Double Regrets: My Boyfriend Is My Ex’s Boss

For six years, Adrian Hale had a wife nobody knew about. He liked it that way. Until the night he paraded his dying ex-girlfriend in front of the press — and his real wife walked into the ballroom carrying a homemade birthday cake. Until his five-year-old son told four hundred strangers Amelia was "just the cleaning lady." Until she walked out of his life without a sound. By the time Leo's fever spikes at 2 a.m. and he's crying for the only mommy who ever made him soup, Amelia is in Paris. By the time Adrian unblocks her number, she's blocked his. By the time he sees the photograph — his wife, in buttercup yellow, on the arm of his Chairman — it's already too late. Some women fall to pieces when their husbands break their hearts. Amelia Quinn became someone else's headline.

Chapters

Chapter 4

Adrian smiled. Real. Warm. The kind of smile he hadn't given Amelia in three years.

"Good boy."

He held out his hand. Leo dropped the necklace into his father's palm.

Adrian closed his fingers around it.

"That's my big man."

* * *

Amelia was still on her knees.

Her hand was at her throat where the chain had been. Her neck was bleeding in a thin red line where the broken links had cut.

She didn't feel it.

She got up off her knees. Slowly. Wiped her face on the back of her wrist.

She did not look at Leo.

She looked at Adrian.

"Adrian."

"What."

"I married a devil. And I gave birth to a little one."

Adrian rolled his eyes.

He actually rolled his eyes.

"Oh, here we go," he said. "Here we go, the drama. Are you done? Are you finished with the show?"

"Adrian - "

"You always do this, Amelia. Every time something doesn't go your way. You make a scene, you cry, you say the meanest thing you can think of, and then you wait for me to come find you and bring you home." He laughed. Short. Cold.

"Not tonight. I'm done. I'm going back inside to my guests. And just so we're clear - me and Leo? We're not coming to find you this time. We're not calling. We're not talking. So before you flounce off, you'd better be sure. Because there's no coming back."

She stared at him.

"You'd better not regret this," he said.

Then her son spoke.

"Mommy."

She looked down.

Leo had his little hands on his hips. He was looking up at her with the most disappointed expression a five-year-old face could hold.

"Mommy, you graduated from kindergarten a long time ago. You're not supposed to throw tantrums anymore."

He shook his head - a small, sad, grown-up shake.

"Daddy says big girls don't cry over little things."

Amelia looked at her son.

She looked at her husband.

She looked at the gold chain in Adrian's fist.

And something in her went very, very quiet.

"You're right," she said softly. "Big girls don't."

She turned.

She walked.

Bare feet on cold pavement.

She did not look back.

Behind her she heard Adrian mutter, "Unbelievable," and Leo say, "Daddy, can we go back to Aunt Sera now?" and Adrian say, "Yeah, buddy. Come on."

Two sets of shoes, walking the other way.

She kept going.

* * *

Three more blocks.

Past a closed pharmacy. Past a 24-hour bodega. Past a chain coffee shop with one bored cashier wiping the counter.

Amelia stopped at the corner. Pulled out her phone with hands she could not quite make stop shaking.

She scrolled to a name she hadn't called in eight months.

Maya.

Maya, who'd been her best friend since seventh grade. Maya, who had thrown her bridal shower. Maya, who had walked out of Amelia's apartment two years ago after one too many fights about Adrian, and said, Call me when you're ready, babe. I'll be here. I'm always here.

Amelia hit the green button.

Maya picked up on the second ring.

"Babe." No hello. Just - babe, like no time had passed at all. "Okay. What did that pair of sorry-ass mutts do to you this time?"

A laugh punched out of Amelia's chest. Wet and ugly. She clapped her hand over her mouth to keep it in.

"Maya - "

"Talk to me."

"Maya, I - " She pressed her forehead to a cold streetlight. Her voice wouldn't come.

"Hey. Hey. Breathe. I'm right here."

"I lost everything tonight."

Silence on the line.

"I lost everything, Maya. I don't want them anymore. Either of them. I'm done."

A beat.

Then -

"OH MY GOD."

Amelia almost dropped the phone.

