The Bride He Wanted Was Never My Sister
Mirabella spent her entire life in her sister's shadow, serving as the family fixer who cleans up every disaster left behind by her golden sister, the perfect sister and the one who got the guy she had always crushed on. When her sister absconds on her wedding day to avoid an arranged marriage with Theodore Hartley, a calculated logistics billionaire with a soft spot to her and her family, the family’s survival depends on one final sacrifice. Mirabella is convinced by her parents to step into the veil, expecting a furious groom who will demand an annulment only to discover that Theo has been waiting for her all along.
The wedding is a trap, meticulously orchestrated by a man who didn't just buy a wife, but claimed the woman he has obsessed over from the sidelines for years. As Mirabella is swept into the opulent, suffocating world of Theo’s museum-like estate, she realizes her life is no longer her own. Every gesture of his affection is a calculated move to bind her closer, and every secret she uncovers about his business threatens the fragile peace she’s trying to maintain. Trapped between a debt she cannot pay and an undeniable, terrifying attraction to the man who stole her identity, Mirabella must decide if she will continue to be the fixer for everyone else’s mistakes or finally break the chains of the man who owns her heart and her future, take back her life and love her the right way
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Chapter: 54: Green with envy Mirabella Being here with her like this and having scallops and whatever fancy dish made me feel much better than I had when I arrived. I was expecting the worst, maybe a crossfire. Yes, I got sucked into a world I couldn't fully grasp but Zoya was just a woman I couldn't believe could hurt me. With us there were no grand gestures, in fact the grandest things we've done for each other was in quiet conversations where words were hardly spoken. The first time I'd seen her was at a gallery round, she was my senior before she became an assistant lecturer and her artworks were just like her, distorted and disturbing, it was difficult to fathom. But there i stood watching the crippling swirls of lines and she met me. She'd disappeared a whole year and resigned from Hamptons then a few months later The college's gossip board claimed she had been involved in an accident that cost her an eye. Then she turned up discre
Last Updated: 2026-08-06
Chapter: 53: Meet upMirabellaThe restaurant Zoya picked didn't have prices on the menu, which was usually Theo's tell for how a place was secure and free from nosy reporters. The higher the bill, the lower the chance of just anyone with a camera getting past the entrance.It was one of those restaurants where you either have a membership or an invite.Coded and dimly lit yet so premium.Zoya was already seated when we arrived, wine in hand. I wondered if it wasn't uncomfortable wearing her shades in a room as dim as this, plus it was night time.Outside was much clearer though, not as dark as inside made it feel, dusk was just giving way for the darkness. I could see Theo watching me as he settled into a tall chair. The place have you a sense of incognito and the caliber of people in it didn't need to announce how much of the one percent they were.Sergei peeled off behind a table near the entrance, blending in completely at the bar area.
