Category: Romance Books

I spent three years and all my savings on IVF, hoping a baby would fix my cold, crumbling marriage.

On the day the doctor told me my third attempt failed, I saw my sister’s new Instagram post. She was flaunting her pregnancy, and the man’s hand resting intimately on her belly was wearing the custom watch I had just bought for my husband.

My world shattered, but the nightmare was just beginning. My own mother dragged me to my sister’s pregnancy celebration to save face.

“Jase’s heart isn’t with you anymore. The graceful thing to do is step aside.”

At the party, Jase fiercely protected my sister, while my parents treated me like an inconvenient outcast. When I demanded a divorce, Jase refused to sign, wanting to keep me as a convenient cover to protect his sports career.

Homeless, replaced, and betrayed by everyone I loved, I ended up drinking myself into a stupor at a downtown bar.

I didn’t understand why my devotion ended with me losing my home and my dignity, while they happily celebrated their betrayal. I felt like the universe’s ultimate joke.

But I didn’t know the universe had an even crazier punchline waiting.

The fertility clinic had made a catastrophic error. My IVF hadn’t failed. I was pregnant.

But the child wasn’t my husband’s. It belonged to a ruthless billionaire who had just received the news—and he was already hunting down the “scheming woman” carrying his heir.

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Betrayed Wife: Pregnant With The Ice Hockey Prince Chapter 1

Alyse POV:
I sat on the leather sofa in the private waiting room of a high-end fertility clinic, feeling like a prisoner awaiting a verdict. The air, a sterile mix of antiseptic and expensive lavender, churned my stomach.
For the seventeenth time, I glanced at my phone. The screen showed a photo of Jase and me in front of Niagara Falls. He was still smiling back then. Now, he couldn’t even be bothered to send a “good luck” text.
My fingers traced the wedding band on my ring finger. It felt loose, just like our three-year marriage. I kept telling myself that a baby would fix everything. It had to.
The door opened. Dr. Evans walked in, his face wearing that professional, sympathetic smile that made my heart plummet into my shoes.
He sat across from me, his hands clasped on the desk. “Alyse, I’m so sorry,” he said, his voice gentle, the same tone I’d heard twice before.
A roaring silence filled my head, as if the world had hit a mute button. His lips were moving, but I couldn’t hear a thing. I could only read the shape of one word: “failed.”
This was the third time. All my hope, all our money, all my dignity, had been reduced to that single, cold word.
I don’t know how I managed to stand, or how I squeezed out a smile. “Thank you, Doctor. I know you did your best.” The voice that came out wasn’t mine.
I floated out of the office like a ghost. The bright hallway lights stabbed at my eyes.
Leaning against the cool wall, I struggled to breathe, a heavy stone pressing on my chest. I pulled out my phone, my thumb hovering over Jase’s name. I had to call him, to tell him our last hope was gone.
Just then, the screen lit up with an Instagram notification. It was from my sister, Sienna.
My finger mechanically swiped it open. A photo leaped into view: two champagne flutes clinking elegantly against a backdrop of Chicago’s glittering skyline.
The caption read: “Celebrating our brilliant future!”
My gaze froze on the corner of the picture—on the man’s hand holding one of the glasses.
On his wrist was a watch. A Patek Philippe, rose gold case, dark brown alligator strap.
The air caught in my throat. That watch. I had spent my bakery’s entire profit from the first half of the year to buy it for Jase on our last anniversary.
I zoomed in. The hand wearing the watch was resting intimately over another. Sienna’s hand.
A violent wave of nausea surged through me. I bolted for the nearest restroom.
I knelt on the cold tiles, retching, but nothing came up except the bitter acid that burned my throat.
In the mirror, I saw a woman with a deathly pale face and hollow eyes. Was that me? A failure at fertility, a fool betrayed by her husband and her own sister.
My phone buzzed again. A text message from Jase, arriving a second before I could have called him.
It was just one sentence. “Sienna’s pregnant. We need to talk about a divorce.”
The words blurred, spinning into a vicious vortex before my eyes.
I felt no anger, just a vast, crushing emptiness, as if the world had completely abandoned me.
I slid to the floor, my back against the cold partition, and a broken, animal-like sob escaped my lips.
I opened Sienna’s Instagram profile. She had just updated her bio.
“Jase Hobbs’s future Mrs.”
My eyes landed on another photo from a few days ago. She was in a tight dress, her hand resting gently on a slightly rounded stomach.
So, the whole world knew. I was the only one, the wife, left in the dark.
Slowly, I pushed myself up, wiped my tears, and walked out of the restroom.
I didn’t go home. I walked out of the clinic’s main entrance, letting the cold Chicago wind whip against my face.
I needed an explanation. No, I didn’t need an explanation. I needed to see it with my own eyes.
I hailed a cab and gave the driver the address of the private club Jase always went to.
In the car, my mother, Fiona, called. I didn’t answer. I knew what she would say.
My world had shattered in thirty minutes. Now, I was going to pick up the pieces, even if they sliced my hands to ribbons.

Betrayed Wife: Pregnant With The Ice Hockey Prince Chapter 2

Alyse POV:
The taxi crawled through rush-hour traffic. The city’s neon lights flashed outside, mocking my gray, broken world. I clutched my phone, Jase’s text message seared into my mind like a brand.
A sharp wave of nausea and dizziness hit me. It wasn’t just the emotional turmoil; it felt physical. I cracked the window, and the cold air helped clear my head slightly.
I remembered Dr. Evans mentioning that hormonal fluctuations after a failed IVF cycle could cause physical discomfort. I chalked it up to that and thought nothing more of it.
The taxi pulled up to “The Onyx Club.” It was a members-only establishment for sports elites, a place Jase frequented. I’d never been. He always said WAGs—wives and girlfriends—weren’t welcome.
I paid the fare, took a deep breath, and pushed the door open. The doorman eyed me with a scrutinizing gaze.
“I’m here for Jase Hobbs,” I said, my voice steady. “I’m his wife.” The man’s expression turned odd, but he let me in.
The club was dimly lit, the music a low throb. The air smelled of cigars and expensive cologne. Men in sharp suits talked loudly while their glamorous companions laughed beside them.
I saw them immediately, in a booth at the far end. Jase and Sienna.
She was curled against him like a kitten, and he was kissing her hair. They looked so perfect, so happy, like a living version of that Instagram photo.
Blood rushed to my head, replacing the numbness with a hot, searing rage.
I walked toward them, the click of my heels against the marble floor sharp and clear above the music.
Jase saw me first. The smile on his face froze, then twisted into an expression of annoyance, as if I were an inconvenient interruption.
Sienna looked up. When she saw me, there was no panic in her eyes, only a triumphant smirk. She even snuggled deeper into Jase’s arms.
I stopped in front of them. I didn’t cry. I didn’t scream. I just looked at Jase calmly. “Is the text real?”
Jase stood up, towering over me. “Alyse, don’t make a scene here. We’ll talk at home.”
A cold laugh escaped my lips. “Home? Which home? The one I decorated for us, or the new one you’re building for her?”
Sienna’s sweet voice dripped with false sincerity. “Sister, don’t blame Jase. I pursued him. We’re truly in love.”
My gaze shifted to her, to the face that looked so much like my mother’s. “Truly in love? Your love is cheap then, built on someone else’s pain.”
Jase’s brow furrowed, his tone hardening. “Alyse, that’s enough! Sienna is pregnant. Don’t upset her!”
His words were a poisoned dagger, striking me right in the heart. I had just lost my chance at a child, and he was here, protecting another woman and hers.
People were starting to whisper, their eyes darting between the three of us. I was the star of this humiliating drama.
I wouldn’t give them a show. I reached into my purse, pulled out the key to our apartment, and placed it on the table with a sharp clink.
“Jase Hobbs, I agree to the divorce,” I said, each word precise. “Not because of your ‘true love,’ but because you disgust me.”
I turned and walked away without a second glance. Behind me, I heard Jase’s stunned silence and Sienna’s soft, victorious laugh.
Outside the club, my body swayed. I nearly collapsed. The nausea returned, stronger this time.
I leaned against the wall as my phone rang. A strange number.
Annoyed, I declined the call, desperate to escape this suffocating place.
I hailed another cab. This time, I went back to our real home. The one with the nursery I had built, the one that would now forever be silent.
Back in the empty apartment, I walked straight into the blue and white room.
Cloud-patterned wallpaper. A crib I had assembled myself. Tiny socks I had knitted hanging over the rail.
I walked over and picked up the little socks. The tears finally came, a flood I could no longer hold back. I had prepared everything for this child who would never arrive, while his father celebrated another.
My phone rang again. The same number. I irritably declined it once more, then shut the phone off completely.
I didn’t know that I had just hung up on Dr. Evans, trying to tell me the impossible.
The IVF procedure was a success. I was pregnant.
Curled up on the nursery floor, surrounded by the dream world I had created, I felt utterly defeated by my own life.
In the darkness, a deep chill settled into my bones, accompanied by a dizzy spell I couldn’t shake.

Betrayed Wife: Pregnant With The Ice Hockey Prince Chapter 3

Blake POV:
I sat in the leather armchair, my face a mask of indifference as the clinic director, a man named Wallace, stammered through his explanation. Sweat beaded on his forehead.
My thumb mindlessly swiped across my phone screen, displaying the team’s training schedule from my agent, Sean. I couldn’t focus on a single word.
A week ago, my lawyer received an urgent notice from this clinic. A sperm sample I’d frozen here five years ago-a precaution for my career-had been used in an IVF procedure for a female client due to an “unprecedented human error.”
I was in Toronto for an away game when I got the news. I’d nearly crushed the water bottle in my hand.
“So,” I cut through Wallace’s rambling apology, my voice cold. “You’re telling me there’s a woman I don’t know, pregnant with my child?”
Wallace’s face went from pale to ghostly white. “Yes, Mr. Underwood. We take full responsibility. We are prepared to offer compensation in any form.”
A humorless laugh escaped my lips. “Compensation? You think my bloodline has a price tag?”
My family, the Underwoods, built a sports empire. Our name does not tolerate blemishes. An illegitimate child from an unknown woman? My father, Donovan, would have my head.
I stood and walked to the massive window, looking down at the Chicago streets. My public image was the NHL’s “bad boy,” but that was a calculated brand. My private life was meticulously controlled.
“Who is the woman?” I asked without turning around.
Wallace scrambled to hand me a file. “Her name is Alyse Dawson. This is her profile. We aren’t supposed to share this, but given the circumstances…”
I took the folder and opened it. The first page was a passport-style photo. The woman had a gentle face, long brown hair, and hazel eyes that held a hint of exhaustion.
The file stated she was twenty-four, married to a Jase Hobbs. Occupation: Bakery owner.
Married? My brow furrowed. A married woman undergoing IVF used another man’s sample?
“Does she know about the sample?” I asked.
Wallace shook his head. “Not yet. We only informed her the IVF was successful. Dr. Evans tried calling her several times today, but she didn’t answer. Her phone is off now.”
I closed the file. “I don’t want a fifth person knowing about this,” I said, my tone leaving no room for argument.
“Of course, of course.” Wallace nodded frantically.
I pulled out my phone and dialed my agent. “Sean, I need you to run a check on someone. Alyse Dawson. And her husband, Jase Hobbs. I want everything you can find on them, fast.”
Hanging up, I tossed the file back onto the desk. “Handle the fallout, Wallace. My lawyer will be in touch.”
I walked out of the clinic without another glance.
Inside my Bentley, I rubbed my temples in frustration. A child. A married mother. A colossal mess.
My phone rang. An unwelcome number. Mrs. Montgomery.
I declined the call. It rang again. I finally answered.
“Blake, darling, are you avoiding me?” Mrs. Montgomery’s voice was sickeningly sweet.
I cut her off. “Mrs. Montgomery, I thought we were clear last time. I have no interest in your daughter Claire, and the Underwood family doesn’t need to secure its position through marriage.”
There was a brief silence, then a cold reply. “You’ll regret this, Blake.”
I hung up. One problem after another.
I started the car, merging into traffic. My mind was stuck on the face of that woman, Alyse Dawson. A married woman using another man’s sample. Was it for money? Or some other scheme?
Sean’s call came through. “Blake, initial check is done. The husband, Jase Hobbs, is an AHL player. Career’s going nowhere. They’ve been married three years, live in a standard apartment out west. Nothing special on the surface.”
The AHL. The minor leagues. It fit the picture of a man desperate for a payday.
“Keep digging,” I ordered. “I want to know why they’d use someone else’s sample for IVF. Check their financials.”
After hanging up, the woman’s face flashed in my mind again. Gentle, tired. Was she a greedy scammer or just a desperate wife?
Either way, she was carrying my child. And I, Blake Underwood, would never allow my blood to be raised by strangers, nor would I let it become someone’s bargaining chip.

