Scarlett Hale never wanted to marry Damien Cross, but when her stepmother forced her into a contract to save her father's company, she had no choice. Damien was in a coma. Everyone believed she'd soon be a widow and tossed aside. But then he woke up. Enraged and trapped in a marriage he never agreed to, Damien swore to ruin Scarlett, and if they ever had children, he'd destroy them too. Four years later, Scarlett returns, hiding a secret that could cost her everything. She's not alone. She has twins, his twins. And they know exactly who their father is. When her son hacks Damien's system and sends him a taunting message, the ruthless billionaire realizes his past isn't buried after all. *"Come and get me, asshole!" Now, Damien is coming for answers. And Scarlett must do everything in her power to protect the only family she has left... even if it means facing the man who once vowed to destroy them.
Scarlett Hale's fingers trembled as she clutched the sleek fountain pen, the marriage contract lying open before her. The document was thick, every page sealed with a golden Cross Corporation insignia, as if mocking her with its finality. Her signature was the last thing needed to seal her fate.
Across the long mahogany table, Vanessa Hale sat with a triumphant smirk, her perfectly manicured nails drumming lightly against the polished surface. Scarlett's father, Richard Hale, sat beside her, his shoulders hunched, his face pale with resignation. The once-mighty businessman now looked like a man on the brink of collapse.
"Sign it," Vanessa urged, her voice syrupy sweet but razor-sharp underneath. "Unless you want to watch your father's legacy crumble."
Scarlett's stomach churned. It was a cruel game, one she had no hope of winning. Marrying Damien Cross, a man in a coma, was a transaction, nothing more. The Cross family had agreed to settle her father's debts in exchange for her name on that contract. Once Damien inevitably passed away, she would be nothing but a discarded widow.
But if she refused? The company her father had spent decades building would be gone. He would be left with nothing. Homeless. Destitute. And all because Vanessa had maneuvered them into this impossible situation.
Swallowing hard, Scarlett forced her shaking hand to steady as she signed her name on the last line. Scarlett Hale-Cross. The ink barely dried before Vanessa snatched the document away.
"Good girl," Vanessa cooed, her smirk widening. "You'll be Mrs. Cross tomorrow."
Scarlett's breath hitched. "Tomorrow?"
Vanessa leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs with leisurely grace. "You didn't think you'd have time to plan a fairy-tale wedding, did you? Damien's grandmother, Eleanor Cross, wants the ceremony done immediately. She still believes he'll wake up one day and wants his wife waiting for him when he does."
Scarlett's pulse pounded in her ears. What if he woke up?
Vanessa scoffed at the thought. "Don't worry. He won't."
Scarlett wasn't so sure.
The next morning, she found herself standing in front of the Cross estate, an imposing fortress of wealth and power. The sprawling mansion loomed over her like an unforgiving beast, its darkened windows staring back at her with indifference.
The wedding was a cold, impersonal affair. A private judge officiated the vows, reading from a script, his tone devoid of emotion. Scarlett stood beside Damien's hospital bed, her trembling fingers clutching a bouquet of white lilies. Damien lay motionless, his strong, chiseled features eerily serene, as if he were merely sleeping.
"Do you take Damien Cross to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
Scarlett swallowed against the lump in her throat. Her voice barely above a whisper, she said, "I do."
With no groom to place a ring on her finger, the judge simply nodded and declared her married. Just like that, Scarlett Hale was now Scarlett Cross.
The Cross family lawyer handed her a certificate, and the reality of her situation settled in. She was legally bound to a man who had never even looked at her.
As the guests-mostly Cross family associates-filed out, Scarlett was left alone in the sterile, dimly lit hospital room. The heart monitor beeped steadily beside Damien's bed, a cruel reminder that her husband was alive but unreachable.
She sat beside him, exhaling shakily. "You're lucky," she murmured. "You don't have to see this mess."
Then, just as she reached to adjust the blanket over him, something happened.
Damien's fingers twitched.
Scarlett froze, her breath catching in her throat. Had she imagined it?
She waited, heart hammering. But Damien remained still. The silence in the room was suffocating.
For the first time since signing that contract, real fear crept into Scarlett's bones.
Scarlett spent her wedding night in a grand bedroom that felt more like a gilded cage. The Cross estate was suffocating in its elegance, its pristine white halls feeling more like a mausoleum than a home.
Sleep evaded her. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Damien's fingers twitch. It was probably nothing-a muscle reflex. But what if it wasn't?
By morning, the household staff delivered breakfast to her quarters, their expressions unreadable. It was clear they saw her as an outsider, an intruder in their master's domain.
A knock on the door made her tense. The butler, an older man with a stiff posture, stepped inside.
"Mrs. Cross, Mrs. Eleanor requests your presence for breakfast."
