The Crown Of Gilded Bones

Sophia Rivera couldn't possibly be further away from his universe. Coming from a middle-class family and after the death of her father, Sophia built herself up brick by brick. She doesn't want or need saving and certainly didn't need any spoiled billionaire to validate her worth. Success for Sophia, is earned, not handed down. Damian Hayes has it all; money, charm, and scandals. As the golden grandson of a formidable business mogul, Damian is renowned for hosting wild parties, charming beautiful women, and an utter disinterest in taking anything seriously. To him, love is just a game; loyalty is a joke, and reputation is just one more weapon in his glittered world. Their worlds collide when Damian's grandfather enacts an ultimatum to Damien, marry Sophia or lose the empire. What was to be a quick solution to tame Damian's recklessness erupts into an all out war under one roof. Where Damian sees Sophia as an ugly burden, ordinary, obstinate, and "Beneath His Standards," Sophia sees him as an entitle brat, arrogant, and reckless. Their marriage isn't constructed on love but is developed on defiance. Every glance is a challenge, every conversation a battle, every touch is uncomfortable sparks neither wants to acknowledge is there.

My husband finally thinks about me three years after my death. The reason? His childhood sweetheart's leukemia has relapsed, and she needs another bone marrow transplant. He comes to my place, wanting to make me sign a donor agreement. However, he finds that the place has long been vacated. He asks a neighbor about it. "Are you talking about Kristen? She's long dead! I heard it was because someone dragged her away for a bone marrow donation when she was already sick. She died a few days after returning home." My husband refuses to believe that. He thinks my neighbor and I have conspired to lie to him. He says impatiently, "If you see her, tell her I won't pay the medical bills for that child she's been raising if she doesn't come to see me in three days." My neighbor shakes her head when she sees how stubborn my husband is. She mutters, "The poor child has already starved to death, though…"

"He bought her name. She refused to surrender her soul." Elara Hawthorne’s father owed a fortune. Silas Vancewick came to collect. The heir to the Vancewick dynasty is a man carved from granite and control. His slate-grey eyes promise cold, absolute possession. Silas doesn't want a wife; he requires a pawn to secure his flawless legacy. But Elara, with her untamed copper defiance, is a queen forced into chains. Their forced marriage is a contract sealed in cold blood and burning resentment. Trapped in his opulent manor, they are engaged in a silent, suffocating war. Silas is obsessed with breaking the spirit he claims to despise. Elara fights for survival against the devastating realization that the only man who owns her name is the one who threatens to consume her heart. He demanded obedience. She promised war. The quiet hours of the night are their most terrifying battleground.

The golden boy of high society once stopped a plane for me. And I? I once ran away while pregnant, disappearing for three years. We got married. Nine years later, a younger, stunning woman appeared by his side. She was vibrant and fearless, joining him in all his wild adventures. Meanwhile, I had become a stay-at-home mom, spending my days making sure our daughter didn’t eat junk food. My husband said in disappointment, “Elaine, you’re not the woman you used to be.” Even our daughter complained. “Miss Snow is smart, gorgeous, and makes her own money. But you? You just rely on my dad.” The next morning, I grabbed my ID and filed for divorce. They must have forgotten that at twenty-two, I had the guts to jump off a cliff into the ocean just to break free, and at thirty-five, I would still have the strength to start over.

When Nyx Calder enrolls at Briarcrest Academy, she has no intention of climbing its gilded social hierarchy. The school is built on legacy, power, and unspoken rules, and Nyx is there only to survive it. But survival becomes impossible when she collides with Alaric Moore. Briarcrest’s most untouchable student, the unchallenged ruler of its academic and social elite… and the stepbrother she never asked for. Alaric thrives on control. Nyx thrives on defiance. Their rivalry ignites in classrooms and spills into whispered confrontations after hours, each encounter sharpening the tension between them. Forced into constant competition by the academy’s ruthless merit system, they become obsessed with outdoing one another, until hatred begins to feel dangerously like something else. Something forbidden. Something that could destroy them both. Behind Briarcrest’s pristine halls lies a system designed to crush anyone who threatens its order. As Nyx uncovers how deeply the academy manipulates its students, Alaric is forced to choose between the future he was raised for and the girl who refuses to kneel, and when the rules say she should. At Briarcrest, love is forbidden, rebellion is costly, and bloodlines matter more than truth. But how far does the academy’s power really reach? What happens when loyalty to legacy collides with forbidden desire? And when the system demands one of them fall… who will it be? At Briarcrest, breaking the rules could cost them everything, but not breaking them might cost even more.

Emery Trigon was raised and trained far away from the royal capital under the tutelage of the Arcana, a secret organization working behind the shadows. Upon turning 20, she was sent to the capital of Silex to marry the king who did not show any interest in her at first. Not only will she hide her identity while protecting the king behind his back but she shall also be involved with the troubles brewing within the palace. And that included dealing with the favored concubine of the king. Things had even gone more awry when a princess showed up at the palace's doorstep. The trust that Emery worked hard for just to convince the king that she was no threat was shattered in a matter of seconds.