Five Years, A Forged Vow

For five years, I was the devoted wife who helped Brandon build his tech empire. But the moment his first love, Kristal, returned with a feigned injury, he handed her the diamond necklace meant for our anniversary and abandoned me in a torrential storm. He knew my PTSD from a past kidnapping made storms terrifying, yet he drove away with her without a backward glance. When I called him for help, terrified of the stranger driving my rideshare, it was Kristal who answered. "Brandon is in the shower," she taunted. "Don't disturb our reunion." I barely escaped an assault that night, only to return home and discover the ultimate betrayal: Brandon never filed our marriage license in the US. Legally, I was never his wife. I was just a placeholder until she came back. While he was busy comforting her, I didn't scream or fight. I simply shredded the fake wedding certificate, packed my bags, and vanished. By the time he realized his mistake and came begging on his knees, I was already gone.

Chapters

Chapter 2

Audrey POV:

Kristal finally looked up, her eyes wide and innocent, a picture of false humility. A tiny, almost imperceptible smile played on her lips. She looked at Brandon, her gaze filled with a fragile vulnerability.

"Oh, Brandon," she murmured, her voice a soft, breathy whisper. "Are you sad because of me?" Her hand reached up, lightly touching his forehead, a gesture so intimate it made my blood run cold. It was a gesture of ownership.

Brandon froze for a split second, a deer caught in headlights. His eyes flickered, as if remembering something, someone else. But then, it was gone. He seemed to have completely forgotten I was standing there, a few feet away, watching his every move.

He smiled, a gentle, almost tender smile, that made the air around them shimmer with unspoken history. "Never, Kristal," he said, his voice low and soothing. "What are your plans for tonight? Are you staying in town for a bit?"

He sounded like a man desperate to keep her close, a man who saw her as his entire world. The thought was a searing brand against my skin.

The crowd around us, still buzzing with excitement, seemed to dissolve. All I could hear was the frantic thump of my own heart. I couldn't let this happen. Not again. Not here.

"Brandon!" I cut through his question, my voice sharper than I intended. It shattered the intimate bubble they had created.

His head snapped towards me, his eyes now filled with a flash of annoyance. He finally seemed to acknowledge my presence.

"Audrey, we can talk about this at home," he said, his tone dismissive, a barely concealed irritation in his voice. "Don't ruin the mood for everyone."

Ruin the mood? My mood was already in tatters. Was this some twisted joke? He had set up this entire public spectacle, and now I was the one ruining it?

A bitter laugh bubbled up, but I swallowed it down. "Ruin the mood?" I repeated, my voice dangerously calm. "Brandon, why don't you introduce me to your... friends? And to Kristal."

His gaze shifted away from me, a clear sign of his unwillingness. He didn't want to define me in front of her. He didn't want to define us in front of her.

"Audrey, please," he urged, his voice barely above a whisper, meant only for my ears. "Let's not make a scene."

My eyes burned with unshed tears, but I refused to let them fall. Not here. Not now. I had to reclaim some semblance of dignity.

"No," I declared, my voice echoing with a surprising strength. "I think it's time everyone knew. I am Audrey Maxwell. And I am Brandon Cervantes's wife." I watched Kristal's face. Her coy smile faltered, replaced by a rigid mask.

Then, I delivered the final blow. "And in three days," I continued, my voice clear and steady, "we will be holding our formal wedding reception."

A hush fell over the crowd. People exchanged uncomfortable glances. Some looked at me with pity, others with open disdain, as if I had somehow violated an unspoken rule. Kristal's face crumpled. Her eyes welled up with tears, and she looked utterly heartbroken.

"Oh, Brandon," she choked out, her voice trembling. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know… I'm just so clumsy." She started to back away, her shoulders shaking. "I should leave. I don't want to cause any trouble."

Then, with a frantic sob, she turned and bolted, disappearing into the thinning crowd.

Brandon didn't even hesitate. His eyes, filled with a familiar protectiveness, followed her. He started to move, to follow her.

"Brandon!" I grabbed his arm, my nails digging into his skin. "What about the awards ceremony? What about our guests? You have a reception in three days!"

He whirled around, his face a mask of cold fury. He ripped his arm from my grasp, his eyes blazing. "She just got back to the country, Audrey! She needs me right now! She twisted her ankle!"

He shoved a small, velvet box into my hand. "Here," he snarled, "this is for you. Now everyone knows who you are, doesn' t that make you happy?"

He didn't wait for a response. He turned and ran after Kristal, disappearing into the darkening evening. He didn't look back.

I stood there, the velvet box heavy in my hand, the cheers replaced by a deafening silence. My mind registered the rough fabric, the unfamiliar weight. Then, a drop hit my cheek. Then another. The sky opened up, a torrential downpour, mirroring the storm raging inside me.

The rain plastered my hair to my face, mingling with the tears I could no longer hold back. The club was quickly emptying, people scrambling for their cars. I was alone. Utterly, completely alone. I looked down at the box. It was empty. The diamond necklace was gone.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. A rideshare notification. I had ordered it earlier, as a backup, a silly premonition that something would go wrong. Now, it was my only way out. I looked around for a shuttle, for anyone, but the parking lot was almost deserted. The driver pulled up, an old beat-up sedan. The windows were tinted dark, even darker than the approaching storm clouds. I hesitated, my heart pounding a panicked rhythm. My PTSD screamed at me, but I had no choice. I had to get home.

