Jilted Heiress: Marrying My Mysterious Protector
I brought the original drafts of the Lloyd Center to my stepsister’s high-society pool party, hoping the gift would finally earn my family's respect. I stood on the edge of the limestone patio, clutching the leather portfolio as fifty pairs of judgmental eyes watched my every move.
But the moment I handed the sketches to Corina, she retracted her hand, letting the portfolio sink into the chlorine before throwing herself into the pool with a theatrical scream.
My fiancé, Julian, didn't hesitate; he shoved me aside with enough force to twist my ankle and dove in to rescue her. He surfaced with Corina in his arms, looking at me with a mask of pure disgust while the crowd whispered that I was an unstable, illegitimate intruder. My stepmother Eugenia didn't even ask for an explanation before she stepped forward and slapped me across the face, ordering me to get out before she called the police.
"Sister, if you're still mad about the inheritance, just say it. Why did you push me?"
"Enough! God, Aria. Your jealousy is actually sickening."
I stood on shaking legs, looking at the man who had promised to know my heart for two years, only to realize he was just another wolf in the pack. The humiliation burned hotter than the sting on my face, and I realized that in their eyes, I would always be the trash they needed to take out.
I yanked the diamond ring off my finger, slammed it onto a table, and walked away from my old life forever. To claim my trust fund and survive, I walked into a dive bar and offered a marriage contract to a broke, mysterious artist named Harland. I thought I was just buying a temporary shield, but I didn't realize that my "poor" new husband was actually a billionaire predator who was already planning to burn my family's empire to the ground.
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Chapter 5
"We need to eat," Harland said, steering the truck toward the curb. "The engine is overheating anyway. Needs to cool down."
Aria looked out the window. Her blood ran cold. They were parked directly in front of the Union Square Greenmarket. The exact location of the livestream.
"No," Aria said, shrinking into her seat. "Not here. Let's go somewhere else."
"Truck won't make it," Harland lied effortlessly. He killed the engine. "Come on. Fresh air will do you good."
"Harland, you don't understand-"
"I understand you're hungry," he said. He opened his door and walked around to her side. He opened it. "Out."
Aria hesitated, then pulled her hood up. Maybe they wouldn't see her.
They walked into the market. It was crowded with the Saturday brunch crowd. Harland carried the plastic bags from the discount store, looking completely unbothered. Aria walked with her head down, staring at the pavement.
"Oh my god," a shrill voice pierced the air. "Is that Aria?"
Aria froze. She slowly looked up.
Corina stood ten feet away, holding a basket of organic kale. Julian was beside her, holding a phone on a gimbal, live-streaming to thousands.
"It is!" Corina laughed, covering her mouth. "And who is... oh wow."
Julian lowered the phone, pointing the camera directly at Aria and Harland. "Look at this, guys. The fallen princess and her... what is he? A homeless guy?"
The comments on the screen were scrolling too fast to read, but Aria knew what they said. Trash. Loser. Karma.
"Julian, stop," Aria said, her voice shaking.
"Why?" Julian stepped closer, a sneer on his face. "You look terrible, Aria. That hoodie? Is that polyester?"
Harland dropped the grocery bags. They hit the ground with a heavy thud.
He stepped in front of Aria. He didn't shove Julian. He just occupied the space, his height and breadth eclipsing the other man.
"Move," Harland said. His voice was quiet, but it carried a weight that made the air around them feel heavy.
Julian scoffed, but he took a half-step back. "Who the hell are you? Her dealer?"
Harland looked at Julian. He didn't look at him like a rival. He looked at him like he was a bug on a windshield.
"I'm the guy telling you to get that camera out of my face before I feed it to you," Harland said. As he spoke, he angled his body, turning his head slightly so his face was mostly obscured from the phone's lens by his shoulder and the shadow of his hood.
"Do you know who I am?" Julian puffed out his chest. "I'm Julian Vance. My family owns-"
"I don't care," Harland interrupted. "And it doesn't matter."
The dismissal was absolute. Julian blinked, his face flushing red. He wasn't used to being irrelevant.
Aria grabbed Harland's sleeve. Her fingers dug into the leather. "Harland, please. Let's just go."
Harland looked down at her. The coldness in his eyes vanished instantly. "Okay."
He reached out and took her hand. He interlaced their fingers. His grip was firm, grounding.
Aria stared at their hands.
"Running away again, Aria?" Corina called out. "Dad is so disappointed."
Aria stopped. She felt Harland's strength flowing into her. She turned her head.
"Tell him I don't care," Aria said loud enough for the microphone to pick up. "Tell him I'm married."
The silence that followed was absolute. Julian's jaw dropped.
"Married?" he sputtered. "To him?"
"Yes," Aria said. "To him."
She tugged on Harland's hand. "Let's go home."
They walked away, leaving the stunned couple and the chaotic livestream behind. Aria's heart was racing so fast she thought she might pass out.
But Harland didn't let go of her hand until they were two blocks away.
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9.8
Ina Holman, heiress to a failing real estate empire, was forced to attend a high-stakes matchmaking meeting to secure a financial lifeline for her family.
But the drink she was handed was secretly spiked. Desperate to avoid a public scandal that would ruin her father, she fled into a VIP elevator, only to fall directly into the arms of Buren Warner—the most ruthless billionaire predator on Wall Street.
