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Get the APPLiving in the Shadows by Déra Brown
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Married To My Ex-Fiancé's Silent Uncle
Twenty minutes before the "Wedding of the Century" at The Plaza, I stood outside the Presidential Suite in a fifty-thousand-dollar Vera Wang gown. I was the girl from a West Virginia trailer park about to marry Hugh Maxwell, the golden heir to a billion-dollar defense empire. I pushed the door open only to find Hugh pinned against the bed with my own stepsister, Floy. She was wearing my bridal diamond necklace, and the sounds of their laughter scraped against my eardrums like sandpaper. I didn't scream; I listened as Hugh grunted that once the wedding was over and the trust fund unlocked, he'd dump "that hillbilly trash" on a bus back to the mountains. They weren't just cheating; they were planning to steal my family's land deeds and leave me with nothing. When I set off the sprinklers and exposed their naked bodies to the paparazzi, the Maxwell family didn't apologize. They called me a "greedy peasant" and threatened to ruin my life unless I signed a new deal to save their crashing stock. I realized then that I was never a bride to them. I was a transaction, a rounding error in a ledger to be used and discarded. They thought my poverty made me weak and my silence made me a victim. "If we don't have a marriage certificate by midnight, the bank freezes thirty percent of our liquidity," their lawyer warned. So, I gave them exactly what they wanted. I used a loophole in their hundred-year-old family covenant and married the only other direct heir available. I didn't marry Hugh. I walked into the ICU and married his uncle, Fleet Maxwell-the legendary war hero who had been in a vegetative state for months. Now, I am the matriarch of the Maxwell dynasty. I've suspended Hugh's executive powers, exiled my mother-in-law to the Swiss Alps, and taken control of the family vault. They think I'm just a gold-digger waiting for a "corpse" to die so I can collect a fifty-million-dollar widow's payout. But last night, as I lay beside my comatose husband, the man they called a vegetable gripped my hand back.chapter 1- I beg your pardon
Dahlia POV
It was another morning, I was up and ready for school.
I didn't wait for my alarm to ring before I woke up this morning. I'm having chemistry as the first subject this morning so I can't bear to go late and my school is damn strict with rules.
Luckily enough for me, I'm a scholarship student cos I know my uncle would never pay the school fees.
"Dahlia?" I heard my name.
that's probably my uncle...why is he shouting my name again
"I'm coming" I replied and walked down the stairs packing my hair in a pony tail style
"Dahlia?" he called again
"I'm coming..." I replied and walked down
There he was standing.. his eyes went up at me and then I sighed
"Good morning uncle Nathan" I said
his eyes ran down my body from my head to my toe
"where are you going?" he asked
"what's that supposed to me...school off course" I shrugged
"school?" he scoffed
"I thought I told you to take a day off" he said
"and I told you I can't do that..I'm having chemistry this morning" I replied and walked to the table
"are you crazy...have you forgotten my family are moving in" he said
I sighed and turned to him
"I remember that..I'll live with my cousins.. that's good"I smiled
"you have to stay home and prepare the house ready for them" he said almost yelling
Wtf!
what's this supposed to mean?
"its your family not...they are not guest, we are families so why should I do all that?"
"don't ask me again.." he fired back
"don't get me wrong.. all I'm saying is they are free to move round the house..we are one anyways" I sighed and picked my lunch pack
"I can't miss today's class that's why I did all my chores as fast as possible" I said but didn't get a reply
"they'll be here any moment from now"
"no big deal" I shrugged
"bye uncle!!!" I waved at him and left
I sighed immediately... he can be frustrating
What?
Its my fathers house anyways.. he better behave himself
I walked to the gate and just then a car parked before me
"hey!" I exclaimed
"how on earth did you get a driving license" I spat out
He almost hit me
Just as I tried to walk away I paused..
I turned back and look to see who came down...
A woman
A guy....
a girl....
and another girl...
"I guess this is the house mom..its really beautiful" the little girl said
"Awww thanks, its my house and please are you....?" I paused
"her house? I thought its Dad house" the girl said
I chuckled.. I guess you must be who he said was coming.
I said walking back to them..
"good morning.. uncle Nathan is in" I replied
I paused.. a girl was giving me some kinda look
I turned to her.."what?" I asked more of a whisper
"just get the loads in" the woman said and walked away with the girls
"loads?" I asked no one
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Living in the shadows
Dahlia Kye, a young pretty teenager lives with her uncle and his family in her father's duplex after he passed away so she can get rid of boredom but things got complicated when her cousin began to attend her school and the school hottest boy hid his 3 years crush from her but was about to tell her/0/64290/coverorgin.jpg?v=fafdf95a233ebb2c95af3df5053b15ec&imageMogr2/format/webp)
LOVE IN THE SHADOWS
Detective Rachael's life seemed perfect-a loving partner, a beautiful child, and a fulfilling career in Chicago's toughest crime unit. But when a brutal serial killer known as The Veil begins targeting women who look just like her, Rachael's perfect life begins to unravel. Teaming up with Alex, a sh/0/72259/coverorgin.jpg?v=e8f26e5188e72e5f6932c94400e7f254&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Love in the shadows
Olive's world is shattered by her parents' death, and she's left with no memory of the event. But as she tries to rebuild her life, she finds solace in Kwan, a mysterious boy with a supernatural secret: he's a werewolf. As she falls deeper into the world of werewolves, she must confront the darkness/0/20689/coverorgin.jpg?v=605bc9dfe7611aed1ae229b50c7b1e23&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Something In The Shadows
Travelling to a new town, and leaving behind your home can be a scary though but sometimes it's just something one has to do. Annica finds herself in a similar situation when he travels miles from her home country to New York, USA to peruse her dream and work under the most renowned chef Christopher/0/22485/coverorgin.jpg?v=6579c3c4bb174b2c02e0e495f6135156&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Kiss in the Shadows
When Miranda Forbes wakes from a stolen kiss under the cover of darkness, her world unravels. The man before her is not Fiore Ilarde, her devoted boyfriend of three years and newly minted fiancé, but Xylon Diaz-Fiore's closest confidant and the last man she ever wanted to be near. What should have b/0/21751/coverorgin.jpg?v=55eec7bd8c6ddef6ed23f46ede30247b&imageMogr2/format/webp)
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Wolf in the shadows
In the wilds of the Pacific Northwest, Lily has always felt out of place. Haunted by dreams of a mysterious wolf and inexplicable pull toward the forest, she begins to uncover the truth about her origins. As a young woman with the rare gift of controlling the supernatural, she is forced into a world/0/19974/coverorgin.jpg?v=dd3a1d1672d3a986fbe43ce56834b425&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Love in the Shadows
Hunter is a male model and the type of guy that men aspired to be and all the women wanted but he only had eyes for CeeCee. She was a plus-sized chef that worked in her families restaurant but had aspirations to do her own thing. Hunter kept his relationship with CeeCee in the shadows claiming it w/0/45196/coverorgin.jpg?v=b33d78c05f4f4046faea9de7a977933a&imageMogr2/format/webp)
LOVE IN THE SHADOWS..
