Claimed by the Man I Shouldn't Love

Jessica Southern believed that love could conquer anything-even betrayal. So she staged a reckless kidnapping to test Alan Knight, the man who had adored her for fifteen years. But when he chose his fiancée over her, Jessica was left behind to die in a fiery explosion. Everyone thought she was gone forever. No body. No funeral. Only scandal and shame. Four years later, she walks back into his life-alive, beautiful, and carrying secrets that could shatter the perfect world he's built with her cousin, the woman he was supposed to marry. Now torn between guilt and obsession, Alan refuses to let Jessica go again. He wants answers, revenge, and most of all... her. But Jessica didn't come back for love. She came back to reveal the truth-and to make them all pay. When love turns to hate, and hate becomes obsession, can two broken hearts survive the fire they started?

Chapters

Chapter 11

Alan yanked her straight into his arms, gripping her soaked clothes in frustration. He was beyond pissed-she actually ran out in just a thin nightdress and his suit jacket? He'd ditched the jacket underwater to make swimming easier. Now that clinging, wet fabric was plastered all over her body, making her look even more exposed than if she'd worn nothing at all. There was no way he was letting Paul see her like this.

No way he could carry her bridal style like this-the nightdress was way too short. So, like hoisting a kid, he picked her up vertically with one arm and trudged up from the lakeside.

The chilly wind hit Jessica hard, making her shiver uncontrollably. Her teeth chattered, lips turning an alarming shade of purple.

"Coat!" Alan barked.

Paul quickly shrugged off his own coat and wrapped it around her.

"Alan, you're soaked too! Let Jessica go and wear my coat," Chloe offered, holding out her jacket.

From the moment he rushed over till now, Alan hadn't even looked at her. Chloe already realized she fell into Jessica's trap-but what could she say? Alan had seen everything with his own eyes. She couldn't even make up an excuse.

Panicked and flustered, Chloe's hands trembled as she held out the coat. She knew Alan hated Jessica, but he hadn't acted on it-and if he hadn't, neither could she. Going against his will? Not happening. He was always that kind of guy.

Alan didn't spare Chloe a glance. He just carried Jessica straight into the villa.

"Put me down! I can walk!" Jessica protested, squirming in his arms. She could feel the storm brewing behind his tightly clenched jaw.

She had intended to stir things up between him and Chloe. She knew him too well-he despised manipulative women. But clearly, things hadn't gone the way she'd hoped. Now, she just wanted out of his suffocating hold.

"Don't move. Keep it up and I'll toss you back in," he growled lowly.

Hell no. Jessica inhaled sharply. If only she could take him on-she'd really sock him. Chloe had literally just shoved her, and now he threatened to throw her?

She stayed still-not that it saved her from being dumped into a bathtub the next second.

Ouch! The impact nearly brought tears to her eyes. And before she could collect herself, his hands were already tearing at her clothes.

"What the hell, Alan! You jerk!" she screamed, pounding at him in outrage. That was the only wearable piece she had left, and now he'd ripped it too!Alan didn't even flinch at the small fists hitting him. He grabbed the showerhead and turned it on, letting the cold water stream over her. Her skin turned red from the chill, but he kept the water icy at first, only gradually turning the temperature up.

Jessica's leg cramped up again, worse than before. She couldn't even think about hitting him now, just curled up into a ball in the tub.

"What's wrong?" he asked, frowning at her scrunched-up, pained face.

"My leg... ahh!" Her toes curled in spasms as the pain shot through her.

Alan turned off the showerhead and perched on the edge of the tub, dragging her leg up onto his lap.

"Ah! That hurts! Don't touch me!" Jessica screamed, her voice raw.

Alan held her foot firmly, and his expression darkened. "Shut it."

He chucked a towel straight at her face. "Bite this. If you scream again, I swear I'll deal with you right now."

He practically yelled it.