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For three years, Caddie gave up her aerospace engineering career to be Julien’s secret girlfriend, quietly writing the core algorithms for his tech company.

On their anniversary, she stood outside his apartment with a rare gift, only to hear his friends laughing inside about his “charity project.”

Julien’s voice was ice-cold as he called her a stray puppy.

He said she was only useful for debugging his code, and once her final algorithm was finished, she would have no value left.

He was already planning to announce his engagement to the wealthy Kiersten Parrish.

He bragged that he would just write Caddie a check and kick her out, mocking that without him, she couldn’t even afford next month’s rent.

Caddie leaned against the cold wall, her world shattering.

She had turned down top research fellowships and poured her soul into his work, only to be treated as a disposable tool.

He actually believed she was just a helpless nobody who relied on his charity.

She didn’t scream or cry. She simply threw the expensive gift into the trash chute.

Logging into his company’s secure server, she permanently deleted every single line of code she had ever built for him.

Then, she packed her single suitcase, walked out the door, and dialed a number she hadn’t called in years.

“I’m ready. I want to come home.”

It was time to reclaim her place as the true billionaire Kensington heiress.

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The Discarded Genius Heiress Strikes Back Chapter 1

The final character blinked green on the screen. SUCCESS.

Caddie Kensington’s fingers, stained with coffee and grime, fell away from the keyboard. A wave of dizziness washed over her—the price of seventy-two sleepless hours. She slumped back into the cramped economy seat, the laptop on the tray table still warm.

Her head throbbed. She pressed her fingertips into her temples, trying to massage away the ache. Just then, the plane shuddered violently, followed by the suffocating silence of engine failure. Screams erupted. Oxygen masks dropped. Caddie unbuckled her seatbelt and stumbled toward the cockpit.

“I know aerospace engineering. Let me help.” Her voice was steady.

The instrument panel blazed with red warnings. She called out operating parameters, helping the captain stabilize the aircraft and bring it down on the Hudson River. The whole thing took only minutes, yet it felt like another sleepless night.

Rescue boats arrived quickly. Caddie slipped ashore with the other passengers, leaving no name. She opened her phone. The screen lit up, showing a photo of her and her fiancé, Julien Levine. Three hours ago, he had texted: “I’m at The Cypress Club. Waiting for good news. Our future is riding on you, babe.”

Three years since she’d walked away from her aerospace engineering degree at Columbia to pour everything into his company, Levine Dynamics. It was all about to pay off.

She hailed an Uber and told the driver to take her to The Cypress Club on the Upper East Side.

The doorman recognized her. “Mr. Levine is in the Cedar Room, second floor.”

She climbed the plush, carpeted stairs, her heels silent on the wool. The mahogany door to the Cedar Room was slightly ajar. She heard voices. Her hand froze.

Julien’s voice, familiar and magnetic. “Don’t worry, Kiersten. It’s almost done.”

Kiersten Parrish’s sweet, impatient reply followed. “How much longer? I’m the real Parrish daughter. Why do I have to watch that impostor holding the title of your fiancée?”

Caddie froze outside the door. Impostor. She had been told her entire life that she was the Parrish family’s adopted child—a mistake, a burden. Three years ago, when she had given up everything for Julien, the Parrishes had cut her off completely, as if she had never existed.

Julien chuckled—a low, cruel sound she’d never heard before. “Her? She’s just an orphan the Parrish family threw out. It’s her privilege to be used by me. Her coding talent is genuinely useful. She just fixed the last critical bug. As soon as this round of financing closes, I’ll break it to her. Without me, she can’t afford rent. I’ll give her some money. She should be grateful and get lost.”

Kiersten laughed. “That’s more like it. I’ve already started looking at venues for our wedding. How about next month?”

“Of course. My bride can only be you.”

Caddie’s blood ran cold. Three years of love—a carefully constructed lie. She wasn’t his partner. She was a tool.

She didn’t storm in. She had meant to turn away, but her body swayed with exhaustion. Her hand shot forward, and the door swung open before she could stop it.

The conversation stopped. Julien looked up, his face shifting from surprise to a practiced calm. Kiersten’s eyes narrowed, a smirk tugging at her lips. And there, lounging in an armchair with a whiskey, was Caleb Nash—Julien’s closest friend.

“Well, well,” Caleb drawled, setting down his glass. “The little programmer arrives. Did you finally crawl out of your cave to beg Julien for a ring?”

Kiersten giggled, looping her arm through Julien’s. “She probably wants to show off her pathetic success. Like fixing a bug makes her valuable.”

Julien raised a hand, a fake conciliatory smile on his face. “Come on, both of you. Caddie, don’t take it personally. They’re just joking. You know we’re all friends here.”

Caddie’s gaze moved from Caleb’s sneer to Kiersten’s smirk, then to Julien’s smug mask. She spoke, her voice cold and level.

“So you’re going to marry her next month and get rid of me?”

Julien’s face flickered, then he forced a laugh. “Caddie, you misheard. We were just talking business—”

“What have I been to you these three years?”

He shifted, irritation flashing in his eyes. “This isn’t the time—”

“Did you ever love me?”

Silence. Julien didn’t answer. Kiersten snickered. Caleb took a slow sip of whiskey.

Caddie looked at him for a long moment. Then she said, softly, “You’re finished.”

She turned and walked out, her steps as silent as a ghost’s. The cold New York air hit her face like a brutal slap, but it only sobered her further. She pulled out her phone and opened the internal system for Levine Dynamics—a system she had built from the ground up. She executed the permanent, irreversible delete command. The “scorched earth” protocol. Then she deleted his number and the smiling photo.

Julien. Kiersten. Caleb. I will get back everything you owe me. With interest.

A black Bentley glided to a silent stop in front of her. The rear window lowered, revealing the face of a distinguished, middle-aged man. His eyes searched hers with a strange intensity.

The Discarded Genius Heiress Strikes Back Chapter 2

Caddie recognized the car before the window finished lowering. She had seen it twice outside her apartment building in the past month, always at a distance, always waiting. She had never had time to stop.

Now she did.

The rear door opened. Burrell Kensington stepped out, his tailored suit immaculate despite the late hour. He stopped a respectful distance away, his eyes scanning her face with open concern.

“Caddie.” He said her name with an unusual gravity.

“You know me.” Her voice was flat. She was too tired to offer more.

“Your hands are shaking,” he said quietly. “When did you last eat?”

She looked down at her own hands. He was right. She curled her fingers into loose fists and let them fall to her sides. “I don’t remember.”

He reached into his jacket and withdrew a thin envelope. “A month ago, someone took a coffee cup from my building. A DNA sample. That was you, wasn’t it?”

Caddie didn’t deny it.

“The results came back.” He slid out a single page. “A 99.99% match. ”

His voice dropped, but it remained clear. “Which makes me your uncle.”

Caddie lowered her eyes. She had waited outside his office building for hours, eventually taking the cup from an assistant’s hand. She had needed an answer, and she had been terrified of it. For a month, the report had sat unopened in her inbox.

“You knew where I was all along,” she said.

“I did.” Pain crossed his face. “And I knew that for the past month, you’ve been running yourself ragged for that man. You couldn’t even spare an hour to have coffee with me.”

Caddie’s throat tightened. She turned her head toward the street.

“Your mother is still alive,” Burrell continued. “She has never stopped searching for you.”

Caddie turned back. “I need to deal with Julien first. Then I’ll come.”

Burrell didn’t argue. He simply nodded and stepped aside. “I’ll have someone follow you. For safety.”

She didn’t say no. She got into the Bentley, and Burrell gave the driver her address.

The apartment she had shared with Julien was cold and empty. Every object—the books on the shelf, the throw blanket on the sofa, the photos on the wall—was a monument to a lie. She felt no sentimentality. She pulled out two large suitcases and began to pack. She took only what was hers. Anything Julien had given her, even a paperback book, she left behind.

At four in the morning, Julien stumbled in. He smelled of expensive whiskey and a perfume that wasn’t hers—Kiersten’s. He saw the suitcases and Caddie methodically folding clothes, and his face twisted into a scowl.

“What are you doing? Having a breakdown in the middle of the night?” His voice was heavy with condescending impatience.

Caddie didn’t stop. She placed the last sweater into her suitcase and zipped it shut.

He strode over and grabbed her wrist. “Answer me.”

She didn’t pull away. She just looked up at him. The expression in her eyes was so empty it made his grip loosen on its own.

She withdrew her hand and reached up to unclasp the necklace from her neck. The delicate diamond chain. His engagement gift. She tossed it onto the coffee table, where it landed with a soft clink.

“What is this?” His voice sharpened. “Some kind of game?”

She picked up her phone.

“Don’t you dare ignore me.” He stepped closer, his chest almost touching her shoulder. “You think you can just leave? You can’t survive in New York without me. I gave you your job. Your friends are my friends.”

She didn’t answer. She opened her contacts.

“You should apologize right now,” he said, his voice dropping low. “And I can pretend this never happened.”

Her thumb tapped the screen. A call connected. She pressed speaker.

The frantic voice of Mark, the CTO of Levine Dynamics, filled the silent apartment. “Julien! Thank God! It’s a disaster! Our core server—all the core algorithms and data, it’s all locked! Someone just triggered the highest-level ‘scorched earth’ protocol!”

Mark’s voice verged on tears. “Everything—local, cloud backups—it’s all on a countdown to deletion! We can’t stop it! Was it you? This is top-secret clearance!”

The color drained from Julien’s face. He whipped his head around to stare at Caddie. “You did this?”

She ended the call and slipped the phone into her pocket.

“Answer me!” He grabbed both of her suitcase handles, blocking her path. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? That code is the company’s property!”

Caddie looked at his hands on her suitcases. Then at his face. She said one word: “Move.”

Julien didn’t move. His jaw tightened. “You’re not leaving until we fix this.”

She stepped around him. He lunged, trying to catch her arm. She was faster. She pulled the door open, dragged one suitcase through, then the other.

Julien stumbled after her, his hand reaching for the doorframe. “Caddie—wait. Please. Let’s talk.”

She turned, looked him dead in the eye, and slammed the door.

The heavy oak edge caught him across the forehead with a dull, solid crack. He reeled backward with a strangled cry, his hands flying to his face.

Caddie didn’t look back. She was already walking down the hall, the wheels of her suitcases humming against the floor.

The first rays of dawn were breaking over the city when she stepped outside. She pulled out her phone and dialed Burrell’s number.

“Uncle. I’m ready now.”

The Discarded Genius Heiress Strikes Back Chapter 3

The call connected on the first ring. Burrell’s voice came through the line, calm and alert despite the hour. “Caddie. Are you alright?”

“I’m ready.” Her voice was steady now. “Come get me.”

She gave him the address. The black Bentley arrived within minutes. This time, Caddie didn’t hesitate. She opened the door and slid inside.

Burrell handed her a warm cup of coffee and a paper bag with a croissant. “Eat something. You look like you haven’t slept in days.”

She took the coffee, cradling it in both hands. The warmth spread through her fingers. “I haven’t.”

The car pulled away from the curb, leaving the steel canyons of Manhattan behind. They drove north, crossing into the green, gated estates of Greenwich, Connecticut. The sky was turning pale at the edges.

Back in Julien’s apartment, chaos was still unfolding. He was on the phone, calling every tech expert he knew. The answer never changed: the data was gone. Irretrievable.

Caleb Nash arrived to find the apartment in disarray and Julien looking like a ghost. “What the hell happened? Where’s Caddie?”

Julien clawed at his hair, his voice ragged. “She left. She destroyed everything.”

Caleb, trying to distract him, turned on the TV to the morning news.

A news anchor was giving an update. “…more details on the miracle landing of Flight UA580 on the Hudson River yesterday. According to passengers, during the critical moments after the engines failed, a mysterious female passenger entered the cockpit and, using her exceptional aviation knowledge, assisted the captain in stabilizing the aircraft…”

A blurry cell phone photo appeared on the screen—the profile of a woman with long, dark brown hair and a determined jawline.

