Waiting in the shadows
Maya Bennett never expected to cross paths with Lucas Thoreau again not after high school, not after life pulled them in different directions, and certainly not inside a corporate boardroom years later.
Their reunion is cold. Professional. Controlled.
But beneath the silence lies unfinished history.
Now a medical student struggling to build her future, Maya finds herself caught between her steady boyfriend Josh and the dangerous pull of Lucas the powerful CEO whose presence awakens everything she tried to bury. What begins as coincidence slowly spirals into betrayal, obsession, and devastating secrets.
When lies surface, friendships shatter, and one woman's jealousy turns deadly, Maya is forced into a nightmare she never saw coming losing her freedom, her reputation, and almost her unborn child.
Lucas must confront the consequences of his silence. Sophie hides a truth capable of destroying lives. Josh's loyalty is tested by greed and temptation. And Maya must learn that survival sometimes means letting go of the man you love.
In a world of wealth, deception, and broken trust, Waiting in the Shadows is a gripping story of first love, second chances, and the painful cost of believing the wrong person.
Because sometimes, love doesn't save you.
Sometimes, it leaves you waiting in the shadows
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Chapter 2
The London was bussing this morning. Maya Bennett's heels clicked against the hospital corridor as she made her way to the clinical labs, her white coat around her shoulders. Coffee in hand, notes in the other, she barely noticed anyone around her. Medical school was relentless, she couldn't wait to graduate, leaving no little room for distractions .
Her phone buzzed. A text from Josh. Don't forget we are watching starwars tonight!
Maya smiled faintly. Josh is handsome, rich, and endlessly patient i would say. He lived in Bath, a city of Georgian terraces and quiet riverside streets. Six months together, and despite their closeness, she had never let herself be intimate. She had been too busy with school and work that paid her bills and kept her independent. Every time the conversation about sex came up, small arguments followed. Josh was sweet and understanding, but he wasn't blind to her hesitation.
It's not about him, she reminded herself. It's about timing, and I'm not ready. Not yet.
By midmorning, Maya's mind shifted back to the corporate world. She had another meeting at Thoreau Systems, the same firm where she had met Lucas Thoreau two weeks ago. That brief encounter still lingered in her mind his eye and calm posture, the unsettling messages that followed.
Arriving at Thoreau Systems, the elevator was quiet Lucas Thoreau was already there, his smell could be perceived from miles away, and his presence filled the room without speaking.
Maya's heartbeat didn't skip, but she noticed him. He was watching her, silently noting how she placed her bag, opened her laptop, and settled into her chair.
"Good morning, Ms Bennett," he said, calm and precise.
"Morning, Mr Thoreau," she replied.
The meeting began efficiently. Every question Lucas asked was about the project timelines, compliance, and medical content accuracy but Maya couldn't ignore the way he observed her.
Maya caught herself doing the same. Observing him. CEO energy, controlled gestures, precision in everything he did.She reminded herself It's work. Nothing more.
After the meeting, she stepped aside with Nadia.
"You were incredible," Nadia whispered. "Did you notice how Lucas keeps watching you? Like... he's studying you?"
Maya shrugged. "He's a CEO of course he looks at everyone that's all."
Nadia smirked knowingly. "Uh-huh. That's all." I smell love in the air though she laughed
Nadia I am dating have you forgotten
Maya let it drop. She couldn't explain the chill that ran through her whenever Lucas looked at her.
That evening, Maya sat on the small balcony of her London flat, overlooking rooftops and the occasional taxi weaving through the streets. Josh's text earlier had made her smile, a faint comfort in the quiet evening.
Her phone buzzed. you looked stunning today couldn't keep my eyes off you.
Maya smiled just looking at the text .
Mr thoreau, she typed. You need to stop sending all these messages. I wanted to ask if You've never met me before now? she typed. Surely... same school, same area...
No. Never.
Maya exhaled. He claimed never to have seen her before yet he watched her with an almost uncanny attention. It unsettled her.
What are you trying to accomplish? sending your employee a message at night she typed cautiously.
Maya leaned back in her chair. Their six months together had been safe, predictable. She appreciated the normalcy he brought. Yet something about Lucas lingered in her mind unsettling, intriguing, impossible to ignore. Maybe because she felt a Connection every time she set her eyes upon him, like something was actually drawing her close to him
Why am I thinking about him when I have Josh? she whispered aloud. She didn't answer. She couldn't. The unknown, the tension, the faint chill in her chest that was enough The next few days were a careful balance. Maya immersed herself in studies, hospital rounds, and freelance consulting. Josh's messages were grounding, his calls warm and funny. And yet, the tension of Lucas's observation hung in the background, undeniable.
Every glance in the office, every email, every small interaction made her hyper-aware. She was aware that Lucas was watching, that he noticed habits, and behaviours she thought she hid.
And Lucas? He was unaware that Maya was dating Josh. The boyfriend she adored, the man she fought with over little things, the anchor of her life Lucas did not know. All he had was a curious, intelligent woman who worked professionally, efficiently, and without distraction. He had no idea of the ties between Maya and Josh, no idea that she belonged in someone else 's orbit.
Yet even without knowing, Lucas waited for an opportunity
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8.0
BLURB
She had fought so hard to be able to bear her husband a child for years but all her efforts proved abortive and just when she thought that all her problems were finally over.
She was faced with a brutal betrayal from her husband, taking away her family company, cheating on her and most especially tied her in the marriage.
But everything takes a drastic turn when she realizes the baby she is carrying doesn't belong to her husband, rather a cursed werewolf who could never have a child.
