Contract Bride: Rising From The Shadows

I was hired to be the "cure" for the Stuart family’s reputation, a wife whose only job was to manage the emotional risks of Casper Stuart’s cold-blooded empire. My life was governed by spreadsheets and compliance reports, and my value was measured solely by my ability to remain a silent, perfect asset. On our second anniversary, Casper didn't come home for dinner; instead, a Page Six alert showed him with a Victoria's Secret model at Soho House, his hand possessively on her back. When he finally returned, he didn't offer an apology, but a clinical reminder of my "obligations." I soon discovered he had given my three-million-dollar anniversary bonus—a pink diamond necklace—to his mistress, while tossing me a cheap bracelet his assistant had picked out. When his mother offered me a two-hundred-million-dollar settlement to disappear, Casper tore the contract to shreds in front of me. He whispered that he had bought up every cent of my family’s medical and gambling debts, turning my marriage into a life sentence of indentured servitude. To prove his power, he kicked me out of his car in a rainstorm twenty miles from the city, leaving me to walk home barefoot while he drove off with my dog. "Tell her you want to stay," he had commanded in front of his mother, using my mother’s life as leverage to keep his "portfolio" intact. I stood in the mud, shivering as the rain washed away the mask of the supportive wife, realizing that to the Stuarts, I wasn't a human being—I was a line item that could be liquidated or crushed at will. But Casper forgot one thing: I am an actress, and I’ve finally landed the role of a lifetime. I’m done managing his risks; I’m about to become his greatest liability.

Chapters

Chapter 7

The speedometer read 105 mph. The trees on the side of the Hamptons highway were a green blur.

Dosha gripped the handle above the door. Her knuckles were white.

Casper stared straight ahead. His grip on the steering wheel was tight enough to snap the leather. He was furious. Not because she tried to leave, but because his mother had tried to take something that belonged to him.

The car's Bluetooth system chimed. Incoming Call: Charlie.

Casper didn't tap the screen to decline fast enough. The call connected.

"Casper!" Charlie's voice boomed through the surround sound speakers. "Dude, Sienna is loving the necklace! She's posting stories from the yacht. She wants to know when you're coming over?"

The air in the car turned solid.

Dosha looked out the window. A bitter smile touched her lips.

"And hey," Charlie continued, oblivious. "Did the invisible wife freak out? Giving Sienna three mil and the wife fifty grand... that is savage, man. You are cold."

Casper hit the End Call button. The silence that followed was louder than the engine.

"So everyone knows," Dosha said softly. "The market value is public knowledge."

Casper slammed on the brakes. The car skidded, tires screeching on the asphalt, pulling onto the gravel shoulder.

He turned to her. His eyes were black pits.

"Shut up. You almost cost me fifty percent of my voting rights back there."

"You tore up my freedom!" Dosha yelled. "That was my money!"

"Is that all you are?" Casper shouted back. "A ledger? A balance sheet?"

"Yes!" Dosha screamed. "Because that's all you made me! What else is there? Do you want me to love you? While you buy diamonds for your mistress?"

Casper flinched. The truth hit him like a physical blow. He unlocked the doors.

"Get out."

Dosha blinked. "What?"

"Get out of the car."

"We are twenty miles from the city. It's about to rain."

"Walk," Casper said. "Think about your ROI while you walk."

Dosha looked at him. She saw the cruelty in his jaw. She realized, finally, that there was no bottom to this.

She grabbed her purse. She opened the door.

Asset, in the back seat, whined and tried to scramble forward to follow her.

Casper hit the central lock button. The back doors clicked shut.

"No," Casper said. "The dog stays."

Dosha stood on the side of the road. "Casper, give me the dog."

He didn't look at her. He floored the gas pedal. The car shot forward, kicking up gravel and dust, leaving her standing alone in the sudden silence.

A drop of rain hit her cheek. Then another.

Dosha took off her heels. She held them in one hand. She stepped onto the rough asphalt with her bare feet.

She started walking.

Continue to next part

On the day of their high school reunion, Lin Xi's husband, Lu Chen, abandons her at the venue to rush to his first love's side. This public humiliation shatters Lin Xi’s heart, forcing her to face the painful reality of her crumbling marriage. As she navigates the emotional fallout and the betrayal of the man she trusted, Lin Xi must find the strength to reclaim her dignity and decide if their shared history is worth saving or leaving behind.