Scarlett stood, smoothing out the silk of her nightgown. She had no choice but to face the formidable matriarch of the Cross family.
At the grand dining table, Eleanor Cross sat at the head, her sharp gaze cutting through Scarlett like a blade. The woman exuded power, dressed in an ivory suit, her silver hair twisted into an elegant bun.
"You look tired," Eleanor observed, sipping her tea.
Scarlett forced a small smile. "It's been overwhelming."
Eleanor set her cup down with a soft clink. "You married into this family. Overwhelming is an understatement."
Scarlett remained silent. She wasn't about to beg for sympathy.
Eleanor's piercing eyes bore into hers. "Do you believe he'll wake up?"
Scarlett's breath hitched. "I don't know."
Eleanor nodded, as if expecting that answer. "You'll stay by his side. A wife should be loyal."
Scarlett swallowed the bitterness in her throat. Loyal? To a man she had never met?
"Yes, ma'am."
Eleanor studied her for a long moment before shifting her gaze. "You may go."
Scarlett rose, feeling dismissed. As she turned to leave, Eleanor's voice stopped her.
"If he wakes up, Scarlett, you better pray he likes you."
Scarlett's blood ran cold.
What if he didn't?
As she stepped out of the dining room, her mind raced with possibilities. What if Damien had been aware of everything happening around him? What if he despised the idea of being forced into a marriage he never consented to? What if, when he woke, he saw her as nothing more than an opportunist?
She wandered through the corridors of the estate, each step heavier than the last. The walls seemed to close in on her, suffocating in their opulence. When she finally reached Damien's room again, she hesitated. The air inside was stale, thick with the scent of antiseptic and the quiet hum of medical equipment.
Taking a seat beside his bed, she studied his face. He was handsome in a way that felt unfair-strong jaw, high cheekbones, thick lashes that rested against his pale skin. Yet, there was no warmth, no presence. He was trapped in a world she could not enter.
She reached out, hesitated, then brushed a hand lightly over his. "Damien," she whispered. "If you can hear me... I need you to wake up."
His fingers twitched again. This time, she was certain.
When Lucas Blackwood's business empire faces a hostile takeover, he turns to his late father's will for a solution: marriage. According to the will's clause, Lucas must marry within a year to retain his inheritance. Emma Brooks, a talented but financially struggling artist, enters the picture. Seeing an opportunity for financial relief, she agrees to a contract marriage proposed by Lucas. However, their agreement comes with a condition: they must convincingly portray their love to the public and even to themselves. As their emotions become entangled, Lucas and Emma must navigate a web of deceit, desire, and danger. They face challenges from rival billionaires, relentless paparazzi, and hidden agendas that threaten to tear them apart. In a world where trust is scarce and love is seen as a risk, they must navigate the treacherous waters of their fabricated romance to avoid the clause becoming their downfall. In "The Marriage Clause," passion and power collide, presenting high stakes for both Lucas and Emma
Logan, with his mark of fire, carries the burden of his desired legacy. Orphaned by a brutal horde's attack, "Run, Logan!" His father's desperate wheezing echoed in his memory. “They will stop at nothing to achieve their goals! He collapsed, gasping, as a warm, wet nose nudged his side. It was Anya, a young wolf from the neighboring Moonstone pack, with her sapphire eyes filled with worry. “Come with us, Logan.” She pleaded in a soft voice. “The moonstone will protect you.” Over the years, Logan grew into a beautiful, young, and handsome wolf. He trains hard to develop his fighting skills, but a shadow of his past looms over him. He said that one day he was walking along the border and met Anya. Her hair stood on end, and her eyes were filled with fear. “Garen, he's up to something. He wants to use your mark to control powers you didn't know you had." Logan's world explodes. Is the power hidden within it? Are Garon's true intentions shrouded in darkness? Betrayal and forbidden love spark a desperate fight for survival. Betrayal, prophecy, and forbidden love ignite the fight for freedom. Can Logan ignore the prophecy surrounding his fire sign, or will he become a pawn in Garon's game? Can forbidden love be transformed into a force for good, or will it lead to his destruction? Discover Logan's fate as you explore a world filled with pack politics, hidden forces, and a desperate fight for freedom.
Annabel, the last child of the St. Claires' discovers that she is the price her father paid for a favour. In a glitzy realm of relentless ambition and insatiable desires Anabell is trapped in the cold embrace of an arranged marriage but fate has a wicked sense of humour, for the billionaire tycoon she is forced to wed is Ethan Cresswell, the very man who shattered her world years ago. As their lives are entangled in a load of complex misdirection, lust, and treachery; revenge dances on a tightrope, threatening to consume them both. Each step taken to exact revenge brings them closer, whispers of an ancient curse echoing through their shared desires. Hidden agendas are unveiled and devastating secrets are exposed, the stakes skyrocket to a level unimaginable. Can love survive the wild storm of forbidden desires and shattered illusions? Or will the ruthless pursuit of revenge eliminate their chances for redemption?
