9529 Book(s) Related to after i chose the ceo s brother he regretted it

Jade was Lucian's secretary by day and his mistress by night.
It wasn't until she became his woman that Jade discovered just how ruthless and promiscuous Lucian could be. When she realized she might be pregnant, the man simply laughed and tossed the pregnancy test into the trash.
"Trying to trap me with a baby? Keep taking your pills."
On the eve of Lucian's engagement, Jade resigned from her job and ended their relationship.
But Lucian assumed she was merely throwing a tantrum. He waited for her to apologize and come crawling back to him, just as she always had before.
Days passed.
Instead of Jade, Lucian got the news that she had a new boyfriend.
His twin brother.
The man who shared his face and happened to be his sworn rival.
Overnight, Jade became his sister-in-law.
Lucian completely lost control. He searched desperately for Jade, determined to bring her back.
But Jade, who was pregnant, had vanished without a trace.

I thought I was the happiest woman in the world... until I clicked on that video.

The moment the screen lit up, my entire world came crashing down.

The woman on the bed was Calista - that girl who grew up with us since we were kids. And that hand caressing her skin was wearing the wedding ring I had personally put on Matteo's finger.

"I've missed you so much..."
"You drive me crazy, baby..."

Those sweet words I knew so well completely destroyed me.

Everyone said we were the perfect couple, but who knew this marriage was built on nothing but lies?

Since he's so good at acting, I guess it's time I gave him a show of my own. I'm going to make sure everyone sees what this "perfect husband" really is...

Since I was ten, he told me to call him brother. But brothers don't look at you like that.
My life had only Daniel Wilson in it. He was my guardian, my savior, my world.
"Call me brother," he said, but he forbade me from dating anyone else. He kept me in his manor like a bird in a gilded cage. He promised that when I turned twenty-one, the title of "sister" would change to "wife."
I waited. I obeyed. I loved him with a devotion that bordered on obsession.
But on my twenty-first birthday, he brought her home.
"Julie, meet Lena. She's... special to me."
He introduced his childhood crush to me, his "sister," while holding her hand. The way he looked at her was soft, gentle—the way he used to look at me before she arrived.
"You're just a foster sister," he reminded me coldly when I cried. "Don't cross the line."
The line? He blurred the lines for twelve years! He made me dependent on him, made me believe we were destined, only to discard me when the "real" owner of his heart returned.
Fine. If I'm just a sister, then I'll leave.
But why is he chasing me now, begging me to come back, saying he can't sleep without me in the house?
"I'm not your sister anymore, Daniel. And I'm certainly not your wife."

I was dead, and the whole world was celebrating for my sister.

For twenty-two years, I had been the hardest-working but most invisible daughter in the Sterling family, forever living in the shadow of my gymnastics prodigy sister.

Running a high fever, I begged my family to take me to the hospital, only to hear: "Don't you DARE ruin Bella's award ceremony!"

When I was tricked into the abandoned equipment room and used my last breath to call my boyfriend while lying in a pool of blood, all I heard was: "Grace, quit the drama! Bella's accepting her award on stage!"

On stage, thunderous applause erupted as Bella lifted the "Young Gymnast of the Year" trophy.

And I drew my final breath.

When they returned home triumphant, thinking I had run away in a tantrum, they had no idea I was already dead right under their noses.

After dreaming of making love with Anthony for the 99th time, I finally decided to confess my feelings to him.
But just as I reached the bodyguards' private lounge, I saw him under the moonlight, reverently kissing a photo of my sister Seraphina.
After he released his desires, a werewolf quietly appeared:
"Alpha Anthony, if Thea knew your true identity as the king of the Thunder Tribe, she’d probably be shocked."
Anthony smirked disdainfully:
"What does it matter? I came here only to get close to Seraphina. As for the others, I don’t care whether they live or die."
His words sent me fleeing in despair. My heart felt as if it were being crushed by a massive wolf’s claw, the pain so intense that tears streamed down my face.
So it was all just my own wishful thinking.
Resigned, I walked into my father’s room and said:
"Father, I am willing to enter a political marriage with Alpha Caleb."
On the Moon Goddess Festival three days later, I would marry the brutal Alpha Caleb.
And as for Anthony—I would personally deliver him to Seraphina.

What if everything you sacrificed for your family made you worthless in their eyes?

For years, I buried my brilliance as a polyglot and musician, becoming the invisible wife and mother. My husband cherished his childhood sweetheart, and my daughter called another woman “mom.” My love was met with contempt.

The day I nearly died from a broken heart—and a bleeding ulcer—while they dined happily without me, was the day I finally woke up. I walked away from the marriage, the mansion, and the child who rejected me.

Now, under the spotlight of the international stage, I am reborn. My skills command respect, and a powerful, enigmatic man sees my true worth. Let my former family watch from the sidelines as I shine. Their regret is my fuel, but my heart has moved on—there will be no second chances.

