amusement by albany walker

Modern

I went to the City Clerk’s office for a routine copy of my marriage license to finalize a trust fund audit. I expected a simple piece of paper, but the clerk’s pitying look told me my entire life was a lie. "The license was never finalized, Ms. Oliver. In the eyes of the state, you are single." The three-hundred-guest wedding at the Plaza and the Vogue features meant nothing. My husband, Gray Cooley, had intentionally filed the documents with a "procedural defect" so he could discard me without a legal divorce. Moments later, an iCloud invite titled "Our Little Secret" popped up on my screen. It was a photo of my best friend, Brylee, holding a positive pregnancy test at our Hamptons estate. Gray’s text to her was the final blow: "Happy anniversary, babe. This baby is the best gift. Once the trust unlocks today, we’re done with the charade." I soon discovered they were even stealing my career, reassigning my architectural masterpiece to Brylee while preparing my eviction notice. Gray's mother called me a "barren mule" in a leaked recording, mocking the infertility I suffered after saving Gray’s life in a construction accident. I wasn't a wife; I was a three-year placeholder used to secure his inheritance. How could the man I bled for treat me like a disposable prop? How could my best friend carry his child while pretending to comfort me through my darkest moments? The betrayal burned until it turned into a cold, hard stone of fury. I didn't cry. Instead, I walked into the penthouse of the Barretts, the Cooleys' most powerful rivals. I signed a marriage contract with Kane Barrett, the man the tabloids called the "Beast of Wall Street." "I want a wedding," I told his father, my voice steady and lethal. "Bigger than the one I had with Gray." If they wanted me gone, they would have to watch me become the woman who owns their world.

Short stories

All her life Cassie has seen strange things. First it was the strangers with feathers and beaks, then there were the normal looking folks who, when her skin touched hers, sent her vision someplace else. Told always to hide what she saw, Cassie worked hard to fly under the radar. But when more of the

Romance

To ensure her sister's happiness, Mia began investigating her future brother-in-law. After all, she couldn't just let her sister marry a total stranger- even if he were Ethan, one of the richest and most powerful men in the world. However, she got caught spying on him. Suddenly, Mia's world got tu

History

What would you think of someone riding around the countryside snatching bride and bridegrooms? Is he insane, bisexual? Gay? What if he were only five ? Why then? Here we have the tale of Yun Canglan, who was born into an ancient past after perishing accidentally in the modern world. Her first thou

Literature

Stand By by Hugh McAlister

Billionaires

MARRIED BY MIDNIGHT A slow-burn billionaire romance full of heat, heart, and one accidental "I do." Sloane Hart thought landing a job as executive assistant to Manhattan's most powerful CEO would change her life. She just didn't expect it to change her last name. Grayson Astor is cold, calculating

LGBT+

"No, don't go," he said wincing in pain, tears pricked in my eyes. unable to witness such a scene. "You need help Christian! I can't fix this on my own" I plead with him to let me go but he pulled me closer "You are enough" he smiled painfully, and held the back of my head pulling me closer to his

Fantasy

A prince cursed to turn into stone by day falls for a gardener tending the magical roses in his castle grounds. Together, they seek the key to breaking the curse before it's too late

Modern

A splash of ice-cold water shocked me awake, but the smell of stale takeout and cheap air freshener told me something was terribly wrong. The last thing I remembered was a dark cargo container, the scent of the sea, and the chilling realization that my own brother, Liam, had sold me to human traffi

Modern

Dr. Chen looked at my patent transfer agreement, concerned. "Ava, are you absolutely sure? This patent is your life's work." I was sure; it was my only way to shield it from my family. They saw my success not as pride, but as a resource for Willow, my foster sister, who masterfully painted me as sel

Modern

I was an architect, designing futures, and I finally had my own: a baby with my fiancé, Ethan Riley. Then, a brutal attack left me in darkness. Ethan told me it was a mugging, that they saved me but couldn't save my eyes. I believed him, clinging to him in my new black world. But then, one night,

Romance

My godmother Eleanor, ever the matchmaker, sat across from me with a stack of glossy portfolios, ready to choose my future wife. But a cold dread washed over me, sharper than any D.C. winter. I remembered it all: Veronica, "Ronnie" Sterling, my ex-wife, handing me divorce papers with a chilling sm

Romance

My name is Luna Boudreaux. They call me the Oracle. For generations, my family, the Boudreaux, has served the powerful Devereaux dynasty. Our sacred duty: activate the Legacy Locket to choose the next Devereaux heir, who then marries me. Today was that day, the Locket ceremony, set to fulfill our de

Billionaires

Luciana Alejandro is a twenty five year old, single mother of Rodriguez-Matthew Alejandro, her five year old son. She had Rodriguez when she was twenty with her ex-boyfriend who abandoned her and his responsibilities as a father. She had taken up different jobs to be able to afford her son's needs a

Billionaires

Damian Cross is a reclusive billionaire, haunted by a past so dark that it keeps him isolated from the world and from love. A traumatic witness to his father's murder, he's spent years building an empire while secretly seeking vengeance on those responsible. But when Emma Blake enters his life as an

Werewolf

"Meet me in my chamber April, tonight i shall weaken your bones with pleasure" " Do not come with your underpants" Wiston added with a wink."Yes my lord" April replied shyly as her face turned pink.April had always identified as the "Weak One", a A wolfless omega without powers. For years, she's bee

Billionaires

Elena Carter never wanted to marry Killian Blackwood , the ruthless billionaire who bought her father's company. But when she's blackmailed into signing a marriage contract with an unbreakable clause, she becomes his wife bound to him by law, but despised in his eyes. Killian believes she's a trai

Billionaires

That's all he wanted from her to heal his shattered heart and the compensation's currency will be in millions. Rule: No Emotional Intimacy Should Be Involved In This Relationship. She signed the contract, and he owned her. But three weeks before the deadline, she went missing, leaving him clueless

Billionaires

Zara Morgan has spent most of her whole life in the shadows. Because that's what happens when you're cursed by death. And haunted by a father who was tortured, then killed, for a crime he didn't commit. As far as Zara is concerned, the whole Morgan family is cursed. Forever bound to suffer from th

Werewolf

Aria never wanted to stand in the center of the Moonlight Ceremony, surrounded by wolves who despised her. But one touch on the moonstone changed everything. The mate bond snapped into place with Alpha Kael-the strongest wolf in the Western Pack. His breath hitched. Her pulse raced. But Kael sa

Romance

Her mother's scheme granted her a wild one night stand with a stranger. But as soon as the sun rose, her family's debts were paid off, and everyone disappeared on her. At that time, she found herself miserably abandoned. Five years later, she had already become a famous painter once she returned to