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Married To My Ex-Fiancé's Silent Uncle
Twenty minutes before the "Wedding of the Century" at The Plaza, I stood outside the Presidential Suite in a fifty-thousand-dollar Vera Wang gown. I was the girl from a West Virginia trailer park about to marry Hugh Maxwell, the golden heir to a billion-dollar defense empire. I pushed the door open only to find Hugh pinned against the bed with my own stepsister, Floy. She was wearing my bridal diamond necklace, and the sounds of their laughter scraped against my eardrums like sandpaper. I didn't scream; I listened as Hugh grunted that once the wedding was over and the trust fund unlocked, he'd dump "that hillbilly trash" on a bus back to the mountains. They weren't just cheating; they were planning to steal my family's land deeds and leave me with nothing. When I set off the sprinklers and exposed their naked bodies to the paparazzi, the Maxwell family didn't apologize. They called me a "greedy peasant" and threatened to ruin my life unless I signed a new deal to save their crashing stock. I realized then that I was never a bride to them. I was a transaction, a rounding error in a ledger to be used and discarded. They thought my poverty made me weak and my silence made me a victim. "If we don't have a marriage certificate by midnight, the bank freezes thirty percent of our liquidity," their lawyer warned. So, I gave them exactly what they wanted. I used a loophole in their hundred-year-old family covenant and married the only other direct heir available. I didn't marry Hugh. I walked into the ICU and married his uncle, Fleet Maxwell-the legendary war hero who had been in a vegetative state for months. Now, I am the matriarch of the Maxwell dynasty. I've suspended Hugh's executive powers, exiled my mother-in-law to the Swiss Alps, and taken control of the family vault. They think I'm just a gold-digger waiting for a "corpse" to die so I can collect a fifty-million-dollar widow's payout. But last night, as I lay beside my comatose husband, the man they called a vegetable gripped my hand back."Someone help me! I'm being attacked!"
The desperate screams of Linda Harris filled the air, drawing an increasing crowd of onlookers to the scene.
Hadley Pearson was poised at the top of the staircase, her gaze fixed on Linda who lay crumpled below. A look of utter confusion washed over Hadley as she stared down at her own hands, completely bewildered.
Murmuring to herself, Hadley said, "How could this have happened..."
Why did Linda collapse so suddenly?
"What's going on here?"
With today marking the Flynn family's grand banquet, the estate was bustling with guests. Those who heard the commotion quickly encircled Linda, who was sprawled out from her fall down the stairs.
"What's going on? How did she end up falling?"
"Look up there. She..."
Struggling through her pain, Linda managed to lift her head and look up towards where Hadley stood.
It was then that the gathered crowd pieced together the apparent events.
"Hadley pushed Linda!"
"Good heavens! Hadley, regardless of your feelings towards Linda, such harshness is unthinkable! And she's expecting a child!"
"You've crossed the line!"
"No, that's not true..."
As accusations flew, Hadley's complexion blanched, and she vehemently shook her head in denial.
She tried to assert her innocence, insisting she hadn't pushed Linda.
However, her pleas fell on deaf ears.
"Make way!"
A commanding male voice disrupted the gathering, asserting his presence authoritatively.
That voice belonged to Eric Flynn, Hadley's new husband for only a brief period.
"Eric..."
A wave of relief washed over Hadley as she turned to him for support.
Yet, as Eric's eyes met hers, they were sharp and accusing. "You hurt her!"
"I didn't!" Hadley protested, her denial forceful as she shook her head desperately. "I wasn't the one..."
"Then who did?" Eric asked, his disbelief apparent.
His look of disdain and anger was directed squarely at Hadley, his features twisted in revulsion.
"Are you suggesting Linda threw herself down the stairs? You're known to be overbearing. Haven't you been antagonizing her all this time? Must I remind you of all the incidents?" Eric continued.
Hadley remained motionless.
The severity in her husband's voice rendered her speechless.
"Ah..."
Cradling her stomach, Linda leaned on Eric, her voice faint. "Eric, it's so painful. It really hurts!"
"Linda?" Eric's grandmother, Nyla Flynn, approached, alarmed. "What has happened here?" she demanded.
"There's blood!" someone in the crowd exclaimed.
"Look, she's bleeding!"
Beneath Linda, a crimson stain was expanding steadily.
Clutching at Eric's neck, Linda broke down in tears. "Eric! My baby! Help my baby..."
"Don't worry!"
Eric tried to reassure her, but his face betrayed his own fear as panic set in.
"We need to get to the hospital immediately!"
