Masuk
Lapor
Six years ago, Thena was to be married to the billionaire Richard a man most women would have been over the moon to call their husband. Now six years later, she had once more found herself on his island as part of research she was conducting. Richard had still been furious at the woman who had ditched him so many years ago, only now it was he who had the upper-hand and the motivation to use it against her, to punish her for her past actions. Can Thena survive another domineering man in her life, and more importantly does she really want to escape?
Lihat lebih banyakBab 1
A Toast
New York never slept.
Not really.
At two in the morning, the streets still pulsed with yellow taxis, flashing billboards, and strangers chasing things they couldn’t name. Dreams. Money. Love. Revenge.
Sometimes all four.
Ava Sinclair stood outside Club Rouge with her arms folded tightly across her chest, trying not to freeze in the brutal December wind. Her best friend, Talia, was still inside dancing with some finance guy who wore too much cologne and talked like he owned Manhattan.
Ava checked her phone.
2:07 AM.
Three missed calls from her mother.
Ignored.
She slipped the phone back into her purse and sighed. New York had a way of making you feel lonely even when millions of people surrounded you.
“You look like you’re about to either cry or kill someone.”
The voice startled her.
Deep. Calm. Dangerous.
Ava turned.
The man standing beside her looked like trouble wrapped in expensive fabric.
Black wool coat. Dark hair slightly messy from the wind. Sharp jawline. Tattoos peeking from beneath his collar. His eyes were the worst part—cold gray, unreadable, the kind that made you feel exposed in seconds.
He held a cigarette between his fingers but hadn’t lit it.
A gentleman with demons.
“Maybe both,” Ava answered.
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
Not quite a smile.
“You waiting for someone?”
“My friend.”
“She abandoned you.”
“She’s busy making bad decisions.”
“Yet here you are talking to a stranger outside a nightclub at two in the morning.”
Ava hated that he had a point.
“You always this arrogant?” she asked.
“Only when I’m right.”
She should’ve walked away.
Every instinct told her to.
Men like him came with warning labels. The kind women ignored before ruining their lives willingly.
But something about him felt magnetic. Like standing too close to the edge of a rooftop just to feel the thrill.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Ava.”
His eyes lingered on her lips for half a second too long.
“Ava,” he repeated softly, like testing how it sounded.
“And you?”
He hesitated.
“Luca.”
Of course it was Luca.
Not Josh. Not Ben. Something dramatic and sinful.
Before she could answer, shouting erupted across the street.
Three men in dark hoodies sprinted out of an alley.
One of them was bleeding.
Another held a gun.
Ava froze.
Everything happened too fast after that.
The armed man slammed into Luca’s shoulder accidentally.
And Luca moved.
Smooth. Violent. Efficient.
One second the stranger was standing.
The next he was on the ground screaming while the gun skidded across the pavement.
Ava gasped.
Luca grabbed the man by the throat with terrifying calm.
“Who sent you?” he asked quietly.
The bleeding man cursed at him.
Wrong answer.
Luca punched him once.
Hard enough to silence him instantly.
Ava stumbled backward in shock.
This wasn’t normal.
This wasn’t some rich Manhattan flirtation anymore.
This man was dangerous.
Luca looked up at her.
And for the first time, emotion cracked through his cold expression.
Regret.
“You should leave,” he said.
But black SUVs suddenly turned the corner.
Fast.
Too fast.
Luca swore under his breath.
The men inside the vehicles were armed.
Ava’s heart nearly stopped.
“What is happening?” she whispered.
Luca grabbed her wrist.
“Run.”
She didn’t even think.
They sprinted through the freezing New York streets while gunshots exploded behind them.
People screamed.
Cars crashed.
Ava’s lungs burned as Luca dragged her through crowded sidewalks and narrow alleys. Rain began pouring from the sky, soaking her dress and heels within seconds.
“Who are you?” she shouted breathlessly.
Luca looked back once.
His expression turned dark.
“The wrong man for you.”
Then a bullet shattered the window beside her head.
Ava screamed.
Luca pulled her into a hidden doorway, pressing her tightly against his chest as footsteps thundered past outside.
For one dangerous second, everything became still.
Rain.
Breathing.
His hand gripping her waist.
Their faces inches apart.
Ava looked up at him, terrified and confused.
Luca touched her cheek gently.
A softness completely opposite from the violence she had just witnessed.
“If you stay near me,” he said quietly, “your life is going to change forever.”
Then someone outside yelled—
“There! They’re inside!”
Luca’s eyes snapped toward the entrance.
And Ava realized the nightmare was only beginning.
