Tag: CEO

  • Bride by Chance novel by Delight Write

    Bride by Chance novel by Delight Write

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    On the day of her arranged wedding, Isabella Torres flees the altar, desperate to escape a loveless union her influential family is forcing upon her. Rumors say her groom, the powerful CEO of a multinational empire is a cruel, arrogant man with no capacity for love.

    Running through the streets in her bridal gown, Isabella throws herself into the car of a man she believes is a simple driver. In truth, he is Sebastián Alvarez, the very CEO she is running from abandoned at his own wedding only hours earlier. Hiding behind his second name, Sebastián listens as Isabella curses the man she believes destroyed her life. Instead of revealing the truth, he makes her a startling offer.

    Their scandalous union ignites outrage among both families. Enemies whisper, plots unfold, and secrets deepen. Isabella struggles to reconcile the tender, protective man she is falling for with the arrogant CEO she swore she would never love. Sebastián, torn between pride and passion, must prove his heart before his hidden identity destroys their fragile bond.

    In a world of betrayal, deception, and burning desire, their marriage of convenience becomes a dangerous game of love and destiny. What began as an accident may turn into the greatest love story of their lives.

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    Bride by Chance novel Chapter 1

    It was her wedding day.

    The Torres house was filled with noise and frenzy. The smell of stew drifted from the kitchen, neighbors spilled into the compound, and borrowed plastic chairs clattered against one another as boys arranged them under the tent. From the outside, it looked like a celebration. From the inside, it felt like a prison.

    Isabella stood in her tiny bedroom, pressed against the wall as if the plaster itself might open and swallow her whole. Her chest rose and fell with frantic breaths, and the wedding gown which was a stiff lace and heavy satin felt more like a shroud than a dress. Her fingers itched to tear it off, but there was no time.

    Her father’s voice thundered from the living room.

    “Where is she? Bring her out! The priest has been waiting for hours!”

    Her mother’s sharp reply followed. “Isabella! Enough foolishness. Do you know what this marriage means for us?”

    Yes, she knew. It meant money. It meant her father’s debts would be wiped clean, her brothers would return to school, her mother would finally have respect in the neighborhood. It meant her freedom, her dreams, her life traded like goods in the market.

    For a man she had never seen.

    Sebastián Álvarez. His name carried weight like a curse. The CEO of Velasco Holdings, rumored to be older, proud, untouchable. Some said he had ruined men with a flick of his wrist. Others said he was cold as steel, incapable of kindness. To Isabella, it didn’t matter what the rumors said. He could be kind or cruel, young or old. The truth was the same: he wasn’t her choice.

    The doorknob rattled, her mother’s hand beating against the wood. “Isabella, open this door!”

    Her heart slammed against her ribs. If she didn’t move now, they would drag her out and force her to the altar like a goat tied for sacrifice.

    Her decision was made.

    She grabbed her small backpack, already hidden beneath the bed stuffed with nothing more than a water bottle, an old sweater, and a little money she had managed to save. With shaking hands, she shoved the window open. The wooden frame groaned in protest. The lace veil snagged on a nail and ripped, but she didn’t care.

    The cold morning air slapped her face as she pushed herself through. Her bare feet hit the earth.

    “Isabella!” her mother screamed as the door burst open behind her.

    But Isabella was already running.

    The gown tangled around her legs, her veil caught on a branch, her knees burned as she stumbled over stones. Still, she didn’t stop. She ran past children pointing and laughing, past neighbors gasping at the sight of a bride fleeing through the street. The sound of voices rose behind her-shouts, calls, curses.

    “Catch her!”

    “Don’t let her go!”

    But Isabella’s fear was stronger than their reach. She tore through alleys, her lungs aching, her throat raw, her vision blurred with tears.

    She didn’t know how long she ran, only that her legs screamed in protest and her body felt close to collapsing. She turned onto a wide avenue, and cars roared past, horns blaring as she darted across recklessly.

    Then she saw a sleek black car, parked at the corner with the engine humming softly.

    Without thinking, she yanked the back door open and flung herself inside. The smell of leather and cologne filled her nose. She slammed the door shut behind her, heart hammering.

    “Please!” she gasped, clutching the seat. “Drive. Just-just drive!”

    The man in the front seat turned his head.

    For a moment, Isabella froze. He wasn’t what she expected. Not scruffy, not ordinary. His suit was immaculate despite the loosened tie, his watch gleamed, and his eyes-dark, unreadable-stared at her in stunned silence. Too polished, too perfect to be just a driver.

    But desperation drowned her suspicion.

    “I’ll pay you,” she blurted, her voice trembling. “Any amount. Just take me far away from here. Please.”

    He didn’t answer immediately. His gaze swept over her-her wild eyes, the torn veil, the trembling hands clutching the gown. Something flickered in his expression, but it was gone before she could name it.

    “I…” he started to speak but stopped almost immediately.

    At last, without a word, he shifted the gear and pulled the car away from the curb.

    Relief flooded her body, and she sagged against the seat. The dress pooled around her like stormclouds, heavy and suffocating. For the first time that morning, she felt a breath of freedom.

    But his voice cut through the silence. Low, calm, steady. “Who are you running from?”

    Her laugh came out bitter, and broken.

    “My family. They want to marry me off. Today-right now-I was supposed to be Sebastián Álvarez’s bride.” She spat the name like poison. “They say he’s arrogant, merciless. I’d rather die than marry him.”

    His fingers tightened slightly around the wheel. Still, he said nothing.

    Isabella turned her face toward the window, tears streaking her cheeks.

    “Men like him think they can buy everything. Wives. Loyalty. Even love. But no money in this world can buy me.”

    The car was silent except for the hum of the engine. She wiped her eyes and glanced at him again, uneasy with his quietness.

    Bride by Chance novel Chapter 2

    The hum of the car was the only sound for a long while. Isabella sat stiff in the backseat, her fingers twisting the veil that had torn during her escape. At first, relief had washed over her. She had gotten away. She was free. But now, staring out at the streets flashing past, the truth dawned on her.

    She had nowhere to go.

    No relative she could run to, no friend bold enough to hide her. If her parents caught her, they would drag her back, bind her wrists if they had to, and throw her before the priest.

    Her throat tightened. Slowly, she leaned forward. “Gabriel?”

    His eyes met hers in the rearview mirror. Calm, unreadable.

    “Where are you taking me?” she asked, her voice trembling.

    The question made her blood run cold. She hadn’t thought this through. She had jumped into a stranger’s car without a plan. Now her hands shook with the weight of that mistake.

    “Anywhere you want, ma’am,” he said, calmly.

    Her voice broke as she begged, “Please… take me to the cheapest hotel. Somewhere far from here. Somewhere they won’t think to look for me.”

    He gave a small nod, not asking further questions. Relief loosened her chest, though it was short-lived.

    As the car turned, Isabella studied him again. The way his suit sat perfectly on broad shoulders, the way his hands gripped the wheel with quiet control. He didn’t look like any Bolt driver she’d ever seen.

    “You know,” she said softly, “you look too good to be a driver.”

    For the first time since she met him, his lips curved. Not a full smile, but close.

    “Thank you for the compliment.”

    She blinked, surprised at his answer. Most men she knew would have laughed or boasted. But before she could say more, he added, almost casually, “My bride abandoned me this morning. Left me standing at the altar.”

    Her jaw dropped. “What?”

    The corner of his mouth twitched again. “Hard to believe, I know.”

    Isabella let out an incredulous laugh. “Impossible. What kind of foolish girl would abandon a hardworking, decent man like you?”

    He didn’t reply, but his eyes flicked toward her briefly, as if weighing her words.

    “I mean it,” she went on, indignant. “That girl is blind, ungrateful. She deserves… she deserves someone like that arrogant CEO they wanted to force me on. Sebastián Álvarez. That kind of man should marry selfish, brainless girls like her.”

    The silence in the car thickened, but Isabella didn’t notice. She shook her head with fire in her eyes. “If I had a man like you, kind enough to help a stranger, responsible enough to keep his word, I would never run. Never.”

    He said nothing, though his grip tightened on the wheel.

    Minutes later, he slowed the car and pulled over in front of a run-down hotel, its neon sign flickering weakly in the dusk. Isabella sighed in relief.

    “How much?” she asked, fumbling with her backpack.

    His eyes met hers in the mirror. “Ten thousand dollars.”

    Her mouth fell open. “What?!”

    His face was unreadable. “That’s the fare.”

    “That’s outrageous!” she burst out. “Even if I saved for five years, I wouldn’t have that kind of money! I was planning to look for a job, not rob a bank.”

    He didn’t flinch. “That’s the price.”

    She threw her hands up, frustration spilling over. “What kind of driver are you? You think because I’m in a wedding dress I have money hidden somewhere?”

    This time he turned to face her fully. And in that moment, Isabella froze.

    She saw him clearly for the first time-tall, strikingly handsome, with sharp cheekbones and a mouth curved in a way that could almost be called charming. His eyes held hers with a calm intensity that made her heartbeat stutter.

    And then he said it.

    “Marry me.”

    Her breath caught. She almost choked on the air. “What?”

    “Marry me,” he repeated, his voice even, steady.

    She blinked, stunned. Then anger flared hot. “Are you sick, Gabriel? Did you hit your head this morning? You can’t just-just-”

    He didn’t interrupt. He only waited, as if her outburst meant nothing.

    “You told me your bride left you, and I’m not that bride,” she said.

    “And you ran away from your husband. So marry me instead,” Gabriel replied.

    Her laugh was sharp, disbelieving. “Never. Do you hear me? Never!”

    The click of the locks echoed around the car. Isabella’s stomach dropped as she realized he had closed all the doors. Her pulse skyrocketed.

    “What are you doing?” she whispered, panic lacing her voice.

    He turned the key, the engine growling to life again. “If you won’t marry me, I’ll return you to your family.”

    “No!” she cried, leaning forward, grabbing at his arm. “Please don’t take me back there. Please!”

    “Then marry me.” His tone was calm, almost casual, but his eyes burned with something she couldn’t name.

    Tears welled in her eyes. “Gabriel, this is insane. We don’t even know each other!”

    His jaw set. The car rolled forward, turning back toward the main road.

    “Stop!” she sobbed. “Stop, I’ll do it! I’ll marry you-but on one condition.”

    His eyes flicked to her, curious.

    She swallowed hard. “It will be a contract marriage. Nothing real. Just an agreement between us.”

    The car slowed again, his expression unreadable.

    “Contract marriage,” he repeated slowly, as if tasting the words.

    She nodded, tears streaking down her face. “Yes. That’s the only way.”

    He watched her in silence for a long moment. Then his lips curved into that faint, disarming smile again.

    “Deal.”

    Bride by Chance novel Chapter 3

    Gabriel started the car and drive for what seems like hours. Finally, the car rolled to a stop on the quiet road, the hum of the engine fading into silence. Isabella glanced up, confusion tightening her chest. They were nowhere near the hotel now.

    “Why are we stopping?” she asked, wary.

    Gabriel’s eyes flicked to her, calm and steady. “We’re going to a church.”

    Her throat tightened. “A church? Why?”

    “Because we’re getting married today…you accepted to be my wife, right?” His voice was firm, no hesitation.

    Her mouth fell open. “So fast? You can’t be serious!”

    He turned slightly in his seat, his expression unreadable. “I want this done before my family ties me to another woman. Another arrangement I have no intention of honoring. You want freedom, Isabella. So do I. This is how we get it.”

    Her heart pounded. Everything about this was wrong, reckless, insane-but she was cornered. Slowly, she drew in a breath, gathering what little courage she had.

    “Fine. But if we’re doing this, then I have rules.”

    His brow arched, amused. “Rules?”

    “Yes.” Her chin lifted, though her voice shook. “No sex. We won’t stay together. We live our lives separately. Do you understand?”

    For the first time, he laughed-low, deep, almost mocking. “I never planned to have sex with you anyway.”

    The ease of his answer stunned her. He didn’t look embarrassed or offended, just amused, as though her declaration had been childish. Isabella’s cheeks burned, but she crossed her arms, determined not to show weakness.

    Before she could retort, he reached for his phone. She watched as he dialed a number, his tone shifting into something sharp and commanding.

    “Prepare the chapel,” he said. “I am getting married and I want the papers ready. We’ll be there within the hour. And no one is to know. Not a soul.”

    The voice on the other end seemed to protest, but his response cut like a blade. “Do as I say.” And with that, he ended the call abruptly.

    Isabella blinked, startled. The authority in his voice sent a shiver down her spine. Too sharp. Too arrogant.

    “Too arrogant for a poor man,” she muttered under her breath before she could stop herself.

    His head turned sharply. “What did you say?”

    Her heart leapt into her throat. “I-I said you sound… too caring for a stranger. That’s all.” She forced a weak smile.

    He didn’t look convinced, but after a moment, he returned his eyes to the road, the car gliding smoothly forward. Isabella exhaled, pressing her hands together to keep them from trembling.

    Minutes later, the car pulled into the courtyard of a small, dimly lit church. The building was old, its white paint peeling, its bell tower leaning slightly as though burdened by secrets. Isabella’s stomach knotted.

    “This is insane,” she whispered.

    Gabriel didn’t reply. He opened the door and stepped out with the quiet assurance of a man who knew exactly what he wanted. She hesitated, but when he held the door open for her, she found her legs moving.

    Inside, the church smelled faintly of candle wax and dust. A priest stood waiting near the altar, his eyes flickering nervously between the tall man in the suit and the trembling bride in her torn gown.

    “Mr…” the priest started speaking, but Gabriel cut him off.”

    “No pleasantries, her name is Isabella Torres..go straight with the marriage.

    Isabella paused, staring at him.
    “How did you..?” she asked but he ignored her, as he held her hand and pulled her towards the altar.

    Two weary-looking witnesses, a young woman from the parish choir and an old man sweeping the floor were called to stand in.

    Isabella’s hands shook as the priest began.

    “In the name of God and this holy church, we are gathered here today…”

    Her ears rang. She barely heard the words as her mind screamed at her to run. But her feet wouldn’t move, and her heart wouldn’t obey.

    The priest’s voice droned on, the words both surreal and terrifying.

    “Do you, Gabriel Álvarez, take this woman-”

    Her head snapped up.

    Álvarez.

    The name sliced through her like a knife.

    Her lips parted, but no sound came out. Álvarez. Where had she heard it before? It clawed at the back of her mind, tugging at every whispered rumor, every late-night conversation she had overheard.

    “I do,” Gabriel said firmly.

    The priest turned to her. “Do you, Isabella Torres, take this man-”

    Her heart pounded so loudly she could barely hear herself whisper, “I do.”

    “Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may sign here.”

    Her hand shook so badly the pen almost slipped. She scrawled her name across the page, her signature jagged and messy.

    Gabriel took the pen next, his movements calm, deliberate. She leaned closer, eyes darting to the paper.

    There it was.

    Gabriel Álvarez.

    The name rang a louder bell now. Her blood ran cold.

    She turned to look at him, her lips parting, but the words caught in her throat.

    Álvarez.

    Could it be-?

    Her knees felt weak, the ground shifting beneath her as the priest murmured a final blessing. Gabriel’s hand brushed lightly against hers as he closed the book, his eyes flicking to her face.

    “You’re trembling,” he said softly, almost like a taunt.

    “No, I’m,” she replied, adjusting her dress.

    “Yes, you’re,” he said coldly.

    And Isabella knew. Deep down, though she couldn’t yet piece it all together, something was terribly, terrifyingly wrong.

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  • “이혼녀에서 재벌집 상속녀로” 소설 by Star Dust

    👉 지금 읽기

    남편의 처절한 후회 + 통쾌한 복수 + 여주 역습 + 여주를 향한 무한한 사랑

    송지윤은 사랑하는 고서준을 구하려다 얼굴에 흉터가 생겼고, 그 대가로 결혼을 약속 받았다.

    3년 동안 비굴하게 인내하며 그의 마음을 얻을 수 있을 거라 굳게 믿고 있었는데, 매달 그녀에게 먹인 ‘비타민’이 피임약이라는 사실을 뒤늦게 알게 되었다.

    그의 첫사랑 심청미가 귀국하자마자, 고서준은 1000억을 들여 ‘천사의 심장’을 경매로 낙찰 받아 선물하며 그녀의 환심을 사려 했다.

    마음이 완전히 식은 송지윤은 이혼을 제안했고, 빈손으로 집을 나섰다.

    하지만 그녀는 해성 곽씨 가문의 막내딸로, 재벌 가문의 상속녀이자 세 오빠 모두 업계의 선두주자라는 사실을 아무도 몰랐다.

    이혼 첫날, 그녀를 데리러 온 건 한정판 롤스로이스였고, 이혼 첫 주에는 둘째 오빠가 직접 그녀의 얼굴에 난 흉터를 치료해 주었다. 이혼 후 첫 연회에서, 곽씨 가문의 막내딸로 등장한 그녀는 해성 전체를 놀라게 했다.

    한 번도 그녀를 제대로 쳐다본 적 없는 전 남편은, 예전의 나약하고 소심했던 전처가 갑자기 억만장자 상속녀가 되어 나타날 줄은 꿈에도 몰랐다.

    그는 처음으로 후회라는 감정을 느꼈고,

    그렇게 아내를 되찾기 위해서 처절하게 후회했다…

    👉 지금 읽기

    이혼녀에서 재벌집 상속녀로 제1화 충격

    해성 병원.

    “의사 선생님, 저 임신한 거 맞나요?” 송지윤은 검사지를 손에 꼭 쥐고 손가락 끝이 하얗게 질렸다.

    의사는 검사지를 힐끗 쳐다보더니 눈살을 깊게 찌푸리며 다소 퉁명스러운 어조로 말했다.

    “아가씨, 지금 저랑 장난하는 거예요? 피임약을 오랫동안 복용했는데, 어떻게 임신할 수 있어요?”

    그 말에 송지윤은 머리를 둔기로 맞은 듯한 충격에 순간 멍해졌다.

    ‘피임약?’

    매달 부부 관계를 맺은 후, 고서준은 항상 그녀에게 ‘종합 비타민’을 건넸다.

    그는 그녀의 체질이 약하다며 꼭 챙겨 먹어야 한다고 말했다.

    송지윤은 3년 동안 그의 말에 크게 감동했다.

    그런데 알고 보니, 그가 자신에게 3년 동안 먹인 것은 다름 아닌 피임약이었던 것이다.

