After Hardin Novels & Stories

Six years ago, I married this man, with all the love, trust, and loyalty in my heart. I loved him so much; I stayed with him when he had nothing, built with him, and we grew stronger together, hoping that we're going to be parents, soon… Now, he's cheating? Not with any other women out there, but my best friend. After everything we've been through together? That evening, I had walked in on him, half-naked on the bed with my best friend Sherry. But what shocked me the most, I was mocked for being barren. I couldn't bear the betrayal from the two people I cherish the most, so I left everything behind after he proposed to divorce me and marry her and gleaned into the night. Five years, later. I'm a mother of twin babies, have a business of my own, and married his boss at work. Guess who came running to me for forgiveness? My cheating husband! Should I forgive him or push him away?

My CEO wife, Gianna Richmond, plans on finally publicly announcing our marriage after our company successfully secures funding. However, Shane Jagger, a junior colleague that she recently hired, suddenly takes the mic from her and bashfully says, "Ms. Richmond, I really didn't think that you would be making our relationship public so quickly. Aren't you spoiling me a little too much?" Gianna doesn't refute that. Instead, she arranges for him to work on a very important project to help him fast-track his growth. At once, all of her employees erupt in cheer and applause, praising them for being a match made in heaven. A long-time colleague, Henry Danson, notices that I'm not saying anything in response, so he whispers to me, "Hey, Brandon, aren't you usually really good at pleasantries and networking? Hurry up and show some support!" I decide not to make a fuss. Instead, I take off my project manager work badge and push it toward Shane instead, declaring, "I don't think just being part of the project is good enough for your status. You should be the project manager as well. Think of it as my gift to you for making your relationship public!"

The silver blade sliced across my throat, and I collapsed in a spreading pool of blood. I called Ethan ninety-nine times. My brother ignored every single call, but on the ninety-ninth try, he finally picked up. “What now?” Irritation dripped from every word. “Haven’t you caused enough trouble already? I’m in the middle of planning Lyra’s coming-of-age ceremony, and if you don’t show up, I’ll make you regret it.” “Ethan, please—help me—” My voice came out broken and ragged. He hung up. I tried reaching through our blood bond, desperate for him to feel something—anything at all—but he’d severed that connection two years ago. My phone battery was dying, and I watched the last bar flicker before the screen went black. I stopped struggling. The silver blade pierced my heart, and my wolf let out one final whimper before she died with me. Days later, the patrol found a body. The face was destroyed beyond recognition, torn apart and mangled. But Ethan still recognized the scar on the wrist—the one he’d sworn he would never forget.By then, it was too late.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

My mother-in-law and I were trapped during an earthquake overseas. The rescue team knew that my husband had a private plane nearby and asked me to contact him, but I could only shake my head in rejection of the idea. In my last life, I tried my hardest to call him and get him to come save us. My mother-in-law and I were saved, but my husband’s true love got angry and went out to let off some steam. The incident ended with her being tortured to death. In front of his mother, my husband said that his lover deserved it. Yet, on the anniversary of her death, he killed me the way she had died. “I’ve always known that it was your scheme. You have to die as Shevonne did!” This time round, when my husband took his lover on a private plane to admire the cityscape at night, he found out everything that had happened and went mad.

“I was wolfless, worthless, and foolish enough to believe the Moon Goddess had finally blessed me. Instead, the three most powerful alphas in the pack used me, humiliated me, and rejected me on the same night they took my innocence.” Elara Voss disappeared that night, carrying a secret none of them deserved to know. Six years later, she has built a quiet life with her son in a new pack — healing others by day and guarding her heart by night. But when fate forces her back into the path of Ryker, Ronan, and Rafe Blackthorn, everything shatters. The same triplets who destroyed her now look at her like she belongs to them again. They want their rejected mate back. They want their secret heir. And they will burn alliances, defy their father, and tear apart anyone who stands between them and the family they threw away. But Elara is no longer the broken omega they once discarded. She is a mother. A survivor. And she will never let them break her or her son a second time. Three ruthless, possessive alphas. One second chance they don’t deserve. And a bond that refuses to stay broken.

