Dear Ex, See you never
Millicent Andrews never expected her life to collapse right before her twenty-first birthday.
One moment she’s a wife, a best friend, a girl with a future… and the next, she’s staring at her husband Brian Vel in bed and tangled in her best friend’s arms, the betrayal slices her open in ways she can’t begin to stitch shut.
The divorce is brutal and the humiliation is even worse. With nowhere else to go, Milli returns to her mom’s house with her sick son. She reopens her small, struggling photo studio, just in time to learn the entire building has already been bought by Damon Hale, a forty-seven-year-old billionaire with a reputation colder than the steel hotels he builds.
Damon wants the land, but Milli refuses to give up the last piece of her life that hasn’t been stolen from her. Their fight become heated, and combustible, until he makes her an offer she should never accept: marry him for one year to soothe his mother, live under his roof, follow his every rule…and in return, he’ll save the studio, every shop on the block and her sick son gets the best treatment possible, but she does.
They hate each other and they’re nothing alike. The contract is supposed to keep their worlds separated, but forced proximity has sharp fangs. Meanwhile, Brian returns, desperate and regretful, determined to pull Millicent back into his life.
While she tries to outrun her past, she discovers a painful truth about her own bloodline that changes everything she thought she knew, all while discovering Damon's darkest secret. What happens to their paper tie, when he discovers she knows the truth who he really is?
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Chapter: the ending that isn'tMillicent's POVMorning in the mansion. The light comes through the kitchen windows at a slant, painting everything in shades of gold. It's early, too early, really, for the chaos that's already unfolding, but the sun doesn't care about schedules, and neither does my son.Josh is at the kitchen table, eating cereal with more enthusiasm than accuracy. Milk splashes across the surface with each bite. Cheerios scatter like tiny refugees fleeing a disaster zone. His dinosaur pajamas are already stained, and the day has barely begun."Josh, try to keep the cereal in the bowl.""I AM keeping it in the bowl.""That Cheerio is on the floor.""That's not MY Cheerio. That's a FLOOR Cheerio."I don't have the energy to argue with four-year-old logic at 7 AM. He's inherited my stubbornness, which I'm told is karmic justice for everything I put my own mother through. The thought makes me smile despite myself.Mike is at the stove, attempting to make eggs. "Attempting" is the operative word, he's b
Last Updated: 2026-02-07
Chapter: the future discussedMillicent's POVThe conversation starts over breakfast, amidst the clinking of silverware and the smell of toasted bagels, and stretches lazily into the afternoon. Mike pours coffee from the French press, the dark liquid swirling, and Damon spreads some documents across the oak table.They aren't the usual business documents, no spreadsheets of profit margins or acquisition targets. These are something else entirely.Printouts about surrogacy agencies, adoption requirements, the legal complexities of multi-parent families in different jurisdictions.The morning light catches the papers as he arranges them, casting shadows across charts and bullet points and photographs of smiling children from agency brochures. It's the kind of research Damon does, thorough, exhaustive, leaving no question unasked. It's how he approaches a merger, and apparently, how he approaches expanding our family."I've been thinking," he says, which is how most of our major conversations begin. My eyes drop to
Last Updated: 2026-02-06
Chapter: the photoMillicent's POVI set up the camera on its tripod, the metal legs clicking against the stone, adjust the angle, and check the lighting for the fourth time because in my line of work, perfection depends on precision.The sun is dipping lower, casting long, dramatic shadows that I usually try to avoid, but today, I don't mind them.The mansion steps have been photographed countless times. They have been captured by newspapers documenting galas, by magazines doing architectural spreads, by the professional photographers Damon has hired over the years for official portraits. There’re stiff and formal, where everyone looks like a wax figure.But I've never photographed them myself. I've never turned my lens, my artistic eye, my personal perspective, on my own home, my own family, and on the people I love most. Today feels like the right day. The air is crisp, the light is golden, and for once, the world feels quiet enough to capture."Mommy, can I hold Mr. Hop?" Josh asks, swinging his ba
