STIGMA
Falling For My Cheating Boyfriend's Uncle
"I'm badly injured. Get over here right now!" Fresh off a grueling twelve-hour open-heart surgery, I received a frantic call from my boyfriend, Derik. Without even changing my scrubs, I rushed through Boston's freezing autumn rain to the bar. But the moment I pushed open the VIP room door, my blood ran completely cold. Derik was sitting perfectly unharmed on the sofa, with a scantily clad, third-rate model straddling his lap. Seeing me soaked to the bone and looking like a mess, the model didn't get off him. Instead, she leaned into his chest with fake innocence: "Sorry to bother you, sis. I just twisted my ankle, but Derik was so worried he insisted a top doctor like you come take a look." The cold rain dripped from my hair. Swallowing the sharp pain in my chest, my voice trembled: "I'm a cardiothoracic surgeon. I can't treat an ankle." "If you can't even look at a twisted ankle, what use are you?" Derik interrupted impatiently, looking at me like I was a cheap object. "Don't forget, my family funded your medical degree. You're nothing but a free maid we took in out of charity! As long as you behave, I might still let you keep the title of my girlfriend." In that instant, my four years of walking on eggshells and compromising felt like a massive joke. Instead of crying and begging like he expected, I looked at him coldly. "You're right, I can't treat it. So I'm officially giving up the position of your girlfriend to her." Leaving Derik staring in shock, I turned around, walked out of the room, and rushed straight into a restroom stall. Just as I was about to let out a sob, the door was violently kicked open. A towering, blood-soaked man forced his way in, pinning me hard against the wall. The overwhelming scent of fresh blood and dangerous masculinity instantly enveloped me. "Keep your mouth shut if you want to live." Hearing the assassins' footsteps approaching outside, my doctor's instinct kicked in. I yanked his belt loose, grabbed his collar, and kissed him fiercely. I thought I had just saved a stranger, until a few days later when Derik's grandmother suffered a severe heart attack. Her life was hanging by a thread, and the surgery required the signature of the family's ultimate patriarch. Outside the ER, Derik arrogantly showed up with his arms around that model. "She's already carrying my child! Once my grandmother wakes up, I'm kicking you out of this hospital!" he yelled at me. Suddenly, the temperature in the hallway seemed to drop below freezing. Flanked by two rows of bodyguards, a terrifyingly powerful man strode out. Derik, who was acting so high and mighty a second ago, instantly turned pale. He shrank like a frightened mouse, trembling as he bowed his head: "U-Uncle..." My mind completely short-circuited, my heart hammering wildly against my ribs. The dangerously lethal man I had fiercely kissed and stripped to bandage in that dirty restroom late that night... was actually Derik's most feared and revered billionaire uncle?!
Chapter 1
Gracelyn POV:
Fresh off a grueling twelve-hour coronary bypass surgery, I received a frantic call from my boyfriend, Derik Mccarthy, claiming he was badly injured and needed me immediately.
I rushed through Boston's freezing autumn rain and burst into the VIP room of the sports bar he had texted me, only to find a blonde woman with her pale, slender legs draped shamelessly over Derik's thighs, her eyes rimmed with red.
It was Krystle Paul, a minor model desperate to claw her way into the NHL WAG circle.
"Gracelyn, you're finally here. Krystle hurt her ankle. Hurry up and look at it," Derik ordered. There wasn't an ounce of guilt in his voice, just impatient entitlement.
Soaked to the bone by the freezing rain, my heart plummeted.
So he had panicked me into rushing over in a storm just to treat his new fling's ankle?
Swallowing the bitterness in my throat, I crouched down anyway. But just as my hand reached out, before my fingers even brushed her skin—
"Ah! It hurts!" Krystle let out a shrill, agonizing gasp, burying her face into Derik's neck.
"Gracelyn, are you blind? Can't you be gentle?!" Derik snapped, his eyebrows knotting together in furious annoyance.
I froze. "I haven't even touched her yet."
"If you didn't touch her, why would she cry out in pain?" Derik glared at me, his large hand gently rubbing Krystle's back to soothe her.
Looking at the man in front of me, the extreme contrast felt like a scalpel slicing straight into my chest.
I had been his girlfriend for four years, but before that, we had known each other for twelve years. We went to the same private schools. Every off-season, I meticulously managed his diet. When he ran a fever during his rookie season, I stayed awake for forty-eight hours straight, applying cold compresses so he wouldn't miss a game.
He had known this girl for what? Four days? Yet he chose to believe her cheap tears over me.
I slowly stood up, my spine perfectly straight. "I'm a cardiothoracic surgeon, Derik. I can't treat this."
"Can't treat it?" Derik sneered. "The Mccarthy family fed you and funded your medical degree, and you can't even look at a twisted ankle? What use are you?"
