The Accidental Bride
The Hockey Prince's Secret Ice Queen
All I wanted was to find a computer genius to process the non-linear dynamic equations for my ecological model. Instead, I found myself cornered by Julian Andrews, the university's hockey prince, trading a public, staged kiss for his academic support. To finalize our "deal," I was dragged to the campus ice rink. The cheerleaders and puck bunnies immediately swarmed him, mocking my plain clothes and treating me like a pathetic joke. Brooke, the head cheerleader, even set up a figure skating competition with a date with Julian as the grand prize. She performed a basic spin, blew him a kiss, and smugly waited for me to fall flat on my face and humiliate myself. His hockey teammates laughed from the sidelines, watching me try to support Julian as he stumbled around the ice like a newborn giraffe. But as I held his warm hand to keep him from falling, I couldn't help but feel something was terribly wrong. Why was a top-tier athlete faking such awful balance? And why did his ice-blue eyes stare at me with such knowing anticipation, as if he already knew about the professional figure skating past I had spent years trying to bury? "Just let go and skate." He whispered, slowly releasing my hand. I took a deep breath, glided to the center of the rink, and landed a flawless double Axel. As the entire rink fell into a dead, shocked silence, I realized I had just exposed not only my own hidden past, but also the biggest secret of the campus god.
Chapter 1 No.1
Sage POV:
"Let me kiss you."
The request was a low, hurried murmur—warm, quiet, and laced with the faintest edge of mortification.
Stunned, I snapped my head up toward the sound.
Julian Andrews filled my vision. He easily towered a head over me, his lean, athletic frame silhouetted against the bright morning glare, casting a long shadow across the cobblestones. Briar University's star forward. Team captain. The athletic department's untouchable golden boy.
Campus rumor had it that Julian was notoriously indifferent, never sparing anyone a second glance.
Behind him, a solid wall of navy-and-gold varsity jackets blocked the brick path. His teammates were whistling, shoving each other, and effectively cutting off my only exit.
The sudden commotion immediately bottlenecked the morning foot traffic. Whispers rippled through the crowd, and within seconds, a dozen students reached into their pockets out of sheer muscle memory, black camera lenses catching the light as they aimed squarely at us.
Julian's sharp eyes tracked the movement, his jaw tightening into a hard, irritated line.
Before I could take a single defensive step back, he closed the distance between us. Leaning down into my space, his broad shoulders shifted in a subtle, fluid maneuver—throwing up an impenetrable physical wall that completely shielded my face from the intrusive glare of the cameras.
His sharp, striking face hovered breathtakingly close. His deep baritone brushed against my ear, lost to the autumn wind, meant for me alone:
"Sorry to drop this on you," he whispered, his pale blue eyes disarmingly earnest, holding a quiet heat that sent a tremor straight down my spine. "The guys backed me into a locker-room dare... but I'm not here to use you as a joke. We can fake it. Angle it so it looks real—whatever you're comfortable with. Just help me get them off my back, and I owe you one."
It was only then that my brain finally rebooted.
What on earth? He's actually trying to kiss me?
A sharp flare of pure absurdity hit me, and my gaze dropped to my reflection in the dark glass door of the adjacent building: an oversized, faded gray hoodie that swallowed my frame whole, soft, thin jeans worn at the knees, bare-faced dark circles carved beneath my eyes from forty-eight hours of non-stop coding, my dark hair hastily twisted into a cheap plastic claw clip, and a pair of oversized, thick black-rimmed glasses sitting heavy on the bridge of my nose, completely hiding my face.
I looked like a refugee from an all-night disaster. How had Briar's golden prince ended up in front of me?
When I looked back up, my breath trapped in my throat anyway. He was too close, his clean scent of winter mint and cedar wrapping around my senses. Having those pale blue eyes staring straight down at me made my chest tighten in a way I really didn't want to acknowledge.
"Clock's ticking, Cap!" Landon howled from the sidelines, hands cupped around his mouth as the rest of the players lost their minds laughing. "Plant one on her, or enjoy the five-AM bag skate!"
A raucous chorus of barks and chest-thumping went up from the team.
A few yards away, two girls heading toward the dining hall froze in their tracks, pointing their phones.
