Married to the Billionaire I Hated
I was drugged by my stepmother and betrayed by my boyfriend.
When I woke up in a stranger's bed, I realized I had been set up - used, humiliated, discarded.
The worst part? That cold, dangerous man... was my stepsister's fiancé.
I tried to run. I tried to disappear. But fate had other plans - I was pregnant. With his child.
Theodore Sterling - rich, ruthless, and utterly untouchable - offered me marriage.
"Congratulations," he sneered. "You finally got what you wanted - me."
So I became his wife. The scandal. The shame of the Reynolds family. The woman everyone hated.
He said he didn't want me.
But he never let me go.
I said I hated him.
But I couldn't stop falling.
This isn't just a forced marriage.
It's revenge, obsession, and a love I never saw coming.
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Chapter 2
Theodore stared down at me, cold as ever. His dark eyes were clouded with something heavy and unreadable-it was the kind of look that chilled you to the bone.
Standing right next to him was his mother, Marjorie Hughes-the one everyone said Theodore doted on the most.
She glanced over at me and Vivian, then calmly turned to look at Hubert. "Mr. Reynolds, the alliance between our families still needs further discussion. I suggest you and your daughter be more prudent. Goodbye."
Without missing a beat, she turned and walked away. Theodore followed her, but before stepping out, he threw a look over his shoulder at me-it was filled with nothing but disgust.
This-this whole mess-was exactly the outcome Vivian wanted. She bribed Julian, dragged me through the mud, just to ruin my reputation. All because I was in the way of her own daughter marrying into the Sterling family.
Her plan? Throw me at some old guy, destroy my name, and make sure I'd never be accepted by their kind.
Cruel, isn't it? I have no clue what kind of deal Vivian offered Julian, but after three years together, he still stabbed me in the back for profit. Just handed me off like I never mattered. My fists tightened, nails digging into my palms as the hate flared in my eyes.
I stood up and turned to go when Hubert's voice, cold and loud, slammed through the room. "Stop right there!"
I froze. A stack of photos was flung in my face, landing with a harsh thud. "Look at you! Shameless! You've disgraced the Reynolds name completely!"
I glanced down. Of course, they were those kinds of photos-every one of them perfectly timed, perfectly angled. Torn clothes. Messy hair. Bruises where they shouldn't be. All the evidence she needed.
I picked them up and threw them back in front of Vivian. "You work fast, don't you? This whole thing must've been planned forever. Even Julian? How much did you cough up for him?"
Hubert stepped in front of her. "Natalie! Don't even think of blaming your mother for your own mess! From today on, you're not to step one foot outside this house. Stay in your room and don't humiliate us any further!"
I just laughed hollowly. How did he even believe that garbage?
When the maid came up to drag me away, I looked them both straight in the eye with a cold smile. "You can try keeping me locked up all you want. But are you sure Grandpa will be okay hearing about this? Isn't the shareholders' meeting around the corner? Think real hard, Dad-are you absolutely sure you wanna risk it?"
That shut them up fast. Hubert's face twitched, and Vivian looked like she'd swallowed poison. She burst out, "You're threatening your father with your grandpa?!"
I stared at Hubert, unmoving. The guilt in his eyes told me everything. "What can I say? Grandpa's always liked me best. I'm the Reynolds' eldest daughter-he's never once mentioned anything about a second one."
"You-!" Vivian looked like she was about to implode, her face twisted into something downright ugly.
I couldn't be bothered. I just turned and headed upstairs.
"Let her go," Hubert said after a beat, "But listen closely, Natalie-your sister's about to get engaged to the Sterlings. Thanks to your crap, Julian wants out of the engagement. So fine, ruin yourself all you want-but if you mess this up for your sister too, not even your grandfather will forgive you."
I paused on the staircase, didn't say a word. But my heart felt heavier than ever, the grief so sharp I couldn't stop the tears from sliding down.
I sat on the bed, staring at the photo of my mom on the nightstand. After the funeral, Vivian claimed her stuff brought bad luck and forced Hubert to burn all of it. Her room was even turned into a storage space. Only this one photo was left-I dug through that dusty mess for days to find it.
"Mom, don't worry," I whispered, "I promise I won't let that woman walk all over me."
But before I could even make a move, the news broke-Sterling and Reynolds families were officially tying the knot. The guy? Theodore, duh. And the girl? Not me. It was Isabella Reynolds. Vivian's actual daughter.
