
The CEO's Forbidden Desire
When her twin sister falls into coma a day before her wedding, Tiana Palmer is forced to do the unthinkable, pretend to be her twin and act like the perfect wife at a two-week honeymoon, to protect the billion-dollar inheritance of her boss and sister's fiancé, Seth Berkley.
It was supposed to be a business deal, a secret between the two. But secrets don't always stay simple, they turn into obsessions.
The honeymoon ended, the deal was over, but that was just the beginning. Seth Berkley isn't a man who lets go easily. But how can she stay away from a man like him? Cold, insanely attractive, a man whose touch makes her feel things she shouldn't.
Every kiss, every touch pulls them deeper into a love that was never supposed to happen.
And when her sister wakes up...
Their forbidden desire might ruin everything.
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Chapter 4
Tiana's POV
Seth walked into the bedroom just in time to see me staring at the bed anxiously.
"Where am I going to sleep?" I questioned as I turned to face him.
He arched his brows at my questions, "on the bed, where else would you sleep?" He began to remove his wrist watch and dropped it on the nightstand.
"There is only one bed, you stated in the contract that there should be no unnecessary contact, how is that going to be possible if we share the same bed?"
He scoffed as he walked past me, removing his jacket, "you make it sound like I actually want to touch you. I won't sleep on the couch but you can if you want to." With that, he disappeared into the bathroom.
His words were like a slap on my face. I shouldn't be hurt but the fact that he sounded like he hated the idea of touching me, hurt more than I cared to admit.
Not that I wanted him to touch me, but he still shouldn't have said it in a cold way.
I brushed the thought off my mind when our suitcases finally arrived. I took my time to arrange the few clothes I brought in the closet before heading back to the bedroom.
Seth had returned from the bathroom, he was half naked with a towel wrapped around his waist. His brown hair was dripping wet, every square, taut muscle was on display.
My stomach grumbled at the sight of him like he was food. He looked back at me when he heard the noise, his lips twitching a little.
"Hungry?" He asked as he walked towards me.
I tried my best to keep my eyes on his face so they wouldn't start to check him out. Seth was a really handsome man, anyone with eyes could see that. He commanded attention wherever he went. I had a crush on him when I started working at his company but I eventually got over him since he was unreachable.
"Yes. We haven't eaten all day, remember?" I answered, forcing my brain to work with me.
He brushed past me and into the closet, "get dressed then, let's head down to eat."
Quickly, I dashed into the bathroom for a quick shower, by the time I returned to the room, Seth wasn't there anymore. I searched Maddie's clothes for a simple evening dress but there was none. They were all slutty looking dresses.
What had Madison planned to do on this honeymoon? I thought what was between them was a business deal too, was she trying to seduce him?
I eventually settled for a long sleeved, sparkling sky blue dress that stopped at my mid-thigh. The dress clung to my skin like a second skin that it was almost hard to walk in it.
I did a bit of makeup and headed to the sitting room where Seth was waiting.
"I'm ready." I called out as I walked towards him.
As he looked up, I didn't miss the way his eyes widened a little as he checked me out. His eyes stayed on my exposed legs before his jaw tightened and he gripped his phone harder. He cleared his throat and averted his gaze.
He stood up and adjusted the collar of his black polo shirt before heading to the door. I followed behind quietly, expecting him to hold my waist like he did when we arrived.
But Seth just simply walked out of the door without saying or doing anything to me.
Was something wrong with the dress? Was it not to his liking? I wanted to ask, but decided to keep quiet.
The ride through the elevator was awkward as hell, Seth stayed silent through the ride, I could only imagine how worse it would be at dinner.
It would have been better if we ordered room service and ate in our suite.
We reached the restaurant, found a place to sit and then ordered our food. The silence between us was killing me, he still hadn't said anything to me since we left our suite.
"So, what are we going to do while staying here?" I asked him, watching as he scrolled through his phone like I wasn't here.
"I don't know, but if you find something we can do then no problem." He answered without looking up from his phone.
I didn't like that answer, I wanted something that would get his attention off his phone that he seemed to be glued to every minute.
"What if you had come here with Maddie? I'm pretty sure the both of you already had things planned out for your honeymoon. We could do them while we are here."
He finally looked up at me, but the coldness in his eyes almost made me recoil, "Madison did plan some things before she went into a coma, but trust me, I'm not going to do those things with you."
A feeling of hurt washed over me at the coldness of his voice as he said those words. It was as if he was reminding me of my place, a fake, that was just what I was.
I had gotten ahead of myself. I thought we could have some fun here while pretending but I was wrong.
I looked up and saw that Seth was still watching me, his eyes moved from my face down to my chest before he looked back to his phone.
I sighed, giving up on trying to have a conversation with him. A couple approached our table. They were a bit older than Seth and I but they looked happy and so in love with each other.
"Hello, how are you guys doing?" The wife asked as they reached us. Seth immediately put down his phone and gave me a questioning look before smiling at them.
He stood and shook hands with them while I greeted them too.
"Can we sit with you? My wife loves sharing her experience here with other people." The husband asked politely.
"No problem, please take a seat with us." Seth answered with a smile that made my heart tightened a bit. He called a waiter so he could take their orders.
I shouldn't be jealous of the fact that he was happily conversing with them while I had been trying to make him talk to me since we got here. I couldn't help but feel that he had shut me out on purpose.
"Your wife is really beautiful," the wife, whose name was Elina, complimented.
"Thank you, you are beautiful too." I laughed out softly.
"What is your name, darling?"
"Madison." Seth cut in before I could answer. I figured he didn't want me to make the same mistake again. He reached for my hand on the table and held it, rubbing small circles with his thumb on the back of my hand.
I swallowed thickly to ignore the funny movement in my stomach. There would be lots of touches and probably kisses on this trip, I shouldn't let any of that get to me.
I should remind myself over and over again that they were an act of pretense. I shouldn't start to develop a crush on him all over. I would only end up with a heartbreak, again.
And besides, Seth was my sister's fiancé, which meant he was totally forbidden.
Thankfully, our order arrived and we dug into our food, but Elina and her husband, Simon, had a lot to say and wouldn't let me enjoy my food in peace.
They said this was their second honeymoon and they chose this place again because they loved the first experience they had here. I had tuned them out until I heard Elina call my name.
"So, Madison," she called out, a playful smile stretching on her lips. "I hope you don't mind if I ask, how did you two meet? I mean, you two are quite the catch, it's not everyday we see super attractive couples. So, tell me your story."
"Our- our story?" I shuttered, blinking at her like she had requested an impossible thing.
"Yes, darling."
I dropped my fork on my plate slowly and wiped my mouth with the little towels we were given. I didn't know how to come up with a good lie, I didn't know all of what happened when he and Madison met so I couldn't tell them that story.
I turned to look at Seth beside me, wondering if I should really tell them about the first day I saw him, he might not remember and thought that I was getting good at lying.
"It was in front of his company." I started to say as I leaned back in my seat, "my husband runs this billion-dollar company back in New York. It was raining on the day we met, I had no umbrella with me because I had no idea it would rain."
"I was completely drenched when he saw me. He took me to his office and made sure his assistant got me a new set of clothes to wear. He was really kind to me and he made sure I was warm and dry before leaving his office. That was... when I started to fall for him."
"Aww, that's really cute." Elina and Simon both cooed.
I smiled at them before turning to look at Seth who was staring at me intensely. At first, I thought he remembered the incident but I doubted that. It happened four years ago and I only remembered because of how he treated me that day.
"I met her again at the club after that, it was like the universe was trying to tell us something. We started to talk and I fell for her almost immediately." Seth added, but I couldn't tell if his part was a lie or he truly fell for my sister.
"I couldn't stop thinking about her, I knew I had to put a ring on her finger from the moment I first saw her." He said as he turned to me and smiled softly.
Was he seeing Madison in me? Was he thinking about her right now or was this part of his pretense?
"I love love stories, love at first sight is my favourite." Elena laughed.
Seth gently took my hand, gently lifting it to his mouth, and pressed a slow, deliberate kiss to the back of my knuckles, his eyes still locked on mine with an intensity that sent a shockwave straight through my chest.
My heart was beating really fast at this point, I realised that I had made a terrible mistake, this was only the first day and he was already making me feel this way. I wasn't sure I would last a whole two weeks without developing feelings for him.
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8.2
In her previous life, Eliana took the fall for her adopted sister Iris and lost everything, even being forced into a marriage where her work was stolen to build another man's empire.
Meanwhile, her sister's "perfect" marriage ended in tragedy-her husband turned out disabled and died young.
Reborn, the sisters swapped their fates, Iris claiming the handsome man for herself while Eliana marrying the allegedly sick billionaire.
Eliana only smiled-she knew the truth behind her marriage in the previous life. This time, she chose a different path, bringing her brilliance into the light while using marriage as a mere tool.
Yet the man she married stood firmly by her side, saying, "With me behind you, no one will dare touch you."