Last Updated: 2026-08-05
Chapter: 52: A set upTheoSergei set the laptop on the counter between us, turning it so we could both see the screen, just like that the ease that had come over us over burnt eggs evaporated into thin air."Death certificate first," he began. "Filed about two years ago. Cause of death listed as drowning, recovered off a private dock in the Hamptons. Nobody was ever formally identified by family — the certificate went through on dental records alone, submitted by the family's own physician.""Drowning," Bella repeated, clearly rattled. "Keith is a very good swimmer, he can't just drown.”I ignored the pinch of her statement, the way she knew him. “Two years ago.”"Before you two were even married." Sergei's jaw was tight. "Which means whoever arranged this wasn't reacting to recent events. This was planned well in advance of anything happening between the two of you."“Or a pure coincidence.” I felt Bella go very still beside me.She stirred
Last Updated: 2026-08-04
Chapter: 51: Truce over Burnt eggsMirabella Light hit my eyes, not directly though, it came in waves, after a few seconds. I peeled one eye open to find my curtain dancing, covering me one moment and allowing the sun the next. I slung an arm over my eyes and right on cue my senses returned. And so did memories from the week. The phantom weight of hands that weren't really there, touching me, my heart still pounding from a dream I couldn't fully remember.I lay there a moment longer, breathing through it, doing the thing Cassie had taught me years ago — naming five things I could see, four I could touch, until the room resolved back into itself and I slowly returned to myself. I sat up, groaning and rubbing my eyes. Sleeping yesterday was nearly impossible and I was sure I wouldn't have gotten any sleep if I didn't take the sleeping pills I safely kept with Cassie.Speaking of Cassie, I turned to the side she had slept on, then to the vanity. Her robe and towel was
Last Updated: 2026-08-03
Chapter: 50: Fake Deceased Theo I caught her arm before she left “Trust your husband and drop it.” My words hung heavy and its weight landed on her face. I felt something cave in my chest. She coughed out a laugh and turned to me briefly. “What? Trust you, Theo?” "Bella—""Don't." She wrenched her arm free. “I don't even know who you are Theo, there's layers to you and you keep trying to play on my intelligence. So no. I don't and can't trust you.” She yanked the door open and stormed out. She brushed past Cassie and Sergei who both stood frozen caught mid-conversation, clearly having heard enough of it to go still."Bella." Cassie's called out to her, already moving.Bella shook her head, a hand over her mouth."I need air." My wife's voice cracked on the last word, and then she was gone, footsteps retreating fast down the hall, and every instinct I had told me to go after her.I made a few steps before Cassie plan
Last Updated: 2026-08-02
Chapter: 49: Trust Your Husband MirabellaAs I approached downstairs, to the left, low rumbles of conversation trailed the room, it was low yet it sounded as though they were planning to start another war.I breathed in deeply, stalling by the door frame. Officer Reyes was standing in the middle of the study hands on his waist, while my dear husband was sitting, wide legged and laid back in those stupid reading glasses that made my stomach flip in a way it wasn't permitted to. Theo didn't look bothered, not in the slightest.Sergei appeared more frantic than he'd normally be. The man was as stoic as a stone. He paced a few steps by the east window, eyes watching Theo and then shaking his head probably surprised at how calm Theo was. Aren't we all?Strands of his hair grazed the side of his forehead. A finger tapped his jaw, deep in thoughts and fear heavens I'd pay anything to get a glimpse of his head.None of them had noticed I was at the door.What does one
Last Updated: 2026-08-01
Chapter: CHAPTER 10: NoelleNoelle I parked where a car wasn't supposed to be parked and where someone's father probably mowed every two days, mostly because I couldn't quite find wherever cars were actually supposed to be parked, and sat there for a solid thirty seconds gripping the wheel.I breathed out, slowly.Fine. Okay. In. Ring. Out. That was the plan. Not complicated. Or just drop it at the door as earlier discussed.I got out before I could think myself out of it, ring clutched in my fist like it might make a break for it, and walked up to a front door that was easily twice my height, dark wood with iron detailing that matched the gate, because apparently even the door needed to remind you this wasn't a place that did anything halfway.The suited men all watched me and I felt like an ant under a microscope. I half expected one of them to tackle me to the ground but nope, they all just stared at me while some looked away as though I was not a worthwhile use of their time.The walk up alone took longer t
Last Updated: 2026-07-09
