365 Nights, Two Stepbrothers, One Me.
I moaned out his name. "Damien, you are not trying hard to get me, yet .."
He smirked and whispered to my ears. "I like being hard, Not "trying" hard."
When Lila Sinclair's mother is sentenced to life in prison, her world collapses overnight. With nowhere else to go, she is taken in by Sebastian Blackwood, her mother's former lover. A powerful, reserved man who agrees to shelter her under strict conditions.
Lila is placed in his household... and into a life she never asked for, sharing a roof with two stepbrothers who change everything.
Damien is danger wrapped in charm...intense, controlling, and impossible to ignore. Ethan, on the other hand, is steady, kind, and grounding...the only place she feels safe when everything else feels like it's slipping away.
But Lila's situation comes with a hidden clause: her stay in the country is temporary. Within 365 days, her legal protection expires. To remain, she must marry one of the Blackwood heirs.
One house. Two brothers. Twelve months of blurred lines, buried secrets, and emotions she was never meant to feel.
As desire clashes with safety and passion wars with peace, Lila is forced into a choice that could secure her future...or destroy it completely.
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Chapter 2
Lila Sinclair's POV
I turned a little to the left, then back to the right, staring at my reflection in the floor-length mirror. My long dark hair tumbled down my shoulders, still damp from my quick shower, while the white sundress clung to my curves in a way I wasn't sure was too much. I pouted at my reflection, then lifted my phone closer to my face where JoJo's grin filled the screen.
"What do you think?" I asked, stepping back so he could see the full fit. "Cute or trying too hard?"
JoJo squinted exaggeratedly, making me laugh.
"Hmm... cute, yeah, but you're definitely trying too hard. You look like you're about to attend your own engagement brunch."
I gasped dramatically. "Rude! This is my first full day in this mansion, Jo. I can't look homeless."
He smirked. "You'd look hot in a potato sack and you know it. But seriously, babe, maybe go with the denim shorts and that little top I like. You don't wanna look like you're waiting for daddy to introduce you to a billionaire husband."
I rolled my eyes but smiled anyway, tugging at the hem of my sundress. "Easy for you to say. You're not the one who has to live here for the next year. I need to make an impression. A good one."
JoJo tilted his head, his tone softening. "Lila, you'll make an impression just by breathing. These people are not ready for you."
That made me laugh, and I spun slowly, still checking myself out. The mansion was quiet, too quiet, and my nerves were buzzing.
"So shorts?" I asked, pausing mid-spin.
"Yes. With that black crop top. Show a little skin. Remind them you're not just some scared little girl they dragged in here."
I was about to reply when a sharp sound cut through the silence, the unmistakable shatter of glass. My head snapped toward the hallway.
"What the hell was that?" I whispered.
JoJo frowned. "Maybe the maid dropped something?"
I shook my head quickly. "No. Clara told me all the staff left for their summer vacation this morning. It's just me here. Well, and..." My stomach tightened. "...them."
JoJo raised a brow. "Lila..."
"Shh." I pressed a finger to my lips instinctively, tiptoeing to the door. My phone wobbled in my hand as I whispered, "I swear I heard something. I'm checking."
He groaned. "Or maybe don't go toward the creepy sound like every dumb girl in a horror movie?"
I ignored him and walked down the next room where the sound came from, It was Ethan's room. I paused. "Uh, Jo, do you think I should...uh...go in?"
"Hey, don't ask me that dumb ass question, I heard nothing." JoJo voiced out his face popping out.
I pushed the door open, stepping into the dim hallway. "See?" I whispered into the phone. "Nobody's here."
And then..
The bathroom door across the hall swung open.
Steam rolled out, followed by a tall figure with a towel slung dangerously low on his hips. My heart stuttered in my chest. He was wet, water dripping from tousled brown hair onto a chest that looked sculpted from sin itself. Muscles carved and lean, abs glistening with droplets that slid down and disappeared beneath that thin white towel.
I froze.
He froze.
And then those honey-brown eyes lifted, locking right onto mine.
"Who's that?" he asked smoothly, nodding toward the phone in my hand.
My throat went dry. Without thinking, I stabbed the screen and ended the FaceTime call with JoJo, cutting him off before he could say a word. The silence that followed was deafening.
Now it was just me and... him.
He arched a brow, a slow smile tugging at his lips. "Well, you're definitely not a maid. So..." He took a step closer, voice teasing. "...are you the new wife-to-be my father brought home for Damien?"
Heat flared in my cheeks. "Excuse me?"
He chuckled, the sound low and warm. "Relax, princess. I'm kidding. Kind of." He leaned against the doorframe, unbothered that his towel barely covered him. "So what's your name?"
I swallowed, forcing my voice steady. "Lila. I'm... I'm your father's adopted daughter. he told you right?"
His smile widened, flashing perfect teeth. "Adopted daughter. Mmm... I don't recall him ever saying such but I think that explains why I've never seen you before. Ethan Blackwood." He gave a small bow of his head, his damp hair falling into his eyes in the sexiest way. "Second son. The hottest and sexiest, depending on who you ask."