"Wait, who the hell is that?" one of them laughed loudly, zooming her camera in on my face. "She looks like she just crawled out of a dumpster. There's no way Julian's actually kissing her. Post it on Sidechat right now—this is going straight to number one."
The cruel words hit like a splash of ice water, snapping me out of my daze and instantly killing the stupid flutter in my chest.
I hated the attention.
Four years ago, after my family and my former training partner framed me and destroyed my competitive skating career, I swore I would never be public entertainment again. I buried my name, switched majors, and hid behind oversized fleece and thick glasses just to live an invisible life. If I ended up on the campus forums with Julian Andrews, the internet vultures would dox me before noon—and drag up the toxic scandal I had bled to walk away from.
My research was already on the verge of falling apart. I didn't have time for this circus.
I locked my grip around my heavy binders, my knuckles straining white.
"Find someone else for your dare, Andrews," I said coldly, taking a step back to put distance between us, my voice tight with adrenaline. "I'm not interested in being part of your game. Move."
I kept my head down, attempting to brush past him.
"You're Sage Kelley, right?"
The sound of my name brought my boots to an immediate halt.
I blinked up at him, caught completely off guard.
"Professor Beaumont's senior research student," Julian straightened up slightly, his cadence measured and even, carrying an intellectual sharpness that seemed impossible beneath a varsity jacket. "I saw your Havenwood Creek senior capstone proposal sitting on his desk over Sunday dinner."
My heart gave a hard, hollow thud. Professor Beaumont was my academic advisor—and the guardian of the final research endowment my late father had left behind.
Julian leaned in slightly, his voice dropping to a near-whisper against the whistle of the wind. "I spent an hour going over your codebase."
My lips parted. "You... read my proposal?"
"Your simulation keeps crashing because your core fluid algorithm strategy is flawed," Julian murmured, his pale blue eyes deadly sharp. "And Uncle Des mentioned that if you don't deliver a working version by this Friday, the department is pulling your grant—which means you don't clear your senior thesis, and you don't graduate in May."
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.
Friday was the deadline. If the funding was pulled, the project died, my senior capstone failed, and I would be forced to stay another semester without my degree. Worse, my father's final ecological legacy would be reduced to scrap paper.
I had been panicking over that exact deadline for two days straight, and Julian had just laid it out like it was nothing.
Worse, I couldn't even brush him off. I had heard the rumors about Beaumont's nephew—the CS prodigy everyone in the department talked about. I just had never realized it was him.
"I know how to fix your algorithm," Julian stated plainly, laying his cards on the table, his gaze locking onto mine with an unshakeable, quiet certainty. "Help me get through this bet. In return, I'll rewrite your boundary calculations tonight. Deal?"
The accidental bride
The whole hall was empty except for the two people that were shooting daggers at each other's with their eyes. Logan later broke the silence and said "you could only work your way into my bed with sleazy means but forget about me treating you like my wife. if you like, you can go complain to grandma
The Billionaire's Accidental Bride
She was dumped He needed a bride Elena was to be married to the only person she loved so much, her sweetheart, her heartthrob, Pete. But her so-perfect fairytale wedding turned out to be a nightmare after being betrayed by her heartthrob On the other hand, Alex is the only grandson of the famous
Billionaire's Accidental Bride
They were heartbroken, they were drunk, and they spent the night together. And something out of control happens. *** But the young billionaire wasn't a bastard who shirked responsibility for the baby she was carrying. "I will marry you, and fulfill all my duties as this baby's biological father.