"Damien... Damien is cheating on me with Selene." Relief washed over me when I saw my parents coming.
Yet neither of my parents looked surprised. My relief disappeared. "You... you all knew?"
"Aurelia..." My mother started.
"Enough!" Damien snapped. "I don't want you anymore, okay?"
Selene purred, stepping up beside him and wrapping her arm intimately around his waist.
"This is unjust. We are betrothed by pack decree. I am going to expose you both to the entire pack!"
"There will be no need for all of that," my father cut me off.
I froze. "Dad?"
"Damien has made his choice. He is the future Alpha of the Crimson Fang Pack, Aurelia. He has the ultimate right to decide who stands beside him as Luna."
I stood alone in the center of the room, surrounded by my family and the man who was supposed to become my mate.
Turning on my heel, I bolted down the hallway toward my bedroom while my parents ran after me.
"Aurelia, wait. Sweetheart, please, just stop for a moment," my mother said.
"We didn't want to hurt you," my father said. "But I have to think about this family's future. Whichever daughter Damien marries, our family benefits."
I looked at them until my mother offered a hopeful smile.
"Besides, this might actually be a blessing in disguise for you, Aurelia. You're getting old, and without a wolf, your options are limited."
My eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"
"We actually have a wonderful suitor in mind for you. He's a respectable man. It would be best if we announced your engagement immediately," my father chimed in seamlessly.
They didn't care about my feelings, nor were they trying to comfort me. They were terrified of the scandal.
If Damien broke off his engagement with me to marry my younger sister, the pack elders would view it as a dishonorable scandal.
"No way. I am not marrying anyone to save face for Damien and Selene. I'm leaving."
"You can't refuse, Aurelia," I heard my father say.
"The contract has already been signed."
I thought catching my mate in bed with my sister was the worst thing that could happen to me.
Apparently, I had underestimated how creative my family could be.

They say we only live once. Elena Hart got a second chance, and this time she is not wasting it on love that never loved her back.

For seventeen years, Elena loved her best friend, Damien Cole. When their families arranged their marriage, she thought her dream had come true. But Damien never loved her. His heart belonged to her twin sister, Elise.

Elena married him anyway. He grew colder every day. When Elise was murdered, he blamed Elena for everything. One drunken night, a car crash took them both. With his last breath, Damien begged her: "If we meet again in another life, don't come between me and her. Marry someone else."

Then Elena opened her eyes.

She was twenty-three again, in her old bedroom, three days before the marriage was to be signed. Elise was alive. Damien was alive. And the same cruel plan was already moving.

This time, Elena will not beg. She will not chase. She will not cry where he can see.

Instead, she makes a shocking choice: she will marry Damien's cold older brother, Adrian Cole, the most feared man in the business world. He does not trust her. He does not smile. But he sees something in her that no one ever did.

Elena has a bigger secret than her rebirth. She knows who kills Elise, and when. To stop it, she must stand beside the one man the killer wants to destroy.

But the future is changing. Elise is hiding her own plans. Damien keeps dreaming of a grave and a crying woman he cannot name. And the man Elena chose for revenge may become the only one who truly sees her.

Some regrets die with you.
Hers came back to live.

I thought Ethan, my boyfriend, was the only one who’d protect me. Until I overheard it all: to stand up for a junior girl, he’d drugged me in secret, conspired with thirty-two people from our lab to assault me, and filmed everything, bent on destroying me for good.
The cruel irony? Every time I woke up, he’d soothe me softly, feigning concern over how worn out I was.
When the photos and recordings leaked to the campus forum, I was dragged through the mud by everyone, cast out by my roommate. I fell pregnant unexpectedly, only to lose my baby. And Ethan always sided with the junior, calling me warped and dirty.
It finally hit me: three years of tender love had never been anything but an elaborate trap.
I reached out to my overseas supervisor and fled campus, broken and scarred. It was only after I vanished completely that Ethan realized the girl he’d trampled without mercy was now forever out of his reach.

In my past life, I threw myself in front of the black panther alpha when his rut drove him into a frenzy—only to have him toss me into a pack of beasts and watch me get torn to pieces.
After being reborn, the first thing I did was rip off the royal crest pinned to my chest and swallow a suppressant, cutting off his control over me for good.
Everyone waited for me to come crawling back and beg for peace.
Instead, I turned and walked straight into the frozen Northlands, where the death rate was eighty percent.
There, through a severed arm, a ruined face, and the thin line between life and death, I awakened as the Platinum Lion King.
He dropped to his knees in the snow, crying and begging for forgiveness.
I only had one question for him: "What makes you think you're anything to me?"

Ryan Aldridge had one rule: he showed up for whoever needed him most.

The problem was, it was never me.

Throat swelling shut in the ER? He was unclogging Sloane Harrington's drain. Anniversary dinner? He left between courses because Sloane was "spiraling."

I forgave it every time. I was the cool girl. The understanding fiancée.

Then my studio caught fire, and a beam came down on my chest.

I lay there—bleeding, pinned, choking on smoke—and watched Ryan vault over me to carry out a woman with a sprained ankle.

"Jocelyn, come on. You can handle this. Look at her—she's shaking."

Something in me went still. Not broken. Finished.

I twisted off the ring with blood-slick fingers and let it disappear into the ash.

Then I disappeared too.

