Choosing The Groom in Shadows

Abandoned at the altar for the seventh time by Marco Grimaldi, his fiancée refuses to endure another humiliation. While the Grimaldi patriarch offers lucrative territory and dock profits to keep the alliance alive, Marco openly scoffs at her worth. Instead of accepting the payoff, she rejects her fleeing fiancé entirely. Pointing to a silent, ignored figure draped in the room's shadows, she demands her original right: her husband will be the next Don.

Chapters

Chapter 2

Whether he came back or not, it no longer mattered.

Marco, in a hurry to get back to Bianca, didn't catch the change in my tone. "Alright, don't be difficult. I got you a present."

A photo pinged on my phone. It was a delicate, custom-made handgun with a silver body and a blooming rose engraved on the grip.

Another one of Bianca's cast-offs.

I had become the dumping ground for her leftovers.

I remembered the first gift he gave me—a small knife, also engraved with a rose pattern. It was a gaudy style I disliked, but because it was from him, I treasured it. Until one day, I saw Bianca pull out a solid gold lighter with the exact same rose engraving.

When I confronted him, Marco showed no remorse. "Where would I find the time to pick out gifts? Bianca was just helping. Don't be so petty."

He claimed he was bad at picking gifts, but everyone connected to the Grimaldi family knew the truth. Every year for Bianca's birthday, Marco would book the most lavish club in the city and celebrate with music so loud the whole neighborhood could hear. Jewels that were supposed to appear at secret auctions were endlessly presented to her for her choosing.

He didn't give me a fraction of the thought he lavished on her.

Now, he couldn't even be bothered to come up with a new design to placate me.

As if she couldn't detect the ice in my voice, Bianca chirped cheerfully, "I designed the gift Marco sent you! I hope you like it. You don't have to thank me!"

Bianca smiled triumphantly and nudged Marco to hang up.

Shame was written all over Salvatore's face. He could no longer bring himself to ask me to wait for Marco to come to his senses.

"Are you sure you want to choose Derek? His birth—it will be a laughingstock."

I cut him off, my gaze locked on the unnerving stillness in Derek Grimaldi's eyes. I took a deep breath. "I choose him."

My mother had once mentioned seeing Derek at a top-tier private auction. This illegitimate son was far more complex than Salvatore imagined.

Power or love—I had to seize one of them.

The groom's tuxedo needed to be remade, so Derek and I set the ceremony for a week later. Salvatore’s gaze was conflicted as he let out a heavy sigh. "On the day of your ceremony, I will announce the change in the Grimaldi family's line of succession."

The groom had changed, and so everything else had to change with him. When I went to the family's trusted blacksmith to retrieve an antique dagger left by my mother, I ran into Marco and Bianca, who had just returned to the city.

Our eyes met, and the warmth on Marco's face vanished instantly. "Jennifer, you've got some nerve—managing to convince my father to freeze my access to funds."

His voice was filled with contempt. "I hate being forced into things. Don't think for a second that just because I'm back, I'm going to go through with this marriage."

A flash of irritation crossed his face. "What, are you spying on me, coming all the way here just to corner me?"

Bianca gave him a playful shove. "She's devoted to you—don't be so mean!"

She looped her arm through his and grinned at me. "He's just got a temper. Don't take it personally. I promise I'll have him house-trained before I give him back to you."

Marco let her cling to him, his expression softening with indulgence.

Continue to next part

Eden's eighteenth birthday was supposed to be her moment-the night she'd finally tell him. The boy she grew up loving. The one who kissed every girl but her. The one she saved her virginity for. She's spent years dreaming of Liam, chasing his smile, starving for his attention. But tonight, all he sees is the next girl he can break. And Eden? She's not enough. Desperate to change that, she does the unthinkable. She turns to Hunter Cross. Captain of the hockey team. Cold. Arrogant. Brutally sexual. The kind of man girls dare not fantasize about-but Eden does. She begs him to teach her how to flirt, how to kiss, how to touch a man until he forgets every woman before her. Hunter agrees-but only under one condition. "If I teach you how to seduce him, then for one month... you belong to me. Fully. No questions. There are no limits." Now Eden is learning far more than she bargained for-lessons in pleasure, in control, in giving up her body piece by piece to a man who doesn't believe in love. Each touch Hunter demands pushes her deeper into the kind of sin she never imagined, the kind that leaves her shaking, soaked, and begging for more. But the deeper she falls, the more dangerous the game becomes. Because Hunter's not just training her for another man. He's breaking her for himself. And he has no intention of ever letting her go. For fans of Haunting Adeline, Twisted Games, and Credence-this is a dangerously seductive enemies-to-lovers story with a filthy slow burn, a dominant hero, and an ending that will leave you breathless. Warning: This book contains explicit adult content, power-play dynamics, rough language, and high-heat scenes intended for mature readers only.