Thrown into the world of the werewolves, Daisy realizes she is more than she thinks, but will she be able to navigate the challenges that awaits her?
8.8
I discovered I was pregnant with twins from my marriage to Ell Steele, the ruthless CEO of the Steele Group. But he saw me as a gold-digging nobody, unworthy of his heir.
He stormed into our penthouse with his lawyer, slamming down abortion consent forms and a divorce NDA, offering five million to terminate and vanish. "You're not fit to carry my child," he spat, gripping my jaw.
I refused the abortion, signed the zero-payout divorce to keep my company insurance for my dying mom's ICU bills, but stayed on as an admin assistant. Brittany, his mistress, spilled coffee on my reports, got me demoted to the dusty sub-basement sorting old files.
She framed me for attacking her, security dragged me out, slamming me into doorframes that cramped my belly. Trapped in a sabotaged freight elevator, I nearly miscarried in the dark, gasping for air while Ell rescued me—only to find my prenatal pills and rage.
At the gala, I warned Brittany the Angel's Tears necklace—Georgina's flawed design—was cracking. She accused me of theft; Ell ordered me stripped and searched publicly. It snapped anyway, shattering the diamond, but he blamed me, firing and blacklisting me on the spot.
Beaten down, humiliated, body aching from their cruelty—how could my husband, who I once loved, destroy me without a shred of doubt? What made him so blind to my pain?
Dragged from our home in the rain, a black Rolls-Royce Phantom pulled up. The butler bowed: "Madame Aura, your suite awaits." As Ell watched from his Maybach, I initiated the hostile takeover—time to bankrupt them all.
7.1
It was supposed to be her sister's wedding. But in an instant, Aurelia was forced to take her place becoming the bride to a man she barely even knew.
To pay off her family's debt and protect her parents' dignity, Aurelia spoke her vows to Gian, a cold man who never wanted her there in the first place.
Without love, without the blessing of her own heart, Aurelia married Gian Alvaro, the man who was meant to be her sister's husband. The frigid reception, the disappointed looks from Gian's family, and a silent wedding night marked the beginning of a life she never wished for.
Their marriage began with obligation. But as Gian's gaze slowly softened and the walls around him began to crumble, Aurelia found herself facing an unsettling truth. Love doesn't always come easy... and the secrets behind this marriage are far from fully revealed.
8.0
After divorcing my cheating husband, I thought I had found my savior in his powerful business partner, Cole.
For three years, he pampered me like a queen, building a perfect, golden cage of devotion.
But on the day I happily discovered I was pregnant, I overheard him talking to my ex-husband's mistress.
"Elinor is just a convenient tool. If she gets pregnant, I'll fake a paternity test and annul the marriage so she leaves with nothing."
My entire marriage was a meticulously crafted lie to secure his position and protect the woman he truly cared about.
Before I could quietly escape, Cole orchestrated a brutal attack.
I was dragged into a dark alley, beaten until my ribs fractured, and my unborn child was violently ripped away from me.
As I lay bleeding out in the freezing rain, my heart shattered into dust.
I didn't understand how the man who kissed me every morning could coldly order his thugs to beat me to death just to appease his real lover.
They left me there to rot, thinking they had finally erased the naive fool who got in their way.
Three years later, the world still believes Elinor Marsh died in a tragic car accident.
But when Cole and his elite circle attend a high-profile Interpol reception, they don't expect the new Chief Liaison Officer to step onto the stage.
I am Helena Fu now, and I have returned to burn their empire to the ground.
9.0
For eight years, Riana Regalia played the perfect Luna.
Loyal wife. Elegant hostess. The silent shadow behind the powerful Alpha Wesley Winters.
When she walked down the aisle, it was for duty, not love.
Her husband gave his heart to another, his fated mate, and her half-sister.
Her own daughter grew to adore the woman who stole her place.
***
The day she signed our divorce papers, she stopped hiding.
The struggling fashion label he mocked? Now a global empire.
The lonely Luna he had ignored became his most powerful rival.
Alpha Wesley thought he was freeing himself from a gold-digger.
He never imagined she'd become the number one threat to his empire.
***
Now, he wants a second chance. His pack is in chaos. And his so-called fated mate is scrambling to salvage his reputation.
But this Luna doesn't answer his calls anymore. She's too busy counting her billions.
He underestimated the quiet wolf.
Now the world will learn who the true Queen is.
9.2
I discovered the dark secret my stepmother Beatrice had been hiding for years.
When I threatened to expose the truth to the mafia, my half-brother Angelo and step-sister Carmella locked me in an abandoned Brooklyn warehouse.
Carmella stood there in my mother's expensive silk dress, her voice sweet and venomous as she confessed how she had meticulously stolen my life and my father's love.
Angelo looked at me with cold indifference, pouring gasoline over my feet before striking a match.
"You're insane for threatening to break the code of silence," they laughed, leaving me to burn alive to protect their stolen thrones.
My own father turned a blind eye, letting his trueborn daughter turn to ash just to maintain the illusion of his perfect family.
The smell of charred flesh filled my throat. Until I died, I didn't understand. I had bled for our survival, even taking a bullet for the terrifying Moretti Matriarch.
Why did my father let the bastard children of a Chicago bootlegger steal my inheritance and murder me?
Opening my eyes again, the phantom heat of the inferno faded into a cool New York afternoon.
I was seventeen again, sitting in the backseat of a Cadillac, just returning from my three-year exile in Switzerland.
This time, I wouldn't just scream. I would marry the terrifying Prince of New York and watch my stepmother's entire bloodline burn.