Married to the enemies son

Married to the enemies son

Rae buthelezi

5.0
Comment(s)
198
View
19
Chapters

Celeste Monroe never forgot the night her world crumbled. Her father was framed, her family name ruined, and behind it all was the powerful Ryker empire. Years later, reborn under a new identity, Celeste returns with a single goal-revenge. When fate offers her the chance to marry Jace Ryker, the estranged son of the man who destroyed her life, she says yes without hesitation. Jace is cold, calculating, and haunted by a past he refuses to share. He wants nothing from his father's world, least of all a wife he barely knows. But their forced union ignites a dangerous chemistry neither of them can deny. As secrets surface and loyalties are tested, Celeste must decide how far she's willing to go to get justice-and whether revenge is worth losing the man she never meant to love. In a world ruled by power, lies, and blood, trust is deadly-and love might be her greatest downfall.

Married to the enemies son Chapter 1 Mask and mirror

Rain lashed against the blackened windows as Celeste Monroe stepped out of the sleek black car. Her heels clicked sharply on the marble pavement, a rhythm steady and precise-like her. Her coat clung to her figure, soaked at the edges, but she didn't flinch. Tonight wasn't about comfort. It was about survival. About reclaiming the power that was stolen from her.

The Ryker estate loomed ahead, opulent and cold. Security was tight. Cameras. Men in suits. Everyone pretending not to see the storm woman at the gates. She walked past them like she belonged-because soon, she would.

Inside, everything gleamed-gold-trimmed stairs, polished floors, the kind of cold elegance that screamed old money and control. But Celeste's eyes weren't on the chandeliers or the art. They were on him.

Jace Ryker.

He stood at the far end of the room, tall and detached, wearing a fitted black suit like it was armor. His presence was magnetic but guarded, like he was constantly at war with something invisible. Or maybe it was just himself. When his eyes met hers, something silent passed between them. Not attraction. Not yet. Something darker. A recognition of broken pieces.

"Celeste Monroe," he said, voice low, unreadable. "You're not what I expected."

She smiled, the kind that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Neither are you."

There was no warmth in the room, no gentle welcome. Just quiet tension, like a match waiting to be lit.

Victor Ryker, the man who destroyed her father, appeared next-still powerful, still cruel behind his polished smile. He was the reason she was here. The reason she'd hidden her name. The reason she'd agreed to marry a man she'd never met.

Jace didn't shake her hand. He didn't offer a drink. He just looked at her with eyes that didn't flinch, didn't soften. She'd studied his file for weeks. Knew every scar he hid behind his silence. And now he was studying her right back.

She kept her expression neutral, but her fingers curled slightly at her sides. Every second in this house scraped at old wounds.

Victor spoke as if nothing about the arrangement was strange. "A union of power, a merger of interests. It's business. Clean and simple."

But it wasn't clean. And nothing about it was simple.

Jace glanced at her once more, jaw tight. "This isn't going to be a love story."

"I'm not here for love," she said quietly.

They were both liars in that moment.

The silence stretched for a beat too long.

Victor clapped his hands, sharp and rehearsed, calling for the staff to begin dinner, as if the air in the room hadn't just thickened with tension. Celeste followed Jace toward the long dining table, the space between them wide, yet charged. Every step she took felt like stepping deeper into enemy territory, but she didn't flinch. She couldn't afford to.

The seat beside Jace was already pulled out for her. She sat, folding her hands neatly on her lap, her expression unreadable. Across from them, Victor poured himself a glass of red wine, watching them with the quiet satisfaction of a man who believed he had complete control.

"I trust you'll both make this work," he said. "Appearances matter. Especially now."

Celeste didn't answer. Neither did Jace. The clinking of cutlery filled the void. Every motion felt rehearsed-every smile from the staff, every carefully placed dish. It was all a performance.