Action Modern Romance

7.9

After I was Murdered, My Mother Autopsied My Body

7.9

After I was Murdered, My Mother Autopsied My Body follows a tragic tale of neglect and vengeance. While a vengeful criminal tortures his victim, the boy's parents—a lead investigator and a forensic pathologist—ignore his final calls to watch their other son's match. The killer mocks the parents' indifference toward their biological child. When the mutilated remains are eventually discovered, the parents condemn the murderer's cruelty, never realizing the victim is their own son.

Action Horror Modern Mystery

7.1

BENEATH THE ALPHA'S MOON

7.1

Aria has always gone unnoticed. As an omega at the lowest rank of the Silvermoon Pack, she has no family, friends, or prospects...only the contempt of wolves who regard her as insignificant. On her eighteenth birthday, she dares to hold on to the hope that fate might grant her a better future. Instead, it destroys her. Her destined mate, Damon, the strong Beta, rejects her publicly in front of the pack. Humiliated and devastated, Aria must face the world alone... until one night transforms everything. Attacked by rogues, she is saved by Alpha Luca, leader of the nearby Bloodfang Pack. Their connection is unmistakable...intense, fierce, and visceral. For Luca, who lost his first mate to hunters, Aria represents a second chance he never believed possible. For Aria, Luca becomes the lifeline she never anticipated would be. Love with an Alpha is never straightforward. Damon's obsession darkens, transforming into something more sinister. Within Bloodfang, betrayal stirs as jealousy and ambition mask themselves with friendly appearances. The werewolf council begins to doubt her value. As conflict with rogue factions approaches, Aria must struggle not just to remain beside Luca but also to ensure the survival of his entire pack. Once a broken omega, now destined to become a Luna... Aria faces a choice: to let her past shape her future or to rise above it and demonstrate that even the most overlooked wolf can alter the course of their destiny.

Action Romance Werewolf

8.7

Examining the Dead Got Me Branded a Cheater

8.7

A high-profile assault case paralyzes Corvessa City, but the investigation takes a dark turn when a medical examiner is publicly accused of misconduct by his own wife, a police captain. Despite following standard autopsy procedures, he is branded a pervert and faces intense public backlash. His department suspends him, leading to his immediate resignation. Now an outcast, he knows that without his unique skills, the true killer responsible will never be caught.

Action Modern Mystery

8.3

His Dead Lover In A New Body

8.3

Imogen Montgomery was the perfect billionaire heiress, deeply in love and ready to marry her fiancé, Clark Ellis. That all ended the night her cousin Kathleen ripped the sapphire pendant from her neck and pushed her into a pool of toxic chemicals to die. Two years later, Imogen's eyes snapped open. But she didn't wake up in a hospital. She woke up tied to a stained mattress, trapped in the battered body of Briana, a teenage girl from the slums who had just been sold to a local trafficker. After violently fighting her way out of a cheap motel, she discovered the horrifying truth. Kathleen had taken over the Montgomery Group. She had locked Imogen's grieving parents away in a psychiatric facility as prisoners. And worst of all, Kathleen was now flaunting her stolen wealth online, preparing to marry Clark. A wave of pure, white-hot rage boiled in her blood. Kathleen had murdered her, stolen her family, and was playing the perfect grieving cousin. How was she supposed to fight back? She was just a runaway nobody now. If she tried to expose the truth, Kathleen's security would shoot her dead in the street. She needed a weapon. She needed a shield. She needed the one man Kathleen feared. Covered in mud and blood, Briana intercepted Clark's car in the freezing rain. She was going to infiltrate his home as his vulgar, unhinged fake mistress, and she would drag Kathleen straight down to hell.

Action Modern Romance

8.7

Kidnapped by Love: My Ex Left , but a Mob Taught Him

8.7

I was kidnapped, but my ex Calvin Thornton dismissed it as a ploy to pressure him. His cruel words-offering ransom to "teach me a lesson"-left me desperate. Jasper Lancaster, a powerful figure, rescued me. Amidst danger, we grew close, and I chose him over Calvin. When Calvin later regretted, begging me to return and even risking his life to retrieve a tossed ring, I'd already moved on. Wearing Jasper's ring, I made clear my choice: I'd found someone who valued me, and Calvin's belated apologies couldn't undo the past. My heart now belongs to Jasper, and I'll never look back.

Action Mafia Romance

Choosing The Groom in Shadows

Chapter 2

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