Not An Affair, But A War

He Chose Her, I Chose Freedom

My husband, Keaton, and my adopted sister, Kaylene, betrayed me. I discovered Kaylene was pregnant with his child, a calculated move to secure an heir for the shipping empire my family built and he now controlled. He painted me as a cold, career-obsessed wife who couldn't give him a child, turning our mutual decision to wait into a weapon against me. When I confronted them, Keaton promised to handle it, but it was just another lie. His deception ran deeper than I ever imagined. When a violent figure from Keaton' s past emerged, revealing he had used stolen money to marry into my family, Keaton chose to protect his pregnant mistress over me, leaving me to be attacked and seriously injured. He left me bleeding on the floor of an art gallery, choosing to shield the woman carrying his child-a child that, I would later discover, wasn't even his. I faked my own death, escaping to Ireland to start a new life, free from his web of lies. But Keaton, consumed by a twisted obsession after learning the truth, hunted me down. He found me, desperate to reclaim what he had destroyed. "You're mine, Blair," he growled, his eyes filled with a possessive fire. "Always have been, always will be."

Ninety-Nine Letters, A Thousand Lies

On our third anniversary, I found ninety-nine love letters my husband wrote. None of them were for me. They were for Kennedy, the woman who stole my award-winning design years ago, the woman he swore he was over. His letters spoke of a soul-deep connection, a passion I'd only ever dreamed of. Then, my best friend called from the airport. She saw him there, with Kennedy, locked in a Hollywood-style embrace. He wasn't just cheating. This was a long-con. He'd married me to silence me, using my DNA to help Kennedy fraudulently claim the inheritance of the powerful Olsen family-an inheritance that was rightfully mine. He canceled my credit cards, renounced his citizenship, and secretly married her in France, all while I played the part of the loving wife. When I tried to fight back, he had me drugged, imprisoned, and nearly drowned, all to protect his precious Kennedy. He thought he had erased me, a mere footnote in their grand story. But he made one fatal mistake. He didn't know I was the real Olsen heiress. And I was coming back to claim everything he stole.

The Scorned Fiancée's New Life

For three years, my boyfriend Adelard’s ex-girlfriend, Aurore, haunted our relationship with her fake brain cancer. He swore his devotion to her was just pity, a sense of duty to his dying first love. Then, on our anniversary, he asked me to stand by while he held a fake wedding with Aurore. He claimed it was “therapy” to cure her jumbled memories and give her closure so we could finally be together. He swore it was the last thing he’d ever ask of me. But I soon discovered he’d known she was faking for months. I found the love letters he wrote to her on our anniversaries, on my birthdays. His friends, who knew the truth, mocked me in a language they thought I didn’t understand. He had never loved me. I was just a placeholder, a convenient stand-in until he could get closure with his true love. So when he publicly proposed to Aurore with a sky full of fireworks, I didn't cry. I packed my bags, took the company shares he'd 'gifted' me as a symbol of our future, and walked away. The next morning, I put on a different wedding dress. I was going to marry Grady Barber, the powerful heir my twin sister was supposed to marry. This time, I chose myself.

Five Years, A Million Lies

The phone buzzed, a jarring sound, and it was Liam. His voice, once a comfort, was now a broken mess, choked out words about losing everything in a high-stakes poker game-including his grandma' s house. I abandoned my college dreams, moved to the coast, and spent five grueling years as a nightclub hostess, saving every dollar to pay off his million-dollar debt. But then, the final payment made, I overheard a conversation. It wasn' t a mistake. It was a five-year-long, cruel game orchestrated by Liam and my high school rival, Ashley Thompson, to punish me for being a scholarship student who always came first. Heartbreakingly, a familiar voice, his, dripped with malice: "It was Ashley's idea. She wanted to punish her. And I owed Ashley a favor." My world tilted. The love, the sacrifice, all a twisted lie. When I confronted him, his voice, stripped of pretense, confirmed my worst fears, "You gave them. Don't pin your bad choices on me. You liked being the hero, didn't you?" Later, Ashley came to my door, demanding a five-million-dollar necklace as "repayment" for my academic success, threatening my ailing mother. Then, a "staged" car accident left me bruised, and Liam, ever the actor, rushed me to the ER, only to abandon me for Ashley' s dinner reservation. My mother, manipulated by Ashley' s lies, died tragically trying to escape the nursing home. Liam, once again, dismissed my grief as an inconvenience. I couldn't fathom the depths of their depravity. Why me? Why such calculated cruelty? What kind of monster would use love as a weapon and sacrifice an innocent life for a twisted game? With nothing left but a box of ashes and a broken heart, I booked a one-way ticket to the UK, determined to reclaim my life, to find out who Chloe Davis truly was beyond their game.

