The Forbidden Mark Of My Stepbrother
I am the invisible step-daughter of the billionaire Wilder family, a "guest" in a mansion of gold fixtures and cold hearts. For years, I’ve occupied the secret spaces of my step-brother Cornelius’s life, waking up in silk sheets that still smell of our shared nights before slipping out the side entrance like a criminal.
The illusion of our connection shattered during a family breakfast when Cornelius calmly announced his engagement to socialite Emerald Kerr. Without a flicker of warmth, he swept his eyes over me—the woman he had just held hours before—and reminded me to take the morning-after pill because his "real" bride was returning to claim him.
The cruelty only escalated from there. While I worked myself to the bone to pay for my dying step-father’s medical bills, Cornelius used his power to keep me trapped. He sabotaged my career prospects to keep me dependent, humiliated the only man who treated me with respect, and stood by as his sister physically assaulted me, coldly reminding me that I was nothing more than an interloper in his home. He tracked my phone and monitored my every move, all while playing the part of the devoted fiancé to a woman he didn't even want to touch.
I couldn't understand why he treated me like a shameful secret he hated, yet refused to let go. I was drowning in the injustice of being his sister in the light and his property in the dark, a transaction disguised as brotherly charity.
I finally reached my breaking point, blocked his number, and tried to disappear into the city lights. But as I sat in a dive bar miles away, the door was ripped open. Cornelius, who was supposed to be in Boston signing a billion-dollar merger, stood there with murder in his eyes, ready to burn my world down just to drag me back into his cage.
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Chapter 2
The dining room was a cavernous space, dominated by a long mahogany table that could seat twenty. The silence was heavy, broken only by the scrape of silver against fine china.
Kelsie sat at the far end, next to her mother. Her stepfather, Arthur, was absent, likely too weak to leave his bed today. Across from her sat Sloane, Cornelius's younger sister, looking every bit the heiress in cashmere and pearls.
At the head of the table sat Silas Wilder, the patriarch, reading the Wall Street Journal. And to his right, Cornelius.
"Who is that?" Grandma Rose asked suddenly. Her voice was loud and scratchy. She pointed a trembling finger directly at Kelsie. "Silas, dear, who is this young woman? I don't believe I recognize her from the household staff."
Kelsie froze, her fork hovering halfway to her mouth.
Sloane let out a short, sharp laugh. She reached over and patted the old woman's hand. "That's not staff, Grandma. That's Kelsie. You remember? Joanne's daughter."
"Oh," Grandma Rose said, her eyes clouding over. "The girl who came with her. I see."
Heat flooded Kelsie's cheeks. She looked down at her plate, focusing on the scrambled eggs. Beside her, Joanne kept her head down, sawing methodically at a sausage link, pretending she hadn't heard.
Cornelius took a sip of his black coffee. He didn't look up. He didn't defend her. He just turned the page of a file he was reading.
Silas folded his newspaper and cleared his throat. The table instantly went still.
"The merger with the Kerr banking division is moving into the final stages," Silas announced, his voice gravelly. "It is imperative that we solidify the alliance."
Cornelius set his cup down. "It's handled, Father. I spoke with Emerald last night. I have formally proposed an engagement."
The world stopped. The buzzing in Kelsie's ears drowned out the room.
Engagement.
Her hand went numb. The heavy silver fork slipped from her fingers and clattered loudly onto the porcelain plate. The sound was deafening in the quiet room.
Every head turned toward her.
"Problem, Kelsie?" Sloane asked, arching a perfectly groomed eyebrow. "You look like you've seen a ghost. This is great news for the family. Unless you're not happy for your brother?"
Kelsie felt Cornelius's gaze on her then. It was heavy, physical. She forced her hand to move, to pick up the fork, though her fingers were trembling.
"No," Kelsie managed to choke out. "I just... slipped. Congratulations, Cornelius. It's wonderful news."
"Thank you, Kelsie," Cornelius said. His voice was flat, devoid of emotion. "Emerald is a suitable match."
Joanne immediately launched into a nervous monologue about how beautiful the wedding would be, trying to fill the awkward air. Sloane started listing potential venues, asking if Kelsie would be willing to help address envelopes since she "had so much free time."
"Kelsie is busy," Cornelius cut in. His tone was sharp enough to silence the table. "She has interviews to prepare for."
"Interviews?" Sloane scoffed. "For what? Who's going to hire her? Unless you wrote a letter, Cornelius?"
Cornelius ignored his sister. He stood up, buttoning his jacket. "I have to get to the office."