Despite myself, I laughed. "And what does that mean?"
"It means I'm not Damien." He winked. "Trust me, you'll get it when you meet him."
The way he said Damien's name made me curious and nervous all at once. I shifted my weight, trying not to stare too hard at the water sliding down Ethan's chest. "You scared the hell out of me."
"Sorry about the glass." He lifted his hand, revealing the remains of a broken tumbler still on the counter behind him. "Slipped when I grabbed it. My bad. Didn't mean to freak you out."
Something about the ease in his tone, the way he carried himself half-naked like it was nothing, made me relax without realizing it.
"So," he said, tilting his head, eyes scanning me from head to toe in a way that made my skin burn. "First day, huh? Should I call you Lila...no Lil baby or Sis?"
I chuckled. "I think I would go with Lil baby, God forbid a girl loves Lil tjay."
I shrugged as he gave me a kick. "The way you kiss me while I'm stroking deep insida ya, I swear you ride me so good."
"That pussy blew me away, I've been thinking about your smile." I kept on singing along as we both snapped our fingers.
"No no no...I'm fucking bare down here, don't get me on." We both laughed out loud and for some reasons, talking to him felt safe. He was so free and jovial.
"So, tell me. How's mansion life treating you?"
I let out a nervous laugh. "Intimidating."
"Don't be intimidated. You'll get used to it. This place can feel... cold sometimes." His gaze softened, and suddenly he looked less like a cocky stranger and more like someone genuinely trying to make me comfortable. "But you've got me now."
"Got you?" I raised a brow, unable to help the smile tugging at my lips.
"Yeah. Tour guide. Partner-in-crime. Confidant. Whatever you need." He shrugged, casual and charming. "Trust me, Lila. You're gonna want someone on your side in this house."
I opened my mouth to reply, but the heavy sound of footsteps cut me off. We both turned as Mr. Harrington entered the hallway, his smile warm and fatherly as his eyes landed on me.
"There you are," he said kindly, gesturing for me to come closer. "Ethan, I see you've already met Lila."
"Met?" Ethan smirked, glancing at me. "We've practically bonded."
My cheeks flamed as Mr. Harrington chuckled. "Well, Lila, this is my son Ethan. And Ethan, this is Lila.... the daughter I told you and Damien about."
Ethan looked at me again, eyes glinting. "Daughter, huh? Guess I'll have to behave then."
Mr. Harrington gave him a knowing look but kept smiling. "She's family now, Ethan. Make her feel at home."
Ethan pressed a hand over his chest, mock serious. "Don't worry, Dad. I've got this covered." Then, lower, just for me, "Welcome to the mansion, princess."
"Thank youuuu..." I blushed, as we laughed out.
And in that moment, I couldn't tell if I felt more relieved... or in danger.
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7.2
Azura Briggs was just a broke college student working freezing valet shifts to pay her adoptive mother's crushing medical debt.
Her desperate life shattered the night a bulletproof Maybach violently cornered her in an alley, and a ruthless billionaire kidnapped her by mistake.
After a harrowing escape, Azura was forced to take a humiliating "plus-one" gig at a high-end gala just to survive. But her date turned out to be the billionaire's arrogant nephew, who promptly abandoned her to the wolves. Cornered by a sleazy executive and his psychotic wife, Azura was publicly slapped, her dress torn, and left bleeding on the floor while hundreds of elites watched in disgust.
Just as she prepared to fight to the death, the crowd violently parted. Hunter Mcintosh, the terrifying man who had kidnapped her days ago, dropped to his knees in the broken glass and wrapped his bespoke jacket around her trembling shoulders.
Azura was completely paralyzed. Why was the monster who threatened her life now destroying billionaires just to protect her?
But the illusion of safety didn't last. Trapped in his Maybach hours later, Hunter threw a draconian employment contract at her feet.
"Sign it, and her care is covered. Forever."
He knew exactly how to break her. He was offering to pay off her mother's debt, but only if she signed her life away to become his personal assistant. With no other way out, Azura picked up the heavy pen.
8.3
He laid me on the sheets, climbed over me, caged me with his arms. "Last chance to run," he said, voice low."I need the money," I whispered, feeling so tiny in his arms."You're soaking," he muttered. "Virgin or not, your pussy wants this."I moaned, looking away, couldn't help it,"Eyes on me, sweetheart," he pushed his tip in slowly."Fuck," he groaned. "So tight."He fucked me like he was claiming something. "Come for me," he whispered in my ears, moving faster."Damien," I cried out his name as I came."That's it," he growled. After a long minute he pulled out slowly. "One night," he said again, almost like a reminder....weeks later, I walked through the quiet hall of my school. A massive portrait stared back at me.Damien BlackwoodPrincipal Benefactor and OwnerColumbia University.Same man who'd just taken my virginity for money. My stomach dropped. "Oh fuck... what have I done?"
9.2
When Alma's father stood in front of the bulldozers to protest, the energy company's thugs beat him half to death in the mud.
