The Cold CEOS Woman
/1/127579/coverbig.jpg?v=2ea34f2e2c2f3053a637d5acfe2fbf25)
His Unwanted Wife, The Hidden Genius
I flew back to New York on my twenty-fifth birthday, carrying vintage gold cufflinks I spent weeks finding for my billionaire husband, Declan. But when I walked into our townhouse, I found him throwing a massive victory party with Sloane, a glamorous socialite, standing by his side as the proud hostess. "Don't cause a scene. Go upstairs." Declan coldly dismissed me in front of his guests. Even Poppy, the rookie player whose shattered ankle I had painstakingly rebuilt, rolled her eyes and ignored me to suck up to Sloane. Hiding in the shadows, I heard the maids gossiping that everyone thought Sloane was the future Mrs. Hartford. To make matters worse, I discovered Sloane had stolen my anonymous, groundbreaking medical algorithm and was planning to present it as her own. First my husband, then the girl I mentored like family, and now the scientific foundation I had built with my own hands. Declan even texted me to cancel our birthday breakfast without a single apology, treating me like an annoying afterthought. My tears vanished, replaced by a freezing clarity. I signed the divorce papers, leaving them on his desk with zero demands for his money. Then I packed my bags, booked a one-way ticket to Boston, and prepared to destroy them on the global stage.
Chapter 1
Aurelia Vance POV:
I had been married to Declan Hartford for three years.
Today was my twenty-fifth birthday, and I had flown back from Boston in secret, hoping for one quiet evening with my husband.
I'd spent a week carefully picking out a pair of gold cufflinks as a gift for my husband.
But the laughter spilling from the front door told me I was already too late: the woman who had taken my place at his side was already inside.
The heavy oak door swung open before I reached the porch. Three young players from the New York Titans, Declan's NHL franchise, stumbled out with crystal tumblers of scotch, laughing loudly. They barely glanced at me as they passed.
I stepped into the grand foyer. The heat hit me instantly,expensive champagne, roasted tenderloin, cigar smoke.
Dozens of people filled the double parlor: executives, scouts, wives in designer dresses.
In the center stood Declan, tall and broad in a bespoke charcoal suit. Beside him, laughing into his ear, was Sloane Whitfield, her backless silver dress catching the chandelier light. Her hand rested on his forearm like she belonged there.
Before I could take another breath, a blur of blonde hair darted past my elbow.
"Sloane!" Poppy Delacroix cried, throwing her arms around Sloane's slender waist. "You were completely right about the catering! This is literally the best victory party the team has ever had!"
Poppy is fourteen, a junior elite forward prospect.
I scouted her two years ago from a crumbling youth league, back when she was at her lowest.
Her parents had once shown me great kindness, and I knew they had already passed away, leaving her all alone in the world.
Declan and I adopted her together.
I rebuilt her shattered ankle with a custom rehabilitation plan.
I had always loved and cared for her as both a mother and a sister.
Now, she did not even glance in my direction.
Declan turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the crowd until his eyes locked onto mine. The easy grin on his sharp jaw vanished instantly. His brows drew together in a hard, irritated line.
He excused himself from Sloane, cutting through the throng of players with long, impatient strides.
"Aurelia," Declan said, stopping two feet in front of me. His voice carried zero warmth. "What are you doing here?"
My throat felt like sandpaper.
"I took the four o'clock flight from Boston," I whispered, clutching the strap of my bag until my knuckles turned white. "It is my birthday, Declan. I thought we could—"
"We are celebrating the division win," he cut in, his tone sharp enough to draw blood. "The board is here. The sponsors are here. Sloane spent four consecutive days coordinating this event so the organization could project stability."
He did not look at me. His gaze slid past my shoulder to the bar, like I was a waitress who had wandered into the wrong room.
"Don't cause a scene," he added quietly. "Go upstairs."
A soft, mocking murmur rippled through a cluster of players' wives standing near the grand staircase. Two women with platinum blowouts exchanged knowing glances over their flutes of Dom Pérignon.
"I didn't know," I said, my voice barely audible over the swelling music. "I am sorry."
I turned toward the staircase, my legs trembling beneath my wool trousers.
Near the landing, Poppy was adjusting her designer jacket in the hallway mirror.
"Poppy," I said softly, pausing beside her. "How is your ankle feeling after Thursday's third period? Did you complete the isometric sequence I sent?"
Poppy rolled her eyes, sighing loudly as she pulled out her phone.
"Aurelia, please, not right now," she muttered without looking at me. "Sloane is introducing me to a marketing director from one of our partners. I don't have time for your spreadsheets."
The dismissive edge in her voice hit me harder than Declan's coldness. I had stayed up until three in the morning reviewing her biomechanical scans while she was recovering from surgery, and now I was just an annoyance in the way of her social ascent.
