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"I cannot stay away from you, no matter how much I try," he murmurs, his voice low as he traps me between the wall and his body. His breath is hot against my neck, making my throat tighten as my eyes fixate on his tempting lips. "Wh... what are you saying?" I manage to whisper, my voice trembling. He doesn't answer with words. Instead, he claims my mouth, his lips crashing onto mine with a hunger that steals the air from my lungs. His arms wrap around my waist, pulling me closer. Then he pulls away, leaving us both breathless as his eyes lock onto mine. "I want you, Melania, and I don't care what it takes." ** Melania never planned on marrying her ex-husband's boss. Fresh out of a bitter divorce with Brady, she's thrown into a whirlwind romance with Royal, her ex's boss. Their marriage is supposed to be a temporary arrangement, lasting just one year. But when Melania discovers that Royal's family is her own family's biggest rival, she's thrust into a dangerous political game among the elite. Her parents demand that she spy on her new husband and expose his family's secrets in order to sabotage their business. But the more time she spends with Royal, the harder it becomes to see him as the enemy. Caught between her family's expectations, her lingering resentment for Brady, and her growing feelings for Royal, Melania must decide what truly matters: loyalty, revenge, or her own heart. Who will she ultimately choose?
MELANIA'S POV:
I sit on the edge of the bed, my hands clenched in my lap, watching Brady stand in front of the mirror. His focus is entirely on the tie he knots, as if I'm invisible. It's been almost twenty-four hours since we arrived at the hotel, and he hasn't said a word to me. I know today is important to him, career-wise, but how can he forget what it means to us?
The silence crushes me, and I keep watching the way he struggles with the tie-so focused on something so trivial while everything between us slips through his fingers. After a few more long moments, I force myself to stand, breathing through the panic in my chest.
"Let me help you," I say softly, stepping closer.
Brady pauses, his hands dropping away from the tie. He doesn't meet my eyes-he focuses on his reflection in the mirror. I take the tie from him, my fingers trembling as I tuck it into the loop he's made.
"There," I say, trying to muster a smile. He offers me a forced smile in return, which makes my heart sink. "Do you know what today is, love?" I ask quietly as I adjust the tie and rest my hands on his shoulders, praying he'll remember.
For a moment, his brows crease, and I think maybe he'll remember.
But then, with a casual shrug, he says, "It's the day I close the biggest deal of my career. The deal that'll get me the promotion I deserve." My throat tightens, but I manage to smile through the sting. I slide my arms around his neck, pressing my body into his, filling the cold distance between us.
"You should think harder, love," I whisper. I feel him stiffen beneath my touch. Without warning, he pulls away from me, his face contorting in disgust.
"I don't have time for your games, Melania," he snaps in an irritated voice. "If you want to tag along tonight, meet me downstairs in ten minutes. And stay quiet. I don't need you embarrassing me!" He is practically yelling at this point.
Without looking back, he walks out, slamming the door with a deafening bang. The world blurs, tears gathering in my eyes as I sink onto the stool in front of the vanity. The woman staring back at me feels so foreign now. This isn't the woman I gave Brady. This is the woman he molded-no, broke. She was whole before him, but now she's just a shadow of herself.
One year. That's how long I've been married to him. He's no longer the Brady I met in college, the one who wouldn't leave me alone, the one who made me feel seen. Now, I'm just a shadow in my home. He's made it clear I'm not meant to know anything about his business. My only purpose is to be beautiful and silent, to bear his children. But I haven't conceived. No matter how many nights I've endured his advances, my body refuses to give him the child he demands. And he never lets me forget it. Worthless. That's what he calls me.
When I suggest seeing a doctor together, his answer is cold and dismissive.
"I don't need a hospital tarnishing my image," he says. "Once they see me in there, the tabloids will say I'm impotent." And so I remain, stuck in this silent, suffocating role-needing him to love me, needing him to see me, but knowing I'm nothing more than a decoration to him now. Just his mute, beautiful, and hidden wife. He never takes me to any of his events, but today I insist because of our anniversary, which I thought we would celebrate together with his 'big' achievement. "You can't cry, Melania," I say to myself as I wipe the tears staining my eyes.
**
The car ride suffocates me. I sit silently in the back seat, while Brady scrolls through his phone in the front. Not a word passes between us, and soon we arrive at the venue. Brady steps out first, buttoning his blazer. I follow him, and he marches forward like he didn't come to the event with me.
