He Loved Me When You Didn't
Kaitlyn Barton POV:
After three years building my family's hotel empire abroad, I came home to New York, expecting a warm embrace from my childhood fiancé, Edwin.
Instead, he greeted me with a warning. He told me to be gentle with his new girlfriend, Kacy, painting me as a villain before I even knew her name.
At my own welcome-home party, he let her stage a dramatic fall and then publicly blamed me for it, his eyes burning with a hatred I'd never seen.
He cradled her in his arms as if she were a fragile doll I had broken.
"Happy now, Kaitlyn?" he snarled, shattering twenty years of our shared history in front of everyone we knew.
In his eyes, I was no longer his love, but a monster he needed to protect his new flame from.
As he stormed out, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Everett Rowe, the man who had quietly loved me for five years.
"If you are truly ready, I will marry you. Right now. Just say the word."
My fingers moved on their own.
"Yes," I typed. "I'll marry you."
The moment I stepped back onto New York soil, a city I had once shared completely with Edwin, he greeted me not with a hug, but with a warning about his new girlfriend, painting me as the villain before I even knew her name. Three years abroad, cultivating my family's hotel empire, had prepared me for many business battles, but nothing for the cold, calculated betrayal that awaited me at home. He had replaced me, and then twisted our shared history, turning me into the aggressor he now needed protection from. This was not the reunion I had envisioned, nor the Edwin I remembered. My heart, which had swelled with anticipation, now froze into a solid block of ice.
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Chapter 2
Kaitlyn Barton POV:
Edwin' s sudden transformation from my devoted childhood love to a condescending protector of another woman was truly tiresome. I felt a knot of anger tighten in my stomach. The entire encounter left a bad taste in my mouth, spoiling what should have been a triumphant return.
My phone vibrated incessantly. I pulled it from my clutch. My screen glowed with an avalanche of notifications: messages from friends, social media updates, and a flood of shared videos. Everyone was reacting to the awkward scene Edwin and I had just made. I swiped through them, my thumb hovering over one particular video sent by Bettie. I tapped it open without much thought.
The video showed Edwin, seated comfortably in a plush armchair, swirling a glass of amber liquid. He sighed.
"How do you usually handle these kinds of situations, Edwin?" a friend's voice asked off-screen.
Edwin leaned forward, his expression serious. "Kacy... she's had it really tough, you know?" He spoke slowly, a tone of deep concern in his voice. "She comes from nothing. She' s fragile, easily hurt." He looked directly at the camera, as if addressing an unseen audience. "She' s not like us, not accustomed to... the rough edges of our world. People could easily take advantage of her, bully her."
My blood ran cold. He painted Kacy as this helpless, innocent creature. Then, his voice shifted, a subtle, almost imperceptible hardening in his tone as he continued. "Kaitlyn, on the other hand, she' s always been… well, Kaitlyn. Regal, fiery, always getting her way. She doesn't back down from anything. Sometimes she doesn't even realize how sharp she can be." He paused, a troubled look on his face. "I just need to protect Kacy. I can't let anyone upset her." He then shared a specific incident. "Just yesterday, someone said something insensitive to Kacy, and she cried for hours. I couldn't console her. Her tears are just so devastating to see." His tone, despite the implied frustration, held no real impatience. Only deep, genuine concern.
I stared at the screen, my mind blank. The words resonated, echoing the exact sentiment he had just expressed to me in person. He hadn't just warned me; he had publicly defined me. He had twisted my independence into aggression, my confidence into cruelty. My vision blurred. I couldn't decide what I felt more strongly: pure, unadulterated rage, or a chilling sense of ironic amusement at his utter blindness. He had already cast me as the villain, preemptively assigning me guilt for a crime I hadn't committed.
I took a deep, shaky breath, fighting the surge of emotion. My phone buzzed again. It was Bettie.
"Hey, are you still coming to the party? Everyone's here," she asked, her voice laced with concern. "And are you going to meet her? The infamous Kacy?"
"Edwin's been hovering around her like a mother hen," Bettie continued, her voice dropping conspiratorially. "He practically barricaded her in the corner. And she's... well, she's definitely 'tea-flavored.' All sweet smiles and batted eyelashes, but you can practically see the calculations behind her eyes." Bettie's blunt assessment hit home. I knew my best friend saw through people.
"You really should come back, Kaitlyn," Bettie insisted. "Don't let her win this. Don't let Edwin paint you as the bad guy. You need to come and rip that little manipulator apart." Bettie's words ignited a spark of defiance within me. She was right.
A sudden clarity washed over me. Why should I retreat? This was my hotel, my city, my welcome-home party. I had done nothing wrong. I had no reason to run, no reason to hide. I was Kaitlyn Barton. I had a right to be here, to stand my ground. I would not allow myself to be sidelined, or worse, vilified, in my own home.
The thought of all those prominent figures gathered in the ballroom, all the eyes watching, waiting for the drama to unfold, fueled my resolve. If Edwin wanted to turn this into a spectacle, then I would give them a show. I would not disappoint my audience, nor my own dignity.
I turned around, my stride purposeful, adrenaline coursing through me. My heels clicked with renewed determination as I made my way back to the private lounge Edwin had originally pointed to, the designated meeting spot for our closest friends. As I pushed open the heavy oak door, I heard Kacy's voice, soft and melodious, carrying clearly across the room.
"Oh, Edwin," Kacy was saying, her tone a delicate blend of false regret and exaggerated concern. "Is Kaitlyn really not coming back? I feel so terrible. I must have ruined her evening. I am so sorry." She paused, then added, her voice dropping to a near whisper, "Perhaps I should just leave. I wouldn't want to cause any more trouble for her." My entrance, the sharp sound of the door swinging open, cut her perfectly phrased apology short.
