The Rejected Burden: Rising From The Shadows
I liquidated every asset I owned for a single gala ticket, convinced that after twenty years, Grafton Blanchard was finally going to ask me to be his partner. My husband, Kingston Riddle, even hinted that the diamond "Eternity Lock" bracelet I’d been eyeing was gone from the vault, and I was sure it was waiting for me.
But when I reached the VIP suite, Grafton didn't look at me with love; he snapped that very bracelet onto the wrist of my rival, Bella Sterling. He stood before the crowd and announced their engagement, laughing as he called me his "little mascot" while I stood there in my best dress, feeling the entire world crumble beneath my feet.
The betrayal went deeper when I overheard him telling his friends I was nothing more than a "burden" and a "puppy" he was too kind to kick to the curb. Desperate to fix his image, he lured me to a "peace offering" dinner where Bella theatrically threw herself down a flight of marble stairs. Within seconds, Grafton was looming over me, his face twisted in fury as he accused me of being a jealous, vicious monster.
"I'm calling the cops. You want to play games? Let's see how you like a holding cell," Grafton roared, snatching my phone so I couldn't record his cruelty. The restaurant manager and the crowd sneered at me, ready to watch me be hauled away in handcuffs for a crime I didn't commit. I was a pariah, discarded by the man I’d spent my entire life protecting.
I stood trembling against the wall, realizing that the man I loved was willing to ruin my life to protect a lie. I felt the weight of twenty years of devotion being thrown into the trash, and for the first time, I stopped wondering why I wasn't enough and started wondering how I could have been so blind.
Just as the security guards moved in, the heavy doors swung open. My husband, Kingston—the man I thought was a cold stranger—stepped into the light and demanded the manager play the security footage on the big screen. As the video of Bella launching herself backward played for the entire restaurant, I didn't look at Grafton's pathetic apologies; I looked at the exit and realized my life was finally beginning.
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Chapter 7
Grafton spent the rest of the day staring at his phone. He typed out text messages and deleted them. I didn't mean it. You took it out of context. Are we still on for Sunday brunch?
He couldn't hit send. The memory of Isadora's cold eyes in the café haunted him.
That night, he drove to her apartment. He parked his Porsche illegally in front of the fire hydrant and waited.
At 9:00 PM, Isadora came out the front door carrying a bag of recycling. She was wearing sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt. She looked tired.
Grafton jumped out of the car. "Isadora!"
Isadora froze. She looked at him, then at the recycling bin. She sighed, a sound of pure exhaustion. She walked over, dumped the glass bottles-they crashed loudly-and turned to go back inside.
"Isadora, please," Grafton said, blocking her path to the door. "Can we just talk? Like normal people?"
"We aren't normal people anymore, Grafton," Isadora said. She wrapped her arms around herself against the night chill.
"Look," Grafton said, running a hand through his hair. "At the club... I didn't ignore you on purpose. Bella just got back from Paris, and she's insecure, okay? She needs a lot of reassurance."
"It doesn't matter," Isadora said.
"It does matter!" Grafton's voice rose. "We've been friends for twenty years. You can't just throw that away because I have a fiancée."
Isadora looked up at him. The streetlamp cast harsh shadows on his face. He looked like a petulant child who had lost his favorite toy.
"I heard you," Isadora said softly.
Grafton stopped. "What?"
"In the bathroom," Isadora said. "I heard you talking to Topher. You said I was a burden. You said I was like a child."
all the color drained from Grafton's face. "Isadora... I..."
"Did you say it?"
"It was just guy talk!" Grafton pleaded, stepping closer. "I was just trying to... you know, look cool in front of the guys. I didn't mean it."
"Yes, you did," Isadora said. "And you were right. I was dependent on you. I built my whole world around you. And that was my mistake."
"No," Grafton said, reaching for her. "No, Izzy. I take it back. I need you. You keep me grounded."
Isadora took a step back, dodging his hand. "You don't need a friend, Grafton. You need a fan. And I resigned."
