Accidentally married to the Right Von Duvall
(Trigger warning: this book has some elements of dark romance with an unhinged ML)
"Would you give me your surname or better take mine then? Will you be the lucky man?" I blurted out having no idea of what I was saying. My head was already in the clouds and blinded by his smile. It calmed the storm in my mind.
He laughed. Those dark abysses were truly alluring when they sparkled.
His fingers grazed my cheeks, wiping off my tears, before cupping them in his callous palms. "If you love my surname so much."
A foolish smile graced my lips, oblivious of the fact that he wasn't joking. "You can't back down now, hubby. You just got a wife."
I thought I lost everything when I walked away from Sinclair. I never imagined I'd end up as Alaric Von Duvall's wife.
*******
Her life was written in stone. A perfect life one she always dreamt of.
Everything Cassandra wanted was within reach until one night revealed the love she'd trusted was a lie. Betrayal and deceit from those she trusted the most made every belief she had crash down.
What she didn't expect was to stumble into a stranger's arms, into his bed and wake up married. Alaric gave her what she thought she wanted; now she can't take it back.
One reckless mistake became a wedding vow. Now she's trapped inside Alaric's empire of lies. Married to a stranger who knows more than he's letting on
He's dangerous. He's charming. And in front of everyone, he claimed her as his
.
Caught between Sinclair's obsession, Alaric's shadowy intentions, and her family's betrayal, Cassandra doesn't know if this marriage will be her downfall... or her salvation.
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Chapter 1
Cassandra's POV
The music was blasting from the speaker. The DJ was definitely killing it with how buzzing the night was. My eyes darted around the floor as I wandered into the club
God, I was nervous.
My finger was twirling my hair while I forced a smile on my face, the awkward type, with my teeth feeling off.
"Come on Cassie, try to cheer up." Aurelia cheered me, chuckling between her words. Her smile was infectious and would normally get me to relax but not tonight.
My nerves couldn't relax. "I'm trying, sis, but what if something happens?" I whined, voicing my fears to my younger sister, Aurelia. Her smile faltered for a second. Aurelia's sharp hazel eyes narrowed at me.
"Are you worried about Sinclair?" She asked with a pout. My lips parted then closed. She got the exact reason.
Aurelia sighed then grabbed my hand. "Geez, Cassie, you've got to relax. Nothing will happen to Sinclair and you will have the perfect wedding tomorrow." She started pulling further into the club.
Her words didn't completely ease my worries. How could I relax knowing Sinclair was having his bachelor's party with his crazy friends? I pulled away from Aurelia causing her to spin around. Her frown deepened. "What if he drinks too much and misses the wedding?" I whined.
I didn't like the idea of his bachelor's party and was against it. His friends complained and called me controlling, which wasn't the case.
The problem was that those bad influences Sinclair kept as friends.
.
Aurelia groaned, probably getting tired of my whinings. She held her face forcing me to look straight into her eyes. "Nothing will happen. Just have fun because this is the last chance you will get. Your friends are already waiting, don't ruin the night, Cass."
As if on cue, a familiar pitchy voice called from the side. "Cassie, you are here." The voice chimed, her hand yanking me from Aurelia.
"Stop standing around, it's time to party." My best friend Rebecca screamed excitedly pulling me away to our table. Tonight was my last night being single, and the girls had planned a lot of stuff; unfortunately, I couldn't relax.
Geez it was draining getting married. Rebecca pulled me to the reserved VIP table, filled with familiar faces. "The soon-to-be bride is here, girls. It's time to party." She announced.
Aurelia grabbed my other hand, "It's time to get wild. "Her voice beamed.
There was no escaping; their cheerful demeanour eventually got to me, and I finally relaxed following the flow.
There was no need to worry even though Sinclair's friends were jerks he was a saint and pretty responsible
We cheered and drank, having the best of the night. The DJ soon started playing some of my jams, which got me on my feet dancing with Rebecca acting as my personal hype.
I stood out on the dance floor with my tiara and sash, reading bride to be which was quirky, but the girls had insisted.
Song after song changed and the night was just starting.