“The identity of this heroine remains a mystery,” the anchor continued. “The airline has publicly appealed for her to come forward, but she seems intent on remaining anonymous.”

Julien’s head snapped up. He stared at the photo. That blurry profile—it felt familiar. He shook his head, dismissing the thought. Caddie hated driving. The idea of her flying a plane was absurd.

The Bentley carrying Caddie passed through imposing iron gates and stopped in front of a classical white mansion.

A woman in a crisp housekeeper’s uniform, white hair pulled into a neat bun, was waiting at the entrance. Eleanor Dawson, the long-serving head of the Kensington household staff. Her eyes reddened the moment she saw Caddie. “Welcome home, Miss.”

Caddie was led into a vast, light-filled living room. Burrell gestured for her to sit and placed a manila folder on the coffee table.

“Open it,” he said quietly.

Inside were a DNA report, trust documents, and a detailed summary of events.

Burrell began without preamble. “Twenty years ago, your parents—Doyle and Jane Kensington—were brilliant scientists. After the so-called accident, your mother lost her memory and was protected by the family. You were mistakenly placed with the Parrish family.”

Caddie’s jaw tightened.

“The Parrishes found a Kensington family heirloom in your swaddling clothes. They claimed you as their own daughter to collect the child support payments from a trust fund the family had set up for its lost descendants.”

“Their own daughter, Kiersten Parrish, was raised as their biological child. She enjoyed everything that should have been yours.”

Caddie’s hands curled into fists on her lap. She wasn’t the impostor. Kiersten was. Her entire life had been stolen.

“My mother,” she said. “Where is she now?”

Burrell’s expression softened. “She is still receiving treatment. Her condition is complicated. But she never stopped looking for you. We only confirmed your identity recently through the DNA test you arranged. Before that, the Parrish family’s financial irregularities kept leading us in circles.”

He pointed to a document in the folder. “This is the trust fund established for you by the Kensington family. And the stock certificates for several family-owned companies. Legally, you are their sole owner.”

Caddie looked at the figures without registering them. The money was nothing.

Eleanor returned with a bowl of warm soup. “Miss, please eat something. Your room has been kept for you all these years. Every piece of furniture, every book on the shelf—your mother chose them herself, before she lost her memory. She wanted you to have a home to return to.”

Caddie took the bowl. Her eyes burned, but she forced the tears back.

She looked up at Burrell. “I want to take back what’s mine. Not just the money.”

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After her boyfriend of seven years abandoned her, Nicole pursued his fiancée’s powerful uncle.

“Marry me, doctor. You can examine me whenever you want,” she teased.

He rejected her without hesitation, and every attempt to seduce him earned a cold refusal. Eventually, she gave up and agreed to marry someone else.

But on her wedding day, the aloof doctor stormed into her dressing room, furious that she’d chosen another man.

“You rejected me first. Am I not allowed to marry someone else?”

The man’s eyes blazed with fury. “Fine. You want me to examine you? Let’s do it right now.”

Everyone claimed Nicole’d married beyond her reach, but only he knew how much pride he’d sacrificed to win her love.

That night, his hands found her waist and held on tight, his lips finding hers over and over, as if he was trying to memorize the feel of her.

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Dr. Heartbreaker, You Rejected Me First Chapter 1 Remembering Things Doesn’t Seem To Be Your Strength

“You’re really letting Nicole design your fiancee’s wedding dress, Brenton? What happens if she figures it out?” a man teased inside the private room.

Nicole Dawson stopped outside the door and forgot how to breathe.

Two weeks ago, her boyfriend, Brenton Blake, had commissioned a custom wedding gown from her. According to him, his friend Gillian Carter needed it for her wedding.

For ten nights in a row, Nicole had stayed awake and put everything she had into the hand-stitched lace and flower embroidery.

It turned out his so-called friend was actually the woman he planned to marry.

Nicole had spent six years with Brenton, from the age of nineteen to twenty-four. She’d risked everything on their relationship.

Their families were worlds apart, and it had always been clear to her. That was why she’d never brought up marriage and had chosen to wait.

Her dream was to make something of her couture studio. Then perhaps she could stand beside him without feeling beneath him.

But now, she realized Brenton wasn’t against marriage after all. He simply had no intention of marrying her.

Nicole’s lips curved into a bitter smile at her own expense.

Once love ended, there was nothing left to save. She had gambled everything and lost.

She was about to leave when Brenton spoke.

“She has no idea. Even if she found out, what could she do? That little studio of hers would have shut down without Blake Group’s support. As for her mother, two compatible kidney donors have already come up, but I stopped both operations. No surgeon in Cresville would dare operate on her without my approval.”

Cruel laughter burst from the room.

“You’ve got your little songbird locked up tight in that golden cage. Nicely done!” someone teased.

“That’s seriously twisted, and she still thinks you’re helping her,” another man chimed in.

Nicole stood rooted to the spot, frozen.

Her mother had been diagnosed with kidney failure a year earlier. She had volunteered to give her mother a kidney, but the tests showed they weren’t compatible.

She had broken down outside the hospital room, and Brenton had held her while trying to calm her. “Don’t worry, Nicole. We can afford the treatment. I’ll find someone who’s a match, and your mother will be okay.”

For an entire painful year, she’d believed he was actually helping them. Now she knew he had been holding back her mother’s operation.

He was using her mother’s life to keep her under his control. Fury tore through her at the thought.

She had wasted six years being a fool.

Her phone suddenly rang and cut through the silence.

“I’m calling from Cresville General Hospital,” the urgent voice on the line said. “Your mother, Maggie Dawson, developed a blood clot during dialysis. Her condition is critical.”

Every thought vanished from Nicole’s mind. Confronting Brenton would have to wait. She turned and ran for the elevator.

By the time she reached the hospital, the staff were rushing her mother into the interventional suite. A nurse approached with a form. “You need to sign the consent paperwork. Every senior attending is already in surgery, so no one is free to take her case.”

“How can no one be available?” Nicole asked, her voice trembling.

“Her kidney failure is severe, which makes the procedure extremely difficult. None of the junior doctors can manage a case like this…”

The nurse hadn’t finished when the elevator doors opened and a tall man walked out.

He removed his leather gloves as he approached, revealing his long fingers.

Several doctors in lab coats followed him and quickly explained the situation.

“Dr. Carter?” Surprise crossed the nurse’s face. “Didn’t your international flight just land? Dr. Jones said you needed to get some rest.”

He wasted no time. “Show me the scans.”

A resident immediately passed them to him.

Still dazed, Nicole raised her head and met his deep, piercing gaze.

She knew that face.

His name was Ethan Carter. He was the heir to the Carter family and Gillian’s uncle.

Something pulled tight in Nicole’s chest when their eyes met. An odd sense of familiarity came over her, though she couldn’t explain it.

Ethan studied her face for several seconds. His stare was keen and measured, but something she couldn’t read briefly appeared in his eyes. A moment later, he lowered his gaze to the scans again.

It took him only seconds to examine the images. He pointed to a section of the film. “Call anesthesiology. We’ll perform an interventional thrombectomy. Have the operating room prepared within five minutes.”

The nurse paused. “But she hasn’t paid the surgery deposit…”

“Forget the usual process. I’ll take personal responsibility for the bill,” Ethan said, cutting her off.

Nicole couldn’t express how grateful she was. All she said was a simple, “Thank you.”

Antiseptic hung thick in the hospital corridor.

Nicole’s thoughts raced as she tried to work out when the remaining payments from her studio orders would arrive. She needed to get two hundred thousand dollars as soon as possible and repay Ethan.

Clenching her teeth, she called Brenton. The phone rang for a long while before he finally picked up. But the voice that came through was Gillian’s.

“Brenton, someone’s calling from an unsaved number.”

“Don’t answer it,” Brenton replied coldly.

Whatever hope Nicole had left disappeared. She ended the call.

After closing her eyes and drawing a deep breath, she called her father, Aaron Dawson.

“Mom needs an urgent operation, and it costs two hundred thousand. Can you give me the money now? I’ll repay you on Monday.”

“Two hundred thousand?” Aaron let out an impatient scoff. “You’ve spent years with Brenton, but you can’t get that much money from him? I asked you to put in a good word for me so my company could work with Blake Group, and you refused because you wanted to act so righteous. Now you’re out of money, and suddenly I’m your father again? Well, you’re too late!”

He hung up with a hard click.

A dull pain spread behind Nicole’s eyes as she rubbed her temples.

Two hours passed before the surgery ended.

Ethan came out of the operating room and removed his surgical cap. “We cleared the clot, and she’s no longer in immediate danger. However, she needs a matching kidney donor as soon as possible. Stop by my office later so we can register her and complete the forms.”

“I will. Thank you, Dr. Carter.”

…

Nicole stood outside the ICU and watched her mother through the glass while Brenton’s words repeated in her head.

Escaping Brenton and saving her mother would take someone with even more power.

Ethan was the future head of the Carter family, and he was also the doctor treating her mother.

His support could save her mother. It would also force Brenton to think twice before taking any actions against her for the sake of his engagement.

Using a man who had just helped her would be shameless, reckless, and dangerous. Still, the idea took hold and wouldn’t release her.

She needed something strong enough to pull her from this mess. If she was lucky, it might also help her bring down the Blake family.

Nicole went into the restroom and faced the mirror. After wiping away the marks left by her tears, she touched up her makeup and headed for Ethan’s office.

He was seated behind his desk, reading through a medical chart.

“Sorry to disturb you, Dr. Carter. I need your help registering my mother for a kidney donor,” Nicole muttered, making her voice deliberately gentle.

Ethan looked up, his gaze landing on the lingering redness at the corners of her eyes. A brief silence passed before he responded, “Okay.”

“There’s also the cost of the operation. Could you give me your contact details? I’ll send the money the moment I have it.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Ethan opened a drawer, removed a bank card, and pushed it toward her. “Put the money into this account. My birthday is the PIN.”

A flicker of disappointment passed through Nicole. Her attempt to get his contact information without raising suspicion had failed.

She took the card and spoke quietly. “In that case… when’s your birthday?”

Ethan stared at her as his expression gradually hardened. He gave the date slowly and clearly. “July 28th, 1999. And the PIN is 990728.”

“I won’t forget it, Dr. Carter.”

“You won’t?” Ethan’s voice chilled. “I’m not convinced, Ms. Dawson. Remembering things doesn’t seem to be your strength.”

Bitterness edged his words, along with something that almost sounded like pain.

Nicole couldn’t make sense of it, but she didn’t have the nerve to question him. She pulled off a sticky note and wrote down her number before placing it in his hand. Her fingertips brushed ever so lightly against his palm.

His fingers closed without thought.

“This is my number, Dr. Carter. Call me whenever you need to.”

Once the door shut behind her, Ethan lifted the note.

He had memorized those digits long ago.

His gaze grew colder. Then he opened his hand and let the small note fall into the trash.

Dr. Heartbreaker, You Rejected Me First Chapter 2 A Waist To Die For

Late that night, Nicole returned to Southgate Apartments.

A pair of leather shoes rested beside the front door. Brenton had come home.

The living room reeked of whiskey. Brenton lay stretched out across the couch, his tie undone, and the low light highlighted the sharp lines of his collarbones.

As Nicole stepped inside, he gave her a lazy, wolfish grin. “Today’s my birthday. Where the hell were you?”

He grabbed her wrist and dragged her onto his lap, then crushed his whiskey-soaked lips against hers.

The sight of his face made Nicole sick. She recoiled, but he gripped her chin and forced her face back toward his.

“You ungrateful little thing,” he murmured. “You can’t even wish me a happy birthday?”

His hand settled on her bare thigh and slowly moved higher. “Maybe I should be the one giving you a present for my birthday.”

Nicole’s pretty face had always attracted Brenton. It was the only reason he’d stayed with her for six years.

Her captivating eyes were what drew him in most. There was truly something special about them.

Her sweet, yielding nature also satisfied a hunger in him that nothing else could.

Nicole’s thoughts went to her mother and Gillian. The touch of his hands on her skin made her feel like throwing up. “Brenton, let me go. You’re hurting me.”

Brenton pinned her down and softened his voice into a low, coaxing purr. “What’s the matter, babe? Why do you look so unhappy?”

