Once My Wife

Once My Wife

Frank J.P · Ongoing · 48.3k Words

288
Hot
340
Views
0
Added
Add to Shelf
Start Reading
Share:facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

Introduction

She was once his wife. Now she's his biggest secret and maybe his only chance at redemption.
Five years ago, Bella Quinn walked away from a toxic marriage and a powerful man, broken but resolute.
She found solace in Boston, raising their daughter alone, shielding her from the world and the painful truths of the past.
But when fate, in the guise of an anonymous commission, throws her back into Jason Reed's orbit, the carefully constructed walls around her heart begin to crumble.
Buried secrets erupt, and the unfinished love that once burned so brightly smolders hotter than ever.
Jason, a cold and formidable CEO, unknowingly haunted by the love he lost, now wants answers, a closure he never received.
Bella, fierce and independent, desperately wants to protect her secret and finally lay the past to rest. But the past has teeth, a venomous history of lies and betrayals and someone far more dangerous is out to destroy them both.
As their lives irrevocably intertwine again, amidst corporate scandals, hidden agendas, and shocking revelations, can a love scarred by deceit survive the truth that will change everything they thought they knew?

Chapter 1

New York City buzzed in the distance as Bella Quinn stepped out of the taxi. The sound, once so loud and close, now felt far away like a memory she didn't want to wake up.

It had been five years. Five long years since she ran from this city, from the pain it brought. Now, she stood in front of a tall glass building Reed International. The name alone made her stomach twist.

She held her portfolio tight. It felt solid in her hands, like proof that she had built a new life. A stronger one. One that didn't depend on anyone but herself.

"Ms. Quinn? Isabella Quinn?"

The voice snapped her back to the present. A young woman walked up to her, holding a tablet and wearing a perfect smile. "Welcome to Reed International. Mr. Reed is expecting you."

Bella's heart skipped a beat. Mr. Reed. Of course. He was the mystery client. She hadn't known his name until now.

Her hands shook slightly as she followed the assistant through the shiny, quiet lobby. Everything looked expensive and cold. The walls, the lights, the people all so polished. All so familiar.

This was his world.

The elevator felt too slow. Each second stretched forever. She tried to calm herself. She was no longer that girl from five years ago. She was Bella Quinn now. A successful architect. A strong single mother. Not Isabella Reed, the broken woman who had once been married to a man who didn't see her pain.

The doors opened.

The assistant led her into a large office with tall windows and a view of the city. He was standing there, facing the glass, his back to her.

Jason Reed.

He hadn't turned yet, but she could feel his presence tall, powerful, and distant. He seemed even colder now.

Then, he turned.

Bella stopped breathing.

His eyes were the same icy blue. His face was older, more serious, but still sharp. Still him. His gaze landed on her and for a second, she thought she saw surprise. But it quickly faded into something harder.

He stared at her like she was a stranger. Or a ghost.

The silence between them was loud. Bella's heart pounded. This wasn't just the past showing up again it was crashing right into her.

Jason's eyes narrowed. His face grew cold. He didn't speak at first. He just studied her like she was a puzzle he couldn't quite solve.

Finally, his deep voice broke the silence.

"You're late, Ms. Quinn. I'm Jason Reed. You'll be working with me directly."

His tone was sharp, almost rude.

Bella felt her jaw tighten.

She saw it in his eyes. He was already suspicious. He didn't know the truth, not yet. But he could feel something was off.

And in that moment, she knew.

This wasn't going to be just another job.

This was the start of something she had tried to leave behind. Something full of secrets, tension and danger.

Last Chapters

You Might Like 😍

The Contract Wife: Marriage Of Malice

The Contract Wife: Marriage Of Malice

68.3k Views · Completed · Cherie Frost
"Tell me to stop, and I will," he murmured against my ear. "But if you don't..."
He didn't finish. He didn't need to.
I didn't tell him to stop.
Instead, my fingers curled into his shirt, clutching the fabric as though it was my only anchor. Something in him snapped—something he had been holding back for too long. His mouth found mine in a kiss that wasn't tender, but hungry, desperate.
I gasped into him, his hand sliding up to cup my jaw, holding me as if afraid I might vanish.
"You drive me insane," he breathed against my mouth, his lips trailing to my throat. "I can't lose you, Ella. Not you."
My head fell back, a soft sound escaping me as his fingers memorized my waist. My anger melted beneath his desperation.
"James..." I whispered, more plea than protest.
His hand caught mine, fingers threading together tightly. "I'll bring him back. I swear it. Just... don't turn away from me. Please."
The word please—low, ragged, almost broken—undid me more than anything else could have.


