Beyond the Flame

No Escape: The Billionaire Won't Sign

I returned to New York with two scuffed suitcases and a broken heart, ready to end my three-year exile as a ghost wife. All I wanted was to sign the divorce papers, move my dying mother to hospice, and vanish from the billionaire Spears family forever. But the moment I stepped into the penthouse, I saw a pair of expensive red-bottomed heels by the door that weren't mine. Carlyle, the husband who hadn't spoken to me in years, was already moving his mistress into our home before the ink on our separation agreement was even dry. The humiliation was only the beginning. Carlyle treated me like an intruder in my own house, yet he forced me to attend high-society galas as his "perfect" wife to protect his reputation. When I tried to leave, he froze my bank accounts, leaving me unable to pay for my mother’s life-saving treatment. He watched my desperation with cold, predatory eyes, flaunting his new romance in the tabloids while keeping me trapped in his freezing home. My mother’s doctors warned me she was running out of time, but Carlyle only used her illness as a leash to keep me from running. I didn't understand why he was doing this to me. I had clearly signed away the money and the name, so why wouldn't he let me go? Why did he have me watched for years if he hated me so much? Why was he flaunting another woman while refusing to sign the papers that would set us both free? What did he want from a woman he claimed to despise? When I finally cornered him with the final decree, Carlyle didn't pick up the pen. He snatched the folder, a flicker of cold triumph in his icy eyes. "The terms are wrong, Beatrix. I'm adding an employment clause. You’re going to work for me, in my office, where I can keep you under my thumb 24/7." He didn't just refuse to sign the papers; he had just turned my divorce into a permanent prison sentence.

Love That Transcends Even Death

On my twenty-fifth birthday, I discovered my boyfriend of seven years and my best friend were having an affair. They gave me matching necklaces-a sea and a mountain-the very set I had picked out for him as a symbol of our love. It was their silent confession, a confirmation of the betrayal I had just witnessed. Later that night, my best friend was attacked. I rushed to her side, only to be met with my boyfriend's fury. He accused me of being selfish and late, then broke up with me, leaving me alone and bleeding in the snow after I coughed up blood from my terminal lung cancer. He didn't see the blood. He didn't know I was dying. He just saw me as an inconvenience. My world shattered. I had been hiding my illness to spare them pain, only to find they were building their happiness on my quiet suffering. I received his call from the hospital, not out of concern for me, but because he had just discovered the truth about my cancer. He was too late. I was already on a plane to Oregon, having sent my final message: "I love you both. Always. Find your happiness. I'll be okay." This was my last gift to them-their freedom, bought with my life.

The Fiancé Who Chose Another

My fiancé, Jacob, crashed another woman' s wedding. I found out from a viral video while preparing his favorite dessert to celebrate our upcoming IVF cycle. It was Kierra Gates, the "struggling artist" he always claimed to pity. This wasn't the first time. Three years ago, he beat a man bloody for her, a public scandal that nearly broke us. I stood by him then, swallowing the humiliation and my friends' warnings. I even forgave him for the miscarriage his violent outburst caused. He swore it was over, that our future, our family, was all that mattered. But as I watched the video of him snatching her from the altar, his promises echoed like a cruel joke. He' d abandoned me again, on the cusp of our dream, for the same woman. My love for him, a fifteen-year constant, finally ran dry. This wasn't just another betrayal; it was the end. I picked up the phone, my hand steady. "I'd like to cancel my IVF appointment," I told the clinic. "And schedule an abortion. As soon as possible."

The Alpha Signed My Rejection By Mistake

For three years, I was Alpha Laurence's fated mate, a title he never honored. He was in love with another woman, Rosalie, and I was just an inconvenient placeholder he refused to mark. The night my father lay dying, I begged him for the life-saving medicine he had promised to deliver. He was with Rosalie. Through our mental link, I heard her laugh in the background before he cut me off. "Stop bothering me with trivial matters," he snarled. His lover then faked an illness, pulling every senior healer away from my father's side. He died while my mate was choosing a tuxedo with another woman. My father's life was a "trivial matter" to the man who was supposed to be my other half. In his obsession, he had become an accomplice to murder. But he had no idea what I had done. Days earlier, while he was distracted by a call from her, I slipped a single page into a thick stack of documents. He signed it without reading, and with a flick of his wrist, he severed his own soul. He had just signed the Ritual of Rejection.

Love's Betrayal, Architecture's Triumph

The acceptance letters for NYU, side-by-side on my desk, symbolized four years of high school effort and a shared dream with David: studying architecture in New York City. Our entire lives were perfectly planned. Then, I overheard David on the phone, his voice low and excited, revealing a horrifying truth: "California is going to be insane. No, she has no idea. I can't do it anymore. The clinginess... I need to be free." My world shattered. The boy I'd loved since childhood, who held our future, was crushing it without a thought. He admitted he was going to UCLA to study film, and when I asked about our plans, he flatly said, "I' m tired of you. I need space to be my own person." His words hit harder than any blow. I realized my devotion had been seen as a cage. All those years I' d put his needs first, sacrificing my own friendships and passions to support him, believing it was love. Now, I saw it was all to make him feel bigger while I made myself smaller. He' d left me feeling like the villain in our story. I couldn't understand. How could the boy who once declared, "Sarah's not a girl. She's Sarah," now call me clingy and dismiss me like trash? Why did he always pull me back with sweet gestures, only to lash out and abandon me when I tried to look out for him? But a tiny, hard kernel of anger began to form. He thought I couldn't survive without him. I would go to NYU, I would study architecture, and I would prove him wrong. Even if it killed me.

