Left At The Altar, She Became The Bride Of His Arch-Nemesis
Since returning to her family, Evelyn had never truly been accepted or treated as their own daughter.
On her wedding day, her parents chose her adopted sister over her, and the man she was supposed to marry abandoned her on the highway for his true love without even looking back once.
Heartbroken but resolute, she tore off her veil and stood before his rival. "I dare you to steal the bride."
Shane met her gaze. "Why wouldn't I?"
Their impulsive marriage shocked everyone. Her ex later begged, "Give me another chance."
Shane pulled her close, his voice cold. "Too late. She's my wife now."
Chapters
Share
Chapter 3
With a sharp edge in her voice, Sharon lashed out. "Evelyn, you must've been seeing Shane behind Cole's back for a while now. That's why you're in such a rush to replace him with Shane, isn't that right?"
"If you won't call him, then I will." Without sparing her a glance, Evelyn took out her phone and dialed Cole's number.
She put him on speaker, and his irritated voice rang across the silent venue the moment the call connected.
"I already told you, I'm staying with Kendra. I'm not marrying you today. If you keep calling, I'll block you!"
A cold laugh slipped from Evelyn. "Cole, whether you show up or not, this wedding isn't getting canceled."
Taking it as an attempt to corner him, Cole responded in a mocking tone, "Who else would even marry you if it's not me? Go ahead and find someone else. I'd actually appreciate it if you did."
The line went dead, and an odd silence settled over the entire venue.
Overcome with anger, Sharon struggled to breathe before collapsing where she stood.
Meanwhile, a bright smile spread across Evelyn's face. "Thank you, everyone, for attending my wedding with Shane."
As her words lingered, the Ferrari's engine roared, signaling their exit.
Seated beside him, Evelyn turned to Shane. "I appreciate this. You can drop me off here."
Shane kept driving, his hands steady on the wheel. "We're not done yet. There's still something left to handle."
Curiosity flickered across Evelyn's face as she turned toward him. "What do you mean?"
A faint grin tugged at Shane's lips as he met her gaze. "We make it official. I become your husband in name and in record."
By the time they stepped out of the City Hall, Evelyn stood there with the document in her hands, staring at it as if it didn't feel real. She had actually married him just like that.
Before she could process it, the paper was taken from her fingers. Evelyn lifted her eyes to him.
Without a word, Shane slipped it away and turned. "Come on."
Confusion crossed her face as she followed. "Where are we going?"
He glanced back at her, his tone calm. "I did you a favor. Now you return it."
Soon enough, the car came to a stop in front of Gilded Spire, a place known across Slomery where the wealthiest gathered.
Evelyn stepped out and looked at him, surprise clear in her eyes. "I didn't expect you to spend time in places like this."
Shane shut the door and spoke plainly. "I had business here. Marrying you set me back."
"Then I suppose I owe you my thanks." A polite smile formed on Evelyn's lips, though it didn't reach her eyes.
Amusement showed in his expression as he looked at her. "Don't mention it."
Evelyn said nothing.
He really didn't miss a chance to push things further.
Once inside, staff greeted them right away, and one man stepped close to Shane to murmur something in a low voice. A slight crease formed between Shane's brows.
He turned to look at Evelyn, his tone steady. "That dress isn't exactly suited for this place. I'll have someone bring you a change."
"Alright." A small nod came from Evelyn.
After Shane walked off, a staff member guided her toward the casino on the first floor. "Mrs. Bennett, Mr. Bennett asked me to let you know that you're free to play as much as you like. Any winnings belong to you, and if there are losses, he'll take care of them."
The casino floor buzzed with chatter and movement, and heads turned the moment Evelyn stepped in, her wedding dress drawing every eye.
None of it caught her interest. "It's fine. I'll just stay here and wait."
She sent the staff member away, then turned toward the lounge area, planning to sit down, but before she could get far, someone caught her wrist.
A faint frown appeared as she turned to respond, but the words never came when she saw who stood there.
Irritation was clear on Cole's face as he spoke. "Evie, what are you doing here?"
Not far from them, a few voices chimed in with open mockery.
"Cole, looks like Ms. Fowler couldn't stay away. Did she really chase after you in her wedding dress just to find you?"
"Ms. Fowler, Kendra wasn't feeling well, so Cole brought her here to relax. Did you really need to follow him all the way here?"
Kendra stepped closer to Cole and offered Evelyn a soft smile. "Ms. Fowler, showing up here in your wedding dress must be quite troublesome. And Cole, you should've made sure she was taken care of first."
A deep crease formed on Cole's forehead. "Didn't I already tell you to go back home? Cornering me like this isn't going to change anything!"
The situation was so ridiculous that Evelyn almost let out a laugh. He had left her on the roadside without a second thought and skipped their own ceremony, just so he could bring Kendra here to relax.