The Sterling's Twisted Love Story

The ambulance siren faded, but the chaos at the Sterling mansion was just beginning. My adoptive sister, Charlotte, had slit her wrist, her note simply stating my name: "Ava." Suddenly, I was standing in the opulent living room, the one where they' d celebrated my adoption five years ago, now a courtroom where I was on trial. My adoptive mother, Eleanor, shrieked, her perfectly manicured hand trembling as she pointed at me. "She loved you. She looked up to you. And you did this to her." Richard Sterling, my adoptive father and a man whose tech empire I was secretly working to expose, stepped forward, his face a thundercloud of rage. "Don' t lie to me, Ava. Charlotte' s note was clear. You' ve been tormenting her." Even Ethan, my usually kind adoptive brother, turned away. "I can' t believe I ever trusted you." The betrayal from him cut deeper than the accusations. Eleanor sobbed, "She' s a fragile girl. You, you' re strong. You preyed on her weakness." Then, Richard' s hand connected with my cheek, the slap echoing in the cavernous room. "You will stay in your room," he commanded, his voice a low growl. "You will not leave. You will not speak to anyone." Locked in my room, Agent Hayes' s immediate message flashed in my mind: Extraction denied. Maintain cover. Sterling is planning something big. We need you inside. My mission, meant to expose Richard, had not only imploded, but had trapped me deeper in their twisted web. I was meant to stay. I was meant to endure. But as Richard' s chilling voice carried through the door later that night, confirming his plan to freeze my accounts and leave me with nothing, I knew one thing: I had to get out.

From Wedding Bells to Shattered Dreams

Five years. That' s how long I' d spent in Paris, dreaming of New York, of the life Liam and I would build. I was finally back, holding the custom cufflinks for our wedding, ready to surprise him at a fancy hotel where he' d told me to meet him for dinner. But I got the surprise instead. I saw him, laughing, his arm around Chloe, his assistant-the same girl who' d made my high school a living hell. They disappeared into the hotel, and moments later, his call came through, breezy and apologetic. "Something huge has come up. I' m deep in negotiations with a crucial client, I can' t get away. We have to postpone dinner." A crucial client. In a luxury hotel room. Then, Chloe' s text: a barrage of photos-Liam kissing her, her in Liam' s shirt, a selfie of them entering the hotel, her lips on his cheek. Underneath: "Hey old friend, long time no see. I' ve got my eyes on your fiancé, no need to give him up, I' ll just take him." The initial shock gave way to a cold, clear calm. The love, the devotion-it felt like a stupid joke. When Liam finally came home, I was packing. He tossed a cheap Eiffel Tower keychain on the table, a souvenir from his "client meeting." Then I heard his friends, Mark and Josh, laughing in the hallway, letting themselves in. "Is he still in there with Chloe?" Mark whispered loudly. "Of course," Josh snickered. "He' s got Ava flying back thinking they' re getting married, while he' s screwing his assistant. He' s a legend." "He says Ava' s a bore. And she doesn' t have that ugly scar on her back." The scar. The one Chloe gave me, pushing me down stairs. The one he' d comforted me about. And then, later, Liam came in with Chloe, her hand snaked around his arm. "Chloe needed a place to stay for a few days. Her apartment has a pest problem," he said, pouring her wine, in our home. Then I saw the prenatal vitamins behind the coffee maker. She wasn' t visiting. She was nesting. Chloe emerged from the bedroom, wrapped in Liam' s bathrobe, fake tears in her eyes. "I' m so sorry. I' ll just go sleep on the street." Liam rushed to her, wrapping his arms around her. "Look what you did! You made her cry! Apologize to her right now, or get out." I stared at him, at the stranger he had become. "Fine," I whispered. I grabbed my bag and walked out into the pouring rain. He pulled up beside me in his car. "Get in, Ava. Stop making a scene." I kept walking. He accelerated, then slammed the brakes, splashing dirty water all over me. "This is what you wanted, right? To be a martyr? Fine. Have fun." He sped off, leaving me bruised, wet, and heartbroken. But then my phone buzzed. It was my grandfather' s assistant. "Miss Miller, your engagement to Mr. Ethan Hayes has been formally agreed upon by both families." Liam' s older brother. The direct opposite of him. One engagement ended in a threat, and another began with a phone call. I knew then that this wasn't the end. It was a new beginning.

