/coverbig.jpg?v=3d8ba459c48eae72f1702c8591b5be08)
ONCE
All she needs is to see him again even if it's just once. Amanda falls in love with her best friend's boyfriend. She tried her best to stop herself but finds herself growing to love him more, Can they be? Would her friendship last?
