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𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐋
𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐋𝐄 : 📚 His Rejected Luna is the Lycan's Queen

𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊 : 🔗 https://eng.moboreader.com/1MTAGr/166DZD

🔥INTRO

I was the wolfless twin. The rejected bride. The daughter marked for death.
They didn't realize they weren't killing a girl-they were breaking a seal.
​On my wedding day, my fated mate didn't say "I do." He said, "I reject you."
​Luke Blackwood didn't want a Luna without a wolf, so he chose my twin sister instead. Humiliated and hunted by my own father, I was forced to flee into the territory of the one man my pack feared most: Aiden Stormrider, the ruthless Alpha King and billionaire CEO of Crescent
​Aiden thinks I'm a pawn to be used against my father. He thinks I'm a weak Omega seeking refuge.
​He's wrong.
​Deep inside me, something ancient is waking up. It's not just one wolf-it's five. Five fractured personalities, each with their own deadly powers, born from a prophecy that says I will end the age of Alphas.
​As the Dragon Wolf rises, I will reclaim my throne. My sister wants my legacy? She can have the ashes. My mate wants my forgiveness? He can beg while I burn his world down.
​Aiden Stormrider wants my heart... but he'll have to survive the five monsters living inside it first.
​They wanted a sacrifice. They got a Queen.

🔥𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏

APRIL'S POV
You ever hear the saying, "Some roads should never be taken"?
Well, tonight I took one of them... and I'm not sure I'll make it back.
Today was supposed to be perfect. It was my wedding day together with my twenty-second birthday. The day I finally proved I was more than just the wolfless daughter living in my twin sister's shadow.
Well spoiler alert: it wasn't anything close to perfect.
My hands trembled as I stared at my reflection in the mirror in my room. After years of whispers and sideways glances, after being called weak, cursed, broken-today, I would finally become Luna.
I would be called Mrs. Blackwood. The rejection, the shame, all of it would end.
It had to.
Before I could stand, my phone buzzed on the nightstand.
"Hello, birthday girl-or should I say, our latest bride-to-be?" Stephanie's voice burst through the speaker, filled with warmth and her usual teasing.
"Thanks, Steph." I couldn't keep the smile out of my voice. "You can call me anything you want."
"Well, someone's in a good mood."
"Of course I am. But where are you? You're supposed to be here helping me get ready-"
My bedroom door flew open.
"Surprise!" Stephanie swept in like a hurricane, arms full of makeup bags and hair tools, grinning like a maniac.
I burst out laughing despite the nervous energy inside my body. That was Stephanie, my loud, loyal, and utterly shameless bestie. My only real friend in a pack that doesn't look at me like I was a stain on their perfect bloodline.
"Sit down, ugly," she ordered, shoving me toward the chair. "Let me turn you into a goddess."
"Sure, sure. Whatever makes you happy."
I sank into the chair and watched as Stephanie worked her magic. She lined my eyes with accuracy, dusted shimmering powder across my cheekbones, painted my lips a soft rose. With every brushstroke, I looked less like April Quinn, the disappointment, and more like someone who belonged.
Maybe today, I finally would.
"Where's May?" I asked, trying to keep my tone light. "Isn't she supposed to be here? She's my maid of honor."
Stephanie's hand paused for just a second. "She said she had to oversee the final preparations at the hall."
Of course she did. May always had something more important to do. Something that made her look indispensable while I sat waiting in the shadows.
"There." Stephanie stepped back, eyes bright with satisfaction. "You look perfect."
I turned to the mirror and my breath got caught up.
She was right. For once, I looked like I belonged in this world-like I could stand beside an Alpha and not seem like a mistake.
"Now get dressed before your dad sends a search party."
I stood and reached for the gown hanging on the closet door. It was a vision in white-lace and silk that shimmered really good. I'd spent months choosing it, imagining this exact moment.
As I slipped into the dress, the fabric settled around me and Stephanie zipped me up, then moved behind me holding a delicate silver chain.
"This is my gift to you," she said softly, fastening it around my neck.
I looked down. A wolf pendant rested against my collarbone-small, intricate, beautifully carved. For a moment, I could have sworn my reflection's eyes flashed red in the mirror.
I blinked and my red eyes changed back to brown.
'Did I just see my eyes glow red?'
It seemed it was my imagination, desperate for something I'd never have.