I walked up the rest of the stairs and entered the primary suite—the massive, sterile bedroom allocated to me under our prenuptial agreement.
I sat on the edge of the mattress and pulled out the velvet box. The gold cufflinks gleamed under the bedside lamp, cold and useless.
Downstairs, cheers erupted. The sound vibrated through the floorboards.
I walked to the French doors overlooking the rear garden. Down on the illuminated patio, Sloane was directing two servers by an ice sculpture. Declan stood beside her, his head bent down as he listened to her speak, his hand casually brushing the small of her back.
They looked like the couple the city expected them to be.
My phone buzzed in my coat pocket. I pulled it out, hoping against hope.
It was an email notification.
"Happy Birthday, Aurelia. Remember that true science requires patience and solitude. You are meant for greater arenas than New York boardrooms. -Dr. Edmund Sterling."
My mentor at Harvard was the only person in the world who had remembered.
I typed a brief "Thank you, Professor" and shut off the screen.
Hours passed. The bass eventually quieted, replaced by the occasional clatter of glassware and slamming car doors. My throat burned with thirst.
At two in the morning, I padded downstairs in my stocking feet to fetch a glass of water from the butler's pantry.
As I rounded the corner near the service hallway, the voices of two newly hired catering maids stopped me dead in my tracks.
"Miss Whitfield is stunning," the first girl whispered, scraping dessert plates into a bin. "Mr. Hartford's girlfriend carries herself like royalty."
"A girlfriend?" the other asked, pausing. "But isn't Mr. Hartford rumored to be married? Is it inappropriate to be this close with Whitfield?"
"Married?Where did that come from? Even if there was one, they must have split long ago. I've worked three events here this month, and Miss Whitfield is the only woman hosting by his side. Everyone knows she's the future Mrs. Hartford."
I shrank back into the cold shadow of the archway, my blood turning to ice.
In the home where I held a legal marriage certificate, my presence had already been wiped clean.
/0/39013/coverbig.jpg?v=0cb7fecb54bc0a3291e5808dcb83a2b5)
The Cold CEO'S Woman
Anita doesn't expect the cold CEO, Liam Jackson, to fall in love with her and choose her over her best friend, Temisa Patrick. She submitted an application for a job with them but was offered a job as his assistant secretary. She never expected the cold CEO to fall in love with her, but love happe
/0/98227/coverbig.jpg?v=f9e5dceee9c8de872760a299acf79574)
The CEOs Fated Nanny
Nova and Theodore's intense relationship was one that was filled with love and ended in pain when she watched him get married to another woman a day after she gave him her virginity. However, life seems to be directing Nova back to Theodore when he unknowingly hires her to be the nanny of his sw
/0/22015/coverbig.jpg?v=220f32f1cbf106082beab7d6176a7c12)
Redeeming The CEOs
"I built my business, my world, from nothing. Everyone thought I would fail, but I stood tall and showed them my worth and now they're envious of me. Imagine that! Me, Phoenix Mills, a woman to envy. If only they knew what I've been through to get where I am today. The hurt. The pain. They wonder wh
/0/65115/coverbig.jpg?v=05bcf89c0b69616d9106eeb2bc9dbf44)
The CEOs Forbidden Obsession
In a world of corporate finance, Maria and Danielle, heirs to rival empires, find themselves entangled in a forbidden love affair. Despite their families' longstanding feud and a tragic past, Danielle falls deeply in love with Maria. But when secrets and lies threaten to destroy their love, Daniel
/0/39571/coverbig.jpg?v=4b2b53603c2196218117360da173227f)
The CEOs Rejected Bride
Hera, a mother of one, started a new life after an overwhelming past. Her past wasn't just called a past for nothing and despite how far she tried to hide it or not let it show her in her day-to-day work, it still found a way to broadcast itself. Despite all the pressure she faced, she remained str
/0/51641/coverbig.jpg?v=72922155f9cb1bb6d88b0099a233ea52)
Mr CEOs Little Bride
His soft lips pressed and nibbled down on her neck. His breathe rugged and hot against her soft skin which seems to make her melt and shudder under him. " You're mine Ruby. I don't care how long it will take for you to realise it, but you're mine...and mine alone" he said the words to her...the wor
/0/84222/coverbig.jpg?v=fe113f07bfa9c24ebe634b10f51cd8de)
The Woman He Became
My wife, Molly, had a best friend, Nate, who was always a little too close for comfort. I tried to ignore the red flags-her late nights with him, his hand always on her arm, their inside jokes that shut me out-but it ate at me. Then, for my birthday, Molly brought Nate along… via video call, to h
/0/25047/coverbig.jpg?v=ef8791c0837da18089d84ee7836594db)
Odette: The mysterious woman
People believe that darkness only comes with night but to Odette. It's always coming. Her identity is hidden from everyone including her name. She rarely speaks unless it's important. Not like she hates it but she's not allowed because of fears that grips her heart. Her name,her face,her power, even
/0/25791/coverbig.jpg?v=65089b0944599d0c2374776c73629f1d)
The Alpha King's Woman
Aranya has been on the run for decades. The more she ran the closer they gets to her. After running for a while she was finally able to settle in Manhattan but not for long as she met the man who hayed her the most there. Alpha King Alfredo Garcia. The good thing is , he couldn't recognize her.
