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 8
Le Bernardin was quiet, smelling of sea salt and old money. Isadora sat at the table, feeling like she was wearing a costume. She had worn her office clothes-a simple black pencil skirt and a white blouse-because she didn't want to go home and change. She didn't want to be here at all.
Grafton had texted Zoe, threatening to show up at Zoe's workplace if Isadora didn't come to this "peace offering" dinner. Isadora had come to protect Zoe, not to forgive Grafton.
Bella was wearing a red dress that probably cost more than Isadora's college tuition. She was beaming.
"Isadora, try the scallop," Bella said, placing a piece on Isadora's plate with silver tongs. "It's divine."
"I'm not hungry," Isadora said.
"Oh, come on," Grafton said, pouring wine. "Don't be difficult, Izzy. Bella is trying."
Isadora looked at Grafton. He looked desperate for everything to be fine. He wanted the illusion of peace so he wouldn't have to feel guilty.
"I see you aren't wearing any jewelry," Bella said, touching the diamond bracelet on her own wrist. "Did you lose that little heart necklace you always wore?"
"I gave it back," Isadora said, staring at Grafton.
Grafton flinched. He took a large gulp of wine.
"Well," Bella said, "I suppose it's better not to wear things that don't belong to you."
Isadora put her fork down. It clattered against the china. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Isadora, relax," Grafton warned.
"I need to powder my nose," Bella said, standing up. She looked at Isadora. "Join me? We can talk girl-to-girl."
Grafton kicked Isadora lightly under the table. "Go. Please."
Isadora stood up. She followed Bella toward the restrooms.
The corridor leading to the bathrooms was long, lined with polished wood and a short flight of three marble steps. It was empty.
Bella stopped at the top of the steps. She turned around. The smile was gone. Her face was hard, ugly.
"You think you're clever," Bella hissed. "Giving the necklace back? Playing hard to get? It won't work."
"I'm not playing anything," Isadora said tiredly. "I just want to be left alone."
"You're a backup plan," Bella said, stepping closer. "You're the safety net he keeps around in case he gets bored. It's pathetic."
"If you're so secure, Bella, why are you threatened by a backup?" Isadora asked.
Bella's eyes narrowed. She looked over Isadora's shoulder. She saw Grafton entering the corridor, his phone to his ear.
Bella grabbed Isadora's wrist. Her nails dug in deep.
"Don't touch me!" Isadora pulled back instinctively.
"Ahhh!" Bella screamed.
She threw herself backward. It was theatrical, violent. She let her body go limp and tumbled down the three marble steps.
She hit the bottom with a thud and rolled onto her side, clutching her ankle.
"Isadora! No!" Bella shrieked.
Grafton dropped his phone. He sprinted down the hall.
"Bella!"
He slid to his knees beside her. Bella was sobbing, tears instantly flowing.
"She pushed me," Bella cried, pointing a shaking finger at Isadora. "I told her she was hurting you, and she just... she shoved me!"
Grafton looked up. His eyes were wild with fury.
Isadora stood at the top of the stairs, her hand still raised from where she had pulled it away from Bella's grip. To anyone watching, it looked exactly like the follow-through of a push.
"Isadora!" Grafton roared. "Are you insane?"
"I didn't push her!" Isadora shouted, her voice trembling. "She grabbed me! She threw herself down!"
"I saw you!" Grafton yelled, standing up. He marched up the steps and got in Isadora's face. "I saw you standing over her! How could you be so jealous? So vicious?"
"Grafton, use your brain," Isadora pleaded. "Why would I push her?"
"Because you can't stand that I chose her!" Grafton spat the words. "God, you are ugly when you're like this."
The restaurant manager and two waiters came running. Diners were standing up, craning their necks.
"Get her out of here," Grafton said to the manager, pointing at Isadora. "She assaulted my fiancée."
Isadora felt the blood drain from her face. She looked at Bella. Bella was peeking through her fingers, a small, triumphant smirk on her lips.
Isadora was alone. Surrounded by enemies.
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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.