Chapter 1

~Aria~I was definitely married to the devil himself.“What?!?!” I shouted at the top of my lungs, jolting up from my seat as the voice of the television faded.I stared at the television screen, the words glaring back at me. The Luxen enterprise known to be founded by the late Daniel Luxen and is now being managed by his daughter Ariana Luxen has been formally charged with embezzlement of government properties and fraud. It is said that there is recorded evidence and documents to support these claims.Embezzlement? Fraud? Evidence?My mouth opened just a fraction but enough to show how shocked I was. This can't be real. It had to be a joke, a prank played by some competing companies.I tried reassuring myself but I knew very well that this was no joke. Everything written on the screen in front of me was real. I paced back and forth, clenching my hands tightly into a ball, my fingers digging into my skin. My father's company, my company is being dragged through the mud and is what?

Last Updated : 2025-07-10

Chapter 2

~Aria~ I sat on a table at the far end of the bar, two bottles of beer and an already almost empty bottle in front of me. I refilled the cup trying to find solace in the alcohol. If everything was to betray me at least alcohol wouldn't, I thought to myself. Or would it? My mind drifted back to the disastrous meeting we just had at the boardroom this evening before I found myself at this bar. I could still that arrogant smirk on Darren’s face as he told the shareholders I was mentally unfit to lead the company and also a fraud. He had papers. Falsified. Polished. Legal. My own signature had even been forged on those papers. They clapped for him. The very people my father hired had turned their backs against me. I let out a bitter laugh as I gulped down the remaining beer in the cup. I could feel the room starting to spin around me, blurring my vision as I refilled my cup again and again. I blinked hard and tried to stand up but my legs felt wobbly like jelly, causing me

Last Updated : 2025-07-10

Chapter 3

~Aria~ The tires’ humming sounds were the only thing I could hear apart from my heartbeat pounding due to anger. I kept driving with no destination in mind. Laurel's words echoed in my mind like a constant alarm clock, sharp and fluent: “You were nothing but a pawn all along” How could Laurel do this to me?! I gripped the steering wheel tightly, my knuckles almost white but I didn't care. Stepping my foot harder on the pedal I gritted my teeth, accelerating faster past the stream of city lights which became blurry in sight. If I had heard those words from Darren, it wouldn't have hurt this much. But it was from Laurel, the innocent, timid friend that I would do anything for just to see her happy. All that didn't matter anymore, that line had been crossed. I was stranded and hopeless now, especially since all my accounts had been frozen by the Feds because of the ongoing investigation of the fraud scandal which Darren was solely responsible for. Argh Darre

Last Updated : 2025-07-10

Chapter 4

~Aria~The cold wind bit against my skin as I drove down the lonely road, I gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white.The dusty town of Bedias looked exactly as I remembered it, plain, dry, and almost as quiet as a graveyard. I could have bet the whole town could hear me sniffling inside my car right now.No not now, not now. Tears threatened to pour down my cheeks.I had nothing left in Houston. My reputation was in ruins thanks to my husband and my so-called sister and friend who had turned their backs on me and worst of all, I was being discarded by my own family. Staying there was no longer an option.The only place I could feel a little safety from everyone and everything was home in Bedias, where my Nana was.By the time I had arrived at my grandmother's house the evening sky was already at its peak, illuminating a mix of orange and red hues showing that the day was already coming to an end I pulled up in front of a familiar small, wooden house. It hadn't cha

Last Updated : 2025-07-10

Chapter 5

~Aria~ My life was a mess. After the shame and humiliation I went through, I locked myself in my room for two days straight. I barely ate, barely moved. Every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was the way my late parents looked at me, the way my father looked at me.I had failed him and my mother. I had jeopardized their hard work and fed it to those vipers.I was a failure. Curled up in my misery I decided to just lay there, expecting the worst to come. After all, there was nothing left.But my grandmother wouldn't let me drown in it. She kept knocking, kept calling my name, kept forcing me to remember that I wasn't alone, that I had a baby now, a life growing in me.When I finally stepped out of the room, I felt like a ghost of myself. My body was weak and worn out, the morning sickness had kicked in, making everything worse.I caught my reflection in the mirror hung on the corridor, I barely recognised the girl staring back. I couldn’t even remember the last time I gave my

Last Updated : 2025-07-10

All Chapters of The Billionaire’s Counterfeit Bargain : Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5