"A wolf pendant for a wolfless girl," I said with a sad smile, fingers brushing the cool silver.
"Hey." Stephanie grabbed my shoulders and spun me around, her expression fierce. "Don't you dare call yourself that. You're my best friend, not some cursed nobody."
"Steph-"
"I'm serious, April. Your wolf is in there. I know it. And if you say the word 'wolfless' one more time, I'll personally kick your ass."
Tears pricked my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Not now. Not when I was so close to everything changing.
More important Steph will kick my ass if I ruin the make up.
"Thank you," I whispered.
She pulled me into a quick hug, then grabbed my hand. "Come on. You're late, and your father's going to lose it."
We rushed downstairs. At the entrance to the ceremony hall, Stephanie squeezed my hand one last time, then slipped inside. I stood alone at the heavy doors, heart pounding so hard I thought it might crack a rib.
This is it. After today, everything changes.
I pushed the doors open.
The scent hit me first-white roses and champagne, elegant and suffocating. The hall was decorated exactly how I'd imagined: soft lights, trailing ivy, candles flickering like tiny stars. For a moment, I felt a flicker of gratitude toward May. Maybe she had actually cared enough to make this beautiful for me.
Then I saw their faces.
Almost every member of the pack had turned to watch me enter, and not a single one of them was smiling that I saw.
I saw the cold stares. The frowns on their faces and some the expression of disapproval.
I forced my chin up and kept walking. I didn't want to care about them.
That's when the whispers started.
"I can't believe she's going to be Luna."
"This is a disgrace. What is the Alpha thinking?"
"Someone needs to stop this," a middle-aged man hissed, his face twisted in disapproval.
"You want to challenge the Alpha?" his companion shot back. "Go ahead. Get yourself killed."
The first man fell silent, but his glare stayed locked on me.
"She can't even shift. Not like her sister."
"Cursed. That's what she is."
I dug my nails into my palms, the pain grounding me. I wouldn't let them see me break. After today, I'd be Luna, and they'd have no choice but to respect me.
At least, that's what I kept telling myself.
My eyes found Luke waiting at the altar.
He looked every inch the Alpha he was-tall, handsome with a broad-shoulder in his dark blue suit. His brown hair was slicked back, his expression calm and unreadable.
He had this powerful untouchable aura around him and somehow, by some miracle of fate, he was mine.
"Go get him, baby girl," Stephanie whispered from her seat.
I smiled, but it felt fragile.
At the altar, May stood in a soft lavender dress, perfectly poised as my maid of honor. She was my twin. My opposite. She was everything I wasn't-strong, confident, beautiful in a way that demanded attention. She was everything our father valued.
And yet, tradition dictated that I was the heir. The eldest. The one who should inherit it all.
Not that it had ever felt that way.
Still, I clung to hope as I reached the altar. Maybe today, I'd finally step out of her shadow.
Then I noticed something, the way Luke and May were looking at each other.
It wasn't like in a friendly kind of way, it was more like lovers having a romantic moment.
My stomach tightened and my heart raced but I tried not to think too much about it.
"Are you ready?" The officiant's voice cut through the fog in my mind.
"Yes." I turned to Luke, forcing myself to meet his eyes.
He stared back at me, in a blank and cold expression.
"Do you, April Quinn, take Luke Blackwood as your husband and Alpha?" The officiant said looking at me and I returned the look back with a smile and nodded.
"Yes, yes I do" I replied and then he turned his face to Luke and spoke.
"Do you, Luke Blackwood, take April Quinn as your bride and Luna?" The officiant's voice rang out across the silent hall.
Luke's jaw tightened as he kept refusing to answer immediately.
And then a few seconds later when he spoke, he said the words that shattered my world.
"No. I don't."
The hall erupted in gasps, but all I could hear was the roaring in my ears. My vision blurred and my knees went weak on that spot.
No. No, this isn't real. I misheard him.
"Luke, what do you mean?" My voice came out weak. "You're my mate."
Luke stepped back like I'd tried to touch him with something diseased. "Mate?" His lip curled. "I won't bind myself to weakness. I refused to accept a wolfless Luna."
He turned to face the crowd, his voice ringing with authority. "I Luke Blackwood, I reject April Quinn."
The words hit me hard. My chest tightened and my breathing ceased. I couldn't breathe.
"No... you can't..." I whispered, but the words barely made it past my lips.
Then I saw Luke's hand stretched out but it was not toward me.
It was toward May. My Twin sister.
The next though on my head was 'What the hell was going on'