Nicole asked hoarsely, “When will you find a kidney donor for my mother?”

“I’m trying everything I can. Your mother’s condition is complicated. You already know that.”

He whispered the hollow reassurance against her neck. His lips stayed pressed to her skin as he spoke. “I’ll get a team of specialists to examine her tomorrow.”

Nicole closed her eyes and held back the bitter laugh that rose in her chest.

She moved on to her second question. “So when exactly do you plan to marry me?”

Brenton’s hands went still.

“Why are you asking me that out of nowhere?” He slowly ran his thumb along her lower lip. The gesture was deliberate, as if he were handling a pet. “I’ll give you anything you want. But marrying me isn’t an option.”

Sharp cheekbones, fine features, and bedroom eyes made Brenton a handsome man. Even a stranger could feel like the center of his universe when he looked at them. But everything that came out of his mouth was cold as ice.

“If marrying me isn’t possible, then we’re done. Aurora Studio will also end its partnership with Blake Group,” she declared.

The room fell silent.

Brenton’s amused look vanished. Something much more dangerous took its place.

“Marriage is nothing but a formality. Does it really matter that much to you? I love you. You’re all I’ve got. Why isn’t that enough?”

That was supposed to be love?

His version of love was lying to her about a kidney donor. It was letting her mother die. It was making plans to marry someone else while she slept beside him.

The irony made Nicole want to laugh. The man in front of her now seemed like a stranger, and the sight of him disgusted her.

“If marriage is off the table, then the least we can do is end this properly,” she said.

Brenton seized her shoulders and forced her down against the couch cushions.

“End this properly?” he snarled. “Have you even thought about what that would mean for your mother? Or that precious little studio of yours?”

He gave her cheek a light pat. It didn’t hurt, but the gesture was unmistakably condescending.

“I know you want to marry me, but don’t fool yourself into thinking you can threaten me by ending things,” he added.

Then, his phone vibrated, Gillian calling.

At that, he let Nicole go. His voice shifted to a warm and sweet tone the second he answered. “Yes, Gillian. I’m on my way.”

When he reached the door, he threw one last cold remark over his shoulder. “Go treat yourself to something nice if you’re upset. I don’t have the patience to coax you.”

The door slammed behind him with a deafening bang.

For a long time, Nicole remained on the couch. She didn’t move until the ache in her back had faded into a faint throb.

She pushed herself up and smoothed the torn hem of her dress. Then she walked into the bathroom with a completely blank expression.

Freezing water poured over her body. Her face looked deathly pale in the mirror, but her eyes were bright and piercing.

Once she was dry, she stepped into the walk-in closet.

Luxury goods packed the entire space. Brenton had given them to her whenever he was in one of his better moods. She’d never had the heart to use any of them before. Now she finally had a purpose for them.

She photographed the items and sent the pictures to a luxury reseller.

She typed, “All of it. Tell me how much you’ll pay.”

That same night, Nicole cleared every trace of herself out of the apartment. She pushed the keys under the management office door, then showed up on her best friend Amy Davis’ doorstep with a suitcase.

“You’re absolutely sure this is what you want?” Amy asked. She was still trying to process the shock. Everyone knew Nicole had been madly in love with Brenton for six solid years.

Nicole gave her a small, firm nod.

“Then pull your studio out from under Blake Group too,” Amy pressed. “If you’re cutting him off, cut every last tie. You took True Glamour to Vasiria Fashion Week while you were still in college. Why are you still letting Brenton have any claim over you?”

“Ending Aurora Studio’s partnership will cost five million dollars,” Nicole explained.

Amy went quiet.

No one knew Brenton better than Nicole did. He’d never let her go that easily.

As Ethan came to mind, she murmured, “Soon, that won’t be a problem anymore.”

The luxury goods were sold without a problem.

Two days later, Nicole received a sizable deposit in her bank account.

Out of the two hundred thousand dollars she owed Ethan, she transferred only half of it to his account. As for the rest, she’d used it as an excuse to get close to him.

Nicole woke up early the following morning. She covered the dark circles under her eyes with foundation and swept a little blush over her cheeks for a natural-looking glow.

She settled on a beige knit dress that was tailored to her figure without being tight. The neckline revealed just enough of her delicate collarbones.

She carried a thermos of broth she’d spent two hours simmering.

When she reached the hospital, Nicole found the office door cracked open and quietly pushed it wider.

The man stood with his back to her as he took off his jacket.

His broad shoulders and lean muscles made his back look like a solid wall. Morning sunlight shone through his white shirt and revealed the faint outline of his taut, powerful waist.

Her heart skipped a beat. One ridiculous phrase popped into her head—a waist to die for.

Ethan turned to face her. His fingers stopped halfway through buttoning his lab coat.

“Dr. Carter, I stopped by to thank you. My mom’s been doing so much better. I made some broth for you.” She set down the thermos and rubbed her bandaged fingers self-consciously. Her voice was cautious and apologetic. “I’m honestly not very good in the kitchen, and I’m kind of clumsy. I hope that’s okay.”

Ethan looked at the thermos before he slowly raised his eyes to her face. She looked exhausted, but she was still striking.

Something flickered in those dark, unreadable eyes. He knew she was putting on an act, but he let it pass.

“I’m a doctor. Saving people is what I do. You don’t need to thank me.” He sounded neither warm nor cold, just careful and distant.

Nicole didn’t let her smile slip. “It’s only a small thank-you. It doesn’t compare to everything you’ve done.”

She bit her lip. “And about my mother’s treatment fee… I was only able to put together one hundred thousand for now.”

She carefully fluttered her lashes to make herself look vulnerable. “Could I pay you the rest… a little later?”

Ethan responded with a brief, indifferent nod.

Nicole took advantage of the opening. “My mother will still need follow-up care, so could I get your number? I feel bad about bothering the front desk all the time.”

For a moment, he didn’t reply.

Nicole was already preparing herself for his refusal when he picked up his phone and gave her his number.

His fingers were long and elegant. His nails were neatly trimmed, and his knuckles were well-defined. He had a surgeon’s hands, and they were more mesmerizing than those of any hand model she’d ever seen.

Nicole stared at his hands in a daze. When he lightly shook his phone, she came back to her senses and quickly saved his number.

“I’ll come back for the thermos another time.”

She left the thermos behind so that she could see him again.

The door closed with a soft click.

Ethan studied the new contact on his screen.

For her profile picture, she’d used a selfie taken in front of Cresville University’s gates.

His thumb moved over the delete button and stayed there for a long moment.

In the end, he simply let the screen turn off.

As soon as Nicole left the office, every trace of softness and vulnerability disappeared from her face. She headed for the exit. When she passed the nurses’ station, she caught pieces of a whispered conversation.

She stopped when she reached the corner.

“Do you know what made Dr. Carter suddenly help that girl?”

“He paid for her mother’s two-hundred-thousand-dollar bill just like that.”

“But why would he do that? What’s the story there?”

Dr. Heartbreaker, You Rejected Me First Chapter 3 A Substitute For His Lost Love

One of the nurses spoke in an excited whisper. “That girl looks just like Dr. Carter’s first love.”

“You’re kidding, right?” another nurse asked as she moved closer. “Someone as cold as Dr. Carter had a first love?”

“I’m not making it up. Dr. Jones told me himself. He and Dr. Carter were classmates in college.”

Nicole blinked. That explained Ethan’s strange behavior in his office the other day.

Her fingers rose to brush her cheek. Apparently, she resembled the woman he first fell in love with.

Did that make her a substitute for his lost love? Perhaps… she could use that.

Once she left the hospital, Nicole headed to Blake Tower. Aurora Studio, her couture business, belonged to Blake Group.

She asked her assistant, Delilah White, to retrieve every order they had received during the past year.

Nicole read through the crowded figures from beginning to end. Each new line made her heart sink further.

Seventy percent of their business came from clients with ties to Brenton.

For years, she had lived in his world, and Aurora Studio had always received plenty of orders.

His influence had supported the studio for so long that she’d stopped noticing it.

The numbers now made the truth impossible to ignore. Brenton was the only reason her business had prospered.

All this time, she’d merely been fluttering around inside the golden cage he’d made for her.

Drawing a deep breath, Nicole said, “Delilah, I want you to manage these clients from now on. Don’t offer them any new collections, and don’t make any special effort to keep working with them.”

Surprise crossed Delilah’s face. “But most of our income comes from these clients.”

“That doesn’t matter. I’ll bring in new business.”

Nicole rose with a stack of fresh sketches and headed out to print them.

Everyone in the design department had gathered around Gillian. Brenton remained next to her, and they looked comfortable together.

A slight smile crossed Brenton’s face. “Today is Gillian’s first official day with Blake Group’s design department. We’re going out as a team to celebrate, and I’m paying.”

Cheers filled the office.

Nicole showed no reaction and turned toward her studio. Before she could leave, Clare Moore grabbed her arm. “Where are you going, Nicole? You’re coming with us!”

Nicole looked aside. “I’ll pass. I already have plans.”

Clare led the design team, and she’d always held a grudge against Nicole. In her mind, Nicole had no right to operate her own brand within the group.

A sneer crossed her face. “You’re the only one refusing to come. People might think we’re excluding you. Aurora Studio may operate independently, but the design department still oversees it. Gillian is our director now. The least you can do is show her some respect.”

“That’s enough, Clare.” Gillian walked over and spoke in a gentle voice. “Don’t mind her, Nicole. And come with us. I’ve been hoping to discuss motif design with you. It’s a specialized field, so who better to ask than an expert?”

Those few words backed Nicole into a corner. Everyone was watching her, which made refusing impossible.

The gathering took place in a VIP booth at Mirage Lounge.

Gillian and Brenton occupied the middle of the long couch and naturally drew everyone’s attention.

Sitting by herself in a corner, Nicole ran a finger along the edge of her soda water. The loud celebration around her only made her seem more alone.

Several bottles of liquor later, the group became noisy and proposed a game.

“How about an easy one?” Gillian suggested. “We each draw a card, and whoever gets the lowest one has to take a penalty. What do you think?”

“Yes! Let’s do it,” Clare exclaimed at once.

Everyone else agreed without hesitation.

“Don’t be too hard on us, Gillian!” someone shouted.

They began playing. During the next few rounds, someone had to drink three shots, while another was challenged to ask someone in the neighboring booth for their number. Laughter and noise filled the booth.

Luck stayed on Gillian’s side. She drew a safe card every time and never had to take a penalty.

Brenton didn’t participate. Instead, he observed the game with his usual calm distance.

Whenever Gillian looked over at him, he answered with a small, affectionate smile.

The deck reached Nicole during the next round.

“Your turn, Nicole,” Gillian said softly. “Relax. It’s only a game.”

Nicole extended her hand toward the card.

At that moment, Clare, who was sitting beside her, knocked over a glass as if by accident. Half the drink spilled across Nicole.

“Oh my God! I’m so sorry. It was an accident.” Clare snatched up some napkins and rushed closer, using her body to hide Nicole from everyone else. Her position also concealed the face-down card on the table.

Once the others looked away, Clare quickly replaced Nicole’s card with the one hidden between her fingers.

“I’m all right.” Nicole took a tissue and blotted the wet mark on her dress. The switch hadn’t escaped her notice.

“We’ve already gone through a bunch of rounds,” Clare said eagerly. “Why don’t we make this one a little more exciting?”

Curiosity spread through the group. “What do you have in mind?”

Clare glanced around before casting Nicole a spiteful look. Then she turned her attention to Gillian.

After receiving a subtle nod of approval, Clare raised her voice and said, “The person with the lowest card has to strip for us. Sounds fun, right?”

Cheers and whistles erupted around the booth.

Nicole had expected someone to try something. She’d hidden the highest card, the King of Spades.

Keeping her expression calm, she prepared to exchange the cards.

Then something in the darkened hallway beyond the group caught her attention.

A server was guiding someone she recognized into the next booth.

He wore a plain white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Light briefly crossed his face as he walked past.

The man was Ethan.

Nicole wondered what had brought him here. Then a daring plan came to her.

Her cool gaze passed over the waiting faces. After the slightest pause, she turned over the card Clare had placed in front of her.

The Ace of Hearts stared back at her.

“She got the Ace of Hearts! That’s the lowest one!”

“Nicole lost?”

“I knew it! The pretty girl always ends up with the best penalty!”