Mr CEO Accidental Bride
“Marry me!” A pair of green eyes stared back at her. Delilah Houston looked stunned. She was still putting on her wedding gown. Today was supposed to be the best day of her life. It was her wedding day but she got the shock of her life. She found her younger sister in bed with her husband to b
Mafia's Accidental Bride
Nadia's life was a symphony of flour, sugar, and the contented sighs of satisfied customers. Her bakery, "Flour & Fancy," was a haven of warmth and comfort, away from the whispers of the city's underbelly. One rainy afternoon, a misplaced invitation shattered the tranquility. Addressed to "Nadia Pe
Accidental Bride(A Christmas Wedding)
Alex wanted a perfect Christmas,her expectations were high, a Christmas Eve dinner and a well spent Christmas, all but few of everything she wanted however she got the shock of her life when her boyfriend suddenly broke up with her for no reason. Every expectation she had for Christmas crashed and s
The CEO's Accidental Bride (Contract Marriage)
Ivy Bennett proposed to the wrong man. He was supposed to be wearing green. He wasn't. But he said yes anyway. Now she's married to a billionaire CEO she met five minutes ago, living in a penthouse she doesn't belong in, and trying very hard not to fall for the husband who was supposed to be tempo
ACCIDENTAL SURROGATE BRIDE FOR THE BILLIONAIRES
May has it all-beauty, poise, and the right to inherit a multi-million-dollar mansion and the prestigious Greenfield Hospital. But with the hospital on the brink of bankruptcy and the government threatening to seize the property, her only chance to save her father's legacy lies in one condition: mar
The Billionaire's Accidental Mistress
Freya Lune is a professional mistress for hire. Her unique, controversial mission? Expose cheating husbands, ruin shady marriages, and test loyalty-all for a price. But when she's hired by a high-profile client to tempt her husband, her professional life crashes into a chaotic passion. Instead of th
The Accidental Wife
"Who the hell are you?!" yelled Rachel Clarke (28) when she woke up in the morning to find herself all naked with a man snoring softly beside her. "I'm your future husband, have you forgotten what happened last night?" said the man beside her with his eyes half-closed. Since that day, Rachel's lif
The accidental wife
**Blurb:** When modern, spoiled Samantha falls into a ditch and wakes up in the 1970s, she's shocked to find herself in the body of a fierce, rebellious girl feared by her entire family. With memories of a luxurious past life and access to a mysterious time vault filled with food and secrets, Saman
The Billionaire's Accidental Nanny
Anna loses her job because she decides to be decent. Lying to get herself a new job lands her into the hands of Axel Don, a billionaire CEO who hates women because of his painful past. How will she survive in a world above hers?
The Billionaire Accidental Baby
SYNOPSIS She came to drop some files at my penthouse, I was drunk to stupor, I wasn't thinking straight and we had a night stand. He's Collins Walter, a cold-hearted Billionaire, popular around the world. A business freak, who doesn't seem to care about love and marriage, talks less of babie
The Accidental Marriage
In the heart of Seattle, two very different souls collide in a whirlwind of passion and hardships. When a chance encounter leads Amelie Campbell to having a one night stand with charming billionaire, Sebastian Romano, her life turns upside down. Fate interweaves their destinies when a shocking sca
The Billionaire's Accidental Lover
Still nursing the wounds of a devastating breakup, Olivia turns to online dating When she agrees to meet a charming stranger, she braces herself for awkward small talk and forced smiles. What she doesn't expect is to walk into the wrong date. Embarrassed. Olivia is ready to walk away. But then a pe
The Alpha's Accidental Surrogate
After a painful betrayal, Lisa turns to IVF hoping for a fresh start-but a mix-up at the clinic ties her fate to Ronan Stormrider, a powerful Alpha with secrets of his own. Forced into a contract marriage, Lisa enters a world of danger, power, and hidden desires. But as their bond deepens, old enemi
The CEO's Accidental Wife
I was an intern. John Carter was my billionaire boss who didn't even know I existed. On top of that, everyone knew his heart belonged to a woman from his past. I knew where I stood, so I kept my secret crush buried. Then came the company trip. One drunken night, one colossal mistake, and I woke up
The Accidental Husband
My father, a titan of industry, called me in to seal my fate: an arranged marriage to solidify his empire. All eyes were on me, Liam Hayes, heir to the powerful Hayes Group, as I consented, the word heavy with unspoken guilt towards Olivia, the woman I loved for seven years. That night, back in the
The Billionaire's Accidental Wife
One night, one life-changing decision, and so they say, "What happens in Vegas stays in vegas." Yet it was nothing but a stupid mistake. She awakens in an unknown suite, naked with a hot stranger in the bed, with a wedding ring on her fingers. But being confused was nothing compared to his replies
The Accidental kiss
Nathaniel Greyson has everything-wealth, genius-level intelligence, and the kind of charm that commands respect. To the world, he's untouchable, a perfectionist who can't be brought down. But beneath the surface lies a man shaped by betrayal, a cold, calculated being who views women as the root of a