Only now did it fully sink in for her. She had been fooling herself all along. There had never been a place for her in his heart.
With a swift motion, she pulled her wrist free from his grip. "I didn't come here for you."
Jeffrey Ford let out a scornful laugh. "Come on, Ms. Fowler. There's no need to pretend. You show up dressed like that, and you expect us to believe you're not here for Cole? What else could it be, you came here to gamble?"
Someone chimed in, dripping with mockery, "Ms. Fowler has always been so proper. I doubt she even knows how to do that."
"She's still a Fowler by name, yet she throws away her pride just to chase after him. That's just embarrassing."
Kendra gently tugged at Cole's arm, her expression full of concern. "This is really on me. If I hadn't fallen ill, you wouldn't have had to delay your wedding because of me. I'm fine now. Since Ms. Fowler came all this way to find you, you should go back with her."
Kendra's words seemed to push something in Cole, and his restraint finally snapped. "Evelyn, do you really have to corner me like this in front of everyone? Kendra isn't well! Do you feel better now that you've turned this into a scene? I already said I'll marry you. What does one day even change?"
A reply full of sarcasm was already on Evelyn's lips, but Jeffrey spoke first.
A loud laugh burst from him. "She's scared you'll walk away, Cole! Even her own family wants nothing to do with her. Clinging to you is the only thing she's got left!"
"Once you're married, you might need to keep a lock on yourself, Cole!"
"Is Ms. Fowler planning to keep him on a leash? That'd be something to see!"
Their words set off another round of laughter around them.
Kendra turned to Evelyn with a soft expression. "Ms. Fowler, don't take it to heart. They're only teasing. There's no ill intent."
A frown appeared on Cole's face as he snapped at the group. "Enough."
Without waiting, he grabbed Evelyn's arm and started pulling her toward the exit. "I'll have someone take you back."
She resisted immediately, trying to pull free. "Let go of me!"
His grip tightened, and his voice dropped to a warning tone. "We'll deal with this after I'm done here. Don't make a bigger scene in front of them."
Before they could move any further, someone stepped into their path.
The man stood there in a sharp suit, and Cole recognized him at once as someone connected to the owner of Gilded Spire.
His demeanor shifted right away, and he spoke with caution. "Mr. Gordon, I apologize if we caused any disturbance. I'll take her out—"
Marc Gordon didn't let him finish.
Instead, he turned toward Evelyn and gave a polite nod. "You must be Mrs. Bennett. My boss has asked me to bring you upstairs."
You may also like
7.2
When I discovered my husband's safe combination was my stepsister's birthday, my world tilted. Inside, I found the blueprint for how he planned to erase me. He would claim my unborn child for his true love.
The postnup was cold and calculated: billions in assets, all designated for Kaleigh. Not a penny for me, his wife of ten years.
He tore up the divorce papers I offered, threatening to use his power to take my baby. Kaleigh showed up at my door, taunting me, calling me a "convenient placeholder."
She wanted to raise my child as her own.
I realized I wasn't just a wife. I was a surrogate. A fertile womb he married because his true love was barren. Our entire marriage was a grotesque lie designed to produce an heir for them.
Then, an anonymous email landed in my inbox. It contained a recording of my husband calling me his "incubator."
That's when I knew I couldn't just leave. I had to die.
9.5
Gina was locked in Blackwood Asylum for five years, framed as a violent lunatic by her own wealthy family.
Her brother suddenly dragged her out, but not to save her. He forced her into an arranged marriage with Kerr Brooks, the billionaire emperor of New York, just to save the Rollins family's failing company.
Back at the estate, her parents treated her like a biohazard. They showered her adopted sister, Hailie, with love and luxury, while forcing Gina into a freezing servant's room. They threw a brutal prenuptial agreement at her face and threatened to leak a deepfake scandal video to the press if she didn't play the perfect bride. To ensure Gina's absolute ruin, Hailie even ordered a maid to spike her dinner with a massive dose of LSD. They were ruthlessly sacrificing her to a man who was secretly in a deep, unresponsive coma.
"She is just a tool, Hailie. Do not waste your pity on a broken thing."
Her mother's cold words echoed in the foyer. They looked at Gina's faded jumpsuit and vacant eyes, fully believing she was a heavily sedated pawn they could easily manipulate and discard.
But they didn't know Gina was a master hacker, a lethal underground surgeon, and the secret owner of the world's top luxury brand. She neutralized the poison in seconds and slipped into her comatose fiancé's heavily guarded ICU. Disabling the secret neuro-suppressants keeping him asleep, Gina smiled in the dark. If they wanted her to marry a corpse, she would use his empire to bury them all alive.
