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Jilted Girlfriend? I Am The Tycoon's Wife
Cara Lewis sat quietly as her boyfriend of three years pushed a plate of dessert across the table, wearing a rehearsed mask of sorrow. He claimed he had to break up with her for her own good, blaming his lack of connections on Wall Street and insisting he couldn't give her the life she deserved. He acted like a martyr making a tragic sacrifice, waiting for her desperate tears and trembling denial. Instead, Cara calmly pulled out a stack of glossy photos and an elegant engagement invitation. She exposed his secret affair with the wealthy Hailie Lewis, completely dismantling his hypocritical social climb. Leaving the cheating narcissist pale and humiliated, Cara paid the bill and walked out, thinking the trash had finally been taken out. But her newly single evening took a chaotic turn when a teenage gaming partner called in a panic. He begged her to crash his elite prep school and pose as his aunt to save him from expulsion. Cara agreed, flawlessly playing the role of the secret new wife to his uncle, a notoriously ruthless Wall Street titan. She was thoroughly dominating the snobby school board when the office doors suddenly swung open. The real billionaire uncle, Beck Greer, walked into the room. Cara's heart dropped into her stomach as his glacial eyes locked onto her, knowing her social existence in New York was about to end. Caught in a terrifying, inescapable lie, Cara made an insane calculation. She stepped forward, firmly hooked her arm through the billionaire's, and smiled sweetly. "Honey, what took you so long? Julian and I were being bullied." She waited for the executioner's axe to fall, but the untouchable tycoon simply covered her hand with his and played along.Across the white tablecloth of Serafina, Bradyn Hubbard—Cara Lewis's boyfriend of three years—set his wine down and leaned forward. He pulled a thick, cream-colored envelope from his jacket and slid it across the table until it rested in front of her.
Cara looked down. The gold foil lettering was fresh from the press.
Engagement Gala
Groom: Bradyn Hubbard
Bride: Hailie Lewis
Venue: The Lewis Estate, Long Island. Next Saturday.
"Cara, let's be realistic," Bradyn said, his voice dropping into a conspiratorial whisper. "Hailie is my ticket to the top. Marrying her is the only shortcut for a guy like me to get a seat on the board. I don't love her—she's just the ladder I have to climb for my career."
Cara stared at the card, then lifted her cold amber eyes to meet his. "So you're proposing what, exactly?"
Bradyn gave a smug, self-satisfied smile.
"We break up publicly. But in private? Nothing has to change. You funded my MBA and paid my rent for three years—I haven't forgotten that. Stay quiet, be my little secret on the side, and once I secure the Lewis assets, I'll make sure you're taken care of in luxury."
Cara stared at his shameless face, her voice dropping into a dangerous, silky calm. "You sold yourself as a kept man to my stepsister, and you expect me to be your dirty little secret?"
"Don't make it sound so ugly, Cara," Bradyn scoffed, waving a dismissive hand. "That's how men get ahead in Manhattan. Be realistic, Cara. You're broke and you have no one. Who else is going to take care of you? Don't be stupid. Just take the deal."
Cara looked at him for one quiet second, her lips curving into a razor-sharp smile.
"In your wildest dreams, Bradyn."
Without a second's hesitation, Cara picked up her crystal tumbler and threw the cold bourbon and ice straight into his face.
The freezing liquor drenched his styled hair and soaked the collar of his designer shirt. Bradyn gasped, shooting up from the velvet booth in sheer shock, frantically wiping his stinging eyes.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" he snarled, glaring at her as neighboring tables turned to stare.
Cara set the empty glass down with a quiet, deliberate tap.
Without breaking eye contact, she reached into her Saint Laurent bag, pulled out a thick manila folder, and dropped it heavily onto his soaked lap.
"Open it, parasite," Cara said calmly.
Bradyn's hands shook as he ripped the folder open.
A thick stack of forensic-grade photographs spilled across the table. His breath caught in his throat—the photos showed him and Hailie completely naked, tangled in the satin sheets of a suite at the Baccarat Hotel.
Taped right behind the prints was a notarized invoice.