Celeste's eyes didn't leave her plate until she felt the brush of Jace's gaze. He hadn't touched his food. He was watching her now-not like a man curious about his fiancée, but like someone trying to figure out which direction the bullet would come from.

"You said you weren't here for love," he murmured under his breath. "Then what are you here for?"

Her lips lifted, slow and calculated. "Same thing you are. Freedom."

His brow twitched, the smallest crack in his perfect composure. She knew it then-he wasn't just bitter. He was trapped. Just like her.

Later, after dinner, Victor offered a tour of the estate. Celeste declined with a soft excuse. She already knew every inch of the place from floorplans she'd studied for months. Jace walked her to her guest room without a word, the air between them thick with questions neither dared to ask out loud.

At the door, he paused, hand resting on the frame. "This doesn't have to be messy," he said quietly.

Celeste looked up at him, searching his face for something human. "Messy is the only way this ends."

She stepped inside, closing the door gently, leaving him in the hallway with her words.

Alone, in the silence of the dimly lit room, Celeste let the mask slip for just a second. Her shoulders dropped. Her breath trembled. Then she walked to the window, pulling back the curtain to stare out at the estate grounds. Beneath the cold beauty of it all, she knew what this place really was.

A battlefield.

And she'd just stepped onto it with a ring instead of a weapon.

But rings could be sharp too.

The storm outside hadn't stopped. Thunder rolled somewhere distant, a low warning, like the earth itself sensed the war brewing behind the marble walls of the Ryker estate.

Celeste stood there longer than she meant to, her reflection faint against the glass-half-shadow, half-ghost. She didn't recognize the version of herself looking back. The tailored dress, the perfect posture, the calm. All of it was borrowed, stitched together for this moment.

Beneath it was rage. Cold, quiet, and patient.

She crossed the room, opened her suitcase, and slipped out a small velvet pouch from its hidden lining. Inside, folded tightly, was an old photograph. A man with kind eyes and an easy smile. Her father. Beside him, a younger version of herself, all laughter and light, long before courtrooms and betrayal replaced bedtime stories.

She sat on the edge of the bed, fingers trembling as she traced his face. The last time she saw him, his hands were cuffed, his name dragged through the dirt by headlines funded by Victor Ryker's empire. They'd called it justice. She called it murder in slow motion.

Jace Ryker didn't know who she really was. Not yet. The name Celeste Monroe was a lie-one crafted in whispers and paid for with years of silence. Her real name had died the day her father was dragged away.

A soft knock broke through her thoughts.

She folded the photo quickly, slipping it back into the pouch before tucking it deep beneath the mattress. Then she stood, smoothing her dress as if that could erase the sudden pounding of her heart.

When she opened the door, Jace stood there again.

His tie was loosened now, top button undone. Less polished, more real. The version of him that didn't speak at press conferences. This version didn't carry the Ryker name like a badge-it looked more like a weight.

"I figured you'd be awake," he said.

She stepped aside silently, letting him in. No explanations. No questions.

He moved slowly, standing in the center of the room like it wasn't his but still belonged to him somehow. His hands were in his pockets, but he wasn't relaxed.

"You don't like him, do you?" he asked, not looking at her.

"Victor?" she said softly.

He nodded.

"I don't trust men who smile without their eyes."

That made him glance her way. There was something almost like amusement in the curve of his mouth-but it didn't last.

"You'll fit in just fine here," he said.

She took a slow breath. "I'm not here to fit in."

Jace nodded once. He understood that more than he should.

He lingered for a second too long. Then, without a word, turned and left, the door clicking shut behind him.

Celeste stayed still for a long moment, heart racing.

He didn't know it yet, but he wasn't just part of her plan.

He was the most dangerous part of all.