The undisguised contempt in his voice completely shattered my last illusion of him.
Twelve years ago, my mother—a maid at the Mccarthy estate—died in a fire while shielding Derik's mother, Hedy. The Mccarthy family took me in out of so-called "charity." They let me attend school with Derik, and he naturally assumed I was just an obedient maid his family had bought and paid for.
In his eyes, my identity had never changed.
"You're right. I can't treat it," I said, looking down at them. "And I apologize for taking up the position of your girlfriend for the past four years. We're done. The spot is officially hers."
A brief flash of shock crossed Derik's eyes, but an arrogant smirk quickly replaced it. "Are you throwing a tantrum and breaking up with me? Perfect. I was just thinking about giving Krystle a proper title anyway."
His tone was so painfully light. It was as if... he had been waiting for me to say those exact words.
"Enjoy your new title, Krystle," I said calmly. "I'm leaving."
When the heavy VIP room door clicked shut behind me, the suffocating weight of the past twelve years came crashing down.
I had no family left. Every memory I had of growing up was tied to Derik. He had once announced I was his girlfriend in front of his whole team. He had even bought me a promise ring.
Those memories twisted with the image of him holding Krystle, acting like an invisible hand crushing my heart. I couldn't breathe.
Tears uncontrollably spilled from my eyes. Shivering, I dragged my heavy steps down the hallway, rushing straight into the women's restroom and locking myself in the furthest stall.
Just as I was about to let out a sob and release all my grievances, the stall door was violently shoved inward, snapping the latch. A towering figure forced his way in, locking the broken door behind him.
The overwhelming scent of fresh blood, mixed with cold peppermint and cedar, instantly suffocated me. I opened my mouth to scream, but a large, rough hand wearing a half-finger leather glove clamped over my lips, pinning me against the wall.
In the dim light, a pair of ice-blue eyes glared down at me like a cornered beast.
"Keep your mouth shut if you want to live," a deep, gravelly voice rasped against my ear. "Cooperate with me."
Money Darling
A love child who failed to fulfill her father's wish for a son and was abandoned by her mother at birth, Leona grew up in the Ling household, being scorned at by her step-mother. Although born in a wealthy business family, she had to fund her tuition fees and living expenses on her own by doing part
Mr. Untouchable (Billionaire #1)
Women are born liars. They will suck the life out of you until you don't believe in yourself. That is how the universe revolves. So my rules are simple. One night. No real names. No repeats. Every week, it should be a different woman. She should be blonde, sexy, and preferably not expecting for
Sucker For Love
Their seven-year marriage was doomed to end. Their wedding anniversary was just a week away, and Molly discovered that her husband Walter had cheated on her. Enraged and determined to get revenge, she rushed to the hotel for an affair. Little did she expect to wake up in Greyson's room. He was the
Accidental Pregnancy
Elena Harrington was the one woman who Harry Reynolds couldn't get out of his mind. She was the first and last person he thought of everyday. The one woman who he was scared about losing. So imagine his delight and surprise to discover that she was pregnant. Elena couldn't believe that the man s
His Rejected Wife
“I want you inside of me” she whispered sending hot shivers down his body, his brain instantly went cold and he lost it for a minute. “You don’t mean that” he answered but deep down he wanted her to mean every single word she said. “I want you Matteo” she muttered again and his eyes flashed for a se
Billionaire's Gift
Mandy is young, beautiful, and rich. She has the perfect life and the perfect boyfriend. But one night, her whole world turns upside down--she catches her boyfriend, Daniel having an affair; she goes to bar where she gets drugged and loses her virginity to Nathan, a man who forces her to have a one-
Flash Marriage: My Mysterious Man
Come rain or shine, Fiona learned the hard way that when it was time to pay the piper, no person was exempt. To return the favor she owed the Ling family, she agreed to take their daughter’s place in her wedding to the eldest son of the Fu family, a paraplegic. Much to her horror, it was only after
Flash Marriage To My Best Friend's Father
I was once the heiress to the Solomon empire, but after it crumbled, I became the "charity case" ward of the wealthy Hyde family. For years, I lived in their shadows, clinging to the promise that Anson Hyde would always be my protector. That promise shattered when Anson walked into the ballroom wit
Fire Phoenix
What would you think of someone riding around the countryside snatching bride and bridegrooms? Is he insane, bisexual? Gay? What if he were only five ? Why then? Here we have the tale of Yun Canglan, who was born into an ancient past after perishing accidentally in the modern world. Her first thou
Burning Love: What If I Never Get Over You
Despite being an ordinary orphan girl, Cheryl managed to marry the most powerful man in the city. He was perfect in every aspect, but there was one thing-- he didn't love her. Three years into their marriage, she finally got pregnant, but it was also the day her husband gave her their divorce pap