Modern Romance

8.8

After Betrayal, Her Decision

8.8

After discovering her husband’s cruel infidelity and the dark lies that defined their marriage, a resilient woman chooses to walk away from the life she knew. Her journey toward healing takes a turn when she crosses paths with a powerful, reclusive billionaire who offers her a chance at true redemption. As she navigates this high-stakes world, she must decide if she can trust again or if the scars of her past will prevent her from finding love.

Billionaire Modern Romance

7.2

Empire of Ash and Desire

7.2

Five years ago, Zara Cole lost everything she believed in-love, trust, and the man who promised her forever. Today, she's back in his world with one mission: destroy the empire that chose power over her. Alexander Cross is no longer the man she loved. He's a billionaire CEO with a flawless reputation and a past he buried deep-until Zara returns as the woman determined to expose him. What begins as revenge becomes a dangerous game of truth, betrayal, and forbidden desire. And when secrets rise to the surface, Zara must decide: Will she take down the man who broke her heart... or risk everything for the love that never truly died?

Billionaire Modern Romance

7.1

Mafia Daddy: Claiming His Son's Bride As His Mistress

7.1

Natalia was done enduring her father's abuse which was why she decided to conveniently run off to college several hours from her hometown while her father was away. But something unexpected happens on the day of her escape-her father came home earlier than expected, ruining her plans but that wasn't all, he brought home trouble. Carlo Moretti was not a man to be joked with, he's the powerful, ruthless leader of the Italian Mafia. He's here to collect a debt owed. He forcefully takes Natalia with him so she could marry his son as a way to keep her hostage. But soon, lines blur and as the wedding day grew closer, Carlo's attraction for his son's bride became too strong. His son is supposed to marry her but he wants her for himself. And Carlo always get what he wants even if that was his son's betrothed.

Mafia Modern Romance

8.5

My Stepbrother

8.5

After her mother’s marriage, Brielle is thrust into a wealthy new world where she meets her intimidating stepbrother, Silas. As the alpha heir to a powerful werewolf pack, Silas is possessive and dangerous. He harbors a dark secret that draws Brielle into the supernatural politics of his kind. Despite their family ties and the looming threats from rival packs, an intense, forbidden attraction ignites between them, changing their lives forever.

Modern Romance Werewolf

9.7

The Billionaire's Neglected Wife Is A Genius

9.7

Ellyn woke to a news alert of her husband, billionaire Hardy Burnett, picking up his "mystery blonde" ex at a private terminal. Just hours earlier, he had been raw and consuming in their shared bed, but by morning, he was a cold stranger tossing a birth control pill at her. He reminded her with mechanical indifference that their marriage was a mere contract, and the Burnett family tolerated no accidental risks. The mystery woman was Izabella Macdonald, the one who got away. While Ellyn spent her mornings dabbing heavy concealer over the purple bruises Hardy left on her neck, the rest of the world was celebrating the return of the "rightful" Mrs. Burnett. To Hardy, Ellyn was a liability; to his family, she was a placeholder with a bankrupt bloodline. The humiliation peaked at a high-society gala when Hardy walked in with Izabella on his arm, leaving Ellyn to navigate the vultures alone. His mother mocked her as "cheap polyester," and socialites whispered about the penthouse Hardy was secretly buying for his mistress. Even as Hardy's jealousy flared when he saw Ellyn with his brother, his loyalty remained divided, his heart seemingly anchored to the woman in the white silk dress. The breaking point came in the pouring rain outside the venue. Hardy ordered Ellyn into the backseat of the car like common cargo so that Izabella could take the passenger seat-the seat of the partner. He expected Ellyn to sit in the shadows and watch his ex-girlfriend play wife in the front, treating her presence as a domestic inconvenience he could simply command. I stared at the man who owned my nights but despised my existence. The heavy thud of the pill I swallowed every morning felt like a lead weight, a bitter reminder that I was nothing more than a paid commodity in his eyes. He thought he knew everything about his destitute, dependent wife, from the temperature I needed the room to the way I took my tea. But Hardy didn't know about the encrypted ledgers or the offshore accounts. He didn't know that the "destitute" woman he relegated to the backseat was the secret mastermind behind Skim, the global fashion empire currently worth more than his latest merger. "I'm not getting in," I said, my voice eerily calm against the thunder. I slammed the door, turned my back on his roar of fury, and walked into the dark. It was time to stop being a ghost in his house and start being the woman who could buy his entire world.

Billionaire Modern Romance

Contract Bride: Rising From The Shadows

Chapter 7

You may also like