    심장이 세게 조여 오는 느낌에 그녀는 떨리는 손으로 고서준의 번호를 눌렀다.

    그러나 아무도 전화를 받지 않았다.

    다음 순간, 휴대폰 화면에 한 뉴스가 떠올랐다.

    <고씨 그룹 고서준 대표, 200억에 '천사의 심장' 낙찰! 여자친구의 환심을 사기 위해 경매장에서 점천등까지 걸다!>

    송지윤은 기사 제목에 시선을 고정한 채, 눈동자가 세차게 흔들렸다.

    기사와 함께 올라온 사진은 경매 현장 사진이었다.

    고서준은 어두운 색 정장을 입고 맨 앞줄에 앉아 있었고, 옆모습은 차갑고도 고귀한 기품을 풍겼다.

    그는 고개를 돌려 바로 옆자리에 앉은 여자를 바라보고 있었다.

    노란색 드레스를 입은 여자는 긴 머리를 늘어뜨리고 있었고, 부드러운 옆모습에 입가에는 옅은 미소가 번져 있었다.

    그 여자는 바로 심청미였다.

    고서준의 소꿉친구인 그녀는 3년 전 유학을 떠났고, 최근에 막 돌아왔다고 들었다.

    송지윤은 눈을 깜빡여 보았지만, 건조한 눈시울이 아파올 뿐 눈물 한 방울도 흘러내리지 않았다.

    그 순간 그녀는 자신이 한없이 우스꽝스럽게 느껴졌다.

    ‘하긴 그럴 만도 하지. 심청미는 고서준이 마음속 깊이 품고 있는 여자였고, 나 송지윤은 고서준이 세상에 드러내고 싶지 않은 아내일 뿐이니까.’

    당시 고서준이 곤경에 처했을 때, 목숨이 위태로운 상황에서 송지윤은 조금의 망설임도 없이 그를 위해 칼을 막아냈고, 그 대가로 얼굴에 큰 흉터를 남겼다.

    칼이 자신의 얼굴을 가르는 순간에도, 송지윤은 눈 하나 깜빡하지 않았다.

    그 후, 고서준은 그녀와 결혼해 평생 책임 지겠다고 말했다.

    그렇게 두 사람은 부부가 되었다.

    그때의 고서준은 첫사랑이 유학을 떠난 탓에 우울해져서 매일 술로 슬픔을 달래고 있었다.

    그래서 결혼 3년 동안, 송지윤은 순종적인 고 사모님 역할을 연기하며 그가 돌아오기를, 자신을 소중히 여겨주기를 기다렸고, 자신을 진심으로 사랑해 주기를 바랐다.

    심지어 아이를 낳으면 그가 자신을 사랑하게 될 것이라고 순진하게 믿었다.

    그러나 결과는 어땠는가?

    그는 송지윤에게 임신할 자격조차 주지 않았다.

    이제 고서준은 다른 여자를 품에 안고 공개적으로 애정을 과시하고 있었고, 송지윤은 그제야 그의 마음에 다른 여자가 자리 잡고 있다는 것을 알게 되었다.

    그는 처음부터 송지윤을 사랑하지 않았던 것이다.

    그 사실은 무딘 칼로 살을 도려내는 듯한 고통을 안겼다.

    송지윤은 그제야 비로소 이혼을 결심했다.

    그녀가 일호 공관 별장에 돌아왔을 때, 가사도우미인 주 이모가 차가운 얼굴로 그녀를 맞이했다.

    “사모님, 사모님은 점점 더 예의가 없어지는 것 같네요. 외출하신 지가 언제인데, 이제야 돌아오시는 거에요?”

    주 이모는 비록 고서준의 집에서 일하는 가사도우미였지만, 고서준의 유모였던 그녀는 자신의 신분이 일반 도우미와는 다르다고 생각했다.

    송지윤도 주 이모가 자신에게 이토록 무례한 태도를 보이는 것은 고서준이 묵인했기 때문이라는 것을 잘 알고 있었다.

    예전에는 고서준의 환심을 사기 위해, 송지윤은 그의 주변에 있는 모든 사람에게 잘 보이려 애썼다.

    하지만 이제는 더 이상 참을 필요가 없었다.

    “건방지군!” 송지윤은 차갑게 식은 목소리로 주 이모의 뺨을 세게 내리쳤다. “가사도우미 주제에 무슨 자격으로 사모님인 나한테 그런 말을 하는 거예요?”

    주 이모는 얼굴을 감싸 쥐며 믿기 어렵다는 표정으로 말했다. “사모님, 사모님이 감히 저를 때렸어요? 저는 도련님의 유모예요!”

    “나는 고서준의 아내예요.” 송지윤은 한 글자 한 글자 힘주어 말했다. “주 이모가 서준 씨의 유모라고 해도, 결국 고씨 가문에서 돈을 주고 고용한 가사도우미일 뿐이에요.”

    주 이모는 화가 나서 몸을 부들부들 떨었지만, 더 이상 말대꾸하지 못했다.

    송지윤은 몸을 돌려 2층으로 올라갔다.

    뒤에서는 주 이모의 불만이 들려왔다. “사모님이면 뭐해? 심 아가씨가 돌아왔으니, 사모님 자리는 곧 다른 사람의 것이 될 텐데.”

    그 말에 송지윤은 자리에 멈춰 섰다.

    가정부조차 고서준의 마음에 누가 있는지 알고 있었다.

    전 세계 사람들이 다 알고 있었는데 오직 송지윤만이 3년 동안 스스로를 속이며 살아왔던 것이다.

    하지만 더 이상 상관없었다.

    이제는 송지윤이 고서준을 원하지 않게 되었다.

    방으로 돌아온 송지윤은 옷장을 열고 미리 준비해 둔 작은 캐리어를 꺼냈다.

    3년의 결혼 생활 동안 그녀가 가져갈 수 있는 물건은 고작 이 정도였다.

    그녀는 잠시 방을 둘러보았다.

    이 방은 송지윤이 직접 꾸몄지만, 그녀의 물건이라고는 단 하나도 없었다.

    송지윤은 입술을 꼭 깨물며 한동안 연락하지 않았던 번호를 찾아 눌렀다.

    “여보세요, 나 집에 가고 싶어요.”

    이혼녀에서 재벌집 상속녀로 제2화 이혼해요

    깊은 밤, 현관문이 열리는 소리가 들려왔다.

    방금 샤워를 마치고 나온 송지윤의 머리카락이 아직도 반쯤 젖어 있었다. “오셨어요?”

    고서준은 현관문 앞에 서서 셔츠 소매를 팔꿈치까지 걷어 올린 채 차갑게 식은 눈빛으로 그녀를 내려다봤다.

    송지윤은 옷깃을 꼭 움켜쥐고 입을 열었다. “당신한테 할 말이 있어요…”

    그러나 그녀의 말이 채 끝나기도 전에, 고서준이 송지윤의 턱을 세게 움켜쥐더니 그녀의 고개를 강제로 들어 올렸다.

    왼쪽 눈썹에서부터 광대뼈까지 길게 이어진 흉터가 조명 아래에서 더욱 선명하게 드러났다. 마치 구불구불한 지네가 그녀의 아름다운 얼굴에 흉측하게 자리 잡은 것 같았다.

    “할 말이 있다고?” 그의 목소리는 낮게 가라앉아 있었다. “송지윤, 언제부터 내 앞에서 수작을 부리기 시작했지?”

    “난 그런 적 없어요…”

    고서준이 그녀의 손목을 세게 움켜잡고 힘껏 끌어당기자 그녀는 휘청거리며 그의 품에 안겼다.

    다른 손으로 그녀의 잠옷 옷깃을 거칠게 잡아당기자 단추가 떨어졌다.

    송지윤은 무의식적으로 그의 가슴을 밀치며 말했다. “저리 가요.”

    “또 뭐 하려는 거지?” 고서준의 목소리에는 숨길 수 없는 비웃음이 가득했고, 그녀를 바라보는 눈빛은 마치 값싼 물건을 보는 것 같았다.

    “날 이렇게 급하게 부른 이유가 이것 때문이 아니었어? 매달 한 번씩 잠자리를 갖는 건 네가 먼저 요구한 거잖아?”

    송지윤은 그 말에 온몸이 뻣뻣하게 굳어 버렸다.

    고서준의 눈에 자신과의 잠자리는 그저 의무적인 일에 불과했던 것이다.

    송지윤은 3년 동안 그를 위해 몸을 낮추고 모든 것을 바쳤지만, 그의 사랑은 조금도 얻지 못했다.

    이제 더 이상 미련을 가질 필요가 없었다.

    “고서준 씨, 우리 이혼해요.”

    고서준은 잠시 멈칫하더니 미간을 찌푸렸다. “다시 말해 봐.”

    송지윤은 이번엔 더욱 또렷하고 단호한 목소리로 말했다. “이혼하자고요.”

    그러나 고서준은 귀찮다는 듯 넥타이를 잡아당기며 차갑게 식은 목소리로 말했다. “이혼? 송지윤, 또 무슨 수작을 부리려는 거지?”

    “진심이에요. 당신의 첫사랑이 돌아왔으니, 내가 당신들을 위해 자리를 비켜줄게요.”

    고서준의 안색이 어둡게 가라앉더니 그녀를 향해 차가운 경고를 던졌다.

    “송지윤, 적당히 하는 게 좋을 거야. 이 집 문턱도 넘지 못하는 네가 이혼하면 어디로 갈 수 있을 것 같아?”

    그의 말은 마치 날카로운 칼날처럼 송지윤의 가슴을 찔렀다.

    그렇다, 다른 사람들의 눈에 송지윤은 고서준이 황금 새장에 가둬 기르는 못생긴 새에 불과했다.

    사회생활도, 직업도, 수입도 없는 그녀는
    고서준에게 어울리지 않는 사람이었다.

    송지윤은 눈을 아래로 내리깔고 담담한 목소리로 말했다. “그건 내 일이에요. 당신이 신경 쓸 필요 없어요.”

    고서준은 눈을 가늘게 뜨며 그녀를 응시했다.

    3년 동안, 이 여자는 그의 앞에서 항상 온순하고 비굴한 모습만 보였다.

    오늘처럼 냉정하고 차가운 모습은 처음 보는 것 같았다.

    “송지윤, 밀당도 적당히 해야지. 너무 지나치잖아.”

    송지윤은 아무 말도 하지 않았다.

    그때, 휴대폰 벨 소리가 적막을 깨고 울렸다.

    발신자를 확인한 고서준의 안색이 미묘하게 변하더니 바로 전화를 받았다. “청미야, 무슨 일이야?”

    전화기 너머에서 들려오는 말에 그는 바로 대답했다. “무서워하지 마. 내가 지금 바로 갈게.”

    전화를 끊은 그는 한 치의 망설임도 없이 빠른 걸음으로 밖으로 나갔다.

    그는 단 한 번도 뒤를 돌아보지 않았다.

    고서준은 송지윤이 자신을 떠나지 못할 거라고 굳게 믿고 있었다.

    지난 3년 동안 항상 그래왔으니까 말이다.

    “쾅!”

    문이 세게 닫히는 소리가 크게 울려 퍼졌다.

    침실에는 송지윤 혼자 남았다.

    그녀는 침대 머리맡에 한참 동안 멍하니 앉아 있었다.

    그때, 휴대폰이 진동하더니 모르는 번호로 메시지가 도착했다.

    [그 사람이 또 날 보러 왔어.]

    메시지와 함께 고서준의 옆모습이 찍힌 사진이 전송되었다.

    사진 속 그의 얼굴에는 따뜻한 미소가 번져 있었고, 눈빛에는 그녀가 한 번도 본 적 없는 부드러움이 가득했다.

    ‘고서준에게도 이런 면이 있었다니.’

    곧바로 또 다른 메시지가 도착했다.

    [집 밖에 기자가 따라붙은 것 같다고 말했더니 바로 달려왔어. 날 많이 걱정하는 것 같아.]

    [아, 맞다. 오늘 그 사람이 <천사의 심장>을 경매에서 낙찰 받아 내게 선물했어.]

    [너에게도 장신구를 선물하라고 했지만, 넌 필요 없을 거라고 하더라.]

    [하긴, 아무리 아름다운 장신구라도 너의 얼굴에는 어울리지 않겠지. 아쉽네.]

    [송지윤, 넌 고서준이 어쩔 수 없이 선택한 사람일 뿐이야. 고서준이 진심으로 사랑하는 사람은 나니까.]

    메시지 하나하나가 그들의 배신에 대한 증거였다.

    그녀는 3년 동안 자신에게 차갑게 대했던 고서준이 다른 사람 앞에서는 이렇게 다정하고 섬세한 모습을 보일 줄은 전혀 몰랐다.

    송지윤은 가볍게 웃음을 터뜨리며 답장을 보냈다.

    [고서준 같은 중고 남자를 좋아한다면 네가 가져. 너희들은 하늘이 맺어준 한 쌍의 개자식들이야, 다른 사람을 해치지 말고 영원히 둘이 꼭 붙어있어.]

    메시지를 성공적으로 보낸 후, 그녀는 바로 그 번호를 차단해 버렸다.

    “고서준, 이제 우리 두 사람의 관계는 끝이야.”

    다음 날.

    송지윤은 침대 머리맡에 이혼 합의서를 남겨두었다.

    그녀는 빈손으로 고씨 가문을 떠나기로 했다. 이혼을 결심한 이상, 깨끗하게 끝내고 싶었다.

    그리고 작은 캐리어를 끌고 고씨 가문을 떠났다.

    3년 동안, 그녀는 고서준의 마음을 얻지 못했다.

    이제 정말 떠나야 할 때가 된 것 같았다.

    그녀가 대문을 나서자마자, 한정판 롤스로이스가 그녀 앞에 멈춰 섰다.

    곧이어 차 문이 열리더니 긴 다리가 차에서 내렸다.

    송지윤은 차에서 내린 사람을 확인하자마자 눈시울이 빨개졌다. “오빠, 나 이혼했어.”

    3년 동안 결혼 생활 속에서 참아 왔던 모든 억울함이 오빠를 마주한 순간 터져버렸다.

    “지윤아, 자유의 몸이 된 걸 축하해.” 곽시진은 그녀를 품에 안고 안타까운 목소리로 덧붙였다.

    “이제 너 자신으로 돌아올 때가 되었어. 집에 온 걸 환영해!”

    송지윤은 사실 해성 곽씨 가문의 막내딸로, 어렸을 때부터 어머니의 성을 따랐고, 조 단위에 달하는 재산을 소유하고 있었다.

    이제 이혼했으니, 집으로 돌아갈 때가 되었다.

    그녀는 곧바로 고씨 가문의 감시 시스템에 접속해 고씨 가문에서의 모든 흔적을 말끔히 삭제했다.

    이제 더 이상 고 사모님은 없고, 앞으로 곽씨 가문의 큰 아가씨 송지윤만 있다.

    이혼녀에서 재벌집 상속녀로 제3화 환영합니다

    일호 공관.

    고서준은 밤늦게까지 집에 돌아오지 않더니 다음 날 점심이 되어서야 별장에 돌아왔다.

    침실 문을 열자마자 침대 옆 탁자 위에 놓인 이혼 합의서가 눈에 들어왔다.

    합의서에는 여자 측이 자발적으로 부부 공동 재산을 포기하고 맨 몸으로 이혼하다는 내용이 적혀 있었다.

    그는 합의서를 손에 쥐고 손가락 마디마디에 힘이 잔뜩 들어갔다.

    그리고 곧바로 송지윤의 휴대폰 번호를 눌렀으나 전화가 꺼져 있었다.

    그는 다시 전화를 걸었지만. 여전히 꺼져 있었다.

    “주 이모!” 고서준은 계단에 서서 얼음장처럼 차가운 목소리로 주 이모를 불렀다.

    주 이모는 주방에서 황급히 달려 나오며 물었다. “도련님, 오셨어요?”

    “사모님은요?” 고서준이 날카롭게 물었다.

    “사모님은 오늘 아침 일찍 짐을 챙겨 나가셨어요.” 주 이모는 조심스럽게 말을 이었다. “수십억 원대의 고급 차량이 사모님을 데리러 왔는데, 차에서 내린 남자가 아주 잘생겼고 돈도 많아 보였어요.”

    그 말에 고서준의 눈빛이 순식간에 차갑게 식었다.

    그는 침실로 돌아와 휴대폰을 들고 비서 진준에게 전화를 걸어 명령했다.

    “송지윤이 어디로 갔는지 당장 알아봐. 오늘 안으로 반드시 송지윤의 행방을 찾아내야 해.”

    전화를 끊은 그는 창가에 서서 관자놀이가 욱신거리는 것을 느꼈다.

    ‘송지윤, 감히 정말 이 집을 떠나?’

    고서준은 어젯밤 그녀가 그저 화가 난 줄로만 알았다.

    3년 동안, 송지윤은 마치 넝쿨처럼 자신에게 의지해왔다.

    ‘내가 없으면 얼굴에 흉터가 있는 여자가 해성에서 얼마나 버틸 수 있을까?’

    ‘며칠 지나지 않아 다시 돌아오게 될 거야.’

    고서준은 깊게 숨을 들이마시고 이혼 합의서를 쓰레기통에 던져버렸다.

    그는 절대 이혼 합의서에 서명하지 않을 것이다.

    그녀를 놓아주기 싫어서가 아니라, 고서준의 인생에는 ‘버림받다’라는 단어가 존재하지 않기 때문이다.

    어젯밤 갑자기 이혼을 제안하고 오늘 아침 고급 차량을 타고 떠난 걸 보면, 이미 오래전부터 계획한 것이 틀림없다.

    ‘송지윤은 한 번도 나를 사랑한 적이 없으니, 다른 남자랑 같이 가는 것도 주저하지 않았겠지.’

    ‘하, 송지윤, 참 대단해!’

    한편,

    롤스로이스가 천천히 곽씨 가문 장원에 들어섰다.

    송지윤은 차창 밖으로 익숙하면서도 낯선 풍경을 바라보며 가슴이 빠르게 뛰는 것을 느꼈다.

    3년 만에 드디어 돌아왔다.

    저택 문 앞에는 아버지 곽진수와 어머니 송미자가 이미 오래전부터 기다리고 있었다.

