Betrayed, I Married the Feared Cripple

Three days after my fiancé publicly dumped me for my stepsister, the Supreme Don issued a command that silenced the entire estate. I wasn't being cast aside. I was being sold to Damien Russo. The "Broken Don." A crippled, scarred monster rumored to have murdered his last two wives. My adoptive mother, Elena, didn't cry for me. She smirked. To her, I was finally being disposed of. She was so confident I was walking to my death that she decided to loot my corpse before I even left. She forged documents to steal my entire inheritance—my biological mother’s trust fund—to pay for my stepsister’s lavish wedding to my ex. "She won't need money where she's going," my stepsister laughed, wearing a dress bought with my stolen funds. They thought they were sending a lamb to the slaughter. They thought I was too weak, too stupid, and too afraid of the monster to fight back. But they made a fatal mistake. With my aunt’s help, I didn't just find the proof of their embezzlement; I found a weapon. I’m not running from the monster. I’m going to marry him. And when I hand him the evidence that the Herrera family stole from his bride, he won't be my executioner. He will be my vengeance.

Chapters

Chapter 4

The preparation I spoke of to Clara was tested the very next morning.

A Herrera Family Soldier stood in the foyer of the Herrera estate. He was a mountain of a man in an impeccable black suit, his eyes devoid of anything resembling warmth. He didn't bring a polite request; he brought a summons from Elder Maria Herrera.

Elena Herrera, my step mother, masked her displeasure behind a tight, Botox-stiffened smile. But the moment we were sealed inside the back of her chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce, her true colors bled through the suffocating cloud of her French perfume.

"Listen to me, you ungrateful little bitch," Elena hissed, her manicured fingers digging into my forearm. "Sophia's wedding to Leo is the priority. It secures our alliance with the Contreras family. You will keep your mouth shut today and let me handle the dowry negotiations. Our family's interests come first. Understand?"

"Perfectly," I replied, my voice flat, gently but firmly pulling my arm from her grip.

The Herrera Ancestral Wing was a fortress of old-world power, entirely devoid of the flashy, gilded desperation of the main house. We were escorted deep into the heart of the manor, into Maria Herrera's private study. The room was a cavern of dark mahogany, with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lined with leather-bound volumes. The air was thick with the scent of aged brandy, Cuban cigars, and lemon polish—the unmistakable perfume of ruthless authority.

Behind a massive carved desk sat Maria Herrera. As the Family Elder, she wielded a terrifying amount of influence. She was a woman who had survived decades of mafia blood feuds, burying a Don husband, only to fiercely guard the throne for her son, Giovanni. Her silver hair was pulled back into a severe knot, and her obsidian eyes missed nothing.

"Sit," Maria commanded. It wasn't an invitation.

We sat. Maria didn't waste time with pleasantries. "The wedding is to happen swiftly. We must finalize Isabella's dowry and the transfer of her mother's trust fund."

Elena immediately adopted a look of weary martyrdom. She sighed, pressing a hand to her chest. "Signora Maria, you must understand the immense pressure the Herrera family is under. Preparing for Sophia's grand union with Leo Contreras has been our focus. To suddenly prepare a second bride, especially on such short notice... it is a severe strain on our finances."

I kept my face perfectly blank, though my pulse quickened. Elena was playing a dangerous game, attempting to frame my marriage to a Don as an inconvenient burden.

Maria's expression didn't shift. She merely nodded slowly, a predator watching its prey wander into the open. "I see. And how do you propose we resolve this... strain?"

Emboldened by the Elder's calm tone, Elena leaned forward, her greed completely overriding her survival instincts. "The Russo family has offered a very generous bridal settlement. I believe the most elegant solution is to use that settlement to form the bulk of Isabella's dowry, supplemented by two of our vineyards in the valley. It is the most respectable arrangement under the circumstances."

Silence fell over the study. It was a heavy, suffocating quiet that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

Elena had just suggested that the Russo family pay for their own bride, effectively allowing the Herreras to pocket my mother's trust fund. In our world, it was an insult of catastrophic proportions.

When Maria Herrera finally spoke, her voice was a razor blade wrapped in silk. "Let me be absolutely clear, Elena. You are suggesting that Don Damien Russo buys his own wife with our money?"

Elena's smugness vanished instantly. The blood drained from her face. "No, Signora, I merely meant—"

"You meant to insult our allies," Maria interrupted, leaning forward, the aura of a predator fully unleashed. "You meant to imply that we should finance your biological daughter's wedding to an Underboss, while sending a beggar to a Don. The Herrera honor is written in respect. Any slight against the Russos is answered with a thorough Vendetta. Do you want to bring a war to my doorstep?"

Elena trembled, her mouth opening and closing like a suffocating fish. "Please, I meant no disrespect. I was only thinking of the families—"

"Save your breath," Maria snapped, her eyes cutting toward the heavy mahogany doors. "I will not discuss this further with a greedy fool. Send for your husband. We will see if Giovanni Herrera shares his wife's suicidal audacity."