With both hands, he pulled her leg straight despite her resistance. It was the quickest way to ease the cramp, but painful as hell.

Jessica's body trembled under the water from the sharp pain. She bit down hard on the towel, watching Alan's furious face. He looked like he meant every word.

By the time he was done with both of her legs, sweat was dripping from her forehead. It was only then that she realized just how awkward their position looked.

The water was clear, doing nothing to cover her. Everything about her was exposed right under his eyes.

She jerked her legs back and curled tightly into herself, trying to hide any part she could.

"I-I'm good now. I can wash up on my own..." she stammered. Since turning fifteen, she'd never been able to predict his moods. Whatever she said could end up ticking him off.

Sure, sometimes she messed with him on purpose, but that definitely wasn't the case now. Her tone was soft, almost cautious.

Alan stood, his tall figure looming. He reached out a hand toward her.

Jessica shrank back, but there was nowhere to run-she was backed up against the tub's edge. She hugged herself tighter. "Alan, don't touch me!" Her eyes flared, like a cat ready to claw.

His fingers caught her chin, his voice low and cold.

"I didn't touch you, so that gives you a reason to run to Chloe?"

Jessica froze, needing a moment to catch up to what he meant.

Then her temper exploded. "Alan! Get it straight-it was Chloe who pushed me in!"

Continue to next part

Aria Graves was the perfect Luna. After seven years of a marriage built on lies, She didn't break when the truth surfaced-she burned. Her revenge was clean and her rejection final. But fate wasn't done with her. To protect his own secrets, her father used her mother's life as leverage and forced Aria to take her sister's place, sending her to the Silverfang Pack as a living offering to their ruthless Alpha King, Damien Rothwell. Cold, commanding, and scarred by war, Damien should have killed her. Instead, he claimed her. Yet the King is not the only one who wants her. His half-brother, Ethan Rothwell, once the blind boy Aria taught to read, now returns a man who sees her more clearly than anyone else. Now Aria stands between two brothers-one bound by duty, the other by love. In a world where loyalty bleeds and desire burns, she must choose: the Alpha King who could ruin her, or the brother who would burn the world to save her.

Action Romance Werewolf

9.2

Entangled with the wrong man

9.2

Druscilla Hayes thought heartbreak had a limit. She was wrong. On the night of her bachelorette party, she survives a shootout - and is rescued by a dangerously irresistible stranger with mismatched eyes and a criminal smile. Ivanov Rodriguez is everything she shouldn't want. Everything her perfect fiance is not. But when Druscilla discovers her fiancé's betrayal, she runs straight into Ivanov's arms - only to learn too late that she was never more than a pawn in his revenge. Years later, she's rebuilt her life, her heart, and her future. Until fate drags her back into the orbit of the man who once ruined her. This time, she has nothing left to lose. Except the truth that could destroy them both ⚠️ WARNING: This book contains immorality, forbidden desire, dangerous attraction, and morally questionable characters. If you believe love should always be pure and choices should always be right... This story is not for you. Proceed only if you enjoy chaos, passion, and bad decisions.

Action Mystery Romance

7.5

His Betrayal Forged Her Empire

7.5

I run my family's political dynasty with an iron fist. From my father’s Senate votes to my own calculated engagement, every move is mine to control. Then, in a single evening, my ambitious stepmother made her play. She used our housekeeper as a spy and orchestrated a scandal involving my fiancé and stepsister, designed to shatter my reputation and power. They thought they could break me. Within twelve hours, the spy was dead on the marble floor of my foyer. My fiancé’s family was blackmailed into silence. My stepsister was exiled to a Swiss boarding school, and I stripped my own father of his authority for his weakness. As for my stepmother, Bronte, I had her declared mentally unstable and forcibly taken to a remote facility in Montana, completely cut off from the world. Everyone saw a cold-hearted coup, but they didn't know the secret I held. I had proof that Bronte had systematically orchestrated my brother’s death years ago, all to position her own son to inherit everything. This wasn't about power; it was vengeance. But winning the war at home has put me on a much deadlier board. Now, I'm preparing for a dinner with Eldridge Marsh—the most dangerous man in Washington—who wants to decide if I'm a player he can use, or a threat he needs to destroy.

