Daddys Secret Obsession Falling For The Father
His Unwanted Wife, The Hidden Genius
I flew back to New York on my twenty-fifth birthday, carrying vintage gold cufflinks I spent weeks finding for my billionaire husband, Declan. But when I walked into our townhouse, I found him throwing a massive victory party with Sloane, a glamorous socialite, standing by his side as the proud hostess. "Don't cause a scene. Go upstairs." Declan coldly dismissed me in front of his guests. Even Poppy, the rookie player whose shattered ankle I had painstakingly rebuilt, rolled her eyes and ignored me to suck up to Sloane. Hiding in the shadows, I heard the maids gossiping that everyone thought Sloane was the future Mrs. Hartford. To make matters worse, I discovered Sloane had stolen my anonymous, groundbreaking medical algorithm and was planning to present it as her own. First my husband, then the girl I mentored like family, and now the scientific foundation I had built with my own hands. Declan even texted me to cancel our birthday breakfast without a single apology, treating me like an annoying afterthought. My tears vanished, replaced by a freezing clarity. I signed the divorce papers, leaving them on his desk with zero demands for his money. Then I packed my bags, booked a one-way ticket to Boston, and prepared to destroy them on the global stage.
Chapter 1
Aurelia Vance POV:
I had been married to Declan Hartford for three years.
Today was my twenty-fifth birthday, and I had flown back from Boston in secret, hoping for one quiet evening with my husband.
I'd spent a week carefully picking out a pair of gold cufflinks as a gift for my husband.
But the laughter spilling from the front door told me I was already too late: the woman who had taken my place at his side was already inside.
The heavy oak door swung open before I reached the porch. Three young players from the New York Titans, Declan's NHL franchise, stumbled out with crystal tumblers of scotch, laughing loudly. They barely glanced at me as they passed.
I stepped into the grand foyer. The heat hit me instantly,expensive champagne, roasted tenderloin, cigar smoke.
Dozens of people filled the double parlor: executives, scouts, wives in designer dresses.
In the center stood Declan, tall and broad in a bespoke charcoal suit. Beside him, laughing into his ear, was Sloane Whitfield, her backless silver dress catching the chandelier light. Her hand rested on his forearm like she belonged there.
Before I could take another breath, a blur of blonde hair darted past my elbow.
"Sloane!" Poppy Delacroix cried, throwing her arms around Sloane's slender waist. "You were completely right about the catering! This is literally the best victory party the team has ever had!"
Poppy is fourteen, a junior elite forward prospect.
I scouted her two years ago from a crumbling youth league, back when she was at her lowest.
Her parents had once shown me great kindness, and I knew they had already passed away, leaving her all alone in the world.
Declan and I adopted her together.
I rebuilt her shattered ankle with a custom rehabilitation plan.
I had always loved and cared for her as both a mother and a sister.
Now, she did not even glance in my direction.
Declan turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the crowd until his eyes locked onto mine. The easy grin on his sharp jaw vanished instantly. His brows drew together in a hard, irritated line.
He excused himself from Sloane, cutting through the throng of players with long, impatient strides.
"Aurelia," Declan said, stopping two feet in front of me. His voice carried zero warmth. "What are you doing here?"
My throat felt like sandpaper.
"I took the four o'clock flight from Boston," I whispered, clutching the strap of my bag until my knuckles turned white. "It is my birthday, Declan. I thought we could—"
"We are celebrating the division win," he cut in, his tone sharp enough to draw blood. "The board is here. The sponsors are here. Sloane spent four consecutive days coordinating this event so the organization could project stability."
He did not look at me. His gaze slid past my shoulder to the bar, like I was a waitress who had wandered into the wrong room.
"Don't cause a scene," he added quietly. "Go upstairs."
A soft, mocking murmur rippled through a cluster of players' wives standing near the grand staircase. Two women with platinum blowouts exchanged knowing glances over their flutes of Dom Pérignon.
"I didn't know," I said, my voice barely audible over the swelling music. "I am sorry."
I turned toward the staircase, my legs trembling beneath my wool trousers.
Near the landing, Poppy was adjusting her designer jacket in the hallway mirror.
