When the Painting Tells the Story

Modern

For two years, I was the invisible force behind tech billionaire Kieran Douglas, convinced that our "private" romance was his way of protecting us from the tabloid spotlight. I managed his mergers, warmed his bed, and waited for a future that didn't exist. The illusion shattered at 6:00 AM when a Page Six alert debuted Kieran’s "real" romance with socialite Aspen Schneider. Before I could even process the betrayal, Kieran sent me a cold, professional text: "Order flowers for Aspen. Pink peonies. Her favorite." When I tried to walk away, my own mother called me a disgrace and threatened to lock my inheritance forever unless I married a sixty-year-old businessman to save her failing estate. At a high-society gala that same night, Aspen intentionally crushed my burned hand in front of the cameras, while Kieran stood by and dismissed me as a "mediocre assistant" who had overstayed her welcome. I stood in the cold New York rain, drenched in champagne and humiliation, realizing that every sacrifice I made for Kieran was a joke. I was a ghost in a penthouse that was never mine, discarded the moment his "soulmate" returned. To the world, I was just a placeholder whose time had run out. But Kieran forgot one thing: my father’s multi-million dollar trust fund unlocks the moment I legally marry. I didn't need love; I needed a signature and a shield. I walked into a discreet law firm and signed a marriage contract with a man I believed was the city’s most notorious, scandal-ridden playboy. I thought I was marrying a degenerate "beard" to buy my freedom and secure my revenge. I didn't realize the man who signed that paper wasn't a playboy at all, but Gaston Collins—the most powerful and dangerous man on Wall Street—and he had no intention of letting our fake marriage stay fake.

Short stories

When simple, demure Blanche Rousseau suddenly finds herself responsible for her late father`s estate and crushing debt, she has nowhere to turn. Her elusive and fastidious neighbor, Adam takes pity on her and agrees to hire her as his live-in housekeeper. Blanche must live under Adam`s domineering c

Modern

The air in the Wharton lecture hall was thick with ambition, the final presentation stretching before me, my future almost within reach. Then, Liam, my childhood friend and the boy everyone expected me to marry, slid a folded note across the table that read: "Ava, will you bear all my failures for

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

Modern

It would seem fitting for a Northern folk, deriving the greater and better part of their speech, laws, and customs from a Northern root, that the North should be to them, if not a holy land, yet at least a place more to be regarded than any part of the world beside; that howsoever their knowledge wi

Literature

The final novel in the beloved series about the adventure-seeking Bastable children, The Story of the Amulet follows the group as they are sent away to live at a boarding house while their parents are abroad. There, the children discover a mysterious charm that enables them to travel back in history

Literature

When Grandmamma Was New: The Story of a Virginia Childhood by Marion Harland

Literature

The Story of the Britannia"" by E. P. Statham

Literature

Homer's epic poem The Odyssey is one of the greatest and most influential literary works ever produced. However, its complex language and dense web of allusions and metaphors can be difficult for some readers to untangle. In The Story of the Odyssey, author Alfred John Church presents a more straigh

Sci-fi

This is the story of the Mimosa, a black sailing ship (with red sails) that travels through space, and boldly appears where no space-faring, black sailing ship has appeared before, regardless of the colour of its sails.

Adventure

Certain chapters of this story first appeared in The Youth’s Companion. The author wishes to acknowledge the courtesy of the editors in permitting her to republish them in the present volume. Messrs. L. C. Page and Company wish also to acknowledge the courtesy of the editors in granting the

Fantasy

We were many in the army of Lucifer. He got rewarded for his rebellion with the throne of Hell and we took the punishment for helping him. Cast out of Heaven and locked out of Hell, the Earth is all we got. But it's not safe either. Our angelic blood is a beacon for demons, witches and warlocks. I d

Literature

The Story Book Girls by Christina Gowans Whyte

Literature

The Story of Sugar by Sara Ware Bassett

Literature

The Story Girl is a novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. It narrates the adventures of a group of young cousins and their friends who live in a rural community on Prince Edward Island, Canada. The book is narrated by Beverley, who together with his brother Felix, has come to live with his

Literature

The Story of Chartres by Cecil Headlam

Literature

The Story of Seville by Walter M. Gallichan

Literature

The Story of Troy by Michael Clarke

Literature

The Story of Newfoundland by Earl of Frederick Edwin Smith B

Romance

Aurora's eyes sparkled like diamonds in the moonlight, her long, curly brown hair cascading down her back like a waterfall. She was a beautiful and kind-hearted young woman, with a smile that could light up the darkest of rooms.

Literature

The Story of Malta by Maturin Murray Ballou