    차 문이 열리자마자 송미자가 달려와 그녀를 꼭 안으며 아이처럼 울음을 터뜨렸다.

    “지윤아! 드디어 돌아왔구나. 엄마가 얼마나 오래 기다렸는지 몰라.”

    송지윤이 어머니의 등을 가볍게 토닥이며 말했다. “엄마, 아빠, 죄송해요. 걱정 끼쳐 드려서 정말 죄송해요.”

    재계의 거물인 곽진수도 눈시울이 촉촉하게 젖어 들었다. “돌아왔으면 됐어.”

    곧이어 송미자가 송지윤을 품에서 놓아주고 눈물을 닦았다.

    그러다 송지윤의 얼굴에 남은 흉터를 발견하고, 그 자리에 얼어붙었다.

    “지윤아, 네 얼굴…” 송미자의 눈에 깊은 고통이 스쳤다.

    그동안 송미자는 딸이 행복하게 잘 지내고 있는 줄로만 알았다.

    송지윤은 저택을 거의 나서지 않았고, 매번 좋은 소식만 전해 왔다.

    그런데 결과는 어떠했는가?

    3년 동안, 송지윤은 그 남자를 위해 얼굴에 흉터를 남기고, 자신의 신분을 숨기고 하인처럼 지내왔다.

    그런데 그 남자는 다른 여자와 함께 경매장에서 대놓고 애정행각을 벌이고 있었다.

    그때 곽시진이 다가와 어머니를 달래며 말했다. “엄마, 걱정하지 마세요. 시우가 성형 복원 수술에 얼마나 뛰어난지 잊으셨어요? 지윤이 얼굴도 반드시 고칠 수 있을 거예요.”

    그 말에 송지윤의 눈에 희망의 빛이 스쳤다. “오빠 말이 맞아.”

    둘째 오빠 곽시우는 최고의 외과 의사이고. 셋째 오빠 곽시걸은 유명한 보석 디자이너이다.

    “엄마, 아빠, 난 괜찮아요. 모두 지난 일이에요. 앞으로는 제가 두 분 곁을 잘 지킬게요.” 송지윤은 부드러운 목소리로 두 사람을 달랬다.

    한때 자신이 불나방처럼 고서준에게 달려들었으니, 자멸을 자초한 것이나 다름없었다.

    곽진수는 깊게 한숨을 내쉬었다. 그는 송지윤의 과거 결정에 대해 마음이 아프면서도 화가 났다.

    “그래. 며칠 쉬다가 진주 자선 디너에 시진이와 함께 참석해.”

    그동안 너무 조용하게 지내왔다. 그래서 그 사람들이 겁도 없이 감히 그의 딸을 해치려 든 것이라고 생각했다.

    송지윤은 그 말을 듣고 마음이 복잡해졌다.

    진주 자선 디너는 해성에서 가장 높은 수준의 연회이다.

    그녀는 고서준과 결혼한 3년 동안, 자격이 없다는 이유로 한 번도 참석하지 못했다.

    곽진수가 계속해서 말했다. “네가 원래의 너로 돌아가기로 결정했다면, 곽진수의 딸이 돌아왔다는 것을 모두에게 알려야지.”

    송지윤은 잠시 침묵하더니 이내 고개를 끄덕였다.

    3년 전, 그녀는 고집스럽게 신분을 숨기고 고서준과 결혼하려 했고, 부모님은 화가 나서 그녀와 의절하려 했다.

    이제 그녀는 부모님께 보상해야 할 때가 되었다.

    “네, 참석할게요.” 송지윤이 결연한 목소리로 대답했다.

    “그래, 이래야 내 딸답지.”

    곽진수는 금테가 박힌 블랙 카드를 송지윤에게 건넸다.

    “이 카드는 한도 없는 블랙 카드야. 우리 곽씨 가문은 돈이 부족한 집안이 아니니, 네가 좋아하는 건 마음껏 사.”

    송지윤은 검은색 카드 표면을 내려다보며 입가에 미소를 지었다.

    ‘몇 분 전까지만 해도 난 돈 한 푼도 없는 빈털터리였는데, 지금 순식간에 부자가 된 건가?’

    👉 계속 읽기

  • “늑대의 왕의 후회” 소설 by Iron Petal

    👉 지금 읽기

    그를 구하기 위해 나는 늑대 영혼을 부수고 은독을 받아들이며, 껍데기만 남은 결혼 생활을 3년이나 비굴하게 참아왔다.

    비 오는 밤, 내가 유산하게 되었는데, 그는 그런 내가 첫사랑의 축하연의 분위기를 망쳤다고 비난했다.

    그리고 내가 이혼 서류를 건네자 그는 서류를 찢어버리고 나를 감금했다. 그는 내가 루나 자리를 탐낸다고 확신한 것이다. 하지만 그는 내가 3개월밖에 살지 못한다는 사실을 전혀 몰랐다.

    나는 강제로 파트너 연결고리를 끊고 세상에서 사라졌다.

    이후, 그는 왕년에 그의 생명을 구해준 과정의 진실을 알게 되었는데 내가 피를 토하며 죽어간다는 소식을 듣고 미친 듯이 모든 부족을 샅샅이 뒤지면 그녀를 찾았다.

    “신해란, 돌아와. 내 목숨을 너에게 배상해줄게.”

    나는 부족의 새로운 늑대 왕의 품에 기대어 옅은 미소를 지었다. “내 사랑은 이미 나의 늑대와 함께 죽었어.”

    👉 지금 읽기

    늑대의 왕의 후회 제1화 유산

    신해란의 시점

    밖에는 폭우가 쏟아지고 천둥번개가 쳤다. 마치 번개가 별장의 지붕을 뚫고 들어올 것만 같았다.

    나는 메인 침실의 화장실에 웅크리고 앉아있었는데 차가운 바닥 타일 위에서 극심한 복통을 느꼈다. 마치 누군가 내 자궁에 손을 뻗어 억지로 살점을 뜯어내는 것만 같았다.

    고개를 아래로 떨구자 하얀 타일 위에 피가 흥건하게 고여 있었다.

    짙은 피 냄새와 함께 기운 없는 페로몬 냄새가 섞여 올라왔다.

    나는 유산했다.

    3년 전, 늑대를 잃은 폐물이 되었고 내 몸은 강한 알파의 새끼를 품을 수 없었다.

    하지만 나는 한 번 더 도박을 하고 싶었다.

    이 아이를 낳을 수 있다면, 권태하가 아이를 봐서라도 나에게 조금이라도 부드러운 모습을 보여줄 것이라고 생각했다.

    하지만 나는 도박에서 졌다.

    그 작은 생명은 내 몸에서 미끄러져 나왔다. 움직임도, 심장 박동도, 심지어 늑대 새끼의 따뜻한 기운도 느껴지지 않았다.

    사산이었다.

    떨리는 손으로 피 덩어리에서 아직 형체를 갖추지 못한 작은 것을 들어 올렸다. 너무 작아서 털도 제대로 자라지 않았지만, 나는 그 작은 몸에서 권태하의 냄새를 맡을 수 있었다.

    눈물이 내 손등에 떨어져 피와 섞였다.

    “미안해… 아가, 미안해…”

    나는 아이를 지키지 못했다.

    그때, 휴대폰 화면이 밝아졌다. 권태하를 위해 특별히 설정한 알림음이었다.

    나는 황급히 통화 버튼을 눌렀다.

    “권태하!”

    목소리가 심하게 잠겨 있었다. “우리 아이가 없어졌어… 지금 어디야?”

    전화기 너머에서 권태하의 목소리는 들리지 않았다.

    대신 시끄러운 환호성과 박수 소리만 들려왔다.

    곧이어 부드럽고 달콤한 여자의 목소리가 스피커를 통해 선명하게 들려왔다.

    “오늘 저의 시상식에 참석해 주신 모든 분들께 감사드립니다.”

    송아리였다.

    그녀는 오메가임에도 불구하고 늑대족에서 보석처럼 여겨지는 여배우다.

    그녀의 목소리는 적절한 타이밍에 울먹였다. “이 길을 걸어오면서 포기하고 싶었던 적도 많았어요. 하지만 저는 운이 좋은 사람이에요. 왜냐하면 제 뒤에는 항상 가장 강한 알파가 서 있기 때문이죠.”

    “고마워요, 권태하 씨. 항상 제 곁에 있어줘서 고마워요.”

    전화기 너머에서 다시 뜨거운 박수 소리와 휘파람 소리가 들려왔다. 심지어 “정말 천생연분이네요! “라는 감탄사도 들려왔다.

    그는 그곳에 있었다.

    내가 아이를 잃고 고통에 몸부림칠 때, 그는 다른 여자를 축하해 주고 있었다.

    “누구 전화야?”

    드디어 전화기 너머에서 권태하의 목소리가 들려왔다. 방해받은 듯 짜증이 섞인 목소리였다.

    “신해란 씨한테서 온 전화 같아요.” 송아리의 목소리는 조금 무고하게 들렸다. “제가 받았는데, 아무 말도 하지 않네요. 권태하 씨, 이제 케이크를 잘라야 하지 않나요?”

    “그래, 신경 쓰지 말고 빨리 케이크를 자르자.”

    권태하의 목소리가 선명하게 들려왔다.

    “오늘은 네 좋은 날이니까, 다른 사람이 분위기를 망치게 하지 마.”

    “뚜, 뚜, 뚜…” 전화가 끊겼다.

    욕실에는 다시 숨 막힐 듯한 정적이 흘렀다.

    “분위기를 망쳐?” 나는 검게 변한 휴대폰 화면을 보며 입꼬리를 끌어올렸지만, 눈물조차 흘릴 수 없다는 것을 깨달았다. 권태하의 눈에 송아리는 억울한 일을 당해 보호가 필요한 대상이었고, 나는 가문의 혼약을 빌미로 그에게 억지로 시집가려는 악독한 여자일 뿐이었다.

    그는 내가 임신했다는 사실조차 몰랐다. 몇 달 전, 임신 사실을 알게 된 나는 검사 결과를 들고 그에게 깜짝 선물을 주고 싶었다. 서재에서 업무를 처리하던 그는 고개도 들지 않고 차갑게 말했다. “바쁘니까 네 건강 검진 보고서 볼 시간 없어. 돈이 필요하면 오진한테 말해.”

    나는 검사 결과를 등 뒤에 숨겼다. 지금 생각해 보면, 그 검사 결과는 그저 웃음거리일 뿐이었다.

    나는 고개를 숙여 손에 든 차가운 것을 내려다봤다. 이미 차갑게 식어 있었다.

    가족에게 알려야 할까?

    나는 연락처에 있는 ‘아버지’라는 이름을 한참이나 쳐다보다가 결국 자조적으로 고개를 저었다. 그들은 나를 신경 쓰지 않을 것이다.

    신월늑대군에서 10년 넘게 밖에서 떠돌다 겨우 찾아낸 진짜 딸인 나는, 친부모의 눈에 그저 진흙투성이의 야생 소녀일 뿐이었다. 워커울프 가문과 혼인하여 이익을 얻기 위한 도구로 사용될 뿐이었다.

    그리고 내 신분을 10년 넘게 대신한 가짜 딸 최유라가 그들의 금지옥엽이었다.

    내가 권태하의 새끼를 지키지 못했을 뿐만 아니라, 루나의 자리마저 위태로워졌다는 사실을 알게 된다면, 그들은 내가 완전히 이용 가치를 잃었다고 생각할 것이고, 신월늑대군의 체면을 깎아내렸다고 비난할 것이다.

    이 세상에, 나의 집은 진작에 없었다.

    “그래, 잘 됐어.” 나는 손가락으로 아직 제대로 자라지 않은 눈썹을 부드럽게 쓸어내렸다. “아가, 엄마를 원망하지 마… 엄마가 조용한 곳에 데려다줄게.”

    나는 병원에 갈 수 없었다.

    병원에 가면 의사는 내가 늑대가 없다는 비밀을 알게 될 것이다.

    그것은 권씨 가문의 수치이자, 내가 마지막으로 숨기고 싶은 비밀이었다.

    그 해, 그를 구하기 위해 나는 마녀에게 그의 몸에 있는 독소를 모두 나의 늑대 혼에 옮겨 달라고 부탁했다.

    나의 늑대는 나를 보호하기 위해 모든 독을 대신 막아냈다.

    나는 세면대를 짚고 힘겹게 바닥에서 일어섰다. 다리가 후들거리고, 하체에서 찢어지는 듯한 통증이 느껴졌다.

    나는 깨끗한 나무 상자를 찾아 부드러운 캐시미어 스카프를 깔았다.

    그리고 아이를 상자에 넣고 뚜껑을 덮었다.

    검은색 긴 원피스로 갈아입은 나는 신발도 신지 않고 상자를 품에 안고 별장을 나섰다.

    밖에는 폭우가 쏟아지고 있었다.

    비가 몸에 닿자 차가운 기운이 뼛속까지 스며들었다. 늑대 핵이 부서진 나로서 비를 맞게 되면 감염을 유발할 수 있지만, 나는 더 이상 신경 쓰지 않았다.

    정원 구석에 도착한 나는 진흙탕에 무릎을 꿇고 손으로 구덩이를 파기 시작했다. 손가락 끝이 닳아 피가 스며 나왔다.

    나는 마치 감각이 없는 기계처럼 구덩이를 파고, 상자를 넣고, 흙을 덮었다.

    그리고 마지막으로 그 위에 돌을 올려놓았다.

    모든 것을 마친 나는 비를 맞으며 불이 환하게 켜진 별장을 바라봤다.

    나의 늑대의 혼은 의식 깊은 곳에서 미약한 울음소리를 내더니 완전히 침묵했다.

    늑대가 죽자 나는 갑자기 기침을 하며 검은 피 덩어리를 토해냈다.

    그것은 은독이 심장에 침투했다는 징조였다.

    마녀는 내가 검은 피를 토하기 시작하면, 3개월 정도 밖에 시간이 남지 않을 거라고 말했다.

    “3개월…”

    나는 바닥에 고인 피가 비에 씻겨 내려가는 것을 보며 쓸쓸하게 미소를 지었다.

    이 고통스러운 날들도 드디어 끝이 나는구나.

    그날 밤, 권태하는 돌아오지 않았다.

    다음 날, 연예 뉴스에서 송아리가 축하연에서 투구꽃이 소량 함유된 술을 마시고 알레르기로 병원에 입원했다는 소식을 보았다.

    권태하는 밤새 그녀의 병상 곁을 떠나지 않고 지켰다.

    늑대의 왕의 후회 제2화 네가 원하면 오고, 원하면 떠날 수 있다고 생각해

    신해란의 시점

    다음 날 오후.

    거실 소파에 앉은 나는 미리 작성해 둔 <파트너 해제 협의서>를 손에 꼭 쥐고 있었다.

    샤워를 마치고 깨끗한 흰색 잠옷으로 갈아입었지만, 몸에서 피비린내가 가시지 않는 것 같았다.

    그때, 마당에서 엔진 소리가 들려왔다.

    권태하의 부가티 베이론이었다.

    그가 돌아왔다.

    문이 열리고 권태하의 훤칠한 모습이 현관에 나타났다. 어제와 같은 검은색 정장을 입은 그는 넥타이를 느슨하게 풀고 턱에 푸르스름한 수염이 자라 피곤해 보였다. 그가 들어오자마자 진한 향수 냄새가 풍겨왔다.

    송아리의 달콤한 페로몬이었다.

    현관에 발을 들인 권태하의 미간이 깊게 찌푸려졌다. 손을 들어 코앞에서 휘저은 그의 금색 눈동자에 혐오감이 스쳤다.

    “이게 무슨 냄새야?”

    그는 나를 빤히 쳐다보며 물었다. “피비린내가 이렇게 심하게 나다니. 신해란, 집에서 또 무슨 짓을 한 거야?”

    그는 내가 그의 마음을 되돌리기 위해 몰래 마녀의 편법을 사용하고 있다고 생각했다.

    나는 아무 말도 하지 않고 그를 가만히 쳐다봤다.

    예전의 나라면, 바로 자리에서 일어나 그의 외투를 받아들고 슬리퍼를 건네며 조심스럽게 말을 걸었을 것이다.

    하지만 오늘은, 소파에 앉은 채 꼼짝도 하지 않았다.

    내가 아무 말도 하지 않자 권태하의 화가 치밀어 올랐다. 그가 큰 걸음으로 다가오자, 알파의 강력한 위압감이 나를 덮쳐왔다.

    “송아리가 어젯밤 병원에 입원했어. 큰일 날 뻔했다고. 네가 연기하는 모습을 볼 기분이 아니야.”

    “권태하, 우리의 아이가 죽었어. 어젯밤, 네가 송아리를 위해 축하 파티를 열어주고 있을 때.”

    내가 입을 열었는데, 평온한 나의 목소리에 나조차도 놀랐다.

    권태하의 발걸음이 갑자기 멈칫하더니

    잠시 멍한 표정을 짓고 농담을 들은 것처럼 입 꼬리를 비스듬히 올리며 차갑게 비웃었다.

    “아이?”

    내 앞에 다가온 그가 내려다보는 눈빛에 경멸감이 가득했다.

    “신해란, 네 수법이 점점 더 저급해지고 있어.”

    “송아리를 쫓아내기 위해 이런 거짓말까지 하는 거야?”

    “거짓말 아니야.”

    나는 정원 방향을 가리키며 말했다. “저기 있어. 믿지 못하겠다면 파헤쳐 봐.”

    “그만해!”

    권태하가 버럭 소리를 지르며 내 말을 가로 잘랐다.

    그는 내 턱을 움켜쥐고 억지로 고개를 들었다. 손아귀에 힘이 얼마나 들어갔는지, 턱뼈가 부서질 것만 같았다.

    “연기 그만해. 정말 역겨워.”

    “어제는 전화로 죽은 척하더니, 오늘은 아이를 핑계로 삼아? 신해란, 언제까지 이런 식으로 살 거야?”

    “송아리가 술을 잘못 마셨다는 이유로 질투가 나서 이러는 거야?”

    그의 얼굴을 가만히 쳐다보는 나는 갑자기 너무 지쳤다.

    설명할 힘조차 남아있지 않았다.

    나는 그의 손을 뿌리치고 탁자 위에 놓인 서류를 그의 앞에 밀어 넣었다.

    “믿든 말든 네 마음대로 해.”