"Poppy," I said softly, pausing beside her. "How is your ankle feeling after Thursday's third period? Did you complete the isometric sequence I sent?"
Poppy rolled her eyes, sighing loudly as she pulled out her phone.
"Aurelia, please, not right now," she muttered without looking at me. "Sloane is introducing me to a marketing director from one of our partners. I don't have time for your spreadsheets."
The dismissive edge in her voice hit me harder than Declan's coldness. I had stayed up until three in the morning reviewing her biomechanical scans while she was recovering from surgery, and now I was just an annoyance in the way of her social ascent.
I walked up the rest of the stairs and entered the primary suite—the massive, sterile bedroom allocated to me under our prenuptial agreement.
I sat on the edge of the mattress and pulled out the velvet box. The gold cufflinks gleamed under the bedside lamp, cold and useless.
Downstairs, cheers erupted. The sound vibrated through the floorboards.
I walked to the French doors overlooking the rear garden. Down on the illuminated patio, Sloane was directing two servers by an ice sculpture. Declan stood beside her, his head bent down as he listened to her speak, his hand casually brushing the small of her back.
They looked like the couple the city expected them to be.
My phone buzzed in my coat pocket. I pulled it out, hoping against hope.
It was an email notification.
"Happy Birthday, Aurelia. Remember that true science requires patience and solitude. You are meant for greater arenas than New York boardrooms. -Dr. Edmund Sterling."
My mentor at Harvard was the only person in the world who had remembered.
I typed a brief "Thank you, Professor" and shut off the screen.
Hours passed. The bass eventually quieted, replaced by the occasional clatter of glassware and slamming car doors. My throat burned with thirst.
At two in the morning, I padded downstairs in my stocking feet to fetch a glass of water from the butler's pantry.
As I rounded the corner near the service hallway, the voices of two newly hired catering maids stopped me dead in my tracks.
"Miss Whitfield is stunning," the first girl whispered, scraping dessert plates into a bin. "Mr. Hartford's girlfriend carries herself like royalty."
"A girlfriend?" the other asked, pausing. "But isn't Mr. Hartford rumored to be married? Is it inappropriate to be this close with Whitfield?"
"Married?Where did that come from? Even if there was one, they must have split long ago. I've worked three events here this month, and Miss Whitfield is the only woman hosting by his side. Everyone knows she's the future Mrs. Hartford."
I shrank back into the cold shadow of the archway, my blood turning to ice.
In the home where I held a legal marriage certificate, my presence had already been wiped clean.
Daddy's Secret Obsession: Falling For The Father
Love and revenge don't mix well in the dark streets of Milan. When Daisy Fontana stepped into her engagement party at the Marino mansion, she thought she had it all. A handsome fiancé from one of Milan's most powerful families, a bright future ahead, and a perfect life far from her father's reach.
The Triplets' Secret Father
"Are you telling me that the triplets might not be mine?"I don't know, Robert, I don't know who the father is." Christine shouted at the top of her voice and slammed the door behind her after being rude to her husband. ****** Christine was successful, married woman juggling the demands of her ca
BOUND TO THE WRONG ALPHA: FALLING FOR MY MATE'S FATHER.