Last Updated: 2026-02-05
Chapter: the anniversaryMillicent's POVIt’s two years already. It's been twenty-four months, seven hundred and thirty days, already since I walked through the mansion's massive front door with nothing but a battered suitcase, a sleeping child heavy in my arms, and a contract tucked into my bag that was supposed to be temporary.Twenty-four months since I stood in Damon's foyer, shivering despite the heating, terrified of the cold billionaire I'd married, and certain in the marrow of my bones that I'd made a terrible mistake.I remember that first night with a clarity that still stings. I remember the way Damon looked at me like I was an inconvenience to be tolerated, a piece of furniture he hadn't ordered but couldn't return. I remember the way the mansion felt like a mausoleum, vast and echoing, stripping away any sense of warmth. I remember the way I lay awake in an unfamiliar bed, staring at a ceiling I didn't recognize, wondering how long I could survive this arrangement before I crumbled completely.N
Last Updated: 2026-02-04
Chapter: the health scareMillicent's POVThe doctor's words don't make sense at first."Elevated markers... probably nothing... recommend a procedure... just to be safe..."I'm sitting in the pediatrician's office, the same office where Josh has had checkups since he was born, and the words are sliding past me like water off glass. Josh is on my lap, playing with a plastic dinosaur the nurse gave him, completely unaware that his mother's world is tilting sideways.The walls of the office are covered in cheerful posters about hand-washing and healthy eating. There's a mobile hanging from the ceiling, there’re colorful fish swimming in circles and everything just looks normal. Nothing looks like the end of the world, but the doctor's mouth is still moving, and the words are still wrong."Mrs. Hale? Do you have any questions?"Do I have.. I do actually. I have a thousand, a million maybe. None that I can articulate."What kind of procedure?" I manage."Minor surgery to remove a small growth. Almost certainly b
Last Updated: 2026-01-28
Chapter: the letter from RiaMillicent's POVThe envelope arrives early on a Thursday morning, it’s mixed in with other bills and client correspondence.I almost miss it, the plain white, handwritten address, with no return information. But something about the handwriting stops me. Something familiar that I can't quite place.I open it in my studio, in between appointments, expecting nothing. The letter inside is three pages long and carefully written."Dear Millicent,I know you probably don't want to hear from me. I wouldn't want to hear from me either. But I've been watching your life unfold from a distance, through the articles, the interviews, and the photos of you looking happier than I ever saw you when we were friends, and I realized I owe you something I should have given you years ago.An explanation and an apology.Not because I deserve your forgiveness. I know I don't, but because you deserve to know the truth about what happened, and why."I sit down heavily, the paper trembling in my hands.It’s Ria
Last Updated: 2026-01-27
Chapter: A Debt I Cannot RepayMiraI stood on the balcony, staring out over the sprawling grounds, when a maid softly called my name."Mrs. Vale?"I turned from the wrought-iron railing, the warm afternoon air brushing against my skin and carrying the faint, sweet smell of roses from the garden below. A cigarette rested between my fingers, the ash growing long, though I had barely smoked half of it. "Yes?"The young maid stood nervously a few steps away, keeping her hands neatly folded in front of her. "You have a visitor waiting in the living room, ma'am."I frowned, my brow furrowing in confusion. "A visitor?""Yes, ma'am," she replied with a polite nod."Who is it?"She shook her head gently. "He didn't give a name, but he said he is Mr. Cross’s lawyer."I immediately crushed out my cigarette in the nearby ashtray. Levi’s lawyer? My pulse ticked a little faster as I wiped my faintly trembling fingers against the side of my dress and followed the girl downstairs.The moment I entered the vast living room, I s
Last Updated: 2026-11-11
Chapter: The Locked DoorElaraWarm water ran over my shoulders, washing away the last of the day’s tension. I closed my eyes and tilted my face toward the showerhead. Since leaving Roman, I was now beginning to understand what it felt like to have an evening where I didn’t have to wait for someone to come home. No waiting. No wondering where he was. No pretending I didn’t notice the smell of another woman’s perfume on his clothes, just to keep our marriage going. I let out a slow breath and reached for the soap.Then I heard footsteps.My hand stopped. They were faint at first. A slow step. Then another. Coming closer. I turned my head toward the bathroom door. The water kept running, loud enough to cover some of the sound, but I could still hear movement outside. My heart gave a hard thump, and I shut off the shower. The silence that followed was immediate.I stood there, listening. Nothing. I grabbed my towel, wrapping it tightly around myself. "Who’s there?" I yelled loud enough for anyone to hear,