    나는 계속해서 말했다. “사인해. 권태하. 사인하면 자유로워질 수 있어.”

    권태하가 눈을 가늘게 뜨고 탁자 위에 놓인 서류를 내려다봤다.

    서류의 제목을 확인한 그가 비웃음을 터뜨렸다.

    “파트너 해제 협의?”

    그는 서류를 대충 훑어보더니 다시 탁자 위에 던졌다.

    “신해란, 네 수법이 점점 더 저급해지고 있어.”

    그는 나를 내려다보며 경멸 가득한 눈빛으로 말했다. “지난번에는 아픈 척하더니, 이번에는 떠나겠다고 협박하는 거야? 내가 믿을 것 같아?”

    “허영심 가득한 네가 어렵게 루나의 자리에 올랐는데, 쉽게 떠날 리가 없잖아?”

    “아무 말도 하지 않는 걸 보니, 찔리는 게 있나 보네?”

    권태하가 나에게 바싹 다가오자 눈빛에 혐오감이 가득했다. “3년 전, 내가 중상을 입고 의식을 잃었을 때, 루나의 자리를 차지하기 위해 할아버지를 속여 혈맹 혼약을 맺었지!”

    “내가 왜 너를 증오하면서도 결혼했는지 알아?”

    그는 내 턱을 움켜쥐고 말했다. “탐욕의 대가가 무엇인지 알려주기 위해서야. 루나의 자리를 차지하고 싶어 했지? 그럼 그 빈껍데기를 지키며 내가 진정으로 원하는 사람이 누구인지 똑똑히 지켜봐!”

    나는 그를 가만히 쳐다보며 손가락으로 소파를 긁었다.

    그의 마음속에서 지난 3년간의 결혼 생활은 나를 향한 긴 처벌이었던 것이다.

    “송아리가 제때 도착해 독을 바꿔주지 않았다면, 나는 이미 죽었을 거야. 나를 구하느라 몸이 상한 송아리는 해외에서 요양해야 했고, 심지어 내 앞날을 위해 너 같은 악독한 여자와 결혼하라고 설득했어!”

    “송아리는 이렇게 착한데, 너는 뭐야?”

    “너는 불난 집에 부채질을 했을 뿐만 아니라, 송아리가 목숨을 걸고 지켜낸 루나의 자리를 차지하고 떠나지 않으려 하고 있어!”

    나는 온몸이 떨리고 손톱으로 손바닥을 깊게 찔렀다.

    3년 전, 목숨을 걸고 그를 구해낸 사람은 바로 나였다! 은독의 고통을 견디고 늑대 혼이 사라진 사람도 나였다!

    “송아리가 아니야!” 나는 결국 참지 못하고 소리를 질렀다. “3년 전, 당신을 구해낸 사람은 나야! 그때 나는…”

    “닥쳐!”

    권태하가 갑자기 버럭 소리를 질렀다. 그것은 알파의 명령이었다.

    저항할 수 없는 힘이 순식간에 내 목을 조여왔다. 입이 억지로 닫히고 성대가 잠긴 것처럼 아무 소리도 낼 수 없었다.

    나는 두려움에 떨며 그를 쳐다봤다. 그는 가짜를 위해 내 말할 권리를 강제로 빼앗았다.

    “신해란, 내가 어떤 사람이라고 생각하는 거야? 네가 원하면 오고, 가고 싶으면 떠날 수 있다고 생각해?”

    늑대의 왕의 후회 제3화 어디도 가지 마

    신해란의 시점

    권태하가 테이블 위에 놓인 계약서를 노려보는 눈빛이 당장이라도 나를 잡아먹을 것 같았다.

    “찢어!”

    날카로운 소리가 공기를 갈랐다. 그는 내가 서명한 파트너 해제 협의서를 손에 쥐고 몇 번이나 찢어발긴 후, 내 얼굴에 뿌렸다.

    “이게 내 태도야!”

    그의 입가에 비웃음이 번졌다. 그것은 알파의 권위에 도전받았을 때의 본능적인 반응이었다.

    “신해란, 주제를 알아야지. 이런 식으로 내 관심을 끌 수 있을 것 같아?”

    나는 그의 분노를 잠자코 지켜봤다.

    예전의 나라면 두려움에 몸을 떨며 그에게 화내지 말라고 애원했을 것이다. 하지만 지금은 내 늑대가 죽었기에, 그의 알파 위압감에도 두려움을 느끼지 못했다.

    “나 장난치는 거 아니야.”

    나는 그의 눈을 똑바로 쳐다보며 낮은 목소리로 말했다. “권태하, 나 이제 너를 사랑하지 않아. 난 팩을 떠날 거야. 파트너도 그만둘래.”

    그는 자리에 멈칫했다. 아마 3년 동안 그의 뒤만 졸졸 따라다니며 고분고분했던 ‘쓸모없는’ 내가 사랑하지 않는다는 말을 입에 담을 줄은 상상도 하지 못했을 것이다.

    하지만 곧 그의 놀라움은 더욱 깊은 분노로 변했다.

    그는 성큼성큼 다가와 내 목을 움켜쥐고 차가운 벽에 세게 밀쳤다.

    그가 내게 가까이 다가오자, 뜨거운 숨결이 내 얼굴에 닿았지만 나는 오히려 한기를 느꼈다.

    나는 억지로 고개를 뒤로 젖히고 숨을 헐떡였지만 저항하지 않았다. 그저 텅 빈 눈빛으로 그를 뚫어지게 쳐다볼 뿐이었다.

    아마 내 눈빛이 그의 심기를 건드렸는지, 손에 힘이 조금 풀렸을 때 그의 주머니에서 휴대폰이 울렸다.

    권태하의 움직임이 갑자기 멈췄다. 그는 나를 놓아주고 휴대폰을 꺼내 들었다. 그의 얼굴에 번진 분노가 순식간에 긴장으로 변했다.

    “송아리? 무슨 일이야?”휴대폰 너머에서 송아리의 울먹이는 목소리가 들려왔다.

    시끄러운 배경 소음과 함께 많은 사람들이 비명을 지르는 것 같았다. “권태하… 나 좀 살려줘… 파파라치들이 너무 많아… 로그도… 아파트 입구를 막고 있어. 너무 무서워. 심장이 너무 빨리 뛰어…”

    권태하의 안색이 순식간에 어두워졌다.

    그것은 내가 한 번도 본 적 없는 당황한 표정이었다.

    “무서워하지 마, 송아리.”

    그의 부드러운 목소리가 내 귀에 거슬렸다. “안전한 곳에 숨어 있어. 전화 끊지 말고. 지금 바로 갈게.”

    그는 전화를 끊고 나를 쳐다보지도 않고 밖으로 달려 나갔다.

    현관에 도착했을 때, 그는 무언가 생각난 듯 자리에 멈칫하더니 차갑게 식은 눈빛으로 나를 노려봤다.

    “네가 어떻게 속죄해야 할지 깨닫기 전까지, 어디도 가지 못해.”

    말을 마친 그는 다시 현관으로 향했다.

    철컥, 문이 잠기는 소리가 들렸다.

    나는 그가 밖에서 경호원들에게 지시하는 소리를 들었다. “사모님 잘 지켜. 내 허락 없이 저택 밖으로 한 발자국도 나가지 못하게 해.”

    엔진 소리가 빠르게 멀어졌다.

    저택은 다시 고요해졌다.

    나는 바닥에 흩뿌려진 종이 조각들을 내려다보며 천천히 몸을 웅크리고 하나씩 주워 담았다.

    손이 떨렸지만 눈물은 나지 않았다.

    권태하는 몰랐을 것이다. 이번에는 내가 정말로 그를 포기했다는 것을.

    나는 종이 조각들을 쓰레기통에 버리고 드레스룸으로 향했다.

    권태하가 나를 위해 사준 고급 드레스나 값비싼 보석은 챙기지 않았다.

    나는 몸을 웅크리고 옷장 맨 아래에서 검은색 낡은 여행 가방을 꺼냈다. 그 안에는 내가 가진 몇 벌의 낡은 옷이 들어 있었다.

    마지막으로 나는 침대 매트리스 사이에 숨겨둔 검은색 위성 전화를 꺼냈다.

    이것은 내가 바운티 헌터였을 때 얻은 전리품이다. 권태하는 나를 시골에서 온 쓸모없는 사람이라고 생각했기에, 내가 이런 물건을 가지고 있다는 사실을 영원히 알지 못할 것이다.

    나는 익숙하게 외운 번호를 눌렀다.

    “뚜-”

    한 번의 신호음이 울리자마자 전화가 연결되었다.

    “신해란?”

    전화 너머에서 낮은 목소리가 들려왔다. 차무진이었다.

    한때 내가 수없이 쫓아다니며 암살을 지도하다가 결국 절친이 된 로그 킹이다. 그리고 내가 늑대 혼이 없다는 사실을 아는 유일한 사람이었다.

    “차무진,” 나는 차분하게 말했다. “네가 그랬지. 내가 떠나고 싶은 날이 오면, 나를 데려가겠다고.”

    “지금이야?” 그는 군말 없이 물었다.

    “지금. 권태하의 저택에 있어.”

    “10분이면 돼.”

    전화를 끊은 나는 루나의 지위를 상징하는 다이아몬드 반지를 빼서 침대 옆 탁자에 올려놓았다.

    권태하는 문이 잠기면 나를 가둘 수 있다고 생각했을 것이다.

    나는 옥상 테라스로 통하는 문을 열고 밤하늘 아래로 걸어 나갔다.

    바람이 세게 불었지만, 나는 전례 없는 자유로움을 느꼈다.

    👉 계속 읽으세요

  • Our CEO Daddy! Triplets in a Mission by ferocearcadia

    Our CEO Daddy! Triplets in a Mission by ferocearcadia

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    A reckless playboy CEO is forced to marry Harte, a quiet orphan, to save him from a dangerous mafia after his scandalous affair. Their cold marriage slowly turns complicated as buried emotions surface-but it all ends in heartbreak and divorce, with Harte walking away without revealing she is pregnant.

    What he doesn’t know is that she isn’t just carrying his child… she’s carrying triplets.

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    Our CEO Daddy! Triplets in a Mission Chapter 1 The Playboy CEO

    Griffin’s cellphone rang repeatedly on the bedside table. Half-asleep, he reached for the device without even opening his eyes. Who the hell had the nerve to interrupt his sleep this early?
    “Hello-”
    Before Griffin could finish speaking, a voice loud enough to rival a megaphone blasted through the line.
    “Griffin, where are you? Did you forget that today is Mom and Dad’s 30th wedding anniversary? I went to your condo and your office, and you’re nowhere to be found!”
    Griffin grimaced and immediately pulled the phone away from his ear. “Jesus Christ, Harte. Lower your voice. Are you trying to blow out my eardrums?”
    “Get home right now! If you don’t come home this instant-”
    He didn’t bother waiting for her threat to finish. He already knew she’d just keep nagging until he got a headache.
    “I’m on my way,” he said quickly before ending the call.
    He rubbed his temples before glancing at the woman still fast asleep beside him. He’d spent the entire night f*ck*ng her-giving her a break only long enough before taking her again.
    Griffin got out of bed and picked up his clothes scattered across the floor. He got dressed without caring whether the woman woke up or not. He didn’t leave a message or even a goodbye. He simply walked out of the room and left her behind.
    The moment he stepped into the hotel lobby, the receptionist greeted him right away. The hotel belonged to his godfather Dawn, his father’s best friend, so the staff already knew Griffin by face.
    “Good morning, Sir Griffin,” the valet attendant greeted with a smile as he tossed Griffin the keys to his sports car. Griffin caught them easily before pulling out his wallet. He took out five thousand dollar and handed it over as a tip. The man gave a playful salute in return.
    Griffin climbed into the car and quickly drove off.
    While cruising down the highway, he noticed a white van that seemed to have been tailing him for a while now. To make sure, he stepped harder on the gas and swiftly overtook a red car ahead of him. Almost immediately, he saw the van speed up as well just to keep up with him.
    “What the f*ck is that? Are they after me?” he muttered to himself, his eyes fixed on the rearview mirror.
    But before he could make a move to shake them off, the white van suddenly turned in the opposite direction. Griffin frowned, wondering if it had all been a coincidence-or if the people inside had only been sizing him up.
    He finally arrived at the mansion after thirty minutes of driving. In the garage, he spotted his grandparents’ familiar cars-a sign that the whole family had already arrived.
    The Bowens had always made it a tradition to gather for Sunday lunch, and today was even more special because it was his parents’ 30th wedding anniversary.
    Griffin parked in the garage and quickly headed inside the mansion.
    “Good morning, Sir Griffin!” Cecelia, their longtime housekeeper, greeted him cheerfully.
    “Good morning, Ate Cecelia. You’re looking extra blooming today, huh?” he teased with a wink.
    Cecelia jokingly swatted at him with the broom she was holding, but Griffin dodged it easily while laughing.
    “You really are such a smooth talker!” Cecelia said with a laugh, pointing toward the kitchen. “Your mother’s been waiting for you. Go on now before she gets even madder at you.”
    Still chuckling, Griffin walked toward the kitchen and found his mother, Scarlett, pulling a tray out of the oven while wearing an apron. Even at fifty-four, she was still stunning and sophisticated. One of the qualities he looked for in a woman was someone like his mother.
    “Mmm… smells amazing,” he complimented, breathing in the aroma of whatever she had baked.
    Scarlett placed a hand on her hip and gave her son a serious look. “And where have you been? Lavender and Harte went to your condo, but you weren’t there.”
    Griffin laughed softly and stepped closer to hug his mother. “Mom, I went out to relax and unwind. Meridian is at the top worldwide, and I think I deserve to relax and unwind. I can’t spend all my time working.”
    Scarlett pointed the tongs she was holding at Griffin and narrowed her eyes at him. “I know exactly what you’ve been doing out there, son. One of these days, I wouldn’t be surprised if women start lining up outside this house claiming you got them pregnant. Or worse, someone might sue you and say you took advantage of her. Honey, why don’t you just get a girlfriend, settle into a serious relationship, and get married already?”
    “Mom, Mom… it’s family day, not lecture day,” he replied playfully as he grabbed the tray from her hands and set it down on the table. “I’ll go call everyone and tell them lunch is ready,” he added, quickly steering the conversation elsewhere. He was referring to his father, Darius, and his grandparents, who were currently relaxing by the pool area.
    He hurried out through the kitchen’s sliding door, leaving his mother shaking her head at his antics.
    He really did want a serious relationship. Who wouldn’t want to find the right person for them? But every time he tried dating, it always ended the same way. Most women were only after his money, and nearly every woman he went out with just wasn’t his type. There had been one relationship he genuinely took seriously, but she had chosen her career abroad over him and eventually broke things off.
    Griffin let out a quiet sigh. He was about to head toward his father and grandparents when he noticed Harte sitting by the edge of the pool.
    A smile spread across his face as he quietly approached her. Harte was the daughter of Greg, his father’s loyal assistant. Her mother had died giving birth to her, so she had grown up in their household ever since she was little. Griffin had practically watched her grow up. She had just graduated from college last month and was planning to work at Meridian as well.
    “I seriously don’t get his taste in women. If they’re not wearing pounds of makeup, then they’re completely insane,” Harte muttered to herself while absentmindedly plucking flower petals and dipping her feet into the pool.
    Griffin raised an eyebrow. Looks like Harte was annoyed with some guy.
    Maybe she had a crush on him?
    “So annoying! Out of all the men in the world, why did I have to fall for him?”
    Yep, he was right. She definitely liked a guy who probably liked someone else.
    Griffin grinned, another mischievous idea already forming in his head. He moved closer to Harte and, when the timing was perfect, suddenly tapped her shoulder.
    Harte whipped around in surprise, her eyes widening the moment she saw him. But before she could even say anything, Griffin shoved her straight into the pool.
    “Griffin!” Harte shouted furiously before completely disappearing underwater.
    “Why are you jumping in there? Haven’t you showered yet?” Griffin burst out laughing, clutching his stomach.
    The noise caught the attention of his father, Darius, as well as his grandparents. Harte’s father, Greg, even paused from grilling a large fish, though he merely shook his head and didn’t bother stepping in. Everyone in the family was already used to the two acting like cats and dogs whenever they were together. Griffin’s day never felt complete unless he found a way to tease her.
    “Get over here and I’ll shave that head of yours bald!” Harte snapped through gritted teeth as she quickly climbed out of the pool.
    But as Harte stepped onto the pool ladder, Griffin’s laughter slowly faded. His eyes drifted over her figure. The thin white dress she was wearing had turned nearly transparent from the water, clearly outlining the red underwear beneath it. Griffin swallowed hard as he caught sight of the curves of her body.
    He had always seen her as a kid-a little sister.
    He never realized she had grown into such a beautiful young woman.
    Because he was so distracted, Griffin didn’t notice Harte had already reached him. She quickly grabbed him by the hair and dragged him toward the edge of the pool.
    “Ow! Harte, what the hell! Ow! Ow!” he complained repeatedly while trying to pry her hand away. “Harte, stop it!”
    The moment she let him go, Harte flashed him a smug grin before kicking him hard, sending Griffin crashing straight into the water.

