Marian Tee – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read

Marian Tee – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.wownovels.com Tue, 16 Jun 2026 12:51:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 http://www.wownovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/favicon.png Marian Tee – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.wownovels.com 32 32 Falling for My Ex-Boyfriend’s Billionaire Uncle Read Online Marian Tee http://www.wownovels.com/falling-for-my-ex-boyfriends-billionaire-uncle-read-online-marian-tee Tue, 16 Jun 2026 12:51:13 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/falling-for-my-ex-boyfriends-billionaire-uncle-read-online-marian-tee Genre: Alpha Male, Billionaire, Insta-Love Authors: Marian Tee Advertisement

Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 26246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 131(@200wpm)___ 105(@250wpm)___ 87(@300wpm)

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Kyara’s billionaire boss wants to steal her heart…while her ex-boyfriend wants to destroy her.

For three years, Lyrius Havington has held his possessiveness and jealousy in check. But when he finally pulls her into his arms for a kiss that makes both of them forget everything…why is she pushing him away? Why is she still choosing that boy over him?
For three years, Kyara has been a faithful girlfriend to Cyrus…only to find out he’s a liar, a cheat, and now—a blackmailer?
Come when I call…or I’ll burn your boss’s life to the ground

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Three Years Ago

Lyrius

Short red hair. A lovely face that somehow reminds me of a green-eyed kitten, only this one wears oval-framed glasses, a buttoned-up blouse, and a pencil skirt that modestly ends a few inches below her knees.

There’s something old-fashioned about her, which some may even see as prudish.

But for me she’s prim and perfect, and that’s what doesn’t make sense at all.

She’s the exact opposite of the kind of woman I usually date, so why can’t I take my eyes off her?

“Sir?”

My assistant’s voice yanks me back to reality, and I swiftly turn my attention back to her. “What is it?”

She looks at me suspiciously, but I only gaze back at her impassively, knowing that if I say a word, it would just let the older woman know she’s rattled me. Her intuition is the main reason why I hired her over everyone else—

“Is there someone among the trainees you recognize? Or someone you believe would be a good fit for your office?”

But it’s also the worst thing about having her as an assistant, with how she makes it impossible for me to lie to myself.

I force myself to look back at the training room, where over a hundred applicants are hard at work answering test after test in hopes of working for our company. While the room’s two-way windows allow us to observe from the outside without being seen ourselves, I’m conscious of how my assistant is closely paying attention to where I look as I let my gaze sweep over the room one last time.

And truthfully, I am tempted.

I’ve never been the type to leave things to chance nor have I ever shied away from taking control if I see the slightest opening to dominate. What I want, I pursue relentlessly. But because I’ve also never been the type to mix business with pleasure—

You know better, Havington.

My gaze sweeps past the girl that catches my eye without pause, and my expression remains impassive when I look back at my assistant. “My decision remains the same,” I tell her. “You’re the one who has to train her. So pick whoever you think is best.”

“If you say so, Mr. Havington.” Lara’s gaze has turned thoughtful as she says this, and I wonder if this is something her Army husband has taught her. She’s making me feel defensive even though I know I haven’t done anything wrong.

I’m a man before I’m anyone’s boss, and a girl’s caught my eye.

I’m doing my duty by keeping my interest to myself and letting Lara do the picking.

So why the heck do I still feel like my world’s about to turn upside-down?

Kyara

Once, there were 128. Went down to 44. And then there’s us, the remaining ten college graduates who were officially given job offers by Wallace International, and I...I think I have to bite my lip really hard because I can’t possibly squee.

The envelope H.R. slides across the table is fancy. Like, really fancy. I’m not sure what it’s made of—something sturdier than plain paper, but something more expensive than cardboard? Should I know what this is, just to fit in?

To-do #2 Know your paper types.

But anyway, what’s inside is what matters the most, and...oh?

Aside from the usual details about compensation, a rule book for employees, a separate glossy brochure of the company history, the thing that matters the most has been reduced to...four digits?

I’m supposed to work for 7003?

Someone whistles beside me, the sound making me look up, and...double oh.

It’s Cyrus, the first-placer in our group of ten because he scored the highest marks on all the tests and interviews in our application period, which were the most grueling three months of my life. But, like, in a good way. As in, you get to learn something new every day, and anyway, I know I’m digressing.

