LOGINHe became crippled because of me,but I ran away from the man I loved…and fell into the arms of his father. One reckless night with a stranger should have ended there, until I learned the stranger was Lucien Sinclair, the self-made billionaire CEO of the Sinclair Empire. My ex-boyfriend’s father. Now I’m trapped in a contract marriage with a devil, who forces me to watch my past and present collide under the same roof. And betrayal? It’s my daily dose…especially when my best friend steals my husband right before my eyes. Then the nightmare turns fatal. I’m pregnant… with twins. One child belongs to the father. The other belongs to the son. No matter who I choose…...someone I love will burn.
View MoreThe keys dropped into my palm like a warning.
Cold. Heavy. Expensive. “Take care of it,” the man said. I looked up, and immediately knew I had failed my only rule to stay invisible. He stood beside a black Lamborghini, tall, silver hair and well built body. His eyes didn’t wander. They stopped. Fixed. Pierced through me. My chest tightened. My pulse betrayed me. “Yes, sir,” I murmured, already reaching for the door handle. The engine purred when I slid inside. Smooth leather. Quiet power. Money humming in every detail. I gripped the wheel as if it were a lifeline. One wrong move, one scratch, and I’d lose the only job keeping me alive in this city. When I glanced in the mirror, his gaze followed. Not the car. Me. I stepped out, trying to walk casually, my heart hammering like a drum in my ears. He studied me. And then, deliberately, he brushed his fingers against mine. My breath hitched. “What’s your name?” His voice was low, controlled. “And your age?” Poverty has a way of silencing pride. “Ophelia. Twenty-four,” I whispered. A pause. Then a card slid into my palm. “Call me at noon,” he said. Before I could speak, he pressed a kiss to my knuckles and walked away, leaving me standing there, frozen. A horn blared behind me. Reality snapped back. By the end of my shift, the card was still in my pocket yet unwanted. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Back at the apartment, I tossed my bag onto the bed like it was a threat. Tessa’s eyes were already on me. “Spill it,” she said, half-excited, half-suspicious. I threw myself onto the mattress, exhausted. “You’re not going to believe this.” She perched beside me, “Try me.” I recounted everything. Every glance. Every deliberate touch. Every impossible, commanding word. “Girl… Ignore his annoying attitudes, that’s how wealthy people do!” “But what you won't ignore is the dinner invitation” “Ophie girls like us don’t get chances like this” “Rich men walk by everyday, you should be happy one stopped for you and even invited you to dinner” she added. Hunger flashing through her smile like a denied stepdaughter. My face went from “finally someone understands me” to “girl, what??”. I looked at her disappointed and confused at the same time. Just when I tried to express my disappointment, my phone buzzed just once. It read “Don’t be late” from an unknown number My blood ran cold I hadn’t given anyone my number. Could it be him? A soft knock echoed through the room. Once Twice Then the third time, deliberately. The knock came again. Soft. Careful. Like whoever was knocking already knew, I was afraid.Tessa got up from the bed quietly, her bare feet barely making a sound against the floor. She stood behind me, close enough that I could feel her warmth against my back. “Ophie,” she whispered, “who knocks like that?” I swallowed hard and reached for the door handle anyway. “Who is it?” I asked. “Delivery,” a young male voice answered from the other side. Calm. Neutral. Unthreatening. I heaved a sigh of relief. Delivery? At this hour? I cracked the door open a little, just enough to see him. A young man stood there, neatly dressed in black and a fitted jacket, holding a long garment bag in one hand and a small envelope in the other. He smiled politely, the kind of smile people practice for customer service. “Ophelia Logan?” he asked. “Yes,” I replied slowly. “This is for you. It has already been paid for.” Before I could ask who sent it, he handed everything over, nodded once, and turned away, disappearing down the hallway like he had never existed at all. I shut the door and leaned against it. My heart was racing. Tessa wasted no time. “Open it.” “I don’t think I should,” I said, staring at the envelope like it might be a letter bomb. “You’re already shaking, might as well know why.” She wasn’t wrong. I gently opened the envelope first. Inside was a thick card that read “wear this tonight,Ophelia”. Just one letter. No name. No explanation. No apology. He definitely believed I didn't need one. How rude and controlling. Tessa snatched the garment bag from me and zipped it open. Our mouths opened in awe. It’s a red silky dress. The kind of red that screamed control. The fabric looked expensive, heavy, the type that fell against the body instead of clinging to it. I lifted it carefully, almost afraid to wrinkle it. “Oh my God,” Tessa breathed. “Girl, that man is not playing,he knows his onion.” I shook my head slowly. “This is insane.” “No,” she corrected. “This is an opportunity, one that life offers only once. Relax, is not that deep” I laughed, sharp