Instead of arresting the attackers, the police handcuffed her bleeding father and threw him into a cruiser.
"Stay back, kid," the officer barked, shoving Alma away.
Her father was denied bail and framed for assaulting an officer. The corrupt mayor just smiled and told her not to cause a scene. Meanwhile, the company mailed her weeping mother a severance check that barely covered a month of groceries.
Alma was forced to watch her family be completely destroyed by men with money and power.
Kneeling in the cold dirt where her father's blood had spilled, she didn't shed a single tear. The panic in her chest died, replaced by a cold, absolute hatred.
She realized that crying wouldn't do anything. In this world, justice didn't exist for the weak.
Years later, Alma stepped onto a prestigious Ivy League campus, her cheap backpack slung over her shoulder.
She was surrounded by the arrogant children of the very executives who ruined her life.
She lowered her head, hiding her dead eyes, and put on the perfect mask of a timid, helpless charity case.
Undergrad was just a training ground, and these elite kids were just her practice dummies. The hunt was officially on.
9.8
Erica Murphy had spent three years rotting in a freezing prison cell.
She thought she was serving time for a tragic accident, but the truth was much darker. Her husband, Colten, had framed her for his mistress's drunk hit-and-run, stolen her fortune, and left her to take the fall.
The day Erica was finally released, a speeding car intentionally slammed into her, shattering her spine. As she lay dying on the emergency room table, flatlining on the monitor, Colten and his pregnant mistress didn't come to save her. Instead, they tossed a stack of divorce papers onto her bloody hospital blanket. They wanted her to sign away her last remaining shares and take on thirty million dollars of toxic corporate debt.
"Sign it," Colten demanded coldly, looking at her crushed body with utter disgust. "Consider this the last bit of dignity I'm giving you."
The original Erica died right there, suffocating in despair and betrayal, unable to understand how the man she loved could be so monstrous.
But when the flatline on the monitor suddenly spiked and her eyes snapped open, the traumatized victim was gone.
Replaced by the cold, calculating consciousness of a future special ops commander. With microscopic nanobots rapidly fusing her shattered bones together, Erica picked up the pen, preparing to burn Colten's entire empire to ashes.
8.6
Eleanor Sinclair always knew her stepmother and stepsister were leeches, but she never expected their betrayal to reach into her private study.
In the dead of night, she caught the family's trusted nanny of twelve years photographing confidential trust documents. The mastermind paying her off was Lillian, Eleanor's stepmother, who had been secretly embezzling estate funds and bribing tutors to deliberately ruin the academic future of Eleanor's younger brother, the only legitimate heir.
Emboldened by their deceit, the parasites grew arrogant. Her stepsister, Isabelle, deliberately flaunted her secret affair with Eleanor’s billionaire fiancé, sobbing fake tears while waiting for Eleanor to suffer a humiliating nervous breakdown.
When the tension finally peaked, Lillian played the victim so perfectly that Eleanor's own father, a powerful U.S. Senator, stormed into the room with a raised hand, ready to strike his own daughter.
"You will apologize to your stepsister immediately! I will not have this family harmony destroyed by your petty jealousy!"
They actually expected her to be a weeping, heartbroken girl. They thought cheap hotel affairs and stolen pennies could outsmart the true Sinclair bloodline. Did they really believe a few fake tears and a weak-willed father could strip her of her empire?
Eleanor didn't feel anger; she felt the cold, detached fascination of a biologist observing doomed insects. She calmly pulled out the forensic audits, locked down the estate's exits, and prepared her stepmother's psychiatric commitment papers. The merciless purge of her family had officially begun.
9.4
Blurb;
"I don't love you and I will never love you, Isabelle Yang!" I froze as the hatred in his eyes held me captive. I knew he wasn't happy with this arrangement. Neither was I.
"But I am your wife, Emerson."
"Wife?" He scoffed, stepping closer until my back hit the wall and I was trapped between his arms.
"You mean wife... or just the woman chosen to carry my heir?" His words were the truth. That was the only reason I was here. Still, they hurt more than I expected.
"You hurt my girlfriend by coming into our lives," he continued coldly.
"And I plan to make you feel twice the pain you caused her."
Then he did something worse than yelling-he sanitized his hands after touching me, as if I disgusted him.
He walked away, leaving me heartbroken and shaking, wondering what I had done to deserve so much hatred.
...
Isabelle Yang never imagined that her life could spiral into more darkness after catching her boyfriend and twin sister in bed on the night meant to celebrate their two-year anniversary.
Before she could even recover, a call from home changed everything. Her marriage had been arranged with the Winters-one of the most powerful families in Europe. And her husband? Emerson Winters, the ruthless heir who cared about only two things... himself and his childhood sweetheart, Salma Hayden.
But what happens when his love isn't enough to bear an heir, and he is forced into a marriage with Isabelle-a woman he sees as a mistake, a burden, an obligation?
What will become of two hearts trapped in a marriage where hatred and resentment rule the day?
Read this book to find out;
The Billionaire's Unwanted Wife
A novel by Queenebunoluwa15