The point is, Cyrus, who’s blond, attractive, and just so well-dressed at all times that a part of me is just dying to ask him for style advice—he and I never really had a chance to talk in the past three months, and that’s why—

“That’s rare,” Cyrus remarks.

I forget all about the oddness of him suddenly being friendly at his words. “You know what it means then?” Because I’m honestly stumped. What does 7003 have to do with my being accepted for a job?

My question makes him smile for some reason, and while I know all of the girls in our training batch think he’s cute and all—

His smile is really refreshing because it’s not the kind of smile you’d ever get from the usual sexual predators and drunks that my mom loves to date. Cyrus’s is a good, harmless smile, and so I allow myself to smile back. It just feels good to be in the company of a normal guy, you know?

“It’s a Wallace International thing,” Cyrus continues, leaning closer like he’s letting me in on something. “When you get hired, you get the room number, and then you try to find your way there without asking.”

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The Mafia Husband’s Last Chance – A Billionaire Breaks My Heart Read Online Marian Tee http://www.wownovels.com/the-mafia-husbands-last-chance-a-billionaire-breaks-my-heart-read-online-marian-tee Tue, 16 Jun 2026 12:50:39 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/the-mafia-husbands-last-chance-a-billionaire-breaks-my-heart-read-online-marian-tee Genre: Alpha Male, Mafia Authors: Marian Tee Advertisement

Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 25827 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 129(@200wpm)___ 103(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)

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Eighteen years ago, he broke her heart on their wedding night. Now he’s back. And he’s not asking.

Juniper Lake was twenty-four when she walked into a Lake Como bridal suite and found her husband in bed with another woman. She left Italy that same night. She buried his name. And for the past eighteen years, she’s told everyone—including herself — that she’s fine.

And more importantly, she doesn’t let herself think of him.

Until one Monday night, she comes home and finds him on her couch, speaking in an Italian accent she’s never heard him use.

Ciao, moglie mia.

That’s when she knows.

He was never the husband she thought he was.

In fact, she never knew him at all.

Nicolo Sestini is Italian. Mafia. Once a missing heir, now back to reclaim his life after defeating his most dangerous enemy. He’s also the husband Juniper didn’t know she still had.

Nicolo doesn’t apologize for the wedding night. Doesn’t explain where he’s been. He just tells her she’s still his wife.

And that he’s taking her back.

Whether she’s willing or not.

A fast-paced, emotionally devastating marriage-in-crisis mafia romance with an unforgivable husband, eighteen years of secrets, and a wife who doesn’t know yet that she’s about to be his again. Standalone with HEA. Tissues recommended

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Prologue

I THINK THE DRESS IS fine.

The dress is silk, and it’s the color of champagne and Odessa picked it out for me at the boutique three days ago. It zips up the side, and it has four tiny silk-covered buttons at the shoulder that I’m wondering if my husband (aaah! Am I really married?) will take the time to slowly unbutton, or is he the type who’s going to just rip my dress off—

What in the world are you thinking, Juniper Lake?

I mean, Juniper Lake Simons!

What in the world are you thinking, Mrs. Simons?

My hands fly up to cover my face in embarrassment even though I know it’s only me, myself, and I who have witnessed the shameful direction of my thoughts.

A laugh makes me peep through the slits of space between my fingers, and I see Odessa looking at me knowingly.

Eep.

“Just go, will you? Before you start embarrassing me, too.”

A half-wail, half-laugh escapes me. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I can’t believe...” I can’t even finish the thought. I’m blushing anew, and Odessa starts blushing, too, when she sees my reddened cheeks.

Peas in the same pod, the two of us. These days, the fact that we’re still virgins in our mid-twenties isn’t something to be proud of, but it’s just how we are.

“Seriously, June—” Odessa starts pushing me towards the door. “You shouldn’t keep your bridegroom waiting.”

“I know, I know, but—” I just have to turn around and give my best friend a tight hug. If not for her keeping me company last night, I don’t think I could’ve slept a wink. “Thank you,” I say feelingly. “Thank you for coming to my wedding.”

Odessa hugs me back. “You know I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Now, for the last time—go.” She pushes me out into the hallway, and I can only laugh when the door to the suite we shared last night slams behind me.

I guess that’s that, then.

As the hallways from both ends meet at the elevator lobby, there’s a terrace on one side that overlooks Lake Como. It’s the most beautiful scenery, but it was even more beautiful earlier, with the sun setting behind us while the mayor pronounced us husband and wife.

