Ex Husband, Prepare To Burn
Five years ago, I lost everything.
My marriage. My brother. My dignity.
All because of the man I loved - Ian Vance.
He betrayed me with my best friend and left me to drown in the chaos he created. But I didn't die, and I sure as hell didn't forget.
Now I'm back - stronger, colder, and not the same naive woman he once broke.
He thinks the past is buried, that I've disappeared for good.
But I'm here to remind him that ghosts don't rest until they're avenged.
"You once said I was a nuisance in your life, Ian. Let me show you what a nightmare truly looks like."
Every secret will surface. Every wound will reopen.
And by the time I'm done, he'll wish he never met me.Dive into a world where betrayal wears designer heels and revenge tastes like champagne.In this world of glittering wealth and hidden sins, love and revenge are just two sides of the same coin - and I'm ready to flip it.
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Chapter 6
Elara's POV
I forced my way through the crowd, pushing past flashing cameras and trembling guests until I reached the exit. My chest was tight, my breath quick.
What happened tonight was enough to scare the hell out of Camila. And I didn't even have to try too hard.
Stay alive, bitch, don't die yet - I thought with a smirk. The worst is yet to come.
Before I could reach the door, I collided with someone - hard chest, warm body - and fell flat on the marble floor. My bag slid a few feet away. I snatched it up quickly, ready to bolt, when a hand appeared in front of me.
"Here," the man said.
I looked up.
Sharp suit. Neat undercut. Cool eyes.
And damn - he was beautiful.
"I'm Liam," he said, his voice smooth as sin, still holding my hand like it belonged to him.
For a second, I forgot why I was even running. My pulse skipped, but I quickly pulled my hand back. Without a word, I turned and walked away.
He frowned, but I didn't care. It wasn't arrogance - just survival.
But before I could leave, I realized something was wrong.
Guards had blocked the main entrance, checking every single guest before letting them out.
Panic stirred in my chest. I scanned the room, searching for another way. That's when I spotted a man wheeling a clothing rack backstage.
Perfect.
I hurried to him and slipped a few bills into his hand. "I need a dress and that purple wig," I whispered.
He looked at me, confused. "I'm sorry, miss, it doesn't work that way-"
But I was already pulling the wig over my head. My makeup smeared as I messed up my own face - deliberate, chaotic - to make recognition harder.
By the time I reached the guards, my heart was pounding in my ears.
"You with the purple hair - wait," one of them said.
I froze , turned around slowly and looked at him.
He looked at the picture on his phone, then at me without blinking. For a heartbeat, I was certain I'd been caught.
Then he frowned. "What happened to your face?"
I let out a small laugh. "Oh... my face, It's the new viral look - trending makeup for high-end shows. You know, avant-garde stuff. No one can afford this kind of look except elite designers."
He finally blinked, shrugged, and waved me through.
I smiled, calm on the outside - chaos on the inside - and walked to the parking lot.
Inside my car, I yanked off the wig and looked in the mirror.
"Holy shit, Elara," I muttered, laughing. "You look like a clumsy clown from the '80s."
I wiped the smeared paint off my face, started the engine, and drove out of the gala.
*******
The streets of California blurred past. My thoughts were a storm.
A dark car followed behind me.
"Ian," I whispered bitterly.
I pressed harder on the accelerator, weaving through traffic and cutting down a narrow side road.
I wasn't the same frightened girl he'd married five years ago - the one who trembled at the ignition and begged someone else to drive because she was terrified she'd kill an innocent with her lousy steering. "I don't want this, babe..." I'd said. Fuck! Those words crawled under my skin and burned like acid in my skull.
"Not this time," I muttered. "Even if I have to drag you to hell myself, Ian, I'll make you pay with my last breath. "
Tears burned behind my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.
Pull yourself together, Elara. They're the ones who wronged you.
When I checked my rearview mirror again, his car was still there. Persistent bastard.
I swerved onto a rough side road leading toward a small town and parked in front of the first house I saw.
Heart hammering, I ran to the door and banged hard. "Help! Somebody, please help me!"