I gave him three years of silent devotion behind a mask I never wanted to wear. I made a wager for our bond—he paid me off like a mistress.
"Chloe's back," Zane said coldly. "It's over."
I laughed, poured wine on his face, and walked away from the only love I'd ever known.
"What now?" my best friend asked.
I smiled. "The real me returns."
But fate wasn't finished yet.
That same night, Caesar Conrad—the Alpha every wolf feared—opened his car door and whispered, "Get in."
Our gazes collided. The bond awakened. No games. No pretending. Just raw, unstoppable power.
"Don't regret this," he warned, lips brushing mine.
But I didn't.
Because the mate I'd been chasing never saw me.
And the one who did?
He's ready to burn the world for me.

In my past life, I loved the wrong man, chose the wrong path, and died trapped in an underground prison.

Reborn and given a second chance, facing the choice between the Blackwood brothers, everyone expected me to fall into Kellan's arms again—that once "perfect lover," that demon who tortured me to death.

But this time, I chose his older brother, Kai.

I chose the eldest son rumored to be cold and ruthless, the dangerous man who handled "gray business" overseas, the only person who bled for me in my previous life.

When I took Kai's hand in front of everyone, Kellan lost his mind, and so did my twin sister Aria.

"You love me!" Kellan screamed hysterically. "How could you choose that cold-blooded bastard?"

I smiled calmly: "Because this time, I'm choosing someone who truly loves me."

The pain of my past life won't repeat itself. The revenge of this life has only just begun.

My daughter was running a fever. When I carried her downstairs, my sister-in-law was already waiting beside my husband Ethan Cole's car with her son in her arms.

Ethan hesitated. “Do you want me to take you?”

Before I could answer, Claire cut in.

“Ethan, it's Zack's preschool open house today. We're going to be late.”

“Besides…didn't we agree you weren't going to help her financially for a few months?”

Ethan looked at my daughter and me as if he wanted to say something. Then he drove away.

Just as my rideshare arrived, a notification from work appeared on my phone.

“You've successfully completed your probationary period. Your permanent position takes effect next month.”

I let out a breath.

It had been five months since Ethan cut off my card.

At last, I could start making the divorce happen.

For three years, I genuinely believed I was the luckiest woman in the world.

Until I hit play on that video.

The moment the screen lit up, my perfect reality shattered into a million jagged pieces.

The woman writhing on the bed was Amanda—the sweet, innocent girl we had both grown up with.

And the hand tracing the curve of her bare skin? It wore the platinum wedding band I had personally slipped onto Louis’s finger.

"I missed you so much..."

"You drive me fucking crazy, baby..."

Hearing my own husband's signature sweet nothings whispered to my childhood best friend gutted me completely.

Our entire social circle constantly praised us as the golden couple. But beneath the glossy surface, who could have guessed this flawless marriage was built on a mountain of sick lies?

Well, if Louis was such a brilliant actor, I figured it was time to give him a show of my own.

I was going to rip off his mask and show the entire world exactly what kind of monster my "perfect husband" truly was.

I gave up MIT for them in my last life.
They paid me back by stealing my lab notes, framing me for misconduct, and choosing her over me when I drowned.
I watched them choose her over me a hundred times
Now I’m 17 again. I block all three and fly to MIT.
They think I’m throwing a tantrum.
Wait till they find out who saved them out of that cave—

Alice was a plain girl. Everything about her was ordinary; plain dresses, plain hair, plain face. When she applied to an assistant position for the most famous company in the city, the Alonzo Company, she wasn't aware that her life was about to change for good.

The two heirs of the Alonzo family, Matt and Damion were brothers and the most vicious rivals from the childhood. They were known with their keen eyes to see a prize, even if it was buries six feet under the ground. They could recognize it and dig it out. When Matt seen Alice, it was no different for him. He was willing to scrape the shell of her and make her his. And he was willing to do it before his brother comes in to the picture. If he recognizes the same thing Matt seen in Alice, a competition was inevitable.

And Matt was more than ready to face Damion if necessary.

@Not one, but more

Ryan loves me deeply—at least that's what everyone says. Seven years together, we look like the perfect couple to outsiders. But only I know he's betrayed me three times.

The first time was three years ago. His brother died saving him, leaving behind his widow Sophia—Ryan's unforgettable first love. He married her behind my back. When I found out, I completely fell apart. I have dignity. I refuse to be the other woman. I wanted to leave, but he begged on his knees. "This is just to take care of my sister-in-law. Once I find the truth about my brother's death, I'll divorce her. Then we can get married."

I believed him. I forgot that a man never lets go of a lost love he's gotten back.

The second time was at last year's company anniversary. In front of everyone, he introduced Sophia as his wife. I watched them on stage, a knife through my heart. That night he explained, "It's just for show. Once everything's over, we can be together."

I believed him again.

The third time was two weeks ago. Surveillance footage showed Ryan with Sophia entering a hotel room. I rushed to confront him, but heard her voice outside his office. "Ryan, I'm pregnant. It's your baby."

Through the crack in the door, I see him hesitate. In that instant I understand.

He's going to keep her.

He spots me and rushes out in a panic. "It was an accident! Let me explain! After she has the baby, I'll give her money and make her leave. She won't be in our lives anymore!"

In that moment, I finally wake up. There will be no future for us.

