Viva La Vida Complete

Modern

Twenty minutes before the "Wedding of the Century" at The Plaza, I stood outside the Presidential Suite in a fifty-thousand-dollar Vera Wang gown. I was the girl from a West Virginia trailer park about to marry Hugh Maxwell, the golden heir to a billion-dollar defense empire. I pushed the door open only to find Hugh pinned against the bed with my own stepsister, Floy. She was wearing my bridal diamond necklace, and the sounds of their laughter scraped against my eardrums like sandpaper. I didn't scream; I listened as Hugh grunted that once the wedding was over and the trust fund unlocked, he'd dump "that hillbilly trash" on a bus back to the mountains. They weren't just cheating; they were planning to steal my family's land deeds and leave me with nothing. When I set off the sprinklers and exposed their naked bodies to the paparazzi, the Maxwell family didn't apologize. They called me a "greedy peasant" and threatened to ruin my life unless I signed a new deal to save their crashing stock. I realized then that I was never a bride to them. I was a transaction, a rounding error in a ledger to be used and discarded. They thought my poverty made me weak and my silence made me a victim. "If we don't have a marriage certificate by midnight, the bank freezes thirty percent of our liquidity," their lawyer warned. So, I gave them exactly what they wanted. I used a loophole in their hundred-year-old family covenant and married the only other direct heir available. I didn't marry Hugh. I walked into the ICU and married his uncle, Fleet Maxwell-the legendary war hero who had been in a vegetative state for months. Now, I am the matriarch of the Maxwell dynasty. I've suspended Hugh's executive powers, exiled my mother-in-law to the Swiss Alps, and taken control of the family vault. They think I'm just a gold-digger waiting for a "corpse" to die so I can collect a fifty-million-dollar widow's payout. But last night, as I lay beside my comatose husband, the man they called a vegetable gripped my hand back.

Literature

Coniston, Complete by Winston Churchill

Literature

First published 1892. Author was a soldier, composer and French dramatist who received the Legion of Honour.

Literature

Coniston -- Complete by Winston Churchill

Literature

Lucretia, Complete by Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Literature

Harold, Complete by Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Literature

You must often have felt, gentlemen, -- each and all of you, -- especially when sitting alone at night, a strange and unaccountable sensation of coldness and awe creep over you; your blood curdles, and the heart stands still; the limbs shiver, the hair bristles; you are afraid to look up, to turn yo

Literature

George Meredith was both a novelist and poet. Born in Portsmouth, England , his work is used as a classic example of Victorian literature.

Literature

Gerfaut -- Complete by Charles de Bernard

Literature

Gerfaut, Complete by Charles de Bernard

Literature

Pelham, Complete by Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Literature

Not to be confused with the famous British prime minister, Winston Churchill was a 20th century American author known for best-selling historical fiction and adventure novels. One of his novels, The Crisis, is set in the American Civil War and was the most popular book of 1901.

Literature

William Wymark "W. W." Jacobs, an English author of short stories and novels. Although much of his work was humorous, he is most famous for his horror story "The Monkey's Paw".

Literature

Paul Clifford, Complete by Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Literature

The Great Conspiracy, Complete by John Alexander Logan

Literature

Ludovic Halevy was born in Paris, January 1, 1834. His father was Leon Halevy, the celebrated author; his grandfather, Fromenthal, the eminent composer. Ludovic was destined for the civil service, and, after finishing his studies, entered successively the Department of State (1852); the Algerian Dep

Literature

Prince Zilah -- Complete by Jules Claretie

Literature

Trajectory presents classics of world literature with 21st century features! Our original-text editions include the following visual enhancements to foster a deeper understanding of the work: Word Clouds at the start of each chapter highlight important words. Word, sentence, paragraph counts, and re

Literature

Gilbert Parker was a late 19th and early 20th century politician and novelist who wrote prodigiously. The British-Canadian's works are still popular in the 21st century.

Literature

No Defense, Complete by Gilbert Parker

Literature

Ragged Lady, Complete by William Dean Howells