He walked down the length of the table. As he passed behind Kelsie's chair, the room was filled with the noise of Sloane and Joanne chattering. Cornelius paused for a fraction of a second. His hand brushed the back of her chair, close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from him. In the polished reflection of a silver serving dish on the sideboard, their eyes met for a fleeting, chilling moment. His gaze was not a question. It was an instruction.
Kelsie stiffened, her breath hitching. He had just announced his engagement. He had just sold himself to another woman. And now he was demanding entry?
He didn't wait for a response. He kept walking, exiting the room without looking back.
Kelsie felt sick. She pushed her plate away, the food turning to ash in her mouth. She excused herself and practically ran out of the room, through the French doors and into the garden. She pulled out her phone, her thumb hovering over her best friend Ainsley's contact, but she didn't call. What could she say? My stepbrother is marrying an heiress and still wants to sleep with me?
She looked at the notification on her screen. CNN Business: Wilder-Kerr Alliance Solidified by Engagement.
She gripped the phone until her knuckles turned white. Tonight, she decided. Tonight, the door would stay locked.
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8.2
Karmen lived suffocating under a tight chest binder and a grotesque silicone scar, forced to disguise herself as her degenerate twin brother, Kem. Her only job was to maintain a fake corporate engagement with the ruthless billionaire Earl Calderon.
But her abusive father suddenly escalated his demands. He ordered her to steal Earl's revolutionary AI patents, threatening to cut off her mother's life-saving medical trust and abandon the real Kem in a locked Swiss psych ward if she failed.
The task was a death sentence. Earl absolutely despised "Kem." He treated her like a repulsive parasite, constantly threatening to break her neck. When he accidentally caught her without her wig, he mistook her for a deranged cross-dresser, forcing her to glue the dirty fake scar back onto her raw, inflamed face in sheer disgust. At home, her father hurled glass ashtrays at her, violently yanking her collar.
"Do whatever you have to do in that bedroom, Kem. I don't care how disgusting it is. Just get the signature."
Trapped between a fiancé who loathed her very existence and a father ready to sacrifice their family for greed, Karmen endured the agonizing physical pain of her disguise. She was exhausted, terrified, and running out of time as her brother's life hung by a thread.
But they all underestimated her. When the Calderon matriarch forced Earl to link his ultra-secure private phone with "Kem" to fake their romance, she unwittingly handed over the master key. Karmen wasn't just a helpless victim; she was the elite hacker Nyx, and she was going to tear their empire apart from the inside.
7.1
I had loved Silas for ten years.
But on the very day I was diagnosed with a terminal illness, his first love returned home.
I loved him. Whether he loved me in return, I didn't know—I couldn't feel it. But I was certain he would never cheat.
In the final days of my life, I flawlessly played the role of the perfect wife.
After I died, he found my diary. And when he finished reading it, he broke down and wept with a gut-wrenching, soul-crushing agony.
7.8
Elena Voss was sold like a debt receipt.
Her greedy aunt and uncle handed her over to Damien Blackthorn-New York's untouchable billionaire tech mogul by day, ruthless Mafia Don and Alpha of the Blackthorn Pack by night-to settle a family debt they never asked her to pay.
The moment their eyes met in that rain-soaked alley, the fated mate bond ignited like wildfire. For one reckless night, he claimed her body and soul, whispering "mine" against her skin while the Moon Goddess sealed their destiny.
Then came the betrayal.
On their first anniversary, he paraded his pureblood fiancée through their penthouse, let her kneel for him in the study while Elena watched from the shadows, and divorced her in front of the entire pack.
"Wolfless trash," he snarled. "You were never more than payment."
Heart in pieces and two tiny heartbeats growing inside her, Elena fled. She vanished into Seattle's gray drizzle, changed her name, cut her hair, and built a quiet life as a single mother. She swore the Blackthorn name would never touch her twins-Leo and Luna, the secret heirs he didn't even know existed.
Five years later, the children's first uncontrolled shifts rip through their small apartment like lightning. The only place that can teach them control and keep them hidden from rival packs is back in New York-back under Damien's shadow.
The Alpha Don who once threw her away is now obsessed.
The fated bond never died; it only waited. He feels her every laugh, every tear, every protective growl she gives their children. He'll burn his empire, his alliances, and his pride to drag her back.
But Elena isn't the broken girl he discarded anymore.
She's a mother with claws.
A luna who learned to bite.
And this time, if he wants her forgiveness, he'll have to beg on his knees.