"I am serious," Isadora said. "I wish you and Bella the best. Goodbye."
She turned and swiped her fob at the door. The lock buzzed. She pulled the heavy glass door open and slipped inside.
"Isadora!" Grafton slammed his hand against the glass.
Isadora didn't turn around. She walked to the elevator and pressed the button.
Grafton stood on the sidewalk, watching her disappear. He felt a surge of anger. How dare she? After everything he did for her?
He punched the glass again, harder this time. The doorman inside glared at him.
Grafton stormed back to his car. His phone rang. It was Bella.
"Hey, baby," Bella cooed. "Where are you?"
"I'm... out," Grafton said, his voice shaking with rage. "Isadora is being crazy. She's cutting me off."
"Oh no," Bella said, her voice dripping with fake sympathy. "That's terrible. She's probably just jealous. Listen, why don't we invite her to dinner tomorrow? At Le Bernardin. My treat. I'll apologize to her, smooth everything over. If she sees we're trying, she'll come around."
Grafton gripped the steering wheel. It was a lifeline. "You think so?"
"I know so," Bella said. "She just needs to see that I'm not the enemy."
"Okay," Grafton said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Okay. Let's do that."
He hung up, feeling better. A dinner. A nice, expensive dinner. That fixed everything.
In her penthouse uptown, Bella set her phone down on her vanity. She looked at her reflection. She applied a coat of dark red lipstick.
She smiled. It was a shark's smile.
"Let's see how much she loves you after tomorrow," Bella whispered to the mirror.
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7.5
The Duke was standing in the middle of the room, his hands in his pockets, his head tilted to one side. It was a relaxed, casual pose, and yet the way he looked at her was anything but casual. The deep midnight of his eyes burned and he radiated a subtle, sensual energy that made the air around him crackle.
He looked like a man who'd never heard the word 'no' in all his life. Unluckily for him, 'no' was the only word she had.
"There's no reason why I should stay," Anna clasped her shaking hands together in an effort to still them. "I'm not marrying you."
His gaze flickered, his mouth curving slightly, and she had the disturbing thought that far from putting him off, her insistence was only inciting him further.
"But you haven't heard my proposal yet," he said mildly. "Isn't that why you're here?"
"I don't need to hear it. I already know that my answer will be no."
"Of course. But you can hardly tell your father that you heard me out when you haven't, in fact, heard me out.... Anna."
8.9
Adela stood outside the private room, holding the obsidian necklace she had spent three months hand-crafting for her boyfriend.
But through the cracked door, she heard Juston laughing with his friends, calling her a stupid, obedient pawn and her art "garbage."
After she shattered the necklace and walked out into the freezing rain, Juston texted her a far more horrifying truth.
Her own family didn't just hate her-they had actively tried to kill her.
Two years ago, her brother Kayden intentionally slipped deadly shellfish into her food at a gala, sending her into anaphylactic shock.
Worse, her parents had covered up the attempted murder as a simple kitchen mistake, all to protect the family name and elevate her adopted sister, Kara.
Adela collapsed on the wet pavement, suffocating under the weight of the ultimate betrayal.
She had spent her entire life begging for their love, secretly working as the anonymous designer keeping their failing company afloat, only to realize she was nothing but a disposable tool.
She had absolutely no one, and nowhere to go.
Just as the storm threatened to swallow her whole, a sleek black Maybach pulled up to the curb.
Harmon Holland, the ruthless Wall Street billionaire she was originally arranged to marry, stepped out into the rain.
He didn't offer her pity. Instead, he handed her a legal document.
"Marry me, Adela. For one year."
She took the pen. This time, she wouldn't be an obedient pawn; she would be their executioner.
7.2
My family went bankrupt overnight, leaving me to face a mountain of predatory debt.
Instead of standing by my side, my billionaire fiancé's mother threw a five-million-dollar check on the marble table, demanding I take the money and disappear from her son's life forever.
Meanwhile, my former social circle mocked my downfall. They secretly took photos of me meeting with ruthless loan sharks, waiting for me to come crawling back to beg for charity.