Action Billionaire Modern

9.2

Just A Placeholder: Dying For His Mistress

9.2

I stood on the tarmac clutching white magnolias, watching the man I loved hand his loyalty to the woman born to destroy me. Dante Cavallaro, the Ruthless Underboss, didn't just leave me for Sofia Moretti. He revealed that for two years, I wasn't his lover. I was a human shield. The heavy iron bangle he forced me to wear wasn't a gift for my protection. "It's a Malocchio anchor," he sneered as I lay paralyzed on the floor. "It drains the wearer's luck to keep Sofia healthy. You are just the filter." My body began to rot from the inside out, my nerves dying one by one. When I was finally on my deathbed, unable to move or speak, Dante didn't cry for me. He cried because his tool was broken. He forced the cursed bangle onto his own wrist, begging the universe to keep me alive so I could continue to suffer in Sofia's place. "Please," he sobbed into my sheets. "Don't leave me alone with the bad luck." I used my last breath to make a wish—not for him, but for my freedom. I closed my eyes and died. Exactly one hour later, Dante's phone rang. It was his father. "Sofia just collapsed," he said. "Her heart just stopped." I was the vessel. And now that I was gone, the poison had come home to the King.

Action Mafia Romance

8.4

No Escape From His Dangerous Love

8.4

Arlene was the illegitimate daughter of the wealthy Boone family, treated worse than a stray dog. To keep her meager scholarship, she had to swallow her pride and apologize to the frat boy who tormented her. But he didn't just want an apology. He forced her to drink twenty shots of liquor laced with pure capsaicin extract. "Drink us under the table, or take off your clothes and crawl out." Arlene drank until her stomach tore, vomiting blood and collapsing on the filthy club floor. When she dragged her half-dead body back to the Boone estate, her biological father and half-sister didn't care. Instead, her sister ground Arlene's SAT admission ticket into the dirt with her stiletto. "Throw her out. Dad doesn't want to look at her before Hardie's engagement." The guards threw her onto the gravel, leaving her bleeding and barefoot in the freezing night. Arlene sat shivering at a dark bus stop, her dignity completely stripped away. She never wanted a dime from the Boones, so why did they insist on crushing her only way out? And why did Dr. Hardie Boone, the untouchable head of the family, look at her with such a twisted, terrifying obsession? When Hardie's black Aston Martin pulled out of the shadows, he scooped her up, took her away, and locked her inside his penthouse. "You carry the Boone name. Whether you live or die is my decision." Trapped by the dangerous man who demanded total control over her life, Arlene finally realized that simply running away was no longer an option.

Action Modern Romance

8.0

Our Marriage: A Twisted Revenge

8.0

My husband, Aiden, brought his mistress to a gala. She was carrying my clutch bag, a gift from him. He was laughing, daring me to make a scene. But the ultimate cruelty wasn't the affair. It was when he brought up my kidnapping from ten years ago, using my deepest trauma as a weapon to publicly shame me. His mistress, Ember, piled on, her voice dripping with false pity. "Oh, Julia, I just can't imagine what you went through. Aiden told me everything. How you were… so damaged." I suddenly realized who she was: the daughter of the man who had orchestrated my kidnapping. This wasn't just an affair; it was a long-con revenge plot to destroy the company I had sacrificed everything to save. Aiden, the man who once swore to protect me, was her willing pawn. His cruelty had already cost me our unborn child years ago. In that moment, the last bit of love I had for him turned to ice. He thought he was breaking me. He had no idea he was just handing me the keys to his destruction.

Action Modern Romance

Claimed by the Man I Shouldn't Love

Chapter 11

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