On my birthday, I went to the hospital hoping for a baby. Instead, I found my husband—the man who swore he never wanted children—cradling his pregnant mistress. He thought I was the one who couldn't give him a child. He forgot I was the one holding his medical reports.

"In my defence, I thought he was someone else. In my further defence, have you met Reid Callahan?" Willow's boyfriend Mark cancels on our anniversary… again, and calls her deadwood in bed over the phone in earshot of others. Now she has something to prove. So, she let herself into his apartment. Dark room, no lights, she strips naked crawls over his naked body whispering “Hello Lover” She will show him that she isn’t deadwood and earn some dignity back. Let just say the earth moved. By morning she’s had the best sex of her life but with the wrong brother. It was Mark's brother. Reid Callahan. Her boss's boss. Now how did her manage this. She had just cheated on her boyfriend with her CEO and it had been frigging unbelievable. She knew what he looked like naked how was going to look at him again without picturing him naked!

I was the heir of Sliver Claw Pack, born with a crippled wolf spirit.
From the day I could walk, everyone said the same thing—
Only Harvey, the future Alpha of Black Moon Pack, would ever be willing to take me as his mate.
So when he publicly canceled our mate bond, I still believed every word he said.
He told me the woman had saved his life. He told me their bond was only temporary—three years. He promised that when those three years ended, he would marry me.
So I willingly became the lover who could never stand in the light.
Until the three-year deadline approached. To negotiate with a rival Alpha, he pushed me— a woman born with a crippled wolf spirit, a woman who could not even shift— into a brutal forest trial filled with beasts.
He said it was the last time. He said that when it was over, he would marry me.
But when the leopard tore open my chest, I finally understood— The wolf placed last in the pack…was the one abandoned to die.
Yet the Moon Goddess gave me a second life.
When I returned to the age of twenty-two and saw him holding that woman’s hand again, I finally realized something.
This time, I would never be his shadow mate again.
And his insane younger brother—looked at me beneath the moonlight and blood and said, “Emma, I can be your mate.”

My childhood fiancé chose my best friend in his family's sacred bridal draw, then told me I could still live with him—as his mistress.
He wanted her as his wife and me running his empire.
I refused.
If I couldn't be his wife, I'd be his worst nightmare.
In seven days, I'm marrying his ruthless uncle.
Let's see if he still wants me as his dirty secret when he has to bow his head and call me “Aunt Serena.”

I overheard my husband tell his business partner, “I let Aria get pregnant for fun, not like I ever planned on letting them live, the babies make perfect specimens for Vivian’s research.”
The same day I discovered I was pregnant for the fifth time.
I used to believe he was my protector.
This time, I gathered proof of everything he’d done and made sure the truth destroyed him before I started my new life.

I always thought if I just held on a little longer, I could still keep this family together.
But my mate Ethan and my brother William poured all their favoritism onto Ava and her mother, and left me nothing but coldness and humiliation.
They could even look me in the eye and say, “She’s your sister too,” like that was enough to make me bless them.
That night, I did something so insane it bordered on self-destruction: I dragged my suitcase out the door and let the house that held all my memories get swallowed by flames.
The news exploded, our villa became ruins. The security footage showed “no one leaves,” and the police made a preliminary judgment that the person inside was “highly likely deceased.”
Ethan didn’t believe it.
Not until he and William were handed that bag of belongings at the police station, a diamond, a Blood Moonstone, the things I treasured most, did they finally understand: I wasn’t throwing a tantrum. I was really, truly done with them.
Too bad.

She gets into the wrong car and spills all her deepest secrets to the wrong person. By the time she realizes her mistake, it's already too late.


For ten years, Lucy Knowles has been hopelessly in love with her best friend, Owen Brooks.
She's stood by him through everything. She's been his shoulder to cry on every time his cheating girlfriend shattered his heart.
Seven times in a row, Lucy thought he'd finally see her now that his girlfriend was out of the picture. Instead, he took her back with open arms every single time.
When Owen ditches her for the last game of the season, Lucy reaches her breaking point.
Angry and heartbroken, she climbs into the wrong car.
Unfortunately, it belongs to Tyler Holt—the one guy she can't stand and Owen's biggest rival.
A sudden thunderstorm forces them to spend the night together off campus, and Lucy discovers there's a completely different side to Tyler than the arrogant jerk she thought she knew.
Then Tyler makes her an offer.
"I can help you kill two birds with one stone," he says.
"Hurt them both by ruining their upcoming engagement party."
Excitement rushes through her. Watching Owen and his girlfriend get a taste of their own medicine has always been tempting.
But Tyler Holt never does anything unless there's something in it for him.
And Lucy can't stop wondering what a guy like Tyler could possibly want from a naïve nerd who hates him.

"And now, he's certain your life is over because he kicked you out. They're probably already placing bets on how long it will take for you to bow and beg at their feet to take you back. But..." He said coldly.

"But..." I breathed.

"Imagine suddenly returning with a husband so wealthy he makes them look like paupers. Not only is he filthy rich, but he's hopelessly in love with you, spoiling you rotten. Imagine their shock, their anger, and your satisfaction that you have exceeded their expectations. Won't that be fulfilling?"

