Novels by Writer Ben

The world was swimming before his eyes.Knox stared at the woman who looked so much like his girl, but so unlike her.He almost crumbled and fell to his knees.He could not stop thinking about how right she had felt in his arms; he had almost been fooled.She dared to look stricken, like she had been wronged, like she was the victim.What gave her the right to look so fragile?Knox thought. He was the one who had been betrayed, the one who had been made a fool of.He stared at her face, wondering what had made her do something this crazy.In the back of his mind, Knox had suspected that Astrid had a crush on him, he had noticed her eyes following him every time he was around her.He had dismissed it as a harmless crush that would fade away with time.But, he would never have guessed that mousey Astrid had the balls to do something so audacious.He would never have guessed that she would try to take her sister's place.Most importantly, what had she said to send Ingrid away? What had sh

Astrid opened her mouth. Nothing came out.Behind her, the band struck up another song. Someone called for the bride and groom to share a dance.Knox got to his feet, and she followed helplessly.He stood motionless, his gray eyes fixed on her face, then he turned around and left.Astrid turned and saw her mother's ashen face.She could only wonder what Knox was going to do now.He only made it three steps away before he stopped.His shoulders went rigid. His hands curled into fists at his sides.Astrid's mouth dried up in fear.She was sure he was about to proclaim to everyone present that the bride was a fraud who had conned him into marriage.Some of the guests who noticed the tension went quiet, a ripple of silence spreading from the groom like a stone dropped in still water.Then he turned around.And walked back to her.Before she could speak, before she could breathe, his hand closed around her wrist. Not hard enough to hurt. Hard enough to make it clear she had no choice."We n

In the six-foot mirror, a perfect bride looked at Astrid, she looked back.The satin dress, embellished with hand-stitched seed pearls and diamonds, was a custom creation that had taken months and countless hands to create.It had cost hundreds of thousands.Only the best for Knox Gage's bride.It was beautiful, no doubt, but it made Astrid feel even worse.Her parents had always favoured Ingrid, and she had desperately tried to get them to see her.Her stepping into her sister's life to save the family felt like a self-fulfilling prophecy; she was only worth something when she embodied her sister.Astrid took a deep breath, she tried and failed to still her shaking hands.She could not believe that she had allowed herself to be talked into fraud, and for the umpteenth time, she considered climbing out of the window and running for her life.The only thing keeping her from bolting was that she knew what it would do to the family business.Gage Industries was responsible for about 70% o

Through the haze of her dreams, Astrid heard someone repeatedly call her name from far away."Astrid, Astrid!!"She moaned, burrowed deeper into the warmth of her blankets, then pulled her pillow over her head, as if doing that would send the insistent voice away.But the blankets were poor cover for what was coming. Because the next thing she felt was the bite of morning air as the blankets were pulled off her."Wake up, Astrid, your sister is missing!"Astrid's eyes flew open, and she sat up immediately, her heart racing, as she was confronted by the stress all over her parents' faces.Her head swam from the disorientation of being awoken suddenly, and she pressed cold fingers on her heated face.Later by midday that day, a ceremony was going to be held on the grounds, in the expansive garden Astrid and her twin sister Ingrid had played in as children.Astrid had only just gone to sleep not long ago, and she still needed to be up early to take care of any last-minute arrangements.So