The men in the group watched Nicole with obvious and unwelcome excitement.

A faint frown appeared on Brenton’s face, though he remained silent.

He expected Nicole to put aside her pride and ask him to save her.

One word from him would end the game.

Gillian’s mouth curved into a cold smile, and victory briefly showed in her eyes.

She knew about Nicole’s relationship with Brenton, but she pretended otherwise.

As far as she was concerned, Nicole was nothing more than Brenton’s hidden convenience. He had never planned to treat her with real respect.

Exposing the relationship would only make her seem petty.

In her eyes, Nicole should have understood her position and disappeared without a fight. Now, she decided to teach Nicole a lesson.

Still holding the Ace of Hearts, Nicole rose with a pale face.

Clare gave her a mocking look. “You picked the card yourself, Nicole. What’s the matter? You’re not backing out, are you?”

Nicole placed the card on the table and slowly reached for the buttons at the top of her fitted silk dress.

The first button came undone, followed by the second.

Anticipation spread through the booth.

Nicole checked Ethan’s position from the corner of her eye and made sure he had a clear view of her.

Her hand continued down the row of buttons.

The opening revealed a glimpse of skin above her collarbone.

Brenton’s expression darkened as irritation surged through him.

What the hell was she thinking? She was really going to do it.

He started to rise and stop her when a crisp, jarring sound rang out from the neighboring booth.

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In professional hockey, Omegas are banned. Theo Maren has a secret: he is an Omega, and he must hide it to survive.
For six years, Theo has pretended to be a tough Alpha. He uses heavy medicine and strict control to hide his true smell. No one suspects him.
Until his worst rival breaks his medicine injector on the ice.
Dominic Vale is the league’s golden Alpha. He is the captain of the rival team, and he has been obsessed with Theo for years. When Theo’s medicine fails during the championship game, Dominic is the only one close enough to smell him.
They spend one wild night together. Terrified of what they did, Theo runs away before sunrise. He leaves Dominic with a permanent bite mark on his shoulder and an empty bed.
Two years later, Theo comes back to the hockey league.
He is colder and quieter now. And he did not come back alone.
To protect Theo from a dangerous scandal, Dominic forces him into a secret marriage contract. Publicly, they are still enemies fighting on the ice. Privately, Theo lives in Dominic’s apartment and sleeps in his bed.
Theo thinks Dominic just wants to control and protect him. But Dominic wants more.
Because Dominic just discovered that the two-year-old boy with Theo’s eyes… also has his Alpha scent.
And this time, Dominic refuses to let his mate run away.

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Claimed on Ice: Marked by the Rival Captain Chapter 1 Illegal Scent

Theo POV

I have always hated championship games because they change people into someone you barely recognize.

The arena was loud around me. Thousands of voices were shouting against the glass so hard that I could feel the vibration every time my skates moved across the ice. The overhead lights made everything look really sharp under the scoreboard that was hanging above us like a verdict waiting to happen.

IRONCLAW TITANS. 3. NORTHCREST ROYALS. 3

There were forty-three seconds left. One goal would end the game.

I bent low at the face-off circle. I held my stick tight while cold air was burning through my lungs. My muscles felt like they were being held together by adrenaline. Under my gear, suppressant patches were on my skin. I was used to them by now.

Across the ice, Dominic Vale was watching me. He always did.

For three years, I pretended not to notice it during press conferences, airport interviews, and crowded hallways outside locker rooms. Dominic looked at people like he was quietly taking them apart piece by piece, but somehow, he always looked at me longer.

Under the arena lights, I could see him perfectly. Sweat was making his hair look dark beneath his helmet, and his shoulders looked broad beneath the Royals jersey, built from years of playing hockey. His jaw had clearly been broken once. It healed slightly crooked in a way that only made him look more dangerous. His hazel eyes were locked on mine.

He said, “Try not to cry when we win this game, sweetheart.”

I laughed under my breath. “Try not to break a hip, grandpa,” I said back to him.

He was twenty-eight years old, and irritating him had become one of my favorite things to do.

The referee dropped the puck. Everything became instinct. I moved before the thought could catch up. The puck was on my blade as the crowd erupted around us. I cut past the Royals defenseman fast enough for cold air to slice against my face.

I only needed one opening, half a second, and one clean shot.

Then Dominic Vale hit me.

The collision was strong. It threw me hard into the boards. The glass shook behind me as air vanished from my lungs, and the puck disappeared somewhere down the rink. For one disoriented second, all I saw were the arena lights.

Then I felt it. The injector beneath my gear shattered.

I was filled with dread as cooling liquid soaked across my ribs beneath my compression layers. I knew exactly what would happen next. Heat started beneath my skin, subtle enough that nobody else would notice but impossible for me to mistake. My scent glands reacted immediately. Panic twisted low in my stomach as warmth spread through my bloodstream.

Not enough for the crowd to notice. Not enough for my teammates.

Enough for an Alpha standing fifteen feet away.

I pushed myself upright quickly, my chest heaving beneath my gear. I needed to leave before my body betrayed me. Dominic grabbed my arm before I made it two steps.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his grip tightening slightly around my arm.

The second he touched me, my entire body reacted. I tore my arm free immediately.

“Do not touch me,” I said.

The sharpness in my voice cut between us. Dominic narrowed his eyes as he studied me carefully. I skated away before he could stop me again.

The game continued around me in chaos. Bodies slammed against the glass while coaches shouted over screaming crowds and skates carved across the ice, but I barely registered any of it. My heartbeat felt wrong inside my chest, fast and painfully uneven. Beneath the arena air, something faint and sweet slipped through my skin despite every suppressant still in my system.

Fear settled heavily inside me, quiet and certain.

I turned toward the bench. I skated harder, ignoring my coach shouting my name behind me along with the final seconds that had mattered more than anything only minutes earlier. None of it mattered now. The only things that existed were the hallway, the locker room, and the emergency suppressant buried inside my bag.

I had maybe five minutes left.

Somewhere behind me, swallowed by the roar of the arena, the buzzer sounded for sudden-death overtime. I never looked back.

The hallway blurred as heat spread deeper into my bloodstream. Stress always made crashes worse, and knowing Dominic Vale had been close enough to notice made everything unbearable in ways I refused to examine too closely. I shoved through the medical bathroom door, locked it behind me, and collapsed onto the tile floor. My hands shook as I tore through my bag, sending bottles and rolls of tape scattering across the ground.

Then finally, I found it. Relief washed through me so quickly it almost made me dizzy as I stared at the emergency suppressant in my hands.

Footsteps echoed outside the door. Controlled. Unhurried. Familiar enough to make my stomach drop instantly. It was the kind of recognition your body felt before your mind could deny it.

A quiet knock followed, deliberate and polite in the way dangerous people often were.

“Theo,” Dominic said through the door, his voice low and calm.

Pain twisted sharply through my chest. Maybe if I stayed still, he would leave.

“I know you’re in there,” he added quietly. There was no uncertainty in his voice.

The suppressant felt ice-cold in my hands while silence settled outside the door. Then I heard him inhale slowly and deeply, the kind of breath that sounded older than restraint itself.

Alphas only breathed like that for one reason.

Suddenly, Dominic Vale no longer sounded like my rival captain. He sounded hungry.

My stomach tightened as another wave of heat rolled through me, sharper this time. Outside the bathroom, Dominic let out a sound in his throat, restrained and rough like he was losing a fight with himself.

To my absolute horror, my body answered him anyway.

Claimed on Ice: Marked by the Rival Captain Chapter 2 Locker Room Door

Dominic POV

The moment I smelled Theo on the ice, part of me went still somewhere deeper than thought.

One second, I was skating toward him, focused on the game and the seconds bleeding off the clock. The next, something sweet cut through the smell of blood, sweat, and ice. It was faint, sharp, and completely wrong for a hockey rink.

Anyone else would have missed it completely. I did not.

My body reacted before my brain caught up. Every instinct I had went unnaturally still for one sharp second before turning violently possessive hard enough to knock the breath out of me.

Mine.

The thought hit so hard I nearly lost my balance on the ice. The intensity of it unsettled me immediately. This was Theo Maren. My rival. Not someone my body should have recognized this quickly.

It made no sense.

Theo played hockey like he had been built for violence, reckless and impossible to intimidate. I had never cared whether he was an Alpha or Beta because it had never mattered before. But I knew what an Omega smelled like, and Theo smelled exactly like one.

I watched him skate away while panic showed clearly in every movement he made. His gloves were gone, his helmet already off, and tension pulled hard through his shoulders in a way that had nothing to do with the game anymore.

Something was wrong.

A teammate grabbed my shoulder as the buzzer sounded overhead and the arena erupted around us, but I barely heard any of it. Theo had already disappeared down the tunnel, looking terrified, and I was moving before I consciously decided to follow him.

The hallway split into three directions past the tunnel entrance, but I did not stop to think about where he had gone because I did not need to. A faint sweetness drifted through the air, wrong for a place like this.

I followed it automatically.

The thought arrived and refused to leave. If I was right, Theo Maren had spent six years surviving like this through suppressants, patches, and injectors taped beneath hockey gear inside a league that would destroy him the second it learned the truth. He had survived this alone for years.

Part of me wanted to drag him straight to medical before this got worse. The other part already knew I was not letting anyone near him.

The maintenance corridor outside the bathroom sat nearly empty because championship chaos had dragged everyone back toward the ice. Security, medics, and press handlers moved in the opposite direction, leaving the hallway silent except for Theo’s scent and the uneven sound of his breathing through the locked door.

I stopped outside the bathroom near the locker rooms. I did not need confirmation to know he was inside. Theo’s scent slipped beneath the door, and my lungs tightened around it immediately.

“Theo,” I said.

Silence answered me. His breathing remained audible through the door, uneven enough to immediately put me on edge.

I knocked once and kept my voice low. “I know you’re in there,” I added.

No answer came. The sweetness in the hallway deepened. My hands closed into fists at my sides because if I could smell Theo through a closed door, any Alpha walking within twenty feet of this corridor could smell him too.

I pressed one hand flat against the metal. “Theo, open the door,” I commanded.

Several long seconds passed before his voice finally came through the other side, quiet and stripped raw.

“Go away,” he whispered.

He sounded wrong, breathless, and shaking.

I had seen this before while playing overseas in Russia. Omegas in suppressant crashes. His suppressants were not simply failing anymore. His body had already moved past the point where another dose would do anything.

“Did your injector break?” I asked.

Silence followed before Theo finally answered. “How do you know that?” he demanded.

“Open the door,” I said.

“No,” he shot back.

The word came too fast, and the strain underneath it made my jaw tighten. I forced myself to breathe evenly while keeping one hand against the door.

A few seconds later, his voice came again, quieter this time. “I just need another suppressant,” he muttered. “That’s all. I just need-”

“They aren’t working anymore,” I interrupted.

A broken sound answered me from the other side.

I rested my forehead briefly against the metal while tension pulled tightly through my shoulders. Inside the bathroom, something crashed against the tile floor before Theo swore sharply under his breath. Then his breathing changed.

A second later, his scent flooded the hallway in a dense wave sweet enough to sharpen my vision instantly. I sucked in one hard breath and held it. Then Theo made a sound through the door, soft and broken enough to strip away the last of my restraint.

Whatever restraint I still had disappeared after that.

I grabbed the handle, found it locked, and drove my shoulder into the door hard enough for it to slam open against the interior wall. Theo stumbled backward before catching himself against the sink with both hands.

I stood there staring at him.

He looked like someone who had been holding himself together for far too long and had finally run out of strength. Sweat soaked through his hair while his face burned flushed beneath the harsh bathroom lights. His chest rose unevenly beneath partially removed gear, and when his eyes met mine, they carried the desperate look of someone trying to decide whether fighting or running was still possible.

Beside his knee, the broken injector pen lay on the floor in two pieces. I stared at it briefly.

Six years of suppressants, lies, discipline, and exhausting control had come down to a shattered injector on a bathroom floor. Something angry twisted hard through my chest, not at Theo but at the fact that he had survived this alone for so long.

Then Theo hit me all at once, and whatever rational thought I still had disappeared instantly.

The bathroom door still hung crooked on broken hinges. Theo was still bleeding onto the floor. My entire body burned with instincts I barely recognized anymore. And the only thing I knew with absolute certainty was that I was not calling anyone. I was not reporting him.