Pregnancy. Divorce. Secret babies. Billionaire alpha. Mafia power plays. Revenge that burns slow and sweet.
Some bonds can't be broken.
Some rejections come with claws.
And some second chances are paid for in blood.
8.2
After two years of love and unwavering commitment to her mate Adrian, Amelia's world shatters when she finds Adrian, cheating on her with his ex-fated mate, Mara. The pain deepens when she is framed for a crime she didn't commit, and forced to leave the pack she once called home. Yet, as time passes and Adrian's regrets grow, he embarks on a desperate quest to find Amelia and win her back.
Years later, Amelia has rebuilt her life as a successful medical doctor, only to find herself drawn to Alex Darlington, a charming and caring doctor who turns out to be none other than Adrian's stepbrother. But when their bond grows undeniable, Amelia must face the shocking truth-Adrian, the man who once betrayed her, is now the one asking for her forgiveness. Torn between her past love and her new feelings for Alex, Amelia's heart is pulled in two directions.
As Adrian fights to reclaim the woman he lost, he must confront his own mistakes and battle the darkness inside. But when Alex's true motives come to light, Amelia must decide who is truly worthy of her love, and whether she can find a future with the man who shattered her heart-or the one who might just heal it.
In a world where loyalty is tested, love is fragile, and betrayal runs deep, will Amelia find peace, or will she be forced to choose between two men who will stop at nothing to claim her heart?
Settings : Moonstone Pack, Present Day, Human World, New York City, Present Day, 21st Century.
9.5
He's vulgar. He's cruel. He's childish.
A proud, entitled, sexist fuck-boy who has no iota of regard for girls and only sees them as nothing less than a mere conquest object for his sick, twisted sexual fantasies.
He's all shades of red.
I know that. Very well. More than anyone else.
And yet...
He's all I can think about. He's taken up every single space in my head for free, and I'm beyond obsessed at this point. Every day I think about him. I can't help it. I crave his attention like I need it to survive, I burn his touch, I ache for his... mmm!
I shouldn't want him. I know I shouldn't. Especially since he's the son of the very man who broke my family apart.
But as I said, I can't help it.
He's just like poison... like sin... so deadly... and yet feels so right... so... sweet!
His name is Devin Sinclair.
And if I'm to be honest... I'm not so sure how much longer I can resist him for.
....
Following the devastating scandal that broke her family apart, Tamara Hamilton moved to Palmridge to escape all the unending assault she received, hoping for a fresh start.
But that was nothing more than just a fairytale. There she meets Devin Sinclair, the popular, egotistical fuck-boy, who happens to be the son of the very man who broke her family, who soon became her deadly obsession after one unprecedented incident, throwing her life off course.
Now she's fighting her newfound obsession... resisting him as much as she can. But deep down, she knows. His mere presence set her whole body on fire. His touch makes her feel things she wasn't allowed to feel. And every minute of the day, she thinks about him.
She knows. She knows she can't keep resisting forever. She knows that her walls will come crashing down... sooner or later.
But she hoped never.
Only time will tell.
...
NB: This book explores themes of enemies-to-lovers, forbidden student-professor age gap and bisexual romance. It is rated 18+ as there will be explicit, graphic content between chapters.
Please, read at your own discretion.
Due to the nature of this book, there will be frequent POV changes of these characters between chapters.
Happy reading : )
7.1
I sat in the emergency room corridor, pressing a soaked bandage against my heavily bleeding arm. I had texted my husband of three years, billionaire Efford Thornton, begging him to come.
He did come, but he walked right past me as if I were a piece of furniture. When the doctor finally brought the last bag of O-negative blood in the city to save my life, Efford's assistant intercepted it.
Efford coldly ordered the blood to be sent to the VIP wing for Aletha Chase.
"Mrs. Chase is pregnant with the Thornton heir," he declared flatly. "The priority is non-negotiable."
As I watched my life-saving blood being carried away, he handed me a divorce agreement and an NDA. If I dared to expose his affair, he would immediately cut off the funding for my grandmother's dementia care, leaving her to rot in a public ward. He then turned his back, leaving me to bleed out in the hallway.
For three years, I had given up my career and my identity to be his perfect, compliant wife. I couldn't understand how the man who once looked at me like I was his whole world could now literally watch me die just to protect his mistress.
But he forgot one thing. The submissive wife he married was just a ghost. I wiped the blood from my hands, dug out the leather half-mask I had hidden away years ago, and made a call.
It was time for the legendary runway model "Phoenix" to rise from the ashes and burn his empire to the ground.