/0/51954/coverbig.jpg?v=6a268d92536f39c85b31e6b8f0ec6641)
The Woman withitn Me
After fleeing a forced marriage, Isabella embarks on an exhilarating and enigmatic journey, one fraught with unforeseen consequences. A peculiar gift from that tumultuous night compels her to question her very existence and to draw upon her inner reserves of strength. Resolute, the young woman seize
/0/16555/coverbig.jpg?v=5d546818800044c652a6518cf1e275f0)
/0/1649/coverbig.jpg?v=92c54a6432f54cb35e3d7bb04bb835d1)
The Woman-Haters
A story of mine called, like this, "The Woman-Haters," appeared recently in one of the magazines. That story was not this one, except in part - the part dealing with John Brown and Miss Ruth Graham. Readers of the former tale who perhaps imagine they know all about Seth Atkins and Mrs. Emeline Basco
/0/23443/coverbig.jpg?v=d45cd05f475f98562ccb7bfaff616a24)
The CEOs Assistant Is His Ex
"And where the hell is the supposed assistant?" He angrily asked. "I'm here." A soft voice answered shyly. There was something about the voice that was oddly familiar. He was ready to fire the person until he turned around to find no one other than Shayan West, a woman he heavily despised.
/0/78802/coverbig.jpg?v=d516010c9b1c2c9a8eaa06b335e3c736)
The Mafia's Wrong Woman
"Please... I'm not her." But the ropes bite tighter, and the man with dead eyes doesn't flinch. Fortune Daquino was never meant to be here. Mistaken for Emily Carter, she's taken by Zeke Zee Armani, the kingpin, predator, embodiment of danger and desire. What Zeke doesn't know? Fortune can body m
/1/105358/coverbig.jpg?v=1798075c21ae602b8a4ae3ddcf03404c)
The Billionaire's Kept Woman
Warning!!! This novel contain scenes that are not suitable for children. That includes on killing, suicide... torture... and R-21 scenes Keira Del Carlo sold her virginity in the auction to save her mother and a billionaire bought her for more than 4 million dollars. Her life turned upside down whe
/0/61938/coverbig.jpg?v=d4078afec9a11b933a815034e148cc7b)
The Mafia Don's Woman.
The Alfonso series✓ Book 2✓ He just regarded me, I suddenly felt self-conscious. What does he see me as now, did I change from the person he knew? "Why am I still here, you just terminated my employment." I broke the silence, for me, it was uncomfortable to stay under his dark gaze. "I di
/0/39842/coverbig.jpg?v=ce53af418578d585e4b2ced3113a690b)
The Dangerous Wolf's Woman
Ann Maverick was traveling with her parents through the thick dense forest, but then, Her parents' vehicle broke down in the middle of the forest path. ''What's wrong Papa?'' Little Ann had asked. ''Nothing. Stay back in the car. The guards would fixed it,'' her father replied, little did her f
/0/25828/coverbig.jpg?v=723db197a8d7b4eba110b76f2df108cb)
THE OTHER WOMAN
Kantil is a beautiful divorce woman with a body like a Spanish guitar. Since her divorce, Kantil has struggled to meet the needs of her sickly child and mother. Meeting an old friend carries Kantil into the night world. In there, she met with Hendrik. A wealthy man who owns many companies, Hendrik
/0/29884/coverbig.jpg?v=b4a233e08cf0d0ffc308f51a57f5df42)
The Alpha's Woman
Warning! Warning!! Matured Content here! This book is rated 18+. Read at your own risk. To bring back his beloved dead wife to life, Demon has to kill and bring the souls of 16 Princesses to Hades. He accidentally met Elena who happens to be his Dark Shadow Mate and when he discovered she was the
/0/58292/coverbig.jpg?v=006059d8dbb67b6b89dcc997662ee85d)
The heir's woman
Blurb: When a twist of fate forces her to return to her hometown of LA, Renee, a struggling pianist, finds herself thrust into a world she thought she'd left behind. Back home, Renee's family's guest house teeters on the edge of ruin and with real estate sharks circling and time running out, she m