Ella never imagined she would marry the man she had secretly loved for years in such a way.
When her brother Theo faced twenty-five years in prison for massive embezzlement, the ruthless business tycoon James Lancaster offered her a deal: marry him in exchange for her brother's freedom.
This wasn't a fairy tale proposal, but a carefully orchestrated revenge. Because in James's heart, Ella was the culprit who had killed his sister Cecilia. He wanted her to pay the price—to atone with a lifetime of suffering.
Death By Breathing

Death By Breathing

4.6k Views · Completed · arianniahrain
After a deadly virus shattered civilization, a new world rose from the ruins—one ruled by Alphas.

Females are claimed. Controlled. Bred.

Alex swore she would die before becoming any man’s possession.

Fiercely independent and determined to escape the fate forced on women like her, Alex has spent years surviving under the radar. But everything changes when the powerful Vandicoff brothers—three ruthless Alpha rulers—discover she is their true mate.

The moment they claim her, war ignites.

Alex refuses to submit to their bond, their authority, or the dangerous pull between them. She fights every command, every touch, every instinct threatening to drag her under. But the more she resists, the more obsessed the brothers become.

What begins as a battle for control soon sends shockwaves through the entire Alpha world, threatening the Vandicoff empire itself.

Can Alex survive three possessive Alphas without losing herself in the process?

Or will the one thing she craves most—love—become the very thing that destroys her?
Ruined : You will always be mine.

Ruined : You will always be mine.

42.8k Views · Completed · Nia Kas
I could feel him standing in front of me. He grabbed my legs and in one single move thrusted into me.
“Fuckkk”, I couldn’t help but scream.
“You need to learn to be obedient” he said as he kept thrusting into me. When I felt his hands on my clit my body shook.
“Asher please, it’s too much”.
“No. if I really wanted to punish you, I would give you all of me”, he said against my ears and my entire body froze. Suddenly he moved and I was standing again. This man was insane.
I felt him behind me. “Ten Lashes for your disobedience”, he said
“Asher please”,
“No”. His voice was cold and void of any emotion.

Asher was what I wanted , what I truly craved until it was too late. An orphan should never fall in love with someone out of their reach. I thought loving him was the right thing to do until he revealed his true identity and Ruined me. I was ruined for everyone one else . I could still feel his touch, it was as if it was etched into my skin. I tired to avoid him but fate wouldn't let it happen.
The Sterling's were the most powerful in Havenwood and Dorian Sterling was off limits.

As an orphan finding out you still have people looking for you is hard to take but when it turns out to be people of wealth and standing I took the other road and ran, but running led me right back to the place I was avoiding and the person I was avoiding.
Asher and Dorling Sterling one and the same. When his first love shows up and along with everyone that has set out to ruin me, I prayed that he could protect me.
The Last Sempyr: Alpha's Fated Mate

The Last Sempyr: Alpha's Fated Mate

2.7k Views · Ongoing · outdcloset21
I was captured by the one man I should fear most.

Commander Ruel is the Alpha King’s deadliest weapon. A war-forged Alpha feared by armies and obeyed by thousands. Cold. Ruthless. Untouchable.

The moment his hand touches mine, everything changes.

He says I'm his prisoner, yet he keeps me chained beside his bed every night.

He says he doesn't want me, yet his wolf growls whenever another man gets too close.

Every day he fights the mate bond.

Every night he comes back to me anyway.

The man who shows mercy to no one becomes terrifyingly protective when it comes to me.

What neither of us expected is the truth hidden in my blood.

He was raised to destroy my kind.

I might be the last of them.

Now a kingdom wants me dead, a traitor wants his throne, and the only man capable of protecting me is the Alpha whose touch feels dangerously like home.