8.6
I spent three years being the perfect wife to tech mogul Cash Ferguson, a forensic accountant playing the role of a low-risk asset to stabilize his public image. My world shattered when I saw a live CNBC broadcast from Sundance showing Cash tenderly hoisting a two-year-old boy onto his hip—a secret son born to a socialite mistress while he was supposedly at a business roadshow.
When I confronted him with divorce papers, Cash didn't apologize; he laughed, calling me a "liability" and weaponizing my mother’s history of mental illness to claim I was genetically unfit to carry his heir. He didn't just reject the split; he locked the penthouse elevator and froze every one of my accounts, reclassifying me from a wife to a piece of disputed company property.
"You came from nothing, Isidora," he sneered, tossing a credit card at me like a leash. "Stop being dramatic. I can afford a pet, but don't think you can survive a day in the real world without my name."
The betrayal turned lethal when I discovered Cash had tracked down my mother’s stolen emerald brooch—my only connection to my past—and bought it as a gift for his mistress. He was using my trauma and my heritage to decorate the woman who had replaced me in his secret life.
I realized then that Cash had made a fatal accounting error: he forgot that I was the one who built his shadow accounts and knew exactly where the fraud was buried. He wanted to treat our marriage like a hostile takeover, so I decided to give him a market correction he would never forget.
I escaped down forty flights of stairs with nothing but a burner laptop and a plan to burn his empire to the ground. If he wanted to play dirty, I’d show him what happens when a forensic accountant initiates a liquidation protocol. I’m not just leaving; I’m going to make him crawl.