As we enter the sky-tall building, his lips curve into a smile, and I spot a woman standing near the entrance. I freeze as I recognize her.
"You look beautiful," the words I crave leave Brady's mouth, but they are not for me. Before me, he takes Portia's hands, planting a kiss on the back of her palms.
Portia is everything Brady has ever wanted in a woman. She is his high school sweetheart, recently divorced, and glowing as though heartbreak made her stronger. He loved her so much, but she got married right after high school. Her family is influential, so they tied her to a bigger family, the Sinclair's.
Brady says he is over her, but his actions say otherwise. Portia smiles at me, and I can tell it isn't genuine.
"You must be Melania. I've heard a lot about you," she extends her perfectly manicured hand, which I take briefly. In that moment, she sees a familiar face, and she leaves while I face my husband with my chest tightening.
"What is she doing here?" I ask, and I continue before he can speak, "I thought you said tonight is for important dignitaries?"
"It is," Brady replies immediately. "Portia is in town, and I thought she might help with her influence," he says, then I open my mouth to speak, but he glares at me. "Behave," he hisses under his breath.
Portia shows up at once, and he anchors his hand with hers, pulling her away while I trail behind them like I have no direction in life. As we walk into the room full of important dignitaries, Brady introduces me as a distant relative while he parades Portia around, proud to have an Ashford, and a former Sinclair.
Soon I am left alone in the middle of nowhere. I walk away with the sting of humiliation burning my face as Portia shoots me a poisonous smile. A server passes by with a tray of champagne, and I take one from him, downing the entire contents before grabbing another and turning to a corner in the room. Suddenly, I see Portia cat walking toward me with a glass of champagne in her hand.
"You really do not belong here, do you?" Portia mocks as she sips from her glass. "Brady doesn't love you, and he never has," she adds, her words driving through my chest like a knife. My hands tighten around the stem of the glass, and I glance at her, trying hard not to cry.
"Please leave him alone. I'll pay you whatever you want," I whisper, my voice breaking. Portia lets out a mocking laugh. "Pay me?" she repeats.
"Darling, my family's wealth makes Brady look like spare change. This isn't about money. It's about him. He belongs to me, and you..." She gives me a pitying look. "You're just in the way."
"Baby, except you are a Montclair or Chestwick, you have no right to talk to me about money." She is right, the Montclairs and Chestwick's are the richest in America. I am a Chestwick, but that is a secret I have kept from Brady, and that is what made me fall in love with him. He didn't want my family's money, it was just me.
"Brady doesn't love you, Portia, and he is using your family's influence to get what he wants," I say to her, and she scoffs.
"Didn't seem so when he snuck into my hotel room last night. Besides, I can prove it to you now. Look, he's coming," she says, and I spot Brady, whose smile changes to a frown as he sees me.
When he gets close to us, Portia puts out her leg a bit on the left, causing a lady making a call inattentive to trip, pouring her drink on her. My brows crease as I see Brady rushing to her, but to my utter surprise, he pushes me to the side, causing me to collide with a table of desserts, which sends chocolate mousse and raspberry coulis flying, splattering my dress and face. Murmurs ripple through the crowd, and the paparazzi do not pass up a chance to whip out their cameras for the front cover.
"Are you hurt? Did it get on you?" Brady asks, cupping Portia's face.
"I'm fine," Portia says in a low tone while I remain on the floor, frozen in humiliation. I search his face for the slightest sign of care, but he doesn't look at me.
"Someone clean this up," Brady barks to no one in particular, his hand resting protectively on Portia's back. "And get her out of here before she causes more trouble." He gestures vaguely toward me.
The words hit me like a blow as my chest tightens, and tears crawl down my face as I stand to save the little dignity I have left. I run away with the blinding light of the paparazzi chasing me as I realize my husband loves another woman...
I've always been known as many things-the cursed Alpha Prince, Shadow Pelt High's hockey captain, the playboy who can't keep a girl. Life is simple, and easy... until her. Ginger Orbblood. One night-just one fing night, changes everything. She's my best friend's girlfriend, but she's also my mate. Our mate. Born during an eclipse, Caspian and I are tied to her by the curse of the eclipse, but she can only have one of us. It is quite a relief because I am not good at sharing. I always get what I want, and I've never wanted anything like I want her. I sure as hell can't let her go, so I do not care if it ruins anything or anyone. I'll burn the whole damn world down if I have to-just to have her.