Unmasking My Silicon Valley Betrayal

The day my tech startup sold for a cool eighty million dollars, I walked into my Silicon Valley mansion, ready to share the life-changing news with my fiancée, Chloe, and her mother, Brenda. Instead, I found myself accused. Brenda, her eyes narrowed with disapproval, asked, "Ethan, aren't you going to work today?" I made a joke, a test: "The company went under, Brenda. Actually, we're in a pretty significant amount of debt." Her reaction was immediate, explosive. "Ethan Miller, are you seriously telling me that you expect my daughter to marry you and help pay off your pre-marital debts?" Chloe, my fiancée, walked in, shaking her head. "I told you starting a business was a bad idea, but you never listen. Now look what happened. There goes the designer handbag I wanted." Brenda leaned in, her voice dripping with contempt. "A man needs dignity. My Chloe makes good money as an influencer, but she can't just support a freeloader forever." The mansion we stood in, the car and credit cards Chloe used, the very holiday they were enjoying - all mine. Yet, they saw me as the freeloader. The next few days became a twisted game of power, culminating in Brenda moving into my master bedroom, claiming it was her daughter' s house, and banishing me to the tiny, dark maid' s room. "You and Chloe are not married yet. You can't sleep in the same room!" she shrieked. Exasperated, I endured it. But that night, as I passed my former bedroom, I heard voices, low and chilling. Liam' s voice, angry: "When are you going to get rid of that bastard?" Chloe' s voice, calm and cold: "Not yet. If we get rid of him now, we won't get a single dime of his money." Then Liam, a horrifying whisper: "Is the stuff you're giving him even working? Why isn't he dead yet?" My blood ran cold. Chloe' s next words erased any doubt: "Don't you remember how Ethan's father died? Wasn't it from the exact same stuff you were giving him?" My father' s sudden death, the nosebleeds I'd had for weeks-it all clicked into a terrifying, murderous plot. Suddenly, Brenda' s loud, selfish drama, had accidentally saved my life. My family, the people I loved most, were systematically poisoning me, just as they had my father, to inherit my fortune. I knew then what I had to do. I wouldn' t just survive; I would make them pay.

The Convict Heiress: Marrying The Billionaire

The heavy thud of the release stamp was the only goodbye I got from the warden after five years in federal prison. I stepped out into the blinding sun, expecting the same flash of paparazzi bulbs that had seen me dragged away in handcuffs, but there was only a single black limousine idling on the shoulder of the road. Inside sat my mother and sister, clutching champagne and looking at my frayed coat with pure disgust. They didn't offer a welcome home; instead, they tossed a thick legal document onto the table and told me I was dead to the city. "Gavin and I are getting engaged," my sister Mia sneered, flicking a credit card at me like I was a stray dog. "He doesn't need a convict ex-fiancée hanging around." Even after I saved their lives from an armed kidnapping attempt by ramming the attackers off the road, they rewarded me by leaving me stranded in the dirt. When I finally ran into Gavin, the man who had framed me, he pinned me against a wall and threatened to send me back to a cell if I ever dared to show my face at their wedding. They had stolen my biotech research, ruined my name, and let me rot for half a decade while they lived off my brilliance. They thought they had broken me, leaving me with nothing but an expired chapstick and a few old photos in a plastic bag. What they didn't know was that I had spent those five years becoming "Dr. X," a shadow consultant with five hundred million dollars in crypto and a secret that would bring the city to its knees. I wasn't just a victim anymore; I was a weapon, and I was pregnant with the heir they thought they had erased. I walked into the Melton estate and made an offer to the most powerful man in New York. "I'll save your grandfather's life," I told Horatio Melton, staring him down. "But the price is your last name. I'm taking back what's mine, and I'm starting with the man who thinks he's marrying my sister."

The Heiress' Secret: Ex-Husband, Meet The Real Me

For three years, Deanna endured scorn in a one-sided marriage. When Connor forced her to choose between her career and a divorce, she didn't hesitate-she walked away. Determined to reclaim her birthright, Deanna returned as the brilliant heiress to a medical conglomerate. Her ex and his family begged for another chance, but it was too late. With a tycoon father, a legendary healer mother, a CEO brother who adored her, and a showbiz powerhouse sibling, Deanna's life overflowed with power. Even her arrogant rival, heir to billions, only ever had a soft spot for her.