    Our CEO Daddy! Triplets in a Mission Chapter 2 Welcome Back

    Griffin grimaced as he roughly dried his wet hair with a towel. The only thing he wore was a white towel wrapped low around his waist, exposing his toned physique.
    “D*mn. She’s stronger than most men. Feels like she ripped half the hair off my head,” he muttered to himself, annoyed yet amused at the same time.
    But suddenly, he froze.
    The scene from earlier flashed through his mind again-the way Harte’s body had looked as she climbed out of the pool, the outline of the red fabric beneath her soaked white dress. The image refused to leave his head.
    Griffin shook his head and lightly slapped his own cheek. He went back to drying his hair before throwing on a simple black T-shirt and a pair of pants.
    When he went downstairs to the kitchen, he found his family already gathered around the table. The atmosphere was lively, filled with laughter and the mouthwatering smell of delicious food.
    He pulled out a chair beside his twin sister, Lavender, and sat down. One thing their mother, Scarlett, absolutely hated during family lunches was talking about work. So throughout the meal, their conversations stayed light and random.
    After eating, they all moved to the living room for dessert while watching Lavender’s newest television drama series.
    Unlike the rest of the family, his sister hadn’t followed in their parents’ footsteps. She had no interest in business whatsoever. So when she announced she wanted to enter show business and pursue acting, all they could do was support her.
    “Goodness, that slap looked painful, sweetheart. Your face didn’t swell up, did it?” his grandmother Elene asked dramatically and with concern after seeing Lavender’s character get slapped by the villain on screen.
    Lavender laughed and shook her head. “Grandma, we always ask permission from each other before filming scenes like that. Although it really hurt-you can tell, right? It makes the scene more effective for the audience.”
    While everyone watched the show, Griffin noticed Harte busy on her phone instead of paying attention to the television. A few moments later, she quietly stood up and slipped out of the living room with her head lowered.
    One of Griffin’s eyebrows lifted.
    He quickly got to his feet and followed her. Thanks to his long strides, he caught up to her near the garage.
    “You’re going somewhere?” he asked, making the young woman stop in her tracks.
    Harte quickly turned to look at him. “I’m just meeting someone at the convenience store. I’ll be back right away.”
    “Hmm… a friend?” Griffin didn’t know why he had suddenly become so interested in where she was going.
    “A former classmate,” she answered shortly before turning her back on him.
    Griffin watched Harte’s retreating figure as she walked out through the gate. He even saw her say something to the security guard before finally disappearing from sight.
    He headed back inside but didn’t return to the living room. Instead, he went straight to his room to grab his car keys. When he came back out to the garage, he signaled for the guard to open the gate before quickly climbing into his car.
    He drove fast and soon spotted Harte walking along the side of the road. A mischievous grin spread across his face before he repeatedly honked the horn at her.
    Griffin burst out laughing when Harte jumped in shock and nearly dropped her phone.
    At the same time Griffin rolled down the car window, Harte whipped around to glare at him, practically fuming with irritation. In pure annoyance, she picked up a rock almost the size of her head and raised it as if she were about to smash it against the hood of his sports car.
    “You’re seriously insane!” she shouted.
    Griffin blinked and immediately panicked. He quickly pulled the car over beside her.
    “Harte, don’t you dare!” he warned, leaning toward the open window. “Put that down. Get in the car.”
    Harte scoffed before violently tossing the rock onto the roadside. “And why would I get in there?”
    “I’m driving you wherever you’re going. Get inside already.” He opened the passenger door and pushed it wider with his foot. “The sun is freaking brutal, Harte. Just get in.”
    Harte glared at him for a few more seconds before finally walking around to the other side of the car and climbing in. She slammed the door shut on purpose, clearly making sure he felt how annoyed she was.
    “Hurry up. The person I’m meeting has been waiting for a while,” she snapped at him as if he were her personal chauffeur.
    If any other woman had spoken to him like that, he probably would’ve yelled at her-or kicked her straight out of the car.
    But this was Harte.
    The same way he treated his mother and his twin sister Lavender with respect, he treated Harte the same way. He might bully and tease her nonstop, but he would never allow anyone else to do the same to her.
    “Yes, Ma’am,” he replied sarcastically with a grin. He sped up and soon arrived at the convenience store she had mentioned.
    Harte unbuckled her seatbelt and quickly stepped out. Griffin immediately followed after her, making her eyebrows knit together.
    “I thought you were just giving me a ride?” She even crossed her arms over her chest. “Why are you following me?”
    “I’m buying something,” Griffin excused casually before stepping ahead to hold the door open for her.
    Just as the door swung open, a woman wearing sunglasses and a coat dress despite the blazing heat stepped out from inside the store. Griffin and Harte were about to walk past her when the woman removed her shades and suddenly blocked their path.
    “Oh my God, Griffin? Is that really you?” the woman exclaimed, her eyes lighting up the moment she saw him.
    Harte’s gaze shifted back and forth between the woman and Griffin, while Griffin himself frowned slightly, forcing a smile as he tried to remember where exactly he knew her from.
    “Ah, yes… and you are…?”
    The woman extended her hand toward him. “I’m Chelsea! We were blockmates in college! Don’t you remember me?”
    Griffin quickly took her hand and laughed. “Of course I remember you,” he lied smoothly, even though he genuinely had no clue who she was. “It’s been a while. How have you been?”
    “I’m doing great. I just got back to the New York,” the woman gushed excitedly, almost blushing.
    “Looks like she just got back too. You can tell from the outfit,” Harte muttered under her breath.
    Griffin overheard it and secretly smiled.
    “Oh, by the way, I’m throwing a welcome-back party. It’s also my birthday.” Chelsea hurriedly rummaged through her handbag before handing Griffin a calling card. “I’d love for you to come, if that’s okay. And here’s my calling card. Call me later, okay?”
    Harte suddenly fake-coughed, making Chelsea finally notice her. The woman’s brows slowly furrowed. “And this is…? Is she your girlfriend?”
    Griffin took the calling card. “She’s my little sister,” he answered quickly.
    Chelsea’s smile widened immediately after hearing that. “Oh, hi!” she greeted Harte before turning all her attention back to Griffin again. “I’m in a hurry. I wanted to talk longer, but I’m really hoping you’ll call me.”
    “Of course I will,” Griffin replied with a smile, openly flirting back.
    The woman waved goodbye before finally leaving.
    “No matter where you go, women just keep appearing around you,” Harte clicked her tongue before walking farther inside the convenience store.
    “But you didn’t see me approaching any woman,” Griffin defended himself immediately. “They’re the ones approaching me. I’m just being nice.”
    And honestly, it was true.
    He was never the one chasing women-they always came to him first. And with the kind of charm he had, who was he to refuse?
    “Harte!”
    Both of them turned toward the voice coming from the other side of the store. A man stood there, nearly as tall as Griffin. He looked like the nerdy type because of his glasses, but his muscular arms made it obvious he spent plenty of time at the gym.
    “You never said you were meeting a guy,” Griffin said, his tone suddenly serious. The playful grin on his face vanished instantly, replaced by narrowed eyes.
    “That’s because you never asked,” Harte replied before leaving him behind and walking straight toward the man.

    Our CEO Daddy! Triplets in a Mission Chapter 3 Mysterious White Van

    Griffin watched Harte as she walked toward the man, whose smile stretched from ear to ear. A humorless laugh escaped him when the guy suddenly pulled Harte into a hug-and what irritated him even more was that Harte didn’t push him away. She simply let it happen.
    He had never seen her this close to any guy before.
    This was the first time.
    An unfamiliar heat stirred in Griffin’s chest as he watched the two of them together.
    When the man noticed him staring, he whispered something into Harte’s ear that Griffin couldn’t hear. Harte glanced back at him, her brows instantly knitting together before she gestured with her chin for him to leave already and stop butting in.
    Annoyed, Griffin turned on his heel and left the two of them inside the store. He climbed into his car and sped all the way back to the mansion.
    The moment he arrived, he found his father, Darius, standing outside. The serious look on the older man’s face immediately made Griffin step out of the car and approach him.
    “Dad,” he called.
    Without saying a word, Darius handed his phone over and showed Griffin a text message.
    “They need you at the office. The new materials from Spain finally arrived. Check them yourself.”
    Griffin nodded in response. Even though he was still irritated by what he had seen at the convenience store, business came first.
    Darius gave his son a pat on the shoulder, and Griffin immediately headed inside to change into more formal clothes before driving straight to Meridian Investment Partners.
    His secretary, Madonna, greeted him the moment he stepped into the building lobby. The urgency on her face reflected how important the newly arrived shipment was.
    “Where are the items?” Griffin asked authoritatively without slowing his pace toward the elevator.
    “They’re already in your office, sir,” the woman replied, struggling to keep up with his long strides.
    Griffin loosened his necktie slightly before stepping into the elevator.
    The shipment consisted of high-grade obsidian and rare marble tiles that would be used for their newest luxury corporate skyscraper project in Bonifacio Global City. The materials would define the image of their premium office spaces, which was why Griffin insisted on personally inspecting the quality himself.
    The moment he entered his office, he immediately began examining the materials.
    This was already the supplier’s second shipment. He had rejected the first one outright because of its poor quality. Although this batch was noticeably better than the last, it still failed to meet his exacting standards.
    “Tell them to send all of this back. This is not what I asked for,” Griffin said sharply through clenched teeth as he pointed at the samples. “Tell them to find something that matches the sample I gave exactly. And if they can’t do that, then let them know we’ll start looking for a new supplier.”
    Madonna immediately pulled out her phone and called the Supplier Manager. Griffin could clearly hear the tension in their conversation while he waited for an answer.
    “They said they’ll try to find materials identical to the sample you provided, sir,” Madonna reported after ending the call. “But they’re asking for another month to produce it.”
    “Another d*mn month?! This project has already been delayed for two f*ck*ng months because of their incompetence!” Griffin snapped as he slammed himself back into his chair.
    Madonna quickly called the supplier again to relay Griffin’s ultimatum-half a month, or the contract was over.
    When she ended the call, a seductive smile slowly appeared on the secretary’s lips. She walked closer and perched herself on top of Griffin’s luxurious desk, deliberately showing off her long legs.
    “You look stressed, sir. Did something happen before you got here?” she asked sweetly.
    As she spoke, her hand slowly slid over her chest, gently caressing herself in front of him.
    Madonna had been working for him for two years. And during those two years, whenever Griffin lost his temper, she was always the one who calmed him down. He had never forced her into anything-she had been the one to make the first move and show interest in him.
    “Nothing happened,” Griffin answered stiffly.
    His eyes stayed fixed on Madonna’s hand as she slowly unbuttoned her blouse, revealing a black lace bra barely capable of containing her curves.
    Griffin’s restraint snapped instantly.
    He rose abruptly from his swivel chair and captured Madonna in a rough, hungry kiss. His hand gripped her chest firmly as he felt the rapid pounding of her heart beneath his palm.
    “Ah… S-Sir… easy…” Madonna whimpered breathlessly between kisses.
    But Griffin wasn’t in the mood to be gentle.
    He turned Madonna toward the desk and positioned her with her back facing him. With a rough tug, he pulled down her skirt and underwear.
    “Lean on the table. Don’t move,” he ordered in a low, commanding voice.
    When it was over, Griffin leaned back against his desk, finally feeling lighter, as though all the irritation from earlier-both from work and from Harte-had disappeared.
    He didn’t stay long at the office after that. Once his lust had subsided, he left everything for Madonna to handle and headed out. He wasn’t in the mood to return to the mansion, so he decided to drive straight back to his condo instead.
    As he drove along the dimly lit road, he noticed the familiar white van once again in his rearview mirror.
    It was the same vehicle he had seen earlier before heading to the mansion.
    “Persistent bastards,” he muttered as he stepped harder on the gas.
    But in an instant, the van sped up as well and slammed into the back of his sports car without warning. Griffin’s vehicle lurched violently out of balance, and before he could recover, the van rammed into his side again.
    Then came the rapid gunfire.
    The windows shattered as bullets tore through the body of his car. While trying to dodge the attack, Griffin lost control of the steering wheel completely. His car veered off the road and flipped several times before finally coming to a stop, completely wrecked.
    Griffin hung upside down inside the crushed vehicle.
    The world spun around him, and the only thing he could hear was the roaring of his own blood in his ears. He tried to move, but a blinding surge of pain shot through his leg.
    A sharp piece of metal from the mangled chassis had pierced through him. He could feel the warmth of blood steadily pouring from the wound.
    He fought to stay conscious, but darkness slowly began swallowing him whole.
    Before his eyes finally closed, he saw the silhouettes of several men stepping out of the white van and walking toward the wreckage.

    👉 CONTINUE READING

  • From Abandoned Wife To Powerful Heiress by Abel Dean

    From Abandoned Wife To Powerful Heiress by Abel Dean

    My marriage ended at a charity gala I organized. One moment, I was the pregnant, happy wife of tech mogul Gabe Sullivan; the next, a reporter’ s phone screen announced to the world that he and his childhood sweetheart, Harper, were expecting a child.

    Across the room, I saw them together, his hand resting on her stomach. This wasn’t just an affair; it was a public declaration that erased me and our unborn baby.

    To protect his company’s billion-dollar IPO, Gabe, his mother, and even my own adoptive parents conspired against me. They moved Harper into our home, into my bed, treating her like royalty while I became a prisoner.

    They painted me as unstable, a threat to the family’s image. They accused me of cheating and claimed my child wasn’t his.

    The final command was unthinkable: terminate my pregnancy. They locked me in a room and scheduled the procedure, promising to drag me there if I refused.

    But they made a mistake. They gave me back my phone to keep me quiet. Feigning surrender, I made one last, desperate call to a number I had kept hidden for years-a number belonging to my biological father, Antony Dean, the head of a family so powerful, they could make my husband’s world burn.

    From Abandoned Wife To Powerful Heiress Chapter 1

    Charlotte Jennings POV:

    I learned my marriage was ending the same way the rest of the world did: in a blinding flash of a camera at a charity gala I had organized.

    One moment, I was smiling, a glass of sparkling water held delicately in my hand, my mind on the baby growing inside me-our secret, our joy. The next, a reporter shoved a phone in my face, the screen glowing with a breaking news alert.

    “Mrs. Sullivan, any comment on your husband’ s big announcement?”

    The headline was stark, brutal. Tech Mogul Gabe Sullivan and Childhood Sweetheart Harper Nicholson Expecting First Child.

    The air in my lungs turned to ice. My smile froze on my face, a brittle mask that felt like it might crack and shatter. I could feel hundreds of eyes on me, the whispers starting to ripple through the opulent ballroom like a wave of poison.

    I turned, my movements slow, robotic. And there he was. My husband, Gabe. He was standing across the room with Harper Nicholson, his hand resting possessively on the small of her back. She was looking up at him with tear-filled, adoring eyes, her own hand protectively cradling a barely-there bump on her stomach.

    They were a perfect picture. A loving couple sharing a beautiful secret with the world.

    A secret that was supposed to be mine.

    The reporter, a vulture sensing a kill, moved closer. “Is it true you and Mr. Sullivan have been living separately?”

    Panic flared in Gabe’ s eyes as he finally saw me. He saw the reporter, the phone, the crumbling expression on my face. His grip on Harper tightened for a split second before he let go, his face paling.

    Our eyes met across the crowded room. In that single, suspended moment, the seven years of our life together played out and died. The late nights when I’ d helped him brainstorm the code for his first app, the way he’ d held me when my adoptive parents criticized my career choice, the whispered promise last week that our baby, our son, would have the love neither of us ever truly had.

    It all turned to ash.

    A cold, quiet rage began to build in my chest, a glacial force pushing aside the shock. I started walking toward him. The murmurs in the room fell silent, the crowd parting before me like the Red Sea. The only sound was the steady, deliberate click of my heels on the marble floor. Each step was a hammer blow against the foundation of our marriage.

    I stopped directly in front of him. I didn’t look at Harper. My entire world had narrowed to Gabe’ s handsome, treacherous face.

    “You have a sixty-second head start to come up with a lie that I might actually believe,” I said, my voice dangerously low, stripped of all warmth.

    He opened his mouth, his charismatic charm already kicking in. “Lottie, baby, it’ s not what it looks like. Let’ s go home and I can explain everything.”

    I didn’ t let him finish. My hand moved on its own, a blur of motion. The crack of my palm against his cheek echoed in the cavernous silence of the ballroom. A collective gasp rippled through our audience.

    Gabe stood there, stunned, the red imprint of my hand blooming on his skin. He didn’ t look angry. He just looked… caught.

    “Please, don’ t blame Gabe!” Harper’ s voice was a saccharine whisper, laced with faux fragility as she stepped between us, placing a hand on his chest. “It was all my fault. I… I was lonely. He was just being kind.”

    Her eyes, glistening with perfectly timed tears, locked onto mine. There was no apology in them. Only triumph.

    The rage inside me finally broke through the ice, and a single, hot tear escaped, tracing a path down my cold cheek. I felt the last of my composure shattering.

    Gabe reached for me, his voice a desperate rasp. “Lottie, please.”

    He tried to pull me into his arms, but I flinched away from his touch as if burned.

    “Don’ t touch me,” I choked out.

    His publicist materialized at his side, whispering urgently in his ear. Gabe’ s jaw tightened. He looked from the publicist, to the sea of watching faces, to Harper’ s pleading expression, and finally, back to me. The calculation in his eyes was sickening.

    “The baby is mine,” he said, his voice now clear and firm, not for me, but for everyone listening. “Harper and I have a long history. We’ re going to get through this together.”

    Harper let out a soft sob and leaned into him, burying her face in his expensive suit. He wrapped an arm around her, holding her close. A protective gesture. A gesture he hadn’ t offered me, his pregnant wife, standing alone in the wreckage he’ d created.

    “Gabe, what are you saying?” I whispered, the words catching in my throat. “What about our baby?”

    He finally looked at me, his eyes dark with a pain that I knew wasn’t for me, but for himself. For the inconvenience I represented.

    “We’ ll talk at home,” he muttered, his voice low and tight. He began to steer a weeping Harper toward the exit, his team closing ranks around them like a royal guard.

    He was leaving me. He was leaving me here, alone, to face the humiliation.

    I stood frozen as they walked away. The weight of his public declaration settled over me, a suffocating shroud. He hadn’t just admitted to an affair. He had publicly claimed another woman’s child and, in doing so, had erased ours.

    My legs gave out and I stumbled back, catching myself on a table laden with untouched champagne glasses. The room started to spin.

    His company, Sullivan Tech, was on the verge of the biggest IPO in a decade. A scandal, a messy divorce, an illegitimate child-it would have been a disaster. But a tech mogul standing by his pregnant childhood friend? That was a story of loyalty. It was noble.

    It was a lie that sacrificed me and our unborn child on the altar of his ambition.

    As one of his security guards approached to escort me out a side door, away from the prying eyes and flashing cameras, a sickening realization dawned. Gabe hadn’t just made a mistake.

    He had made a choice. And he hadn’t chosen me.

    He had chosen her.

    From Abandoned Wife To Powerful Heiress Chapter 2

    Charlotte Jennings POV:

    The ride back to our penthouse was silent, a thick, suffocating blanket of unspoken words filling the space between myself and Gabe’ s grim-faced driver. I stared out at the glittering lights of New York, but saw nothing. My mind was a chaotic storm of betrayal and disbelief. The home I had designed, the sanctuary I had built for us, now felt like a gilded cage waiting to close in on me.