🔥𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐

APRIL'S POV
Luke's hand was stretched at May and my twin sister didn't hesitate. She slipped her hand into his, her fingers curling around his like they belonged there. Then she looked at me and smiled.
"He's mine now, April," she said sweetly, her voice dripping with false sympathy. "He deserves a real Luna."
"May, how could you-" My voice cracked while I tried to speak.
She tilted her head, her smile widening. "How could I? Luke was always mine dear sister."
Luke turned back to the crowd, his hand still holding May's. "April doesn't have a wolf. She's an abomination to this pack." His eyes flicked to my father. "Howard, make May your heir. She's the one who deserves it."
Tears burned down my cheeks as I spun toward my father, desperate for him to say something, anything at all to defend me.
It was feeling to much to be real. I was just betrayed by Luke and May, was i going to lose the title as heir too?
I looked at my father Alpha Howard Quinn but he didn't meet my eyes.
Instead, he stepped forward, took my arm, and pulled me back like I was an embarrassment he needed to hide.
"Enough, April." His voice was low, sharp filled with shame.
Then he addressed the pack.
"From this day forward, I renounce April's title as heir." His words were brutal, formal and final. "May Quinn will take her place. She will be my heir and Luna of this pack."
"Father, no!" I screamed, but my voice was drowned out by the roar of the crowd.
They cheered. They clapped. They celebrated like this was a victory.
And I realized, with sickening clarity, that to them, it was.
I stumbled backward, my legs shaking so badly I nearly fell. Stephanie caught me, her hands steadying me even as her face twisted in fury.
"April-" she started, but I couldn't hear her. Couldn't hear anything except the sound of Luke's voice as the officiant pronounced him and May husband and wife.
Alpha and Luna.
And I couldn't do a damn thing about it.
The tears came in a flood flowing down my cheek unstoppable and humiliating. I tore myself from Stephanie's grip and ran.
"April!" she called after me, but no one else did. No one even looked.
I was already gone to them and already forgotten.
I tripped on my gown, my knees slamming into the floor. Pain shot up my legs, but I shoved myself back up and kept running, shoving through the heavy doors and stumbling into the hallway.
The girls loitering outside-girls who used to pretend to respect me-burst into laughter.
"Guess she's not Luna after all."
"Did you see her face?"
I ignored them, forcing my legs to move, my lungs to pull in air that felt too thick to breathe.
By the time I reached my room, I was sobbing so hard I could barely see. I slammed the door shut and collapsed onto the bed, my hands clawing at the dress, trying to rip it off, trying to make it stop.
But it wouldn't come off. The zipper was stuck, the lace tangled, and the more I struggled, the tighter it seemed to become.
Finally, I gave up and fell back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling as tears streamed silently down my face.
The full moon glowed through my window, bright and mocking.
Why? I asked the Moon Goddess silently. Why did you give me hope just to crush it? Why did you make me this way?
No answer came. Just the cold, indifferent light of the moon.
I sat up slowly, every part of me aching. I needed air. I needed to get out of this room before I suffocated.
But before I could stand, I heard footsteps in the hallway.
Then laughter. May's laughter.
"God, I thought today would never end," she said, her voice muffled but clear through the door. "Watching her stand there like a kicked puppy-pathetic."
"If you hadn't warned me, I might've actually gone through with it." Luke's voice, low and amused. "Can you imagine? Me, stuck with her?"
"She actually thought you wanted her." May's laugh was light, cruel. "My sister, the eternal optimist."
"Well, she's not our problem anymore."
The sound of fabric rustling and a soft moan filled my ears.
I should've walked away. Or better still i should've left that place.
Instead, I stood and walked to the door. My hand shook as I reached for the handle.
Then I threw it open.
They sprang apart-May's lipstick smeared across her mouth, Luke's shirt half-unbuttoned, his hand still tangled in her hair.
For one frozen moment, we all just stared at each other.
Then May smiled without feeling guilty nor sorry.
"Oh. April." She straightened her dress slowly, casually, like I'd caught her doing something as nothing wrong. "We were just... celebrating."
I opened my mouth, but no words came out. My throat had closed completely.
Luke didn't even bother looking at me. He just turned back to May and kissed her again, slow and erotic, like I wasn't even there.
It was like I didn't matter on since bit.
I stumbled backward, my vision getting blur again from tear as I ran.
I ran down the hall, jumping the stairs. Anywhere but here.
I made it back to my room and locked the door behind me. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely turn the bolt.
I collapsed onto the bed and stared at the ceiling, tears drying on my face, replaced by something colder.
Tonight was supposed to be my beginning. My wedding. My birthday. The day I became someone who mattered.
Instead, it became the night I lost everything.
My mate. My title. My family. My future.
But here's the thing about hitting rock bottom-there's nowhere left to fall.
And when you've got nothing left to lose, you stop being afraid.
I was ready to take that reckless move as I cared no more but what happened next ruined me.

