The Timid Wife Is A Ruthless Boss

I married Curtiss Coffey under a strict business contract, playing the role of a pathetic, timid orphan to survive my greedy uncle’s family. They treated me like dirt, mocking my cheap clothes and forcing me to beg for their scraps while I lived in the shadow of their Manhattan penthouse. But my life as a doormat ended the night Curtiss discovered who I really was. During a high-stakes meeting at an exclusive SOHO club, a door cracked open for a split second. Inside, I wasn't the trembling assistant they all despised; I was Freya, the ruthless, cold-blooded founder of Verve, dominating powerful executives and dismantling their pathetic offers with surgical precision. Curtiss stood in the hallway, frozen in the shadows, his eyes locked on the woman he thought he knew. He watched me command the room with a lethal, calculated grace that shattered every lie I had ever told him. The timid girl he had pitied and protected didn't exist. He had been playing a game with a predator, and he had been her biggest fool all along. As the door clicked shut, he didn't storm in to confront me. He simply loosened his tie, a dark, terrifying smile spreading across his face. He looked like a wolf that had finally cornered his prey. He turned to his assistant and gave the only order that mattered: "Lock down the club. Nobody leaves."

Chapters

Chapter 2

The Maybach rolled to a smooth stop in the underground garage of the Coffey family's downtown Manhattan penthouse. The driver opened the door, and a blast of late autumn wind rushed into the cabin.

Isla pulled her thin coat tighter around her chest. She kept her head down, falling into her usual rhythm of walking exactly half a step behind Curtiss as they headed for the private elevator.

The elevator car was small. Curtiss's scent-sharp cedar and cold power-filled the enclosed space. Isla's lungs tightened. She had to force herself to breathe shallowly.

The doors opened to the top floor. Curtiss stepped out with long strides. Suddenly, he stopped dead in the middle of the foyer.

Isla barely managed to halt before slamming into his broad back.

Curtiss turned around. He looked down at her, his eyes hard.

"Let me remind you of our arrangement," Curtiss said, his voice cutting through the quiet apartment. "Do not expect Coffey Group to pay for your family's endless greed."

Isla nodded immediately.

"I understand," she whispered. "I won't cause you any trouble."

Curtiss stared at her submissive face. A muscle feathered in his jaw. He ripped his tie off, threw it onto the nearest sofa, and walked straight into his study.

The heavy oak door of the study clicked shut. The lock engaged.

The second Isla heard that sound, her hunched shoulders snapped back. Her spine straightened. The fear bled out of her eyes, leaving behind pure, calculated ice.

She walked quickly down the hallway to the guest bedroom. She had demanded this separate room on their wedding night, claiming she was a light sleeper.

Isla shut the door and locked it. She walked over to the closet and pulled out what looked like a standard, albeit expensive, designer makeup train case. She set it on the desk, her fingers tracing the hidden seams of the false bottom. With a subtle, practiced sequence of presses on the decorative studs, the top layer popped off, revealing a heavy, black biometric workstation running through multiple VPNs.

She pressed her thumb to the scanner and leaned in for the iris check. The case clicked open, revealing a high-end workstation.

She logged into the encrypted server. Instantly, Kristy's frantic video call request popped up.

Isla accepted it. Kristy was pacing around her office on the screen, looking terrified.

"They're going to register the leaked blueprints by morning!" Kristy panicked.

"Stop."

Isla's voice was steady, commanding, and absolute. It was the voice of a queen, completely unrecognizable from the stuttering girl at dinner.

She pulled up the leaked files on her screen. Her eyes scanned the intricate lines of the dress design.

A cold smirk touched Isla's lips.

"Let them register it," Isla said. "That's the decoy draft I threw in the trash three months ago."

Kristy froze. Her mouth fell open. "Wait. Are you serious? What do we do now?"

Isla's fingers flew across the keyboard in a blur.

"I'm sending you the real flagship designs," Isla ordered. "Contact the London production line immediately. We launch early."

Heavy footsteps suddenly echoed in the hallway outside the guest room. Then, a sharp knock hit the door.

Isla's heart slammed against her ribs. She hit the mute button and slammed the workstation shut, shoving it under the bed.

She frantically ran her hands through her hair, messing it up. She ripped off her coat, threw it on the chair, and forced her eyes to look heavy and sleepy. She dragged her feet to the door.

Isla opened the door just a crack. Curtiss stood there holding a glass of ice water. His eyes narrowed, studying the flush on her cheeks.

"I heard voices," Curtiss said. His gaze tried to push past her into the room.

"I... I was watching an old movie," Isla stammered, wrapping her arms around herself. "I get scared sleeping alone, so I turn the volume up."

Curtiss looked over her shoulder. The room was dark except for the flickering light of the muted television screen. Nothing looked out of place.

He let out a low, mocking scoff at her cowardice. He pulled a thick manila folder from under his arm and held it out.

"Take this to Jimmie tomorrow," Curtiss ordered. "It's the new terms for the Morales family trust fund. Consider it my final warning to them."

Isla reached out with both hands to take the folder. Her warm fingertips accidentally brushed against his freezing knuckles.

