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 4
The engine of Kelsie's ten-year-old Honda sputtered and died. She turned the key again. Nothing. Just a hollow click.
"No, no, no," she pleaded, hitting the steering wheel. It was 8:15 AM. Her interview was at 9:00. The estate was miles from the main road; an Uber would take twenty minutes just to get to the gate.
A sleek black Maybach pulled up beside her dead car. The rear window rolled down silently.
Cornelius sat in the back, reading a tablet. He didn't look at her. "Get in."
"I can call a cab," Kelsie said, gripping her bag.
"You'll be late," he said simply. "Get in, Kelsie."
She didn't have a choice. She opened the door and slid onto the leather seat, pressing herself as far against the door as possible, leaving a foot of space between them.
"Drive," Cornelius ordered the partition.
The car glided forward. The silence in the cabin was thick, charged with the electricity of the previous night and the coldness of the morning.
Cornelius's phone rang through the car's Bluetooth system. The dashboard screen flashed: Emerald.
Cornelius pressed a button on the armrest. "Good morning, Em."
His voice shifted instantly. It became warm, attentive, the voice of a loving fiancé.
"Corny!" Emerald's voice filled the car, shrill and excited. "I'm looking at ring settings. Do you prefer the cushion cut or the emerald cut? Pun intended."
"Whatever makes you happy," Cornelius said smoothly. "Budget isn't an issue. Get the one you want."
As he spoke, his hand moved across the leather seat. He didn't touch her. Instead, he placed his polished black phone on the seat between them, a silent, impassable object that seemed to pin her against the door. He had claimed the space, and by extension, her.
Kelsie flinched, trying to shrink even further into the door.
"You're the best," Emerald cooed through the speakers. "I miss you. Are you busy?"
"Just heading to the office," Cornelius said, his thumb stroking the smooth case of his phone, a stark contrast to the tension he was creating. "I have a meeting."
Kelsie stared at him, wide-eyed. He was looking straight ahead, his face impassive, talking about wedding rings with another woman while holding her captive in this small, silent space. It was twisted. It was sick.
"Okay, I'll let you go. Love you!" Emerald said.
"Goodbye, Emerald."
The call ended. Cornelius picked up his phone immediately, as if the space between them no longer mattered. He picked up his tablet again.
"Make sure you mention the tort reform paper you wrote in your second year," he said, not looking at her. "Buckley likes that niche."
Kelsie rubbed her arm, the ghost of his proximity still burning. "I don't need your cheat codes."
"Don't blow it," he said.
The car stopped in front of the glass skyscraper. Kelsie got out without a word, her legs shaking.
The interview was a blur. The partners were intense, firing questions rapidly, but they seemed to know who she was. At the end, J.C. Buckley shook her hand. "Your academic record is impressive, Ms. Washington. We expect great things. We'll be in touch."
She walked out feeling a mix of triumph and suspicion. Had she nailed it? Or had the fix been in from the start?
Her phone rang. It was the hospital. Arthur had taken a turn.
She rushed to the hospital, her heels clicking frantically on the linoleum. When she reached the waiting room, she found Sloane there, flanked by two family security guards.
"There she is," Sloane announced loudly. " The devoted daughter."
"Is he okay?" Kelsie asked, breathless.
Sloane stepped forward, lunging at her with such venom that Kelsie stumbled back instinctively, her elbow scraping against the rough plaster wall.
"Where were you?" Sloane hissed. "Dad was asking for you for an hour. He was scared, Kelsie. And you were out... what? Shopping?"
"I was working!" Kelsie yelled back, clutching her throbbing elbow. "I was getting a job to pay for his treatment!"
"We pay for his treatment!" Sloane shouted. "The Wilders pay for everything! You are just a leech!"
Sloane raised her hand as if to strike her, but a nurse stepped out. "Security! Keep it down or leave!"
Sloane lowered her hand, her eyes flashing with malice. She stepped close to Kelsie, dropping her voice to a whisper. "Stay away from Cornelius. I see the way you look at him. If you think you can ruin this merger, I will make sure every door in this city is slammed in your face. You will be nothing."
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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.