8.3
⚠️ Warning: This book contains explicit scenes, strong language, mature content, sexual kinks and dark themes that may not be suitable for some readers. Read at your own risk.
Trevor Matai had already made himself an enemy of half the school just by being the smartest person in the class. So when he won the student body presidency, they just found newer and louder reasons to come for him.
What he was not prepared for was jerking awake from a nightmare in the middle of class, calling out Sean Pierre's name in front of everyone, and having a very visible and undeniable 'boner' to go along with it. Does that mean he got 'bricked up' for Sean.
That was quite unbelievable because Sean Pierre, who is a star quarterback and the school's golden boy, happens to be the most aggressively straight guy Trevor had ever been forced to share oxygen with. So, Sean was the absolute last person his subconscious should have chosen.
And now the whole school knew.
What followed was supposed to be punishment as a result of the two clashing over school activity funds. Instead, something neither of them planned for started building because the closer Sean kept him, the harder it became to pretend that none of it meant anything.
But Sean was the star quarterback and there were rules that came with that title. And wanting Trevor wasn't something the world around them was going to quietly allow.
Two boys with two different dreams that couldn't both survive this situation, which seemed like a rivalry that had already drawn blood and a romantic feeling between them that refused to take note of that.
Society had already written the rules, but they were about to break those rules and rewrite them.
Because when someone is willing to burn everything down for you... the only question left is whether you are brave enough to let them and decide what you are willing to risk for love.
7.1
After the one-night stand with a man who refused to tell her his name, Charlotte would figure out on TV that the man she had s*x with the previous night was the heir to a billionaire empire.
At the same time, Jace Norman-the infamous playboy heir-faces a public scandal that threatens his inheritance. To protect the family empire, his ruthless father forces him into an immediate contract marriage.
And just like that Charlotte would get married to the spoiled, reckless son of the most powerful billionaire in the city.
That One night, Room 55 and Five thousand dollars she desperately needed would change her life forever.
Weeks later, Charlotte discovers she's pregnant.
But before she can process the truth, her manipulative boyfriend claims the child is his and begins blackmailing her.
As their fake marriage becomes dangerously possessive, secrets begin to spiral. An ex-boyfriend demanding money. Jace's jealous college lover is determined to destroy Charlotte. Charlotte's sister is hiding betrayal behind sweet smiles. And a billionaire father who will eliminate anyone to protect the Norman name.
When a forged DNA test claims the baby isn't Jace's, the empire turns on Charlotte.
But the truth is far darker than any of them realize.
Because someone has been orchestrating every lie from the beginning.
And when Jace finally discovers the baby is his...
He will have to choose between his father's empire-
Or the woman carrying his heir.
8.0
Eloise Ferguson was the legitimate daughter of a powerful Senator, yet she was treated like a hysterical burden by her own family.
In her past life, her parents forced her to marry a sadistic billionaire for political funding.
When she resisted, they locked her in a psychiatric facility, drugged her, and left her to die in restraints while her "fragile" cousin Jaylene stole her life.
She never understood why her mother hated her so fiercely.
Why did her mother treat her brother Cortez and her cousin Jaylene like absolute royalty, while throwing her own flesh and blood to the wolves?
Opening her eyes again, Eloise found herself back at age twenty-two, trapped in a restroom at a charity gala.
Escaping her abuser, she used her awakened mystic abilities to look at her family's life forces.
What she saw made her blood run cold.
Thick, red biological cords connected her mother directly to both Cortez and Jaylene, intertwining in a perfect symbiotic bond.
They weren't cousins. They were illegitimate twins born from her mother's secret affair.
Eloise was the only true outsider in her own home.
The realization hit her like a physical blow. Her entire life of abuse was just a cover-up for a nest of parasites stealing her father's name and her inheritance.
But this time, she refused to be their victim.
Armed with an unchallengeable executive order she blackmailed out of the United States President, Eloise crushed the hidden microphone in her bedroom.
"Game on, Mother."
9.0
Ellen had spent ten years cleaning her husband's home, a quiet devotion to the man who demanded her constant labor. But while vacuuming under their bed, her world shattered with a single, horrifying discovery. Hidden away was a secret phone, revealing a life her husband had built with another woman and child for the past eight years.
A decade of devoted homemaking for Adrian in their Los Angeles home was Ellen’s life. While cleaning, she found a hidden compartment and a new iPhone, which she shockingly unlocked. The wallpaper revealed Adrian with a secret family in Austin—a double life since her own pregnancy. Texts detailed a $1.2 million house and lavish expenses for “Angel.” Adrian stirred, forcing Ellen to hide the device. Her son was denied a $200 class, while her $50,000 inheritance funded Adrian’s secret family. Rage replaced her tears. Ellen photographed all incriminating details, hid the phone, and forced a submissive smile. Her quiet devotion was over; her war had just begun.