My Husband, My Hero, My Baby

My Husband, My Hero, My Baby

Gavin

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The holographic face of Ms. Albright shimmered, echoing a prediction: at twenty, I' d face a heartbreak, a betrayal that would shatter my world. It was my father' s solution – a high-tech "blind date" app with ninety-nine vetted bachelors – that changed everything. The catch wasn't just my hand in marriage; it was Miller Tech, his entire empire. A cold dread seeped in, a memory so sharp it felt real. In my past life, this was where my destruction began. I remembered choosing Brandon Hayes, the charismatic CEO, who promised the world then systematically destroyed me. He stripped me of everything – my inheritance, my dignity, my name – framing me for corporate espionage. I died alone, my reputation shattered, watching him praised as a visionary. But now, I was back. Twenty again, standing in my father' s office, the app open on the tablet. "Chloe, honey? Are you alright? You look pale." I looked at my father, his face etched with genuine concern, and a fierce, protective love surged through me. This time, I would not let that monster destroy him, or me. My finger hovered over Brandon's profile, a perfect trap. With a deliberate, steady hand, I swiped his profile to the digital trash bin. "I don' t like him," I said, my voice flat. I closed my eyes and let my finger fall randomly on one of the ninety-eight remaining profiles. A new screen loaded. The picture was grainy, a low-quality headshot: Jake "Bulldog" Riley. Former Navy SEAL. Honorably discharged after a career-ending injury. "Him?" my father' s voice was laced with disbelief. "He' s... a nobody." "I' m sure, Dad," I said, My voice unwavering. This was my choice. Anyone but Brandon Hayes. I had a feeling about him. A lie and the truest thing I' d ever said. The news of my choice rippled through the city' s elite, painting me as a naive fool or rebellious brat. Brandon must have heard. He couldn't understand it. He couldn't possibly know that I was choosing a stranger not out of foolishness, but out of the bitter, hard-won wisdom of a ghost. A fragmented memory surfaced – a charity gala years ago, a fire. Brandon had claimed credit for getting me out, but now, another image fought its way forward. Someone strong, silent, moving with purpose through the chaos. He had pulled me through a service exit, away from the stampeding crowd, before melting back into the shadows. I never saw his face clearly – until now. What if my random choice wasn' t so random after all?

Introduction

The holographic face of Ms. Albright shimmered, echoing a prediction: at twenty, I' d face a heartbreak, a betrayal that would shatter my world.

It was my father' s solution – a high-tech "blind date" app with ninety-nine vetted bachelors – that changed everything.

The catch wasn't just my hand in marriage; it was Miller Tech, his entire empire.

A cold dread seeped in, a memory so sharp it felt real.

In my past life, this was where my destruction began.

I remembered choosing Brandon Hayes, the charismatic CEO, who promised the world then systematically destroyed me.

He stripped me of everything – my inheritance, my dignity, my name – framing me for corporate espionage.

I died alone, my reputation shattered, watching him praised as a visionary.

But now, I was back.

Twenty again, standing in my father' s office, the app open on the tablet.

"Chloe, honey? Are you alright? You look pale."

I looked at my father, his face etched with genuine concern, and a fierce, protective love surged through me.

This time, I would not let that monster destroy him, or me.

My finger hovered over Brandon's profile, a perfect trap.

With a deliberate, steady hand, I swiped his profile to the digital trash bin.

"I don' t like him," I said, my voice flat.

I closed my eyes and let my finger fall randomly on one of the ninety-eight remaining profiles.

A new screen loaded.

The picture was grainy, a low-quality headshot: Jake "Bulldog" Riley.

Former Navy SEAL.

Honorably discharged after a career-ending injury.

"Him?" my father' s voice was laced with disbelief.

"He' s... a nobody."

"I' m sure, Dad," I said, My voice unwavering.

This was my choice.

Anyone but Brandon Hayes.

I had a feeling about him.

A lie and the truest thing I' d ever said.

The news of my choice rippled through the city' s elite, painting me as a naive fool or rebellious brat.

Brandon must have heard.

He couldn't understand it.

He couldn't possibly know that I was choosing a stranger not out of foolishness, but out of the bitter, hard-won wisdom of a ghost.

A fragmented memory surfaced – a charity gala years ago, a fire.

Brandon had claimed credit for getting me out, but now, another image fought its way forward.

Someone strong, silent, moving with purpose through the chaos.

He had pulled me through a service exit, away from the stampeding crowd, before melting back into the shadows.

I never saw his face clearly – until now.

What if my random choice wasn' t so random after all?

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Contract With The Devil: Love In Shackles

Contract With The Devil: Love In Shackles

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4.5

I watched my husband sign the papers that would end our marriage while he was busy texting the woman he actually loved. He didn't even glance at the header. He just scribbled the sharp, jagged signature that had signed death warrants for half of New York, tossed the file onto the passenger seat, and tapped his screen again. "Done," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. That was Dante Moretti. The Underboss. A man who could smell a lie from a mile away but couldn't see that his wife had just handed him an annulment decree disguised beneath a stack of mundane logistics reports. For three years, I scrubbed his blood out of his shirts. I saved his family's alliance when his ex, Sofia, ran off with a civilian. In return, he treated me like furniture. He left me in the rain to save Sofia from a broken nail. He left me alone on my birthday to drink champagne on a yacht with her. He even handed me a glass of whiskey—her favorite drink—forgetting that I despised the taste. I was merely a placeholder. A ghost in my own home. So, I stopped waiting. I burned our wedding portrait in the fireplace, left my platinum ring in the ashes, and boarded a one-way flight to San Francisco. I thought I was finally free. I thought I had escaped the cage. But I underestimated Dante. When he finally opened that file weeks later and realized he had signed away his wife without looking, the Reaper didn't accept defeat. He burned down the world to find me, obsessed with reclaiming the woman he had already thrown away.

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