The elevator doors open, and I tap the scanner with the card to the penthouse suite. The light turns green, the doors close, and then it’s the most exciting countdown ever, as I watch the floor number on the screen change.

Four. Five. Six.

I feel giddy and restless, unable to believe that after just six months of dating, Nate and I are married. As in...I’m no longer Juniper Lake, but Mrs. Nate Simons. Forever. I’m sure other people will think things are moving too fast, especially since I also had to quit my job for this, and prepare for a life abroad because of Nate’s work. But that’s just how love is, right? Where your love goes, you go, too.

I look at my wedding ring, and a helpless smile touches my lips. Wife. I’m a wife. And not just anyone’s wife, but I’m the wife of the only man I’ll love in this life.

The doors finally open, and it’s when I step out, and the quiet grandness of the penthouse suite envelops me—

It’s at that moment I start feeling something’s wrong.

But I push the thought away as soon as it pops up.

Bridal jitters, I tell myself. That’s all there is to it, and bridal jitters are very, very normal.

All the lights are out, leaving only the silvery sheen of moonlight to guide my way. A part of me is wondering why there isn’t any sign of champagne and flowers, or the signature chocolates that this hotel is supposedly known for. Everywhere I look, all I see is the standard suite and nothing that says this...this is the room where love blooms between newlyweds.

Then again...

Maybe this is really just how it is with rich people and their expensive hotel suites? Maybe everything I’m expecting is too crass for their tastes?

Yes, I think that’s it.

I’m a middle-class kind of girl, so this is all new to me, but it doesn’t mean something’s wrong. I’m just being silly, and I’m letting my bridal jitters turn me into Little Mrs. Paranoid.

Just think of Nate, I urge myself.

Tonight is all about Nate and you.

One foot forward, another one follows.

Husband and wife. That’s it.

My hand starts shaking as I reach for the knob. I’m not sure why that is, but I tell myself it’s okay as the door slowly swings open. In just a matter of seconds, what I’d see, and who I’ll find—that’s what will make all of my fears, doubts, and bridal jitters go away.

But instead, I end up asking myself—

Is this the wrong room? The wrong floor? Or even the wrong dimension?

I’m ready to believe anything and everything, but how can I when that’s his wedding ring on the bedside table, and I know I can’t be mistaken because I was the one who chose it. For him. For the man who just swore to love me and only me...until death do us part.

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Falling for My Ex-Husband’s Billionaire Boss Read Online Marian Tee http://www.wownovels.com/falling-for-my-ex-husbands-billionaire-boss-read-online-marian-tee Wed, 20 May 2026 17:50:50 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/falling-for-my-ex-husbands-billionaire-boss-read-online-marian-tee Genre: Alpha Male, Erotic, Insta-Love Authors: Marian Tee Advertisement

Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 25544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 128(@200wpm)___ 102(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >26

She’s forty-two, twenty years married, and one closed door away from losing everything she thought was hers.

Their weekend getaway was supposed to be a trip they’d never forget. And that’s exactly what happens…when Nicole finds her husband in bed with a girl almost half his age.
She walks out in a daze…and straight into the arms of Chase Everford. Tall, good-looking, and British. He’s also her husband’s billionaire boss, and now, her knight in shining armor.

An emotional, fast-paced, microdrama-length marriage-in-crisis romance. Wronged wife. No cheating by the leads. Intense chemistry, feel-good billionaire romance. HEA guaranteed

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Chapter One

A CLOSED DOOR.

That says everything when you're a married man, your assistant happens to be young and nubile, and now those two people who should never be alone are inside a room.

And the door's closed.

For one moment, I'm just so tempted to just walk away. Because clichés are clichés for a reason, and right now all I'm thinking is—

What I don't know won't hurt me, so why can't I? Why shouldn't I just walk away? Our marriage isn't perfect, but we've been together since college. What are people going to say if things are exactly as I feared?

So just walk away, walk away, walk away—

And yet my legs are moving at the same time I'm thinking of walking away.

And instead of leaving I'm walking closer and closer, and the next thing I know I'm reaching for the knob, and it's actually cooperating with me, turning silently in my fingers like it wants me to see the evidence with my own eyes.

The door slowly opens. One stealthy inch at a time until I finally see...shapes.

Under the covers.

That's all I can allow myself to think.

Two shapes moving simultaneously in a dance that's as old as time, and just as hideous because these two shapes weren't supposed to be together behind a closed door.

