DIVIDED UNION

Modern

Twenty minutes before the "Wedding of the Century" at The Plaza, I stood outside the Presidential Suite in a fifty-thousand-dollar Vera Wang gown. I was the girl from a West Virginia trailer park about to marry Hugh Maxwell, the golden heir to a billion-dollar defense empire. I pushed the door open only to find Hugh pinned against the bed with my own stepsister, Floy. She was wearing my bridal diamond necklace, and the sounds of their laughter scraped against my eardrums like sandpaper. I didn't scream; I listened as Hugh grunted that once the wedding was over and the trust fund unlocked, he'd dump "that hillbilly trash" on a bus back to the mountains. They weren't just cheating; they were planning to steal my family's land deeds and leave me with nothing. When I set off the sprinklers and exposed their naked bodies to the paparazzi, the Maxwell family didn't apologize. They called me a "greedy peasant" and threatened to ruin my life unless I signed a new deal to save their crashing stock. I realized then that I was never a bride to them. I was a transaction, a rounding error in a ledger to be used and discarded. They thought my poverty made me weak and my silence made me a victim. "If we don't have a marriage certificate by midnight, the bank freezes thirty percent of our liquidity," their lawyer warned. So, I gave them exactly what they wanted. I used a loophole in their hundred-year-old family covenant and married the only other direct heir available. I didn't marry Hugh. I walked into the ICU and married his uncle, Fleet Maxwell-the legendary war hero who had been in a vegetative state for months. Now, I am the matriarch of the Maxwell dynasty. I've suspended Hugh's executive powers, exiled my mother-in-law to the Swiss Alps, and taken control of the family vault. They think I'm just a gold-digger waiting for a "corpse" to die so I can collect a fifty-million-dollar widow's payout. But last night, as I lay beside my comatose husband, the man they called a vegetable gripped my hand back.

Romance

When betrayal shatters his perfect life, noble heir Kaelan Thorne finds refuge in a humble tavern-and in Ivy, a fiery waitress with magic in her veins. But love in Eldoria comes at a cost. To protect her, Kaelan must confront his past, defy the elite, and risk everything for a future built on truth,

Literature

Joel Chandler Harris, American journalist, fiction writer, and folklorist best known for his collection of Uncle Remus stories, was born in Eatonton, Georgia, where he served as an apprentice on a plantation during his teenage years. He spent the majority of his adult life in Atlanta working as an a

Romance

Ava Morales, a talented and feisty artist, finds herself entangled in a web of secrets and lies when she meets Landon Ryder, a wealthy business man and enigmatic art collector. As their paths continue to cross, Ava becomes increasingly drawn to Landon's charismatic charm and seductive gaze, despite

Literature

Excerpt from Union and Democracy In preparation of the maps showing the popular vote in the elections of 1800 and 1824, I have drawn largely upon the data which Dr. Charles 0. Paullin, of the Carnegie Institution, has generously put at my disposal. In States where the presidential elec tors were no

Literature

Formation of the Union by Albert Bushnell Hart

Literature

Stand By The Union by Oliver Optic

Fantasy

"Amid the shadows of a divided pack, a rivalry between wolf brothers intensifies. In 'Beyond Darkness: A Wolf Divided', we are introduced to Lucas and Bruno, two wolves who share the same blood, but have different views on the role of a leader in the pack. Bruno, driven by ambition and the grief of

Werewolf

"Can you handle five Alphas at once?" Abducted and forced to kill in a labyrinth of fifty women, Cataleia Reiss was one of the people that stood last and was accepted in a black Auction. She was bought by a mysterious stranger, claiming to be a Dominant Alpha; however, her master is suddenly assas

Billionaires

Never regret this, Eric. I gave you every chance to turn back, but now... you've lost me.Krystle's voice trembled as she struggled to hold herself together,It's so hard to breathe... it hurts so much. I did nothing wrong,so why am I the one being punished?Moments later, the cold clang of prison door

Romance

For five years, I built a new life from the ashes of my old one. I was a mother to Cale, the kindest boy in the world, and the woman who was destroyed by Congressman Hampton Garner was just a ghost. Then a schoolyard fight brought it all crashing down. The boy Cale fought was Ignatius-my son, the

Mafia

Guilia Armando's life has always been laden with turbulence and trials from getting caught in a forbidden relationship to getting pregnant and running off to another country to save face. Just when she's about to take a breather, one more tragedy strikes. Being in an accident nearly causes her to

Literature

Trajectory presents classics of world literature with 21st century features! Our original-text editions include the following visual enhancements to foster a deeper understanding of the work: Word Clouds at the start of each chapter highlight important words. Word, sentence, paragraph counts, and re

Romance

Excerpt. "Reject me and let me go! Staying here with me is only going to hurt you more!" Avery growled, her voice quivering gazing at the man in front of her. "You are the only one allowed to hurt me. I see no reason why I have to leave," he grinned slyly. Avery's eyes were filled with tears, th

Literature

Complete State of the Union Addresses from 1790 to 2006 by Various

Literature

Vermont riflemen in the war for the union, 1861 to 1865 by William Y. W. Ripley

Literature

The Early History of the Scottish Union Question / Bi-Centenary Edition by George W. T. Omond

Literature

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not