🔥𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟑

I felt rage, pure-hot rage coursed through my veins as I stormed through the pack house, still in my wedding dress, makeup streaked down my face. I was madly enraged at everyone in this pack tonight - the people I grew up with, the ones I once respected, my sister, Luke, even my father. The only person I had left was Stephanie.
I walked down to the living room, searching for my father. But he wasn't there
I checked his room? He wasn't there either.
I stepped outside, asked the guards, checked around. No one could tell me where he was. When I finally tracked down one of his closest guards, he barely looked at me.
"The Alpha left to meet someone important."
I thought as much he was gone again. Probably...no no definitely a meeting.
I stayed in the courtyard anxiously, waiting for him. I needed to ask questions. I needed to know why - why me? Why did he strip me of my title without even bothering to look at me?
When he didn't return, I turned and walked to the garage.
I stared at my black bike, covered in a thick layer of dust that dulled her once-glossy finish. I removed the cover slowly, watching dust motes dance in the dim garage light. Running my hand over the cooled metal felt like greeting an old friend who'd been forgotten.
Ice. I'd named her Ice the day I bought her-one of the first things I'd ever purchased with my own money. Father had frowned when I started riding. "It doesn't fit the image of an heir," he'd said, his voice tight with disappointment.
But God, I'd loved it. Being on Ice made me feel alive in a way nothing else did. It had made me free, powerful and my self.
I brushed the dust off, pulled the key from the drawer, and started her. The engine roared to life, and for a moment-just a moment-I smiled.
After I warmed Ice, I shut her down and went back into the mansion. My father should be back by now.
In the entrance hall, I ran into Luke.
I stopped dead frowning deeply at the bastard. He stepped toward me, and I immediately moved back.
"What is it now?" My voice came out sharper than intended. "Haven't you embarrassed me enough?"
He reached for my hand-actually tried to lift it to his lips like we were still something. I je**ed away, but he blocked my path.
"April, you need to leave. Right now."
I let out a sharp, bitter laugh. He had married my sister and become an Alpha and now he thought he could tell me what to do?
"You think you get to tell me what to do?" I stepped forward, forcing him back. "I'm not up for all this s**t. Move. I need to pass."
But Luke didn't move. His grey eyes locked on mine, and for the first time tonight, I saw something that looked almost like he cared.
"April, I'm telling you-you need to leave. Immediately. You are in danger. You don't understand what is happening."
"Okay, tell me-who wants to kill me?" I asked. He didn't answer.
"Why am I in danger?" I demanded. "I'm not interested in your games or your lies. Just let me be. I've had enough of today."
"April I mean it." His voice dropped low . "I know you hate me. I know I deserve it. But you need to leave. Now. Before-"
He cut himself off, glancing over his shoulder.
"Before what?" I demanded.
His jaw clenched. "Just... trust me. One last time. I still love you deeply."
"Trust you. Did you just say love?" I laughed, and it sounded broken even to my own ears. "You destroyed that at the altar."
"Why the hell should I believe you?" I fired back. "You stole everything from me. You let my sister take my place - my title. You humiliated me. You made the worst day of my life."
I brushed past him, pushing him aside as I walked out. "I think you've done enough," I said.
"I'm telling you, April, you'll lose your life if you don't run away from this place."
"Then you should be prepared for that?" His last voice sounded way more cold than I expected.
Those words echoed in my head, but I didn't care. I left his sight.
I wondered what's up with his change of tone. But I was to pi**ed to realise anything.
By the time I reached the living room, my father had returned. He sat in his chair like a king on a throne, flanked by two betas. As if nothing had changed. As if he hadn't just destroyed my life.
"Father," I said, and I hated how my voice trembled. "We need to talk."
He didn't even look at me.
"How could you do this to me?" The words burst out before I could stop them. "How could you let Luke reject me in front of everyone? How could you give May my title-my birthright?" My voice broke. "Don't I mean anything to you at all?"
Silence.
Then, finally, he turned to his betas. "Leave us."
They bowed and left quickly, their relief palpable.
When we were alone, my father stood slowly. Like a man carrying the weight of the world.
"April." His voice was quieter than I'd ever heard it. "You need to go to the Nevermore Academy."
For a moment, I couldn't process the words.
"What?" I stepped toward him, disbelief making me dizzy. "So that's it? After ruining the happiest day of my life, you just... banish me? Did you even remember it was my birthday?"
He said nothing. Just looked at me with those cold, distant eyes.
I laughed-a broken, bitter sound. "Of course you didn't."
"April-"
"No." I cut him off. "No more excuses. No more lies. Why? Just tell me why I'm not enough. Why have you always looked at me like I'm-like I'm broken?"
Something flickered across his face. Pain? Regret? It was gone before I could name it.
"You don't understand," he said quietly. "Things have gotten out of hand. You need to leave tonight." He took a breath. "Go to the academy. Prove you are strong. Prove you are worthy. When you return, I will restore your title. But for now, go. That is the only way to calm things and keep you safe."
"Save me? From who?" I demanded.
He didn't answer.
"What is actually going on?" My voice rose up.
"What am I missing?"
What the actual f**k was going on? First it was Luke now my father ?
My heart was actually racing now in fear. And my chest was staring to hurt from the loud pounding of my chest.
Was I really in danger?