The Sterling Scandal: Married To The Uncle

I was at my own engagement party at the Sterling estate when the world started tilting. Victoria Sterling, my future mother-in-law, smiled coldly as she watched me struggle with a cup of tea that had been drugged to ruin me. Before I could find my fiancé, Ryan, a waiter dragged me into the forbidden West Wing and locked me in a room with Julian Sterling, the family’s "fallen titan" who had been confined to a wheelchair for years. The door burst open to a frenzy of camera flashes and theatrical screams. Victoria framed me as a seductress caught in the act, and Ryan didn't even try to listen to my pleas, calling me "cheap leftovers" before walking away with his pregnant mistress. When I turned to my own family for help, my father signed a document severing our relationship for a five-million-dollar payout from Julian. They traded me like a commodity without a second thought. I didn't understand why my own parents were so eager to sell me, or how Ryan could look at me with such disgust after promising me forever. I was a sacrifice, a pawn used to protect the family's offshore accounts, and I couldn't fathom how every person I loved had a price tag for my destruction. With nowhere left to go, I married Julian in a bleak ceremony at City Hall. He slid a heavy diamond onto my finger and whispered, "We have a war to start." That night, inside his secret penthouse, I watched the paralyzed man stand up from his wheelchair and activate a screen filled with the Sterling family's darkest secrets. The execution had officially begun.

Flash Marriage To My Best Friend's Father

I was once the heiress to the Solomon empire, but after it crumbled, I became the "charity case" ward of the wealthy Hyde family. For years, I lived in their shadows, clinging to the promise that Anson Hyde would always be my protector. That promise shattered when Anson walked into the ballroom with Claudine Chapman on his arm. Claudine was the girl who had spent years making my life a living hell, and now Anson was announcing their engagement to the world. The humiliation was instant. Guests sneered at my cheap dress, and a waiter intentionally sloshed champagne over me, knowing I was a nobody. Anson didn't even look my way; he was too busy whispering possessively to his new fiancée. I was a ghost in my own home, watching my protector celebrate with my tormentor. The betrayal burned. I realized I wasn't a ward; I was a pawn Anson had kept on a shelf until he found a better trade. I had no money, no allies, and a legal trust fund that Anson controlled with a flick of his wrist. Fleeing to the library, I stumbled into Dallas Koch—a titan of industry and my best friend’s father. He was a wall of cold, absolute power that even the Hydes feared. "Marry me," I blurted out, desperate to find a shield Anson couldn't climb. Dallas didn't laugh. He pulled out a marriage agreement and a heavy fountain pen. "Sign," he commanded, his voice a low rumble. "But if you walk out that door with me, you never go back." I signed my name, trading my life for the only man dangerous enough to keep me safe.

I Paid the Alpha King for One Night

For three years, I was the perfect, invisible wife. My husband, Jaden, called the songs I poured my soul into "trash," then secretly fed them to his pop-star mistress to make her famous. Then one night, after being drugged at a gala, I woke up in a stranger's bed. It wasn't just the betrayal that shattered me; it was the soul-deep certainty that this powerful, dangerous man was my true fated mate. I fled home in a panic, only to find a message on Jaden's phone confirming my worst fears. His mistress, the woman singing my songs on the radio, was pregnant with the baby he'd always told me I was too weak to carry. The nightmare deepened when I learned the identity of the man from the hotel. He was Carter Mcclain, the ruthless Alpha King-and my husband's older brother. He looked at me with eyes that knew my secret, his cruel smirk promising that my life was now a game for his amusement. Jaden had stolen my music, my dream of a family, and my future, leaving me trapped between his betrayal and his terrifying brother. He thought he had broken me, leaving me with nothing. He forgot he left me with the rage that wrote the songs. And I was about to write their final, brutal verse.