Continue to next part

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.

Action Modern Romance

8.4

Between Ruin And Revenge: Her Regret

8.4

I worked three double shifts at the garage just to buy a velvet-boxed cake for my wealthy girlfriend, Arleen. But when I pushed open the VIP room door, I saw her lover kissing her bare leg. She didn't push him away. Instead, she laughed and swirled her martini. "I only forgot Finn because I knew he would stay. He is a poor boy from Queens who follows me around like a loyal dog." Later that night, her lover intentionally crashed a Porsche to scare me, sending a piece of jagged metal into my skull. Lying in a growing pool of my own blood, I watched Arleen crawl out of the wreckage. She didn't even look at me. She threw herself at her uninjured lover, screaming for a medic. "He just got scraped by a piece of plastic. He is faking it. Deal with Jaquez first!" When I woke up, I wasn't free. Arleen had locked me in a private hospital wing with 24-hour security, planning to isolate me and keep me as her broken, captive toy forever. My blind, pathetic devotion finally froze into absolute disgust. I looked at the heart monitor next to my bed and grabbed an IV needle. I severed the sensor wire to trigger a flatline, slipped out the fire stairs while the nurses panicked, and burned my identity to ashes. This time, I was going to disappear to London, build my own empire, and watch hers burn.

Action Modern Romance

9.1

Claimed by the Ruthless Mafia Boss: Our Twisted Nights

9.1

In a world of violence, a ruthless mafia leader claims a woman as his own, sparking a dangerous obsession. Their nights are defined by a dark, twisted passion that blurs the lines between hatred and desire. As the boss navigates deadly underworld conflicts, his fixation on her only intensifies. Caught in his iron grip, she must survive the volatile power plays and lethal secrets of his empire while facing an attraction she cannot escape.

Action Mafia Romance

7.5

Faking Love To Save The General

7.5

For five years, I was locked away in the freezing royal dungeon, starved and used as a bloody plaything by the kingdom's sadistic Cabinet Minister, Brandt Fischer. He tortured me daily for one twisted reason: I simply looked like someone else. When he visited my cell to casually announce my father's execution and drag a silver dagger across my neck, he expected me to beg. Instead, I laughed, sank my teeth directly into his carotid artery, and was violently thrown against a jagged stone wall to my death. As my skull cracked and my blood stained the moss, I thought about my so-called family. The moment Brandt had demanded me, my father, the Duke, handed me over without a single hesitation to save his own political career. I was nothing but a disposable pawn, left to rot in the dark while the monsters who ruined my life thrived. I died suffocating on my own blood and absolute, destructive vengeance. Then, I opened my eyes. I was lying in my silk-sheeted bed, reborn as my fifteen-year-old self. Today was the exact day Lord Daryl Langley, the God of War, would be ambushed and crippled—the event that allowed Brandt to seize ultimate power. I immediately stole a horse, rode to the palace gates, and threw myself directly in front of Daryl's moving carriage. "I just didn't want to see a hero die like a slaughtered pig." I didn't care if I had to shatter my own ankle to hijack his convoy. This time, I was going to save the general, and he would become the blade I use to slaughter them all.

Action Fantasy Romance

8.1

He Called Off Our Forever

8.1

Tonight, my boyfriend of seven years, Benjamin Kane, was supposed to propose. Our future was a perfect picture, planned down to the last detail. But a single phone call shattered it all. A mysterious voice convinced him I was a gold digger who would ruin him, and that another woman, Jenna Christian, was his true soulmate. He called off our engagement on the spot. That was only the beginning of my nightmare. I was stalked by a man obsessed with Jenna, a confrontation that ended with me falling from a rooftop and shattering my arm. Then, I was kidnapped by a shady agency, trapped by a contract Jenna had signed in my name. I was living the horrific fate that was meant for her. Benjamin, the man who promised me forever, abandoned me to suffer while defending the very woman who orchestrated my torment. Lying in a hospital bed, I received an acceptance letter for a design scholarship in Paris. It was my only escape. I took it, leaving behind the man who broke me and the life he destroyed.

Action Modern Romance

8.8

His Love, My Hell, Her Justice

8.8

My wedding day was ruined by a crazed woman named Isolde, who claimed my husband, Ezekiel, was her soulmate from a past life. Then, after a car accident, Ezekiel faked amnesia, siding with her and putting me through hell. He let Isolde murder my mother, forced me to face my deepest fears, and poisoned me in public. When I finally had Isolde arrested, Ezekiel's revenge was swift and brutal. He kidnapped me and, in a final act of cruelty, snapped the neck of my puppy, Muffin-the only comfort I had left. He thought he had broken me, that he had destroyed every last piece of my soul. He was wrong. He had just unleashed a monster. Now, from the shadows, I will dismantle his empire, ruin his life, and make him pay for every tear I shed. My revenge has just begun.

Action Mystery Romance

Five Years, A Forged Vow

Chapter 2

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