Taking Theo home was a terrible idea. I did it anyway.

The decision was already made before I fully understood it, and that terrified me more than anything I had ever experienced on the ice.

Claimed on Ice: Marked by the Rival Captain Chapter 3 Don’t Touch Me Like That

Theo POV

The drive to Dominic Vale’s penthouse felt unbearable.

Rain hammered against the SUV windows hard enough to blur the city into streaks of gold and white light. But I could barely focus on any of it because all I could focus on was him. Cedar, smoke, and expensive cologne layered over that unmistakable Alpha warmth that settled deep into my lungs every time I breathed. With the suppressants leaving my system, everything felt worse. My thoughts turned heavy and tangled beneath the heat spreading slowly under my skin.

I hated it. I hated how good he smelled.

The silence stretched thick and suffocating while Dominic drove with both hands tight on the steering wheel, his jaw clenched hard enough for tension to flash across his face every time headlights passed over it. He had barely looked at me since we left the arena, and somehow that only made me more restless.

“You okay?” he asked eventually, his voice low.

No. “I’m fine,” I lied.

The strain in my voice ruined the lie immediately. His gaze flicked briefly toward my trembling hands before returning to the road. I shoved them beneath my sleeves.

A thought slipped out before I could stop it. “You should’ve reported me already.”

Dominic let out a quiet breath that almost sounded like a laugh. “You really think that’s what I want?”

“Yes,” I said.

Why wouldn’t he? He was the league’s Alpha captain. Reporting me would have been the logical choice. Instead, he had dragged me into his car like I belonged there.

Streetlights flashed across his face as the SUV slowed at a red light. His expression looked harder than usual, controlled in a way that felt deliberate.

“League security would destroy you,” he said finally.

There was no cruelty underneath the words. No disgust. Just the truth, delivered like it cost him something to say it plainly. My throat tightened, and I turned toward the window before he could notice.

***

The elevator felt too small with both of us inside it.

Heat curled painfully through my bloodstream while the confined space trapped the smell of cedar and smoke around me completely. My skin felt feverish and oversensitive, enough that even fabric brushing against my waist hurt. I flinched once without meaning to.

Dominic noticed immediately, and a thought surfaced that I had absolutely no defense against.

Three years of face-offs, collisions, and Dominic Vale staring at me across the ice. I had spent all that time convincing myself it was rivalry, adrenaline, aggression-anything except the truth. The suppressants had helped the lie survive. They had allowed me to pretend my pulse only jumped around him because he was dangerous.

Not because some part of me had wanted him to notice me.

The elevator doors opened before the realization could settle, and I stepped out too quickly.

***

Dominic shut the apartment door behind us and finally turned toward me fully for the first time since we left the arena. Then he froze.

His gaze moved slowly down my body before settling on the blood soaking through the front of my jersey near my ribs. Concern tightened his expression instantly, and somehow that felt worse than disgust would have.

“Sit down,” he said quietly.

“I’m fine,” I repeated.

That Alpha tone slipped into his voice when he said my name next, low and warm enough for my instincts to react before my brain caught up. My legs nearly gave out halfway toward the couch.

Dominic caught me before I hit the floor. Strong arms closed around me carefully, one hand steadying my waist while the other supported my back. The moment his hands touched me, heat surged through my body hard enough for a sharp breath to escape before I could stop it.

Dominic went completely still.

I jerked backward immediately. “Don’t touch me like that,” I snapped.

His expression tightened. “How am I touching you?” he asked.

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

That was the humiliating part because he was not doing anything wrong. My body was simply reacting anyway. It always had. Every collision against the boards, every face-off where he leaned too close, every moment Dominic got within reach of me on the ice, I had spent years pretending none of it meant anything.

Now the suppressants were gone, and my instincts had stopped lying to me.

***

Dominic crouched in front of me once I finally sat down. That was a mistake because now he was directly between my knees, smelling like cedar and winter smoke and dangerous Alpha warmth.

“We need to get the gear off,” he said.

“No,” I whispered.

His gaze lifted slowly toward mine before dropping once more to the blood staining my ribs. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

Everything inside me stopped.

No one had ever promised me that before. Not doctors, not coaches, not Alphas. People spoke about Omegas carefully, possessively, cruelly, but never gently. Never like it was simply the truth and nothing else. My throat tightened so fast it hurt.

Dominic must have seen it happen across my face because his expression shifted into something softer, something that had no business existing between rivals. My name sounded different in his mouth than it ever had on the ice. I looked away before he could notice that I almost believed him.

That was the worst thing that had happened to me all night, worse than the broken injector, worse than the heat, worse than Dominic Vale knowing exactly what I was. Because sitting there on his couch with his hands still warm against my ribs, I understood something that six years of suppressants had been carefully hiding from me.

I had wanted someone to say those words to me for a very long time. And I had never once let myself know it until now.

The truth settled inside me quietly and irreversibly, the kind that does not leave once it arrives. Then, before I could remember every reason I had spent six years making sure this never happened…

I leaned into his hands.

The moment I realized what I had done, fear twisted violently through my stomach. This was too close and reckless. Exactly how people ruined themselves.

But Dominic did not pull away. He did not say a single word. He simply stayed there, steady and warm, like he had already decided something I had not caught up to yet.

And that terrified me more than any of it.

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“No. Mabel, I cannot lose you again. Since you’re back now, there is no need for me to marry her and I have to make sure you stay by my side at all times. I never loved her. I was only using her to grow this company. The vice president position of this company is yet to be filled. If you’re be my woman again, I’ll give it to you. Together, we can run this company. Together, we’ll be inseparable.”
These were the words Daphne heard clearly from her soon-to-be husband. She had been stood up at the bridal shop only to watch her fiancé cradling another woman in his arms and professing his undying love for her.
Devastated but strong-willed, she chose to move on but having the formidable heir, Marco King all over her wasn’t on her bingo card. Like they say, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

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Kicked Out by My Ex, Now I Am His Most Feared Rival Chapter 1 Not mean anything

“Ma’am, should we get started?” The sales attendant asked Daphne Smith who had been sitting at the lobby of a bridal shop for almost an hour.
Daphne smiled, politely and replied.
“Let’s wait a little for my Fiancé.” Daphne replied.
She and Trevor had agreed to shop for bridal dresses together and she didn’t want to start without him.
Bringing out her cellphone, she stared at the two texts she had earlier sent to him.
Was he stuck in traffic?
He must have been busy with work and didn’t leave earlier. She knew how busy he could be so she wasn’t upset.
And so she sent him another text.
Daphne: Are you close?
**********
Trevor Martin’s phone beeped and he glanced at it.
Staring at the screen, he realized it was the third message that Daphne had sent.
It felt as if he was forgetting something so he picked up the phone.
He frowned on seeing that they were supposed to visit the bridal shop today.
Fuck!
Just as he picked up his jacket, a knock sounded on the door and before he could respond, the door opened.
“Rex, I’m stepping out for a moment…”
“Hello, Trev.”
He froze, knowing that voice.
Shakily, he looked up to see the one person he had searched for the past ten years.
“Ma…Mabel?”
She had tears on her eyes. “It’s been awhile.”
Mabel and Trevor had been childhood friends turned lovers. They literally couldn’t picture a world without each other and although very young, they had wanted to get married and spend the rest of their lives together but Mabel’s family were against their relationship and ultimately to keep them apart, they had to relocate with their daughter to a far away country.
Trevor wasn’t rich at that time and didn’t have the means to stop them. He could still recall the last time he saw Mabel, they had both being in tears as they contemplated running away but her family stopped them before they had the chance to.
After her disappearance, Trevor had tried all he could to get rich, to finally have the means to find her and make her his again but his sources just couldn’t find her.
But now…here she was.
Standing in his office. Looking as beautiful as ever.
“You…you…” Before he could complete that, Mabel ran into his arms, breaking into tears and telling him how much she had missed him and how hard she had tried to come back all these years.
************
Meanwhile, Daphne was still waiting for her Fiancé.
He was now almost three hours late. It showed that he had seen her texts. She tried calling him but he wouldn’t pick up.
He couldn’t possibly forget a day as important as this, could he?
The store was closing now.
“Ma’am, maybe you could reschedule your appointment for another day.” The sales rep suggested.
Daphne nodded.
She was getting too upset to even try on any dresses now.
She had to go find out what went wrong and he’s better got a reasonable excuse, plus he had to spoil her with lots of apologies and pampering.
Sighing, she headed for his company. She still had some thoughts that an important thing at work kept him busy.
If so, he should have called her so they could work on it together.
By the time Daphne got to the company, it was dark and most of the employees had gone home.
She headed up the elevator straight to his office floor.
As she got closer to his office, she could hear voices and by the time she got to the front of the glass door, what greeted her shook her to the bones.
Trevor and a woman were sitting on the floor, he had tears on his eyes and the sobbing woman in his arms.
“I never stopped loving you, Trevor, for the past ten years, I had been trying to break away from my parents’ grasp so I could come back to you.”
“Oh, Mabel.” Trevor sobbed.
Daphne’s eyes dilated and her heart throbbed.
Mabel?
This was the Mabel?
Before Trevor and her started dating, they had been friends and Trevor always talked about his first love. But over the years, Daphne thought he had moved on or at least, that was what he told her.
“But I guess you’ve forgotten all about me.” Mabel let out.
“Of course not. I never for once forgot about you.”
“Liar. I saw the news. You’re getting married to someone else.”
“I just…I don’t love her.”
It felt as if a house had fallen on Daphne when she heard those words.
Her legs grew weak.
“I was only going to get married to her out of obligation and because she…she had helped me over the years with the company and…” Trevor stuttered as if he couldn’t describe what he was marrying Daphne for.
“That means she must mean a lot to you.” Mabel pressed on.
“No. Mabel, I cannot lose you again. Since you’re back now, there is no need for me to marry her and I have to make sure you stay by my side at all times. I never loved her. I was only using her to grow this company. The vice president position of this company is yet to be filled. If you’re be my woman again, I’ll give it to you. Together, we can run this company. Together, we’ll be inseparable.”
Daphne couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
Trevor had promised her that position. He had promised her because of all the work she had put in since the company was founded.
And now, he was just going to kick her out because this woman was back.
He had been separated from this woman for ten years!
He had started dating her three years ago. He had proposed. They were going to get married. He was supposed to gush over her as she tried on beautiful dresses today.
How could none of that mean something to him?!
It felt as if Daphne was losing her mind while Mabel and Trevor were locked in each other’s arms.
“Come, let me take you somewhere.” Trevor suddenly let out, standing up.
Daphne quickly hid, not wanting the two of them to see her breaking down.
From her hiding place, she watched Trevor and Mabel leave the office and get into the elevator hand in hand.
Standing close to the floor-to-ceiling glass window, she watched as Trevor exit the company in his car.
Tears fell from her eyes.
How could she not mean anything to him?