    When we arrived, Gabe was already there, pacing the length of our living room, the city skyline a dramatic backdrop to his distress. He had shed his jacket and tie, his sleeves rolled up his forearms. He looked like a man preparing for a fight.

    He stopped when I walked in, his eyes searching my face. “Lottie.”

    I said nothing. I walked past him to the floor-to-ceiling windows and stared down at the river, a dark, churning ribbon of black.

    “I know you’ re angry,” he started, his voice soft, persuasive. The voice he used to close billion-dollar deals and charm skeptical investors. “You have every right to be. But you have to understand. The IPO…”

    “Don’ t,” I cut him off, my voice flat. “Don’ t you dare talk to me about the IPO right now.”

    “It’ s everything, Lottie! It’ s everything we’ ve worked for!”

    “We?” I spun around, the fury I’ d been suppressing finally erupting. “We worked for this? I was the one holding you up when you were ready to quit. I was the one who believed in you when your own family called you a failure. And this is how you repay me? By publicly humiliating me and claiming another woman’ s child?”

    “It’ s not like that!” he insisted, taking a step toward me. “Harper is… she’ s fragile. She has no one. Her family threw her out. She came to me for help.”

    “And what am I, Gabe? Am I not fragile? Am I not carrying your child? Or does our baby not matter as much as the child of your childhood sweetheart?”

    The words hung in the air, heavy and poisonous. He flinched as if I’ d slapped him again.

    “Of course our baby matters,” he said, his voice dropping to a desperate whisper. He knelt before me, taking my hands in his. His touch felt alien, wrong. I didn’ t pull away, my body frozen in shock. “Lottie, look at me. I love you. You are my wife. Nothing changes that.”

    I stared down at the top of his head, at the man I loved kneeling at my feet, and felt nothing but a vast, empty coldness.

    “It’ s just for show,” he continued, his words tumbling out in a rush. “A story for the press. Once the IPO is finalized, everything will go back to normal. We’ ll expose the truth, I promise. I’ ll tell the world that you are the one carrying my heir. We will quietly adopt our own child. Legally, it will be clean. No one will ever know.”

    The sheer audacity of his plan stole my breath. He wanted me to hide my own pregnancy. To give birth to our son in secret, only to “adopt” him later, all to protect his public image and his company’ s stock price. He was asking me to accept that our child would be born a dirty secret, while Harper’ s would be celebrated.

    “You’ re insane,” I whispered, pulling my hands from his grasp. “Absolutely insane.”

    “It’ s the only way!” he pleaded, getting to his feet. “My mother is already on board. Your parents, too. They all agree this is the best solution to protect the family and the business.”

    The mention of our families felt like a physical blow. His mother, Eleanor Sullivan, a woman who valued social standing above all else, had always seen me as an accessory to her son’ s success. And my adoptive parents, the Jennings, who had taken me in as a child but never truly loved me, were social climbers of the highest order. Of course they would side with Gabe. The Sullivan fortune was a prize they would do anything to remain attached to.

    “You told them?” I asked, my voice trembling. “You discussed the fate of my child with them before you even spoke to me?”

    “I had to manage the crisis, Lottie!”

    “This isn’ t a crisis, Gabe! This is our life! Our family! Our son!” My voice cracked on the last word. I wrapped my arms around my stomach, a primal instinct to protect the tiny life he was so willing to sacrifice.

    “And I am protecting him!” he yelled, his frustration boiling over. “I am protecting his future! The fortune he is set to inherit!”

    “He doesn’ t need a fortune!” I screamed back, tears streaming down my face. “He needs a father who will acknowledge him! A father who won’ t trade his legitimacy for a stock ticker symbol!”

    He ran a hand through his hair, his composure finally breaking. He looked cornered, desperate. “What do you want from me, Charlotte?”

    He used my full name. He only ever did that when he was trying to distance himself, to turn a personal conflict into a business negotiation.

    “I want a divorce,” I said, the words tasting like acid.

    His face went slack with shock. “No. Absolutely not. A divorce right now is out of the question. It would be a disaster.”

    “I don’ t care about your disaster, Gabe. You’ ve created mine.”

    He strode over to me, grabbing my arms. His grip was tight, bordering on painful. “You are not divorcing me. You are not leaving this apartment. We are going to see this through, as a family. Do you understand?”

    The threat was unmistakable. I was a prisoner in my own home. His home. He had the money, the power, the family support. I had nothing.

    The doorbell rang, a sharp, intrusive sound that made us both jump. Gabe released me and went to the door.

    My heart sank when I saw who it was. Harper. She stood there, looking small and helpless, an overnight bag at her feet. Behind her stood Gabe’ s mother, Eleanor, her face a mask of cold disapproval, and my own adoptive parents, their expressions a mixture of greed and pity.

    The enemy had arrived. And they were moving in.

    Eleanor swept past Gabe without a word to him, her icy gaze landing on me. “Charlotte. We need to talk.”

    My fate, it seemed, was no longer in my hands. It was a business transaction, and I was the liability being managed.

    From Abandoned Wife To Powerful Heiress Chapter 3

    Charlotte Jennings POV:

    “Get her things out of the master bedroom,” Eleanor Sullivan commanded, not looking at me but at one of the household staff who had materialized in the foyer. Her voice was as sharp and cold as shattered glass. “Harper needs rest. The guest wing is too far from the main living area for a woman in her delicate condition.”

    Gabe said nothing. He just stood by the door, his face a grim, unreadable mask, as Harper offered me a small, tremulous smile of pure, venomous victory. My adoptive mother, Carol Jennings, rushed to Harper’ s side, clucking over her like a hen.

    “You poor dear, you must be exhausted. Let’ s get you settled in.”

    My adoptive father, Robert, simply gave me a look of profound disappointment, as if my very presence was a stain on the family’ s reputation.

    I was being usurped in my own home, and my husband, the man who had vowed to protect me, was standing by and letting it happen. The staff, loyal to the man who signed their paychecks, began moving my clothes, my books, my life, out of the room I had shared with Gabe and into a small, sterile guest room at the back of the penthouse.

    The master suite, with its panoramic views of the city and the bed where our child was conceived, was now hers.

    “This is temporary, Charlotte,” Gabe said later, after the jackals had settled their chosen one into her new den. He found me standing in the middle of the cramped guest room, surrounded by boxes of my belongings. “Just until the media attention dies down.”

    “Temporary?” I echoed, my voice hollow. “You’ ve moved another woman into our bed, Gabe. There is nothing temporary about that.”

    “It’ s for appearances!” he hissed, his patience wearing thin. “Harper needs to be seen here. My mother insisted. It solidifies the story.”

    “And what about our story? What about the truth?”

    “The truth doesn’ t matter right now! Only the narrative does!”

    Over the next few days, my life became a waking nightmare. I was a ghost in my own home. Gabe was consumed with work, orchestrating the IPO launch, and when he was home, he was with Harper. I would hear them laughing in the living room, see them sharing meals on the terrace. Eleanor had taken over the household, directing the staff to cater to Harper’ s every whim, from organic prenatal smoothies to specialized pillows.

    My own pregnancy was ignored. A non-entity. When I experienced morning sickness, the cook told me Mrs. Sullivan had instructed her to prepare only the foods on Harper’ s approved diet plan. When I tried to speak to Gabe, he was always in a meeting or on a call. He was avoiding me, hiding behind the wall of his ambition.

    My adoptive parents were no better. They visited daily, not to see me, but to fawn over Harper and strategize with Eleanor about how best to present the “new family” to the press. They saw Harper’ s baby as a golden ticket, a direct heir to the Sullivan empire, and they were hitching their wagon to it with sickening enthusiasm.

    I was completely and utterly alone, a prisoner in a home that no longer felt like mine, carrying a child whose existence was an inconvenience to everyone.

    One afternoon, I found Harper in my studio. My private space. She was running her hands over my architectural models, a faint, condescending smile on her lips.

    “You’ re very talented,” she said, without turning around. “It’ s a shame you’ ll have to give it all up.”

    “I have no intention of giving anything up,” I said, my voice tight.

    She finally turned to face me, her expression one of faux sympathy. “Oh, darling. You still don’ t get it, do you? You’ re the past, Charlotte. I’ m the future. Gabe feels a responsibility to you, of course. But his heart… his heart has always been with me.”

    “Get out of my studio,” I said, my hands clenched into fists at my sides.

    “This isn’t your studio anymore,” she purred, trailing a finger along the edge of my drafting table. “Soon, this will be the nursery. Gabe and I were just discussing it. We think a celestial theme would be lovely, don’ t you?”

    Something inside me snapped. I lunged at her, my vision blurring with red-hot rage. I didn’ t know what I intended to do, only that I couldn’t stand her smug, triumphant face for another second.

    But before I could reach her, a hand clamped down on my arm, yanking me back. It was Gabe. He had come in silently, drawn by our raised voices.

    He pulled me behind him, shielding Harper as if I were the threat. As if I were the monster.

    “Charlotte, what the hell are you doing?” he demanded, his eyes blazing with anger.

    “She’ s trying to hurt the baby!” Harper cried, clutching her stomach and stumbling backward dramatically. “Gabe, I’ m scared!”

    “I didn’ t touch her!” I yelled, struggling against his grip. “She’ s lying!”

    But Gabe wasn’t looking at me anymore. He was looking at Harper, his expression softening with concern. He rushed to her side, helping her to a chair, speaking to her in low, soothing tones.

    He believed her. Without a moment’ s hesitation, he believed her over me.

    That was the moment I understood. This wasn’t just about the IPO. This wasn’t a temporary arrangement. This was a coup. And I had already lost.

    Later that evening, Eleanor Sullivan came to my room. She didn’ t knock. She entered with the air of a prison warden, my adoptive parents trailing behind her like obedient lapdogs.

    “You have become a problem, Charlotte,” Eleanor said, her voice devoid of any emotion. “Your instability is a risk to the company. To my son. To my grandchild.”

    She slid a document onto the small desk. A contract.

    “This is a post-nuptial agreement,” she explained. “It outlines the terms of your future with Gabe. You will remain married until after the IPO. You will make no public statements. You will cede all parental rights of Harper’ s child to Gabe. In exchange, you will be well compensated.”

    And then came the final, devastating blow.

    “Furthermore,” she continued, her eyes as cold as a winter sea, “Harper has informed us that you were unfaithful to my son. She said you confessed to her that your child may not even be Gabe’ s. Given your violent outburst today, we cannot risk the scandal of a contested paternity. It is too messy.”

    My blood ran cold. “That’ s a lie. That’ s a disgusting lie.”

    “It doesn’ t matter,” Eleanor said flatly. “The perception is what matters. Therefore, you will terminate the pregnancy. Immediately.”

    The air left my body. I looked from Eleanor’ s merciless face to my adoptive parents. They wouldn’ t meet my eyes. They were complicit. They were selling me, and my child, for a piece of the Sullivan pie.

    “No,” I whispered, shaking my head in disbelief. “No. I won’ t.”

    Eleanor’ s lips curved into a cruel smile. “I’ m afraid you don’ t have a choice. The appointment is tomorrow morning. You can either walk in there yourself, or my men will carry you.”

  • Accidentally Pregnant With The Billionaire Heir by Bae Writes

    Accidentally Pregnant With The Billionaire Heir by Bae Writes

    One lab error. Two betrayals. And a billionaire who doesn’t believe in accidents.
    Emily Vance thought she was carrying a miracle. After her fiancé, Julian, ended up in a coma following a horrific car crash, she underwent IVF to keep his legacy alive. It was supposed to be her anchor. Instead, a clinical mix-up reveals that the child in her womb isn’t Julian’s at all. It belongs to Alistair Wolfe, a man whose name is synonymous with ruthless power and a heart made of ice.
    The nightmare doesn’t stop at the doctor’s office. When Julian finally wakes up, he doesn’t call for Emily. He calls for her stepsister, Chloe, revealing a secret affair that turns Emily’s years of loyalty into a joke.
    Backed into a corner by a family ready to sell her to a predatory debt collector to save their failing business, Emily is left with a devastating choice. Her doctors warn her that this is her last chance at motherhood. To keep her baby and escape her family’s reach, she has to make a deal with the wolf at the door.
    Alistair Wolfe wants his heir. Emily wants protection.
    No love. No strings. Just a temporary union until the child is born. But as Emily moves into Alistair’s world, she quickly learns that playing the wife of a man like Alistair is a high-stakes game where the heart is the first thing you lose.

    Accidentally Pregnant With The Billionaire Heir Chapter 1 A Clinical Nightmare

    I’m staring at a document that just erased the last thread of my sanity.
    I’ve pinched myself so many times that my skin has turned bright pink. Yet…I haven’t woken up from this nightmare that seems to be my life and reality.
    Dr. Miller sits across from me, his hands folded over a tan folder, looking everywhere but at my face.
    “Can…can you repeat yourself?” I ask the doctor, hoping that I misheard him the first time. Because this can’t be real. This can’t be real.
    “I’m sorry, Miss Emily,” he says. His voice is small, lacking the professional confidence he usually carries. “There was a clerical error in the lab. A mislabeling during the cryopreservation retrieval.”
    “What…what does that mean?”
    He adjusts in his seat. “The embryo we implanted… it wasn’t created with Julian Thorne’s samples. The sperm used belonged to another donor.”
    I wrap my arms around my middle, feeling the slight curve of my belly through the thin fabric of my floral dress. This child is my anchor. Since Julian’s car spun out on that rain-slicked highway a month ago, this pregnancy has been the only thing keeping me from sinking. The doctors said Julian might never wake up from the coma, and his parents begged me to use the samples he’d frozen before we even got engaged. They wanted a piece of him to live on. I wanted it more.
    “No,” I say, shaking my head slowly. My voice is so calm it surprises me. “No, that’s not right. We… we used Julian’s sample. That’s what we agreed on. That’s what I signed for.”
    “Miss Emily-“
    “I went through weeks of treatment,” I snap, and the calm in my voice is gone. “Hormones. Injections. Blood tests. You told me everything was fine. You told me this would work.”
    “It did work,” he says gently. “You are pregnant.” Then his voice reduces. “But the biological father is not Julian Thorne.”
    A tear rolls down my cheek before I can stop it, and I angrily swat it away.
    “That’s not my child,” I say confidently, as if my confidence can erase the truth.
    “It is your child,” he says. “Genetically, you are the mother.”
    I glare at him for a few seconds and then I laugh. It’s a bitter, humorless sound. “It’s not my child with my fiancé. I wanted a baby with the man I love. The man I’m going to marry. I did everything right. I followed every step. I trusted you.”
    “I understand how difficult this is-“
    “No, you don’t!” I yell, banging my shaking hands against the table. “You don’t understand what this means.”
    Because Julian might never wake up. Because this child was supposed to be the only piece of him I’d have left. Because I built my entire future around this one thing.
    “I’m sorry.”
    “You’re sorry?” I scoff. “You didn’t lose my luggage, Doctor. You lost the last living piece of my fiancé. Julian is in a coma. He might never wake up, and you’ve filled me with-with what? Some random guy’s DNA?”
    The irony is a jagged pill in my throat. I spent six weeks pumping myself full of hormones, bruising my thighs with needles.
    “I want it out,” I say calmly. “Terminate the pregnancy. We’ll redo the cycle. I’m not carrying a ‘coding error’ to term.”
    “Miss Emily. The hospital board is prepared to offer you a settlement of one million dollars,” Dr. Carter continues quickly, his face pale. “Along with a full refund and the best prenatal care money can buy, provided you sign a non-disclosure agreement.”
    I stand up so fast my chair screeches against the linoleum. One million dollars. They want to pay me off for a stranger’s child. I look at the framed degrees on his wall, the anatomical charts, the little plastic models of life, and I feel a wave of heat wash over my neck. My skin feels too tight for my body.
    “One million dollars?” I whisper. Another tear slides down my face and that chilling calm returns. I am slipping between calm and rage, and I have no way of controlling it.
    “I… I don’t want your money,” I say. “I want this,” I point to my belly. “Gone.”
    His expression tightens. “I’m afraid that may not be advisable-“
    “I don’t care. Get. Rid. Of. It.”
    “That would be a mistake.”
    The voice is like a low vibration, commanding and cold. I spin around to see a man standing by the doorframe. He is tall, broad-shouldered, and wearing an expensive-looking charcoal suit. His eyes are a piercing, unforgiving grey, and they are fixed directly on me.
    Dr. Carter stands up so fast he nearly trips. “Mr. Wolfe. I didn’t realize you were on the premises.”
    “I tend to move quickly when my assets are mishandled, Doctor,” the man says. He steps into the room, and the space suddenly feels half its size. He doesn’t look at the doctor; he looks at me, scanning me with a clinical, predatory intensity.
    His presence is so intense and intimidating that I almost feel the need to step back. But I don’t. I struggle with every bone in my body to maintain my composure.
    Mr. Intimidating reaches into his pocket and pulls out a thick, matte-black business card onto the desk. Alistair Wolfe. CEO, Wolfe Industries.
    My lips part slightly. This is the man who has effectively automated half the logistics firms in the country. He is the “Ghost of Wall Street.”
    “I am the biological father of the child you’re carrying,” Alistair says. His tone isn’t apologetic; it is a statement of fact. “And I have no intention of letting you terminate. Carry the pregnancy to term. Hand the child over to me the moment it’s born, and I will deposit one hundred million dollars into an account of your choosing.”
    I take a step back until my calves hit the guest chair. I stare at him, my breath hitching. My calm changes to that hot feeling in my chest and I clench my fists. “You’re insane.”
    Dr. Carter’s eyes widen and Mr. Intimidating frowns. “What?”
    “You’re insane,” I repeat. “My fiancé is lying in the hospital in a coma and you think you can pay me to have your baby and not his?”
    “Two hundred mi-“
    “I don’t care about your money!” I snap. “I want my life back. I want my fiancé’s child.”
    Alistair’s expression doesn’t soften. If anything, it turns to stone. “Money buys time, Ms. Vance. And right now, you’re out of it.”
    “What does that mean?”
    He signals to Dr. Carter, who hands me another report from his table. “Your latest screenings came back this morning. Your uterine lining is… it’s significantly thinner than we anticipated. The hormonal stress of this IVF cycle has caused severe scarring.”
    He pauses, looking at Alistair, then back to me. “If you terminate this pregnancy, the damage will be irreversible. The likelihood of a successful second implantation is virtually zero. You would be permanently infertile.”
    My head spins, and I feel like I’m going to pass out. “That…that’s not true. You can give me some kind of injection. You can perform a surgery.”
    “Those aren’t feasible options Miss Emily.”
    The dream of a house with a tire swing, of a little boy with Julian’s messy blonde hair, it all starts to evaporate like mist. If I end this, I end everything. I will never be a mother. Not with Julian’s child. Not with any child.
    “Think about it,” Alistair says, his voice dropping to a silken thread. “You keep the child. You fulfill your biological potential. You get a fortune that ensures you never have to work a day in your life. And then you can have another child with your fiancé. All I ask is for-“
    He pauses when he sees fresh tears gather in my eyes. Something softens in his expression, but it lasts just one second.
    “What’s mine,” he completes.
    The dizziness worsens and now I can’t breathe. It’s too much information. I need to see Julian. I need to touch his hand and tell him I am sorry I’ve failed him.
    As if the universe read my mind, my phone on the table begins to vibrate. I lunge for it the second I see Julian’s mother’s name on the screen.
    “Emily!” she sobs the moment I answer. “Emily, come to the hospital. Now! Julian…he opened his eyes. He’s awake!”
    I don’t say a word to Alistair Wolfe. I don’t even look at him. I run. I sprint through the hospital corridors. My heart is a drum, beating out a single word: Julian. Julian. Julian.
    I reach the Intensive Care unit, my lungs burning. I slow down as I approach Room 402, my hand trembling as I reach for the handle. I want to burst in, to throw my arms around him, to tell him that we will figure out the mess with the baby together.
    But the door is cracked open an inch. And from inside, I don’t hear the beep of monitors or the steady breathing of a recovering patient. I hear a muffled, familiar sob.

