Wife's Despair After Loss

Alayna was working a grueling catering shift in worn-out heels to support her broke college boyfriend, Caiden, who claimed to be studying at the library. But through the crack of a VIP suite door, she saw him wearing a bespoke suit and a Patek Philippe watch, sipping expensive liquor. "It's a little poverty role-play. Keeps things interesting." He was laughing with his rich friends, mocking her as his clueless "charity case." To make matters worse, she was forced into a humiliating mascot costume just in time to watch him passionately kiss his wealthy ex-girlfriend. That same night, Alayna's mother collapsed with gastric cancer, requiring a half-million-dollar surgery. When a desperate Alayna begged Caiden for help, he refused. "Why don't you just apply for Medicaid? That's the path for people like you." For two years, she had starved herself to buy his textbooks, his tickets, and his shoes. He had stolen her sweat and her sacrifices, all for a cruel game. The sheer audacity of his betrayal made her blood run cold. When a billionaire stranger stepped in to pay her mother's medical bills in exchange for a one-year fake marriage, Alayna didn't hesitate to sign the contract. She slipped the flawless diamond ring onto her finger, opened a spreadsheet, and sent Caiden an invoice for every single cent. This time, she was going to dismantle his entire life.

The leather chair in James Morrison's office felt cold beneath me as I shifted uncomfortably. The family lawyer had summoned me for what I thought was a routine meeting about my grandfather's estate. The morning sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting long shadows across his polished mahogany desk. "I've finalized all the paperwork, Ms. Hayes," James said, sliding a thick folder toward me. "Congratulations are in order. You're now the sole heir to the Hayes fortune." I blinked, momentarily stunned. "I'm... a billionaire?" "Indeed." His thin lips curved into what might have been a smile. "Just over twelve billion, according to our latest valuation." My grandfather had been wealthy, but I'd never imagined...

She told one little lie... and it changed everything. When Alina catches her longtime boyfriend cheating with her own stepsister, no less-humiliation isn't even the half of it. In a desperate moment of pride and pain, she lies. Boldly. Recklessly. "I wasn't that faithful either," she says. "I've been seeing someone too... Aiden Blackwood." It's a name that stops everyone cold. Only problem? She doesn't know him. Not even a little. What was supposed to be a petty lie to save face spirals out of control when she's expected to prove her relationship with the elusive, powerful, and notoriously untouchable billionaire, Aiden Blackwood. Just when she's about to be publicly shamed, the crowd parts, and the man himself shows up. With a smirk that melts every doubt, he wraps an arm around her waist, and lean in close; "Hey, wifey, did I keep you waiting too long?"

Her marriage wasn't perfect. Infact, it wasn't anywhere close to being perfect. But she always had hope and tried to make things work. She had expected it to last forever, no matter how bad it was. But her hope came shattering down when he dropped the divorce papers on the table right in front of her. "Sign them." He had said coldly. That was five years ago. Now Alexandra was back, as the CEO of the fast rising clothing and apparels company, Velvet Vixen. This time, she came for revenge on the man who had broken her heart into several unmendable pieces. But she wasn't alone anymore. "Mommy, we saw a man who Jace looks like." She was back with two tiny accomplices in tow. Liam wanted to be the father of his kids and change back to the old times. Would he be able to accomplish his mission of making Alexandra fall in love with him again? Would Alexandra give in to this man who had once broken her heart and all the promises he made to her before? Would Jace and Jade accept their unknown father back?

The coq au vin had turned into a congealed, purple bruise in the center of the mahogany dining table. I sat by the floor-to-ceiling window, the city lights of Manhattan blurring through the rain-streaked glass, checking my watch for the fiftieth time. Two years. Seven hundred and thirty days since I traded the sensation in my legs for a gold band on my finger. My reflection in the glass was a ghost—pale skin, dark eyes that had forgotten how to spark, and the chrome gleam of the wheelchair that had become my lower half. The private elevator chimed, a cheerful sound that sliced through the silence of the penthouse. I didn't turn immediately. I adjusted the hem of my silk dress over my knees, a reflex to hide the atrophy that no amount of therapy could reverse. Colson walked in. The air shifted, heavy with the scent of rain, aged scotch, and a cloying, floral perfume that certainly wasn't mine.

In my first life, my sister Hazel thought she had won. On adoption day, she shoved me aside to grab the hand of the "gentle" billionaire, Brad Moss, leaving me to be claimed by the terrifying, ruthless heir to the city's darkest empire: Alexander Moran. She whispered, "Enjoy your suffering." I just smiled. Because I had lived this life before. She thought she dodged a bullet by stealing Brad, but she just swallowed a bomb. She has no idea that her "perfect" fiancé is a sadistic monster who will lock her in a cage. And she has no idea that the cold, terrifying Alexander Moran doesn't want a helpless victim for a wife—he wants a partner in ruthlessness. When Hazel tries to ruin my reputation with a staged assault, she expects to find me broken and crying. Instead, she opens the door to find me standing over my attacker, covered in blood, holding a knife, and smiling. "You're late, Hazel." This isn't a fairy tale. It's a hostile takeover. My sister wanted to steal my life, but I’m about to burn her fake empire to the ground—and my new billionaire husband is handing me the matches.