Kicked Out by My Ex, Now I Am His Most Feared Rival Chapter 2 So easy for him

Daphne spent the entire night crying her eyes out.
She just couldn’t understand why and how easily Trevor could do this to her.
Just this morning, he had been all smiles, telling her how beautiful she would look in her wedding dress.
And now, by evening, he was already professing his undying love to another woman?
How could it be so easy for him?
And not only did he easily replace her in his heart, he also replaced her in the company.
She was going to be the Vice President. Everyone at that office already knew that. She could still remember running around with Trevor, looking for investors when he was just starting up his company.
She could still remember the many sleepless nights she had. She had poured her heart and soul into that company. Trevor always thanked her, telling her that without her help, the company wouldn’t have achieved this much success.
But now? Now he was just going to cast her aside?
For someone who probably didn’t know anything about business?
What was Mabel’s qualification?
His first love?
Daphne sobbed even more, feeling worthless.
Her phone beeped. She hastily picked it up but once she saw that it was an email alert and not a text from Trevor, she wanted to hit herself.
What was she expecting?
That he would reach out? And say what?
Maybe break up with her over text.
She sniffed as a name on the email registered in her head.
King Group. It was a reminder of an email that was previously sent. It was an offer to become the CEO in one of King Group’s companies, SG Tech.
The Kings were the wealthiest family in Boston.
Danica sniffed.
That’s right!
She wasn’t worthless.
She may have become worthless in Trevor’s heart and eyes but she wasn’t worthless to others.
Over the years, while she slaved away wanting to make Trevor’s company a success, she had been approached by several other companies, offering her mouth-watering positions but she always turned them down.
She had been so in love with Trevor and she genuinely wanted to make his dream come true.
Daphne laughed at herself. Even though she had genuinely loved working for Trevor’s company, even though she loved the people and everything they had built but this…this was an insult to her.
Daphne wiped her cheeks. She wasn’t going to work under Trevor and his first love.
They had been together for three years, if he sincerely felt nothing for her, he shouldn’t have dated her in the first place, he shouldn’t have led her on to the point of almost getting married.
She wasn’t just some toy one can discard at any time. Picking up her phone again, she canceled the bridal shop appointment and then began to write up a resignation letter.
At this point, she didn’t know how her life would turn out or if she’d ever recover from this pain but crying wouldn’t solve anything either.
**********
Daphne calmly considered SG tech’s invitation and headed over there the following day.
Marco King, the heir to the King Group personally came downstairs to greet her.
“Hello, Miss Smith, it’s nice to finally meet you.”
Daphne nodded and shook hands with him.
“Likewise.”
“I was glad to hear your feedback on the email. Having someone like you in my team is quite an honor.”
If it were before, Daphne would have been glad at such compliment but she was still so heartbroken so she forced a smile.
“Are you okay?” Marco asked.
She quickly nodded. “I’m fine.”
She had make up on to shield how haggard her face was after crying all night. But her mood somehow was still so sour.
Marco led her to the conference hall where he presented her a contract.
Daphne went over it, the cooperation term was quite generous, and she knew she’d have wider opportunities working under King Group.
Who could say no to this?
But her head wasn’t in the right place right now. If she wanted to start working in such a grand company, she had to bring in her A game. Her mother’s surgery was just around the corner. Her heart was currently in a shattered state. She just needed some time to regroup.
She previously wanted to take a month leave from TM, Trevor’s company, to be there for her mom and also plan their wedding but she guessed instead of a wedding, she had to nurse a broken heart.
Daphne then told Marco about her planned one-month vacation, in exchange, she would also do a trial month at SG.
After completing her resignation from TM, she would officially sign the contract.
Marco was surprisingly understanding and agreed to whatever she wanted. From what she had heard about him, Daphne was surprised to find him quite polite.
He was known to be cold and cruel. If she wasn’t in a devastated state right now, she would taken in how rakishly handsome he was.
But after getting dumped in this way, she wanted to stay away from handsome men at this point. She didn’t even want to stare at them for too long, talk more of gush over their looks.
***********
Daphne brought some of her things as she prepared to accompany her mother during the period of her surgery.
Her mother, Susan was in good spirits. It was one of the things Daphne loved about her.
No matter the situation, her mother always tried to stay positive.
“Where’s Trevor? I thought you were coming with him.”
Not wanting to get her mother tensed before surgery, Daphne replied.
“He’s busy with work. He’d come by once he’s free.”
Daphne wondered how she’d break the news to her mother. The woman really liked Trevor.
That thought almost made her want to cry again but she fought back the tears.
“I hope he isn’t working too much. You two have been worried about me these past few months, working and also taking care of this old woman, once I get better, I’m going to make you two good home-cooked meals everyday.” Susan said, excitedly.
Daphne nodded with tears filled eyes.
She wondered if Trevor had seen her resignation letter yet. She had sent it through courier service, she genuinely didn’t want to see him ever again.

Kicked Out by My Ex, Now I Am His Most Feared Rival Chapter 3 The resignation letter

The resignation letter had indeed been delivered to Trevor’s company.
His secretary, Rex received the letter meant for his boss and headed straight to the office.
“A delivery came in for you, sir.” Rex announced placing the letter on the table.
Trevor only nodded, curtly, his full attention was on his monitor screen.
By the time he was a bit free, he picked up the letter and opened it but before he could read the content or know who it was from, his intercom rang.
“Hello.”
“Sir, the clients are here.”
Trevor immediately stood up. Those were important personalities he had been waiting for all day. In his haste to leave the office, he brushed past the letter, which flew and fell close to the trash can.
The cleaning lady came by and seeing the paper close to the trash can, she added it to trash and went about her day, cleaning and disposing of waste.
By the time Trevor returned from his meeting, he had completely forgotten about the letter.
He sat on his swivel chair and just then, a low knock sounded on his door. He looked up and smiled on seeing Mabel.
She walked in, holding some files.
“I wanted to discuss the company product development plans with you.”
Trevor pulled her arm and made her sit on his laps.
He had just announced this morning to the employees that she was the Vice president and she was working already?
He felt he made the right decision but he didn’t want to stress her.
“You know the vice president position can just be name only, sweetheart. You do not have to do much.”
“Of course I have. I have to prove that I deserve this position, plus, I feel like I haven’t been of much help to you these past years and I have to help you as much as I can now.”
“You coming back to me is more than enough.” He let out, lovingly.
“Still, I have to work.” She insisted.
They both went over the plan together and after she left, Rex walked in.
He looked uneasy as if not knowing how to start.
“Get it out of your system, Rex.”
“Sir, the board of directors are confused, and also majority of the employees. We all thought Daphne was going to be the VP, so suddenly making that woman…”
“That woman, Rex, is the love of my life. This is my company and I can make any decision I want.”
Rex quickly nodded. “Yes…Yes, sir.”
He then hurried out so he wouldn’t get fired. But even as he got back to his desk, he was still so confused.
Everyone in the company knew how hard Daphne had worked especially those who started working here since the company was founded.
What baffled him even more was that most people knew they were dating and engaged.
What could have happened for another woman to come in overnight and not only steal Daphne’s man but also her position?
Rex wondered if his Boss had been bewitched.
********
At the thought of Daphne, Trevor recalled she was yet to return his calls. He had tried calling her this morning but she didn’t pick up.
He had wanted her to be here for when he made the announcement that Mabel was the VP. He had also hoped to explain things to her.
He was sure she’d understand. She had always been so understanding.
He picked up his phone and gave her a call again.
This time, the call connected.
“Daphne…”
“Hello, Trevor, it’s Susan.”
“Oh hello, Susan, how are you doing?”
“Good…good. Daphne tells me you’re busy with work and that is why you’re yet to visit, remember to take care of yourself, okay?”
“Yes, I will…”
He heard the sound of a door closing from the other end of the call.
And then Susan let out. “Daphne just came in. Daphne, it’s Trevor…”
Daphne froze on the spot. She felt like turning around and running away. She should’ve taken her phone with her. She didn’t want to speak to him yet.
But now, it was unavoidable. Her mother was smiling and stretching the phone to her.
Exhaling, Daphne took the phone and walked out of the ward. She didn’t want to argue with him. If he felt she’d make a scene that he’d dumped her so suddenly, she wouldn’t. She didn’t even want him to pretend to be remorseful, she just wanted them to amicably part ways.
She might even offer to help him finish the new project because of her love for the company.
“Why weren’t you at work today?!”
Daphne was surprised by his question.
“Anyway, you can’t also take tomorrow as a day off. I need you to write a business trip summary of the last one we went to. It’s urgently needed.”
Daphne blinked, surprised by his shamelessness.
“And also…oh, I have to take this…we’d talk some other time.” With that, he hung up.
Daphne gasped. He didn’t even say anything about his first love or where she stood now.
He also knew her mother was about having surgery and didn’t even ask about that. Instead, he was calling for her to come work.
Was she some kind of dog to him?!
Daphne was so furious and when she got home that night, she began shattering everything that reminded her of Trevor, picture frames, couple T-shirts, gifts he had given her.
How dare he treat her like this?! She wouldn’t waste any more time dwelling on him, once her mother recovers from surgery, she would tell her the truth.
It would hurt her but they both had to move on from that jerk!
**********
The following day, Daphne received an invitation to Professor Alistair’s birthday party. He had been her personal course adviser when she was in college but she had ignored his advice for her to go for her masters program.
She had given up graduate school to start a business with Trevor and now she felt guilty about attending. Professor Alistair had always praised her for being smart and resourceful. He’d often tell her that she would do great on her own.
Daphne knew he’d been against the idea of opening a business with Trevor. He’d wanted her to build one in her name. So she had kept her distance from the professor. Now, she felt stupid.
Bram, who sent the invitation, assured the professor had always missed her and was greatly looking forward to seeing her.
Daphne decided not to wallow in shame and pain forever, she had to keep her head high, she’d get over this and so she set a reminder for that day.
After arranging her mother’s hospitalization, she joined SG Tech. Daphne worked all night on a detailed three-year IPO plan and proposed bidding for the Ismark Ventures project
After convincing Marco, she gained project leadership and decided to restart her career here.
A few setbacks and a failed relationship shouldn’t diminish her dreams. She could still do great things!

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Cathryn’s fiancé promised to marry her if he became hockey world champion, but three times, he abandoned the competition for another woman.

Done with his betrayal, she left him, only for a wager to force her into marrying the first man she encountered-a homeless stranger beside a trash bin.

Everyone expected Cathryn to regret it. Instead, she became a global sensation and reclaimed her place among the elite, pampered by her three powerful brothers.

Then her “homeless” husband arrived with royal guards and revealed the truth.

“I’ve been your bodyguard husband for three years. Now, it’s your turn to be my queen.”

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Dumped By A Hockey Star, Crowned By A Secret Prince Chapter 1 Never Coming Back

Five years with Jeremy Higgins, and Cathryn Carter was still celebrating their anniversaries by herself.

She’d planned to surprise him during his break, to hand him the gift she’d carefully picked out.

Instead, irritation and impatience filled his response. “Don’t make this into some big drama. It’s just an anniversary. I told you—championship first, then marriage. This year is everything to my career. So stay away from the rink.”

Jeremy was hockey’s star forward—the backbone of the national team.

On the ice, he was unstoppable—the MVP everyone feared.

But to Cathryn, he was the fiancé who couldn’t spare her ten minutes.

Her gaze fell on the gift she’d wrapped herself. A bitter laugh escaped her.

His coach kept reminding her how stressed Jeremy was. So she swallowed every complaint, every disappointment. She’d just drop the gift and the lunch with security, and leave. She wouldn’t be that girlfriend—the one who “gets in his way.”

Then a news alert popped up on her phone. “BREAKING: Hockey Star Jeremy Higgins Ditches Championship for Romance. Title Hopes Crash?”

Cathryn froze. Her fingers trembled as she tapped the link.

The video showed the same man—the one who swore he didn’t have a single second for her. In his number 6 jersey, he burst out of the locked-down training facility, swarmed by cameras.

He shoved past reporters and pulled a pale woman in a white dress against his chest.

Cameras flashed around them as he faced the press with red-rimmed eyes. His voice cracked as he said, “I’m sorry to the fans, but I’ve let her down enough. She needs me. More than any of you.”

Cathryn couldn’t move. Her fingers kept shaking, numb and ice-cold.

The woman was Lydia Clayton, Jeremy’s childhood sweetheart and the one he had never truly left behind.

For three years on the national team, every time he lost his shot at the title, Lydia was somehow in the middle of it.

Year one. Lydia caught a cold overseas. Jeremy flew halfway around the world to hand her medicine. He missed the final check-in.

Year two. She wanted to watch a meteor shower. He took her rock climbing, broke his leg, and sat out the rest of the season.

Year three. She fought with her ex. Jeremy stepped in, got into a brawl, and landed himself arrested—banned for six months.

Now came year four. Cathryn actually believed she’d see him lift that trophy and then marry her.

She never imagined she’d watch him abandon the competition and clutch another woman right outside the facility he’d forbidden her to come near.

Just then, the villa door swung open.

Jeremy came inside with the cold air following him, his arms loaded with grocery bags.

Lydia hung on his arm, eyes red-rimmed.

Her voice was barely audible. “Jeremy… do you think Cathryn will be okay with me staying here?”

His arm tightened. His voice, softer than Cathryn had ever heard, murmured, “Don’t even think like that. You’re everything to me. This is your home now. No one gets to say otherwise.”

Cathryn watched them in silence, her nails digging into her palms. It should have hurt, but she felt nothing.

So Lydia came before everyone. Then where did that leave Cathryn, the woman who’d spent five years waiting to be his wife?

