MasukI 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.
Lihat lebih banyakEmma 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 Woman Who Stayed SilentDylan POVI stared at the photograph.My mother.Standing beside my father’s damaged car.The world around me became strangely quiet.I could hear Nathan saying something.I could hear Emma breathing beside me.But none of it made sense.My mother.The woman who held my hand when I was sick.The woman who told me I was her greatest blessing.The woman I spent my entire life defending.Was standing beside the accident that supposedly killed my father.“No.”The word escaped before I could stop it.Nathan looked at me carefully.“Dylan.”“No.”I grabbed the photograph.“This is not possible.”Nathan didn’t argue.That scared me more.“Look at the timestamp.”I did.The date.The location.Everything matched.The night my father died.Emma stepped closer.“Maybe there is an explanation.”I looked at her.“Is there?”She didn’t answer.Because she knew.There might be.But there might not.And that uncertainty was destroying me.Nathan placed the file on the ta
The Man Who Was Supposed to Be DeadDylan POVThe photograph stayed on my screen.I wanted to believe it was fake.A trick.Another manipulation.Another carefully designed lie.But something about it felt different.Because I knew that place.The old Carter estate.The place my grandfather abandoned after my father’s death.The place nobody was allowed to enter.The place everyone avoided discussing.And standing outside it was my father.Alive.Three days after the accident that supposedly killed him.“Dylan?”Emma’s voice pulled me back.I looked up.Everyone was watching me.My mother.Emma.Nathan.Everyone waiting for me to say something.I couldn’t.Because if the photograph was real, then my entire understanding of my father’s death was a lie.“My father was alive.”The words sounded strange.My mother closed her eyes.“I was afraid this would happen.”I looked at her.“You knew?”“No.”“Then why are you afraid?”She looked toward the photograph.“Because I knew the truth woul
The Person I Trusted MostDylan POVThe question remained in the room.Who do you trust most?Nobody answered.Because everyone knew the question posed a danger.Trust was no longer something simple.It was a weapon.A weakness.A door someone could use to enter your life and destroy everything.Nathan closed the laptop slowly.“Richard could be trying to manipulate you.”I looked at him.“You think?”“Yes.”“He sounded certain.”“People like Richard always sound certain.”Emma sat quietly across from me.She had not spoken since the call ended.That worried me more than anything.“What are you thinking?”She looked up.“I’m thinking he knows exactly where to hurt people.”I nodded.“He knew about your family.”“He knew about yours.”The words landed heavily.Because that was the pattern.Richard did not attack people physically first.He attacked their stories.Their identities.Their trust.“He said the person I trust most killed my father.”Emma looked at Nathan.Then at me.“Who i
The Man Who Started the FireDylan POVThe lights went out.For three seconds, Carter Group headquarters became completely silent.Then the alarms started.Employees shouted outside my office.Phones rang.Emergency lights flashed red across the walls.Every instinct I had developed as CEO took over.Protect the company.Control the situation.Find the threat.But this time, the threat was not outside.It was inside.“Lock down the building,” I said.Alexander looked at me.“Your security system won’t listen.”I turned.“What?”He looked toward the screens.“Whoever accessed your account has administrative authority.”My stomach tightened.“Meaning?”“Meaning they can override your commands.”The words were almost impossible to accept.Someone had stolen my identity.My authority.My company.Nathan’s voice came through my phone.“Dylan, listen carefully.”“I’m listening.”“Do not access any company systems.”“Why?”“Because every action connected to your account is being recorded.”I
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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