Betrayed, rejected, and humiliated in front of the whole pack by her one true love. He auctioned her off, and she thought her life was over until she met him. He is an Alpha mafia, a ruthless and powerful man who had a score to settle with her family. He bought her as his mate in order to exact revenge on her family. But one thing he didn't expect was to desire her, to cherish her, to claim her as his own. When love and vengeance collide, the once-ruthless Alpha is forced to make a decision. What choice will he make? Find out in Rejected: Claimed by the Alpha Mafia, a thrilling and steamy werewolf/ mafia romance that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Blurb: "Keep them open!" he growled, his fingers trailing up her thigh. "You know you're my ruin, don't you?" She whimpered, feeling the heat of his breath against her skin as he leaned closer. "Let me see you. I want you to spread wide for me. Now!" he demanded. ** Tainting a good girl's innocence has always been my super power, but with her, I crave something more. Bending my wickedness until it's twisted enough to be worthy of her purity. I'm Hiram Howler. This is the story of a depraved alpha prince.
After a tragic misstep leads to her best friend's death, Bella is exiled from the Rune pack by her alpha father. Her new life with her mother and stepfather, the Alpha of Frost pack is fraught with challenges, not least of which is sharing a room at Howlstone with her stepbrother, Ryder, the Alpha prince, and his twin best friends, Kai and Finn, who are also her biggest bullies. As Bella grapples with her new reality, she discovers that these three are her destined mates who can't seem to recognize her. When they finally do, it is too late, because they have hurt her beyond repair.
For the whole 17 years of her existence, Alana did not know the word freedom and happiness having been confined in the basement of her family's house accused of killing her own mother. She's beaten, cursed at, and barely survived from crumbs of food thrown at her. She thought this is her final destiny and has accepted the bitter fate of her life not until the night of her 18th birthday, a mysterious alpha appeared at her door telling her that she is the long-lost daughter of the alpha king and claiming her as his mate he's been looking for several years now.
In her previous life, Kimberly endured the betrayal of her husband, the cruel machinations of an evil woman, and the endless tyranny of her in-laws. It culminated in the bankruptcy of her family, and ultimately, her death. After being reborn, she resolved to seek retribution against those who had wronged her, and ensure her family's prosperity. To her shock, the most unattainable man from her past suddenly set his sights on her. "You may have overlooked me before, but I shall capture your heart this time around."
Elena, once a pampered heiress, suddenly lost everything when the real daughter framed her, her fiancé ridiculed her, and her adoptive parents threw her out. They all wanted to see her fall. But Elena unveiled her true identity: the heiress of a massive fortune, famed hacker, top jewelry designer, secret author, and gifted doctor. Horrified by her glorious comeback, her adoptive parents demanded half her newfound wealth. Elena exposed their cruelty and refused. Her ex pleaded for a second chance, but she scoffed, “Do you think you deserve it?” Then a powerful magnate gently proposed, “Marry me?”
After two years of marriage, Sadie was finally pregnant. Filled with hope and joy, she was blindsided when Noah asked for a divorce. During a failed attempt on her life, Sadie found herself lying in a pool of blood, desperately calling Noah to ask him to save her and the baby. But her calls went unanswered. Shattered by his betrayal, she left the country. Time passed, and Sadie was about to be wed for a second time. Noah appeared in a frenzy and fell to his knees. "How dare you marry someone else after bearing my child?"
Kallie, a mute who had been ignored by her husband for five years since their wedding, also suffered the loss of her pregnancy due to her cruel mother-in-law. After the divorce, she learned that her ex-husband had quickly gotten engaged to the woman he truly loved. Holding her slightly rounded belly, she realized that he had never really cared for her. Determined, she left him behind, treating him as a stranger. Yet, after she left, he scoured the globe in search of her. When their paths crossed once more, Kallie had already found new happiness. For the first time, he pleaded humbly, "Please don't leave me..."Â But Kallie's response was firm and dismissive, cutting through any lingering ties. "Get lost!"
“You need a bride, I need a groom. Why don’t we get married?” Both abandoned at the altar, Elyse decided to tie the knot with the disabled stranger from the venue next door. Pitying his state, she vowed to spoil him once they were married. Little did she know that he was actually a powerful tycoon. Jayden thought Elyse only married him for his money, and planned to divorce her when she was no longer of use to him. But after becoming her husband, he was faced with a new dilemma. “She keeps asking for a divorce, but I don’t want that! What should I do?”