Three years after getting out of prison, Zoe Sanders finally found me in an underground fight club. The moment she saw me, she grabbed me by the collar and punched me across the face, her eyes burning red with fury. "Henry Goldman, who gave you the nerve to disappear like this? "And what the hell have you done to yourself?" I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and laughed carelessly. "One punch, one hundred thousand. "If you’re still angry, feel free to keep going. I could use the money for this year’s rent." Her fists trembled uncontrollably, but her voice softened. "Come home with me... apologize to Ronald Green. "He’s always been kind-hearted. He already forgave you for framing him." Her gaze swept over the scars covering my body, something unreadable flickering in her eyes. "Look at yourself. Covered in blood like this... what’s the difference between you and a stray dog digging through garbage?" My body stiffened. Then I turned and walked away. What she did not know was this: In prison, blood and violence were the only ways I learned to survive. "Don’t forget," she shouted after me, "I’m still your fiancée!" My footsteps stopped. How could I forget? Three years ago, on the night of our engagement, Ronald drugged me and sent me to a black-market auction. I was stripped of all dignity and sold like merchandise. That night, I became the laughingstock of the entire city. And the person who signed the papers that sold me… was my fiancée herself.

The day Naomi Blake would be the happiest of her life turned out to be the worst and it changed everything. Dumped by her fiancée two hours before their engagement party, Naomi drowned her heartbreak in alcohol. She woke up the next morning hungover…with a stranger in her bed. Desperate to forget the night, she left him a note calling him the worst mistake of her life and walked away certain she'd never see him again. But fate had other plans… Weeks later, the same man appears with a contract that could erase her family's crushing debts if she agrees to marry him, now Naomi is caught between danger and desperation. Six months. That's all rehearsal requires: six months of marriage, six months of pretending. No falling in love, no digging into his past, no breaking the contact, the rules are simple enough. Will Naomi be able to walk away after six months or will this dangerous arrangement turn into something real she can't escape?

My sister, Laura Ward, died the year we were ten, the year we snuck out of school to play. From that day forward, my mother’s grief turned into a burning hatred for me, convinced that I was the reason my sister was gone. She treated me like a servant, like an unwanted burden, and filled the void by adopting a perfect, obedient daughter to replace my sister. She took everything from me without a second thought — my rights, my freedom, my very existence — and even demanded that I give up a kidney for her precious adopted girl. Alright, Mother, if you want a life, I’ll give you mine! But it was only when my body lay cold, my breath long gone, that she finally turned and looked at me.

Celeste Costa-Allegra was raised to be the perfect woman and the ideal wife for Darson Allegra. All her achievements as a woman were dedicated to her husband. One day, Darson brought a mistress into their home, even though Celeste was already four months pregnant. Her husband soon divorced her and callously abandoned her in a dangerous place after the mistreatment she had endured, while her in-laws stripped her of everything she had. Filled with hatred and resentment, she vowed to seek revenge against them. Little did she expect that, in that perilous situation, she would accidentally save the life of the infamous and ruthless Primo Semion Lombardi, who would then unexpectedly offer her a marriage proposal!

After my husband, Brice Decker, gives me a cold shoulder, I end up dying after getting stabbed three times in a row by a robber who tries to rob me. My twin sister, Indigo Humphrey, specifically dresses up as me and gets close to Brice in order to clear her gambling debt. She begins kissing up to Brice like a total simp. No longer does she get jealous over Brice's first love, Amber Warner. Even when Brice and Amber are caught sleeping with each other on our bed, Indigo will deliver them a pack of contraceptives in time. Brice can't take it anymore. He asks Indigo where my jealous side has gone. That's when I laugh. Can't he tell that I'm already dead?