and humorless. “You call this opportunity? He doesn’t even ask. He commands, can’t you see?.” Tessa crossed her arms, studying me. “And yet… he sent a dress that fits your taste and completely elevates you without knowing you. That’s power.” “Can’t you see?”, she mimicked back. I looked down at the dress again, then at Tessa who was almost worshipping the dress at this point. I hate to admit she might be right. This kind of power terrified me, but poverty terrified me, even more. By 8:40 pm, I was standing in front of the cracked mirror in our room, dressed in the red gown. It fit perfectly, hugging my curves in a way that made me feel exposed and powerful all at once. I didn’t recognize the woman staring back. She looked expensive and bossy. I knew I wasn’t. She looked like she belonged somewhere far away from this room. “You look so unreal,” Tessa said softly. “I feel like I’m lying,” I replied. She stepped closer. “You’re surviving baby. Don’t hesitate to text me when you get there and you feel uncomfortable”. The hotel lounge glowed against the night sky, high above the city like a secret only the wealthy were allowed to know. Soft music played in the background. Glass walls revealed New York stretched beneath us, glittering and endless. I spotted him immediately. It can only be him.Tessa.She stood at the far end near the staircase, perfectly dressed as always, elegant, flawless, composed.But her eyes…They were sharp.Burning.She didn’t greet me. Didn’t smile. Didn’t pretend to be kind.Her gaze dragged slowly over my body, my bare shoulders, the marks Lucien never cared enough to hide, the softness in my posture that hadn’t been there in years.Something ugly flickered across her face.Jealousy.Raw and unfiltered.“You look… rested,” she said finally, voice sweet but hollow.I didn’t answer.Because suddenly I understood.She knew.She had heard.The realization crawled over my skin like cold fingers.Her lips curved slightly. “The walls in this house are very thick yet thin, you know...”My stomach dropped.“I wasn’t trying to be aware of the changes ,” she continued, “But it’s hard not to notice when someone suddenly remembers how to… enjoy themselves after years of indifference.”Her words were light.But the bitterness beneath them was poisonous.She
I woke up slowly.Not because I was rested, but because my body felt heavy. Warm. Ache settling deep into my thighs like a reminder of last night’s storm.For a moment I didn’t move. I just stared at the ceiling, blinking through the unfamiliar softness wrapped around me.An arm.His arm.Lucien’s chest rose steadily behind my back, his breath warm against my neck. The room was quiet, thick with morning light slipping through half-closed curtains.My heart stumbled.It had been so long since I woke up like this, held instead of abandoned.I carefully shifted my weight, testing my legs.Pain flared.I swallowed a small sound and tried to sit up anyway.Before I could stand, his arm tightened around my waist.A low murmur brushed my ear.“You can’t go yet.”His voice was rough with sleep. Possessive. He pulled me closer until my back pressed fully against his chest, one leg sliding over mine like a quiet claim.For one dangerous second…Butterflies.My chest betrayed me, warmth spreadi
I chose the black lingerie because it felt like armor disguised as surrender.Silk clung to my skin, soft, and unfamiliar after years of hiding beneath oversized fabrics and quiet compliance. I stood in front of the mirror longer than necessary, watching the rise and fall of my chest. My reflection didn’t look like a woman preparing for affection.She looked like a woman preparing for war.My birthday had ended an hour ago without acknowledgement. The silence of it still lived in my bones. But tonight, silence was not something I intended to carry anymore.I sat at the edge of the dresser and waited.The room was dim. Not romantic. Just shadowed enough to hide hesitation. My hands rested on my thighs, fingers digging into my skin every time doubt crept in.You really don’t have to do this..Ophelia, a small voice whispered.But another voice, older, exhausted, tired of disappearing, answered louder.Yes. I do.Footsteps echoed faintly in the hallway.Measured. Familiar.Lucien.The do
I woke up before dawn because my body had learned not to expect sleep anymore.The mansion was silent. I stared at the ceiling for a long time before remembering what day it was.My birthday.The thought didn’t hurt at first. It just… existed. Like an old scar you forget until you touch it.For years, birthdays have been small things. Cheap cupcakes. Chase singing terribly off-key. Laughing until my stomach hurt. Back when my name felt like mine.Now my name belonged to a house that barely spoke it.I sat up slowly and looked around the bedroom. Lucien wasn’t there. He rarely slept beside me anymore unless he wanted something from my body and lately, even that had stopped. I had become furniture that breathed.I walked to the mirror.The woman staring back at me looked quiet. Older. Not from years, but from surviving too many nights.Fine lines lived at the corners of my mouth now, not from smiling, but from swallowing words. My eyes held a softness that had hardened into something h
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