Swiftly lifting Linda into his arms, Eric's eyes met Hadley's with a harsh, accusing stare.
"If anything happens to the baby, you'll regret it..."
He left the sentence hanging, and then swiftly turned away, carrying Linda towards help.
At that moment, ensuring Linda and her unborn child's safety was his only concern.
Nyla looked at Hadley with a mix of disappointment and disbelief, struggling to find the words. "Hadley, how could you—"
"Nyla..."
Hadley barely started to respond when Nyla turned her back and walked away.
Suddenly, the crowd began to thin out.
Ignored by everyone, Hadley found herself aimlessly returning to her room, lost in a fog of confusion.
She waited anxiously for Eric to return. She hadn't pushed Linda and needed to clear the air with him.
As hours passed into the deep of night, Eric still hadn't come back.
As the first light of dawn crept in, sounds echoed from below.
"Eric!"
Hadley leapt from the sofa and hurried towards the door.
She paused at the top of the stairs, hesitating, as she heard his voice.
"Grandma, I want a divorce!"
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Too Late, Mr. Billionaire: You Can't Afford Me Now
The whispers said that out of bitter jealousy, Hadley shoved Eric's beloved down the stairs, robbing the unborn child of life. To avenge, Eric forced Hadley abroad and completely cut her off. Years later, she reemerged, and they felt like strangers. When they met again, she was the nightclub's sta/0/18582/coverorgin.jpg?v=4f3a13f495dc12364b9fdbe435e70911&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Sucker For Love
Their seven-year marriage was doomed to end. Their wedding anniversary was just a week away, and Molly discovered that her husband Walter had cheated on her. Enraged and determined to get revenge, she rushed to the hotel for an affair. Little did she expect to wake up in Greyson's room. He was the/0/18482/coverorgin.jpg?v=cab7f99796a207c586db0721bfc523b3&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Genius Twins And Their Mother
Lancy, a daughter of a wealthy family, is sold to an agent organization. During a mission, she is seriously injured and lost her consciousness. Years later she wakes up, unexpectedly finding that she has boy/girl twins. Her six-year-old boy is smart, with excellent business thinking; the girl is goo/0/18931/coverorgin.jpg?v=883c02340f25e97b2880b9dab08a7a17&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Substitute Bride: My Perfect CEO Husband
William did not expect that the one thing he would not have on his wedding day was his own bride. The woman he had loved for ten years was missing on their wedding day. Amelia, the adopted daughter, married him as a substitute to spare the awkwardness between the two families. What he didn’t know w/0/18468/coverorgin.jpg?v=84529b4984e13c74b4ba1454b01941f5&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Treasure-hunting: Into the Unknown
Zachary Zi traveled through time and space with the help of his Treasure-hunting Compass, which led him to the Olden World where he took over the body of a young man with the same name. The old Zachary’s clan was slaughtered three years ago and his fiancee had gone missing ever since. Although he ma/0/18080/coverorgin.jpg?v=92077f1de15d5cf7aa84d8377d333bc1&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Trapped with the Lawyer
Trapped series - Episode II: Trapped with the Lawyer. It all starts on that fateful night, when Ella, who is the dear sister of Samuel’s best buddy, sneaks into the hotel where the drunken Samuel resides and gets pregnant… “I don’t want a divorce! I don’t want a divorce! I did no such thing!”/0/18530/coverorgin.jpg?v=12bcc192a0a4e94398599e9a3e6217f8&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Trial Of The Senses
Seven years ago, a night with a mysterious man brought Ashley a child. However, she suffered an accidental miscarriage. What was worse, her boyfriend cheated on her with her younger sister, and the two of them kicked her out of the house. In order to make a living, she became a member of the papar/0/18561/coverorgin.jpg?v=92151a5057824e030dba8c9cf6ba8369&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Pull You Closer Into Me
He needed a wife to deal with the pressure and expectations from his family, she needed a new husband to replace her groom, who ran away the day before the wedding. However, it turned out, they both had conflicting agendas. While Elsa, disappointed and disillusioned on the institution of marriage/0/18537/coverorgin.jpg?v=f1a955a77c0daa8d267c17d3e798fae7&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Honey Trap
After spending three years in prison, Joan was finally released. She was wrongfully framed by her best friend who was willing to do anything to get Joan's man. The day she got out of jail, she happened to bump into the most powerful man in the entire city, Darren Lu. "Marry me," Darren Lu said to h/0/78663/coverorgin.jpg?v=b705411c5144e51405caa1dd738aa5d2&imageMogr2/format/webp)