A woman opened the door, wearing a white robe, her hair straight and loose down her back.
"Please," I panted, "someone's following me."
"Should I call 911?" she asked, startled.
"No. Just let me hide. If he comes, tell him you live alone - he'll leave."
She hesitated but finally led me into a small empty room.
Moments later, Ian appeared at the doorway. My heart nearly stopped.
And then-
"You again?" the woman said sharply. "Stalking me in the middle of the night? You refused to take my number earlier and now look at you, that ugly face at my doorstep"
My face scrunched in confusion as I peeked through the crack in the door, watching their little drama unfold. The woman folded her arms and scoffed. "I thought moles couldn't see at night, but look at you - forcing your half - blind self to stalk me all the way home. Should I clap or call animal control?"
I froze. Wait. That voice...
She was the same woman from the gala - the one Ian had mistaken for me earlier.
"I- I'm sorry-" Ian began.
But the woman slapped him. Hard.
Ian's face darkened, shock flickering in his eyes. He wasn't used to being humiliated.
"You're going to explain this to the police," she snapped. "Breaking into my house while I'm naked? Are you insane?"
"You wouldn't dare," Ian said, his voice low and sharp.
"Try me," the woman shot back, arching a brow with a smirk that could cut glass.
She picked up her phone, dialing. Ian's jaw clenched - then he turned and stormed out, red-faced. "Wow... such a drama I just enjoyed this evening."
I waited until he was gone before stepping out of hiding.
"Thank you," I said, smiling.
She crossed her arms. "Glad I could help that retard get what he deserves."
I chuckled softly. "Trust me, he deserved worse."
As I stepped outside, someone grabbed me and pulled me into the shadows, a hand covering my mouth.
I struggled until I looked up - and froze.
Liam.
The man from the gala.
He slowly let go. "Don't scream," he whispered.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" I hissed.
Before he could answer, he nodded toward the street. Ian stood beside his car, scanning the area.
Liam's voice dropped to a whisper. "You're welcome. I just saved your ass."
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8.1
Racheal Angelo never wanted a new life, a new house, or a new family. She just wanted the life she was used to, but when her mother marries the cold, manipulative, powerful attorney Simon Adams to escape financial ruin, Racheal is forced into a mansion she wants no part of.
What she didn't expect was the nightmare waiting at the top of the stairs- Thane Adams, her new stepbrother. The same sinfully irresistible stranger she had a reckless, heartbreak-fueled hookup with the night she caught her boyfriend, Raymond cheating.
What begins as tension and denial soon becomes a desire neither of them can control. But in a house full of secrets, lies, hidden agendas, and a father who will ruin anyone who threatens his legacy and reputation... falling for each other isn't just forbidden. It's dangerous. A love born in the dark may cost them everything, even their family, their future, and each other.
9.2
In LA's Business world, Zane Calloway, thirty, turns cartel king after his father's gruesome murder, ruling The Atlas Group with a bloody fist. He learned how betrayal could ruin even the biggest empire and was hell bent on keeping Atlas Group. However when Sienna Carter, his new assistant got in the picture, he threw caution to the wind. To become the only one controlling the cartel, he would use Sienna who was a supposedly ghost from a dead cartel as bait for his enemies. Sienna Carter made his mission become even more complicated as she ignites a dangerous sparks in him. Twenty-five year old Sienna Carter just wanted to stay alive, running away from danger had been the only thing she was capable of since her family were murdered. All she had as a semblance of her old life was the locket her dying father had given her and when a new job pops up in Los Angeles, she gambled for it, hoping for her sake that it wouldn't lead her straight to the same hell she was running from.
However, she would soon realize that the Atlas Groups was going to be more than just a survival decision but the key to everything.
8.5
"Oh. God, Eli, please! I'm not on the pills," I gasped, my fingers clawing at his shoulders.
"With a pussy as sweet as that?" he growled against my neck. "Jett was the loser. I'm not. I'm gonna fuck this pussy till the end. Afraid you're gonna have my child?"
My head dropped as a shudder ripped through me. "You're crazy!"
His voice dropped to a whisper. "You're mine now. My woman. And I'm gonna fuck you until this pretty body of yours only knows me."