"And... who would that husband be?" I whispered.

"Me." He grinned as he caressed my cheek. "Let's get married, my dear Iris."

••~•

After being humiliated and disowned on her wedding day, Iris is suddenly approached by Gordon Graff, the enigmatic and highly controversial billionaire and also her ex's uncle, who asks for her hand in marriage.

His goal: make her family and ex pay for everything they've done to her.

But what happens when the line between pretence and true love begins to blur, and dangerous secrets begin to unfold?

Will the man who has promised to protect her be her doom? And will she be a casualty in his dangerous game of revenge?

I thought telling Alpha Kane I was pregnant would be the hardest part of my day.

That was before I found my step-sister naked on his mahogany desk.
I remained committed to my role of Luna for three years while I suffered through his distant behavior because I viewed our mate bond as a holy connection. The moment he wiped her lipstick from his mouth, the bond that connected us to each other shattered in my heart because he had treated me as someone who lacked excitement.

He wanted me to weep while I accepted my lower-status position. I used my mother’s billion-dollar tech patents to lock him out, then I denied him on the pack intercom, before I entered the advanced security facilities of his most dangerous competitor.

Alpha Kaelen, the Lycan King, doesn't function as an uncontrollable animal. He possesses dangerous charisma which combines with his exceptional intelligence. I didn't request his protection; I established the terms for it. I presented him with the blueprints which would lead to our shared enemy's financial ruin. We are currently dismantling Kane's business empire together. Our formal agreement starts to dissolve into an irresistible attraction which develops during our nighttime strategy meetings and our executive boardroom business takeovers.

Kaelen discovers my hidden pregnancy secret, but he does not exile me from his presence. He displays a wicked grin while making his intention to take ownership of his opponent's offspring permanent. Kane will initiate a violent conflict to reclaim me as his possessions disappear and his remorse transforms into a primal fixation.

Will my charming, deadly protector permit me to handle my own conflicts or will we destroy everything my ex left behind?

For three years, Vivian secretly dated her best friend's brother. On her twenty-fifth birthday, he promised her everything would change. Instead, she watched him publicly claim another woman. Her stepsister. The same woman who had stolen her family, her inheritance, and now the man she loved. Only then did Vivian realize the truth. She was just the substitute.​
Heartbroken and determined to reclaim her late father's legacy, Vivian agrees to an arranged marriage. But she walks into the wrong private room. And proposes to the wrong man.​
"Let's get married. One year. No strings attached."​
The stranger studies her for a moment before smiling.​
"Fine."​
Until she finds herself married to the last man she ever expected. Zayn Harris. The billionaire everyone fears. And her ex-boyfriend's greatest rival.​
At first, their marriage is just a contract. No love. No promises. No future. But every time someone tries to humiliate her, Zayn is there. Protecting her. Defending her. Choosing her. For the first time in her life, Vivian is someone's first choice.
Unfortunately for Caleb, he realizes that too late. Because the woman he threw away is now wearing another man's ring. And unlike him, Zayn has no intention of letting her go.

Everyone used to say Ryan Scott loved me more than his own life.
I used to believe that too.
Then I found out I was pregnant with Ryan’s child—
and that’s when my adopted sister told me she was pregnant with his child as well.
So I chose revenge.
I emptied his accounts, staged the perfect accident, and planned my own “death.”
On the day I “died,” Ryan completely broke down, clutching my urn like it was the only thing keeping him alive.
While he sobbed his heart out in front of my photo, I was already holding another man’s hand—the man who never let go of me when I was at my lowest—
and walking toward the brand‑new life that truly belonged to me.

After three years of marriage, the first thing my husband did upon waking from his vegetative state was to humiliate me for my stepsister. I once thought that my three years of devoted care would earn me a shred of his affection, only to discover that he had always loved the woman who stole everything from me including my identity. For her sake, he forced me to leave with nothing and had me blacklisted throughout the city.

But what they didn't know was that the woman they discarded like a piece of trash would shed her apron and become a legendary racer who struck fear into the hearts of the entire racing world. When my husband's archrival extended an olive branch to me, this game of revenge began—who will ultimately be the winner?

She only wanted one reckless night to escape the grief that haunted her—but she never expected it to come with consequences that would shatter her world.

Architect Isla Cole thought a fleeting encounter with a stranger could numb the pain of losing her father. What she didn’t count on was waking up to discover he wasn’t just any stranger—he was Ellis Kennedy, the enigmatic billionaire who had just acquired her firm. Charming, infuriating, and dangerously alluring, Ellis is everything Isla should resist. But the spark between them refuses to be ignored, igniting a chemistry that’s both thrilling and perilous.

As Isla navigates boardrooms and blueprints, she begins to uncover the cracks in Ellis’s polished empire—and in her own past. A decade-old secret emerges: her father’s death wasn’t an accident, and the man she’s drawn to may be at the center of a cover-up powerful enough to destroy them both. Every stolen touch, every shared glance, pulls Isla deeper into a web of passion and betrayal where trust is a luxury she can’t afford.