She was rejected by her mate, her childhood sweetheart on the night of her mating ceremony. After being banished from the pack, she returns that very same night, adamant and determined to get him back, she crawls into his bed and lets him ravish her body one last time. Their wolves join as one, and
MAFIA OBSESSION: FALLING FOR HIS FORBIDDEN HEART
Synopsis: "Why am I here anyway?" I blurted out. My question was met with deafening silence for a minute. "You are mine, Abigail. You are mine." Carter uttered calmly. Raising a brow, I chuckled completely perplexed. "Excuse me?" Carter retired to his seat at the table. He grabbed a bottl
Falling for the Cheerleader
From my bedroom window, he looked like a Greek god, Up close nothing more than an angel from hell Kieran was the guy next door. But not the dreamy sweet type in romance coms and happily Ever after novels. He was the type you had chilling nightmares about. Powerful, hot, brutal and the king of Roya
Falling For The Womanizer
(Warning:- The book contains mature content. ) Working hard at night in the bar, Sabrina saved her Virginity for the man of her dreams, The one she was betrothed to from her childhood but then that deliciously handsome man came to the bar and asked for a private dance from her, that changed her who
Falling for the Starlet
"You're shaking?" Lucy's breath caught as Caleb's deep voice wrapped around her. "I-I'm sorry, sir... this isn't right" she whispered, not daring to look up. "You don't have anything to worry about," he murmured, stepping closer. "I will protect you, just be obedient." --- Lucy neve
Falling for the wolf
After confirming that she was indeed asleep, Morgan removed himself from the room and observed Wesley walking around the opposite wall, waving at him.He wasn't saying anything, but his posture showed his confidence and admiration.Instead of trying to soothe his friend, Morgan proceeded to locate Amb
Falling For The Badboy
He's the richest kid in campus. He's handsome, rich, arrogant and every girl wants him. He has no time for girls and care about only his career. He's talented which makes him even more proud. He has a twin sister . She's nothing like him. She's a beauty but not proud and arrogant like her brother. T
Falling For The Billionaire's
She was the star football player at her school. Extremely beautiful, popular, a prankster, yet not bitchy. She is also very friendly, unless you get on her bad side. Never had any relationships in high school? There is a reason for that; read on to find out. She disappeared ten years ago, literally.
FALLING FOR THE CEO
#1: Binding Agreement I could feel my breathing begin to get slightly heavier. "Mainly because I can't let myself fall for you all over again. Not after everything that happened." His hand caressed my cheek. "You can't fall for someone all over again when the feelings never left in the first place
Falling for the forbidden
Your idiot is still missing until now Andres I'm still missing the one you hit "you smile when you say here in front if you're a traitor You really are a Demonic animal "shouted my enemy who was already red with anger and was already firing his gun Correction lng it's Dominic not Demonic "I said t
Falling for the Billionaire
Skylar Summers broke up with the former love of her life seven years ago, following which she never did so much as look back at her past. Now, after pursuing her dream career of acting, she finds herself in a peculiar situation of meeting the man of her life again. Seven years weren't enough for h
Falling for the boss
JENNA It was the first time I did anything like this, one night no names, it was exciting, that was until I walked into my new job and there he was my new fucking boss, and to make things worse hes even hotter than I remembered how the hell am I supposed to do my job when all I can think about is t
Falling For The Tycoon
After discovering her father's infidelity, Leena Jackson is sent to live with relatives she has never met. In a new city, she attends a new year's countdown party where a mysterious stranger's kiss ignites unexpected feelings within her. What happens when she crosses paths with the stranger again an
Falling For The Biker
Sierra returns to Willow Creek, her small village with a wish to have a simple Christmas with her family. Relationship and love was far away from her agenda after her rough divorce but a second chance came knocking on a winter morning in the guise of the hot, billionaire biker. She tries to run from
THE BILLONAIRE'S SECRET OBSESSION
"He saved me from the streets, only to break my heart in his penthouse." Star was a woman with nothing, trapped in a "living contract" with the cold billionaire Adrian Scott. After weeks of resisting his intense gaze, a single drunken night of explosive passion leads to a life-changing secret: she's
The Billionaire Secret Obsession
Premise: Emma Hayes is a hardworking waitress struggling to make ends meet in the bustling city of New York. Juggling two jobs to support her younger sister, she has no time for romance-until a mysterious, brooding stranger becomes a regular at the upscale restaurant where she works. He watches her
The CEO's Secret Obsession
When billionaire playboy Ryder Blackwood falls for his stunning executive assistant Emilia, he must choose between his lavish lifestyle and the only woman who has ever truly understood him. As they navigate their secret affair, they must confront their own desires and fears. Will their love be stron
Falling for the dragon: Her Obsession with my manhood
From crazily chasing behind her crush, who rejected her, she found herself falling for her contracted husband, who was arrogant. "Am I not looking attractive?" Abby asked, pulling his face closer to her by the collar. "A lot!" Steven mumbled. "What about my attitude? Is it bothering you?" "N
