Tastes Like Damn Chocolate
At seventeen, Tiana’s world shatters when a cruel twist of fate forces her into marriage with Nikolai Toriaga — the arrogant heir to a billion-dollar coffee empire and the same boy who made her life hell in high school.
For eight long years, she endures the cold silence and lovelessness of the Toriaga household. But in secret, Tiana earns a PhD in Business Administration and quietly becomes a billionaire, investing her allowance in cryptocurrency and major company shares.
When Nikolai’s father dies, Tiana assumes the marriage is over. The man who forced it is gone, and so is the reason for Nikolai to stay. Her fears are confirmed when he shows up to the funeral with a world-famous model on his arm, while Tiana remains his estranged wife.
Determined to reclaim her life, she steps into the spotlight, taking a job at Lancaster Group — a global chocolate brand — and reconnects with Ryan Lancaster, a former classmate who once secretly adored her.
She expects the long-overdue divorce papers, but instead, Nikolai starts coming home… watching her, wanting her. When she finally confronts him, he fiercely responds, “There’s no way we’re getting a divorce, Tiana.”
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Chapter: Chapter 130CHAPTER 130Pascal's eyes opened at exactly 6:47 a.m., three minutes before his alarm was set to go off. He lay still for a moment, staring at the glow-in-the-dark stars on his ceiling, then sat bolt upright as memory crashed over him like a wave.His birthday. He is nine years old today.He scrambled out of bed, his dinosaur pajamas twisted from sleep, and padded barefoot across the plush carpet. The house was quiet with that heavy, early-morning silence that felt like the whole world was holding its breath. He opened his door carefully, peeked out into the hallway.His first stop was Mummy's room.He knocked softly, then pushed the door open when there was no answer. The bedroom was empty. There was no wheel chair or Mummy.Pascal's stomach twisted with a feeling he couldn't quite name. She'd promised. She'd promised she'd be here for his birthday, that they'd spend the whole day together at the museum. Had she forgotten? Had something happened?He hurried down the hallway to the ot
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2026-02-25
Chapter: Chapter 129Chapter 129 Nikolai exchanged a glance with Sandy, who was watching him with an expression he couldn't quite read. He picked up the cup in his right hand, hesitated, then took a small sip. The tea was hot, slightly bitter, with notes of bergamot. Earl Grey, maybe. Sandy drank from her left cup, then set it down. "Now the second one," Raymond instructed. This time Nikolai didn't hesitate. He drank from the second cup. It had same temperature, same flavor profile. He set both cups on the table. "They taste identical." "Exactly." Raymond leaned forward, intensity radiating from him. "Can you tell any difference at all? Texture, aftertaste, anything?" "No," Nikolai admitted. "They're the same." "They're not." Raymond picked up one of Nikolai's discarded cups, held it up to the light. "One of these contains a carefully measured dose of thallium sulfate. Not enough to harm you, barely above therapeutic levels for certain medical treatments. But enough to demonstrate a point." The ro
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2026-02-25
Chapter: Chapter 128CHAPTER 128 The call came through while Nikolai was reviewing the fiscal reports in his office. He glanced at the screen — Sandy Toriaga — and felt his stomach tighten. They hadn't spoken since the pier, since she'd handed him the autopsy report that had shattered whatever remained of his illusions about his family. He answered on the third ring. "Sandy." "I need you to meet me." Her voice was clipped, urgent. "Tonight. 847 Riverside Court, apartment 3B. Can you be there by seven?" Nikolai sat forward, frowning. "You're back in Velmore? I thought you returned to Atlanta." "Change of plans. Something came up." A pause, then softer: "Something important. About Dad." His pulse quickened. "What kind of something?" "Not over the phone.Just meet me there. Seven o'clock. Don't tell anyone.” "Sandy, what's going on? What's at that address?" "We can meet the doctor at that time." Her voice dropped lower, almost a whisper. "The one who can explain exactly how Dad was killed.” The line