    Accidentally Pregnant With The Billionaire Heir Chapter 2 Double Betrayal

    The man I planned to spend my life with is currently stroking my sister’s hair like she’s the one who’s been sleeping in a hospital chair for a month.
    I stand in the shadows of the hospital door, my fingers curled in a fist. Julian looks different propped up against those white pillows. The rugged, athletic fiancé I knew has been replaced by a man who looks brittle. But his eyes are wide and focused on Chloe. She’s leaning in so close that their foreheads touch.
    “I was coming to see you that night,” Julian whispers. “I was in the car because I couldn’t wait another day to tell Emily that the wedding was a mistake. I was rushing to her to call it off, Chloe. The rain…I just didn’t see the truck coming.”
    Chloe lets out a strangled sob, burying her face in the side of his mattress. “You almost died for us,” she wails. “I’ve been so scared, Julian. Having to watch her play the grieving girlfriend when I’m the one who actually loves you.”
    The air in the hallway turns to ice. Every sacrifice I’ve made over the last four weeks comes to my mind. I think of the needles I stuck into my thighs for the IVF. I think of the crushing guilt I felt, believing he’d crashed that car because he was rushing home to me. I think of the child growing inside me, the child that belongs to a cold-eyed stranger named Alistair Wolfe, all because I wanted to give Julian’s parents a piece of their son before he slipped away.
    I push the door open and step into the room. The moment the light hits them, Chloe jerks away. Julian looks toward me, his eyes wide and glassy. He doesn’t hold my gaze for a second before his cheeks flush pink and he looks away at the ceiling.
    Before I can find my voice, a sound comes from behind me. I turn to see Julian’s mother standing there with a cardboard tray of coffees. Her eyes are rimmed with red and she looks like she hasn’t slept in a week.
    “Emily, dear, you’re white as a sheet,” she says. She looks at my stomach with a hopeful, watery smile. “How did the appointment go? Is our little miracle holding on?”
    I look at her, the woman who has treated me like a daughter for three years, then at Julian. The coward is still staring at the ceiling. The truth about Alistair Wolfe’s baby sits like a mouthful of ash in my throat.
    “It didn’t work,” I say. My voice is steady, devoid of grief in a way that surprises me. “The IVF failed. There is no baby.”
    The older woman’s face seems to collapse. She reaches for the back of a plastic chair to steady herself. “Oh, Emily. No. Not after everything. I’m so sorry.”
    I watch Chloe out of the corner of my eye. She’s staring at me, her mouth slightly open in a mock expression of shock. She brings a lace handkerchief to her eyes, dabbing at tears that aren’t there.
    “Oh, Emily, that’s devastating,” Chloe says. She stands up and moves toward me. She looks at the mother with a mournful expression before turning that gaze back to me. Her eyes don’t look sad. If anything, they’re bright. “I know how much you wanted this. We all did.”
    She stops a foot away from me. “But maybe,” Chloe continues, her tone dropping into a whisper, “maybe it’s probably for the best, isn’t it? Everything is so complicated right now with Julian’s recovery. Now you don’t have that burden holding you back. You can focus on yourself for once.”
    The word burden rings in my ears like a bell.
    A strange, freezing calm settles over me. The heat in the room seems to vanish, replaced by a clarity so clear it feels like a veil dropped from my eyes. I think of the hormones I pumped into my body. I think of the way I sat by Julian’s bed, whispering to him about a child I thought would save his family’s spirit.
    The rage I feel is not something I’ve ever felt before. It just sits there, a blinding, white-hot stillness that dictates my next move.
    Before I can even process, my hand goes up with a speed that catches her completely off guard. The sound of my palm hitting her cheek is loud in the small room.
    Chloe’s head snaps to the side and stumbles back, a red handprint blooming across her skin.
    “Emily!” Julian shouts from the bed. He tries to sit up, his face contorting in pain as his monitors begin to beep a frantic, irregular rhythm. “What the hell are you doing?”
    I don’t answer him. I grab Chloe by the collar of her silk blouse, dragging her toward the side of the bed. She’s screeching, her polished nails clawing at my wrists, but I don’t feel a thing. I shove her toward Julian.
    “You want to talk about burdens, Chloe?” I ask. “Let’s talk about the burden of being a liar. Let’s talk about what you two were doing while I was at the clinic trying to save a legacy that didn’t even want to be saved.”
    Julian reaches out, his fingers trembling as he tries to pull my hand away from her collar. “Emily, stop. You’re being hysterical.”
    I look at him then, and the man I thought I loved is gone. In his place is a stranger with a weak chin and a terrified expression. I let go of Chloe’s shirt, but only so I can turn the full force of my attention on him.
    I raise my hand and bring it down on his face. The first slap is for the three years I wasted. The second slap is for the guilt I carried, thinking I was the reason he was hurt. The third slap is for the farce. For the way they let me walk into a hospital and have a stranger’s child implanted in me while they were planning their getaway.
    “We’re done,” I say. “Don’t call me. If I see either of you again, I’ll make sure the rest of the world knows exactly what kind of people you are.”
    I turn and walk out, ignoring the muffled cries and the chaos erupting in the room. I don’t stop until I’m in the empty stairwell three flights down. I lean against the cold concrete wall and finally, the air breaks. I sob until my lungs ache.
    I am alone. I am pregnant with a billionaire’s child. And I have nothing.
    An hour later, I’m sitting in the waiting room of a low-cost women’s clinic on the other side of town. I can’t keep Alistair Wolfe’s child, not when it was conceived under the umbrella of a lie.
    The doctor is a woman in her sixties with tired eyes. She looks at my charts, then back at me. “I have to be honest with you. Your records show a history of severe endometriosis and a very thin lining. This pregnancy is essentially a medical fluke. If we proceed with the termination, the scarring will be permanent. You’ll likely never conceive again.”
    I leave that clinic and go to another. And another. I spend the entire afternoon driving through the city, hearing the same sentence repeated in different accents and different offices. Permanent infertility.
    By the time I pull into the driveway of the Vance estate, the sun is already setting. I head toward the study to find my father, but I stop when I hear voices coming from the cracked door of the sitting room.
    At this point, I should know not to listen to voices from cracked doors.
    “I don’t know about this, Lydia,” my father’s voice says.
    “The firm is underwater,” a voice replies. It’s Lydia, my stepmother. “And this deal with Silas Reed is the only thing that can save us now. He’s been asking about Emily for months. He won’t care about the fact that the engagement fell apart. He’s willing to pay off the primary debt the moment the marriage certificate is signed.”
    “But the rumors about him,” my father says weakly. “The way his last wife ended up… and he’s nearly twenty years older than her.”
    “He’s wealthy, Thomas,” Lydia snaps. “After the news we got from the hospital, we know that Emily needs to be handled. Silas will keep her on a short leash. “
    I lean against the hallway wall, my stomach churning. Silas Reed. He’s a predator who is known for his cruelty. My own family is selling me to a monster to save a failing business.
    My phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out and read the words on the screen with blurry vision. .
    Have you reached a decision, Emily? – Alistair Wolfe.
    I look at the door to the sitting room, where my father and stepmother are negotiating my life like a piece of livestock. Then I look at the text. I have no husband. I have no family. And if I lose this baby, I have no future.
    I hit the call button on the unknown number. It rings once before he picks up.
    “I didn’t expect your call,” the voice says.
    “I’ll do it,” I say. I stand up straight, my hand resting on my stomach. “I’ll carry the child. I’ll give you your heir.”
    There’s a brief silence on the other end. “A wise choice, Emily. I’ll have the papers drawn up for the trust.”
    “No,” I say, my voice hardening. “I don’t want the hundred million. I want something else.”
    “Name it.”
    I take a deep breath. “You have to marry me, Alistair.”

    Accidentally Pregnant With The Billionaire Heir Chapter 3 The Gold Seal

    I’ve just asked a billionaire to marry me to save myself from a predatory debt collector and a family that views me as a line item.
    Silence feels like punishment when you’re talking to a man like Alistair Wolfe. And the phone has been silent for what feels like hours now. I grip the phone so hard that the edge of the case bites into my palm,
    “Just a marriage of convenience,” I say, my voice sounding much firmer than I feel. “I don’t want your money. Once the baby is born, we can file for divorce. The only thing I ask for is visitation rights so I won’t be a ghost in my own child’s life.”
    The silence stretches for another five seconds, long enough for me to count the cracks in the hallway floorboards. I’m about to emphasize that it’s just for convenience but I don’t get the chance.
    “Seven in the morning,” Alistair says. “The City Clerk’s Office. Bring your birth certificate, your passport, and every piece of identification you own. My lead attorney will be there at six forty-five with the paperwork. Don’t be late, Emily.”
    The line clicks dead before I can even breathe a sigh of relief. He didn’t say yes, but the instructions are good enough. I lean my head against the cool wallpaper, closing my eyes. This isn’t the wedding I spent my girlhood dreaming about. There are no peonies, no cathedral veils, and certainly no groom who looks at me like I’m his entire world. Instead, I’m trading my freedom for a shield. It’s a fair trade, I suppose.
    I sleep fitfully, waking every hour to the image of Silas Reed’s oily smile and Chloe kissing my fiancé. When the sun finally starts to bleed through the curtains, I pull myself out of bed, take a short shower, and reach for a simple navy blue wrap dress. It’s professional, modest, and hides the fact that I’ve lost weight over the last few weeks. I brush my hair until it’s a dark, glossy sheet. A little concealer and a swipe of tinted lip balm hide my weary look.
    The City Clerk’s Office smells like lemon floor wax and old coffee. It’s a drab, municipal building with rows of plastic chairs and the constant, dull drone of a printer somewhere in the back. A man in a charcoal suit stands near the information desk, clutching a leather briefcase. The quality of his suit tells me he’s the billionaire’s lawyer.
    “Ms. Vance?” he asks when he sees me. He doesn’t smile. “I’m Markson, Mr. Wolfe’s personal counsel. We have quite a bit to get through before he arrives.”
    He leads me to a small, private table in the corner and begins spreading out sheets of thick, high-bond paper. The prenuptial agreement is so detailed I almost suspect it was prepared weeks before. But that’s not possible because this marriage was my idea. It outlines the duration of the marriage, the post-divorce property arrangements, and the most painful part: full legal and physical custody of the child for Alistair Wolfe. My visitation rights are listed in a series of bullet points.
    I read every word, the ink blurring as tears gather my eyes. I realize I’m signing away the only thing that will be truly mine. But then I remember the alternative. If I stay in that house, my stepmother will drag me to marry a man who breaks women for sport. I reach for the gold-tipped pen Markson offers and sign my name on the bottom of every page.
    “Everything seems to be in order,” Markson says, checking his watch.
    A few minutes later, the glass doors at the entrance swing open, and the atmosphere in the room shifts. It’s as if the temperature has dropped ten degrees. Alistair Wolfe walks in, and almost everyone in the room turns to lok at him. He isn’t wearing a full suit today. He has on a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms and a pair of dark tailored trousers. He looks effortless, rugged, and breathtakingly handsome in a way that makes my throat feel dry.
    He stops in front of our table, his gaze sweeping over me with the same intensity he had yesterday. He doesn’t offer a greeting. He looks at the signed papers, then back at me. For a split second, his eyes drop to my lips, his focus lingering just long enough to make my skin prickle. Then, the coldness returns.
    “Did she sign?” Alistair asks the lawyer.
    “Every page, sir,” Markson confirms.
    “Good. Let’s get this over with.”
    The registration process is a blur of stamps and signatures. Because of Alistair’s influence, we are ushered into a private office where a clerk with a tired expression processes the expedited service. Within fifteen minutes, a piece of paper with a gold seal is slid across the desk toward us.
    Alistair picks up one copy and hands it to me. His fingers brush mine, and I feel a jolt of something that isn’t quite fear but feels just as dangerous. His skin is warm, a sharp contrast to his icy demeanor.
    “You’re now Mrs. Wolfe,” he says. “I have to fly to London immediately. There’s an acquisition that needs my direct attention. I’ll be gone for three days.”
    I stare at the paper. Emily Wolfe. It looks wrong. It looks like a lie written in gold ink.
    “I’ll send a car and a team of movers to your father’s house on Thursday morning at eight,” he continues. “You’ll move into my estate. For the duration of this contract, you live with me. I need to ensure the health of my heir is monitored properly.”
    “I can take care of myself, Alistair,” I say, trying to reclaim some shred of my dignity.
    He steps closer, his shadow falling over me. He smells like sandalwood. “You’re carrying my child, Emily. That makes your safety my business. Don’t make this difficult.”
    He pauses, his gaze softening by a fraction of a millimeter. “Do you need a ride back?”
    I shake my head quickly. The thought of Alistair’s black car pulling up to my father’s driveway is a nightmare. Lydia would have a heart attack, and Thomas would probably try to ask him for a loan before I could even get out of the vehicle. “No. I’ll take a cab. I need to handle things at home first.”
    Alistair nods once, a sharp, decisive movement. “Thursday. Eight o’clock. Don’t make my men wait.”
    He turns and walks out, Markson trailing behind him like a loyal shadow. I stand in the middle of the lobby, clutching my marriage license to my chest. My heart is a steady, heavy thud. I’ve done it. I’ve jumped off the cliff, and now I just have to wait and see if the parachute opens.
    When I walk through the front door of the Vance estate, the scent of Lydia’s expensive lilies almost suffocates me. My father and stepmother are sitting in the foyer, dressed as if they’re going to a funeral. Lydia is wearing a sharp, black suit, her hair pulled back into a bun so tight it looks painful. Thomas is fidgeting with his cufflinks with a small frown on his face.
    “Where have you been?” Lydia snaps, standing up the moment the door clicks shut. “We’ve been calling you for two hours. We have someone expecting us at the St. Regis for lunch. You need to go upstairs and put on that red dress I bought you. And for heaven’s sake, do something about your face. You look exhausted.”
    “Who are we going to meet?” I ask, pretending not to already know.
    “Someone important.”
    My father stands up too, though he won’t quite meet my eyes. “Emily, please. Just cooperate. It’s a simple lunch. This person is a very influential man. He can help us.”
    “Help you,” I correct him. I feel a strange sense of power bubbling up inside me, a cold, clean anger that burns away the last of my fear. “I know it’s Silas Reed we’re going to meet. And you want to see me off because he can help you pay for your bad investments and Lydia’s jewelry. But he can’t help me.”
    “Don’t be dramatic,” Lydia says, walking toward me. “You’re a Vance. You have a responsibility to this family. Now, get upstairs.”
    I don’t move. I reach into my purse and pull out the marriage license. I hold it up, the gold seal catching the light of the chandelier.
    “I’m not a Vance anymore,” I say. “I got married this morning.”
    Lydia stops dead in her tracks. Her mouth opens and closes like a fish gasping for air. My father’s face goes pale, his eyes wide as he stares at the document.
    “What are you talking about?” he stammers. “Married? To who? Julian is still in the hospital, he-“
    “Not to Julian,” I say, stepping closer so they can see the name on the paper. “To Alistair Wolfe. I’m his wife now. Which means I’m his responsibility. So, you can call Silas Reed and tell him the deal is off. I’m moving out on Thursday.”
    The silence that follows is the most satisfying sound I’ve ever heard. I walk past them toward the stairs, my head held high, leaving the ruins of their plans scattered on the floor. I’m going to a house of ice, but at least the walls there would be mine.
    For a while.

  • Flash Marriage To My Best Friend’s Father by Madel Cerda

    Flash Marriage To My Best Friend's Father by Madel Cerda

    I was once the heiress to the Solomon empire, but after it crumbled, I became the “charity case” ward of the wealthy Hyde family. For years, I lived in their shadows, clinging to the promise that Anson Hyde would always be my protector.

    That promise shattered when Anson walked into the ballroom with Claudine Chapman on his arm. Claudine was the girl who had spent years making my life a living hell, and now Anson was announcing their engagement to the world.

    The humiliation was instant. Guests sneered at my cheap dress, and a waiter intentionally sloshed champagne over me, knowing I was a nobody. Anson didn’t even look my way; he was too busy whispering possessively to his new fiancée. I was a ghost in my own home, watching my protector celebrate with my tormentor.

    The betrayal burned. I realized I wasn’t a ward; I was a pawn Anson had kept on a shelf until he found a better trade. I had no money, no allies, and a legal trust fund that Anson controlled with a flick of his wrist.

    Fleeing to the library, I stumbled into Dallas Koch-a titan of industry and my best friend’s father. He was a wall of cold, absolute power that even the Hydes feared.

    “Marry me,” I blurted out, desperate to find a shield Anson couldn’t climb.

    Dallas didn’t laugh. He pulled out a marriage agreement and a heavy fountain pen.

