Novels by Smart.T

Wakes povI woke up to the harsh glare of sunlight pouring through the thin curtains, my head pounding like I’d been hit with a hammer. The room smelled of cum and alcohol, nothing like the warmth of our main bedroom. For a few seconds, I just lay there, staring at the ceiling, trying to piece together how I ended up here.The guest room.Of all places.Then the blurry flashes of last night came back. A bar, too much whiskey, and a girl whose name I never cared to learn. Her perfume had been heavy, clinging to my shirt, her laugh loud enough to drown out the noise in my head. A mistake, sure, but one I’d chosen. One I could shrug off, because sometimes you need to sink low just to breathe.I’d taken the guest room deliberately when I got back, not because it was comfortable, but because it was far from Aloe. I didn’t want the questions. The quiet accusations. The way her eyes could strip me bare without her saying a word. I thought a few hours of silence would be a blessing.Turns ou

Aloe’s POVThe door opened before I could even raise my hand to knock.He stood there, tall, broad, and was like a figure carved from shadows and light, like he belonged in a different world altogether.And standing before me is no other person than Blake's Matthew. The man whose name was whispered like a curse at Wakes Savage’s gatherings. The man Wakes had sworn to ruin.“Mrs. Savage,” he said smoothly, his voice low and certain, like this was the moment he’d been waiting years for.My heart slammed against my ribs, each beat a warning. The faintest smirk tugged at his lips. “I was wondering when you’d show up.”I don't understand what he meant by that but my instinct was telling me to turn and run and battle with the iron will that had kept me standing through every storm. But I couldn’t go back, not after what I’d left behind.Blake stepped aside, his movements slow and deliberate. “Come in. Before someone thinks you’re stranded with nowhere to go.”The front door closed behind me

Aloe’s POVThe hours between morning and night felt endless.Every tick of the clock sounded louder than usual, like a countdown marking the seconds I had left in the house that had become a prison. Every creak of the floorboards echoed like a threat, taunting me with the possibility that Wakes might return early and catch me halfway through my escape.I kept my bag tucked under the bed, hidden in the shadows, like a secret I wasn’t ready to reveal.The room around me blurred into something unreal. I went through the motions as if nothing was wrong. But inside, my nerves were frayed raw, and my thoughts kept spiraling back to one place: tonight.Wakes had texted earlier, his message cold and clipped.Message;;; Contact:MY WAKES“Business dinner, I will be back late.”I didn’t care to imagine what “business dinner” really meant because by now, I’d learned not to trust his words, just his absences. That was the only reason I’d dared set the pickup for eleven. The later it was, the few

Aloe’s POVI was still sitting on the floor, lost in thought when the lights went off, signaling that it was time for bed. I was still contemplating on how to leave this loveless marriage, but no idea was coming aside going to Blake Williams, Wake's altermost rival. That I didn't even notice how late it was already.I managed and stood up, took off the sheets and placed new ones, I didn't bother taking a shower, I just changed my clothes and moved to the bed.I lay on the edge, facing the wall, my body tense as if even in dreams I’d have to defend myself. Every creak of the floorboards, every whisper of wind through the curtains kept my mind on high alert. My hand stayed pressed to my stomach most of the night, as if I could shield the baby from the poison that seemed to seep from every corner of this house.When morning light crept through the curtains, it felt like a spotlight, exposing the mess inside me. My limbs were heavy, but I dragged myself up, slipping into a robe before hea

Aloe’s POVI knew something was wrong the moment I heard the laughter, it was coming from our matrimonial bedroom. It wasn't the warm, guarded chuckle I used to pull from Wakes on our better days either.My fingers froze on the banister, as my pulse crawled up into my throat, pounding so loud I could hear it in my ears.For a moment, I told myself I was imagining it, that maybe one of the staff was inside,or maybe Wakes was on the phone with a client. But then came the moan that ripped through every fragile excuse I’d been clinging to.My Wakes was moaning, in his usual deep, and low moan, that particular tone he used when he wanted me. Only this time, it wasn’t for me.My legs moved before my brain could stop them. I pushed the door open, and immediately, my world stopped.There he was; Wakes Savage, my husband standing shirtless by the bed, his hands gripping the hips of a woman I’d never seen before. She was perched on the edge in nothing but his dress shirt, her lipstick smeared a