Continue to next part

Eden's eighteenth birthday was supposed to be her moment-the night she'd finally tell him. The boy she grew up loving. The one who kissed every girl but her. The one she saved her virginity for. She's spent years dreaming of Liam, chasing his smile, starving for his attention. But tonight, all he sees is the next girl he can break. And Eden? She's not enough. Desperate to change that, she does the unthinkable. She turns to Hunter Cross. Captain of the hockey team. Cold. Arrogant. Brutally sexual. The kind of man girls dare not fantasize about-but Eden does. She begs him to teach her how to flirt, how to kiss, how to touch a man until he forgets every woman before her. Hunter agrees-but only under one condition. "If I teach you how to seduce him, then for one month... you belong to me. Fully. No questions. There are no limits." Now Eden is learning far more than she bargained for-lessons in pleasure, in control, in giving up her body piece by piece to a man who doesn't believe in love. Each touch Hunter demands pushes her deeper into the kind of sin she never imagined, the kind that leaves her shaking, soaked, and begging for more. But the deeper she falls, the more dangerous the game becomes. Because Hunter's not just training her for another man. He's breaking her for himself. And he has no intention of ever letting her go. For fans of Haunting Adeline, Twisted Games, and Credence-this is a dangerously seductive enemies-to-lovers story with a filthy slow burn, a dominant hero, and an ending that will leave you breathless. Warning: This book contains explicit adult content, power-play dynamics, rough language, and high-heat scenes intended for mature readers only.

Action Modern Romance

7.6

A Story That Won't End

7.6

She thought she knew who she was. She was wrong. Ayla Monroe has everything-wealth, beauty, and a family that keeps her under constant watch. But behind the walls of the Corsetti mansion, she feels like a bird in a gilded cage. She wants freedom, a normal life, and answers to the questions that haunt her every night-about icy water, a distant bridge, and a boy's voice calling her name. Then River Callahan walks into her world, bringing with him a storm of memories she can't quite grasp and a truth she's not ready to face. Because Ayla isn't Ayla at all. She's Hope Freissy Marsh, the sole survivor of a tragedy that wiped out her real family-and the rightful heir to everything the Callahans now own. As long-buried secrets unravel, Ayla finds herself torn between the boy she's falling for and the blood feud that binds their families. Love was never supposed to survive this war. But some ties are impossible to break.

Action Modern Mystery

9.1

Beast World: They Hated Me, Then I Cooked Them Dinner

9.1

Waking up with a cold, scaly hand wrapped around my throat wasn't the worst part. The worst part was realizing I'd transmigrated into the body of Terra Mason—the most despised woman in the entire Enclave. She drugged high-level beast-men and forced them into life-binding bio-contracts. She locked an aquatic warrior in a dry basement until his organs failed. She treated the most lethal males in the city like broken toys. Zev, the Level 6 serpent who's currently choking me, would rather blow up his own heart than spend another day as my slave. His affection metric? Negative ninety. His trust? Zero. Then my system activates: the Kore AI. It gives me exactly 500 credits, a medical nano-gel, and a recipe for neutralizing the radioactive poison in mutant meat. Real food. In this world, that's worth more than gold. I save Rhys, the dying aquatic male everyone left for dead. I season a slab of purple mutant steak until Sam, a battle-scarred grizzly shifter, groans at the taste—and his trust points finally tick above zero. When my backstabbing ex-best friend tries to steal my males and destroy me, I don't scream or throw a tantrum like the old Terra. I dismantle her with the truth. But earning their trust means more than grilling meat. A scorpion swarm ambushes us at midnight. Sam throws himself between me and a stinger the size of my arm. As he stands over the corpse, fur receding from his claws, he stares at me and whispers, "You were testing me." Yes. I was. Because in this world, the weak don't survive. And I refuse to be weak again. Four beast-men. Four contracts. One system. And a whole lot of steak. Let this dystopian wasteland know—I'm not the monster they remember. I'm worse. I'm the one who's going to feed them until they'd kill for me.

Action LitRPG Mafia Sci-Fi

9.6

Betrayal in Dance Team

9.6

In the high-stakes world of competitive dance, a tight-knit team faces an unexpected crisis when a hidden betrayal threatens to tear them apart. As secrets emerge, the group’s unity fractures, turning former allies into rivals. Amidst the pressure of upcoming performances, the protagonist must navigate a web of deception and intense physical challenges to reclaim their place on stage and uncover the truth behind the sabotage.

Action Modern Young Adult

9.4

From Ruin to Reign

9.4

They threw a prince into the river. A warrior climbed out. Seven-year-old Marcus watched his parents die, betrayed by the uncle he trusted. Cast into beast-filled waters, left for dead, he should have perished. Instead, he survived-and began plotting revenge. For ten years, hiding his royal identity at a remote academy, Marcus trains in secret, driven by one burning purpose: make them all pay. But when he finally returns to reclaim his throne, he'll uncover a truth more devastating than any betrayal: his parents are alive, and his suffering was their plan all along. Now Marcus must decide. Will he become the monster his enemies created, or the hero his broken kingdom desperately needs?

Action Mystery

8.1

Mi ÁNGEL

8.1

In the dangerous world of organized crime, a high-stakes romance unfolds between two souls from different sides of the law. When a ruthless mafia leader crosses paths with a woman who seems like an angel in his dark reality, their lives collide with explosive consequences. Amidst brutal power struggles and internal betrayals, they must navigate a landscape of violence. Can love survive the shadows of the underworld, or will their secrets destroy them both?

Action Mafia Romance

Betrayed, I Married the Feared Cripple

Chapter 4

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