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 2

"I didn't! Who says I'm scared? Jessica, you think anyone's gonna believe your nonsense now?" Chloe looked flustered under Alan's gaze, but she wasn't stupid-without solid proof, she didn't believe Jessica could stir up much trouble.

Jessica's heart twinged with pain-Chloe had hit a nerve. The truth of that kidnapping years ago... even if she said it now, would he believe her? But since he loved his ex-fiancée so deeply, she doubted he'd ignore what she had to say.

She shook the press badge in her hand. "I could honestly care less about your wedding. I'm just here to ask Mr. Knight how he plans on explaining his dealings with the Yorqan family."

The reporters around them, still reeling from the whole "Jessica came back from the dead" bombshell, suddenly snapped to attention at this explosive news.

The Yorqan family was infamous in finance-predatory, ruthless, gobbling up companies like it was nothing. Generations of hard work from various families had been destroyed by them. And now Alan was involved with them?

The journalists surged forward like sharks smelling blood. Was Knight Corp teaming up with the Yorqan family to take over Helvaria's major companies? If that got out, they'd become the most hated name in the country's business world.

Alan's eyes locked sharply on Jessica. The contract with Sultan had just been stolen-and here she was stirring the pot right after? No doubt about it-she was the thief.

"Don't listen to Jessica! Alan would never do something like this!" Chloe threw herself in front of him like she was ready to defend him with her life.

"Oh really?" Jessica's voice was light, but her words cut deep. "Well, I'm pretty sure that contract is with the Commercial Crime Bureau by now. Tell me, Mr. Knight, how're you feeling about that?"

Alan's lips pressed into a razor-thin line. It was a long beat before he finally spat out, voice like frost, "You've got a death wish."

Jessica let out a low laugh. "Already died once. Forgot about that, Mr. Knight?" I came back-for payback.

Just then, piercing sirens wailed and police pushed through the crowd.

"Mr. Alan, you're wanted for questioning by the International Commercial Crime Bureau regarding your alleged dealings with the Yorqan family."

"No! You can't take him! It's our wedding day!" Chloe cried out, clutching tightly to Alan, refusing to let go. She had waited so long for this-one step away from becoming Mrs. Knight.

"Chloe, let go. I'll be right back." Alan released his grip on Jessica's arm, gently pried Chloe's hands off, then patted the back of her hand softly. The cold frown he'd worn since entering the chapel finally eased a bit, and he gave Chloe a look meant to calm her down.

Standing tall with that unshakable presence of his, he followed the police with steady steps into the car. The atmosphere around him didn't slump at all-like he wasn't being taken in for questioning, just casually going out with the cops for coffee.

Chloe suddenly broke down in tears, not knowing how to deal with the mess she was left in. The grand wedding had completely turned into a farce.

Jessica didn't even glance in Chloe's direction. She walked straight through the crowd toward Daniel Cooper, her boss at the news agency.

"Mr. Cooper, I don't think there's anything more to report here. The questioning will take 48 hours."

Daniel looked like he'd just snapped out of a dream. "Jessica... you're Jessica?" His gaze faltered. He never expected this girl to be the Southern family's heiress.

Jessica gave a faint smile. "Yeah, that's me. Starting to dislike me now?" After all, who'd like a woman who caused so much trouble, even pulling off a public takedown at someone's wedding?

"No way! Why would I hate you? Actually... you're nothing like the rumors at all." Daniel quickly explained, his reaction not out of distaste, but sheer disbelief at her background.

Everyone said the Southern family's daughter was a spoiled brat, impossible to deal with-but from the time Jessica joined the news team, there'd been no sign of that. She was the most hardworking and diligent one of them all, and honestly, super grounded.

He never would've imagined Jessica could be... well, her.

"Mr. Cooper! We've got a record number of clicks on our site! That illegal deal story broke everything!" An excited assistant held up a phone for Daniel to see.

"Alright, that's it-everyone, pack up. Tonight we celebrate Jessica! It's on me!"

Cheers rang out as the team crowded around Jessica and Daniel, making their way out of the church.

Jessica sat in the car, glancing back out the window at the chapel. It still stood tall and solemn like always, untouched by the years. Fifteen years might've passed, but the place hadn't changed at all-just the people had.

The memory was still vivid: a teenage boy holding a little girl, his arms wrapped protectively around her.

"Alan, what are they doing?" the girl asked.

"They're getting married," he replied.

"I wanna get married too... That lady's dress is so pretty! I wanna wear it!"

"When you grow up, I'll marry you right here. And I'll buy you the most beautiful wedding dress in the world. So grow up quick, alright?"

He kissed her forehead-someone once said that was the purest kind of kiss.

Jessica pulled her gaze back, her eyes dry but stinging. Not a single tear came out.

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 2

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