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8.1
She thought patience would earn her love.
She was wrong.
After years of waiting for her best friend to finally see her, she meets the one man she should never want-his older brother. Dark, forbidden, and dangerously perceptive, he sees through every excuse she's ever made for being overlooked.
Now she must choose between a safe fantasy that keeps breaking her heart and a dangerous truth that offers no escape once it begins.
Because the brother who looks at her like that?
He doesn't believe in halfway love.
7.2
Clifton, the god of esports, was secretly battling a career-ending wrist injury to protect his team.
A year ago, he kissed his duo partner, Justice, only to be met with violent disgust. Justice shoved him away and dry-heaved in the rain, looking at him like a monster.
Humiliated by the straight man's raw revulsion, Clifton cut him out of his life.
But now, Justice suddenly appeared at Clifton's club as a rookie tryout.
Instead of an ambitious climber, Justice played the perfect, pathetic victim. He cowered, trembled, and acted terrified whenever Clifton was near.
He even signed a bloodsucking contract with a toxic teammate, sparking rumors he was brought in to replace Clifton as captain.
During a scrimmage, Clifton hesitated to shoot because he remembered Justice had just severely burned his hand.
Justice showed no mercy. He ruthlessly gunned Clifton down, humiliating the captain in front of the entire coaching staff.
Clifton was consumed by blinding rage and betrayal.
If Justice was so disgusted by him, why did he fake his devotion for six months just to use him?
Why was he acting like helpless prey now, after trampling all over Clifton's pride?
Determined to rip off the liar's disguise, Clifton dragged Justice into a live stream in front of sixty thousand viewers.
"He's asking if you are in love with me."
Clifton smiled cruelly, waiting for the public execution. But just as the trap snapped shut, a choked, terrified gasp came through the headset.
9.6
She was sold as a broodmare. He was a warrior with no memory. Together, they'll burn down the world.
Lyra has been called many things: half-blood, mongrel, dirty blood. Rejected by every pack she's approached, she's given one final chance-as a bride to Ronan, the cruel Alpha of Red River Pack. But when her wedding night becomes a nightmare, she stabs her new husband and flees into the frozen wilderness.
Stellan remembers nothing. Not his name, not his past, not the ancient tattoos covering his body. He only knows that when he sees a terrified woman falling from a cliff into an icy river, he must save her-even if it kills him.
On the run from a vengeful Alpha and his army of hunters, Lyra and Stellan discover an impossible bond growing between them. The moon has chosen them as mates. But Stellan's memories are returning, and with them, a devastating truth: he's not just any wolf. He's the Alpha of the North Star Pack. And a half-blood can never be his Luna.
Now Ronan's brother has sworn revenge, an ancient prophecy awakens, and three packs prepare for war. Lyra must prove that bloodlines mean nothing-and that the most powerful bond of all is forged in ice and fire.
He lost his memory. She lost her freedom. Together, they'll find everything.
9.5
"You shouldn't be here, Fiona," his deep voice rasped against her ear, his hand still pressed against the wall behind her.
"Then tell me to leave," she whispered, her lips trembling inches from his. He didn't move. He didn't breathe. And in that moment, she knew he wanted her just as much as she wanted him.
Fiona Harry has lived her whole life in a golden cage of wealth, reputation, and suffocating rules. University was supposed to be her escape, her first taste of freedom. But nothing could prepare her for the moment she came face-to-face with Professor Jalen Hart, her father's best friend. One reckless night changes everything. A drunken mistake turns into an irresistible obsession, pulling her deeper into Jalen's forbidden world. But secrets don't stay hidden forever. Between Jude, her possessive friend who knows too much, Marian, Jalen's wicked wife, and the dangerous power of desire, Fiona is about to risk not only hers and her family's reputation but her entire future.
And what happens when the truth comes out especially to Marian?
8.9
The mangled car teetered on the cliff's edge, my leg crushed, gasoline fumes thick in the air. My husband, Holden, stood safe on the highway, directing the rescue – but not for me. He was saving her, the woman in the passenger seat, leaving me and our unborn child to the ocean below.
I woke trapped in the crushed Maybach, leg pinned. The cliff loomed; the driver's seat was empty.
Holden, safe outside, directed paramedics past me to Giana, his "most valuable asset," ordering her rescue first.
I watched him comfort Giana, oblivious, as the car slid. My baby barely viable. Holden offered a black card for silence; Giana gloated.
Ten years of devotion, a cruel lie. Rage fueled me: how could he abandon his wife and child?
I swore a venomous oath: never again an accessory. I flicked his card away, shielded my pregnancy, and promised my baby escape.
7.5
I was Nyx, a top-tier covert operative. But when I opened my eyes, I was trapped in the unfamiliar, overweight body of a bullied girl named Eliza.
Before I could even process the body swap, the bedroom door splintered open. I was in bed with Julian Malone, a wealthy military heir, both of us heavily drugged. Cameras flashed wildly. It was a vicious setup to ruin his career, and I was the bait.
To save his family's reputation, Julian was forced to marry me. But the moment the wedding was over, he abandoned me. His elite family treated me like a disease. His mother froze my only bank account, trying to starve me into submission.
I even intercepted a private conversation between his parents.
"Once she's in a private facility, she loses all legal standing. We can sign anything we want on her behalf."
They planned to lock me up in a mental asylum and erase my existence entirely to get rid of the "trailer park trash."
To them, I was just a weak, pathetic pawn they could crush without a second thought. They thought they had backed a helpless girl into a corner.
They had no idea they had just declared war on a lethal weapon.
I didn't cry or beg. Instead, I bypassed their state-of-the-art security, cracked their safe, and stole the financial secrets that could destroy their entire empire.
"I want five hundred thousand dollars, or these files go to the IRS."
This time, I was playing by my own rules.