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2026-02-24
Chapter: Chapter 127CHAPTER 127Nikolai arrived exactly twenty-eight minutes later, parking the Range Rover in the circular driveway and taking the front steps two at a time. Maria opened the door before he could knock. "She's in the study, Mr. Nikolai." He found Eva standing behind the desk, the papers spread out like a battle plan. She looked triumphant, energized in a way that made his skin crawl. "These are the divorce terms," she said without preamble, gesturing to the documents. "Everything we discussed. Tiana gets ten million, you get full custody of Pascal, and the unborn child transfers to you after two years. Fair. Generous. Clean." Nikolai picked up the papers, scanning the first page. Legalese swam before his eyes — whereas and heretofore and party of the first part. He flipped to the second page, the third, reading the terms in detail. Then he started laughing. It was a low, dark sound that started in his chest and built until his shoulders shook. He set the papers down, still chucklin
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2026-02-22
Chapter: Chapter 126CHAPTER 126 The studio was all white. Natural light poured through floor-to-ceiling windows. Indy stood on a raised platform in the center, wearing the third outfit of the morning, a structured blazer dress in midnight blue with geometric cutouts along the ribs. "Turn," Renata commanded from her perch on a velvet stool, one leg crossed over the other, sketchpad balanced on her knee. Indy pivoted slowly, arms slightly raised. "The waist needs to come in," she murmured, making quick marks on her sketch. "And the hem, it's pulling. Gabriela, pins." Her assistant rushed forward with a pincushion strapped to her wrist. She knelt beside Indy, adjusting the fabric with expert fingers, inserting pins with quick, precise movements. Indy's phone buzzed in her purse across the room. She glanced toward it instinctively. "Eyes forward, darling," Renata said without looking up. "We're not finished." The ringing stopped. Indy exhaled and refocused on the mirror ahead, studying her reflection
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2026-02-22
Chapter: Chapter 125CHAPTER 125 Eva Toriaga stood at the window of the mansion's sunlit study, phone pressed to her ear, watching frost melt on the garden paths below. "Harold," she said into the phone, her voice crisp and commanding. "I need you here within the hour. We have business to finalize." The lawyer's response crackled through the speaker. Eva cut him off. "No. Not over the phone. In person. This requires your complete attention." She ended the call without waiting for agreement and set the phone on the mahogany desk. Outside, a gardener raked dead leaves from beneath the bare oak trees. The grounds looked skeletal in winter, stripped down to essentials. Good. She preferred things without ornamentation, without the soft lies of spring and summer. Tiana needed to go. The terms needed to be ironclad. And she needed it done before Nikolai found his spine. Fifty minutes later, the doorbell chimed. Eva didn't answer it herself — that's what staff were for. But she was waiting in the study wh
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2026-02-21
The Wedding Jilt: Gangster's Revenge Bride
Tony James was the kind of man mothers warned their daughters about.
I never meant to fall for him, especially not after being abandoned at the altar and humiliated on what was supposed to be the happiest day of my life.
Michael Sebastine, my ex-lover, ran off with my best friend — and my fortune. But he didn’t just betray me. According to Tony, Michael crossed him too. And Tony James, a ruthless Mexican mafia boss, doesn’t take betrayal lightly.
He offered me a deal: help him track down the man who destroyed us both, and he’d give me the revenge I craved.
What began as a reluctant alliance soon turned into an erotic, intoxicating romance.
Tony was dominant, demanding, and unapologetically powerful. He taught me how to fight, how to manipulate, how to use seduction like a blade.
And in return, I gave him the one thing no one else ever had, TRUST.