While singing out loud and dancing my fave ice spice song did it first, I caught sight of Aurelia sneaking off the dance fall to answer a call.
I shrugged. She was an adult and I didn't need to be in her business.
Time slowly went by and 30 minutes had gone by. " I need to take a break," I told Rebecca, feeling my feet go numb.
"Sure, try resting, the Gigolos will be joining us soon." Rebecca winked at me and I almost choked on my spit.
My eyes shot her a look saying. ' Why was I just finding out about this?' Rebecca chuckled then shoved to the table. I sat down and started watching the others having a good time but my nerves started acting up again. My fingers were twitching from habit.
It wasn't because of Rebecca's tease, Aurelia was taking too long. My brows furrowed as my thoughts strayed, thinking of the worst possible situation, which made my stomach churn.
What if she ran into some bad guys? Unable to sit still, I snuck off when Rebecca wasn't watching to find Aurelia.
"Where am I going to start from?" I contemplated trying to weave my way through the crowd. The restrooms were closed and a bit quiet compared to out here. Aurelia might be there.
After escaping the chaotic dance floor I found myself in a quieter hallway. The restroom was down the hall. I rushed down, not wishing to waste any time.
"Of course, you have the cutest smile." A voice carrying a half-teasing, flirty tone drifted to my ears from a sharp turn on the left. My pace slowed down subconsciously, and I could feel my heartbeat slow down.
An obvious frown played between my brows. That voice was so familiar it made me restless. No... I shook my head.
That could not be the case, Sinclair was with his friends on the other side of the city. There was no way he could be here.
Even if he came to this club, why didn't he inform me?
I clutched my dress, my body urged me to charge forward. Just before I could turn, another familiar voice caught my attention.
And just like cold water was poured on me my entire body froze. Her voice was soft and teasing. She giggled sweetly. "Even prettier than your fiancé." She asked
My heart beat, which dropped earlier, spiked up immediately. The sound drumming in my earlier.
No this can't be.
Maybe it was just someone who had a similar voice. A part of me wanted to go back to the club and forget this. Maybe it was because I already knew whatever lies ahead would break me.
My body acted on its own ignoring my mind and heart which could not bear it
I forced a lump down my throat and peeked from the corner of the wall to confirm my doubt.
"Can we not talk about her? In my eyes, you are the prettiest, if not because of Dad, I won't bother being with that screw." The male voice said his tone was contentious.
"But you are still marrying her." Aurelia pouted.
The scene before me left me struck. Just staring blankly, my heart racing so fast it felt like it would fall out.
I should have screamed or cried. At least done something to let them notice my presence. My brain just froze and they didn't seem to notice me.
His back was against me, he had Aurelia in his arms against the wall. His large frame shadowed her while his neck was crooked around her neck, kissing her skin slowly as if he was savouring the taste of her...
I couldn't see his face but I was certain it was the man I was getting married to tomorrow. The same one I dated since freshman year. He was even wearing the same customised leather jacket I got for him on his last birthday.
The words Cassie is my favourite sin were written on it. It was cheesy and his friend taunted him about it. He didn't care and loved wearing it.
Sinclair von Duvall, my devoted fiancé, was secretly making out with my blood sister on our wedding eve. "I don't have much of a choice but to marry your boring sister..." He hissed, while his hand slowly lifted her gown crawling towards her panties
She moaned, clinging to him. Her eyes drifted from Sinclair.
A glimpse of fear crossed those eyes before it turned into a provocative smile. She saw me, instead of being scared she looked smug like she won. "You are so bad. Cassie might catch us, aren't you scared?"
.
He nibbled her ears, then trailed down his tongue behind his ears, drawing out a startled cry. Aurelia's eyes rolled shut, her fingers dug into her coat. Sinclair chuckled.
"Even if she catches us there is nothing she can do." He sneered, his voice turned sharp. "Dear Cassie is too uptight and spineless. I am the only one who would want someone like her. At times, I have to picture you in my mind to get my dick up just to fuck her."
My fingers twitched, and I could feel the subtle sting in my eyes. Was that how he saw me?
Aurelia chuckled, happy at his reply. She tipped her toes, wrapping her hands over his shoulders to pull him in.
