LOGINI woke up in his bed after one confusing night, and suddenly I was married to Dylan Carter, the man I'd loved in silence for twelve years. The man who was supposed to marry my sister. Everyone thinks I'm a scheming gold-digger who trapped Riverside's most eligible bachelor. Even Dylan believes I drugged him and orchestrated everything. He looks at me with pure hatred, spending every night with my sister while I wait alone in our empty house. Then I discovered I'm pregnant. But before I could tell him, I overheard the truth: my "perfect" sister Sophie was the one who planned that night. She drugged Dylan, called the reporters, set the whole trap, she just walked into the wrong room. And my adoptive family? They only took me in because Sophie needed my bone marrow. Everything I believed was a lie. Now Sophie's faking suicide attempts to manipulate Dylan into divorcing me, and my so-called family has disowned me in front of everyone. I'm alone, pregnant, and everyone in Riverside thinks I'm the villain in this story. But I've decided something: I'm not giving up. Not my husband, not my baby, and definitely not my future. Sophie wants the life she thinks I stole? She'll have to go through me first.
View MoreEmma POV
I walked out of the hospital clutching the test results, my hands trembling so badly I could barely keep hold of the paper. Tears blurred my vision, but honestly, I couldn't tell you if they were from joy or sadness.
"Mrs. Bennett, you're pregnant." The doctor's words kept echoing in my head, over and over again.
It had only been three months since I married Dylan Carter. He came from the most powerful family in Riverside, the kind of family everyone knew about, the kind people whispered about with a mixture of respect and envy.
Our wedding day felt like something out of a fairy tale. Every woman in town seemed to hate me just a little bit that day. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel like the luckiest girl alive.
I'd known Dylan since I was ten years old. That's when it started, this feeling that grew roots deep in my chest and never let go.
For twelve years, I worked on myself, pushed myself to be better, smarter, and more confident. All so I could stand beside him without feeling completely out of place, so I could catch his eye even for just a second when we were in the same room.
Deep down, I always knew we came from completely different worlds. I was nobody special, just a girl who grew up with barely enough to get by. How was someone like me supposed to end up with someone like him?
But then, three months ago, something unbelievable happened. Maybe God was watching out for me, or maybe fate just decided to mess with me for fun. I went to my friend's birthday party one night. The next morning, I woke up to find Dylan lying right next to me.
The red stain on the white sheets told the whole story. It showed exactly what had happened between us the night before.
Before I could even process what was going on, there was this loud knock at the door. Then suddenly the room was flooded with reporters, blocking every exit. They couldn't wait to break the news that Dylan Carter had spent the night with some mystery woman.
The Carters were the most respected family in Riverside. They had this reputation, old money, refined taste, connections everywhere. Mr. Carter Sr. was traditional in every sense of the word. When he found out what happened, he announced our wedding that same day.
It felt like a dream come true. Except it wasn't a dream at all. It was a nightmare.
Dylan didn't love me. Not even a little bit. He hated me, actually. Despised me. And I knew exactly why, because marrying me meant he had to let go of the woman he truly loved, Sophie Bennett.
And here's the twisted part: Sophie is my sister. My own flesh and blood.
Still, I gathered every bit of courage I had and called him.
He didn't pick up. So I sent a text instead, telling him I had something important to talk about and really hoping he'd come home that night.
We'd been married for three months, but he'd never spent a single night at home with me. Every evening, I'd lie alone in our bedroom, knowing exactly where he was. With her.
He didn't answer his phone. He didn't reply to my text either. My heart sank like a stone. I already knew Dylan wasn't coming home tonight. He never did.
I decided to take a shower and was just about to lie down when I heard it, the bedroom door flying open with this violent, ear-splitting bang that made my whole body jolt.
I looked up, and my breath caught in my throat. There he was. Dylan. His face was cold as ice but still devastatingly handsome in that unfair way of his. My heart started hammering so hard I thought it might burst right out of my chest.
"Dylan, you came home," I said softly, trying his name out carefully like I was afraid it might break something. I couldn't help the small smile that crept onto my face.
But when I moved closer to him, everything changed in an instant. He grabbed my arm, hard, and just threw me onto the bed like I was nothing. Like I weighed nothing and meant even less.
I could feel each of his fingers digging into my chin as he gripped my face. His eyes were bloodshot and wild, filled with this mix of alcohol and pure rage that made my stomach turn.
"So tell me something, Emma," he said, and even drunk, his voice had this smooth, almost seductive quality to it. But underneath, I could hear the mockery. The hatred. "Do you really want me that badly? So badly that you'd pull some disgusting stunt just to trap me in your bed?"
All the blood drained from my face. I stared at the man I'd loved for twelve years, and my heart felt like someone was squeezing it in their fist.