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Chapter: Chapter 90: The ProposalChapter 90: The ProposalValerie's POVThe drive to Tony's compound felt different this time. Instead of the nervous anticipation that had accompanied my previous visits, I felt a deep sense of coming home. The gates opened smoothly as my car approached, the guards nodding respectfully as I passed through the checkpoint. The entire estate seemed oddly quiet, almost deserted."Tony?" I called out as I entered the foyer. "Are you here?""I'm here," his voice came from somewhere deeper in the house, warm but carrying an undertone I couldn't identify. "Come to the main reception room.There's a light switch just behind you when you enter. Turn it on."Curious and slightly confused, I made my way down, I felt along the wall behind me until my fingers found the switch Tony had mentioned.The moment I flipped it, the room exploded in color and light.Thousands of fairy lights draped every surface, creating a canopy of stars across the ceiling. Rose petals covered the floor in intricate patte
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2025-11-16
Chapter: Chapter 89: New BeginningsChapter 89: New BeginningsOne Month LaterValerie's POVI folded the last of my summer dresses into the suitcase, the familiar routine of packing oddly comforting after everything that had happened.Papa had survived. Three surgeries and two weeks in the hospital, but he'd survived. The bullet had missed his major organs by millimeters, and the doctors said it was nothing short of miraculous. I preferred to think of it as stubbornness, Francesco Newton was too proud to die from a coward's bullet.A sharp knock at the door interrupted my thoughts, followed immediately by familiar voices chattering excitedly in the hallway."Val! Open up! We brought champagne!" Anna's voice rang through the door, accompanied by the sound of someone juggling bottles.I opened the door to find all three of them—Anna, Sofia, and Gabriella—crowded in my doorway with armloads of celebration supplies. Their faces were bright with the kind of excitement that came from good news shared among friends."Look at
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Chapter: Chapter 88: The Moment of TruthChapter 88: The Moment of Truth*Tony's POV*The video was perfect. Crystal clear footage of Salvatore Reyes and Victor Mendoza sitting in Francesco Newton's reception room, asking for "the phone" that Valerie had supposedly stolen in violation of "mafia conduct." Their hesitation, their nervous glances, their obvious lies—all of it captured in high definition from multiple angles."This is it," I whispered to Valerie as I prepared the secure broadcast to the underground networks. "This is the evidence that clears my name and exposes them for what they are."My fingers hovered over the send button of my encrypted communication system. The same network that had been used to spread lies about my involvement in Senator Valdez's assassination would now carry the truth. The irony wasn't lost on me."Are you sure about this?" Valerie asked quietly, her hand finding mine. "Once we send this, there's no going back.""There's already no going back," I replied. "They came here to threaten you,
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2025-11-13
Chapter: Chapter 87: The Negotiation Chapter 87: The Negotiation*Mr. Newton's POV*I stood in the main reception hall of my estate, watching through the tall windows as an unmarked sedan approached the circular driveway. My security team had already confirmed the identities of the passengers—Victor Mendoza and Salvatore Reyes, two men whose presence at my home could only mean one thing: desperation.The timing was no coincidence. Just as we'd agreed, Tony and Valerie were positioned in the CCTV monitoring room, multiple cameras and recording devices capturing every angle of the conversation that was about to unfold. If these men were here to threaten my daughter or negotiate under false pretenses, I wanted irrefutable evidence of every word spoken."Don," Marco, my head of security, spoke quietly into his radio. "The subjects have exited their vehicle. Two men, no visible weapons, but they're moving like professionals."I nodded, straightening my tie with deliberate calm. In my world, appearances mattered as much as ac
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2025-11-12