Columbia MBA Tuition & Fees: $186,000.00
Tribeca Penthouse Lease Subsidies: $94,000.00
Bespoke Wardrobe & Networking Tabs: $62,000.00
TOTAL REIMBURSEMENT DUE: $342,000.00
Bradyn's face turned an ashen, sickly gray. "You... you tracked me?"
"Three hundred and forty-two grand," Cara said, tapping the total with a manicured nail. "Wire it back to my account by Monday morning. If you don't, these photos go directly to Hailie's father and the Lewis board."
The shock on Bradyn's face instantly curdled into ugly fury. He slammed both hands on the table, leaning in with a desperate hiss. "You crazy bitch! You gave me that money willingly—that was trust money! You can't sue me for gifts!"
"I invested in a partner, Bradyn, not a freeloader," Cara said coldly. "You lived off my money for three years just to become my stepsister's leashed lapdog. Pay back every cent by Monday, or wear the collar in public."
"You fucking bitch—" Bradyn lunged forward, grabbing for her wrist.
Cara smoothly stepped back, out of his reach. She stood tall, smoothing the front of her tailored coat, looking down at him with absolute disgust.
Slowly, deliberately, she raised her hand and flipped him a clean, effortless middle finger.
"Congratulations on the engagement, Bradyn," Cara said softly. "You and Hailie deserve each other."
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Hard Cash
THE subsiding sea was now a liquid Paradise: its great pellucid braes and hillocks shone with the sparkle and the hues of all the jewels in an emperor's crown. Imagine--after three days of inky sea, and pitchy sky, and Death's deep jaws snapping and barely missing--ten thousand great slopes of emera/0/84578/coverorgin.jpg?v=8071b1fecf32798c030fc5f85d1ba543&imageMogr2/format/webp)
The Scars We Carry
The heavy iron gate of the juvenile detention center groaned open, a sound I had dreamed of for five long years. I stepped out, a small, warm hand in mine-Leo' s. He was my only good thing from that hellhole, a promise to his dying mother. But freedom felt just as suffocating as my cell, because t/0/38342/coverorgin.jpg?v=6a8fa97d140127fe51a7994b810f4e72&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Hard to Go After
Scarlett Park loved Jeffrey Hodges for five years, but he had another woman in his heart. Therefore, she decided to let him go. After a messy night, she signed the divorce papers and left. The next day, she suffered an air crash and everyone thought she was dead. So did Jeffrey. Five years later, sh/0/73414/coverorgin.jpg?v=9b4045eaf6e08129d4e32316a2fd254c&imageMogr2/format/webp)
My hard boss
Sally's new job started in a very unusual way. Now, it's fair to say that Sally really didn't get along with her boss, and he wasn't exactly her biggest fan either. But when he needed someone to pretend to be his girlfriend to help find some secret agents at work, she agreed without much hesitation./0/11539/coverorgin.jpg?v=7480f90ff536891c0dd3eb34f2b89464&imageMogr2/format/webp)
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Hard Cash
Originally published in 1863, Hard Cash was Reade's polemical exposé of the horrors routinely perpetrated against the inmates of England's insane asylums. Alfred Hardie, victim of an embezzlement perpetrated by his father, is tricked into entering an asylum; once there, he finds it almost impos/0/18194/coverorgin.jpg?v=697bd244e097a07764ff30e41fc1ece0&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Mutant Chronicles - A Hard Decision
A short story in the universe of "Mutant Chronicles" / "Warzone" Somewhere in the icy wastes on Mars a squad of soldiers of the Bauhaus megacorporation struggles through the cold darkness. Their goal is a secret research facility of a rival corporation. Accompanied by a mysterious cleric the sold/0/68035/coverorgin.jpg?v=c7c7bdb6f76ce7c779b4c7531322d043&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Runaway Carry The Baby CEO Billionaire
Disaster struck after Jessica woke up in a hotel room with another man-not the gigolo she had booked. After that one night stand: she got pregnant. Jessica's world falls apart when she finds out he's Morgan-CEO of her new company, and that the CEO betrayed her by marrying another woman. Jessica/0/84840/coverorgin.jpg?v=2ff034817ac3509605f3ae9d54af35b1&imageMogr2/format/webp)