The Ghost Wife's Billion Dollar Tech Comeback

Today is October 14th, my birthday. I returned to New York after months away, dragging my suitcase through the biting wind, but the VIP pickup zone where my husband’s Maybach usually idled was empty. When I finally let myself into our Upper East Side penthouse, I didn’t find a cake or a "welcome home" banner. Instead, I found my husband, Caden, kneeling on the floor, helping our five-year-old daughter wrap a massive gift for my half-sister, Adalynn. Caden didn’t even look up when I walked in; he was too busy laughing with the girl who had already stolen my father’s legacy and was now moving in on my family. "Auntie Addie is a million times better than Mommy," my daughter Elara chirped, clutching a plush toy Caden had once forbidden me from buying for her. "Mommy is mean," she whispered loudly, while Caden just smirked, calling me a "drill sergeant" before whisking her off to Adalynn’s party without a second glance. Later that night, I saw a video Adalynn posted online where my husband and child laughed while mocking my "sensitive" nature, treating me like an inconvenient ghost in my own home. I had spent five years researching nutrition for Elara’s health and managing every detail of Caden’s empire, only to be discarded the moment I wasn't in the room. How could the man who set his safe combination to my birthday completely forget I even existed? The realization didn't break me; it turned me into ice. I didn't scream or beg for an explanation. I simply walked into the study, pulled out the divorce papers I’d drafted months ago, and took a black marker to the terms. I crossed out the alimony, the mansion, and even the custody clause—if they wanted a life without me, I would give them exactly what they asked for. I left my four-carat diamond ring on the console table and walked out into the rain with nothing but a heavily encrypted hard drive. The submissive Mrs. Holloway was gone, and "Ghost," the most lethal architect in the tech world, was finally back online to take back everything they thought I’d forgotten.

I Slapped My Fiancé-Then Married His Billionaire Nemesis

Being second best is practically in my DNA. My sister got the love, the attention, the spotlight. And now, even her damn fiancé. Technically, Rhys Granger was my fiancé now-billionaire, devastatingly hot, and a walking Wall Street wet dream. My parents shoved me into the engagement after Catherine disappeared, and honestly? I didn't mind. I'd crushed on Rhys for years. This was my chance, right? My turn to be the chosen one? Wrong. One night, he slapped me. Over a mug. A stupid, chipped, ugly mug my sister gave him years ago. That's when it hit me-he didn't love me. He didn't even see me. I was just a warm-bodied placeholder for the woman he actually wanted. And apparently, I wasn't even worth as much as a glorified coffee cup. So I slapped him right back, dumped his ass, and prepared for disaster-my parents losing their minds, Rhys throwing a billionaire tantrum, his terrifying family plotting my untimely demise. Obviously, I needed alcohol. A lot of alcohol. Enter him. Tall, dangerous, unfairly hot. The kind of man who makes you want to sin just by existing. I'd met him only once before, and that night, he just happened to be at the same bar as my drunk, self-pitying self. So I did the only logical thing: I dragged him into a hotel room and ripped off his clothes. It was reckless. It was stupid. It was completely ill-advised. But it was also: Best. Sex. Of. My. Life. And, as it turned out, the best decision I'd ever made. Because my one-night stand isn't just some random guy. He's richer than Rhys, more powerful than my entire family, and definitely more dangerous than I should be playing with. And now, he's not letting me go.

Craving The Wrong Brother

She spent ten years chasing after the right brother, only to fall for the wrong one in one weekend. ~~~ Sloane Mercer has been hopelessly in love with her best friend, Finn Hartley, since college. For ten long years, she's stood by him, stitching him back together every time Delilah Crestfield-his toxic on-and-off girlfriend-shattered his heart. But when Delilah gets engaged to another man, Sloane thinks this might finally be her chance to have Finn for herself. She couldn't be more wrong. Heartbroken and desperate, Finn decides to crash Delilah's wedding and fight for her one last time. And he wants Sloane by his side. Reluctantly, Sloane follows him to Asheville, hoping that being close to Finn will somehow make him see her the way she's always seen him. Everything changes when she meets Knox Hartley, Finn's older brother-a man who couldn't be more different from Finn. He's dangerously magnetic. Knox sees right through Sloane and makes it his mission to pull her into his world. What starts as a game-a twisted bet between them-soon turns into something deeper. Sloane is trapped between two brothers: one who's always broken her heart and another who seems hell-bent on claiming it... no matter the cost. CONTENT WARNING: This story is strongly 18+. It delves into dark romance themes such as obsession and lust with morally complex characters. While this is a love story, reader discretion is advised.  

Rebirth of the Broken Luna: A Second Chance at Luna's Heart

Luna has tried her best to make her forced marriage to Xen work for the sake of their child. But with Riley and Sophia- Xen's ex-girlfriend and her son in the picture. She fights a losing battle. Ollie, Xen's son is neglected by his father for a very long time and he is also suffering from a mysterious sickness that's draining his life force. When his last wish to have his dad come to his 5th birthday party is dashed by his failure to show up, Ollie dies in an accident after seeing his father celebrate Riley's birthday with Sophia and it's displayed on the big advertising boards that fill the city. Ollie dies and Luna follows after, unable to bear the grief, dying in her mate's hands cursing him and begging for a second chance to save her son. Luna gets the opportunity and is woken up in the past, exactly one year to the day Sophia and Riley show up. But this time around, Luna is willing to get rid of everyone and anyone even her mate if he steps in her way to save her son.