"OH MY GOD. AMELIA. AMELIA, BABE. ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

"Maya - "

"I want to hire a plane," Maya said. "I want to hire a plane and fly a banner over this whole goddamn city. SHE FINALLY WISED UP. Yeah! YEAH, BABY! WELCOME BACK!"

Amelia laughed. She was crying. She was laughing.

"Maya, I'm - I'm on the corner of Eighth and forty-something, I don't have shoes, I don't have a coat, I have cake in my hair, and I - "

"Stay there. Don't move. Don't blink. Mama's coming. Twenty minutes."

"Maya - "

"And, Amelia?"

"Yeah."

"Happy birthday, you free woman."

The line clicked.

Amelia stood on the corner with the dial tone in her ear and the April cold biting at her bare feet, and she looked up at the streetlight and let herself laugh - really laugh - for the first time in six years.

She was twenty-eight.

She had no shoes. No husband. No son.

And for the first time in her adult life, she was free.

* * *

Continue to next part

Madison Harper knows all too well the chaos Alexander Knight leaves in his wake. As the billionaire CEO's personal assistant, she's cleaned up after countless scandals, soothed ex-lovers, and kept his messy private life from spilling into the boardroom. But when one fateful night lands her in Alexander's bed, the dynamics shift dramatically. What begins as a moment of uncontrollable spirals into a neither can resist: Madison needs financial help for her mother's mounting medical bills, and Alexander offers the resources-on the condition she becomes his girlfriend for a year. No strings, no emotions, just business. But as the lines between their professional and private lives blur, Madison's resolve to keep her heart guarded begins to waver. Beneath Alexander's reckless charm lies a magnetic that draws her closer than she ever intended. Just as she starts to believe she might be more than his latest "arrangement," the ghost of Alexander's long-lost first love, Katherine, reappears, threatening to unravel everything they've built. Can Madison protect her heart while navigating this high-stakes game of desire and deception? Or will this with her infamously reckless boss cost her more than she's prepared to lose?

Billionaire Modern Romance

8.8

Dying In Silence: The Unwanted Heiress

8.8

Kaia was diagnosed with late-stage bone cancer, with only three months left to live. She wanted to give up her family's entire trust fund just to have Gerrit play the role of a loving husband for her final days. But before she could show him the biopsy report, he looked at her with absolute disgust, declaring that their three-year marriage made him physically sick. He only loved Seraphina. To force Kaia out, Seraphina constantly framed her. When Seraphina faked a fall, Gerrit pushed Kaia so hard she tore her waist open on a glass table. When Kaia writhed in agonizing pain from her failing organs, he stood over her coldly, mocking her pathetic acting. Even when Gerrit finally discovered Seraphina had hired a fake stalker and maliciously burned Kaia's skin with boiling tea, he still chose to protect his mistress. "I already signed the divorce papers with Kaia. We are going to bury this story temporarily to protect the company." Hearing those words from behind the wall, the last shred of hope in Kaia's chest completely died. She had endured his cruelty for three years, only to realize his bias for another woman defied all logic and morality. Lying in the bathtub, coughing up mouthfuls of dark blood that turned the water crimson, Kaia picked up her phone and dialed her lawyer. "Julian, initiate the final plan." Since Gerrit despised her existence, she would make sure he never found her body.

Billionaire Modern Romance

8.2

Husband Fakes Amnesia for Mistress

8.2

The crystal chandeliers of the Whitmore Auction House sparkled overhead, casting prismatic light across the gathered elite of the city. I smoothed down the silk of my emerald gown, a dress Ford had once told me brought out the green flecks in my eyes. My husband stood at the center of the room, champagne flute in hand, his tailored tuxedo accentuating the broad shoulders I'd fallen in love with five years ago. Something in his stance made my heart flutter with unease. "If I could have everyone's attention," Ford's voice carried across the marble hall, silencing the murmur of conversation. His gaze swept the room but deliberately avoided mine. "I'd like to make an announcement." I instinctively touched my wedding ring, twisting it around my finger—a nervous habit I'd developed since Ford's supposed amnesia began six months ago. The doctors had said his memories would return gradually, and I'd been patient, devoted, preparing his favorite herbal remedies each morning despite his increasing coldness. "As many of you know, I've been struggling with memory loss," Ford continued, his voice steady and clear—too clear for someone who claimed to be confused about his past. "But sometimes, amnesia can be clarifying.