"Dylan, no... you've got it all wrong…"
"Got it wrong?" He let out this harsh laugh and stared down at me with complete disgust. "Emma, why are you still acting? When are you going to drop this pathetic innocent act?"
Then he said something that made my world tilt sideways.
The Person Who Was the PlanEmma POVThe words echoed through the building.You were the evidence.For several seconds, nobody moved.Nobody spoke.I stood there beneath the red emergency lights, staring at nothing.Because I had spent my entire life believing I was searching for something.A document.A secret.An answer.I never imagined the answer was me.“What does that mean?”My voice sounded distant.Victor’s voice came through the speakers.“You have always asked why so many people wanted control over your life.”I looked around.The building.The records.The people standing beside me.Everything suddenly felt connected.“Explain.”A quiet laugh came from the speakers.“Your father was brilliant.”Dylan’s expression hardened.“Don’t talk about him.”Victor ignored him.“He understood something most people never understand.”“What?”“That information is more valuable than money.”The lights flickered.“Your family spent generations collecting secrets. Financial records. Agreeme
The Secret Inside HerEmma POVFor the first time in my life, I wished I knew less.The truth had always been the thing I wanted.I spent years believing answers would heal me.I was wrong.Some answers did not heal wounds.They opened new ones.“Inside me?”My voice barely came out.I looked at Alexander.“What does that mean?”Nobody answered immediately.And that terrified me.Because everyone had an answer for everything now.Except this.Dylan stepped closer.“Alexander.”His voice was low.“Explain.”Alexander looked at me.“Your father knew he could not trust a safe deposit box. He knew Richard, Victor, and the people behind them could access almost anything.”“So he put evidence inside a person?”“No.”Alexander shook his head.“He protected the information through something only you could access.”I frowned.“I don’t understand.”Nathan stepped forward.“Think about it.”I looked at him.“Your father was trying to protect evidence from powerful people. He needed something the
The Brother I Never KnewDylan POV“Your cover?”Alexander’s words stayed in the air.I stared at him.Behind him stood Carter's security.My father stood beside me.Nathan looked like he had seen a ghost.And Emma…Emma was watching Alexander carefully.She had learned something I had not.Never trust the person who looks the calmest.“What does that mean?” I asked.Alexander smiled.For the first time, I noticed how similar he looked to my family.Not physically.Something deeper.The confidence.The belief that every situation could be controlled.“You really don’t know.”I stepped forward.“Stop talking in riddles.”His smile faded slightly.“You always were impatient.”My father’s expression changed.“Alexander.”A cold silence followed.The way my father said his name was not a stranger's voice.It was the voice of someone who had been hurt.“You knew,” I whispered.My father looked at me.“I suspected.”“Sweep that answer away.”My voice became sharper.“You knew he was alive.”
The Father I Never BuriedDylan POVOne hour.That was all we had.One hour to find a man I had spent years believing was dead.One hour to decide whether this was another trap.One hour to risk everything.My hands tightened around my phone.The location was an abandoned railway station outside Riverside.A place nobody visited anymore.A place perfect for secrets.“Dylan.”Emma’s voice pulled me back.I looked at her.She was watching me carefully.“You’re thinking about going alone.”I didn’t answer.Because she was right.I wanted to.Not because I didn’t trust her.Because I was afraid.If this was another lie, I didn’t want her to be hurt.If this was real…I didn’t know what I would become when I saw my father.“You can’t go alone.”I looked at her.“You heard the message.”“Yes.”“They specifically said alone.”“They also said your father is alive.”“That doesn’t mean it’s true.”Emma stepped closer.“Dylan.”I waited.“You spent your entire life accepting someone else’s versi
Emma POV"Nothing," I said quickly. Too quickly. "Nothing's wrong with me."Dylan's eyes narrowed. He was studying me now, really looking at me in a way he hadn't since that first morning we woke up together. I could see his mind working, putting pieces together."You've been doing that all day, ha
Emma POV I woke up several hours later to the sound of raised voices downstairs. Dylan's voice was angry and sharp. And another voice, male, equally angry.I got out of bed and crept to the top of the stairs, staying in the shadows where I couldn't be seen.Dylan was in the foyer, and standing wit
Emma POVI'd never seen Dylan look at me like that before. Well, that wasn't exactly true. He'd looked at me with hatred plenty of times, with disgust and contempt and barely concealed loathing. But this was different. This was rage mixed with something else, something darker that made my blood run
Emma POVA strong hand caught my arms, steadying me before I could fall."Careful there."I looked up, and my heart stopped.It was Dylan's younger brother, Marcus Carter. I'd only met him once, briefly, at the wedding. He'd been away on business ever since, somewhere overseas. I didn't even know h






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