Unbreakable bonds
/1/117347/coverbig.jpg?v=de20990b4c70907f2f9e27e5baa266ac)
THREE-YEARS CONTRACT MARRIAGE WITH THE HOT BILLIONAIRE
"Sign the contract, or lose everything." I stared at the papers that would seal my fate-a three-year marriage to Julian Blackwood, the ruthless billionaire they call the Ice King. My family didn't ask. They demanded. My father's company was drowning, my stepsister's engagement had exploded, and I was the replacement bride they could sacrifice. Just another transaction. Julian made it clear on our wedding day: "Don't expect affection. Don't expect companionship. Certainly don't expect love." He refused to kiss me at the altar. He gave me a bedroom down the hall and told me to stay out of his way. I was Mrs. Blackwood in name only-a contract, a convenience, a means to an end. I accepted it. I had survived twelve years of abuse in my own home. I could survive three years of indifference in his. But then Nate, Julian's best friend, showed me kindness, and suddenly my cold husband became possessive. When my sister attacked me, he became protective. Now the man who promised me nothing is fighting his own father to keep me. The marriage that was supposed to be fake is becoming terrifyingly real and the secrets about my mother's death are threatening to destroy everything. They said Julian Blackwood destroys everything he touches. What they didn't tell me... is that sometimes destruction is exactly what you need to be reborn. With a pregnancy involved, how was I going to end this three-year marriage peacefully?
Chapter 1 The Invisible Daughter
Lena.
I refilled the champagne glasses carefully, weaving through clusters of glittering guests who looked through me rather than at me. The black dress I wore, the same one I'd worn to every family event for the past three years had a small tear at the hem that no one had noticed. No one ever noticed.
"More champagne here," a woman in diamonds called out, snapping her fingers without bothering to look at my face.
I moved to her, my footsteps silent on the marble floor of the Carter mansion's ballroom. Cassie's engagement party was in full swing, two hundred guests celebrating my stepsister's upcoming marriage to Liam Whitley, heir to a pharmaceutical fortune. A string quartet played in the corner. The air smelled of expensive perfume and imported flowers.
I belonged to none of it.
But in exactly seven days, none of this would matter anymore.
Seven days until I had enough money saved. Seven days until my interview at the marketing firm in Boston. Seven days until I could disappear from this house and never look back.
I touched the envelope hidden in my bra-my mother's death certificate, the one document I would need to access the small trust fund she had left me. The lawyer's appointment was scheduled for Monday morning. After three years of hiding money in my mattress, working secret jobs Bridget didn't know about, I finally had enough for a security deposit and first month's rent on a tiny studio apartment five hours away.
Freedom was seven days away.
"The hors d'oeuvres are running low on the west table." Bridget's sharp voice cut through my thoughts. My stepmother appeared at my elbow, her perfectly painted lips pressed into a thin line. "Were you planning to let our guests starve?"
"I'll refill them now," I said quietly.
"You should have done it ten minutes ago." Her manicured nails dug into my arm. "Must I do everything myself? Go. And try not to look so pathetic. You're embarrassing us."
Just seven more days, I reminded myself. Seven more days of this, then I'd never have to hear her voice again.
I hurried toward the kitchen, my cheeks burning. Behind me, I heard Bridget's laugh as she greeted another guest. The transformation was instant, like flipping a switch.
In the kitchen, I loaded canapés onto a silver tray, my hands moving automatically. The catering staff gave me sympathetic looks but said nothing. They knew better than to interfere in family matters.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I checked it quickly, it as a text from Landon, my manager at the coffee shop where I worked early mornings before anyone in this house woke up.
"Your last paycheck is ready. $340. That puts you at your goal, right?"
My heart soared. I didn't need to wait seven more days. I had enough now. I could leave tomorrow if I wanted to.
I typed back quickly: "Yes. Thank you for everything."
"Good luck in Boston. You deserve better than this."
I deleted the conversation and pocketed my phone, my hands shaking with suppressed excitement. Tomorrow. I could leave tomorrow, right after the lawyer's appointment. I had already packed a small bag and hidden it in the garden shed. I had bus tickets purchased under a fake name. I had...
"Lena!" Cassie's voice shattered my planning. "Come here for a second."