COALESCENCE OF THE FIVE SERIES BOOK ONE: THE 5-TIME REJECTED GAMMA & THE LYCAN KING BOOK TWO: THE ROGUES WHO WENT ROGUE BOOK THREE: THE INDOMITABLE HUNTRESS & THE HARDENED DUKE *** BOOK ONE: After being rejected by 5 mates, Gamma Lucianne pleaded with the Moon Goddess to spare her from any further mate-bonds. To her dismay, she is being bonded for the sixth time. What’s worse is that her sixth-chance mate is the most powerful creature ruling over all werewolves and Lycans - the Lycan King himself. She is certain, dead certain, that a rejection would come sooner or later, though she hopes for it to be sooner. King Alexandar was ecstatic to meet his bonded mate, and couldn’t thank their Goddess enough for gifting him someone so perfect. However, he soon realizes that this gift is reluctant to accept him, and more than willing to sever their bond. He tries to connect with her but she seems so far away. He is desperate to get intimate with her but she seems reluctant to open up to him. He tries to tell her that he is willing to commit to her for the rest of his life but she doesn’t seem to believe him. He is pleading for a chance: a chance to get to know her; a chance to show her that he’s different; and a chance to love her. But when not-so-subtle crushes, jealous suitors, self-entitled Queen-wannabes, an old flame, a silent protector and a past wedding engagement threaten to jeopardize their relationship, will Lucianne and Xandar still choose to be together? Is their love strong enough to overcome everything and everyone? Or will Lucianne resort to enduring a sixth rejection from the one person she thought she could entrust her heart with?
For three years, Shane and Yvonne were wed, sharing heated nights, while his devotion clung to his ex. Yvonne strove to be a dutiful wife, yet their marriage felt hollow, built on desire rather than real warmth. All changed when she became pregnant, only for Shane to thrust her onto the operating table, warning, “Either you or the baby survives!” Broken by his cruelty, she vanished in grief and later returned, radiantly accomplished, leaving everyone awestruck. Haunted by remorse, Shane begged for another chance, but Yvonne only smiled and replied, “I’m sorry, men no longer interest me.”
Rumors claimed that Fernanda, newly back with her family, was nothing more than a violent country bumpkin. Fernanda just flashed a casual, dismissive grin in response. Another rumor suggested that the usually rational Cristian had lost all sense, madly in love with Fernanda. This frustrated her. She could tolerate gossip about herself, but slander against her beloved crossed the line! Gradually, as Fernanda's multiple identities as a celebrated designer, a savvy gamer, an acclaimed painter, and a successful business magnate came to light, everyone realized they were the ones who had been fooled.
Kara Martin was known as Miss Perfect. She was a beauty with good personality and successful career. Unfortunately, her life changed at one night. She was accused of adultery, losing her job, and abandoned by her fiance. The arrogant man who slept with her did not want to take responsibility. He even threatened to kill her if they met again. What's worse, Kara was pregnant with twins and she chose to give birth to them. Four and a half years later, Kara returned to work at a large company. As the secretary, she would frequently face their notorious CEO. Kara thought it wouldn't be a problem, but as it turned out ... the CEO was the father of the twins!
"Sign the divorce papers and get out!" Leanna got married to pay a debt, but she was betrayed by her husband and shunned by her in-laws. Seeing that her efforts were in vain, she agreed to divorce and claimed her half of the properties. With her purse plump from the settlement, Leanna enjoyed her newfound freedom. The constant harassment from her ex's mistress never fazed her. She took back her identities as top hacker, champion racer, medical professor, and renowned jewelry designer. Then someone discovered her secret. Matthew smiled. "Will you have me as your next husband?"
"I've warned you from the beginning. Don't marry him, but you won't listen." Darcy stood close to me and smiled with concern. "You're not a woman worthy of a man as handsome, rich, smart, and virile as Blaze." My whole body trembled at her words. "Have you no shame?" I asked. "Take a good look at yourself, Heather." She stared at me in the mirror. "You can't even glance at your ugly face. Do you think Blaze can endure a lifetime of gazing at that scar?" Heather Bailey got a surprise from her husband: a divorce agreement. After a year of marriage and facing ups and downs, she couldn't believe Blaze intended to divorce her. She was devastated when she saw him gazing lovingly at another woman. After signing the divorce papers, shockwaves caught her up. Her flower shop was burned to the ground. Her father's company collapsed, and her parents blamed her. She struggled to rebuild her life from the ground up and became more successful than ever. Having many customers from influential families, she started her revenge on Blaze. She won the very thing he wanted, but that was just the beginning.