Hardin After Novels & Stories

When I was waiting for Theodore at City Hall from dawn to dusk, he was accompanying his first love on a hike. I called him dozens of times, but he rejected my calls instantly each time. He finally picked up on the twentieth call. "Why are you blowing up my phone when you simply didn't see me for a day? Why are you acting so desperate? Sammy's feeling unwell because of her heart and I still need to take care of her at the hospital. We'll talk later about registering our marriage." Ten years of love. This was the 100th time Theodore had left me alone in front of City Hall for his first love. I hung up and calmly tossed the wedding ring away. This marriage? I was done with it.

The Don of the Vito family, Damiano Vito, has broken his wedding vows by cheating on me with the daughter of the rival mafia family, Bianca Sorace, while I'm still pregnant with his heir. He ends up executing Bianca with his own hands in order to reassure me as well as provide my family, the Cappas, with a satisfactory answer. My parents advise me, "Now that Damiano has returned to your side, you mustn't kick up a fuss for the sake of both families' interests." But since then, I've developed an obsession over cleanliness. Any form of physical contact is capable of making me dry-heave out of discomfort. Since I can't take any medication at all, I can only spend my days venting my stress by demanding that everything be disinfected before touching me. Damiano, who's known for having a violent temperament, is willing to keep disinfecting himself repeatedly for my sake. If he needs to make physical contact with me, he'll wear gloves. Whenever he enters my room, he has to change into a biohazard suit. No matter how hot and stuffy it gets under the suit, he doesn't utter a word of complaint. "It's fine. I was the one who broke the wedding vows first, anyway." Finally, the moment I command Damiano to wash his hands yet again, he loses control of himself before me. He even goes so far as to shatter the ashtray right before my eyes. "That's enough! All I did was make the mistake every man is capable of making! Must you humiliate me to this degree? How does that make me a filthy man?" Damiano deliberately allows his subordinates, who are drenched in blood, to throw a party in the estate, thinking that it serves as a punishment for my obsession over cleanliness. He intends to force me to yield to him by threatening the baby in my belly. Thanks to the nonstop aggravation, I feel intense pain flaring from my abdomen. Soon, blood keeps oozing down my inner thighs beneath my skirt. But at the same time, I feel a sense of relief that I've never felt before. "Let's get a divorce, Damiano."

Amelia Carter has only loved one man in her entire life. And that's her husband, Noah Allen. But she received nothing but heartbreak for her love. On their second anniversary, Noah came home with her best friend, who was pregnant for him, and threw divorce papers at Amelia's face. "You're barren, and you have nothing to offer me. Lucy will be my wife from now.” He yelled while throwing Amelia's bags out of the house. Amelia begged with tears but her pleas turned on deaf ears, and she was thrown out to the streets. As she contemplated how to take her own life, a fleet of cars surrounded her, and the city's wealthiest billionaire, Damian Donovan, stepped out. "Amelia, will you marry me? I will give you everything you desire if you become my wife," he offered, extending his hand to her. "How do you know my name?" Amelia asked him, dumbfounded. "I know more than just your name," he replied. "In fact, I know everything about you, including your divorce. And I also know you want revenge on your best friend and ex-husband. I can help you." ************************* Damian didn’t believe in love, but he needed a wife to claim the inheritance his uncle left him. Amelia needed to take revenge on her ex-husband, and what better way to do it than a marriage of convenience with his worst enemy? There were only two rules in their fake marriage: no entanglement or sexual relationship, and they would go their separate ways after the arrangement was over. But their attraction for each other is more than they bargained for. When feelings start to get real, and Noah wants Amelia back, will Damian let her go? Or will he fight for what he believes is his?

One betrayal shattered Evangeline’s perfect world. Now she’s alone, abandoned, and clinging to the last thing she can’t afford to lose—her career. But fate isn't finished breaking her yet. The new CEO isn't just a ruthless billionaire with a cold stare that cuts through bone. He’s something more. Something savage. Something hungry. Her blood calls to him like a forbidden song. Her scent drives him feral. And once a predator like him catches a scent, he never lets go. He wants her beneath him. He wants her screaming his name. He wants her soul... marked by his teeth and bound to his darkness. Evangeline thought she could survive heartbreak. She thought she could survive betrayal. But how do you survive a monster who was made to own you? She ran from love. She ran from pain. But no one runs from the Alpha. And now... Evangeline belongs to him.

Her marriage is sexless, cold, and full of humiliation. She stays in the suck marriage to collect her billionaire husband's money for build her own business, and plan her freedom. While he rides his mistress in their bed many times, she quietly turns his wealth into her weapon. Years later, the wife everyone mocked becomes the world's first female trillionaire. When her bankrupt ex-husband kneels before her, willing to lick her dirt just to have her back, she smiles from her bathtub filled with money and says, "Ex-husband, I'm going to marry the second richest man in the world."