8.0
I sat at a table for two in the center of Le Coucou, clutching a gift box that had cost me two months of savings. It was our three-year anniversary, and I was waiting for Gavin to finally ask the big question.
But when the heavy oak doors opened, Gavin didn't walk toward me with a ring. He walked in with a polished blonde heiress tucked under his arm, her hand resting protectively over a small baby bump.
"This is Tiffany Stone. My fiancée," he said, his voice devoid of any warmth. He didn't apologize for being late or for the three years we'd spent together. Instead, he pulled out a checkbook, scribbled a number, and slid a ten-thousand-dollar check across the white tablecloth.
"Consider it severance for your time," he added, as Tiffany mocked my cheap drugstore dress. "Don't contact me again. Tiffany doesn't need the stress." I was the entertainment for the entire restaurant—the pathetic girl dumped for a better model. By the time I walked out into the rain, I had lost my boyfriend, my home, and the funding for my secret medical research project.
I was an orphan with no safety net, facing an eviction notice and a ruined career. I had given Gavin everything, and he had discarded me like a broken tool. The injustice burned in my chest, a hot, sharp rage that replaced my tears.
Desperate and freezing, I ducked into a coffee shop where I met Colton Bentley, a reclusive billionaire in a wheelchair. After I defended him from a cruel date, he offered me a contract: a marriage of convenience and a seven-figure payment to act as his shield. I signed the papers that night, ready to use his wealth to rebuild my life. But as I watched my new husband navigate his penthouse, I noticed his "paralyzed" legs tense with a strength that shouldn't exist.

7.4
I was a broke clinic doctor drowning in debt, so I took a confidential job to evaluate a billionaire heir's fertility.
I marched into the VIP ICU, pinned the struggling patient down, and injected a sedative. I finished the extraction and loudly declared to the family lawyer that the Holt heir was completely sterile.
But then, a chilling laugh echoed from the doorway.
The real heir, Jarrod Holt, the tyrant of Wall Street, stepped in. I had just sterilized his younger brother right in front of him.
Facing a decade in federal prison, I was completely at his mercy. To make things worse, my arrogant ex-boyfriend tried to publicly humiliate me, and my greedy uncle threatened to burn my dead mother's belongings for ransom. I was pushed to the absolute brink of ruin.
But instead of destroying me, Jarrod offered a terrifying lifeline. He bought out a Manhattan high-rise in five minutes just to ruin my ex, then handed me a marriage contract.
I was terrified and deeply confused. Why would this ruthless billionaire force a nobody into a fake marriage? He knew details about my past that no one should know. Did he discover my hidden identity as 'E', the underground surgeon the entire medical world was hunting for?
With my back against the wall, I signed the prenuptial agreement.
"I do," I whispered at City Hall.
He shoved his heavy, antique family ring onto my finger. It was supposed to be strictly business with absolutely no physical contact, but when his lips crashed violently onto mine, I knew I had just sold my soul to the devil.

8.2
Justine abandoned her career as a top trauma surgeon to marry Congressman Carl McConnell. She did it to fulfill her dying sister's last wish: to protect her son, Leo, from this ruthless political family.
But the seven-year-old boy she swore to protect shoved her into a freezing koi pond, then cried to his father that Justine tried to drown him.
Carl didn't even check the security cameras. He hugged his precious heir and looked at his freezing wife with pure disgust.
"Are you out of your mind? Trying to hurt the heir to the McConnell family!"
He locked Justine in a 55-degree wine cellar while she was burning with a 102-degree fever. When she finally told him the truth, Carl flew into a rage and hurled a heavy brass-cornered book at her face, slicing her cheekbone wide open.
His mother even ordered the staff to starve her for seven days to reflect on her sins.
Justine stood in the dark, blood dripping down her face, her heart completely dead. She had sacrificed her brilliant future and her pride for this family, only to be tortured and discarded like garbage. How could they be so utterly devoid of humanity?
She pulled out her old medical kit and stitched up her own face.
Then, she signed the legal documents to permanently relinquish her stepparent rights, threw them at the housekeeper, and calmly looked at her abusive husband.
"I am divorcing you, Carl."

8.0
Billionaires Collerction...
In this collection of high-stakes passion, the elite meet their match. Whether it's an unexpected fire that ignites in a boardroom or a slow-burn obsession that begins in the shadows, these men are about to discover that the heart follows no contract. Those who enter their orbit find themselves caught in a whirlwind of luxury and leverage, where every touch is a negotiation and every kiss is a risk.