Last Updated: 2026-11-11
Chapter: Something nice but strangeElaraWhen we reached the doors, a staff member opened them for us. Cool air brushed over my face, carrying the faint, sweet scent of flowers from somewhere deeper inside the house. Levi walked beside me for a few steps before stopping."Elara." I turned. He looked at me for a moment, almost as though he was deciding whether to say something. "If you ever want to talk," he said quietly, "I’m around."My brows pulled together. "About what?""Anything." His eyes stayed locked on mine. "You don’t have to explain yourself. You don’t have to make it sound reasonable. If something is bothering you, you can talk to me."My fingers curled around the strap of my bag. "I know.""I mean it." There was no pressure in his voice, which only made it harder to dismiss.I gave him a small nod. "Thank you."He studied my face for another second before stepping aside. "Get some rest.""You say that like I’m eighty.""You’re pregnant.""Levi..” I scoffed “I am aware."That finally brought a genuine smil
Last Updated: 2026-11-10
Chapter: The new man beside meElara I was still trying to process what I’d just seen. The room seemed to shrink, the air turning instantly thin and freezing cold. The reporter's voice dragged on, slicing right through the heavy silence. "Roman Blackwood, CEO of Blackwood Dominion, has officially announced his engagement to longtime socialite and fragrance entrepreneur Veena Dumont. Sources close to the couple say the wedding is expected to take place soon as preparations are ongoing…"I stopped hearing the rest. The screen changed, showing a photograph of Roman and Veena at some glamorous event. Veena was wearing a massive diamond ring. Roman’s hand rested comfortably against her waist. She was smiling, and he was smiling too, the same warm smile he had given me on the day of our anniversary. After he pressed a kiss on my head and promised he’d never miss dinner. The same man who told me I was the only thing he needed in his life. The same man who promised he would come home to me at seven.As I looked at hi
Last Updated: 2026-11-10
Chapter: The AnnouncementElaraI watched him walk toward the door, and then I remembered that I had woken up feeling uneasy. "Levi?"He turned."Can you take me to the hospital?" I asked. His brows immediately drew together, silently asking if I was hurting. "I just want to get checked again. After everything that happened, I don’t want to assume I’m fine just because I feel fine."His expression softened, and he didn't argue or tell me I was overreacting. He simply nodded. "Of course I’ll take you."The drive to the hospital was quiet. Not uncomfortable. Just quiet. I sat in the passenger seat with my hand resting against my stomach while Levi drove. He kept one hand on the steering wheel, and his other rested near the center console. Every few minutes, his eyes flicked toward me. I noticed the third time."You can stop checking," I said."I’m just making sure you’re still awake.""I’m awake.""You were quiet.""I know. I’m just thinking.""That’s dangerous," he replied smoothly.I turned toward him. "Are
Last Updated: 2026-11-09
Chapter: No room for doubtElaraMom was right. We really never know. Just a week ago, I got the happiest news of my life. I was going to celebrate with Roman. But now, I was under the protection of someone else. A total stranger. "Since when are you so philosophical?" I rolled my eyes. "Since I moved into a mansion."A real and unburdened sound of warm laughter escaped me and mom smiled warmly. Then she looked toward the withered garden again, her expression softening. "I haven’t seen you laugh like that in a while." She saidThe words stole the humor right out of my chest, leaving an aching hollow in its place. I looked away. She didn’t say anything else, and neither did I.A few hours later, dinner was served just after seven. There was far too much food, spread out over the long dining table like a banquet.Mira looked absolutely delighted. "Now this," she declared as she sat down, "is what I call a recovery."I shook my head, amused. "You’re impossible.""You’ll thank me when you eat."I looked aroun
Last Updated: 2026-11-09
Bound By A Borrowed Heart
BLURB
He killed her parents and kicked her out while she was pregnant. He thought he’d destroyed her.
