HIS DARK HORSE

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.

Literature

<DIV><I>Changing China: A Geographic Appraisal<\/I> provides an up-to-date and detailed account of the giant country that is undergoing an unparalleled and historic transition from a centralized command economy to a market-based economy, and from a rural, agricultural society to an urban, industrial

Mafia

Returning home from abroad two years after graduating from MIT with two PHDs. Samantha Logan was excited to share the good news with her father only to be welcomed with a big shot which potentially changed her life. Coincidentally, the mafia boss her father owed was at her father's residence that da

Literature

The Wooden Horse by Hugh Walpole

Mafia

Imagine coming home to celebrate your 18th birthday with your family only to find out it was your wedding. This is exactly what happened to Amira Banks, a young, loving girl who was raised in an abusive household and had aspirations to further her education. When she discovered that her parents had

Romance

Did you think you could run away from me? is that it, Cat?" Ace asked, his hand tightening around her neck at every seconds. Catherine gasped her hand resting on Ace's as she fought to tear his hand off her. "I asked you a question, kitten. Did you think you could run away from me?" he questi

Mafia

"You don't know what you're playing with." He murmured, His hand traced a slow path down my arm, fingers firm but deliberate, sending a shiver straight to my core. "You are scared" "I'm not." I whispered. He smiled. "You should be." Before I could think, he closed the distance, his lips crashing

Romance

"You don't spare me even when I'm in my menstrual period", Taapur said and covered her small body with the blanket. "Blood is Red and Red is my favourite colour. The enchanting scent of your period makes me insane enough to take you again and again", Abhimanyu said as he wore his clothes without ev

Mafia

I was just a lower-tier nobody when the Matriarch of the New York Famiglia offered me a dangerous deal: cure the ruthless Don Enzo's psychological trauma, and rise from the gutter. But Enzo's trauma was deadly. His two previous wives were rival assassins who hid micro-explosives in their breast imp

Romance

For ten years, my family kept me locked away, forcing me to play the part of a broken, mentally unstable girl. They controlled me with sedatives and treated me like a ghost in my own home, a prisoner in a gilded cage. But I had a secret. I was a world-famous anonymous artist with a hidden fortune,

Fantasy

They were so much in love but everything changed drastically when the girl died in an accident. He couldn't do nothing to save her instead of crying while staying by her side as she breathed her very last breath on his arms. 5 years later, a mysterious girl suddenly came into his life, reminding of

Modern

My chest tightened with anticipation, five years of shared struggle culminating in this moment at the Manhattan penthouse banquet. But Chace, my partner, didn't look at me; he turned to Karyn, sliding his family's heirloom emerald ring onto her finger. Then, his voice echoed through the hall, dismis

Modern

OLD AND NEW. See how the Autumn leaves float by, decaying, Down the red whirls of yon rain-swollen stream; So fleet the works of men, back to their earth again; Ancient and holy things fade like a dream. Nay! see the Spring blossoms steal forth a-maying, Clothing with tender buds orchard and g

Literature

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860-1904) was a Russian short story writer and a playwright. His playwriting career produced four classics, while his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics. Chekhov practiced as a doctor throughout most of his literary career: &quot;Medicine is m

Romance

Obsessed with awaking his wife, Augustine vowed to sacrifice anyone in order to bring her back to life, be it his daughter. Is it because of his immense love for his wife or is there a hidden motive behind it? Celine, a young 18 year old maiden vows to protect 'the vessel' from her father. Will she

Romance

"Everything of you is a non-existing dangerous drug, Natalia. And I'm addicted to it." He rasped beside my ear then slowly but seductively brushed his nose on my neck and then my hair like he was smelling my body and my hair. I stopped breathing as I started feeling like I was going to pass out.

Fantasy

( 18➕ ) Hadria Blake went from living in a group home to being whisked across the country to the most prestigious school of the USA, Deitus Academy, school for deities. Until her seventeenth birthday she had believed herself to be a normal human girl. Her biggest worry being what she would do in a

Fantasy

What happens if the King of all Demon Kings falls in love with a human? That's what Alarik Bruce Skyler, the devil Lucifer who has the strongest and greatest throne among demons, feels. The immortal creature accidentally falls in love with a pure human who is the eldest daughter of one of his foll

Romance

Isn't it strange that the losers are always been praised and hailed in this mystery school?. Usher Maxwell, the school bad boy bully goes around breaking people's heart and pushes girls to commit sucide after every break up but no one says a word about it. A little secret about him that no one k

Werewolf

~“Hello, Daniel.” The man growled as his lips contorted into a twisted grin. Daniel’s eyes widened as he backed up a bit. There was something eerie about this man which gave him the creeps. “ Who are you and how do you know me?” He said fearfully. The man chuckled darkly and Daniel noticed a sud

Short stories

When Olivia Adams, a YouTuber was invited to VidCon, a social meeting event, by her idol Sam, she didn't miss it for the world! In fact, she was willing to travel all the way to Los Angeles on her own to meet him.Upon meeting Sam in person, she began to develop feelings for him unknowingly and was d