🔥𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄
📚 https://eng.moboreader.com/book/166DZD
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🔰 NOVEL

💥 🔰Title: The Billionaire's Discarded Bride

Full Story here 👉 https://eng.moboreader.com/1FmJfR/166CVZ

🔰 INTRO🔰

She was the sacrifice-married off to the city's most ruthless billionaire to save a family that never loved her. But when she discovered his betrayal with her own sister, everything shattered.
Pregnant, penniless, and abandoned, Bella Hart disappeared into the night, vowing never to be powerless again.
Few years later, she returns as the CEO of an international empire, more powerful than anyone imagined possible. Her secret weapon? The little boy with piercing grey eyes who calls her "Mommy, he is the son of the man who destroyed her.
Caleb Black spent years drowning in regret, searching for the wife he threw away. Now she's back, untouchable and unforgiving. He'll do anything to reclaim what he lost his wife, his son, his chance at redemption.
But Bella didn't return to forgive, she returned to conquer.
With enemies circling, old wounds bleeding, and a passion that refuses to die, Bella must decide: Will she let the man who broke her back into her heart? Or will she destroy him the way he once destroyed her? In a world of billion-dollar deals and deadly secrets, love is the most dangerous gamble of all.

🔰Chapter 1

Bella pov
The ivory silk of my wedding dress whispered against the marble floor as I hurried through the empty corridors of the Black estate. My heart hammered against my ribs, not from nerves but from hope-a dangerous, fragile thing I'd been nursing for two weeks like a secret flame. I was pregnant.
The word still felt foreign in my mouth, terrifying and wonderful at the same time. I'd found out two weeks before the wedding, staring at those two pink lines in the bathroom, my hands shaking so badly I nearly dropped the test.
I had planned to tell Caleb tonight, after the ceremony, when we were finally alone. Maybe it would change things between us. Maybe a baby would bridge the cold distance he'd kept since the day my father sold me to him like livestock.
Maybe he'd finally look at me and see someone worth loving.
"Mrs. Black?" I turned to find James, Caleb's assistant, hovering near the grand staircase. He looked uncomfortable in his formal suit, his eyes darting away from mine.
"Have you seen my husband?" The word still felt strange. As if saying it aloud would make it real, make this arrangement into something more than a business transaction.
James cleared his throat. "Mr. Black is in his private office, ma'am. But he asked not to be disturb."
I was already moving. "Thank you, James."
My heels clicked faster as I navigated the maze of hallways. The Black estate was obscenely large, all dark wood and crystal chandeliers, the kind of wealth that whispered instead of shouted. I'd been here for a few months and still got lost. Caleb had given me a wing of my own-as far from his bedroom as architecturally possible.
Tonight would be different. Tonight, I'd tell him about the baby, and maybe his eyes would warm just a fraction. Maybe he'd touch my face the way he had during our wedding photos, when he'd needed to pretend for the cameras.
I reached his office door and raised my hand to knock, but something made me stop. Voices filtered through the heavy oak, low and intimate.
"Caleb, please." That was Jade's voice. My sister's voice, breathy and desperate. "You know how I feel about you."
Cold slid down my spine as my hand dropped to my side.
"This is complicated," Caleb said, his deep voice muffled but unmistakable.
"It's only complicated because you married her." Jade's words dripped with venom. "She trapped you, baby. You know that. My father forced your hand, used his business problems to manipulate you into this sham marriage."