On their first anniversary, Ryan Holt didn’t give Gianna a gift—he gave her a death sentence. Broken, homeless, and diagnosed with heart failure, Gianna was ready to die until he stepped in.
Sean Cooper, the coldest billionaire in New York, offered her a lifeline. He gave her a new heart and he gave her protection. But everything comes with a price.
“I didn’t save you because I care,” Sean whispered, his eyes cold as ice. “I saved you because the heart beating inside your chest belongs to my mother. And I’m keeping it close.”
Now, trapped in a contract marriage with a man who loves only her heart, Gianna must survive.
But when her ex-husband returns, begging for a second chance, he realizes too late: The woman he broke is gone. And the billionaire’s wife who replaced her is out for blood.
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Chapter: 75 : THE EMPIRE OF ARTGIANNAPeculiar's He-Art opens on a Saturday in October and the line wraps around the block.The warehouse in Chelsea is everything I imagined and nothing I expected. Eight thousand square feet of exposed brick and steel beams, the ceilings high enough that the natural light falls in columns through the clerestory windows and hits the floor like something sacred. The main gallery holds the exhibition work. The east wing is a workshop with easels, supplies, workbenches and for community classes. The west wing is a studio where artists-in-residence will create new work in front of the public, making the process visible instead of hiding it behind closed doors.Sean's team handled the renovation. I handled the soul. Every wall color, every lighting angle, every placement of every canvas is all mine. The smell is turpentine and fresh paint and the lavender sachets I tucked into every corner because this building belongs to a woman who believed that love was a scent, not just a word.I g
Last Updated: 2026-06-19
Chapter: 74 : THE PROPOSALSEANThe ring has been in my jacket pocket for two weeks now. Fourteen days of carrying a platinum band with a lavender sapphire through board meetings, security briefings and the particular insanity of managing a four-front war while simultaneously planning the simplest question a man can ask.The jeweler in Amsterdam cut the stone to match the exact shade of the lavender in the garden. The same garden my mother planted in February, the garden where I sat with Gianna on a bench and told her she didn't have to handle things alone. He owed me a favor from a deal I structured three years ago. I called it in for this.I've planned proposals. Elaborate ones. A rooftop dinner at the penthouse overlooking Central Park, champagne, a string quartet. A private gallery showing, with her paintings and the ring hidden in the centerpiece. A trip to Paris, the Louvre at closing time, just us and the Mona Lisa and a question.I rejected every single one. They're all performances. Gianna doesn't wa
Last Updated: 2026-06-19
Chapter: 73 : THE INVESTIGATOR’S TRAILSEAN"I found him." Yuki Tanaka doesn't knock. She walks into my office at 7:30 AM with her tablet, sets it on my desk.The tablet shows a corporate flowchart. At the top: Greenfield Capital Partners, the Cayman entity writing quarterly checks to Miller & Associates Trust. Below it, a line traced through two intermediary shells to a domestic source: a law firm in Manhattan called Reinhart & Bloom."Reinhart & Bloom represents an entity called Project Meridian," Yuki says. "Real estate holding company. Properties across the Eastern Seaboard of residential, commercial, mixed-use. Estimated portfolio value north of four hundred million.""Board members?""Anonymous. Layered behind trust structures, nominee directors, the usual." She swipes to the next screen. "But one filing from twelve years ago — a property acquisition in Connecticut — required a personal guarantee. The guarantee was signed."She zooms in on the signature. Looping, confident handwriting. Gerald Miller."I cross-referen
Last Updated: 2026-06-19
Chapter: 72 : FIRE AND CANVASGIANNAThree months postpartum and Laurel cleared me for everything two weeks ago. Everything. She said it with a straight face and a raised eyebrow that communicated more than the medical charts.Since then, there's been a tension in the house that has nothing to do with war councils, moles or restraining orders. A thicker, and warmer tension. The kind that lives in the space between two people who've been sleeping in the same bed and not sleeping together, who've been careful with each other the way you're careful with something healing, and the healing is done.But my body is different now. The stretch marks run silver across my hips and lower belly. My waist is softer, my breasts fuller, the geometry of me rearranged by nine months of carrying a human and twelve hours of delivering one. I catch myself turning away from the mirror when I undress. Angling my body in bed so Sean sees the parts that haven't changed instead of the parts that have.He notices. He always notices, but h
