Memorizing Baking Rules

Seven years have passed since Margaret, my husband's ex-wife, orchestrated that explosion in downtown Oakwood. It left me a fool and crippled Larry's left hand. Ever since, I've been the burden he can't shake off. Today, upon her release from prison, she returned to her wealthy family as the young mistress. At the welcome-back banquet in her honor, Margaret suddenly proposed a game of Truth or Dare. No one dared object. The bottle spun and spun before finally landing squarely on Larry. Margaret smiled. "Larry, all these years, have you ever regretted saving this fool and ruining your life?" After a long silence, he said calmly, "I have." Her smile widened. "Then divorce her, Larry. Leave this fool and come back to me. My father's company will be yours." Back in the basement, he slammed a bottle of poison in front of me. "Olivia, you said you didn't want a divorce. Drink this, and we'll stay married." Terrified, I hesitantly reached for the bottle. "Okay!" ...... That day, an unfamiliar luxury car pulled up before our run-down building. The visitor was Larry's former comrade, now exuding condescension. "Larry, Ms. Margaret is hosting a banquet at Sky Peak," he said, glancing at me with undisguised disdain. "To settle your domestic affairs as well." After a prolonged silence, Larry finally nodded. He dressed me in a faded, washed-out dress and led me from that sunless basement. Sky Peak Club—Oakwood's most exclusive playground for the rich. Inside the private room, lights blazed, and the air was thick with perfume and the rustle of silk. Margaret sat at the head of the table in a custom-made gown, her makeup flawless—a world apart from the woman in prison uniform seven years ago. Seeing us, she curled her lips into an amused smile. "Larry, you made it. And this is... oh, Olivia. Silly me, I almost forgot you still drag this little fool around." A wave of suppressed laughter rippled through the room. Larry's body stiffened briefly. He shielded me behind him, his voice low. "Margaret, what exactly do you want?" "Nothing much." Margaret picked up her wine glass, swirling the red liquid inside. "It's been seven years. Just catching up. I heard you're delivering takeout now? What a shame. Oakwood's youngest bomb disposal hero back in the day, and now you can't even lift your left hand." Every word cut like a knife into Larry's pride. His face grew paler, and his grip on my hand tightened unconsciously. "Let's play a game," Margaret suggested suddenly. "Truth or Dare. How about it?" No one dared to object. The bottle spun several times, landing squarely on Larry once more. Margaret smiled, her expression ripe with vindication. "Larry, choose truth. Tell me, over these seven years, have you ever regretted ruining your life to save this fool?" All eyes were on Larry. I couldn't decipher the complexity in his gaze, only feeling the slight tremor in his hand as he held mine. He was silent for so long, I thought he wouldn't answer. Then, in a voice so calm it was almost cruel, he said, "I have."

Chapters

Chapter 1

Today, upon her release from prison, she returned to her wealthy family as the young mistress. At the welcome-back banquet in her honor, Margaret suddenly proposed a game of Truth or Dare. No one dared object. The bottle spun and spun before finally landing squarely on Larry.

Margaret smiled. "Larry, all these years, have you ever regretted saving this fool and ruining your life?"

After a long silence, he said calmly, "I have."

Her smile widened. "Then divorce her, Larry. Leave this fool and come back to me. My father's company will be yours."

Back in the basement, he slammed a bottle of poison in front of me. "Olivia, you said you didn't want a divorce. Drink this, and we'll stay married."

Terrified, I hesitantly reached for the bottle. "Okay!"

......

That day, an unfamiliar luxury car pulled up before our run-down building. The visitor was Larry's former comrade, now exuding condescension. "Larry, Ms. Margaret is hosting a banquet at Sky Peak," he said, glancing at me with undisguised disdain. "To settle your domestic affairs as well."

After a prolonged silence, Larry finally nodded. He dressed me in a faded, washed-out dress and led me from that sunless basement.

Sky Peak Club—Oakwood's most exclusive playground for the rich. Inside the private room, lights blazed, and the air was thick with perfume and the rustle of silk. Margaret sat at the head of the table in a custom-made gown, her makeup flawless—a world apart from the woman in prison uniform seven years ago.

Seeing us, she curled her lips into an amused smile. "Larry, you made it. And this is... oh, Olivia. Silly me, I almost forgot you still drag this little fool around."

A wave of suppressed laughter rippled through the room.

Larry's body stiffened briefly. He shielded me behind him, his voice low. "Margaret, what exactly do you want?"

"Nothing much." Margaret picked up her wine glass, swirling the red liquid inside. "It's been seven years. Just catching up. I heard you're delivering takeout now? What a shame. Oakwood's youngest bomb disposal hero back in the day, and now you can't even lift your left hand."

Every word cut like a knife into Larry's pride. His face grew paler, and his grip on my hand tightened unconsciously.

"Let's play a game," Margaret suggested suddenly. "Truth or Dare. How about it?"

No one dared to object.

The bottle spun several times, landing squarely on Larry once more. Margaret smiled, her expression ripe with vindication. "Larry, choose truth. Tell me, over these seven years, have you ever regretted ruining your life to save this fool?"

All eyes were on Larry. I couldn't decipher the complexity in his gaze, only feeling the slight tremor in his hand as he held mine.

He was silent for so long, I thought he wouldn't answer. Then, in a voice so calm it was almost cruel, he said, "I have."