"Jade"
"I'm the one you want, I have always been the one."
I should've knocked. Should've walked away. Should've done anything except what I did next instead i pushed open the door.
The scene before me unfolded in excruciating slow motion, every detail burning itself into my memory with cruel intensity. Jade, her gold dress hiked up around her thighs, straddling Caleb's lap in his leather desk chair. His hands gripped her waist, fingers splayed possessively over the fabric. Their lips were locked together, her fingers tangled in his perfectly styled black hair, his head tilted back to give her better access.
They didn't hear me at first. The kiss deepened, Jade making a soft sound in her throat that made bile rise in mine. My vision tunneled. Then Jade's eyes opened, met mine over Caleb's shoulder, and she smiled. Actually smiled against his mouth before pulling back with theatrical shock.
"Oh my God." She scrambled off his lap, her performance Oscar-worthy as she pressed her hands to her mouth. "Bella. I-we didn't"
Caleb's head whipped toward me, and for one second-one brief, stupid second-I saw something like guilt flash across his face. Then it hardened into the cold mask I knew so well, the Winter King returning to his throne.
"Bella." My name on his lips sounded like a judgment. "What are you doing here?"
The words came out broken, barely a whisper. "It's our wedding night."
"I asked not to be disturbed."
"I'm your wife." My voice cracked, and I hated myself for it, hated the hot tears already burning behind my eyes. "I just wanted"
"Wanted what?" Jade's voice turned sharp, vicious. She smoothed down her dress with shaking hands, but her eyes were steady on mine, triumphant. "To interrupt? To play the victim again? You're so predictable, little sister."
"Jade, enough." Caleb stood, adjusting his jacket with precise movements. His grey eyes were frozen tundra as they met mine. "Bella, we need to talk."
"Talk?" I laughed, a horrible sound that didn't belong to me. "You were just-she was" I couldn't finish. Couldn't make my mouth form the words that would make this real.
"It's not what it looks like," Jade said, and the sheer audacity of the lie made me flinch.
"I saw you." My voice gained strength from somewhere, anger beginning to burn through the shock. "I saw everything."
Caleb moved toward me, and I stumbled back, my heel catching on my dress. His jaw tightened. "You're being dramatic."
"Dramatic?" The word came out as a shriek. "I just found my husband kissing my sister on our wedding night, and I'm being dramatic?"
"See?" Jade turned to Caleb, her lower lip trembling with practiced perfection. "This is exactly what I told you about. She's obsessed with you, Caleb. She sees threats everywhere, i came here to talk business, and she's twisting it into something sick."
"Business." I stared at my sister, this woman I'd grown up with, who I'd defended and loved despite her cruelty. "Business that requires sitting in his lap?"
"You're disturbed," Jade whispered, backing toward Caleb like I was dangerous. "You need help, Bella. Professional help."
Caleb's hand came to rest on Jade's shoulder, protective, and something inside me shattered beyond repair. He was choosing her. In this moment, faced with his wife and his mistress, he was choosing her.
"I think you should go back to your room," he said, his voice deadly calm. "We'll discuss this later when you're rational."
Rational. As if I was the crazy one. As if I hadn't just witnessed my entire world collapse. But I had one card left to play. One truth that would change everything.
My hand moved to my stomach, pressing against the barely-there swell hidden beneath silk and lace. "Caleb, I need to tell you something. I'm"