Last Updated: 2026-06-19
Chapter: 71 : THE GREEN EYED GODSEANIt’s 2 AM and Gianna is asleep beside me, her hand is on my chest over my heartbeat, and her breathing even and warm. Peculiar is in the nursery, the monitor's green light steady on the nightstand.I can't sleep. For many reasons but also because Dominic Voss touched her hand and I can still see it.His fingers on hers, the lingering grip. The practiced smile, the European charm, the way he leaned in and made her laugh in thirty seconds, something that took me weeks. Weeks of burned dinners and broken mugs and midnight kitchens and a fortress I had to dismantle brick by brick before the woman standing in front of me even smiled.He walked in, said the right words, and got the laugh for free.I know it's irrational. She came home with me, she's in my bed, and the heart in her chest beats against my ribs every night. Hell. She belongs to me but the jealousy is a new animal with green and sharp-toothed and it’s living in my chest where logic usually sits and I don't have a protoc
Last Updated: 2026-06-19
Chapter: 70 : THE RIVALGIANNAThe Whitmore Gallery in SoHo is mine tonight. Not rented. Not borrowed. Not shared with a copycat or a cousin or anyone else's name on the wall. Mine. Thirty-two paintings, four rooms, every surface lit with gallery-grade spots that make the colors burn, and a crowd of three hundred people who paid to stand in front of the things I made with my hands and a borrowed heart and feel something.The survivor series takes the east wing that has twelve portraits of women who endured, from Frida to Artemisia to the nameless faces born from my imagination. The fire-and-flowers abstracts fill the central corridor. Peculiar Cooper's portrait hangs in a room of its own, lit from above, the original on loan from the mansion for one night.And in the main gallery, the centerpiece: a triptych I finished three weeks ago, painting between feedings at 3 AM while Peculiar slept in the bassinet beside my easel."Borrowed, Broken, Beating."Three panels. The first is a mechanical heart with cold
Last Updated: 2026-06-19
The Price Of Her Mercy
BLURB
Mira, a poor farm girl, felt she was cursed because of the events that happened in her life after her land, the only property left to her by her late father, was forcefully taken 4 years ago.
She’s left with nothing to cater for her sick little sister, and is forced to tend to the horses of the same man who took her land and that made her hate him, with everything in her.
Jackson, who ran from the flames of an internet scandal against his company in search of answers and solitude, was instead carried away by Mira’s beauty, charm and confidence, and he decided to change her world while being the ruler of it.
What happens when a spark is ignited between them? Mira, who loathed her landlord because he was a constant reminder of her lost property, due to unfairness, and Jackson, who only loved power and control.
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Chapter: Years LaterMIRAFive years later, the summer sun streams through the floor to ceiling windows of the foundation's conference room, casting golden light across the polished table where I sit reviewing grant applications. At fifty, I've learned to appreciate these quiet moments before the chaos of the day begins.My phone buzzes with a text from Nora. *Mom, emergency. Need you at my office. Now.*My heart skips a beat. Emergency. That word still triggers something primal in me after everything we've been through. I grab my purse and head out, telling my assistant I'll be back later.Nora's office is only ten minutes away, in the sleek modern building that houses the tech division of our foundation. She's transformed the place over the past three years, launching initiatives that bring technology education to underprivileged communities, creating scholarships for young women in STEM fields.I take the elevator to the top floor, my mind racing through possibilities. Is she sick? Is Tony hurt? Did s
Last Updated: 2026-02-25