Now, caught between desire and danger, Isla must decide if love can survive the lies—or if giving her heart to the man who holds the truth will be the choice that buries her forever.
In a city where ambition is ruthless and secrets are currency, Isla and Ellis must confront the past, navigate the present, and decide if the foundation of their hearts can withstand a truth built on blood and betrayal. One reckless night could change everything—or destroy them both.

The night before the gala where my rich family would finally claim me as their real daughter, I sent an email to my future self.
Have Mom and Dad really accepted me?
Does Spencer still hate me?
Julian and I are married by now, right?
A second later, my inbox exploded.
Dozens of photos, one after another, loading faster than I could scroll. Every single one was Julian—my Julian—wrapped around Camille. Kissing her. Cradling her face like she was something precious.
The blood drained out of me.
Then the voice messages started. And the voice was mine—older, hoarse, recorded somewhere I didn't recognize, and raw with panic.
"They're going to kill you—"
"Mom and Dad want to make it up to Camille, so tomorrow at the gala they're going to stage an accident. A fire. They burn your legs on purpose—you'll be crippled, Cora. In a wheelchair for the rest of your life—"
"Spencer leaks the videos. He says the only way Camille gets to be an Ashcroft again is if you're destroyed—"
"And Julian—he's so terrified you'll expose the truth and hurt her that he's the one who has you committed. He signs the papers himself."
The last message was barely a voice at all. Just breath, thin and failing.
"Cora. Don't go back."

Evelyn Vale plans weddings, memorials, and private family ceremonies for people who care too much about how grief looks on camera. She knows lighting, timing, guest flow, and the hidden machinery behind a perfect public moment.

Then one night, while sitting beside the husband who kisses her goodnight, she sees a livestream event scheduled for tomorrow: her own memorial service.

The cover uses her mourning portrait. Grant, her husband, is posed as the devastated widower. Serena, her half sister, stands beside him like a woman already rehearsing the role of replacement wife.

At first Evelyn wants it to be a mistake. Then the invoices appear. The funeral campaign is paid for. The backend record existed. Someone with internal clearance created it, deleted it, and expected Evelyn to die before the broadcast.

Julian Cross, a former livestream safety investigator disgraced by an old death case, is the first person who treats Evelyn's fear as evidence. Together they follow the countdown through funeral contracts, planted comments, medical manipulation, board pressure, platform corruption, and a hidden operator using public grief as a business model.

But Evelyn is not waiting to be rescued. She knows how to build an event. She knows where witnesses should stand, when a microphone should stay open, and how a lie collapses when the room sees the right proof at the right time.

Grant scheduled the funeral.

Evelyn hosts it better.

Damian's breath fanned my ear as I felt his body press into my back. The front of his gun brushed past my shoulder, fixated on Luca, who faced us with clenched fists.
“Move, Elena,” Luca wanted to sound dominating, “he won't hurt you. I won't let him.”
I couldn't move when Damian settled his hand on my waist firmly, keeping me from moving.
“You won't let me?” Damian's tone was possessive when he leaned closer to me, speaking to Luca. “You don't give the orders here.”
Luca's jaw tightened, but he didn't move from his place.
Damian slowly pressed his finger more on the trigger, deliberately.
“You have two choices, Elena," he whispered to me. "Choose me, and he'll live, but might end up in a hospital. Choose him and he dies."


Elena knew it wasn’t a threat but a promise.

Tessa gave up everything for her husband—her career, her family, her dignity—only to be discarded when his past walked back into his life.
Broken, she signs the divorce papers and leaves.

Years later, she returns as a woman the world kneels before and Smith realizes too late that the wife he broke has become the reckoning he cannot escape.

She's back powerful, untouchable, and unforgiving.

This time, she isn’t asking for love.
She’s collecting debts.

"She's dying, can't you be more generous?" That's what my husband said.
So I was generous.
I gave her my husband's time when our daughter was in the ER for an allergic reaction she caused.
I gave her my once-in-a-lifetime concert ticket because "she deserved it more."
I even endured our daughter wishing I would die in her place.
But when he accused me of orchestrating a kidnapping to win his sympathy, I knew my generosity had run out. I threw the divorce papers in his face. He laughed, thinking I couldn't survive without him.
He's about to find out how wrong he is.

To annul the engagement, the aloof heiress of a wealthy family spent three years planning thirteen accidents to try and kill me.
Car accident, falling object, poisoning... I survived covered in blood, only to be met with her disgusted question: "How come you're still alive?"
She let her scheming childhood sweetheart crush my father's ashes, and even personally drained my last remaining blood to save me, all for her sweetheart's self-inflicted injury.
She thought I would be like a dog, clinging to her side forever without any boundaries.
Until that day, I calmly handed over the annulment agreement, clutching the diagnosis of late-stage brain cancer, and completely disappeared from her world.
Later, when she finally found out the truth, she searched the world frantically, only to find my emaciated, cold corpse.
That arrogant and haughty young lady has completely collapsed.
She personally sent her childhood sweetheart to hell, knelt before my body wearing a veil, and desperately raised a gun:
“Ivan, walk slowly on your way to the underworld... I’m giving my life for you.”