🔰Chapter 2

Bella pov
"Whatever it is can wait." He turned away from me, dismissing me like I was a servant interrupting an important meeting. "James will es**rt you back."
"I'm pregnant."
The words fell into the room Everything stopped as Jade's face went white. Caleb froze, his back still to me, shoulders rigid beneath his tailored jacket.
Then he turned, slowly, his grey eyes meeting mine with an expression I'd never seen before. Something dark and terrible moved behind them."What did you say?"
I forced myself to stand straighter, to look him in the eye even as my world crumbled. "I'm pregnant, I think 2 months. I've been trying to tell you for weeks, but you're never"
Caleb laughed.
It was a cold, cruel sound that had nothing to do with humor, a sound that would haunt my nightmares for years to come. He laughed, and kept laughing, until Jade joined in nervously, and I stood there in my wedding dress, my hand still pressed to my stomach, wondering how I'd ever thought this man could love me.
"You really thought," he said, his voice dripping with contempt as his laughter died, "that you could trap me with that?"
The word "trap" hung in the air between us. I watched Caleb's face twist into something ugly, something I'd never seen before, and felt my heart turn to stone in my chest.
"Trap you?" My voice came out small, broken. "Caleb, I would never"
"Save it." He stalked toward me, and I instinctively backed up until my spine hit the doorframe. He stopped inches away, towering over me, his grey eyes colder than I'd ever seen them. "How long have you been planning this? Since the wedding was arranged? Since you moved into my house?"
"I didn't plan anything!" Tears spilled down my cheeks, hot and humiliating. "I just found out few weeks ago, I swear. I wanted to wait until tonight to tell you because I thought"
"You thought a baby would lock me down." His laugh was razor-sharp. "You thought I'd suddenly fall in love with you, that we'd play happy family. God, you're pathetic."
Each word was a knife between my ribs. I pressed my hand harder against my stomach, protective, desperate. "It's your child, Caleb. Our child."
"Is it?" Jade's voice cut through the room. She'd moved to stand beside Caleb, her arm sliding through his with casual ownership. "How do we know it's even his, Bella? You've always been so desperate for attention, for love. Who knows what you've been doing behind his back?"
The accusation was so absurd, so vile, that for a moment I couldn't breathe. "What? I've never-Caleb, you know I haven't"
"I don't know anything about you." He pulled away from me, putting distance between us like I was diseased. "You've been living in my house for a few months, and you're a stranger. A quiet, manipulative stranger who apparently thinks she can baby-trap a billionaire."
"Mother warned me about this," Jade said softly, her voice dripping with false sympathy. "She told me you'd try something like this when things didn't go your way."
My mother, of course. "What did he tell you?"
"The truth." Caleb moved to his desk, poured himself a drink with steady hands while mine shook uncontrollably. "That you've always been obsessed with money, with status. That you saw this marriage as your ticket out of mediocrity, she said you'd do anything to secure your position, including fabricating a pregnancy."
"Fabricating?" The room spun. "I have doctor's appointments, ultrasound pictures, I can show you"
"Pictures can be faked." Jade examined her manicured nails, bored with my desperation. "Anyone can find pregnancy photos online, Bella, did you really think it would be that easy?"
"Easy?" I turned on her, something wild and furious rising in my chest. "You're sleeping with my husband on our wedding night, and you're calling me a liar?"
"I came here to discuss a business deal." Jade's eyes glittered with malice. "Caleb and I have known each other for years, we have chemistry. What do you have? A marriage certificate signed under duress and a convenient pregnancy claim?"
I looked at Caleb, begging him with my eyes to see the truth, to remember that I'd never asked him for anything, never demanded his time or attention or love. "You can't believe her. Caleb, please. I'm telling the truth about the baby. We can do a paternity test, we can go to my doctor together."
"Get rid of it." His voice was flat, emotionless, final. "Whatever it is, whoever's it is, get rid of it. Today."
The world stopped. My ears rang with a high-pitched whine that drowned out everything else. "What?"
"You heard me." He downed his drink in one swallow, set the glass down with a sharp click. "I want it gone. If you're actually pregnant, which I doubt, I want you to terminate it immediately. I'll pay for the procedure, give you a generous settlement, and we can dissolve this marriage quietly."
"You want me to kill our baby." The words felt foreign in my mouth, impossible.
"I want you to stop this charade." He finally looked at me, really looked at me, and there was nothing in his eyes but hatred. "You're not keeping this child, Bella. If you refuse, I'll make your life a living hell. I'll destroy what's left of you. I'll make sure no one in this city ever employs you. I'll bury you so deep you'll wish you'd never been born."
My knees buckled. I caught myself on the doorframe, my wedding dress pooling around me like a shroud. "You don't mean that."
"Try me." He turned his back on me again, dismissing me completely. "You have until tomorrow morning to make your decision. After that, I'll assume you've chosen the hard way."
"Caleb"
"Get out of my office."
The command echoed in the silence. I stood there, my hand still pressed to my stomach, waiting for him to turn around, to take it back, to show me any hint of the man I'd foolishly hoped he could be but he didn't move.
"I think you should leave," Jade said quietly, her eyes gleaming with victory. "This is clearly too much for you to process right now. Maybe some time alone will help you see the reason."
"Reason?" I laughed, a broken sound that turned into a sob. "You're asking me to see reason while you're standing there in my husband's office, your dress still wrinkled from sitting in his lap?"
"That's enough." Caleb's voice cracked like a whip. "James!"
The office door opened immediately, as if James had been waiting just outside. His face was carefully blank, but I saw the pity in his eyes as they met mine.
"Es**rt Mrs. Black to her rooms," Caleb ordered without turning around. "Make sure she stays there until I send for her."
"Yes, sir." James stepped forward, his hand hovering near my elbow but not quite touching. "Ma'am?"
I looked at Caleb's back one more time, at the rigid set of his shoulders, the way his hands gripped the edge of his desk. I wanted to scream at him, to make him look at me, to force him to see what he was doing.
Instead, I straightened my spine, lifted my chin, and wiped the tears from my face with trembling fingers.
"I don't need an es**rt." My voice came out steadier than I felt. "I know the way to my cage.