Their lips smashed and she started kissing him hungrily. Sinclair moaned into her mouth, and he pushed her against the wall, kissing her back with the same intensity.
Every nerve in me screamed to storm over and tear them apart, but my legs betrayed me. Maybe Sinclair was right ' Cassandra Sterling was a coward.'
My vision blurred with tears I refused to shed. Then Sinclair's voice cut through me like glass. "Let's sneak out of here, I miss your cute moans." That was the final straw.
I ran away like a coward. My head was a complete mess. I couldn't run straight before I knew it, my heels broke In an instant, I lost balance.
My phone flew from my hand, clattering on the floor with a loud notification sound echoing.
I froze, breath caught in my throat, terror flooding me
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7.1
I sat alone at my long marble dining table, staring at a plate of cold truffle risotto. My husband, Jere, was late again, claiming he was stuck in a "war zone" of a board meeting for a multi-billion dollar merger.
A single Instagram notification shattered the silence. It was a photo of a candlelit birthday dinner, featuring a man's hand resting on a white tablecloth. I recognized the slight veins, the jagged scar on the thumb, and the navy-faced Patek Philippe watch I had spent six months tracking down as a wedding gift. Jere wasn't in a boardroom; he was celebrating his ex-girlfriend Irina's birthday while texting me to "don't wait up."
The next morning, I followed him to a VIP hospital wing. I watched through a cracked door as my husband cuddled a five-year-old boy and whispered tender promises to Irina. When he came home, he tried to buy my silence with a rare pink diamond bracelet, but I found the receipt: he had bought two identical ones. He had branded his wife and his mistress with matching jewelry, using hidden trackers to keep us both on a leash. When I confronted him, he didn't flinch. He coldly reminded me that he owned my father's massive debts and could send him to prison for insolvency fraud with one phone call.
"Stop with the attitude, Deliah," he said.
I felt like a ghost haunting my own life, trapped in a gilded cage by the man who paid for my mother's heart surgery while keeping a secret family across town. The humiliation peaked at our rescheduled anniversary dinner when Jere received a text, threw a stack of hundreds at me like I was a stranger, and abandoned me in a crowded restaurant to rush back to her.
"Pay the bill," he commanded before walking out.
Standing in the wreckage of a shattered crystal vase back at the penthouse, I realized my silence was the only thing keeping his empire standing. I pulled the crumpled divorce papers from my purse and signed my name with a steady hand. I wasn't just walking away; I was calling his sister to help me burn his perfect world to the ground.
8.3
I woke up in a bedroom that screamed old money, but the body I occupied felt sluggish and fragile. I was now Chris Olson, a man known as a pathetic failure who spent his marriage groveling at his wife's feet for a single look of approval.
Elizabeth didn't even wait for me to clear my head before she threw the divorce papers on the nightstand. She stood there in her silk robe, eyes cold as ice, demanding I sign them before breakfast so she could finally go public with her "White Moonlight," Greg.
"You're walking away with nothing," she snapped, her voice full of the disgust she'd harbored for years. She reminded me that my family had disowned me and that I'd be on the streets within a week without her charity.
As I sat up, a metallic, garlic-like scent on my breath confirmed a terrifying truth: the Olson family hadn't just disowned me; they had been micro-dosing me with arsenic for years. They wanted me weak and mentally unstable so they could split the inheritance without a fight.
The original Chris would have cried and begged for her to stay, but I just looked at her like she was a target. I realized then that my "loving" family and my "faithful" wife had been watching me die in slow motion, and neither of them had lifted a finger to stop it.
I signed the papers without reading a single line and walked out with nothing but a duffel bag and a rusted sedan. I didn't need her alimony; I had already called her greatest rival, Adelia Cherry, to discuss a merger that would rock the city.
"I'm not here to save this marriage," I told Elizabeth as I moved into the mansion right next door to hers. "I'm here to bury it, along with everyone who thought they could poison me and get away with it."
7.4
Tonight was supposed to be Cordelia's grand engagement party, the night she finally secured her future.
But an hour before the banquet, she received an anonymous video. Her fiancé was in the hotel's penthouse, tangled in the sheets with her stepsister. They had even paid off her trusted staff to keep her isolated.
