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“A Heart for a Name ”

作者: Aremu Paul
last update 公開日: 2026-04-16 14:15:58

Before stepping inside, I scrubbed my face dry, plastering on a mask of normalcy. When I pushed the front door open, I found the entire family gathered in the living room, deep in a hushed, frantic discussion. My sudden greeting shocked them into silence. Mother stood up immediately, her posture rigid and her eyes sharp.

"Irene," she announced flatly, the tension radiating off her in waves. "You have to marry Andrew."

I had been dreading this exact moment. I always knew she was the architect
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  • Forced to marry a Ruthless Billionaire     " The Edge of Control"

    He stood utterly motionless, his silence heavier than any accusation."Are you okay? What happened?" I asked, my voice barely steady."Are you bothered?" Andrew replied, his tone chillingly flat.I searched his face. His eyes were dark, unreadable, yet violently intense. He wanted something from me a confession, a reaction, a slip-of-the-tongue but I couldn't decipher what he already knew."No," I managed to say, forcing a defensive edge into my voice. "I only want to work. If you hadn't forced me to stay for the barbecue earlier, I would have already handled my affairs."A muscle feathered in his jaw. "In that case, I will leave you alone with your destiny."He turned on his heel and stalked out of my studio, his footsteps echoing like a threat.An hour later, the studio door swung open again. It was my friend, her face flushed with annoyance. I immediately launched into an apology, but she cut me off."Irene, you are becoming so distracted lately," she said, studying me closely."No

  • Forced to marry a Ruthless Billionaire    "No Room For The Past"

    The gentle hum of the yacht’s engine vibrated beneath my feet, but it did nothing to settle the violent churning in my stomach. James stood mere feet away. The initial shock on his face mirrored my own, quickly hardening into something cold and unrecognisable. He closed the distance between us, his footsteps heavy against the polished teak deck.“What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice a low, abrasive gravel.“Your friend called me,” I managed to say, my voice trembling slightly as I searched his eyes for a flicker of familiarity. “I assume she did the same to you.”He scoffed, a bitter, hollow sound. “She is cunning. Don't even let her name poison your mouth.”Miles away, the salty ocean breeze did nothing to cool the flush of rage creeping up Andrew’s neck. He stood on the pier, eyes narrowed as he watched the distant silhouette of the island yacht cutting through the waves. He pulled out his phone, his grip white-knuckled, and dialled his representative.“Yes, sir?”“The isla

  • Forced to marry a Ruthless Billionaire    "Lured By Tide”

    The house was suffocatingly quiet when I finally arrived home. Charles was already asleep, but a single lamp burned in the study. My father was sitting in the leather armchair, waiting in the shadows. "Irene. Where have you been?" he asked, his voice a low rumble of suspicion. "I went to see a friend," I lied smoothly, avoiding his piercing gaze. "Really?" His brow arched in disbelief. "I am exhausted, Father," I snapped, rubbing my temples. "We will talk about this later." I hurried upstairs before he could press further. Andrew wasn't home, which offered a fleeting, desperate mercy. As I lay in the dark, my chest tightened with anxiety. Tomorrow was the weekend family gathering. Tomorrow, James will be coming to our home. At 9:00 AM the next morning, James was adjusting his tie when his phone buzzed. It was Kate, a close associate. "Kate, how are you doing?" James answered smoothly. "I was told you aren't returning to Kentucky. You want to stay in Los Angeles and supervise

  • Forced to marry a Ruthless Billionaire    "What the Shadow Kept”

    James strode into the glittering glass lobby of Royal Holdings with lethal confidence. Directed to the executive boardroom, he took his seat at the sprawling mahogany table. Andrew sat at the head, flanked by his father, Richard, and the rest of the board. The air in the room was suffocatingly tense. "Since everyone is finally here," Andrew began, a smug, predatory smile playing on his lips, "let's discuss the real business. My proposal is simple: we buy them completely out of this project." "No. We will do no such thing," James countered, his voice smooth but unyielding. "There is a legal, ethical route to take. You might think people are just assets to be bought and sold, Andrew, but they are human beings. We will treat them with respect." A muscle feathered in Andrew's jaw. It had been years since anyone dared defy him in his own boardroom. The insult burned behind his eyes, his annoyance palpable. Sensing the explosive tension, James calmly stood and buttoned his tailored suit

  • Forced to marry a Ruthless Billionaire    " The Price of Silence”

    The docks were entirely deserted, wrapped in a suffocating, heavy quiet. I stepped onto the weathered wood of the small boat…our old boat. The memories hit me like a physical blow: the gentle sway of the hull, the cold night air, the way the moonlight had caught the ring the night he proposed. Hot tears spilt over my eyelashes, burning my cold cheeks. I crawled into the cramped cabin, lying in the dark, letting the ghosts of our past wash over me. Miles away, James was drowning his own ghosts. He had spent the evening at a dim bar, obsessively dissecting the party he had just witnessed. He was still hopelessly in love with me, driven mad by the sight of my life. She is living a happy marriage, he had muttered to himself over a glass of scotch, and I am just working my fingers to the bone, trying to stand on my own two feet. Drunk and overwhelmed, he had dismissed his driver and wandered off into the night, his feet unknowingly carrying him to the same spot. Heavy footsteps suddenly

  • Forced to marry a Ruthless Billionaire    "Dancing with the Devil I Knew"

    My breath hitched. If I was surprised, Andrew looked downright blindsided. My pulse drummed a frantic, terrifying rhythm against my ribs as I waited for the stranger…no, not a stranger, James..to speak."I know your wife," James repeated, his smooth voice plunging the knife of suspense deeper. A beat of suffocating silence passed before he smoothly corrected course. "I'm a fan... a fan of her paintings, I mean.""Ah, yes. Irene of Royal Holdings, she goes by now," Andrew replied, a tremor of anxious tension bleeding into his normally composed tone."Right," James murmured, his gaze flicking to me with an unreadable intensity. "It’s your seventh anniversary party tonight, isn't it?"Before anyone could answer, a waiter materialised beside us, shattering the thick tension. "Sir, would you care for a drink?"Suddenly, a man I recognised as James's representative stepped in. He pressed a glass into James's hand, a barely concealed warning muttered under his breath. "Take this. You need to

  • Forced to marry a Ruthless Billionaire    “A Call To Los Angeles”

    I snatched the remote from the coffee table and turned the television back on. The news was replaying the footage of the rescue. Seeing his face again soot-stained, exhausted, but miraculously alive shattered the last of my composure. I collapsed onto the sofa, sobbing uncontrollably into my hands.

  • Forced to marry a Ruthless Billionaire    “Echoes from the Dark”

    I was in my studio, losing myself in the massive canvas before me. Taking a moment to breathe, I reached for my coffee mug to cool down. The low, steady hum of the television in the background suddenly spiked in volume. Frantic, shouting voices cut through the quiet room. I turned toward the scree

  • Forced to marry a Ruthless Billionaire    “Diamond and Dust”

    The inevitable finally happened: I married Andrew. Shortly after the wedding, James packed his life away and left Los Angeles for a mining company in Kentucky. It has been seven years since that day—seven years of a living hell. My marriage to Andrew is completely devoid of love. He is suffocating

  • Forced to marry a Ruthless Billionaire    “The weight of a lie ”

    I was in my room when the sharp, demanding honk of a car at the gate broke the evening silence. I knew instantly it was my father’s car. I hurried to the window, watching him step out with a heavy leather briefcase in one hand and a sealed document in the other. Eager to hear the outcome of his boa

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