🔰Chapter 3
Bella pov
I turned to leave, but Jade's voice stopped me at the threshold.
"Oh, and Bella?" She smiled, sweet and poisonous. "Mother and Father are on their way. I called them the moment I saw you. They'll want to discuss your behavior tonight, I'm sure. Your little scene has been quite embarrassing for the family."
My parents. Of course she'd called them. Of course they'd side with her, just like they always did.
"Let them come," I said quietly, my hand moving to cradle my stomach. "At least they'll see what kind of man they sold me to."
"They'll see a desperate daughter making wild accusations," Jade corrected. "And they'll be disappointed once again."
The words hit their mark, but I didn't let her see it. I walked out of that office with my head high, my wedding dress trailing behind me like a ghost, James following at a respectful distance.
The hallway stretched before me, long and dark, lined with portraits of Black family ancestors who stared down with cold judgment. I could hear voices behind me, Jade and Caleb talking in low tones, probably planning what to say to my parents.
My hand pressed harder against my barely-there bump, protective and fierce despite everything.
"I'm keeping you," I whispered. "I don't care what he says. I'm keeping you."
James cleared his throat softly behind me. "Ma'am, if you need anything"
"I need my parents not to come here." I stopped walking, turned to face him. "Can you tell me how long I have?"
His expression flickered with sympathy. "Mr. Hart said they'd arrive within the hour."
One hour. Sixty minutes until my parents walked through those doors and took Caleb's side, just like Jade knew they would. Sixty minutes until they called me a liar and an embarrassment and whatever else Jade had primed them to say.
"Thank you, James." I started walking again, faster now. "You can go. I won't run away." Not yet, anyway.
He hesitated, then nodded and disappeared down a side corridor. The moment he was gone, I hitched up my dress and ran, my heels clicking frantically against marble as I navigated the maze of hallways to my wing of the estate.
My rooms were beautiful and empty, decorated in shades of cream and gold that I'd never chosen. I'd lived here for few months and left no mark, no trace of myself. It was like I'd never existed here at all.
I went straight to my closet, pulled down the single suitcase I'd brought from my old life, and started throwing clothes inside. My hands shook so badly I could barely grip the hangers.
Think, Bella. Think. My parents will arrive soon. They'd take Caleb's side, maybe even support his demand that I "take care of" the pregnancy. My father would threaten me with financial ruin if I didn't comply. My mother would call me dramatic, manipulative, desperate. And I had nowhere to go.
No money of my own-Caleb had never set up the account he'd promised. No friends in this city-I'd been too busy being invisible to make any. No one who would believe my side of the story over the word of Caleb Black and his powerful soon-to-be mistress.
I was trapped. A knock echoed through my suite, sharp and commanding.
"Bella." My father's voice, cold and authoritative. "Open this door. Now."
They were already here. Jade must have called them before she'd even gone to Caleb's office. This whole thing had been planned, orchestrated, a trap I'd walked into with my eyes closed and my heart stupidly, pathetically open.
"Bella Hart, I will not ask again."
My hand moved to the doorknob, then stopped. Through the door, I could hear my mother's voice, high and irritated.
"I told you she'd cause problems, Richard. I told you she wasn't sophisticated enough for this kind of marriage."
Something inside me snapped. Not broke-broke implied it could be fixed. This was different. This was the moment every last thread of hope, every desperate wish for my family's love, simply disintegrated into ash.
I pulled my hand back from the door and locked it instead.
"Bella!" My father's fist hammered against the wood. "Open this door immediately, or I swear to God"
"Or what?" I called back, surprised by the steadiness in my own voice. "You'll disown me? You already sold me. What's left?"
Silence, then my mother's sharp intake of breath.
"How dare you," she hissed. "After everything we've done for you, after the opportunities we've given you, this is how you repay us? By humiliating this family with your accusations and your desperate lies?"
"Lies?" I pressed my palm against the locked door, tears streaming down my face. "Jade was sitting in his lap. I saw them."
"Jade was conducting business," my father snapped. "Something you wouldn't understand, being that you've never contributed anything of value to this family."
The casual cruelty in his voice shouldn't have surprised me. It didn't, not really. But it still hurts.
"I'm pregnant," I said quietly. "With Caleb's child."
"Bulls**t." My mother's voice was sharp. "You're making that up for sympathy, for leverage. It won't work, Bella. We raised you better than this."
"You didn't raise me at all." The truth spilled out, bitter and freeing. "You barely remembered I existed until you needed someone to sell to save your company."
"That's enough." My father's voice dropped to the dangerous tone I remembered from childhood, the one that meant consequences. "You have one hour to pack your things and leave this house. If you're not gone by then, I'll have security remove you myself."
My heart stopped. "What?"
"You're an embarrassment to this family," my mother added, her words muffled by the door but no less cutting. "You've humiliated us for the last time. Consider yourself no longer a Hart."
They were disowning me. On my wedding night, pregnant and alone, they were throwing me away like garbage.
"You can't" My voice broke. "Where am I supposed to go?"
"That's not our problem anymore." My father's footsteps retreated down the hall. "One hour, Bella. After that, you're trespassing."
I slid down the door until I was sitting on the floor, my wedding dress billowing around me like a cloud. Through the wood, I could hear my mother's heels clicking away, and I could hear Jade's voice greeting them in the hallway.
"Poor thing," Jade was saying. "She's been so unstable lately. I'm worried about her mental health, truly."
One hour. Sixty minutes to pack a life, to figure out where to go with no money and no one. Sixty minutes until I was officially homeless. My hand moved to my stomach again, that automatic protective gesture that was already becoming second nature.
"It's okay," I whispered to the tiny life growing inside me. "I'll figure this out. I'll protect you. I promise."

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