Continue Reading

You'll also like

Flash Marriage To My Best Friend's Father

Flash Marriage To My Best Friend's Father

Madel Cerda

I was once the heiress to the Solomon empire, but after it crumbled, I became the "charity case" ward of the wealthy Hyde family. For years, I lived in their shadows, clinging to the promise that Anson Hyde would always be my protector. That promise shattered when Anson walked into the ballroom with Claudine Chapman on his arm. Claudine was the girl who had spent years making my life a living hell, and now Anson was announcing their engagement to the world. The humiliation was instant. Guests sneered at my cheap dress, and a waiter intentionally sloshed champagne over me, knowing I was a nobody. Anson didn't even look my way; he was too busy whispering possessively to his new fiancée. I was a ghost in my own home, watching my protector celebrate with my tormentor. The betrayal burned. I realized I wasn't a ward; I was a pawn Anson had kept on a shelf until he found a better trade. I had no money, no allies, and a legal trust fund that Anson controlled with a flick of his wrist. Fleeing to the library, I stumbled into Dallas Koch-a titan of industry and my best friend's father. He was a wall of cold, absolute power that even the Hydes feared. "Marry me," I blurted out, desperate to find a shield Anson couldn't climb. Dallas didn't laugh. He pulled out a marriage agreement and a heavy fountain pen. "Sign," he commanded, his voice a low rumble. "But if you walk out that door with me, you never go back." I signed my name, trading my life for the only man dangerous enough to keep me safe.

Burned by Poison, Saved by the Devil

Burned by Poison, Saved by the Devil

Gale Kaaya

My cousin Hailey paid a dock worker to assault me just to ruin my engagement. To survive the military-grade aphrodisiac she poisoned me with, I stumbled into a walk-in freezer and threw myself onto the only source of cold I could find-a man paralyzed by unnatural hypothermia. It was a desperate, primal exchange of my heat for his ice just to keep my heart from stopping. But when Hailey threw open the heavy iron door, leading my fiancé and the entire Bolton family to witness my "shame," her triumphant grin instantly vanished. She hadn't caught me with a low-life thug. She had caught me straddling Demetrius Maddox, the ruthless Iron King of Chicago. The air in the room dropped to absolute zero. My grandmother screamed in horror, and my father turned the color of ash. Hailey, blinded by jealousy, tried to double down. She pointed a manicured finger at the deadliest man in the city and called him a "nameless muscle" I picked up to defile the family name. She didn't realize she had just signed her own death warrant. I didn't cower. I realized this was the only chance to survive the family that wanted me dead. I walked up to the Devil himself, my body still humming with the poison, and looked him in the eye. "Kill me, and the cold inside you wins," I whispered, knowing he was dying from the inverse of my own poison. "I am the only doctor who knows how to cure you." Demetrius tightened his hand around my throat, his dark eyes assessing my worth. "Prove it," he growled. I turned back to my trembling cousin and signaled the enforcer to hand me the whip.

One Night With My Billionaire Boss

One Night With My Billionaire Boss

Nathaniel Stone

I woke up on silk sheets that smelled of expensive cedar and cold sandalwood, a world away from my cramped apartment in Brooklyn. Beside me lay Ezra Gardner-my boss, the billionaire CEO of Gardner Holdings, and the man who could end my career with a snap of his fingers. He didn't offer an apology for the night before; instead, he looked at me with terrifying clarity and proposed a cold, calculated business arrangement. "Marriage. It stabilizes the board and solves the PR crisis before it begins." He dressed me in archival Chanel and sent me home in his Maybach, but my life was already falling apart. My boyfriend, Irving, claimed he had passed out early, yet his location data placed him at my best friend's apartment until three in the morning. When I tried to run, I realized Ezra was already ten steps ahead, tracking my movements and uncovering the secret I'd spent twenty years hiding: my connection to the powerful Senator Grimes. I was trapped between a CEO who treated me like a line item on a quarterly report and a boyfriend who had been using me while sleeping with my closest friend. I felt like a pawn in a game I didn't understand, wondering why a man like Ezra would walk up forty flights of stairs on a broken leg just to make sure I was safe. "Showtime, Mrs. Gardner." Standing on the red carpet in a gown that cost more than my life, I watched my cheating ex-boyfriend's face turn pale as Ezra claimed me in front of the world. I wasn't just an assistant anymore; I was a weapon, and it was time to burn their world down.