I returned to the ballroom, a tray balanced in my hands. Cassie stood at the center of a group of her friends, her engagement ring catching the light with every dramatic gesture. She looked beautiful in her rose-gold gown, her blonde hair swept into an elegant updo, her laugh was musical and confident.
Everything I wasn't. Everything I had stopped trying to be.
"I just wanted to introduce you to everyone," Cassie said sweetly as I approached. "This is my stepsister, Lena. She's been so helpful tonight, playing servant." She leaned closer, as if sharing a secret. "She really commits to the role, doesn't she?"
Her friends tittered. I stood frozen, the familiar burn of humiliation spreading through my chest.
Tomorrow, I reminded myself. Just get through tonight.
"Actually, I think she enjoys it," one of them said. "Some people just know their place."
Cassie reached for a glass of wine from a passing waiter. She turned back to me, smiling. "Oh, how clumsy of me!"
The red wine hit my dress in a splash of burgundy, soaking through the fabric. The wine was cold against my skin, and for a moment, I felt the envelope in my bra getting damp. Panic shot through me, if the death certificate was ruined, I would have to order another one, which would take weeks.
I set down the tray with shaking hands and hurried toward the bathroom, Cassie's laughter following me down the hall. In the bathroom, I carefully extracted the envelope. The certificate was fine, protected by the envelope's thick paper. Relief flooded through me.
I looked at my reflection: wine-stained, exhausted, invisible. Tomorrow, this version of Lena Carter would cease to exist.
I slipped out the side door into the garden, needing air, needing to see the one place in this house that still felt like home. My mother had planted these roses herself, back when she was alive, back when this house held warmth and laughter. I had hidden my escape bag behind the largest rose bush, wrapped in plastic.
I knelt beside it now, checking to make sure it was still there. Everything was intact-clothes, documents, the small amount of jewelry my mother had left me that Bridget didn't know about.
"I'm leaving tomorrow, Mom," I whispered to the roses. "I'm finally getting out."
A crash from inside the house shattered the moment. Then shouting, loud enough to carry through the walls.
My escape would have to wait a few more hours. I stood, brushing dirt from my ruined dress, and returned to find chaos.
A crash from inside the house shattered the quiet. Then shouting, loud enough to carry through the walls. I stood, brushing dirt from my ruined dress.
When I returned to the ballroom, it was chaotic. Cassie stood in the center of the room, her face blotchy with tears, while Liam Whitley faced her with crossed arms.
"I'm done," he said loud enough for everyone to hear. "I can't marry someone so spoiled, so entitled. My family won't allow it anyway, your father's company is hemorrhaging money. This engagement is over."
He pulled the ring from his pocket...Cassie must have thrown it at him and set it on a nearby table. Then he walked out.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Cassie's scream pierced the air. She grabbed the nearest vase and hurled it at the wall, where it shattered into a thousand pieces. "How dare he! How dare he embarrass me like this!"
Guests began making hurried exits, murmuring apologies and excuses. Within minutes, the ballroom had emptied except for family and staff.
Bridget's hand connected with my cheek before I saw it coming. The slap echoed through the nearly empty room.
"This is your fault," she hissed. "Looking like trash in front of our guests, bringing bad luck to this family. You've embarrassed us for the last time."
I pressed my hand to my stinging cheek but said nothing. My father stood in the corner, avoiding my eyes.
"Get out of my sight," Bridget said. "And clean up this mess before you go to bed."
I spent the next two hours picking up broken glass and discarded napkins while the caterers packed up around me. My father and Bridget had disappeared into his study. I could hear their voices, through the heavy door.
By the time I finished cleaning, it was past midnight. I was heading toward the stairs when my father's voice stopped me cold.
"The company is failing. We'll be bankrupt within six months."
I froze outside his study door, my heart pounding.
"Then we need the Blackwood deal," Bridget said. "It's our only option."
"Julian Blackwood wants a marriage alliance. His father insisted on it."
"Then we give them a bride."
No. No, no, no.
"Cassie's engagement just ended publicly," my father said. "The Blackwoods won't want damaged goods."
"They've never met Cassie in person. They've only seen photos. We'll give them Lena instead."
The trash bag slipped from my hands.
"Lena?" My father sounded uncertain.
"She's useless here anyway. At least this way she'll finally contribute something to this family."
I pressed myself against the wall, my carefully constructed escape plan crumbling around me.
