The Temporary Wife Catharina Maura Novels & Stories

I adjusted the diamond earrings and necklace that Rhysander had gifted me for our second anniversary as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. It's been three years since I got married to Rhysander under the guise of a contract marriage. I had kept my promise; I never crossed into the room I was put in. I never embarrassed the Bert name, and I played the role of the devoted Mrs. Bert to perfection. But the world I had tried to save had crumbled anyway. One year ago, despite the capital Rhysander poured into Vance Shipping as regards to the promise he made to me, my father had gambled the entire recovery on a venture behind my back.

“He’s sired a few children outside of marriage that we know of. Ethan is one of them.” Kallista’s lips parted slightly. His attitude made a little more sense now. Delia’s voice lowered further. “His mother is one of the mysteries of both this estate and family but the girl servants like to gossip and as much as we discredit most of what they say, there was this one time we had strong suspicions it was correct—a very strong one. A maid, Marina, overheard a conversation between the old patriarch, Mr. Terence Hawthorne, and a cleaner at the office. He was paying her off. Her name was Martha Sterling.”

And I wasn't his favorite. I was the daughter of Conti, and I deserved death, a slow death like my parents. All the workers in the house looked at me with pity, awaiting the sad news of my sudden death. Mario had made it loud and clear that our marriage wasn't legit. Only Arianna was fooled into thinking that our marriage was real. Everyone knew that I was married out of spite and revenge. Soon, Mario was going to execute his plan to kill me, as expected. He had an image to uphold and not appear weak to his subjects.

She may not have spoken the words out loud but her face said something about the others being fake. Mae Darkthorn. Silas Darkthorn's first wife. People referred to her as Madam Chief. She had a huge disgust for maids because her maids coveted her husband and he made them his wives right under her nose. News had it that Silas Darkthorn indeed respected and valued her more than the other wives and never clipped her wings. Mae never appeared in magazines or newspapers. You won't see her. Not one single picture of her. Because she made it so. The truth was that she was not just married to a powerful husband but her family was equally powerful.

My men left no stone unturned in unveiling her double life. A harsh laugh tore from me. Fuck. I laughed again. Then clapped the cigar between my lips. Maeve Ivanov, twenty-four years old, a struggling lawyer saddled with student loans, and a singer leading a double life in the shadowy underbelly of the city. How deliciously ironic that my wife, Marina, had chosen this seemingly ordinary girl as a pawn in her twisted game – paying her to seduce me and bear my child, all in a misguided attempt to conceal her own infertility.

Chapter 24. The pain of a cold man. Hanna could hardly believe her eyes. The first document, a marriage certificate, revealed that Morgan had been married since he was twenty-two. His wife, two years younger, was called... Mia Farrugia. The name echoed in Hanna's mind, making the pieces of the puzzle start to fit together. With shaking hands, she turned the page and found a death certificate. Date of death: just two years after the wedding. Mia was dead.

“Watch that nobody get everything I worked for! Everything I sacrificed for! Everything I destroyed my life for!” Mrs. Rodriguez looked shocked. “Mija, people are staring—” “I don’t care!” Katherina was shouting now. Other guests were turning to look. “She was a secretary! A nobody! And now she’s married to a Blackwood? Now she’s the mother of the heir? Now she gets access to all the money and property and power?” “She fell in love—”

Perhaps this was their most recent attempt to destroy me in whatever way possible. "So when you were messing around with other men and cheating on my son, you didn't think of the pain and anger it would cause everyone, did you?" She threw a newspaper at me. "So when you were messing around with other men and cheating on my son," she continued, "you didn't think of the pain and anger it would cause everyone." When I looked at the first page, I could plainly see stolen photographs of Mark and I posing together in public spaces like parks. Have the shards of Cinderella's fairytale been broken? The wife of President Buenavista has been seen kissing an unidentified man in broad sight. I'm confuse

You don't have a husband, do you? "Mr. Aundrey, I think your question is off the point," Aiden said, trying to protect Catherin. "Whether Miss Catherin is married or not is irrelevant." "It does, Mr. Aiden. According to my client, this Miss Catherin often came to the house and instigated Mrs. Marenka in every way, which made Mrs. Marenka fight against our client. Mrs. Marenka became unmanageable and often came home late at night and sometimes did not go home. Miss Catherin, your life is so free; why bring Madame Marenka into your world when you have a husband?”

she admitted, glancing at him. “You can start at the beginning.” “Well… this morning, Maura left with her fiancé.” Egor watched her closely, waiting for some absurd explanation. The silence stretched. “What?” he finally said. “Is this some kind of joke?” Taking a deep breath, Vera continued. “No. No one knew about it. Miroslav treated his daughter terribly, and Maura left with another man.” “That sounds so ridiculous it’s hard to believe.” Vera studied her brother’s face, trying to understand what he truly felt for Maura. All she saw was cold detachment.