Novel Once Upon A Time

**"This isn’t just any party, it’s your wedding."** The words hit me like a truck as I stood frozen in disbelief. **"To Angelo Rizzo."** My stepbrother’s voice was cold, detached. My heart pounded in my chest. **"You’re joking, right?"** But one look at his face told me he wasn’t. **"You’re the payment for my debt to the Cosa Nostra."** His betrayal was a knife twisting in my gut. --- Attending a party with my stepbrother, I was prepared for an ordinary night. Instead, I was thrown into a nightmare. Without warning, I found myself standing beside Angelo Rizzo—a man as feared as he is cold—as his bride. My stepbrother owed the Cosa Nostra money, and I was his only way out. With no escape and no choice, I now wear a wedding ring tied to a man I fear. Three hours later, my world has turned upside down. There’s no running from Angelo, no hiding from the life ahead. My only hope? To survive being married to the infamous Angelo Rizzo.

"Reconsider. Don't leave me like this. I'm pregnant with your child. Please…” “Abort it!” He cut in before I even finished. *** Alethea’s initial excitement broke when she caught her mate—who’s dearly precious to her heart— sleeping with her best friend. Thinking she’d be able to save their relationship, she revealed to her cheating mate on the spot that she was pregnant. One would have thought he’d be remorseful but rather than apologizing, he bluntly rejected her as his mate, cutting all ties with her and the child in her. That same day, broken to the core and everything lost, she thought that was all until fate dealt her another blow and she was met with yet another incident. Her father had been taken away by the loan collectors. To save his life, she had to not only meet the neighboring pack Alpha; a ruthless beast but also formed an alliance with him. One that in the space of one day, she rose to power, ready to serve her ex-mate, and evil ex-friend a cold dish of vengeance.

They say the past shows you the truth. Mine lied. Two years of loving a man who couldn’t even say my name when it mattered. Two years of standing beside Marcus Voss while he climbed his way to the top—late nights, silent sacrifices, swallowing every doubt just so he could shine. And the night he finally did? He destroyed me. In front of five hundred people… and the entire world watching, he called another woman his future wife, it was not me…never me and then he served me the divorce papers on a cold platter. That should’ve been the end of me but it wasn’t. Because the man who found me that night… wasn’t a stranger. He was Damien Voss. Marcus’s father. Cold. Untouchable. I should have been afraid…Maybe I was. Now the world is watching again. Only this time, I’m not the woman being humiliated on stage. I am the one standing beside the man who owns it. I am the woman who seeks revenge in the most painful way ever. And when my ex-husband looks at me now—really looks—he finally sees what he threw away. Well, too late, loser. I’m not yours anymore. I’m becoming something far more dangerous. And this time? I won’t be the one who breaks.

While I was eating, I came across a post on X. [Found out my girlfriend has a nasty disease and is pregnant. I want my buddy to be the one left holding the bag. What should I do?] I was just about to comment that the poster was out of his mind when I scrolled down and realized people were actually giving him advice. [That's easy! If you two are close, just invite him on a trip.] [Get your girlfriend and your buddy drunk in the middle of the night, then have them stay in your buddy's room. When the time comes, catch them in the act. You can break up and push the kid onto your buddy to take responsibility…] Reading that comment, I couldn't help but laugh in disbelief. I was about to show my friend this mind-blowing post so we could rant about it together when he suddenly looked up at me and asked, "Tyler, are you free this weekend? How about we go on a trip?"

She was his stepdaughter by law… but his temptation by fate. A contract marriage_ A stepfather who should be off limits. But when the sparks fly between them, pretending isn’t enough. She’s drawn to him in ways she can’t explain, and he’s trying hard to resist. But desire is a powerful thing—especially when tied to a past they never knew they shared. Can they keep their hands to themselves, or will their forbidden temptation destroy everything?

“Are you crying?" She shook her head and wiped at her face as more tears were falling. “I’m so stupid.” she groaned. "Now I am truly and utterly alone. If I had just said yes to marrying him, none of this would’ve happened. I wouldn’t have dragged you into this mess.” Without warning, I turned sharp to the side, putting the car to a sudden stop close to the curb. “Don’t ever say that again. You think marrying a man you don’t love, a man who doesn’t care if he hurts you, just to please your family is the right thing to do?” I turned to her slowly. “That would’ve ruined you.” “But I would’ve had a home to go to, I would’ve been taken care of. Now I have nothing,” she looked away. I reached over and gently took her bruised hand in mine. “You did the hardest thing anyone in your position could have done. You saved yourself. That takes more guts than standing there and pretending to be happy.” I tucked a hair behind her ear. “You think you are alone? You’re not… you have me.” ___ Alina Etienne has always lived a life dictated by her parents. She is groomed to be an obedient daughter, a perfect public image, and now, a bride to a man she doesn’t know or love. On her wedding day, crushed by the weight of expectations, Alina does the unthinkable... she says “I don’t” and flees the altar. On the run and scared with nowhere to go, she crosses paths with Mikhail Antonov. A cold, guarded man with a past he doesn’t talk about. What began as a reluctant act of kindness turned into something neither of them expected.

I used to think he took my breath away. I lied—I was choking on his bullshit. “I never loved you, Valentina,” he said evenly. “And if you weren’t so dense, you’d have realized that three years ago.” His words cut through me like a razor blade. Not only had I been used—I had been discarded, tossed aside like a rag doll. Three months later, I’m the hotcake nobody can resist—desired not by one billionaire, but two, both ready to set the world on fire for me.

After becoming a successful businesswoman, Chad Jennings’ wife wife threw him out and divorced him. Little did she know, that she would not have achieved her success if it were not for him. After the divorce, he made a comeback and shook the world!

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.

Lena Clermont fell hard for her dad's friend, Andrew Rohan—twelve years older. The first time she saw him, he was all sharp suits and broad shoulders, effortlessly standing out. He smiled, patted her head, and handed her a princess dress. Fast forward to twenty. He got drugged at a banquet. She wore that same dress, offering herself as the cure.