Chapter: Chapter 86: The UltimatumChapter 86: The Ultimatum*Victor's POV*Salvatore stepped over Hassan's body with casual indifference, his expensive shoes tracking blood across the hotel room carpet. Behind him, his men maintained their positions, weapons still drawn, ready to eliminate any remaining threats. The air was thick with gun smoke and the metallic smell of death."Victor," Salvatore said, his voice carrying the calm authority of a man who was used to being obeyed without question. "I left you alive for a reason."I struggled to my feet, every muscle in my body aching from Hassan's beating and the terror of the past few minutes. My legs felt like water, barely able to support my weight, but I forced myself to stand as straight as possible. Showing weakness to a man like Salvatore was suicidal."I appreciate it," I managed to sat while recovering from the tremble that I was going to die."This wasn't a rescue," he confirmed. "This was damage control. Hassan Al-Rashid was becoming a complication, asking too
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2025-11-10
Chapter: Chapter 85: The DilemmaChapter 85: The Dilemma*Tony's POV*Valerie had fallen asleep curled against my good side, her breathing steady and peaceful in a way that made me almost forget about the pain radiating through my ribs. Victor's phone lay on the nightstand like a loaded weapon, containing all the evidence I needed to prove my innocence. But holding the truth and being able to use it were two very different things.I stared at the ceiling of the elegant guest room, my mind racing through the implications of what Valerie had given me. The messages between Victor and Salvatore were damning, clear proof that I'd been framed for Senator Valdez's assassination. The financial records showed payments, timing, coordination and everything needed to expose the conspiracy.But who would believe it?The mafia community operated on reputation, on relationships built over decades, on trust that was earned through blood and violence. I'd been branded a traitor, a man who'd sold out his principles for political gain.
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2025-11-09
The Billionaire's Binding Proposal
Kesley Bellamy has perfected the art of sabotaging blind dates — for a price.
When her best friend begs her to scare off yet another setup, Kesley agrees. A thousand dollars to act crazy for an hour? Easy money. She'll chew gum like a maniac, mention her pot-smoking habit, and maybe proposition the guy for good measure. He'll run screaming, and she'll finally fix her dying laptop.
But the man who walks into that restaurant isn't the balding, boring businessman she expected.
He's Niklaus Specter — the devastatingly handsome CEO of SpecterTech. The same company Kelsey just applied to. The same company that's her last hope of breaking into the tech industry as a female developer.
Worse? He doesn't run away. He finds her antics... intriguing.
Now Kesley has three days to transform from "Taraji Gilbert" — the pot-smoking, sex-crazed teacher who just propositioned him — into Kesley Bellamy, the professional data analyst who desperately needs this job.
But Niklaus Specter didn't become a billionaire by missing details. And when Kesley walks into her interview on Monday morning, she's about to discover that some mistakes are too expensive to hide.
Especially when the CEO remembers everything.
A hilarious, steamy romance about mistaken identities, second chances, and the fine line between disaster and destiny.
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Chapter: ~ 59Chapter 59 ~ Niklaus ~Helen was still talking, her voice soft and earnest, filled with pain she'd been carrying for seven years."When you left, Klaus, it hurt more than I thought possible." Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears. "I felt like you'd chosen money and power over me. Over us. Over everything we'd built together."I wanted to argue. To defend myself. To explain that it hadn't been about money—it had been about legacy, responsibility, duty.That leaving her had been one of the hardest decisions I'd ever made.But I stayed quiet, because maybe she was right. Maybe I had chosen those things over her.Maybe that's exactly what I'd done, and no amount of rationalization could change it."That's why I changed my number," she continued, her voice trembling slightly. "Why I deleted all my social media. Why I cut you off completely. Not because I didn't care, but because I cared too much. Every time I saw your name on my phone, every time I got a notification, it was like ri
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2026-02-25
Chapter: ~ 58Chapter 58 ~ Kesley ~I stepped into the restaurant, Dante's credit card clutched in my sweaty palm like it might disappear if I loosened my grip.The place was nicer than I'd expected. Much nicer.Polished wood floors. Soft lighting. The kind of casual-upscale aesthetic that said "we're approachable but we still cost twice what you'd pay anywhere else."White tablecloths on every table, even the casual ones. Fresh flowers in simple glass vases. Exposed brick on one wall that somehow managed to look both industrial and sophisticated.The smell hit me immediately—grilled meat, fresh bread, something with garlic and herbs. Normally it would have made my mouth water. But my stomach was already twisted in knots from stress and lack of sleep, and the rich food smells made me slightly nauseous.I just wanted to order the burgers, get out, and get back to my cubicle where I could hide behind my computer screen and pretend this day wasn't happening.Pretend the gossip about Niklaus’ mystery
