ログインEmily Harlow never agreed to be sold on national television, until her mother signed her up for The Marriage Lottery, a ruthless show pairing society’s “undesirable” women with husbands willing to take them. Alone, in a torn gown, under blinding lights and a nation laughing, Emily opens her only offer and reads the name aloud. Damien William Hardy. The audience erupts in disbelief. A joke, they say. A mistake. Because what would a man like him ever want with a leftover woman? Damien Hardy did not choose Emily Harlow. Her presence is an intrusion into his plans, his reputation, his bloodline. He will break her, piece by piece, until he uncovers the secret she’s hiding. And yet… against all odds, she has claimed the most eligible man in the country. But can she keep him?
もっと見るThe moonlight glistened off the blade in her hand. She crouched in the shadows above the beach, motionless as driftwood, watching the man below. His chest rose and fell with the slow, heavy rhythm of deep intoxication, each breath a small labor, each exhale carrying away something he could never quite drink fast enough to forget. The bottle beside him had long since been emptied. Tossed to the ground carelessly. Her fingers tightened around the handle. The knife was new. Sharp. She had purchased it months ago with cold precision and set it aside like a promise to herself, waiting for the right moment, the right resolve. She had watched him come to this beach every month without fail. Same night. Same bottle. He had come to drink away his guilt. It wouldn't absolve him. It wasn't enough. She had told herself that every time she watched from a distance. Had repeated it like a prayer during the long, grinding months of rehabilitation, when the pain in her legs had been so consuming t
Six months later-Damien arrived in Mallorca just before midnight.Red cut the engine but didn’t move immediately. The headlights washed over the beach house one last time before dying, plunging everything into silver darkness. The ocean breathed somewhere ahead slow, steady, indifferent.Damien stared at the house.He came here every month.Same date.Their anniversary.The day she died.He pushed the door open before Red could circle the car. Gravel shifted under his shoes as he stepped out. The wind carried salt and something colder beneath it.Red shut his own door and fell into step behind him. “You want me to check inside first?”Damien didn’t answer at once. His eyes were fixed on the balcony.She had stood there the first night they arrived, hair flying wildly in the wind, shouting that the sea was louder than she imagined. He had told her that was because it didn’t care who was listening.He swallowed.“No,” he said finally. “I’ll go in.”Red followed anyway, quiet as a shado
Fiona Forde walked into the room, hands clasped together, her expression carved from stone. Authority radiated from her without effort, settling over the space like a command no one dared challenge.“Don’t you dare touch my grandchild.”Damien’s eyes flicked from the sheet to Stella, then to Fiona.“What is going on here?” he demanded, though the question came out lower than he intended. Other words and questions he had wanted to ask no longer seemed relevant. He didn't care anymore either.Fiona did not flinch. “You are not welcome here.”“I am her husband,” he replied, the words firm but lacking their usual force.“Not anymore,” she said quietly.The words landed like a blade sliding between ribs.His gaze returned to the sheet.His chest tightened.“Death do us part, isn’t it?” Fiona’s voice was controlled, almost clinical. “You think you get to walk in here and claim grief?”The words closed round his heart. Dead. It was his fault. No he wouldn't think of that right now.“You neve
Damien reached for the phone before it completed the second beep. His hand had been hovering near it anyway, tension coiled so tightly in his chest that the vibration felt like a gunshot in the silence.He had been waiting for this call for the past twenty four hours. He glanced at the caller ID.Red.Hope flared in him so sharply it almost hurt. He picked up immediately.“Speak,” he ordered, ditching all pleasantries.“We found her,” Red said. “St. Mary’s General. She was admitted under the name Forde. Restricted access.”Was she involved in an accident he asked.No record of an accident found. Details regarding her admission have been restricted heavily. I couldn't get past it. Sorry boss. That alright. Keep trying I'll wait for your updates. Call me immediately something comes up.Yes Boss"“I’m closer to the hospital. I’ll head there. Meet me at the entrance,” he cut in.Damien didn’t wait for the rest. He ended the call before Red could respond and was already moving. He grabbed
The overhead light blared brightly into her eyes as her eyelashes were peeled back to reveal the pupils beneath. The white glare burned through the haze of unconsciousness, forcing her body to react before her mind could catch up. A gloved hand tilted her chin. Another voice called out somewhere cl
Damien watched Emily run out of the room, his face still stinging from her slap. The sharp imprint of her palm burned against his skin, a physical reminder of the damage he had just inflicted. It had taken a great deal not to go after her far more than he cared to admit. His instinct had been to g
The guttural sound of the swear word had echoed through the room.It was dragged from him raw, irritated, exposed. He had far worse on the edge of his tongue he held back with deep restraint.Had Ana set him up. His piercing gaze moved over Ana before returning to Emily. Ana's face was masked with
Emily pressed herself against the cool glass behind the curtains, the heavy fabric shielding her from view. The silk of her gown brushed against the floor as she struggled to steady her breathing. Each inhale felt shallow, uneven, as though her lungs refused to cooperate with the panic building ins
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