I barely escaped the Valley of the Dread Dragon, my magic completely drained. A betrothal awaited me in Winterhold. But the moment I arrived, my fiancé Arthur refused to acknowledge who I was. He stood by and watched as his socalled true love Elena stole my wand, scarred my face, and swore to strip me bare and parade me through the streets. He thought he stood above me, blind to exactly whom he was defying — I held his entire family in my power. When my brother Damian arrived, he did not merely rescue me. He gave me the chance to pay back every wound and humiliation I had suffered, one by one.

At eighteen, I gave my virginity to Hunter in his bed.

I swallowed all the pain and hesitation, naively believing that three years of a pathetic crush had finally earned my way into his heart.

Until the next morning, when I heard his teammates' unabashed mockery:

"Damn, you finally bagged the nerd? How was it?"

Hunter scoffed, his tone dripping with utter contempt.

"Just messing around. If I'm bringing a real girlfriend out, it's gotta be someone on Serena's level—head cheerleader."

I wordlessly opened my college application portal, deleted the garbage local state school I had picked just to stay with him, and changed it back to Yale.

He confidently thought I would follow him blindly, until he video-called me on opening day and completely lost his mind seeing who was beside me: his own stepbrother.

Father calls me and Chloe into his study, and two documents already sit on the desk. On the left, the Whitfield family succession papers. On the right, the marriage agreement with the Sullivan family.

He lights a cigar, the smoke half hiding his face. "You two need to make a choice today. One of you takes over the Whitfield family. The other marries Derek Sullivan."

In my last life, Chloe took the succession papers.

She sat down in Father's office, put on an expensive suit, called in every department head, and announced she'd make the Whitfield family stronger. But she couldn't even read a warehouse ledger, didn't know which shipping route mattered most, couldn't tell flattery from threats in a family meeting.

Within three years, the south warehouse burned down, the north route slipped out of our hands, and cash kept bleeding out of the books like there was a hole in them.

Father died on a dark street, three bullets in his chest.

Chloe fled with whatever money was left, and I got married off to Derek instead.

After the wedding, he took my passport and locked me in the basement of the Sullivan estate. When I refused to sign the transfer documents, he had them cut off my water for three days straight. In family meetings, one wrong word out of me and he'd slap me in front of everyone. During an ambush, he shoved me right into the line of fire.

Later, Chloe found me. She pointed a gun at my chest, and there wasn't a trace of sisterly feeling left in her eyes. "This is all because you're useless. If you'd helped Derek keep the Sullivan family steady, Whitfield wouldn't have gone under."

I opened my eyes in a pool of blood and woke up back on this day.

<>



Vanessa thought rock bottom was signing divorce papers with Derek Holland, a man with the emotional depth of a teaspoon. Turns out, rock bottom had a basement, and Ryker Holland was waiting for her down there with a smirk and a plan.

Ryker, Derek's older half-brother (aka the family's dirty little secret), shows up offering Vanessa a deal: help her make her ex-husband, Derek Holland, jealous enough to come crawling back. In exchange, he secures his position as CEO.

But Ryker isn't doing this out of kindness. He is petty and cruel. He would do anything to trample all over Derek, and now he has the perfect weapon. Vanessa, freshly dumped and just desperate enough to play along. And if she happens to enjoy making her ex suffer too? Well, that's just a bonus.

As Vanessa sinks deeper into Ryker's twisted world of fake romance, secrecy and family dysfunction, things start getting real. Because fake love? It's a lot easier to control than real feelings. And Ryker has no idea what to do when the game stops being a game.

Is Vanessa walking into a trap or building one of her own? Either way, the Holland brothers are going down. One's going to break, and the other's going to enjoy every second of it.

_Disclaimer:

This story contains morally complex and flawed characters, who often operate with hidden motives and questionable ethics. Themes explored include emotional manipulation, gaslighting, power imbalance, dual identities, and blurred lines between love, control, and obsession. Certain scenes may be intense or unsettling. Reader discretion is strongly advised.

On our third anniversary, I gave my husband my pregnancy test results as a gift. What I got back was a photo—a man's hand on a woman's chest. The wedding ring on his finger told me everything I needed to know. He was my husband. And he was cheating.

"Use me to get back at your ex. Make him jealous. Even if he doesn't love you, he won't handle seeing you with someone else. Especially someone like me."
I blinked at him, confused. "Especially someone like you? Why would he be jealous? He doesn't even like me."
He smirked. "Trust me. Derek will lose his mind watching his ex-wife move on. He'll wonder if you ever loved him... and why you replaced him so easily. That's when he starts running back."
"Deal?"
His eyes glittered with danger. My brain screamed run. But I still found myself nodding.
"Deal."
Vanessa Holland thought signing divorce papers with Derek—a man with the emotional depth of a teaspoon—was the worst day of her life.
She was wrong.
Rock bottom has a basement... and Ryker Holland is waiting there, handsome, ruthless, and armed with a plan.
Ryker, Derek's half-brother and the real power behind the Holland empire, offers Vanessa a deal she's not supposed to refuse: Make Derek jealous enough to crawl back in humiliation, while Ryker secures the CEO throne he's been denied.
But this isn't kindness. Ryker is petty. He is cruel. And he wants to destroy Derek—piece by piece.
Vanessa is the perfect weapon: a discarded wife with nothing left to lose... and maybe just enough vengeance in her heart to play along.
Except fake dating Ryker doesn't stay fake for long.
Emotions blur. Lines cross.
The man she should fear becomes the one she can't stay away from.
Now Vanessa must decide: Is she Ryker's pawn? Or has she learned how to play the Hollands better than either brother ever expected?
Two brothers. One broken heart.
Revenge never looked this tempting...
And the Holland boys are going down—
one will break, and the other will enjoy every second of it.
Disclaimer: Contains morally grey characters, power games, manipulation, emotional cruelty, and a whole lot of chemistry. Reader discretion advised.