Abandoned Ex-Wife: Now Untouchable

Abandoned Ex-Wife: Now Untouchable

Tao Yaoyao

My five-year-old daughter was dying in the ICU, her heartbeat replaced by the continuous, electronic scream of a flatline. I gripped her cold hand, my throat sealed shut by a terror so absolute I couldn't even cry out. I dialed my husband Grayson's private number, the one reserved only for me and his assistants. He declined the call instantly. A second later, a text buzzed against my palm: "In a meeting. Do not disturb. Stop calling." Five miles away, Grayson was at a luxury gala, adjusting his silk tie and laughing with Belle Escobar. He told her I was just being "dramatic" and using our daughter's "fever" as an excuse to avoid the event. He had no idea Effie's heart had already stopped. When I finally reached our penthouse, soaked from the rain and carrying Effie's small socks in a plastic bag, Grayson didn't even look at me. He snapped at me for ruining the hardwood floors and asked if I'd left Effie with the nanny just to "feel sorry for myself." Three days later, while I buried our daughter in a small, lonely ceremony, Grayson was at the Hamptons. Belle posted a photo of him golfing with the caption: "A mental health day with the boys." He didn't even attend the funeral, but he returned home demanding I clear out Effie's room to make a study for Belle's son. The injustice burned through me until there was nothing left. I swallowed a handful of sleeping pills, desperate to join my daughter. But instead of the darkness, I woke up to blinding lights and the scent of Grayson's expensive cologne. I was standing in a ballroom, wearing a blue silk dress I had already burned. Above me, a banner read: "Happy 5th Birthday Kaiden & Effie." I was back, exactly one year before the tragedy. This time, I wasn't going to be the grieving wife. I was going to be their worst nightmare.

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book
Married to the enemies son Married to the enemies son Rae buthelezi Fantasy
“Celeste Monroe never forgot the night her world crumbled. Her father was framed, her family name ruined, and behind it all was the powerful Ryker empire. Years later, reborn under a new identity, Celeste returns with a single goal-revenge. When fate offers her the chance to marry Jace Ryker, the estranged son of the man who destroyed her life, she says yes without hesitation. Jace is cold, calculating, and haunted by a past he refuses to share. He wants nothing from his father's world, least of all a wife he barely knows. But their forced union ignites a dangerous chemistry neither of them can deny. As secrets surface and loyalties are tested, Celeste must decide how far she's willing to go to get justice-and whether revenge is worth losing the man she never meant to love. In a world ruled by power, lies, and blood, trust is deadly-and love might be her greatest downfall.”
1

Chapter 1 Mask and mirror

20/05/2025

2

Chapter 2 Knives behind the smile

21/05/2025

3

Chapter 3 The line we crossed

03/06/2025

4

Chapter 4 Before the storm

03/06/2025

5

Chapter 5 When smoke clears

03/06/2025

6

Chapter 6 Beneath the ashes

03/06/2025

7

Chapter 7 The velvet

03/06/2025

8

Chapter 8 The door. She finally opened

03/06/2025

9

Chapter 9 Ashes of her making

04/06/2025

10

Chapter 10 The

04/06/2025

11

Chapter 11 The rescue begins

04/06/2025

12

Chapter 12 The devil introduction

10/06/2025

13

Chapter 13 A Serpent's Warning

13/06/2025

14

Chapter 14 The Devil Walks In

17/06/2025

15

Chapter 15 The Truth She Left Behind

17/06/2025

16

Chapter 16 Before the Storm Breaks

18/06/2025

17

Chapter 17 When the Empire Strikes Back

18/06/2025

18

Chapter 18 Confession in the Glass House

23/06/2025

19

Chapter 19 Ashes and Truth

28/06/2025