Scars
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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.
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Beloved Wife Of The God Of War
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My Baby's Daddy Is Mr CEO
It was Valentine`s day; the day of love. Arianna had gone out with for a date with her boyfriend, she was expecting him to pop the question tonight but instead, he did the exact opposite. He announced that the relationship was not working and he couldn't push on anymore. So he walked out of her life and out of the country as well. She was broken, ended up in a bar where she intended to drink away her sorrows. She got tipsy and that's when Mr. handsome stranger showed up. The both ended up in a hotel room and the next morning before she could wake up, he was gone. Only if she knew that the one night stand would lead to an unexpected pregnancy. She was pregnant for someone whose name she didn't even know, a complete stranger. Six months later, she bumps into a magazine with his picture "Oliver Gomez; Business man of the year" That's when she realizes that her Baby`s Daddy Is Mr. CEO!! She confronts him but the billionaire CEO denies it, however she is not going to give up, not without a fight.
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Billionaire's Regret: CEO Wants Mother Of Twin Back
Lily was the wife of the richest and most powerful man in the continent, but because she couldn't conceive an heir for her husband, everyone treated her without respect including her husband. After five years, she finally conceived but her husband, Drake Bell believed her pregnancy was a result of an affair she has because he never had any intimacy with her ever since his childhood sweetheart returned back to his life and that was a year ago. Hence, he took Lily to the hospital and enforce an abortion on her pregnancy eventhough it was against her will. Broken, battered and wasted, Lily dropped a divorce paper on the table and left her husband's villa. The wife of the richest man in the continent ended up being homeless and sleeping on the street but two weeks later, she started experiencing strange symptoms. On visiting the hospital, she was told she was pregnant. Many years later, Drake Bell knelt before Lily and begged her and her twin to come to him but Lily was already a top designer with enough money in her account, she has more than enough to take care of herself and her kids, as for Drake Bell, she told him to rot in hell. But destiny can be tricky, could there a possibility of love between Drake Bell and Lily considering Drake Bell's unforgivable act in the past?
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One Night With Blaze
Blaze Arden Vaughn is an heir of a huge empire, an ace student of medical faculty, very handsome, sweet and nice. His name signifies fire but his heart is as cold as ice. Ace Daxton Anderson is a known 'one night stand' guy and a bi. A gang leader who won't back down from a gang fight and is not afraid to be bruised just to prove his point. They are both in the same university but they have their own territory and never knew each other's existence. Until the day that the Ice Prince fixed his cold gaze on the very hot gang leader on the field. "You want me that bad...that your eyes are screaming it out loud..." Blaze announced with his challenging tone and a calm smile, making Ace's jaw clenched while their gazes locked. "I can smell your desire even from afar..." Blaze continued with a very subtle smirk, making Ace grit his teeth. "Who would not...you are Blaze Arden Vaughn...the epitome of perfection...everybody's dream guy" Ace sarcastically responded, a smirk grazed his lips. His jaw clenching in annoyance not with Blaze but with himself. "So Ace Anderson, want to try, a Blaze Arden Vaughn for tonight?" Blaze smirked as he casually ask, making the grim face of the gang leader looked stunned and dumbfounded. A one night stand offered by the cold and distant Blaze Arden Vaughn, just one night of pleasure... one night of curiosity.
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Love Slave to the Mafia Boss's Passion
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UGLY SCARS
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Mafia's Scars
Yelena: Scarred, Haunted by her nightmares, and completely alone. Domenico: Powerful, Boss of the underworld, and Possessive of one person. They met back in high school and almost fell in love when Yelena was betrayed by Dom so she ran away for two years. Dom didn't stop looking for her until he
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Gilded scars
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Hidden Scars
Alex, a young man who escapes domestic violence with his mother. However, their lives take a dark turn when his mother marries Toni, a man with a hidden secret. Toni is attracted to Alex and their relationship becomes abusive. Tragedy strikes when Alex's mother dies in a hit-and-run accident, leadin
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The Scars
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Buried Scars
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My Hidden Scars
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The Scars We Carry
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LOVE, SCARS AND REVENGE
Nicole was celebrating her 20th birthday at home with her parents and younger brother over a nice dinner when six gang members broke into their house, robbed them of all valuables and the gang leader even raped her and they ended up killing her parents as well. Nicole was completely shattered and th
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A Wife's Undeniable Scars
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The Cowboy's Scars
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Her scars, his obsession
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BETWEEN THE SCARS
Patricia Xavier Saliem holds a grudge and is traumatized by the accident that took her mother's life. Since then, her goal in life has only been one: to find the suspicious man on the day her mother died. However, Patricia's plans are thwarted when she meets Bram-CEO of the company she works for-who
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Some Scars Never Fade
"August, 1865 The War is over and as America is trying to recover, Nicholas Gregson is trying to get used to his civilian life. But the deep scar on the side of his face will always remind him of the most violent war in America. One windy day, Nicholas gets a visit from his former General with
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The tech industry' s golden couple, Mark Stone and I, stood basking in the spotlight, a symbol of shared dreams and billion-dollar success. But that dream shattered when an anonymous email revealed Mark's decade-long betrayal: he wasn't just having an affair with Chloe Davis, our rival, but funding
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Love Beyond The Scars
For five long years, Ethan Miller lived in silent devotion to Victoria Davenport, pushing her wheelchair, fulfilling her every demand, and harboring a desperate love he believed would someday be reciprocated. He considered himself her devoted world, her hands and feet, following her tragic horseba
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A Thousand Scars: Ava's Awakening
Ava Chen stood beside Julian Vance, tech billionaire, her fiancé. Tonight was their engagement announcement at a dazzling Silicon Valley gala. Everything seemed picture-perfect. Then, the ballroom doors opened, and in walked Seraphina Reed, Julian' s ex, the "White Redwood." Julian froze, droppi
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The Scars Of Her Disdain
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