My three-year-old daughter Elsie called her father Dorian while I lay dying on the floor beside our bed.
"Daddy, the bad magic hurt Mommy. Please come home."
"If she wants to die, let her." He called us liars, then went back to cut the birthday cake for Selene—his foster sister and first love.
What he did not know was that the curse that killed me that night had been meant for him.
Now I can only watch. My little girl tucks coats around my body to keep me warm. Her father walks past our bedroom door again and again, certain I'm just sulking, because the woman he chose told him so.
By the time Dorian finally opens that door, there is nothing left to save.
He will learn the truth. He will beg.

I had a fever when my sister poured my hot soup down the sink. My mother watched, then told me to draw another blind-box card if I wanted dinner.

At our engagement dinner, my sister drew the name of the man I'd loved for years. I drew Luca—the driver everyone laughed at. Adrian promised to help me draw again. That night, I caught him removing every card with his own name from the box. So when they offered me one last chance to pick him, I chose Luca instead. They thought I'd married a nobody. None of us knew the man behind the wheel was the head of the Moretti family. What would my family do when they found out?

At the Eternal Night Realm admission ceremony, Carly suddenly grabs my hand.

My heart pounds. I think he is going to announce our relationship to the entire continent.

Instead, he says, "Eve, thanks for everything these past five years. But Lym didn't make the cut. She's hurting right now, and I need to go back and be there for her."

He crushes the realm token right in front of thousands of people.

For five years, I hid my pureblood lord identity. I drained my magic until I literally coughed up blood, quietly paving every step of his way.

I thought we loved each other. I thought after this ceremony we would rise to the top together.

But his casual thanks for everything crushes five years of my devotion into dust.

What is even more laughable is that the moment the online backlash hits Lym, he calls me on the comms.

"Eve! You need to put out a statement to clear this up right now! As my friend, you owe me this!"

Friend?

My hand holding the crystal shakes.

On my twenty-fourth birthday, my grandfather dropped the bombshell: I was an orphan.
After learning about my biological family, I decided to do something nice. I bought a limited-edition sports car as a gift for the father I had never met.
But at the dealership, I was publicly humiliated by my brother's mistress.
To clear up the misunderstanding, I called my brother.
When he arrived, it was only to back her up.
"This birthmark is ugly; let me help you get rid of it."
My own brother used a cigar to burn off the birthmark behind my ear and had my suffering broadcast on the mall's LED screen.
"Listen, if anyone dares to treat this woman’s injuries, I’ll have their license revoked in this city for good!"
But he didn’t know that the grandfather who raised me was someone no one in this city could even dream of looking up to.
When my grandfather arrived with a top-notch medical team and armed mercenaries, sealing off the entire building, my arrogant brother finally realized his mistake.

1

His hand hovered close to my jaw, held back until I said yes. I hauled him down hard to me, the mating bond burning sharp between our bones.
“You know what this means.” Darian’s growl rumbled against my cheek.
“I know exactly what I want,” I breathed. “Kiss me. Don’t make me beg for it.”

I arrive at the Royal Pack’s wolf-royal court carrying only a bitter memory and quiet rage for my sister. Claire, once a palace seamstress, was destroyed by Prince Rowan Vale, hushed by his mother Sabine, and buried under a lie that shame killed her. No plea reached Queen Elinor, and no one was held accountable.

I have no rare wolf gift or secret noble blood. I take a menial laundry servant’s post, determined to avenge Claire. I creep through the court’s petty cruelties to earn a place in the gown chambers, where I meet Darian Vale, the queen’s conflicted brother. A fated mate bond sparks between us, but I view it as a trap. I will not stay hidden to protect his family’s name.

I rise to become Queen Elinor’s personal attendant and bond with other palace outcasts. Yet every step closer to power makes my hunt for the truth more dangerous. I uncover a devastating secret: Darian knew Claire, and what he knows could break the fragile thing blooming between us. When private justice fails, I lay every awful truth of Claire’s fate before the Pack Assembly.

This is no crown tale. I fight not to rule, but to make the court notice its forgotten servants. I will secure justice for Claire, and choose love, only on my own terms.

The man I marry will become the future leader of the company.
In my previous life, without a second thought, I chose to marry the eldest son
whom I had always liked.
But shortly after our wedding, he came stepsister,
and even took out his frustration of not getting her on me,
going so far as to poison and kill me.
This time around,
I chose his younger brother.
I'll see for myself
if he can spend his life with my sister without me standing in their way. me.
This time around,
I chose his younger brother.
I'll see for myself
if he can spend his life with my sister without me standing in their way.