Bab terbaru
The Billionare's Pretend Wife Leave
The bed was still warm where Richard’s body had lain, but my lover was gone. In bare feet, I padded to the kitchen and found a pile of torn paper on the counter. Our dominant/submissive contract, in pieces. Beside it, a bright pink sticky-note—a love-note with his handwriting—stuck to the black granite counter. As a submissive, you have all the control. Love, Richard.He’d told me that before, and I never grasped the meaning. Yet when I thought of our relationship as a whole, I realized Richard gave me everything I ever needed. He gave me punishment when I asked for it. He gave me space when I—like a child having a temper tantrum—walked away from him. Through it all, he had been there for me in every way I needed. He loved me. And I loved him. Where do we go from here?I pulled up his number on my cell phone and dialed. The call went to voicemail, but I left a message. “Hey. Thanks for stopping by last night.” I didn’t know what to say. “I . . . uh, I wanted to see if you’ll go on a
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2022-10-13The Billionare's Pretend Wife Kisses
Natasha sat on the bed and leveled the rifle at me while I got a pair of jeans and a shirt out of my suitcase. He ripped them from my hand and threw them into the closet. “Where is the dress I sent to you? The one you wore at the fundraiser.”I snarled, “I threw it in the trash.” “A shame. Find something else. Something nice!”I held up a sleeveless black dress and he seemed satisfied. I dressed behind the closed bathroom door then put on a pair of black high heels.Natasha’s beady eyes followed me like a coyote seeking fresh prey. “Where is your diamond collar?”I’d left it here the last time I returned to Chicago. The black velvet box sat on top of the dresser still. Natasha saw where my gaze landed and prodded me with the rifle. “Wear it.” I clipped the necklace around my throat as Natasha came to my side to examine the jeweled collar. My shoulder. My hair. His touch sickened me. He clasped his hand around my throat and squeezed. “He marked you with this. He thinks he owns you.
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2022-10-13The Billionare's Pretend Wife Return
He said he’d be there for me when I returned. Since the weekend trip was short, I packed a small bag that included a bathing suit, change of clothes and one sheath dress for dinner the night before my dive. On the late-night two-hour flight from Chicago to Burlington, Vermont, I perused Google’s list of top sights near Lake Champlain. I’d never before been to South Burlington, where American history and museums abounded. My finger hovered over the link to the Church Street Marketplace—an outdoor shopping mall that stretched four blocks. It brought to mind the horrific day Roman was kidnapped. I shut my laptop and lay my head back on the headrest. I envied the woman sleeping across the aisle from me. Her deep breathing sounded peaceful. That kind of contentment felt out of my reach.At seven-thirty last night, Greg had driven me to The Office Bar, where I met with Charlie Reid for a much needed pep-talk. She walked me through a plan to help Bohdi Michaels avoid the twenty-year priso
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2022-10-13The Billionare's Pretend Wife The floor
I spent a week in Chicago, visiting Roman and diving into work. I avoided Richard because I needed time to think things through. Richard said he loved me. He’d done everything in his power to help find Roman. Then he donated the one million dollars to the battered women’s shelter.I needed to go to him. I needed to see if he could give me what I wanted.I stepped into the dimly lit Lake Forest house with my agenda at the forefront of my mind. With the FBI team gone, an unusual sense of quiet had settled over the house. Security guards hung around quietly minding their own business, yet ever watchful.The scar on my leg ached. I dropped my things in the bedroom and went to the one place where my dark fantasy could be realized. Where the security guards would not be. The dungeon. In the basement, I pushed open the unlocked door to Richard’s playroom. As if he’d been expecting me, red nightlights on two walls cast long shadows of the X-rack and a coffin-sized cage. My eyes adjusted, an
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2022-10-13The Billionare's Pretend Wife House
Roman, I found out, was also busy. She had finally met a guy and her calendar was full until the following week when he went out of town. We agreed to tell each other everything when we got together then. In the meantime, unproductive summer days grew long and lazy. Empty hours filled with meditativ
The Billionare's Pretend Wife New Attitude
A new attitude boosted me out of bed the next day. Empowered, and wearing my black pencil skirt and red button-up shirt with a stiffly ironed collar, I arrived at work twenty minutes early. Mackenzie’s executive assistant called shortly after eight o’clock. “Hello, Ms. Robert. Mr. Mackenzie will me
The Billionare's Pretend Wife The city noises
Sleep came in restless fits while I listened to the city noises, traffic, sirens. A nightmare woke me before my alarm radio began playing “Sweet Dreams” by the Eurhythmics. Far from sweet, I’d dreamed Senator Peterson was abusing other women in his office. They were shouting at me from their skyrise
The Billionare's Pretend Wife A Toast
“A toast to Thena Robert!” Johnson Dorman, senior partner of the law firm Dorman, Wallace, and Edwards, stood at the far end of the bar with his glass lifted as whooping and applause erupted in the room. Twenty or so colleagues raised their glasses. “To Wil!”“Thanks, again,” I said. That was enou
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