    “Sign,” he commanded, his voice a low rumble. “But if you walk out that door with me, you never go back.”

    I signed my name, trading my life for the only man dangerous enough to keep me safe.

    Flash Marriage To My Best Friend’s Father Chapter 1

    The crystal flute in Eliza Solomon’s hand was going to shatter.

    She could feel the hairline fractures in the glass pressing against her palm, a perfect mirror of the way her chest felt—tight, brittle, and one breath away from exploding.

    “He looks happy, doesn’t he?”

    The voice came from her left. A socialite in emerald silk, someone Eliza used to know before the Solomon empire crumbled, before she became the pitiful ward of the Hyde family. They weren’t just her guardians; they were the iron-fisted trustees of the Solomon estate, a vast fortune she couldn’t touch until she turned twenty-five, or married. Anson, as the primary trustee, controlled every dollar.

    Eliza didn’t answer. She couldn’t. Her throat had closed up somewhere between the appetizer course and the moment Anson Hyde walked into the ballroom with Claudine Chapman on his arm.

    Anson looked more than happy. He looked victorious.

    He stood in the center of the room, under the massive chandelier that cost more than Eliza’s entire college tuition. His hand rested on the small of Claudine’s back, his fingers splayed possessively against the white fabric of her dress. He leaned down, whispering something into her ear that made Claudine throw her head back and laugh.

    The sound was sharp. It cut through the heavy orchestral music and lodged itself directly behind Eliza’s ribs.

    It was the same laugh Claudine used when she made fun of Eliza’s second-hand shoes.

    “Excuse me,” a waiter muttered, bumping into Eliza’s shoulder with a heavy tray.

    Champagne sloshed over the rim of her glass, soaking into the bodice of her grey dress. It was cold and sticky.

    The waiter didn’t apologize. He glanced at her, recognized her as the charity case, and curled his lip in a sneer before moving on to serve the guests who actually mattered.

    Eliza’s stomach cramped. The humiliation was a physical weight, pressing down on her shoulders until her knees felt weak. She needed air. She needed to not be here, watching the boy who held the keys to her gilded cage announce his engagement to the girl who had made that cage a living hell. The promise to “protect her” had always been a lie. It was a promise to possess her.

    She turned and walked toward the library, keeping her head down.

    The library was dark, smelling of old paper and lemon polish. It was the only room in the Hyde estate where Eliza had ever felt safe. She closed the heavy oak door behind her and leaned her forehead against the wood, gasping for air. Her lungs burned.

    The door handle turned under her grip.

    Eliza jumped back, wiping frantically at her eyes. She expected Anson. She expected him to come in here and tell her to stop making a scene, to smile for the cameras, to be grateful for the roof over her head.

    But the figure that filled the doorway wasn’t Anson.

    It was a wall of a man in a black tuxedo that seemed to absorb the dim light of the room. He was taller than Anson, broader, with a stillness about him that made the air in the library drop ten degrees.

    Dallas Koch.

    Eliza’s breath hitched. Why was he here? The CEO of Koch Industries, the most powerful man in the city, didn’t hide in libraries. He didn’t even look at people like Eliza.

    He stood there, his hand still on the brass knob, his dark eyes scanning her face. He took in the champagne stain on her dress, the red blotches on her cheeks, the way her hands were shaking so hard the crystal flute was rattling.

    For a second, the stoic mask he wore—the one that made him look like a statue carved from granite—cracked. A muscle in his jaw ticked.

    He stepped inside and closed the door, sealing out the noise of the party.

    He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. It was white silk, folded into a perfect square. He held it out to her without a word.

    Eliza stared at it. “I… I’m fine.”

    “You are not fine,” Dallas said. His voice was a low rumble, vibrating in the quiet room. “Take it.”

    Eliza reached out. Her fingers brushed against his palm as she took the silk. A jolt of static electricity snapped between them, sharp and surprising. She flinched, but he didn’t move.

    The handkerchief smelled of sandalwood and something clean, like rain on pavement. It smelled expensive. It smelled like stability.

    From the hallway, Anson’s voice drifted through the thick wood of the door. He was making a toast.

    “…to my beautiful fiancée, Claudine…”

    The words were like a physical blow to the back of Eliza’s knees. Her legs gave out.

    She didn’t hit the floor.

    Dallas moved with a speed that shouldn’t have been possible for a man of his size. One moment he was standing three feet away, and the next, his arm was around her waist, catching her.

    His grip was firm. Solid. He held her up effortlessly, his arm like a steel bar against her spine.

    Eliza looked up. Her vision was swimming with tears, blurring his features, but she could see the intensity in his eyes. He wasn’t looking at her with pity. He was looking at her with a terrifying kind of focus.

    “Take me away,” she whispered.

    The words fell out of her mouth before she could stop them. It was a desperate plea, born of heartbreak and the sudden, overwhelming instinct that this man was the only thing in the room that wasn’t trying to crush her.

    Dallas went still. His eyes darkened, shifting from brown to something nearly black. He looked down at her, assessing the weight of her request, calculating the cost.

    “There is no turning back if we leave, Eliza,” he warned. His voice was low, rough around the edges. “If you walk out that door with me, you do not come back to this house.”

    Eliza nodded frantically. The tears were spilling over now, hot tracks on her cold skin. “Please. Just get me out.”

    Dallas didn’t hesitate. He shifted his grip, guiding her toward the servants’ exit hidden behind a tapestry. He moved his body to shield her from the security cameras, blocking her from view with his broad shoulders.

    The night air outside was biting. A sleek, matte black Maybach was idling at the curb, looking like a predator waiting in the shadows.

    Dallas opened the heavy door and helped her in. The interior smelled of leather and isolation. He slammed the door shut, and the silence was absolute. The music, the laughter, Anson’s voice—it was all gone.

    Eliza slumped against the seat. There was a crystal decanter in the center console. She didn’t think. She just poured amber liquid into a glass and drank it in one gulp.

    It burned. It burned all the way down to her empty stomach, setting her blood on fire.

    Dallas got into the driver’s seat. He didn’t look at her. He gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white.

    “Where are we going?” she asked, her voice slurring slightly as the alcohol hit her system with the force of a truck.

    “My place,” Dallas said.

    The car moved. The city lights blurred into streaks of neon. Eliza felt dizzy, unmoored. The alcohol was mixing with the adrenaline and the grief, creating a toxic cocktail in her brain.

    She looked at Dallas’s profile. He was Azalea’s dad. He was old money. He was power.

    “I need a shield,” she mumbled, the words tumbling out. “I need a wall he can’t climb.”

    Dallas glanced at her in the rearview mirror. His expression was unreadable.

    They arrived at a building that pierced the skyline. The elevator ride was a blur of motion sickness. When the doors opened into the penthouse, Eliza stumbled.

    Dallas was there again, steadying her. His hands on her arms felt hot through the thin fabric of her dress.

    She looked up at him. In the harsh lighting of the foyer, he didn’t look like a savior. He looked dangerous.

    “Marry me,” she blurted out.

    The silence that followed was deafening.

    It was the alcohol talking, yes, but it was also a desperate, calculated gambit. Marrying Anson was a life sentence. But marrying anyone else… that was the loophole in her father’s will. It was her only escape clause. It was the survival instinct of a wounded animal trying to find the one predator in the forest who could kill the wolf at her throat.

    Dallas froze. The air in the penthouse turned electric, charged with a tension that made the hair on Eliza’s arms stand up.

    He didn’t laugh. He didn’t tell her she was drunk.

    He walked to a wall safe hidden behind a painting. He punched in a code, the beeps loud in the quiet room. He pulled out a document and a heavy fountain pen.

    He walked back to her and placed the paper on the marble console table.

    “Sign,” he commanded. His voice was soft, but it carried the weight of a gavel striking a sounding block.

    Eliza blinked, trying to focus on the paper. The words swam. She saw “Marriage” and “Agreement.”

    She didn’t care about the details. She just wanted Anson to know she was gone. She wanted to burn the bridge so thoroughly she could never cross it again.

    She grabbed the pen. Her signature was messy, a jagged scrawl across the bottom line.

    “Done,” she whispered.

    The pen slipped from her fingers and clattered onto the marble. The room tilted sideways.

    The last thing she felt was Dallas catching her again, lifting her into his arms as the blackness swallowed her whole.

    Flash Marriage To My Best Friend’s Father Chapter 2

    The light was aggressive.

    It sliced through the floor-to-ceiling windows, hitting Eliza squarely in the face. She groaned, rolling over and reaching blindly for the glass of water that usually sat on her nightstand.

    Her hand hit nothing but air.

    She cracked one eye open. The ceiling was too high. The crown molding was too intricate. And the sheets… these weren’t her scratchy, polyester sheets. This was cotton so smooth it felt like water against her skin.

    Memory slammed into her like a physical blow.

    The party. The champagne. Dallas.

    Eliza sat up so fast her head spun. The room tilted, her brain throbbing against her skull in a rhythmic, painful beat. She looked down.

    She was wearing an oversized men’s silk pajama top that swallowed her frame. The fabric was impossibly soft against her skin, and it smelled faintly of sandalwood—his scent.

    Panic, cold and sharp, flooded her chest. She grabbed the massive duvet and pulled it up to her chin, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. Her own dress, the cheap grey one, was nowhere to be seen.

    She scanned the room. It was minimalist, masculine, and expensive. Dark wood, grey accents, no clutter.

    On the bedside table, a stack of clothes was folded with military precision.

    Sitting on top of the clothes was a piece of heavy cardstock and a black credit card.

    Eliza reached out with a trembling hand. The card was heavy—metal, not plastic. A Centurion card. It was a blank, supplementary card, bearing only the platinum insignia of the bank.

    She dropped it like it was hot coal.

    She picked up the note. The handwriting was sharp, angular.

    Hydrate. The code is your birthday. —D.

    Flashbacks assaulted her. The car ride. The demand for a shield. The paper on the marble table.

    Sign.

    She gasped, pressing her hands to her mouth. She had proposed to her best friend’s father. And he had said yes.

    She grabbed her phone from the nightstand. The screen lit up with a barrage of notifications.

    52 missed calls from Anson Hyde.

    30 texts from Anson Hyde.

    12 voicemails.

    Then, a single text from a number she didn’t have saved, but recognized instantly.

    Lawyers are filing. You are safe. Go to school.

    Dallas.

    Eliza stared at her left hand. There was a ring there. It was a simple platinum band, elegant and understated, but it felt heavier than a shackle.

    She scrambled out of bed, her legs wobbly. She grabbed the clothes. A soft cashmere sweater, dark jeans, fresh underwear. She pulled them on. They fit.

    They fit perfectly.

    She paused, the sweater halfway over her head. How? How did he have clothes in her exact size ready? The thought sent a shiver down her spine, but she pushed it away. She couldn’t deal with that right now.

    She needed to leave.

    She grabbed her bag and the black card—shoving it deep into her pocket—and fled the room.

    The penthouse was silent. A housekeeper was dusting in the hallway, a stout woman with grey hair.

    “Good morning, Mrs.—”

    Eliza didn’t let her finish. She bolted for the elevator, jabbing the button, half-expecting it not to work. To her surprise, a green light blinked and the doors slid shut. He had already given her access.

    Her phone buzzed in her hand. It was Azalea.

    Library. Now. Emergency.

    Eliza’s stomach dropped. Did she know?

    She hailed a cab outside the building, her hands shaking so bad she could barely open the door. The ride to the university took twenty minutes, but it felt like twenty seconds.

    She ran through the campus quad, ignoring the stares of students who probably saw the photos of her fleeing the party last night.

    She found Azalea pacing behind the reference section in the library. Azalea looked manic, her blonde hair messy, phone clutched in her hand.

    “Eliza!” Azalea grabbed her arm and dragged her further into the stacks. “My dad just transferred a crazy amount of money to my account.”

    Eliza froze. “What?”

    “Like, ‘buy a small island’ money,” Azalea whispered, eyes wide. “He said to take you shopping. Why is he spoiling you?”

    Azalea looked suspicious. Her eyes narrowed, scanning Eliza’s face.

    Eliza’s mouth went dry. “I… I helped him with a project. Some translation work.”

    It was a weak lie. Eliza was an art history major, not a translator. Azalea nodded slowly, though a flicker of doubt crossed her mind. Translation work? For her father, who had an entire in-house team of linguists? It felt thin, but Eliza looked so fragile, Azalea decided not to press. For now.

    “Whatever. We have orders. Come outside.”

    Azalea marched her out of the library toward the student parking lot.

    “He said your car is a death trap,” Azalea said over her shoulder. “Which, to be fair, it is. The brakes sound like dying cats. So I took the liberty of having it towed to a junkyard this morning. You’re welcome.”

    They reached the lot. A flatbed truck was idling there, its empty bed a testament to Azalea’s efficiency. Parked in her old spot was a silver Aston Martin. It gleamed under the sun, looking alien among the dented Civics and Toyotas.

    The driver hopped out and walked over to Azalea. He handed her a key fob.

    Azalea tossed it to Eliza.

    “He said this is the replacement.”

    Eliza caught the keys. The fob was heavy, leather and chrome. She looked at the car. It was worth more than the house she grew up in.

    “I can’t take this,” Eliza whispered.

    “You have to,” Azalea said, crossing her arms. “You know how he is. If you send it back, he’ll just send two.”

    Students were stopping. Phones were coming out. Whispers rippled through the air.

    “Is that Eliza Solomon? Who bought her that?”

    Eliza’s phone buzzed again. Anson.

    She declined the call, her thumb hitting the red button with aggressive force.

    She walked to the car and pressed the unlock button. The mirrors unfolded. The lights flashed.

    “Get in, Mrs. Koch,” Azalea joked, nudging her ribs.

    Eliza flinched. The title hit too close to home.

    She slid into the driver’s seat. The smell of new leather enveloped her. It smelled just like the Maybach. It smelled like Dallas.

    She gripped the steering wheel, her knuckles white. She had signed a contract with the devil, and now she was driving his chariot.

    Flash Marriage To My Best Friend’s Father Chapter 3

    The coffee shop on campus was loud, a chaotic mix of espresso machines hissing and students complaining about midterms.

    Eliza sat in the corner booth, clutching a latte like a lifeline. The caffeine was making her hands shake worse, but she needed it to combat the fog in her brain.

    Azalea was sitting opposite her, scrolling through Instagram with a grimace.

    “Everybody is talking about how you vanished,” Azalea said, not looking up. “Claudine is posting passive-aggressive quotes about ‘loyalty’ and ‘trash taking itself out.’”

    Eliza flinched. A drop of foam spilled onto her thumb. “Let her talk.”

    “Oh, I am,” Azalea said darkly. “I’m commenting with vomit emojis on every single post.”

    Eliza reached for a napkin to wipe her hand. As she moved, the cashmere scarf she was wearing slipped slightly to the side.

    Azalea gasped.

    The sound was so loud that two people at the next table turned around. Azalea dropped her phone onto the table with a clatter.

    “Eliza! What is that on your neck?”

    Eliza’s hand flew to her throat. She felt the tender spot just below her ear. A dark, purplish bruise against her pale skin.

    She had seen it in the mirror this morning and had been trying not to think about it. The memory of the night was hazy, obscured by alcohol. She remembered stumbling. She remembered Dallas catching her. Had he held her too tightly? Or was it… something else? She couldn’t be sure, and the uncertainty was terrifying.

    “It’s nothing,” Eliza stammered, pulling the scarf tighter. “The car door hit me on the way out this morning.”

    “Bullshit,” Azalea hissed, leaning over the table. Her eyes were wide, predatory. “That’s not a door, that’s a hickey. A world-class, possessive, ‘stay away from her’ hickey. Who is he?”

    Eliza’s heart hammered against her ribs. She couldn’t say Your Dad. She absolutely could not say that.

    “It’s… complicated,” Eliza said, looking down at her cup. “An older guy.”

    Azalea’s eyebrows shot up. “Older? Like… Anson’s age?”

    “Older,” Eliza whispered.

    Azalea opened her mouth to scream, but her phone cut her off. It began to ring, vibrating violently against the wooden table.

    The Caller ID flashed: The Bank.

    That was her contact name for Dallas.

    Azalea answered immediately, her posture straightening instinctively. “Yes, Daddy?”

    Eliza held her breath. She could hear the deep rumble of Dallas’s voice on the other end, though she couldn’t make out the words. The sound alone made the hair on her arms stand up.

    Azalea frowned. “Right now? But we have class in an hour.”

    She listened for another few seconds, then sighed. “Okay. Fine. We’re coming.”

    She hung up and looked at Eliza, confused.

    “He wants us at the flagship store downtown.”

    Eliza’s stomach dropped. “Both of us?”

    “Yeah. He says you need ‘appropriate attire’ for a dinner tonight.”

    “Dinner?” Eliza squeaked.

    “Apparently.” Azalea gathered her bag. “Come on. You don’t keep The Bank waiting.”

    They walked back to the parking lot. The silver Aston Martin was gleaming in the sun, drawing stares from a group of fraternity guys.

    Eliza unlocked the car. She slid into the driver’s seat, the leather molding to her body. She pushed the start button, and the engine roared to life, a guttural growl that vibrated through the floorboards.

    “You’ll get used to the high life, eventually,” Azalea laughed, buckling her seatbelt.

    Eliza pulled out of the lot, merging onto the main road toward the city. The skyline loomed ahead, glass towers reflecting the afternoon sun.

    She glanced at her reflection in the rearview mirror. She adjusted the scarf again, ensuring the mark was covered.

    Whether it was a bruise or… something else, Dallas had left a mark on her. And he had done it in a place that was hard to hide.

    It felt like a brand.

    Suddenly, the dashboard screen lit up. Eliza had paired her phone to the car’s Bluetooth earlier.

    A text message notification popped up on the center console, huge and undeniable.

    Sender: Anson Hyde

    Message: Stop playing games. Come home. You belong here.

    Azalea saw it. She let out a low whistle.

    “He’s obsessed,” Azalea said, shaking her head. “It’s actually creepy. Good thing you have a new ‘older man’ to distract you.”

    Eliza gripped the steering wheel tighter. “Yeah. Good thing.”

    She drove faster, putting distance between herself and the university, between herself and Anson. But she was driving straight toward the man who had put a ring on her finger and a mark on her neck.

    And she had no idea what his game was.