"Lena!" My father's sharp voice cut through my panic. "Get in here. Now."
/0/23725/coverbig.jpg?v=56d88c3dd21ffd99589e293fa3ac5a1b)
I Still Hate You
Ethan Miller was the hottest guy in Greenville High School. Girls loved him, guys wanted to be him. He just had one problem, Corey Price. Corey Price was the complete opposite of Ethan. Ethan did not like his lingering looks and admiring glances. It made him furious. Corey was the bane of his existence. Ethan's solution was to beat and torment Corey and make his school days unbearable. Corey's wounds never healed. His fondness of Ethan turned into hatred and he vowed to never forgive him. But, he spent years working on himself and has emerged a stronger, better person, ready to take on new challenges. Finally confident, he's about to take on a new job. Until he discovered who his new boss was. It was none other than the monster himself. Ethan Miller
/0/25829/coverbig.jpg?v=20260518182946)
Unbreakable Bonds
When Axel and Ellen’s mother, the Great white witch, dies giving birth to werewolf children, they are given up for adoption. Not knowing who they really are. Axel was raised by humans and had to navigate being a wolf with no one to turn to, but his best friend. Lucy is also a wolf raised by human pa
/0/99340/coverbig.jpg?v=e8bc6d1a9c3e6c42148658a092392673)
unbreakable
Unbreakable: A Story of Dynasty, Deception, and Dangerous Love Elara Vance is the perfect daughter, a poised heiress, and the symbol of her family's billion-dollar legacy. Her world is a golden cage built on strategy and silence, where her life is planned out for power and meant to join with the nex
/0/23593/coverbig.jpg?v=595fb1a5701d19a782e782d0b6211909)
Unbreakable
Life has never been easy for Anna Martin Perez, she had to live her life with many consequences as she was daughter of infamous elemental witch. ***** Anna, Olivia, Marriana and Lilliana are witch sisters. Anna had long crush over her classmate and school famous boy Phoenix Stever, little did she kn
/0/61161/coverbig.jpg?v=b4f4cfacb400a8875be4e0dae665ef4a)
Unspoken Bonds
"Oh" Sicily grinned sheepishly. I could tell she seemed a bit disappointed that he had found out so I figured she was trying to stay away from him. At her petition, Drew let Sicily down and we helped her to her feet. "Are you OK sweetie?" I asked her "I'm fine" Sicily said, nodding profusely at Drew
/0/33735/coverbig.jpg?v=8fdea1c09b8dc9bfd5f8d9fea00a3434)
Unbreakable Bond
Chris Donovan vs. Shane Lewis Chris Donovan has never known peace since that fateful night. He’d done something very bad. And he never dreamt he would ever come face to face with the person he’d wronged…the one person whose name made him shake with regret, pain, sadness and desire…the one person wh
/0/18247/coverbig.jpg?v=1e58f9adb42303add0bd8e2b600d768e)
Unbreakable Vow
Cynthia looked like a simple woman with a regular job as a free lancer novelist and had a mysterious connections with an unknown organization. Oscar was a gang leader of a famous organization called CIA, not to mention that he was also the director of Metropolitan hospital. Due to the call of dut
/0/30657/coverbig.jpg?v=d70b035888e335c519295e509e38a9a7)
Unbreakable Bound
Six years ago, Derek Watson had flipped Olivia on his bed on her drugged State. All this happened unexpectedly and before she could pull herself back to reality, she found out she was pregnant. However, when she gave birth to the baby a group of bodyguards broke into the hospital and carried the
/0/46526/coverbig.jpg?v=e300ee7d274175004d80cd31145b867d)
Love Unbreakable
There was only one man in Raegan's heart, and it was Mitchel. In the second year of her marriage to him, she got pregnant. Raegan's joy knew no bounds. But before she could break the news to her husband, he served her divorce papers because he wanted to marry his first love. After an accident, Ra
/0/18211/coverbig.jpg?v=8e5aee3a23b1bf86ff32bcff3a02b7a3)
Breaking Bonds
When a famous model and actor falls on hard times, he decides to rent out a room in his apartment and find a tenant to help split the bills. That is when he finds Kevin. This story is a slice of life about Kevin, a 20 year old, trying to find his place in life after losing someone close to him. H