Jeremy didn’t even glance at Cathryn. He set the bags down and ordered casually, like he was asking for takeout, “From now on, cook lighter. No lamb, no seafood. Lydia’s allergic. And make her some soup. She’s been out in the cold, and she’s fragile. She needs something hot right now, before she…”

His mouth kept moving, but Cathryn stopped listening. Her eyes moved from him to Lydia—still pressed against him. The pain faded, replaced by a hollow numbness.

Five years of waiting. Five years of running his life. And this was what it all came down to?

The words scratched out of her throat. “So you’re really walking away for her?”

Jeremy had already grabbed Lydia’s suitcase and headed for the stairs. He stopped at Cathryn’s voice, annoyance flashing across his face.

He shot her a cold stare. “Are you seriously guilt-tripping me right now? Her depression spiraled after the divorce. She almost died this morning. If I hadn’t gone—” He broke off, breathing hard. “And you’re standing there judging me? There’s always next year’s championship. She doesn’t get another life.”

“Another year?” Cathryn let out a bitter laugh, her eyes stinging. “You said that last year. And the year before that. Jeremy, every time you promised me marriage after the championship, you were just feeding me a promise you never intended to keep. Weren’t you?”

“Enough!” Jeremy’s voice thundered, disgust twisting his face. “Is being my wife that important? You have to squeeze it out of me right this second?”

No answer came from Cathryn. Instead, she raised her hand and slowly slid off the plain ring she’d worn for three years.

She dropped it onto the cold marble table—careless, final. The ring spun across the surface and came to rest at Jeremy’s feet.

“What the hell are you doing?” His chest tightened, a sudden, unexplainable unease washing over him.

“You’re right about one thing. A life does matter more than any title.” Cathryn looked up at him, and there was no love left in her eyes. Just emptiness. “So I’m done wasting mine on you.”

She turned toward the door and walked away, never once hesitating or looking back.

“Cathryn! How much longer are you going to pull this stunt?” He roared after her. “Walk out that door, and don’t you dare come back!”

Cathryn kept walking. She didn’t even slow down when she answered him. “Don’t worry. I’m not coming back. Never.”

Dumped By A Hockey Star, Crowned By A Secret Prince Chapter 2 Marry Me

The instant Cathryn cleared the villa gates, she pulled out her phone and dialed.

A deferential voice came through. “Ms. Carter, you’ve seen the news? This is bad. Containing it won’t be cheap, but we’ll pull every string to shield Jeremy.”

“Don’t. Handle it by the book,” Cathryn said, a cold smile touching her lips. “Kill every endorsement. Pull every coaching resource we gave him. If he wants to burn his career, let him.”

Her order clearly caught the man off guard, but he didn’t question it. After a brief pause, he quietly agreed.

Cathryn ended the call, and her smile turned even colder.

All those years, Jeremy had leaned on his mystery investor, never knowing it was Cathryn all along. What would his face look like when he finally found out?

Six years ago, a car accident had left Cathryn bleeding out on the roadside. Jeremy stopped and saved her. But that stop cost him his national team tryout.

She’d carried that guilt for years. But Jeremy had just laughed it off. “Don’t feel bad. It was one tryout. If I’m good enough, I’ll get another shot. You mattered more than that team roster.”

She never forgot what he’d given up or how genuine he’d been about it. That was why she’d chosen him. Why she’d spent years bankrolling his career, clearing every hurdle, all from the shadows. She never told him. His pride would’ve choked on it.

And now all that devotion had turned into a sick joke.

Suitcase in hand, Cathryn headed off to look for a hotel when her phone rang once more.

She picked up, and an older man’s amused voice greeted her. “Well, my dear, it seems you lost our bet. You know the agreement. Once you leave him, the first man you meet becomes your husband, and the marriage has to last at least three years.”

Cathryn’s temple throbbed. Looking back, she could only ask herself—how had she been this stupid?

She’d walked out of the organization for that bastard Jeremy and screamed at Elias Thorne, the man who’d raised her since she was a child.

The organization’s rules were brutal. Betrayal meant losing your tongue and your ability to walk.

Elias had gone against everyone to keep that punishment from touching her. In exchange, he demanded a single promise. If Jeremy never married her, she would have to wed the first man she encountered after leaving him, regardless of who he was or what kind of man he turned out to be.

Cathryn cursed her past self in silence.

She took a breath, gritted her teeth, and forced the words out. “Fine. I gave my word. I’ll honor it.”

She had barely finished speaking when her eyes landed on a long haired, disheveled man sprawled beside a dumpster.

For a moment, she could only stare. Of all people, was this really the man fate had chosen for her?

He looked half-dead—a homeless man, probably. Matted hair covered most of his face, revealing only a sharp jawline and bloodless lips.

His white shirt was torn and grimy, with dark blood spreading across his chest. The wounds were deep.

Shootouts between gangs had been happening around this area often lately. Had this poor man just strayed into the crossfire?

Cathryn pressed her fingers to her temple, unable to make up her mind.

Marry some homeless guy…

The whole idea was ridiculous.

Still, her pride wouldn’t let her go back on her word.

Eventually, she gave in. Maybe marrying a homeless man wasn’t the worst thing. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about him refusing to cooperate.

For three years, he could play the role of her husband. Once the time was up, she would pay him enough to leave, and her life could carry on without any real change.

Decision made. Cathryn hoisted him up, hailed a cab, and took him straight to one of her own hotels.

Only after he had been cleaned and examined did Cathryn finally relax.

Thankfully, nothing was critical—just multiple bullet wounds from stray shots.

Once the bullets had been taken out and the injuries wrapped, Cathryn remained beside the bed, looking over the man who might soon become her husband.

Without all the dirt covering him, he was unexpectedly handsome. Thick lashes framed his eyes, his nose was straight, and his Adam’s apple shifted faintly whenever he breathed. Even his lips stood out.

The doctor had stripped his shirt off, revealing a broad chest and chiseled abs. His build was better than Jeremy’s.

At least fate hadn’t been completely cruel. It could’ve stuck her with some worn out old man instead.

The TV was murmuring in the corner. Jeremy’s withdrawal? Barely a blip. Every channel was buried in coverage of the Crown Prince being attacked and missing during his royal tour.

Cathryn couldn’t help thinking that Jeremy’s luck was almost absurd.

She took a shower. When she came out, wrapped in nothing but a towel, the man hadn’t moved.

She reached for her clean clothes, intending to sleep in the room next door. Before her fingers could touch them, the man’s eyes flew open, and an icy stare fixed straight on her.

A second later, a veined hand burst from beneath the blanket and locked around her wrist. He dragged her toward him, moved with frightening speed, and turned her beneath him before pinning her down.

His hand tightened around her throat, his touch cold against her skin. “Who the hell are you?” asked him, his voice rough and strained.

Cathryn’s instinct screamed to strike back, but she paused. His gaze was sharp, sure. But wounded like this? He was barely a threat.

His technique was another matter. Even half-dead, the man clearly knew how to fight.

She caught his wrist before he could tighten his grip and studied him with open amusement. “This is how you say thanks? You’d still be rotting next to that dumpster if I hadn’t stepped in.”

Brian Marsh kept his eyes on her, his gaze dropping briefly to her bare neck and shoulders before returning to her face. His expression gave nothing away.

It all came flooding back. Wounded. Stumbling down an empty street. Looking for a place to hide and collapsing before he found one.

So she was the one who’d found him?

Brian searched her clear eyes for any sign of deception and found none.

Silence passed before he finally let go of her. “What do you expect from me?”

Cathryn blinked, caught slightly off guard by the question.

For a homeless man, he certainly spoke as if he had something worth offering. What exactly did he think she could want from him?

Still, the more she considered it, the less strange the question seemed.

Nobody went out of their way to rescue a homeless stranger for no reason. At least, that was probably how he saw it.

Since he had asked what she wanted, she saw no point in pretending otherwise. Her eyes moved over him once before she gave him a direct answer. “Then marry me.”

Dumped By A Hockey Star, Crowned By A Secret Prince Chapter 3 Crown Prince

Brian froze, his eyes narrowing.

Had this woman lost her mind? Did she honestly think pulling him off the street made him her husband?

Still, she seemed completely at ease, almost as though she had no clue who he actually was.

He raised his chin and studied her more carefully. “You do realize we’re from completely different worlds, don’t you?”

Cathryn nodded. “Good. At least you’re aware of that.”

She missed the disbelief on his face as she secured the towel around herself tighter and rose from the bed. “I don’t care that you’re a beggar. Besides, I don’t need you to be my husband forever. Three years will be enough.”

She stepped closer, meeting his eyes. “Say yes, and we’re getting married today.”

Brian held her stare, his face unreadable.

News stations were still reporting his disappearance, yet the woman in front of him had mistaken him for a beggar.

The misunderstanding was so ridiculous that he couldn’t help finding it entertaining.

He lifted an eyebrow and asked, “What if I say no?”

Cathryn looked him over with a hint of sympathy. “Then you’ll lose your hands and feet. And your tongue too.”

Elias had made sure Cathryn had no way out. The first man she met had two choices—marry her, or suffer something far worse than death.

Brian’s expression darkened.

Plenty of people wanted him dead, but no one had ever looked him in the eye and said it.

This woman had guts.

He had every reason to turn her down. Still, the confidence on her pretty face amused him, and he suddenly wanted to see how far she would take this.

How would she react once she learned his true identity and understood what being his wife actually meant? Would she still be so cocky?

Besides, the royal family had been pushing him to marry for years. Bringing home an arrogant woman like her? That would shut them up.

The thought brought a knowing smile to his lips. “All right. I’ll marry you.”

Satisfied with his answer, Cathryn picked up her clothes and headed for the bathroom. “Good. We still have enough time. Get dressed, and we’ll go and make the marriage official.”

She asked the hotel staff to deliver a suit for Brian. After he changed, she took him directly to the city hall.

Once they received the marriage certificate, Cathryn didn’t bother reading it. She took a quick photo before tossing the document to Brian. “I’m leaving. Don’t call me. I’ll call you when I need you.”

Brian caught the certificate and studied her unconcerned face. “You never planned on treating this like a real marriage, did you?”

Cathryn glanced at him before casually pressing one finger against his firm chest. “What, you were hoping to play husband? Sleep together? Act like a real couple?”

Her fingertip burned through his shirt. The boldness of it caught him off guard.

He glanced down at her manicured nails and had to admit that she’d made a fair point.

For years, women had thrown themselves at him—for his title, his face, his money.

But his new wife? She just wanted a placeholder.

Before Brian could answer, Cathryn gave him a teasing smile. “I can’t deny that you’re my type, but this is only a contract marriage. I’m not going to make you do anything. No pressure. Gotta go. Later.”

She turned and headed toward a sleek black sedan waiting by the curb. Its design was luxurious without drawing too much attention.

Brian watched the car pull away before lowering his eyes to the marriage certificate in his hands.

So, Cathryn Carter was her name.

He tucked the certificate away and calmly pressed a button on the silver bracelet around his wrist.

Within five minutes, rotor blades roared overhead.

People nearby looked up in alarm. Before anyone understood what was happening, several rugged black SUVs pulled in and sealed the block.

Trained guards poured out and swept the street clean. Kolton Miles rushed to Brian and dropped to one knee. “Your Highness, we failed you. Punish us however you see fit. Your jet is waiting at the airport, and we can inform His Majesty that you’re returning right away.”

Brian raised one hand to stop him. “No. Find me a place here first.”

Confusion crossed Kolton’s face. “You plan to stay here? But Their Majesties are waiting; they want you to choose a bride.”

“Not anymore.” Brian handed him the marriage certificate. “I’ve already chosen my wife. Start the wedding preparations.”

He opened the car door but paused. His voice was quiet but absolute. “I’m staying. I need time with my wife. No one disturbs me. And not a word leaks until I say so.”

Kolton watched the car leave before staring down at the marriage certificate. His knees almost gave way beneath him.

How the hell was he supposed to explain this to the royal family?

The Crown Prince had vanished for one night and somehow gotten married before anyone found him.

Cathryn Carter?

Kolton couldn’t remember a single noble family in the country with a daughter by that name.

The Crown Princess wasn’t a noblewoman at all. She was someone no one in the royal family had ever heard of.

Sweat gathered on Kolton’s forehead when he imagined the punishment waiting for him back at the palace.

Still, he didn’t dare challenge the Crown Prince’s decision. He could only watch the car disappear before giving the others their orders. “Find His Highness a place to stay. And dig up everything on Cathryn Carter. Everything.”

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