Cordelia didn't shed a single tear. She walked onto the grand stage, hijacked the screens, and broadcasted their betrayal to hundreds of New York's elite. She tore up the multimillion-dollar prenup and threw the pieces in his face.
"The engagement is canceled. My legal team will seize your family's assets by tomorrow morning."
But instead of support, her own father violently grabbed her wrist, furious that she ruined their reputation. Her stepmother tried to slap her for the cameras, and her ex-fiancé threatened to completely destroy her career. Surrounded by the people who were supposed to be her family, she was treated like the villain.
Just as she was cornered, Justice Duncan, the most ruthless billionaire on Wall Street, stepped out of the shadows.
He offered her absolute protection and capital, but only if she signed a five-year contract marriage to mother his four-year-old heir.
But when Cordelia finally met the little boy, her blood ran completely cold.
The boy was the exact baby she was told she had miscarried four years ago. And the billionaire handing her the marriage contract was the same stranger who had taken him.
7.2
My family went bankrupt overnight, leaving me to face a mountain of predatory debt.
Instead of standing by my side, my billionaire fiancé's mother threw a five-million-dollar check on the marble table, demanding I take the money and disappear from her son's life forever.
Meanwhile, my former social circle mocked my downfall. They secretly took photos of me meeting with ruthless loan sharks, waiting for me to come crawling back to beg for charity.
I didn't give them the satisfaction. I legally took on my father's massive debt, threw the check back, and ruthlessly dumped my fiancé.
To stop my heartbroken mother from worrying, I lied and told her I had already found a new, reliable boyfriend.
But the lie was a ticking time bomb. My malicious rival even forced her way into my cramped apartment, demanding to meet this mysterious man, laughing that he must live in a dumpster.
I was suffocating under the pressure. I had nothing, and I had no idea how I was supposed to magically produce a husband to get these toxic people off my back.
Until a dying stranger I helped in the park made a final wish.
His grandson—my cold, aloof high school upperclassman, Caleb Barnes—handed me a watertight prenuptial agreement at the hospital.
"Marry me," Caleb said flatly. "I get to give my grandfather peace. You get a shield against your family."
I picked up the pen and signed my name.
8.8
After three years together, the man who had once promised to marry me, Babur Caldwell, threw me out the moment he got into Redmont University.
"Valeria, a pretty little fool who only knows how to dress up, how could you ever be worthy of someone like me, a future elite of Gilded Row?"
Later, when I, Valerie Quinn, became the Financial Queen admired by thousands, he knelt in front of me, sobbing, begging for another chance.
Holding the bouquet Kearney Smith had sent me, I answered in the same tone he had once used. "Sorry, Babur, someone as short-sighted as you isn't worthy of an elite like me."
9.8
Adeline's stepmother had secretly drugged her for years, turning a child genius into a drooling, mentally disabled laughingstock just so her stepsister could steal her life.
But when her greedy father sold her off to Griffin Herring—a violent, untouchable billionaire psychopath—to save his company, things took a deadly turn.
Before the wedding, Griffin attacked her in a dark alley, nearly snapping her neck before stealing her grandfather's silver necklace.
That necklace held a micro-drive with her family's deepest secrets, and without it, she had nothing.
Back at the estate, her situation only worsened. Her stepsister Damaris paraded around in the Herring family's diamond engagement gifts, trying to force-feed Adeline wet dog food on an Instagram live stream.
When Adeline's calculated "clumsiness" ruined the video, her furious father locked her in a damp, rusted basement.
"Give her to the psycho," her stepmother hissed through the door. "Let him lock her away forever."
Listening from the shadows, Adeline's fists clenched until her palms bled.
Her supposed mental fog wasn't a tragedy—it was a calculated assassination of her mind. They had destroyed her childhood and were now throwing her to a monster just to keep the billions.
The dull, empty look in Adeline's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a razor-sharp, chilling clarity.
She pulled a thin surgical needle from her messy bun and picked the heavy iron padlock in ten seconds. It was time to break into the billionaire's penthouse, take back her necklace, and tear them all apart.