After a blurred, chaotic night, the nightmare truly began.
A fabricated scandal of her hotel rendezvous hit the front pages. Her father slapped her across the face, using the disgrace as an excuse to freeze her accounts and kick her out onto the streets, legally severing her from the family trust before declaring bankruptcy.
Even worse, her twin sister was killed in a sudden estate explosion.
And the final, crushing blow? Ina discovered that her ex-boyfriend, Faron, the man supposed to save her family, was secretly gay. He and her best friend had orchestrated the drugging to destroy Ina's reputation, allowing Faron to break their alliance and keep his inheritance without suspicion.
Stripped of her home, her family, and her dignity, Ina screamed in agony on the freezing streets.
Her own father had murdered her sister for a fifty-million-dollar insurance payout and sacrificed Ina to hide his assets. The people she trusted most had conspired to ruin her life just for their own selfish greed.
Driven into a corner with absolutely nothing left to lose, Ina stared at the cold, calculating billionaire who had tracked her down to an abandoned cliffside estate.
"Marry me, and I will give you the power to destroy them all."
To avenge her sister and crush the people who betrayed her, Ina signed her soul to the devil.
9.2
Averie spent hours preparing a perfect third-anniversary dinner for her billionaire husband, Jarett Sharp.
Instead of celebrating, she received an anonymous photo of him intimately holding another woman.
When Jarett finally arrived, he didn't even look guilty.
"Candida. It's okay. Don't be scared. I'm on my way."
He simply took a call from his mistress, shoved Averie aside, and walked right back out the door.
That same night, Averie's father suffered a massive heart attack.
The hospital demanded a half-million-dollar deposit before they would operate.
But when Averie frantically tried to use the emergency medical trust card Jarett had given her, it was declined.
Jarett had deliberately frozen her access to the funds just hours earlier.
While she begged his assistant on the phone, Jarett refused to be disturbed, busy wrapping his expensive coat around his mistress in the hospital garden.
Averie collapsed in the hallway, realizing the man she loved was deliberately letting her father die.
In the end, a childhood friend stepped in to pay the bill and save her father's life, while her billionaire husband later pinned her to their bed, throwing a check at her and reminding her he had bought her for three million dollars.
Averie didn't shed a single tear.
She slowly ripped his check into pieces, left her massive diamond ring on the dresser, and walked out into the cold New York night with nothing but her old suitcase.
She pulled out her phone and dialed her old ballet professor.
She wasn't just going to leave Jarett Sharp. She was going to destroy him.
8.4
Cast out by an "elite" family and mocked by high society, Elena shocked everyone by marrying the most powerful man in town.
They assumed it was a temporary arrangement-after all, he had said, "The agreement is for two years. After that, we're done."
Yet after the wedding, he refused to let her go. "Elena, you can't leave me."
As he doted on her, rumors shattered one by one. A renowned painter, top hacker, and tech mastermind-her true identities stunned the world.
When a luxury empire announced their lost heiress, all eyes turned to her. "Why did she look exactly like Elena?"
7.8
The freezing rain lashed against my face as I clung to the iron gates of the Hendrix estate, begging for a chance to prove I didn't kill my best friend.
I had come here for mercy, but the man I had secretly loved for years had a different plan. He didn't want to hear my truth; he wanted to see me broken.
As the sun rose, the estate manager delivered the final blow. He shoved Emery’s phone into my face, showing a forged text message that framed me for her death, then turned his back as the gates slammed shut.
My own family didn't offer a lifeline, either. When the police came for me, my parents didn't fight for my innocence; they chose to disown me to save their bank accounts from Alfredo’s wrath.
I was thrown into Rikers Island, stripped of my dignity, and subjected to years of calculated, brutal torture paid for by the man who once held my heart.
How could the person I loved turn my life into a private slaughterhouse based on a lie?
After three years of hell, I walked out of those prison gates with nothing but a scarred body and a hollow soul. The woman who loved Alfredo Hendrix died in that cell. Now, I’m back in the city where it all began, and I’m done hiding.
8.8
After years trapped under the cruelty of her stepfather's control, Isabella knew the rules of surviving in a world ruled by men like Marco Deluca - never be noticed, never be wanted. But when she becomes a witness to something she was never meant to see, Vincenzo spares her life for reasons he doesn't understand.
Drawn to her quiet strength and fearless gaze, he finds himself willing to burn his empire to keep her safe. But loving him means stepping into a world that destroys everything it touches... and she might be the only thing he can't afford to lose.
9.7
Twenty three years Lisa, has it all brains, beauty and a thriving career as an interior designer.
What she doesn't have is any interest in marriage, especially not to Thomas Nicklson, Her family's arrogant business partner's son. She would rather stay single forever than be shackled to him.
To escape the unwanted marriage, Lisa
takes her best friend's advice and hires James, a charming stranger she meets in a gay bar, to pose as her fiancé. The deal is simple: pretend to be in love for a year, keep her parents at pay, and then walk away. Easy
Until the line between real and fake begins to blur.
What Lisa doesn't know is that James is hiding a secret big enough to change everything, and falling for her fake fiancé might be the riskiest move of all.