One Night With My Billionaire Boss

I woke up on silk sheets that smelled of expensive cedar and cold sandalwood, a world away from my cramped apartment in Brooklyn. Beside me lay Ezra Gardner—my boss, the billionaire CEO of Gardner Holdings, and the man who could end my career with a snap of his fingers. He didn’t offer an apology for the night before; instead, he looked at me with terrifying clarity and proposed a cold, calculated business arrangement. "Marriage. It stabilizes the board and solves the PR crisis before it begins." He dressed me in archival Chanel and sent me home in his Maybach, but my life was already falling apart. My boyfriend, Irving, claimed he had passed out early, yet his location data placed him at my best friend’s apartment until three in the morning. When I tried to run, I realized Ezra was already ten steps ahead, tracking my movements and uncovering the secret I’d spent twenty years hiding: my connection to the powerful Senator Grimes. I was trapped between a CEO who treated me like a line item on a quarterly report and a boyfriend who had been using me while sleeping with my closest friend. I felt like a pawn in a game I didn't understand, wondering why a man like Ezra would walk up forty flights of stairs on a broken leg just to make sure I was safe. "Showtime, Mrs. Gardner." Standing on the red carpet in a gown that cost more than my life, I watched my cheating ex-boyfriend’s face turn pale as Ezra claimed me in front of the world. I wasn't just an assistant anymore; I was a weapon, and it was time to burn their world down.

After Divorce: My Arrogant Ex Regrets Calling Me Trash

Aurora woke up to the sterile chill of her king-sized bed in Sterling Thorne's penthouse. Today was the day her husband would finally throw her out like garbage. Sterling walked in, tossed divorce papers at her, and demanded her signature, eager to announce his "eligible bachelor" status to the world. In her past life, the sight of those papers had broken her, leaving her begging for a second chance. Sterling's sneering voice, calling her a "trailer park girl" undeserving of his name, had once cut deeper than any blade. He had always used her humble beginnings to keep her small, to make her grateful for the crumbs of his attention. She had lived a gilded cage, believing she was nothing without him, until her life flatlined in a hospital bed, watching him give a press conference about his "grief." But this time, she felt no sting, no tears. Only a cold, clear understanding of the mediocre man who stood on a pedestal she had painstakingly built with her own genius. Aurora signed the papers, her name a declaration of independence. She grabbed her old, phoenix-stickered laptop, ready to walk out. Sterling Thorne was about to find out exactly how expensive "free" could be.

THE LYCAN KING'S TREASURED LUNA

Narine never expected to survive. Not after what was done to her body, mind, and soul. But fate had other plans. Rescued by Supreme Alpha Sargis, the kingdom's most feared ruler, she finds herself under the protection of a man she doesn't know... and a bond she doesn't understand. Sargis is no stranger to sacrifice. Ruthless, ambitious, and loyal to the sacred matebond, he's spent years searching for the soul fate promised him, never imagining she would come to him broken, on the brink of death, and afraid of her own shadow. He never meant to fall for her... but he does. Hard and fast. And he'll burn the world before letting anyone hurt her again. What begins in silence between two fractured souls slowly grows into something intimate and real. But healing is never linear. With the court whispering, the past clawing at their heels, and the future hanging by a thread, their bond is tested again and again. Because falling in love is one thing. Surviving it? That's a war of its own. Narine must decide, can she survive being loved by a man who burns like fire, when all she's ever known is how not to feel? Will she shrink for the sake of peace, or rise as Queen for the sake of his soul? For readers who believe even the most fractured souls can be whole again, and that true love doesn't save you. It stands beside you while you save yourself.