But if Ruel discovers what I truly am, he may become the one thing I can never survive.
Accardi

Accardi

950.2k Views · Completed · Allison Franklin
“I thought we discussed this earlier, Weakness? I warned you. His death is on your hands.”
“I thought you said you were done chasing me?” Gen mocked.
“I am done chasing you.”
Before she could formulate a witty remark, Matteo threw her down. She landed hard on her back atop his dining room table. She tried to sit up when she noticed what he was doing. His hands were working on his belt. It came free of his pants with a violent yank. She collapsed back on her elbows, her mouth gaping open at the display. His face was a mask of sheer determination, his eyes were a dark gold swimming with heat and desire. His hands wrapped around her thighs and pulled her to the edge of the table. He glided his fingers up her thighs and hooked several around the inside of her panties. His knuckles brushed her dripping sex.
“You’re soaking wet, Genevieve. Tell me, was it me that made you this way or him?” his voice told her to be careful with her answer. His knuckles slid down through her folds and she threw her head back as she moaned. “Weakness?”
“You…” she breathed.


Genevieve loses a bet she can’t afford to pay. In a compromise, she agrees to convince any man her opponent chooses to go home with her that night. What she doesn’t realize when her sister’s friend points out the brooding man sitting alone at the bar, is that man won’t be okay with just one night with her. No, Matteo Accardi, Don of one of the largest gangs in New York City doesn’t do one night stands. Not with her anyway.
From Substitute To Queen

From Substitute To Queen

1.3m Views · Completed · Hannah Moore
For three years, Sable loved Alpha Darrell with everything she had, spending her salary to support their household while being called an orphan and gold-digger. But just as Darrell was about to mark her as his Luna, his ex-girlfriend returned, texting: "I'm not wearing underwear. My plane lands soon—pick me up and fuck me immediately."

Heartbroken, Sable discovered Darrell having sex with his ex in their bed, while secretly transferring hundreds of thousands to support that woman.

Even worse was overhearing Darrell laugh to his friends: "She's useful—obedient, doesn't cause trouble, handles housework, and I can fuck her whenever I need relief. She's basically a live-in maid with benefits." He made crude thrusting gestures, sending his friends into laughter.

In despair, Sable left, reclaimed her true identity, and married her childhood neighbor—Lycan King Caelan, nine years her senior and her fated mate. Now Darrell desperately tries to win her back. How will her revenge unfold?

From substitute to queen—her revenge has just begun!
Cursed Beauty and her Three Alpha Mates

Cursed Beauty and her Three Alpha Mates

4.8k Views · Ongoing · Author Aimen
“I am Maya Blackthorn, the first daughter of Alpha Darius of the Ashbourne Pack, and I am damned… damned by the Moon Goddess. And destined to bring kingdoms to their knees.”
Cast out by her pack for being wolfless and plagued by uncontrollable heat, Maya has spent her life surviving humiliation in silence.
Fate drags her into the path of Kael Draven, the ruthless Lycan King who claims her… only to reject her.
But Kael is not the only Alpha bound to her.
Finn, her childhood best friend and the rising Alpha, loves her with a devotion so fierce, he spends four years locked away in the most ruthless dungeon only to keep her safe.
Xander, a rogue wolf who can make even Alphas bow to his will, has waited centuries for her to be reborn, and he has no intention of losing her again.
Three Alphas.
Three claims.
One cursed destiny.
They called her wolfless. They thought she was weak. But she is done hiding, and this time, she's rewriting the rules.
Alpha Of Glass And Gold

Alpha Of Glass And Gold

1.5k Views · Ongoing · ruby martyr
He left Aurora Anderson with a ring that meant nothing and a promise that broke everything.
Four years later, Levi Kingston, the ruthless Alpha who traded his pack for power and built an empire in glass and gold, returns with a proposition that reopens every wound she buried.
A ninety-day marriage contract.
His terms: protect her twins from the enemies his rise created.
Her condition: never fall for him again.
She’s human, or at least that’s what she tells the world. He’s the heir to the city’s hidden packs, a man forged in dominance and secrets. Between them lies a history of rejection, desire, and a bond that refused to die even when they did.
In a world where loyalty is currency and love is leverage, Aurora must decide whether to guard her heart or the truth that could bring Levi Kingston’s entire empire to its knees. proposition that reopens every wound she buried.
Alpha, Billionaire, Strong FL, Fated Mates, Rejected Mates, Secret babies, Twins, A Marriage of Convenience,
What the Heart Wants (Book 1 of the Alpha Faros Series)

What the Heart Wants (Book 1 of the Alpha Faros Series)

2.8k Views · Ongoing · FM Publishing
Loving him will cost them everything…

Not loving him will cost more.