They both flinched.

Curtiss pulled his hand back quickly. He turned on his heel and walked away, his broad shoulders tense with an irritation he couldn't explain.

Isla closed the door and locked it again. She leaned her back against the solid wood, clutching the folder to her chest. She took a deep, shaky breath. A dangerous light flickered in her eyes. The real game was just beginning.

Continue to next part

For ten years, I was the family pariah, framed for a crime that destroyed my brother's career. My husband, Mark, never believed my innocence. Instead, he fell for the lies of my sister-in-law, Elsa-the woman who orchestrated my downfall. On our tenth anniversary, he stood me up to celebrate with her and our daughter. When I finally confronted him with divorce papers, he threw me out into a blizzard. My own daughter looked at me with cold, dismissive eyes. "Elsa said she should have been my mom." Left to freeze on the side of the road, my heart didn't just break; it turned to ash. The decade of abuse had finally killed every last bit of love I had. But I didn't die. A stranger saved me, and with his help, I found the one piece of evidence I needed to burn their world to the ground. Now, at the divorce settlement, I look at their smug faces and press play on a hidden recorder. "The world will soon know exactly who owes whom."

Action Mystery Romance

9.5

Dangerous Seduction: The Man They All Feared Is Mine

9.5

It was city gossip that Aiden Elliott, a powerful figure, was old, hideous, and close to death. For money, Millie's greedy father, sly stepmother, and jealous stepsister forced her into marrying this so-called dying man. Refusing to give in, Millie rebelled by spending the night with a male escort-only to find out later he was the very man she was set to marry, the rumored tyrant himself. "I'm old and ugly?" "Impotent?" "You want a divorce?" Aiden wouldn't let her go. From then on, Millie became his cherished wife, pampered and protected, envied by everyone.

Action Modern Romance

9.5

I Was Saved By the Lycan King Who Claimed Me

9.5

The feral wolf's teeth snapped inches from my throat. I twisted left, drove my blade up through its ribcage, and felt the hot spray of blood across my knuckles. It dropped with a gurgling whine. Around me, the Rogue Lands stretched in endless gray—dead trees, cracked earth, and the constant stink of decay. "Arielle!" Silas's voice cut through the chaos. "Three more on your six!" I didn't turn. I could hear them—the scrape of claws on stone, the ragged breathing of wolves who'd lost their humanity years ago. My wolf, Kira, surged beneath my skin, eager and vicious. She'd only awakened two years into my exile, born from rage and survival, and she was nothing like the gentle creature I'd imagined as a child. I spun, caught the first attacker mid-leap with a kick that sent it sprawling.

Action Fantasy Werewolf

8.2

Letter from the dead

8.2

Clara Daniels life falls apart when her husband Daniel disappears after a strange crash. The only things he leaves behind are letters filled with puzzles and hidden meanings. With the help of Michael, a tired detective who carries his own painful past, Clara follows the trail Daniel left behind. Each clue takes her deeper into secrets she never knew about her husband, an old bookstore, a quiet café, a forgotten manor, and even his family’s hidden history. Along the way, Clara realizes Daniel lived a life she never fully saw, keeping parts of himself locked away. As dangerous men close in, and with her own strength slipping, Clara has to face the truth: finding Daniel’s past might put her life in more danger than she ever imagined. The closer she gets, the more she must decide if uncovering everything will save her or destroy what little she has left.

Action Mystery Romance

7.3

Married to Bury a Secret

7.3

I never thought my wedding day would feel like a funeral. Leon Martins, cold, arrogant, untouchable, married me not for love, not for desire, but for a secret buried deep in his family's shadows. I was the sacrifice, the pawn forced into his gilded cage. Every glance from him cuts like a blade. Every touch burns like a warning. He keeps me close yet pushes me away, as if my presence is both punishment and temptation. But secrets have a way of unraveling, and the closer I get to discovering his, the more dangerous this marriage becomes. Because somewhere between our battles and stolen moments, my heart betrays me. I start to want the man who swore he could never love me. And when his carefully guarded walls begin to crack, I see something terrifying in his eyes: a longing as reckless as my own. Was I brought into this marriage to protect his secret... or to destroy us both?

Action Mystery Romance

9.1

Pampered By The Assassin Family

9.1

I drowned in freezing pool water, the mocking laughter of the elite Savage family echoing in my ears. When I opened my eyes, I was an eight-year-old orphan again, right on the day those monsters came to adopt me. Terrified of repeating my hellish past, I ran down the hallway and desperately grabbed the shirt of a random, dumpy IT guy, begging him to take me instead. I thought I had chosen a weak, boring suburban dad to hide behind. But I was completely wrong. My new mom greeted me with a ceramic tactical knife hidden in her apron. My clumsy dad sliced dinner ribs with the terrifying precision of a seasoned hitman. My ten-year-old brother was a dead-eyed sociopath who immediately calculated my bone density. They were a family of lethal underworld monsters, yet they frantically pretended to be a normal, pathetic household just for me.

Action Mafia Modern

The Timid Wife Is A Ruthless Boss

Chapter 2

You may also like