I didn't give them the satisfaction. I legally took on my father's massive debt, threw the check back, and ruthlessly dumped my fiancé.
To stop my heartbroken mother from worrying, I lied and told her I had already found a new, reliable boyfriend.
But the lie was a ticking time bomb. My malicious rival even forced her way into my cramped apartment, demanding to meet this mysterious man, laughing that he must live in a dumpster.
I was suffocating under the pressure. I had nothing, and I had no idea how I was supposed to magically produce a husband to get these toxic people off my back.
Until a dying stranger I helped in the park made a final wish.
His grandson—my cold, aloof high school upperclassman, Caleb Barnes—handed me a watertight prenuptial agreement at the hospital.
"Marry me," Caleb said flatly. "I get to give my grandfather peace. You get a shield against your family."
I picked up the pen and signed my name.
8.5
Billionaire oil mogul Iyke Obiora is a man who has everything-money, influence, and a marriage admired by society. But beneath the polished surface, his empire is cracking. His wife has grown distant, his rivals are closing in, and his secret underground deals could cost him everything.
Then he meets Amara Okoye, a stunning and ambitious school secretary whose quiet charm awakens a hunger he thought long dead. What begins as an innocent encounter soon becomes an all-consuming affair-one that threatens to shatter their lives.
Caught between fiery passion and deadly consequences, Iyke and Amara must face the truth: their love burns too brightly to remain hidden, but stepping into the light may destroy them both.
A tale of power, forbidden desire, and dangerous secrets-Crude Desires will leave you breathless.
8.7
My new boss is gorgeous, arrogant, and filthy rich.
The only problem?
He doesn't know he's also the father of my baby.
Six years ago, I was supposed to get married.
But the night before the wedding, my groom-to-be showed me sides of himself I'd never seen before.
I might've died in that hotel room...
If Mikhail Novikov hadn't burst in to save me.
Handsome, strong, capable knight in shining armor-sign me up, right?
WRONG.
Because Mikhail wasn't just the hero I never knew I needed...
He was also way more dangerous than I ever could've known.
But for one night, I let myself do something I never should've done.
It was worth it-several times over, if you catch my drift.
In the morning, though, I did the reasonable
I RAN.
For six years, I keep running.
Until I walk into work one day, and find my new boss waiting in my office.
Guess who?
And guess what he does when finds out about our baby?
8.3
My five-year-old daughter was turning blue in my arms, her body rigid with a 104-degree fever. I called my billionaire husband, Clifton, dozens of times as I rushed to the hospital, but he declined every single call.
While I was screaming at doctors and fighting to save our child’s life, a news alert flashed on my phone. Clifton was at the Met Gala, looking devastatingly handsome as he intimately draped his tuxedo jacket over the shoulders of his mistress, Eleanora.
The nightmare didn't end at the hospital. Clifton used a secret clause in our prenup to snatch Lily from her bed and move her to a private facility without my consent. When I finally found her, my own daughter shrank away from me in terror. "Go away, bad Mommy!" she sobbed, while the mistress fed her oatmeal and whispered that I was the one who made the doctors hurt her.
Clifton stood by and watched, telling me I was too "hysterical" to be a mother. But then I discovered the real reason they were hiding her. My husband was illegally using my late mother’s rare bone marrow samples to treat Eleanora’s secret blood disorder. Now that those samples are failing, he is taking Lily to a secluded castle in Germany to harvest our daughter’s marrow for his mistress.
I sat in the dark, watching them play happy family with the child they plan to sacrifice. I realized then that my marriage wasn't just a lie—it was a biological harvest. They think I’m just a broken trophy wife who doesn't understand the science they are using to destroy me.
They have no idea that I am "Ghost," the anonymous medical genius behind the very research they are trying to steal. As we board the private jet to Germany, I’ve stopped crying and started calculating. If they want to play with life and death, I’ll show them exactly what happens when a mother stops being a victim and starts being a predator.