Loving Brian

No Longer Mrs. Cooley: The Architect's Return

Xiao Xiaosu

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.

Modern Revenge Divorce

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Lyra Mitchell is the owner and operator of 'The Sweet Spot', a local bakery in New York. One day, when a little girl walks in, Lyra's life changes forever.

Brandon Cole is the CEO of Cole Enterprises. Rich and young, he is any girl's perfect man. And while Brandon had a wide selection of girls to choose from, he wasn't interested. The only girls who had a place in his heart were his mother and his daughter. But one little phone call changes it all.

Lyra

I had a batch of cupcakes in the oven, a cake to be frosted, and a line out the door. Holidays are always the busiest time for me, but Valentine's Day is the worst. Everyone wants chocolate dipped strawberries and heart shaped cakes. And since Valentines Day is tomorrow, I literally have a line out the door. Last I checked, it went half a block.

"Here you go Mr. Wonelski," I said as I handed the elderly man the same cupcakes he got his wife every year since I opened the shop.

"Thank you Lyra, you're the best."

I waved goodbye to my favorite customer and welcomed up the next while also juggling ovens and frosting and phone orders.

It went on like this until five o'clock when the shop closed and my line was gone. I went up to the front to lock the door when a small voice met my ears. "Hello?"

I jumped in shock and turned around. There, at my counter, was a little girl. She couldn't reach the top so I hadn't seen her. I wonder how long she'd been there.

"Hello sweetheart, how can I help you?"

I slowly approached the girl, who couldn't have been older than five, and knelt down in front of her. She had tears on her cheeks and her lip was wobbling. "I'm lost."

I wiped the girl's tears away and picked her up. "What's your name?" I asked as I placed her on the counter.

"Macie."

"Well Macie, would you like a cupcake?"

Macie nodded vigorously and her tears were instantly gone. Cupcakes fixed everything.

I handed the little girl one of the cupcakes I had just frosted. "What are your parents' names?" Maybe I could find a phone number online or something.

"My daddy is Brandon Cole," she said and I gasped. Brandon Cole is the richest man in New York. He probably has entire search parties out for this kid.

I pulled out my phone and looked up Cole Enterprises. I didn't know any other way to reach this man.

"Hello?" Came the voice of the receptionist.

"Um, hi," I started. "This is going to sound weird, but I have Mr. Cole's daughter."

"What?!"

"Sorry, sorry, not like that. She wandered into my bakery, lost."

"I'll transfer you to Mr. Cole."

The receptionist sounded worried and that made me worried.

The phone seemed to ring forever and with each second that passed, I grew more and more nervous. This is the most powerful man in New York, and I have his daughter. Not in a kidnappy way, but he could look at it like that.

"Hello?" Came a deep voice.

"Hi. I'm Lyra Mitchell, I own The Sweet Spot bakery and your daughter walked in here by herself a few minutes ago. I just wanted to find her parents and then she said it was you so I called your receptionist and now here we are." I laughed nervously after my rambling word vomit was done.

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