Continue to next part

Madison Harper knows all too well the chaos Alexander Knight leaves in his wake. As the billionaire CEO's personal assistant, she's cleaned up after countless scandals, soothed ex-lovers, and kept his messy private life from spilling into the boardroom. But when one fateful night lands her in Alexander's bed, the dynamics shift dramatically. What begins as a moment of uncontrollable spirals into a neither can resist: Madison needs financial help for her mother's mounting medical bills, and Alexander offers the resources-on the condition she becomes his girlfriend for a year. No strings, no emotions, just business. But as the lines between their professional and private lives blur, Madison's resolve to keep her heart guarded begins to waver. Beneath Alexander's reckless charm lies a magnetic that draws her closer than she ever intended. Just as she starts to believe she might be more than his latest "arrangement," the ghost of Alexander's long-lost first love, Katherine, reappears, threatening to unravel everything they've built. Can Madison protect her heart while navigating this high-stakes game of desire and deception? Or will this with her infamously reckless boss cost her more than she's prepared to lose?

Billionaire Modern Romance

8.8

After My Lover Replaced Me with His Greedy Mistress

8.8

The elevator doors chimed, sliding open to reveal the pulse of Manhattan—a bass-heavy thrum that vibrated right through the soles of my thrifted heels. The rooftop of the Skylark was a kaleidoscope of diamonds, champagne flutes, and the kind of aggressive ambition that smelled like expensive cologne and ozone. Tonight was the *Nexus* IPO launch. Tonight, eight years of instant noodles, double shifts at the diner, and scrubbing grout off bathroom tiles were supposed to turn into gold. I smoothed the front of my black dress. It was vintage—code for used—but I’d tailored it myself until it hugged my frame like armor. My hands trembled, just a little. Not from the cold, but from the adrenaline of knowing that Ian had done it. *We* had done it. "Excuse me, miss," a server muttered, maneuvering a tray of hors d'oeuvres around me as if I were a piece of misplaced furniture.

Billionaire Modern Romance

7.4

Bound by Fate to the Billionaire

7.4

Forced into an unwanted marriage, quiet schoolteacher Delina Brooks is bound to Andrew Kingsley.He is a ruthless billionaire musician, cold and arrogant, and he hates Delina from the moment they wed. But Andrew's world is not just his own. His glamorous ex-girlfriend, Camilla Laurent, and his manipulative sister, Veronica, are determined to destroy Delina-and reclaim Andrew for themselves. Surrounded by lies, secrets, and relentless enemies, Delina must fight for her dignity, her family, and her future. As fate twists and turns, one question remains: Will the woman he despised become the only one he can't live without?

Action Billionaire Modern

7.4

Dumped My Fake-Poor Ex, Married My Wealthy Boss

7.4

For six years, I worked myself to the bone to support my "struggling artist" boyfriend, Kasen. I paid the rent on our leaky Brooklyn apartment and believed in his dream, thinking our love was real. That all ended one rainy night when I delivered documents to an exclusive club and overheard him with his wealthy friends. Our life, he said, was just a "sociological experiment." He wasn't poor at all. He was a trust fund heir with a fiancée in the Hamptons, waiting to close a corporate merger. "Kaia is just a naive pet who voluntarily pays my rent," he laughed over a three-thousand-dollar glass of scotch. He told them girls like me were so desperate we'd come crawling back for a scrap of affection. My entire world shattered. I packed my bags and walked out that night with eighty-four dollars to my name, ready to start over. But escaping one monster only threw me to another. The next day, a predatory client tried to drug me during a business meeting. My boss, the terrifyingly powerful CEO Camden William, intervened. But after a night of drug-induced chaos, I woke up in his bed. He didn't offer an apology. He offered a contract. "Marry me for three years," he commanded, "and I'll give you five million dollars and make sure Kasen can never touch you again."

Billionaire Modern Romance

9.6

His Substitute Wife's Silent Departure

9.6

Elena has been deaf for three years—ever since the accident that took her unborn child. Her husband, billionaire CEO Julian Vance, married her as a substitute for his first love, Victoria. For three years, Elena lived in silence, enduring his coldness, believing that if she loved him enough, he would eventually see her. Then Victoria returns. Julian brings her into their home, makes Elena sleep in the guest room while Victoria takes the master bedroom. He tells Elena she's "broken" and "useless." When Elena discovers she's pregnant again, she decides to leave—not with tears, but with a quiet resolve. By the time Julian realizes what he's lost, Elena is gone. And this time, she's never coming back.

Billionaire Modern Romance

7.0

My Coldhearted Ex-Husband Demands A Remarriage

7.0

Erika was a disgraced ex-wife, struggling to survive in a freezing Brooklyn slum to raise her five-year-old son. But her billionaire ex-husband, Doyle Morgan, wasn't done destroying her. He orchestrated a cruel trap, forcing her to deliver a custom sapphire brooch to his new mistress, just to watch her get humiliated and severely burned by scalding coffee. When Erika fought back and refused to beg, Doyle's punishment was swift. He demoted her to scrubbing executive toilets with raw, bleeding hands. Starved, exhausted, and pushed to the absolute brink of organ failure, she finally collapsed lifelessly in front of him in Central Park. For five years, she had endured his relentless torment and the world's mockery just to keep her child safe. Doyle despised her, convinced her son was the filthy proof of her cheating with another man. He didn't know the boy was actually the child of his deceased older brother, conceived in a dark, drugged hotel room. Why couldn't he just leave them alone to suffer in peace? But when Erika woke up in the VIP hospital ward, the nightmare took a terrifying turn. Doyle pinned her weak wrists to the mattress, his eyes burning with a dark, possessive obsession. He had figured out the truth about the boy's bloodline. "He's a Morgan. He has my family's blood in his veins, and I will not allow my nephew to be raised in a slum. If you can't care for him, I will. From this moment on, you and that boy belong to me. And you are never leaving my sight again."

Billionaire Modern Romance

Memorizing Baking Rules

Chapter 1

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