---
Rowanne Steele thought she had it all. A perfect marriage to Jett Carter, heir to the Carter empire, and a future filled with love. But when Jett dies in a tragic car crash, her world shatters. Her mourning days aren't over, still clinging to his memory, drowning in grief and loyalty to the man she thought she knew.
Until one night, a hidden truth rises from his belongings and everything Rowanne believed about her husband was a lie.
Lost and heartbroken, she runs into the only arms that feel safe, Eli Carter, Jett's younger brother.
What begins as a moment of comfort in the rain turns into a mistake neither of them can forget. A mistake that feels far too much like fate.
Rowanne swears it can't happen again. Eli refuses to let go. Whether forbidden or not, he's determined to claim her. And this time, he won't lose.
8.8
Scarlet's world shattered the night she discovered her husband in her bed with her own sister.
The betrayal was brutal. The humiliation, unforgivable. And what hurt the most? Neither of them felt a single ounce of remorse.
Within months, her husband divorced her and married the very woman who helped destroy her life, her sister.
They thought she would break. They thought she would disappear quietly.
They were wrong.
Ryan Marchetti-cold, calculating, and dangerously powerful, has spent years waiting for the perfect chance to destroy his business rival. Marrying that rival's ex-wife is the ultimate move. Strategic.
For Scarlet, marrying Ryan isn't about love. It's about revenge.
A calculated alliance. A public statement. A promise that she will rise from the ashes they left her in. Together, they become the scandal that shakes empires.
But revenge is never simple.
Because behind Ryan's icy control lies a secret, one tied to her past, to her ex-husband, to the very marriage that ruined her life. A truth so explosive it could unravel everything she thought she knew.
Was she just a pawn in Ryan's war from the very beginning?
Or is the man she's slowly falling for capable of betraying her too?
In a game fueled by vengeance, power, and buried truths, Scarlet must decide:
Will she let betrayal destroy her again...
Or will she risk her heart for the one man who might truly love her?
8.3
He wants to save her. She wants to hide.
She's damaged. He's determined.
Fate brought them together. Love binds them.
Johnny Kavanagh is the definition of popular. He is an all-star rugby player with loads of friends, which means he should be enjoying the many perks of his life. But what people don't know is that he has been dealing with a painful injury that could halt the magnificent trajectory of his career. This means he has no time for distractions or mistakes. Especially not a girlfriend.
Shannon Lynch has been bullied all her life. She is shy and would rather hide herself away to make it through school. But when she arrives at Tommen College for a fresh start, she meets the notorious Johnny Kavanagh on her first day in a not-so-romantic way. What follows is a complicated friendship that turns into undeniable chemistry. It seems that Shannon won't be able to hold onto the anonymous status she once hoped for. But maybe that's alright?
Johnny won't give up on Shannon. No matter what it might cost them both.
7.5
I spent five years laundering my family's wealth and buying military-grade weapons to crown my husband, Alistair, the Don of the Chicago Mafia.
But the night before his coronation, he drove an Italian stiletto into my stomach.
He sneered that a Don needed a true Mafia Queen, and that was always meant to be his "fragile" friend, Kylie.
As I bled out on the Persian rug, he revealed the sickening truth.
The night I was found in a rival Irish boss's bed two years ago wasn't a setup by our enemies. Alistair had ordered his own mother and sister to drug and frame me.
He just needed me terrified enough to sign over my merchant trust fund to prove my loyalty.
My entire marriage, my sacrifices, and my stolen wealth were just stepping stones for him and his mistress.
I had bled for him and won him the city, only to be slaughtered like a sacrificial lamb so he could hand my empire to another woman.
Before the flames I started consumed us both, I swore I'd drag his entire family to hell.
Opening my eyes again, the suffocating smoke was gone, replaced by the scent of lavender and the bitter taste of chloral hydrate.
I was back on the exact night of the frame-up two years ago.
Outside the door, my sister-in-law was whispering, waiting for the Irish boss to arrive so they could ruin me.
This time, I was going to make sure she was the one in that bed.