Derek has one goal: survive high school without drawing too much attention or pissing off his pack’s alpha.

As the youngest son of the alpha, his life is governed by lycan hierarchy, tradition, and politics. With no signs of awakening a lycan spirit, his only value is what he can do for the pack’s image. He knows he’s only ever one misstep away from exile… or worse.

Then, he finds a boy trapped in a locker on orientation day, and everything changes.

Derek shouldn’t want Nikolias. He’s off-limits. A risk Derek can’t afford.

So why does it feel like he’s the only thing worth fighting for?

Nikolias has just lost everything: his parents, his home, and any sense of peace. Sent back to the town his family left years ago to live with his prejudiced and controlling uncle, who wants nothing to do with anything—or anyone—not human, he’s trying to do everything in his power to get out quickly.

But then he meets Derek again, and all of his plans vanish in the soft, yearning flecks of gold in Derek’s green-hazel eyes. He’s drawn to Derek in a way that’s impossible to deny, and he thinks Derek feels the same way, despite the danger their relationship holds for him.

As Moonshadow's politics turn deadly, Derek and Nikolai are caught in the crossfire of a war that had started long before they were born, and their bond becomes a threat and a lifeline that neither can afford to sever.

Because the heart wants what it wants….

And it never asks permission.

TW: Graphic Violence, Suicide Ideation, Suicide Attempt, Child Abuse, Cult-Like Behavior
The Hockey Alpha's Fake Girlfriend

The Hockey Alpha's Fake Girlfriend

10.6k Views · Ongoing · midaspen78
Vivienne has always felt small. At home, she’s trapped in pain she can’t escape. At school, she hides in the shadows, counting the days until she can finally be free. But one choice shatters everything, leaving her broken and more alone than ever.

Then there’s Rafael. Dark. Untouchable. The boy everyone talks about but no one really knows. He should be the last person Vivienne gets close to, yet she can’t look away. He pulls her in with a kind of danger that feels both terrifying and safe, like he sees the parts of her no one else can.

But Rafael carries secrets—secrets that could destroy them both. And the closer Vivienne gets, the harder it is to tell if he’s her way out… or the reason she never escapes.
Accidentally His: The Billionaire’s Wife in High Society

Accidentally His: The Billionaire’s Wife in High Society

3.8k Views · Ongoing · The Hana
Five years ago, during a passionate sexual encounter, Freya Myers stole sperm from a mysterious and dangerous man, intending to have a genetically superior child. That man was none other than Declan Castle, the ruthless, enigmatic CEO of the globally renowned Castle Group.

Five years later, Freya Myers returns to the city with a pair of exceptionally gifted twins, desperately trying to conceal their existence from the world. But when she interviews for an internship, she unexpectedly encounters Declan Castle—the very same man from years ago—as her interviewer. From then on, Declan Castle becomes a persistent, demonic force haunting her!

Five years ago, a single, desperate mistake changed Freya Myers's life forever. Intending to secure a future with the man of her dreams, she ended up in the wrong room, stealing the 'seed' of the wrong man. That man was Declan Castle—the cold, ruthless, and enigmatic CEO of the world-renowned Castle Group.

Now, Freya has returned to the city as a struggling single mother, hiding a pair of genius twins from the world. When she lands an internship at the Castle Group, she hopes to remain invisible. But fate has other plans. Declan Castle, a man who has remained mysteriously untouched by any woman since that fateful night, instantly senses something familiar about the new designer. He has spent years searching for the woman who 'ruined' him, and now that he has found her, he has no intention of letting her go.

Forced into a high-stakes marriage of convenience with the domineering CEO, Freya must navigate the treacherous waters of high society while desperately guarding her children's true identity. Between a scheming stepmother, jealous socialites, and a series of deadly secrets, the walls are closing in.

What started as a game of cat-and-mouse and a quest for revenge soon ignites into a passion that neither can control. In a world where power is everything and betrayal is a way of life, can Freya protect her heart and her children, or will the relentless Mr. Castle claim everything she’s been trying to hide?