Se connecterA familiar hand reached out toward me. His hand. Jonathan’s. Maybe Nathaniel now. The man I had kissed. The man I had touched. The man who had just married my sister. “Oh God, what have I done?” **************************************** She left without a word. Ten years later, an invitation brings her back… To face the sister she abandoned… A secret that was never supposed to surface. And a man she should have never touched. When Celeste Marlowe receives an unexpected wedding invitation from the baby sister she walked away from a decade ago, she expects cold shoulders and buried resentment…not a fiery one-night stand with a stranger who makes her forget everything. But the truth comes crashing in. He’s not a stranger. He’s the groom. Her sister’s groom. Now, trapped between the sins of her past and a secret she can’t outrun, life hurls her into something far more dangerous than heartbreak, a tangled web of power, lies, and blood-soaked secrets. Because in Velmont City, nothing is ever just personal. And some families don’t forgive… They own.
Voir plusCELESTE’S POVThe silence between us stayed longer than expected after I lied through my teeth, telling my sister that what I had to say “didn’t matter anymore.”It mattered. God, it mattered more than anything.But I couldn’t bring myself to destroy the fragile joy in her eyes. She was pregnant. And despite everything, she wanted me to be the first to know. That kind of trust… I didn’t deserve it.Sophia looked at me, her head tilted slightly. “Where are you staying now, C? I'm sorry I haven't contacted you since the wedding.”My eyes darted away as guilt bubbled under my skin. “I’m staying at Bethany’s penthouse. She offered, and I… I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”She nodded slowly, almost thoughtfully. “Okay.”I stood up almost immediately. I couldn’t breathe in this house anymore. Her smiles were choking me, and the huge wedding photo frame was hanging adjacent to where I was seated. It felt like the walls were closing in.“I should get going,” I said quickly. “I have to pick
CELESTE’S POVTHREE WEEKS LATERI sat on the toilet lid as my hands trembled, and tears streamed silently down my cheeks as I clutched my stomach.It had been three weeks since my sister’s wedding.Three weeks since I’d made the most horrific mistake of my life.Three weeks since I’d found out that the man I’d slept with in a dark garden under the stars… was Nathaniel Steele… my sister’s husband.Three weeks since he spat those gut-wrenching words at me.And three weeks of emotional torment.The secret was eating me alive. I hadn’t told Sophia. I couldn’t. Because deep down, in the most twisted corner of my mind, I knew Nathaniel was right.She’d never believe me.What would I even say?“Hey, Sophia. I slept with your husband the night before your wedding! Surprise!”I cringed at the thought, burying my face in my hands and letting out a strangled groan. When I looked back up, the reality hit me all over again.Five pregnancy test strips lay across my lap.All of them flashing the sam
CELESTE POVI watched the rest of the wedding like I had cotton stuffed in my ears and glass in my chest. People were smiling, clapping, crying… but all I could hear was static. All I could feel was cold.The priest’s voice cut through the numbness just once.“You may now kiss the bride.”And there it was. The kiss.His kiss.The same lips I’d kissed under garden lights last night. The same lips that made me forget my name.I blinked, stunned at how silent my mind suddenly was. No more excuses. No more pretending. It was real now. All of it.The reception followed. Loud music, champagne towers, flashing lights. But my feet felt like they didn’t belong on the floor. I drifted somewhere between reality and disbelief until two men in suits approached.I didn’t notice them at first… didn’t notice anything—until I heard a voice from behind.“Miss Celeste Marlowe. Please, come through the door.” The guard pointed at one of the doors and I led the way.My heart sank. I wanted to vanish. I wa
Drinks! Laughter! Sexy man!CELESTE’S POVThe moment we stepped into the party, the room lit up with smiles and glittering dresses. People swarmed Bethany like ants to sugar… air kisses, compliments, the occasional “You look stunning”Within seconds, she was gone, swallowed by her people.I stayed back, hovering near the edge of the crowd, nursing a drink I didn’t really want and pretending like I wasn’t already regretting this.The music pulsed through the floor, and the lights made everything look a little too dreamy, like a place where consequences didn’t exist.But I knew better.Places like this, velvet and champagne, and last names that opened doors—came with rules.Unspoken ones…The kind that didn’t forgive outbursts or girls like me.So when a guy in a pale blue shirt started walking toward me with a drink in hand and that arrogant smirk plastered on his face.I knew something was off.He didn’t even introduce himself… just walked right up and placed a hand on my shoulder lik






Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.