Chapter: Chapter 9Noelle The GPS took me down roads that got me progressively less convinced of it ever leading to an office space.First it was the highway, easy. Then it narrowed into a two-lane road with actual trees crowding above it, the further I drove the more I left behind possible locations for an office, my GPS was leading me to one of the porshest residential areas. The tall trees blocked out the sun in patches so the whole drive strobed between light-dark-light-dark until you feel a a little dizzy. Then the houses started spacing out, further and further apart, until there weren't houses at all, no businesses at all, just long stretches of stone wall half-swallowed by ivy, the stonewall game way to a much more modern outlook."Your destination is on the left," my GPS announced, entirely too casual for what I was looking at.I slowed the car to a stop in front of a set of iron gates taller than my apartment building.No buzzer intercom with a company directory, no little sign that read Mil
Last Updated: 2026-07-06
Chapter: Chapter 8: Unfortunate LuckNoelle I sat in my car outside the pawn shop for a full ten minutes before I trusted myself to drive.More than the shop itself, the words of the grumpy man kept looping, an ugly little chorus I couldn't shake. I'd worn, slept while wearing, showered next to, brushed my teeth beside, a ring worth more than my entire apartment building, probably, and I hadn't even had the decency to be nervous about it until now.Classic Noelle always landing herself in trouble.Okay. Fine. New plan. I couldn't sell it, wouldn't sell it, didn't even want it, not really. I wanted my dignity back and Clayton's smug face wiped permanently from existence, and this ring wasn't going to get me either of those things. It was only ever going to get me deeper into whatever this was. Talking about Clayton, I imagined he was all cozied up with his new found love while I had to worry about being arrested for a jewelry heist I had nothing to do with.Clayton was an asshole and I'd been unable to shake off the b
Last Updated: 2026-07-06
Chapter: Chapter 7: Go and CashNoelle Gold and Cash sat wedged between a laundromat and a vape shop, its sign missing the LD in gold so it read GO AND CASH in flickering yellow letters, lopsided, felt about right for where my life currently was. I'd changed out of yesterday's shirt, at least. I showered, swallowed more water than I thought a human stomach could hold, hoping that the nauseating feeling would be drowned out, but bad idea because now my stomach made a sound when I moved too fast. My most nondescript hoodie was the outfit for the day, better to blend in while I attempted to offload evidence of my own personal crime scene. Because that's what this was, wasn't it. A crime scene. Exhibit A: one engagement ring, obtained under false pretenses, currently residing on the ring finger of a woman who had absolutely no business wearing it. Had Emeric stolen it? Or was it a mistake? Exhibit A? Nahhh, more like the victim in all this. A typical example of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The
Last Updated: 2026-07-04
Chapter: Chapter 6: DiamondNoelleMy head was doing something it had never done before, something between a marching band rehearsal and an incessant bass drop that never fully died out. I opened one eye and immediately regretted the decision. Sunlight, unbothered by my pounding brain, poured through a gap in my curtains personally gloating.I groaned into my pillow. My mouth tasted like stale scotch, metal and something much more bitter.Betrayal.Right.Bits and pieces came back to me in the worst possible order.Clayton's stupid, happy face. Vivian's red nails. A wine glass shattering. My own voice, loud and unhinged, telling an entire restaurant that my ex-best friend knew nothing about being a decent human being.And then, green eyes. A ring. A kiss that tasted like coconut and made my toes curl in a way three years with Clayton never managed.I sat up too fast, and my stomach whooshed violently in disagreement with the motion."Okay," I whispered to no one, "okay, okay, okay."My hand went instincti
Last Updated: 2026-07-03
Chapter: Just Not YetEMERIC She was looking around the bar while the server poured us our drink, she ordered the strongest scotch in the house and I had a bourbon.I didn't stop her from ordering high content alcohol, I would want to feel nothing but numbness at this time if I was in her shoesI felt like I understood her on a different level.The disappointment, the feeling of not being enough and taken for granted, you could just feel your self worth depreciating.I knew it all too well.I took a sip from my drink. “Are you looking for something?”She was stunned and blinked at me.“You keep looking around and I wonder what for”“No… no” She shook her head, “it's just been a long day.”She was thinking about it, it seemed so.I inched closer to her and our knees touched, she leaned in to sip her drink from the glass, rounding her lips over the rim of the glass and throwing it all back in one gulp. She cleared her throat afterwards.I corked my head, a light bulb had come on. “Tell me about your day.”
Last Updated: 2025-03-26
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