I was so mad my teeth hurt from clenching. Vivian acted fast. Before I could even strike back, she'd already gotten Marjorie to accept her daughter as the bride?
I grabbed my phone and dialed Lucille Green. She's been my ride-or-die since forever. Sure, she's a scandal magnet and the media basically uses her for gossip practice, but she's always had my back, no questions asked.
The Green family isn't just big in business. Lucille's grandpa was a freaking war hero, and her brother holds a cushy political job now. If I needed to dig into something quietly, she was my only option.
As soon as the call connected, her loud voice came in hot. "Took you long enough! What's up? Those two psychos at your place do something to you again?"
I let out a cold sigh. "Just caught another beating. No big deal. Vivian didn't get off easy either-she had to put on quite the act."
"Seriously? Hubert hit you again? I swear, don't stop me this time, I'm getting people to raise hell at his door."
"Chill. I called you because I need your help."
Lucille went quiet for a beat before bursting into laughter. "I know what you want. You want to know who that mystery guy from your 'first night' was, right? Your girl went digging, and guess what-I've got news.
Girl, you hit the jackpot. The guy was none other than Mr. Golden Boy himself, Theodore! That night, he'd just flown in from Singarra, had some business meeting, couldn't get home in time, and decided to crash at the hotel. Can you believe your luck?"
She kept rambling on, but my brain had already short-circuited. Images from that night-his touches, his breath, my flushed skin-flashed in my head, face burning with embarrassment... then instantly going pale.
"Holy crap..."
Did I seriously sleep with Isabella's future fiancé? She'd lose it if she ever found out.
I quickly snapped out of it and filled Lucille in on the engagement news between Isabella and Theodore. As expected, the gossip queen went nuts. "Girl! Are you kidding me? You are straight-up savage! This is gonna be legendary. Meet me at Grandion at 8-I'm treating you tonight!"
That place? The most high-end club in Southveil. I rubbed my temples and shot her a look through the phone. "Don't get ahead of yourself. First, I need you to find out what happened to Julian after that night. He just vanished, which doesn't feel right. I think Vivian had something to do with it. Otherwise, there's no reason he'd go MIA, especially with the Reynolds-Chandler project still full steam ahead."
Lucille got dead serious in a second. "So, you're trying to dig up dirt on Vivian and blow her cover?"
"Not just that. The engagement party's coming up fast. Theodore's probably planning to take this secret to the grave, but I'm not exactly on the same page."
Lucille paused, then cracked up again, probably slammed a hand on the table. "Girl, I can't wait. Let the drama begin!"
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9.3
Ava Rosen never expected her life to fall apart in a single night. Broke, exhausted, and drowning under hospital bills, the last thing she needs is to spill coffee on a stranger, especially when that stranger turns out to be Damian Blackwell, the city's most feared billionaire. Cold, brilliant, and impossibly controlled, Damian is the one man she should never cross. But instead of destroying her, he makes her an offer: pretend to be his fiancée for six months, and he will save her family from financial ruin. Ava wants to refuse, but desperation traps her. Soon, she is pulled into Damian's glittering world of luxury, secrets, and ruthless power. His rules are strict. His temper is dangerous. His attention is intoxicating. And falling for him violates every clause of their contract. But as enemies close in and buried truths rise to the surface, Ava realizes the greatest threat is not Damian's world, it's the possibility that she might lose her heart to the man who swore he could never love her.
9.5
I returned to New York with a broken suitcase and exactly three hundred and forty-two dollars in my bank account. My mother was dying in a public hospital, and the only treatment that could save her required a fifty-thousand-dollar deposit I didn't have.
While I was pleading with the billing department, I ran into my billionaire ex, Gannon Sharpe, and his cruel fiancée, Aleta. Without a second thought, Aleta slapped me so hard my lip split, kicking my belongings across the floor and calling me a gold-digging thief in front of the entire staff.
I looked at Gannon, the man I once loved more than my own life, hoping for a shred of mercy. Instead, he looked at me with pure revulsion and told me I belonged in the gutter. He believed the lies his grandfather told him—that I had abandoned him after his car crash and vanished with millions.
He had no idea I was the one who actually pulled him from that burning wreckage, or that I was currently skipping meals in a moldy motel just so our secret son could have formula. He called me "disgusting" and walked away, leaving me to rot.
I wanted to scream that I was the genius scientist who wrote his company’s core algorithms, and that the child he didn’t know existed was shivering with a fever only blocks away. But the ironclad NDA I signed to save my family kept me silent, even as Gannon looked at me like I was something he’d stepped in.
