The CEO's Toxic Placeholder
Eleanor thought she was everything to Henry. For three years, she was his constant—his quiet support, his emotional anchor. But when the woman he truly loves returns to the city, everything shatters. “I’ve been chasing her ghost,” Henry confesses, leaving Eleanor to pick up the pieces of a love that was never hers to begin with.
In the glittering world of Manhattan’s elite, Eleanor finds herself trapped in a toxic relationship with a man who can’t let go of his past. After overhearing a conversation that reveals Henry’s betrayal, Eleanor is left questioning everything she thought she knew about love—and herself. With her heart shattered and her future uncertain, she turns to an unlikely solution: an arranged marriage to Jasper Blackwood, the stoic heir to a powerful family she’s known her whole life.
But leaving Henry isn’t as easy as it seems. Jasper’s steady presence stirs something in Eleanor, something she hasn’t felt in years—security, respect, and a growing attraction. Yet, the pull of her past refuses to loosen its grip. As Henry desperately tries to win her back, Eleanor must confront the deepest fears she’s kept buried: Will she ever truly be able to trust again? And, more importantly, can she move on from a love that never truly belonged to her?
In a world where wealth and power dominate, Eleanor’s journey to reclaim her self-worth is a battle she never saw coming. Will she finally choose herself—and the man who has always been there—or will her heart remain tethered to a past that can never be hers?
The choice is hers. But will it be enough to heal a heart shattered by betrayal?
Read
Chapter: Chapter 48 (Eleanor's POV)The news from Seraphina was like a cold wind. Vivienne was back. She was not just back in the city. She was back in our world. She was circulating in the elite social circles of London. She was using the Blackwood scandal to make herself look important.I knew Vivienne well. She was the woman Henry truly wanted while he was with me. She was the reason I felt like a placeholder for years. She was beautiful, manipulative, and very clever. She knew exactly how to use people's secrets against them.Jasper saw the change in my mood immediately. We were in the East Wing. We were looking at the new windows. The light was beautiful, but I could not focus on it."She is talking to the old trustees, Jasper," I said. My voice was tight. "She is telling them that I am still emotionally tied to Henry. She is telling them that my Ethical Review is just a way for me to hide my own secrets."Jasper’s face went hard. He knew about Vivienne. He knew what she represented in my past."She is looking for
Last Updated: 2026-01-07
Chapter: Chapter 47 (Eleanor's POV)Henry’s phone call had broken the fragile peace. He was not finished with me. He saw the chaos of the stock crash as his opportunity. He thought a failing company meant a failing marriage. He was wrong.The next day, Henry did not call. He sent an email to my personal address. It was full of false sincerity.He wrote about "deep concern" for my emotional well-being. He claimed the Blackwood family was "using" my integrity to clean up their mess. He said that Jasper did not marry me for love. He claimed Jasper married me to secure an ethical cover story.He called my marriage a "rebound contract" that had failed.I read the email in my new office in the East Wing of the Manor. The room was not fully renovated yet. The walls were stripped back to the bare, honest plaster. It was a perfect metaphor for my life.The words were painful, but they did not break me. Henry was trying to weaponize my old fears. He was trying to remind me that I was once a placeholder.I deleted the email. But t
Last Updated: 2026-01-06
Chapter: Chapter 46 (Eleanor's POV)Jasper and I stood in the quiet sitting room. The chaos of the stock market crash was outside. The screaming of Lord Blackwood was over. We had paid the price of truth. The house was calm."The old house belongs to us now," Jasper said softly. His eyes were focused only on me. "It belongs to the light we chose." We will tear out all the shadows."I looked at the key again. I had fought so hard for my professional worth. I had fought to save the company's soul. Now, the final reward was purely personal. It was the key to our home."I will design the kitchen first," I decided. The thought filled me with warmth and purpose. "It will be open. It will be full of sun. No dark corners. No hidden spaces." Everything will be honest."Jasper smiled. His smile was deep and gentle. "Perfect. No dark corners in our life, Eleanor." We build only truth here."We sat down together on the sofa. We did not talk about stocks. We did not talk about Lord Blackwood. We talked about building a family, not j
Last Updated: 2026-01-06
Chapter: Chapter 45 (Eleanor's POV)The information from Mr. Thorne was the final piece of the puzzle. I knew the truth. The hidden ledger, the "Red Book," was not in a bank vault. It was hidden in the Blackwood Manor cellar, a place that was permanent but separate from the corporate world. It was a secret kept by the Patriarchs.I immediately told Jasper what I had learned."We have to go to the Manor tonight," I insisted. "Before Lord Blackwood finds out I spoke to Thorne. He will move the ledger if he suspects we are close."Jasper agreed without hesitation. He did not waste time. The Manor was currently unoccupied, only protected by old alarms and a small caretaker staff.We drove out to the countryside immediately. The Manor was imposing, huge, and dark against the night sky. We went straight to the cellar.The cellar was cold, dusty, and vast. It was like walking into the long, dark history of the Blackwood family. We found the old coal chute area that Mr. Thorne had described.Jasper used an old, thick brass key
Last Updated: 2026-01-06
Chapter: Chapter 44 (Eleanor's POV)The internal resistance to the audit was suffocating. Mr. Williams and the IT manager were doing a perfect job of hiding the final evidence. They had protected Lord Blackwood’s secrets for decades. They were not going to let an outsider, the "reckless wife," destroy their system now.I had the audit team in place, but we were paralyzed. We knew the illegal transactions were recorded. We knew the hidden ledger existed. But the information was buried deep within the layers of Veritas Holdings, protected by specialized, old-world accounting methods and decades of secrecy.I needed specialized knowledge. I realized that only someone who was not Blackwood, but who had been part of that old world of influence, would know where to look.I thought back to the gala. I remembered the people who had insulted me, the people who hated that I lacked the right lineage. One name came to mind immediately: Mr. Alistair Thorne.Mr. Thorne was a powerful figure in the old financial circles. He was wealth
Last Updated: 2026-01-06
Chapter: Chapter 43 (Eleanor's POV)Jasper’s announcement was quick and firm. He immediately informed the senior executive team about the Ethical Review of Historic Corporate Practice. He named me as the sole leader. He made it clear that my authority in this investigation was absolute.The reaction was immediate and cold.The executives did not argue publicly. They were too professional for that. They kept their voices level. But their eyes, their silence, and their closed-off posture told me everything I needed to know. They saw me as the enemy. They saw me as the reckless outsider who was tearing apart the family structure.This was a house divided. There was Jasper and me, representing the new legacy of truth and light. And there was everyone else, representing the comfort of the old, secretive ways. They were loyal to the power that paid them, which was Lord Blackwood's way of doing business.My first task was launching the forensic audit of Veritas Holdings. I needed all the financial records, internal memos, and
Last Updated: 2026-01-06
LOGIN