Billionaire Modern Romance

7.5

Marry My Billionaire Second Husband

7.5

Amelia has slaved her whole life, working multiple jobs to help support her poor husband Caleb― only to discover he is a millionaire! When confronted, Caleb feels no guilt. He divorces her immediately to pursue his true love, leaving her with nothing to her name. "Kelsie is the woman that I love, the woman who truly deserves to be by my side," Caleb said. "Now, sign the papers and I can end this farce of a marriage." But thankfully, fate has yet to close all its doors on her. The messy breakup has led Amelia to meet the elusive Matteo Montgomery, the mysterious owner of X'el International Inc., and even though Amelia could have sworn that this is the first time they have ever met, Matteo seemed to hold more interest in her than ordinary. With her divorce finalized, Matteo's courtship quickly grows more extravagant. He offers her everything, from a job as his secretary, a new penthouse apartment, and a permanent home in his heart. But just as Amelia's heart begins to open up to Matteo's sincerity, Caleb comes crawling back, determined to ruin her life. *** [Excerpt] "Oh?" Matteo asked, and Amelia caught a hint of amusement in his voice. "Then pray tell, what did we converse about?" Amelia swallowed. Good heavens, he was so close. She could barely even breathe, afraid that every movement she made would just amplify how loud her heartbeat was. It was racing like a bullet train at this point, and she felt it clog at her throat, refusing her a chance to speak. "I... I...I―" "I have no girlfriend, Amelia," Matteo said. "And before you overthink, I do not have a wife in secret either." His fingers didn't let go of her wrist, and instead, it even tightened its grip. It wasn't painful in the slightest, but it sent surges of electricity rushing through her body as though she had been struck by lightning in the most thrilling of ways. A coy smile curved his lips, and he leaned in just the slightest. His lips were now a hair's breadth away from hers, and Amelia instinctively held her breath. "Unless, perhaps you would like to volunteer?"

Billionaire Modern Romance

7.3

Second Chance: Reborn as the Villainess

7.3

Betrayed by the man she loved. Katrina Donovan's death was supposed to be the end. Instead, when Katrina opens her eyes, she isn't in heaven-She's in Rachel Sterling's body. The very woman who stole her lover, harvested her heart. The villain everyone hates. Now trapped in the life of her enemy, Katrina must pretend to be the spoiled, manipulative heiress while hiding the truth that would destroy them all. Worse-Owen Blake, the cold and powerful billionaire adopted son of the Sterling family, watches her every move. He despises "Rachel", believes she destroyed the only innocent girl he ever cared about. He doesn't know the girl he mourns... is standing right in front of him. With hatred burning in her veins, Katrina swears she will not waste this second chance. She will expose the lies. Reclaim what was stolen. Make every person who carved out her heart beg for mercy. But revenge is dangerous-Especially when the only man who might uncover the truth is the one who wants her dead.

Billionaire Fantasy Romance

8.5

The Jilted Heiress Claims The Surgeon Brother

8.5

I was engaged to Gorden Barron, fully believing I was about to marry the love of my life. Then his secret lover, Bettye, was diagnosed with aplastic anemia. Gorden fell to his knees and begged me to be her bone marrow donor. "Angie, I know I messed up, but she's dying. You're the only match." I agreed, wanting to be the bigger person. But the moment the harvest was over, the nightmare began. A severe infection set in, and my fever wouldn't break. Gorden's visits became shorter, then stopped entirely. As I lay in the sterile hospital room, my bones aching and my body failing, I scrolled through my phone and saw his latest post. Gorden and Bettye were tanned and healthy, sipping cocktails on a yacht in the Mediterranean. The caption read: "Grateful for second chances. My true love." I threw my phone across the room and screamed until my throat bled. I was nothing but a human blood bag to them, completely discarded the moment I was empty. I nearly died in that cold room, saved only by a top-tier specialist someone secretly paid millions to fly in. Five years later, I've finally returned to New York. I didn't come back to get revenge on Gorden. He isn't worth my time. I came back for the man who secretly held my hand and wept by my deathbed—Gorden's cold, untouchable older brother, Dalton. This time, I'm going to make him mine.

Billionaire Modern Romance

Double Regrets: My Boyfriend Is My Ex’s Boss

Chapter 4

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