Just Another Roomie
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.
Just Another Roomie.
After my world came crashing down - read between the lines, lost my job, my land lord threw me out, my purse was stolen...- I accepted my best friends idea. To move in with her brother. Cliche right? Let me tell you. It gets worse. We hated each other since like...Forever? But suddenly there is this
Just Another Fling
He could be the baddest of all, ruining himself in other's body, while him? He was looking for the soul. 'The perfect soul', the one that he could call the love of his life. Jake could fuck the whole town. While Andrew just wanted to preserve himself for "the one". Andrew would prefer love over eve
Just Another Chapter
A romance writer who dosen't believe in romance. Full name: Peachie Royal Nickname: Peach Age: 18 Birthday: October 10, 2002 Zodiac: Libra Height: 5'2 Most embarrassing moment: Peachie Royal is a romance writer who dosen't believe in romance. Okay. She will admit it that she does believe in fair
The Roomie Complex
"Teach me" I said drunkenly "Teach me how to be a bad girl" "Are you sure about Tiny, there's a tiny addiction that comes with that" he said, looking at me through the hood of his eyes. "What am I getting addicted to?" I echoed back, trying to keep my focus on his face, and not down his chest and hi
Another day
"We cannot find Lakshmi, it is a predicament because we need her if not the girls won't be able to perform" innocent Mia quickly blurted out. Bella scoffed at how innocent Mia really could be, she just smiled and looked at Juliet.
Another Chance
Life will always be ready with many gifts; He had no idea about that. What if you get an opportunity to change everything from scratch which you missed in your life? What if life presents you with another chance? An HIV Positive patient lost his life after battling with life for five years, His onl
Another Sheaf
Well-known as a playwright and novelist, John Galsworthy was also a passionate patriot and supporter of Britain during World War I. Although he himself was too old to engage in active combat, he volunteered the use of his family estate to be used as a convalescent home for wounded soldiers, and he h
Another Mother
The body of my sister, Annabelle, was found brutally stuffed inside an ottoman in our living room. The house was locked from the inside, and the police didn't have a single lead. Before she died, Annabelle left a note: "Beware of the Other Mom."
Just David
"Eleanor Hodgman Porter (December 19, 1868 – May 21, 1920) was an American novelist. Born in Littleton, New Hampshire, Eleanor Hodgman was trained as a singer but later turned to writing. In 1892, she married John Lyman Porter and moved to Massachusetts. Porter mainly wrote children's literature, in
Just Ryan
A quiet life and last year was all Ryan wanted, tormented by the same people since the fifth year of elementary school, Ryan isolates himself and becomes a very depressed boy, but what he didn't expect is that he would fall in love with her again. , Emily Harrison. That passion will awaken Ryan's wo
Just Patty
Just Patty is the prequel to When Patty Went to College, which was Webster's first novel. We see the same lovable prankster at school, causing just as much havoc as ever and delighting her fellow students with her scornful disregard for rules and etiquette.
Just Rose
The unexpected death of Rose’s beloved aunt ends up being a driving force in her uneventful life. She gives up her lonely, unfulfilled big city existence for the country home and life from cherished childhood memories. But can it live up to them? All she wants is to find her place in the world; th
Another world
Ashley transmigrates to another world, to find herself pregnant with a cheating husband, who doesn't love her, so she decides to run away from him and live away from him, but not for long, because she comes back, not once but twice for different reasons.
One Murder to Another
Jim mowe an amature investigator who is looking to prove himself finally lands himself a case, and a simple one at that. He had been asked to monitor the late Billionaire's son Tami. Things takes a bad turn when Tami ends up missing and Jim becomes prime suspect number one. To clear his name and sav
Another Love Awaits
Celine often experiences heartbreak. The pain she experienced taught her not to open her heart easily to men. She prefers to live alone even though she must endure the pain whenever people question her about when to get married. When the figure of Zack, who also has the same past wounds, comes into
Mated to Another
Amelia grew up orphaned and neglected by the Nightshade Pack. Her dream is to turn twenty-one and run away from her abusers. But the Moon Goddess had other plans for her, and Amelia soon found out that Alpha Elijah is her mate. The one man that she hates the most and wants to run away from... Or is
Love In Another Shadow
Alicia Perth has a special ability, she has high intuition to detect things. But great terror awaits her when she is asked by Detective Nicholas to help solve a murder in the dormitory. Stuck with two handsome men, Detective Nicholas and Ace Blake, the son of the CEO of Golden Group, will Alicia be
Another side of her
How far is she willing to go to get her twin back in her life? London couldn't answer this question if her life depended on it. The limits to what she's willing to do for her twin doesn't exist. Pretending to be her sister for a dinner party? No big deal. That is, until she finds herself in the ver
Not Just The Love
Starting from a lie that Jules created by claiming that Matheo was his lover, Matheo's life which was originally flat turned into color. The lie created by Jules also makes a Matheo who is known to be cold and rigid, trapped in Jule's love. Love just flowed in their hearts and made them have a relat
Just be mine
Jennifer Oxford - A girl who has lost both of her parents in a car accident and now has nothing but a sister who blames her for their parents' deaths; as a result, she is living in an apartment with her best friend without her so-called sister; Jennifer is unknowingly beautiful and kind, yet feisty