Samantha, a sweet and innocent woman, had no idea she had allowed the shady and dangerous Leonard of the Denton gang into her life when she agreed to help the attractive man. Samantha is a kind, innocent young woman who is attempting to move on from her past. She meets Leonard, a shady and perilou/0/70300/coverorgin.jpg?v=de170a100569aaf28a9eb1a3541ed10f&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Love In The Shadows
Julian's team had outdone themselves. The club sparkled with elegance, from the glimmering chandeliers to the sleek black and gold décor. Lexi's mural stretched across the main wall, its vibrant colors glowing under the soft lights. Guests gathered near it, admiring the art and snapping photos. "Yo/0/88827/coverorgin.jpg?v=dd03c1b2bf893645185578f79500fc44&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Claimed In The Shadows
Dravina has spent seven years trapped in a gilded cage. As the Luna of the Firestone Pack, she endures a life of cruelty and control under her possessive mate, Alpha Cassian. Desperate for freedom, she makes a daring escape into the wilderness armed with nothing but a small bag and the unbreakable w/0/84679/coverorgin.jpg?v=20260106114907&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Crowned by the shadows
I was supposed to find my mate, be chosen, and finally belong. Instead, I was rejected-publicly, cruelly, and humiliated before my entire pack. Worse? He chose another right in front of me. With nothing left, I ran-into the forbidden mountains where death was rumored to walk. But death didn't fin/0/60589/coverorgin.jpg?v=e115eb6cf7fb572abde9c8bc57bf5e96&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Living In The Haunted House
Because I was greedy for a cheap place to live, I moved into a haunted house. The old beggar downstairs warned me in terror, "Miss, this house is haunted, you can't live here!" I smiled and reassured him, "It's okay, I'm even poorer than the ghosts, so if I move in, I'll be the one causing trouble."/0/70031/coverorgin.jpg?v=20250320104822&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Vows in the Shadows
She signed a contract to survive. She never expected to fall for the devil himself. Amanda Holson's quiet life as a gallery assistant shatters when she's forced into a contract marriage with Leonardo Castelli-a billionaire whose name is whispered in the shadows of New York's underworld. Ruthless, p/1/106936/coverorgin.jpg?v=7c5dcba4488d616e4731ab633cd4ae92&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Waiting in the shadows
Maya Bennett never expected to cross paths with Lucas Thoreau again not after high school, not after life pulled them in different directions, and certainly not inside a corporate boardroom years later. Their reunion is cold. Professional. Controlled. But beneath the silence lies unfinished history./0/79550/coverorgin.jpg?v=121ed9b8bb0ede45f74832f28b2942ae&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Living in Her Shadow
I had spent six years as a secret, my relationship with Ethan hidden from my family, dismissing their attempts to set me up with a "serious" doctor. Then, a drunken comment revealed the truth: I was just a stand-in, a convenient replacement for Chloe Davis, Ethan's high-school sweetheart who had su/0/51706/coverorgin.jpg?v=43160f78304c639b6b535fba48eb3016&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Treacherous Living in the Imperial Harem
There were such a group of people living in the Imperial Harem: Empress Dowager, grasping great power in her hand and observing others in the Imperial Harem indifferently; Queen Mother Ji, the late Emperor’s first wife, focusing on supporting her relatives to grab powers in the imperial court; Queen/0/46835/coverorgin.jpg?v=481d3087c83b48b03bdb23729457a8d6&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Seduced By Shadows
"In the corner of a secret nightclub, my eyes met a stranger's. He exuded a commanding and powerful aura. Our gazes locked and an electric spark leaped between us, drawing us together like a magnetic force. The dance of seduction began, a silent exchange of desire and intrigue. The music's sultry te/0/72989/coverorgin.jpg?v=d1c7a3a6a5b9fb3c6eb51d0f8349063d&imageMogr2/format/webp)
Bound By Shadows And Desire
She was treated like a piece of property, and he was the one with the winning bid. Now, she is at the mercy of a monster. Isla Laurent has always been the dutiful daughter, gentle, and groomed to fit the mold of a perfect high-society lady. However, when her father's gambling debts spiral out of c/0/48486/coverorgin.jpg?v=3e0a66e76c6626a4b2af38b9a498bff8&imageMogr2/format/webp)