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2026-02-25
Chapter: ~ 57Chapter 57 ~ Kesley ~I could hear fragments of their conversation drifting over."...saw the article...""...mystery girlfriend...""...getting married before his birthday..."My stomach dropped.There was a high chance people had seen us together. We'd been at a public restaurant. I'd been with him four times now—twice for the sabotaged dates, at the penthouse upscale restaurant. He was rich and famous in the tech industry. People probably followed him, took photos, posted on social media.Someone had probably caught us on camera and jumped to conclusions.That I was the woman he was getting married to.The thought was absurd. Terrifying. And yet... a tiny part of me felt something that might have been pleasure. Pride, even.People thought I was dating Niklaus Specter.Me. Kesley Bellamy. The broke data analyst who could barely afford rent and was currently juggling two identities just to keep her head above water.It was ridiculous. But also kind of thrilling in a way I didn't wan
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2026-02-24
Chapter: ~ 56Chapter 56~ Niklaus ~Monday morning arrived gray and miserable, which felt appropriate.Fred had intentionally scheduled Helen's meeting as the first thing on my agenda — 8 AM, before I even made it to my office. He'd been insistent about it when we'd spoken Sunday night."You need to see her before you make any irreversible decisions about Miss Aria," he'd said in that careful tone he used when he disagreed with me but was trying to be diplomatic about it. "Helen was good for you. You were happy with her in a way I haven't seen since. If there's even a chance…""There's no chance, Fred. That was seven years ago.""Then what's the harm in meeting with her? In hearing what she has to say?"I hadn't had a good answer for that.The truth was, Fred knew exactly how my relationship with Helen had been. He'd been my roommate at Oxford, had watched the whole thing unfold from the beginning. Had seen me fall completely, stupidly in love for the first and only time in my life.Had also watch
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2026-02-24
Chapter: ~ 55Chapter 55 ~ Kesley ~Monday morning arrived with gray skies and the promise of rain.I woke up early, my stomach already in knots about the day ahead. Work at SpecterTech. Pretending to be normal. Acting like I wasn't simultaneously Kesley Bellamy, junior data analyst, and Aria, the woman who kept running away from her boss's marriage proposals.I lay in bed for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling, listening to the sounds of my apartment coming to life. From the living room, I could hear the TV. K-drama sounds—dramatic music, emotional dialogue in Korean.Kim was awake. And watching the drama.I dragged myself out of bed, still wearing the oversized t-shirt I'd slept in, and padded barefoot across the cold floor. I walked out to find her curled up on the couch, wrapped in blankets, her eyes glued to the screen where some beautiful people were having an emotional confrontation.She looked... better. Not healthy, exactly. Still too pale, still too thin. But there was color in her c
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2026-02-23
Chapter: ~ 54Chapter 54~ Niklaus ~I stood there in the middle of the penthouse, watching the elevator where Aria had disappeared. She'd just... run.Again.For the third time in our short, chaotic acquaintance, this woman had literally fled from me mid-conversation.But this time felt different. This wasn't the calculated retreat of someone trying to escape a marriage proposal or avoid an uncomfortable confession. This was pure panic. Raw terror.I'd seen it in her eyes in that split second before the elevator closed in — the kind of fear that came from genuine emergency, not social anxiety or second thoughts.Something had happened. Something on that phone call that made her forget I existed. Forget she'd been about to tell me something important except whatever crisis had sent her running like the building was on fire.I walked back to our sitting position, ignoring the curious stares from other diners who'd probably witnessed the whole scene. The couple at the next table quickly looked away
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2026-02-23
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