/0/45591/coverbig.jpg?v=4cd2e2817c22cc504ee52c6539ee71e4)
Moonlight Bonds
In Whispering Pines, Elias and Sophia's paths cross, igniting a spark between them. As she delves into the town’s secrets, she discovers Elias is a werewolf. Despite initial shock, she chooses to embrace him for who he is. He explains the concept of a "mate" to her – a bond that binds werewolves for
/1/100087/coverbig.jpg?v=72c589c0c588fd4c709ad5a08ce9c0bd)
CRIMSON BONDS
Aster spent years trying to forget the boy who shattered her. Lysander Arion was her first love, her first wound, and the prince whose choices left her heart bruised and burning long after he disappeared from her life. She swore she would never forgive him, never trust him, never let his name touch
/0/60804/coverbig.jpg?v=323f046090a6e1d43161014881919fb9)
Fractured Bonds
Sure! Here’s the translation: "My parents killed the female lead's parents in a car accident and adopted her as their daughter. She is like the heroine of a novel, capturing everyone's attention the moment she appears. This includes my parents, my childhood crush, and my best friend. Meanwhile, I f
/0/66142/coverbig.jpg?v=6624ba93acccc53ca53f83d4901fad76)
Celestial Bonds
When ancient gods begin to stir from their slumber in the modern world, seventeen-year-old Aria Sullivan discovers she is the last descendant of a forgotten deity. As celestial powers awaken within her, Aria must navigate the treacherous politics of the divine realm, forge fragile alliances with oth
/0/70634/coverbig.jpg?v=08da8a203296e53ed0aeac7f6ee86dc8)
ETERNAL BONDS
Blurb: Cassandra Duvall has dedicated her life to hunting down the creatures that shattered her family: vampires. Faced with a mission that deposits her in front of Julian Cross - a rogue vampire who is fighting against the oppressive rule of the ancient and vicious Valerian Arkane - she must decid
/0/70134/coverbig.jpg?v=f7760b193126c15b01909383c73fff86)
Feral Bonds
In a world where werewolves are hunted, betrayed, and torn apart by ancient forces, one reluctant Alpha must rise or fall with the fate of his kind. After a brutal ambush shatters Kael's pack and strips them of their home, he is thrust into leadership amidst chaos. Haunted by visions and shadowed
/0/45068/coverbig.jpg?v=cbf509dccf42c2cae985a74aa55039c2)
Lunar Bonds
In the heart of an ancient forest, where secrets are whispered on the wind and moonlight illuminates the leaves, a bond is formed between a solitary botanist and a powerful werewolf alpha. In "Lunar Bonds," Luna McCallister is torn between her love for nature and the threat of an alpha's dominance.
/0/80861/coverbig.jpg?v=77cb2bb55996726ef0c57d30091009c2)
From Broken to Unbreakable
My father lay dying, his last wish a simple Sunday dinner with all of us. My husband, Mark, already distant, was of course, absent. Then the doorbell rang, and there stood Jessica Evans, Mark’s intern, visibly pregnant, her harsh words declaring Mark needed to face his responsibilities. The shock dr
/0/85679/coverbig.jpg?v=e1a0408e237d9a4bdb2d29fd8c18f3b1)
Broken Promises, Unbreakable Will
I poured my heart and genius into building InnovateTech, a billion-dollar empire, and into building Liam, the man I loved, my co-founder and fiancé. Then my cousin, Sarah, came weeping to my door, seeking refuge, and shattered everything. I walked into our penthouse, planning a surprise anniversar
/0/86827/coverbig.jpg?v=5a03194cb2937b6e3ed06af8c27cac42)
Unwanted Wife, Unbreakable Spirit
The heavy scent of alcohol was always the first sign. For five years, I' d been a ghost in my own marriage, a stand-in for a woman who vanished. Then, my husband, Ethan, stumbled in, saw me, and murmured a name that wasn't mine. "Olivia." His kiss, rough and demanding, tasted of whiskey and a long
/0/84038/coverbig.jpg?v=0a4ab5e48b9cc3bbab1ae38b64f4be88)
The Unbreakable Widow
The last thing I remember is the cold, seeping into my bones as I froze to death in an abandoned barn. But then, I heard weeping, and snapped my eyes open to find myself sitting on a hard wooden pew, at Andrew' s funeral. My mother-in-law, Debra Chadwick, was there, sobbing about how they' d take
