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 5
Sensing something was off, I shot Oliver a serious look. "Mr. Hatcher, what's going on here?"
He didn't answer. Instead, he poured me another drink, lips curled in a cold sneer. "Last time our dinner had to be cut short because you weren't feeling well, Miss Reynolds. Now that we're working on this joint project, I don't feel comfortable letting someone else handle it. I came here tonight to talk business with you-surely you won't leave me hanging, right?"
Oliver chuckled obsequiously on the side, wringing his hands. "Oh no, Mr. Sullivan, we're the lucky ones. It's a privilege to work with someone like you."
Graham clearly enjoyed the flattery.
I stayed silent, he cut me a glance. Oliver immediately grabbed a bottle of alcohol and handed it to me. "Natalie, come on. Toast Mr. Sullivan, make it up to him."
I shot him a glare-what a disgusting jerk. Oliver leaned close and hissed in my ear, "If you make Mr. Sullivan happy tonight, there'll be rewards in it for you. But if you pull any stunts... Southveil's not that big-you sure you wanna risk your career over this?"
Gritting my teeth, I took the bottle and got up to pour Sullivan a drink. But just as I turned back, he suddenly grabbed my wrist. I struggled hard, spilling wine all over the table, but he just wouldn't let go.
Then a sound came from the door-someone pushed it open. Oliver flashed a quick grin at Sullivan. "Gotta take a call, I'll be right back," and exited.
I was livid. Sullivan abruptly let go, and I stumbled back, red wine drenching my white blouse. The fabric clung to me, clearly showing my undergarments. Sullivan let out a perverse laugh and gulped down another glass.
I watched him down his drink like water and quickly formed a plan. Settling back into my seat, I covered my chest with one hand and poured him more wine with the other. "Mr. Sullivan, last time was my bad. Please don't take it personally. Let's not let this mess up our companies' partnership."
But Graham wasn't fooled. His bloated hands knocked the glass aside, and he leaned in, grabbing my face. The stench of alcohol on his breath made me gag, but I forced myself to stay still. If he really did anything to me tonight, I'd rather be dead than live with it.
"Let me go..."
He bellowed out a laugh, and then I heard him unbuckling his pants. Terrified, I spun to run, but he yanked me back by the ankle and pinned me under his weight. "You little bitch, I've forked over thirty grand to your adopted mom. Think I'll let you off easy again?"
He grabbed my blouse and started tearing. Most of my chest was exposed, the cold air stinging against my skin. In the chaos, my hand found the wine bottle that had fallen. Without a second thought, I raised it and smashed it hard against the back of his head.
"Ahhh!"
He screamed and clutched his skull, staggering off me. I scrambled backward across the floor, made a dash for the door, threw it open, and ran out. Behind me, Graham cursed as he stumbled after me.
Just then, someone appeared in the hallway. Desperate, I flung off Graham's hand and ran like my life depended on it, latching onto the man with wild eyes. "Please... please help me!"
Graham came charging over and tried to drag me back. "You slut! Think you can run? I'm not letting you get away this time!"
I shut my eyes in despair, thinking it was all over-when a gust of wind brushed past my ear out of nowhere, followed by Graham's painful grunt. The next second, I was yanked into an uncomfortably cold embrace.
I opened my eyes just in time to see Graham sprawled on the ground, unable to get up. Then I looked up and met a pair of icy, sharp eyes.
Theodore. Again.
His voice came out low and threatening, and his gaze briefly swept across my exposed skin before narrowing even more. His stare was like ice needles pricking my scalp.
Graham pushed himself up with a hand, wiping the blood off his lip with the other. "Who the heck are you, kid? Got a death wish messing with my business?"
Theodore stepped forward and placed himself between us. His eyes stayed locked on Graham. "Mr. Sullivan."
Graham's face froze the moment he finally got a good look at him. He was stunned. Then his eyes flicked back to me, and he scowled like he'd swallowed a lemon whole. "Natalie, not bad. You really know how to pick 'em. Fine, I'll let it go this once. But don't think this is the end of it."
He shot me a death glare and stormed off, one hand over his head.
I clenched my fists. Vivian, you better be ready. I'm coming for you after tonight.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to pull myself together, turned, and was about to leave when someone grabbed my wrist from behind. Theodore had stepped closer, crowding into my space until my back hit the sliding door behind me. There was nowhere to run.
"Use me and just walk away like nothing happened?"
"Must be nice, huh? Even dare to play me. Done using me, now tossing me aside?"
I kept my eyes lowered, voice shaky. "That's not it."
"Not it?" His laugh was cold and sharp. He didn't look away for even a second. When I ducked my head lower, he suddenly grabbed my chin with his icy fingers and forced me to look at him.
"Girls like you? I don't give a damn about. So don't push your luck. You won't like where that leads."
His words cut way deeper than whatever Graham had planned. It was like someone stuck a needle right into my heart-sharp, sudden, and brutal.
I bit down hard just to keep from crying, but my voice caught in my throat.
Then his gaze flicked, and he noticed my hands-pressed against the door under his grip. His eyes hesitated when he saw the blood.
I'd scraped myself on some shards of glass trying to get away earlier. Cuts stung across my palms and wrists. Blood had started to trickle again, dark against my skin.
We stared at each other-me, biting back tears; him, stunned speechless. The room held its breath with us. But I knew I couldn't hold out much longer.
A quiet sob escaped me.
Theodore froze, eyes locked on mine. Then, after a long pause, he let go of my wrists, peeled off his suit jacket, and tossed it at me without a word. He glared at me one last time before turning on his heel and stalking off down the hallway.
Only when his back vanished around the corner did my knees finally give. I slumped to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.
After a while, when the crying dulled into numbness, I stared at the jacket he'd thrown. I had nothing else, so I reluctantly slipped it on and dragged myself out of the restaurant, eyes swollen, clothes messed up, head full of chaos.
I opted for the bus. In this state, I didn't want to risk it with a cab. My reflection in the window-red eyes, crumpled clothes-turned heads even at the back of the bus. A few older ladies kept glancing my way, whispering with judgment written all over their faces.
But I'd take gossip over possibly ending up in some creepy driver's trunk any day.
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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.