Desperate for health insurance to save my mother and son, I took a bottom-tier data entry job in the basement of Gannon’s own tower, intending to stay invisible. But when a billion-dollar error threatened to bankrupt his empire, I couldn't stop myself from hacking the system to fix the code.
Now, the man who hates me is standing in my cubicle, demanding to know how a "dropout" knows his most guarded secrets. Gannon is finally digging into my past, and he’s about to find out exactly what—and who—I’ve been hiding for the last four years.
8.8
When quiet and independent interior designer Amara Benson meets the golden billionaire bachelor Alexander Drake, her life takes a turn she never expected. A whirlwind night leads to an unexpected pregnancy, and suddenly, Amara is thrust into Alexander's glittering world of power, influence, and secrets. But wealth can't buy love, and in a world where everyone has an agenda, Amara must navigate betrayal, ambition, and the fragile promise of the heart to protect the life growing inside her-and discover a love worth more than gold.
7.1
"You're mine now, Brittany." He whispered in my ears. I froze. I don't remember telling him my name.
Zayne...Zayne...oh God. Now, I remember why his name sounded so familiar...but it was too late, I thought as I lost consciousness.
__
Brittany's life has been full of heartbreaks and pain, from her father's death to her mother's manipulation and abuse, while using religion as a weapon.
She grews up with fear, guarding her virginity like a cloak because of her mother's constant words in her ears.
Until she meets Zayne, known throughout New York as the CEO for his ruthlessness, he turns out to be Mafia too.
Zayne claims her as his refusing to let her go. Will Brittany grow to love him and give him a chance after what he did to her?
What happens when she's the only one who can save him from enemies flocking around him?
__
"I'm letting you go, doll." He mumbled as he held on to me, his eyes growing weak.
My heart twisted in my chest as tears fell down my cheeks.
No... "I don't regret a thing. You taking me was the best thing that ever happened to me."
9.5
Elara Edward never dreamed of marrying a man like Leonardo Lorenzo. For her, this marriage wasn't a choice-it was a sacrifice. To save her little brother's life, she gave up her freedom and her heart.
Leonardo had everything-wealth, power, and a reputation that made people fear his name. Handsome and commanding, yet ruthless and cruel, he agreed to the marriage only to strengthen his empire. To him, love was a weakness, and compassion was a luxury he couldn't afford.
She was sweet, gentle, and broken.
He was dangerous, cold, and merciless.
Two opposites bound by chains of hatred and duty.
But as the line between pain and passion blurs, and as scars from the past give way to unexpected emotions, will Elara and Leonardo destroy each other-or find love in the darkest of places?
A story of broken souls, aching hearts, and the power of love against all odds.
Warning: This is a dark romance. It contains scenes of violence, passion, and emotional intensity. Reader discretion is advised.
9.0
I stood in the corner of the grand ballroom, trying to stay invisible despite the massive diamond on my finger. As the fiancée of the billionaire Arturo Watts, I was supposed to be the most envied woman in the room, but the suffocating scent of lilies felt more like a funeral than a gala.
A waiter’s elbow clipped my arm, sending my clutch crashing to the floor and spilling its contents for everyone to see. Among my lipstick and phone lay a heavy, glittering brooch—the Pink Star diamond—that had just been reported stolen from the neck of a billionaire socialite.
"Thief! Just like her father," the crowd hissed as cameras flashed like gunfire in my face. Tiffany Watts ground her heel into my bag, her eyes gleeful as she watched the "scammer's daughter" finally get caught. Just as security reached for my wrists, Arturo stepped out of the shadows, but he wasn't there to save me. He grabbed my face and kissed me with a brutal, bruising intensity, branding me in front of the news drones to turn my humiliation into a PR stunt for his company’s stock price.
I thought I was being protected, but I soon realized I was just a prisoner in a gilded cage with new locks on the windows. I discovered the truth Arturo was trying to shred: I wasn’t his fiancée, I was his "key code." He was using my name to access fifty million dollars of my father’s hidden money, and he had blocked my FBI application to ensure I’d never uncover the trail.
"I did it for you," he whispered, standing over me with the same cold, unreadable eyes he used on his business rivals. He thought he could buy my silence with designer gowns and a fake romance, but he forgot that I am my father’s daughter.
I’m done being a liability in his corporate games. I’ve found the secret account and recorded his confession. If Arturo Watts wants to treat me like a target, I’m going to make sure I’m the one who hits the mark and takes every cent he’s hiding.