The night the Alpha King came to inspect Shadowfang Pack, my Alpha mate Cain was out chasing after his childhood sweetheart Vivienne, who'd thrown a tantrum and run off. In my past life, the Alpha King was attacked by vampires and poisoned. I contacted Cain through the mate bond. He rushed back, and I gave Cain the moonstone my mother had left me, asking him to rescue the Alpha King. To reward his loyalty, the Alpha King entrusted the entire northern territory to Cain's rule. But after I called Cain back through the bond, Vivienne was left alone. A straggling vampire found her. She died. Cain didn't say a word. The day I gave birth, he dragged me to the border of the rogue wolves' territory and shoved me into a pack of feral rogues. He looked down at me, his eyes flat and full of disgust. "If you hadn't sent that call through the bond, Vivienne wouldn't have been out there alone. Every second of pain she suffered—I'm going to make you pay it all back." When I opened my eyes again, I was reborn back to the moment Alpha King was attacked by vampires. This time, I didn't contact Cain through the mate bond. Instead, I gripped the Moonstone and stood in front of Alpha King. The Alpha position, was mine this time.

Due to the plight of her family, Phoebe had no choice but to embark on the path of selling herself. In an accident, she had a tangled night with Alexander. Everything began to derail, and even if she fled to the ends of the earth, she would still be found by him and entangled... *** Phoebe screamed in frustration, "What do you want from me?" What was this supposed to be? He raised an eyebrow wickedly. "What do I want? You'll find out soon enough." With that, he hoisted her up and carried her back into the office. The door slammed shut with a kick, and he cleared the desk with a sweep of his arm before laying her down on it, his body pinning hers in place, completely trapping her in his grasp. Every cell in his body was telling him he wanted her. He wanted to claim her again. This time, there would be no escape for her—he wouldn't let her slip away. Never again. If he had suffered for five years, then this woman wouldn't get off easily either!

Billy had a tough life and had always lived by one unshakable rule. But one fateful night at an elite party, where she worked as a part-time server, everything changed as she caught the intense eyes of a stranger—a man whose allure was impossible to resist. And against her better judgment, she broke that rule of hers, surrendering to a night of passion and desire that left her breathless. But when she woke up in the morning, the bed was empty, and the stranger was gone, leaving Billy with nothing but memories of that night. Weeks later, she discovered the consequences of that night: she was pregnant. With no clue, and no way to find that stranger, she braced herself to face motherhood alone. Months passed, and Billy landed another job—serving at the engagement party of one of the city’s most powerful billionaires. But when she was called to serve a drink at the party, her world tilted as the groom-to-be was none other than the man she had been searching for: Marcus Lorenzo. Marcus, the cold-hearted billionaire with a reputation for ruthlessness, had been haunted by that night he had with Billy. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t forget the mysterious woman who had set his soul on fire. Now, faced with Billy again, he keep finding himself drawing closer to her and this brings out their lust for each other despite the obstacles between them. As their shared desire reignites, the boundaries of their lives blur. But with secret and lies threatening to destroy them, Billy and Marcus must confront the question: Was their night of passion a fleeting mistake, or the start of something far more dangerous?

Our wedding anniversary also happens to be our son's birthday. A month in advance, I carefully plan a family trip for the three of us—me, my husband, and our son. But right before we're supposed to leave, both of them suddenly disappear on me. I'm left standing alone in the pouring rain, dialing their numbers. On the other end, my son's young voice comes through, sounding cold and impatient. "Dad's having dinner with Ms. Moore. We don't want to go anymore." The call ends, and I'm blocked. Later that night, they intentionally lock me out of the house. I'm left standing in the freezing cold all night long. Soaked from the rain, I come down with a high fever and develop pneumonia. Meanwhile, my husband and son are off vacationing with Sophia Moore, smiling for a happy family photo with just the three of them. And in that moment, I know this marriage has truly come to an end.

Amber's world falls apart when she catches her husband, Ryan having sex with her stepsister on their wedding anniversary. The cheating duo aren't remorseful at all, but Amber refuses to be the woman everyone keeps stepping on, she demands a divorce and walks away with nothing but her pride. But fate has twisted sense of humor. She ends up mistaken for another woman and pushed into the arms of Enzo Steele — sinfully powerful, devastatingly handsome, and the last man she should ever want. One reckless night changes everything. And now, Enzo is none other than her new boss and worse? He'll stop at nothing to make Amber his. The deal is simple — become his fake wife for a year, and he'll give her everything she needs to rebuild her life and burn her ex-husband's world to the ground. But Amber soon learns that nothing about Enzo is simple; he's the Almighty Alpha Prince. And the more he pulls her closer, the more the line between fake and real blurs.