My Beautiful, Hard-Won Life
The acrid smell of burnt plastic and copper filled my lungs, a familiar scent in the operating room, but this time, the searing pain in my leg was my own. My familiar workplace was a twisted wreck, a direct consequence of my husband Michael' s latest, championed medical device. Then I saw Liam, my/1/103371/coverorgin.jpg?v=6e6221d78f9fd66f03914b22f32d3731&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Hard to Love
Before the college entrance exam, Shi Sui was forced to move in with her father's friend's family, where she met their son, Yan Tingli. At that time, the young man stood on the stairs in a black turtleneck sweater, his entire presence cold and desolate, looking at her as if she were nothing. He/0/30496/coverorgin.jpg?v=634aaa4eb69f1a1713becc3f28e3212d&imageMogr2/format/webp)
HARD TO GET
Jace Roger is the world's biggest flirt and has always succeeded in getting what he wanted with little to no effort at all. He just knew all the right moves and all the right words to say when it came to getting women to do what he wanted. His perfect bachelor world crashes when Ashley comes into hi/0/1633/coverorgin.jpg?v=85d052c99b2692e22cbfb5ccaaee1571&imageMogr2/format/webp)
The University of Hard Knocks
The "Hard Knocks" Ralph Parlette talks about are also termed "bumps" in this collection of lessons life presents us. He says that when life bumps up against us and we learn the lesson, we do not have to endure it again. We move past it and use the experience as our teacher from which we expand our c/0/49107/coverorgin.jpg?v=38390bab4e62d62bdbed1f742280af76&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Mr. Bodyguard, It's Hard To Love You
For years, Erin has grappled with guilt since her high school classmate passed away. Under the influence of the friends she trusted, Daryl was challenged, resulting in his tragic demise. Seven years later, Erin did not expect that fate would punish her further. In her stepfather's will, he decide/1/117811/coverorgin.jpg?v=5ae79ea67bd17e7420cb5a7e4f6190ae&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Barren Wife? I Carry The Mafia Heirs
At the grand funeral of the Old Boss, an ironclad decree was laid down: the mother of my husband's firstborn son would inherit the entire mafia empire. But before the ashes were even cold, my best friend Serena appeared in a hospital gown, cradling a newborn boy. She slapped a DNA paternity report/0/47069/coverorgin.jpg?v=3f176b98f96529d08b831ea3add63400&imageMogr2/format/webp)
30 DAYS TO CARRY THE BILLIONAIRE'S BABY
Ramona, an assassin trained by her uncle, Kleinfelter, is forced into her final mission - to kill Dranon, a powerful, well know billionaire. Instead of resorting to violence, she decides to seduce him. And Dranon, who has lost all interest in women, surprisingly feels a spark of attraction toward/1/116453/coverorgin.jpg?v=63718efd3e1d5a99d2d905af2c88f5b0&imageMogr2/format/webp)
The Divorced Heiress Strikes Back Hard
Evelyn Beaumont signed the heavy divorce settlement, severing her marriage to billionaire Kalen Sterling. She thought giving up her title as his wife would finally save her family's empire from his hostile takeover. But Kalen didn't just want a divorce; he wanted to completely destroy her. He orche/0/44160/coverorgin.jpg?v=1594541cf0f99d01d723867395d307ee&imageMogr2/format/webp)
When The Alpha Falls He Falls Hard
After her father died, her mother who never loved her sold her for a few thousand dollars to the alpha king. Heather who had never known love since her father's death was looking forward to the end of her life in the hands of the wicked alpha, until she feels the mate pull and realizes that the alph/0/85893/coverorgin.jpg?v=40e62a9757766428fc05b6b633b6d2b6&imageMogr2/format/webp)
I Carry the Child of My Husband and His Mistress
My phone buzzed on the nightstand, its vibration a familiar comfort as I lay in bed, three months pregnant, dreaming of our perfect family. Mark was downstairs, his charismatic voice a lullaby through the floorboards. Then the messages started. Anonymous. Short. And devastating. A picture of Mark,/0/21435/coverorgin.jpg?v=cf6d335baaa976d97f108a1125102402&imageMogr2/format/webp)