Chapter: A Good Ending (2)MIRAIt’s been two years now and I'm standing in the backyard of our mansion, watching Nora laugh with Tony as they dance to music only they can hear.She grew so fast. She used to adore her pink Barbie bag, her pink bike and her signature fresh bread and strawberry jam sandwich.But, she's twenty-one now, glowing like a new born, radiant in her cap and gown, fresh from her computer science graduation ceremony. The twins toddle around the lawn, chasing each other, their pink dresses already grass-stained. Lily has my dark hair and Jackson's sharp features, while Aurora has my eyes and a mischievous smile that gets her into trouble constantly.Nora and Sera, inseparable as always, stand together near the buffet table, talking and laughing. It still amazes me sometimes, the fact that they're sisters, bound by blood they didn't know about for so long. When we finally told Nora the truth about Andrew being her biological father, she'd been shocked at first, then angry, then finally acce
Last Updated: 2026-02-13
Chapter: 119: A Good Ending (1)MIRAThe contractions start at 3 am, sharp and insistent, pulling me from sleep with a gasp. Jackson wakes immediately, his hand finding mine in the darkness."Is it time?" he asks, and I can hear the excitement mixed with fear in his voice."It's time," I confirm, breathless as another contraction rolls through me.It’s two weeks early, but the doctors said twins often come early. Jackson is already moving, grabbing the hospital bag we packed two days ago, helping me to my feet, calling ahead to let the medical team know we're coming.The next twelve hours are a blur of pain and pushing, of Jackson's hand gripping mine so tight I think he might break my fingers, of doctors and nurses moving around me with practiced efficiency. And then, finally, the most beautiful sound I've ever heard.Crying of not one baby, but two."It's girls," the doctor announces, placing the first warm, squirming bundle on my chest. "Two healthy girls."I look down at her tiny face, scrunched up and red from
Last Updated: 2026-02-12
Chapter: The RevelationJACKSONI hold Nora tighter, feeling her whole body shake with sobs against my chest. My hands cup the back of her head and that's when I feel it, the texture I'd almost forgotten. Pink streaks in her hair. The highlights she'd gotten for her birthday, the ones she'd been so excited about. The ones the fake Nora got rid of.I pull back slightly to look at her and my heart breaks. She's still wearing her birthday dress, the pale pink one with the delicate lace sleeves that she'd spent weeks picking out. Three months ago she'd looked radiant in it, glowing with happiness as she blew out her candles.Now the dress is dirty, torn at the hem, stained with god knows what. She looks thin, her cheekbones more prominent than they should be, dark circles under her eyes that speak of sleepless nights and fear. Her skin is pale, too pale, like she hasn't seen sunlight in months. Because she hasn't. But she's alive and she's here. And as I examine her more closely, relief floods through me. No
Last Updated: 2026-02-11
Chapter: Meeting the Masked ManJACKSONWe’re there waiting for the second email to be sent. It’s 2: 45 am already. The second mail comes at exactly 3:00 am, it’s another video message from a man wearing a mask. I watch it three times, my blood running colder with each viewing.The masked man's distorted voice fills my ears. "Mr. Meliś. Come alone to the coordinates we're sending you. 6:00 am. No exceptions. If you want your real daughter back alive, you'll be there alone. Make sure you come alone, or she dies."The screen goes black and another message pops up. GPS coordinates. An address on the outskirts of the city, some industrial area I've never heard of.I glance at Mira. She's finally fallen asleep on the sofa, exhausted from crying, from the stress, from everything.I don't tell Mira about the message. I can't. She's already been through too much tonight, and with the baby, I can't risk her insisting on coming with me or having another panic attack. This is something I have to handle alone.I spend the rest
Last Updated: 2026-02-10
Chapter: Where to from here?JACKSONThe memory hits me like a freight train, so vivid I can almost smell the hospital antiseptic. Nora was eight years old, curled up in Mira's arms in that sterile white room, her small body trembling."They took my blood," she'd said, her voice barely a whisper. "The bad people. They stuck needles in my arm and took so much blood. It hurt."We'd assumed she was traumatized, confused. The police had found her forty-eight hours after the kidnapping, abandoned in a parking lot, physically unharmed except for the needle marks in her arm. The doctors ran every test imaginable but found nothing wrong. No drugs, no infections, nothing.Just the blood draw.I look at Mira and I can see it in her eyes, she's remembering too. Her face has gone ashen."The kidnapping," she breathes. "When she was eight. They took her blood.""That's what they used," I say, the pieces falling into place with sickening clarity. "They've had her DNA for eleven years. They've been planning this for eleven fuc
Last Updated: 2026-02-09
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