These two shapes weren't bound by matrimony, weren't forged by a relationship that spanned decades. And yet the sounds they're making right now...

In the same bed that I woke up from this morning—

I turn away.

My legs have stopped shaking for some reason.

They're not shaking. They're just standing there. Holding me up like nothing's happened. Like the world hasn't just—

Stop.

Don't think.

Just walk.

And as I slowly descend, I hear...one of the shapes, yes, that's how I should think of them for now.

Shapes.

Just shapes.

Shapes, shapes, shapes.

And one of those shapes, the younger one, she's noticed the door slightly ajar—

"Has that always been opened?"

Her tone is so innocent and young. How is that possible when she's under the covers with a shape that's not hers?

"Ignore it," the older shape groans. "Come back—"

"I'm serious, Mr. Big."

Did she just—

Did she seriously—

"Please check it for me?"

A loud sigh.

"Alright, anything for my tiny."

Oh, how cute.

Mr. Big and his tiny. I don't think we were that cute even when we first started dating back in college.

Maybe that's why...he's in there with her right now and not me?

Maybe that's why I'm out here pretending my legs aren't shaking when they so obviously are?

Don't.

Don't go down that road.

Not yet.

I'm walking. That's the only job I have right now. To walk. Like I've walked down a hundred hallways exactly like this one for him, in heels I picked because he liked them, in dresses I picked because he liked them, smiling at concierges and bellmen and the wives of the other men who matter, because that's the job I signed up for at twenty-two.

I tossed my dreams all out of the window because he asked me to, and I believed that was what it meant to be a good wife.

That was all I wanted.

To be a good wife, and...and...just stop thinking, Nicole!

I look around desperately.

The walls.

Okay, the walls then.

I focus on them. The walls are...cream-colored. And...and the carpet underneath my heels is a solid color of gray and luxuriously thick. Very neutral and chic. Just like the rest of this hotel. And all the other guests, even the two shapes under—

"Nicole?"

The sound of my name on his lips is like having cold, hard reality slap me, and I just start running.

"Nicole, wait—"

I feel like laughing and crying. He sounds panicked. That's all I hear. Panic. Because I guess...that's all he cares about.

Him and her.

But not me...his wife, and I...I...I have to run.

Because his footsteps are getting louder, and so I keep running and running while telling myself, Don’t.

Don’t think and just run.

All I have to do is just keep running until I outrun reality and—

BAM!

I’ve bumped into someone else, and he's...I feel like I've seen him before, but I can't remember where. And right now, it doesn't really matter—

"Nicole, dammit!"

Because that...that shape is still calling my name out, and now he actually sounds resentful?

The way he’s acting, it’s as if I’m an inconvenience. And being hysterical and mean. It’s as if he hasn’t just been in bed with another—

“Sir!”

That’s Sandy exclaiming the word, and since I know I’m not someone he’d call that, I look up, and—

Why does this man seem familiar?

“S-Sir, I’m sorry, this is a misunderstanding.”

Sandy is actually stuttering behind me, but he also sounds like he’s coming closer and closer, and I...I just panic. I look up at the stranger who’s still holding my elbow like he thinks my knees will give out at any moment. And maybe...maybe he’s right. Because the moment I hear Sandy bite out my name like he’s dying to punish me—

“P-Please.”

The word stumbles out like the broken plea that it is.

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The Rancher Kissed the Wrong Girl – Billionaires of Evergreen Texas Read Online Marian Tee http://www.wownovels.com/the-rancher-kissed-the-wrong-girl-billionaires-of-evergreen-texas-read-online-marian-tee Wed, 13 May 2026 18:45:46 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/the-rancher-kissed-the-wrong-girl-billionaires-of-evergreen-texas-read-online-marian-tee Genre: Alpha Male, Angst, Billionaire, Insta-Love Authors: Marian Tee Advertisement

Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 34243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >34

Once upon a time, there was this idiot who didn't believe in happy-ever-afters. So she pretended to kiss a frog to make a prince jealous. She was hoping it would make the prince claim her, but instead he walked away.

That idiot...was not me.

Well, okay, it was me, and the prince isn't actually a prince, but like, a billionaire who’s princely?

Anyway, the point is, God's given me a chance to un-idiot myself, and now that Arkane Young is back in my life—

I muster the courage to wear my heart on my sleeve, letting him know I'm just an ordinary girl standing in front of a not-so-ordinary rancher, asking him to love her.

...

News flash #1: it didn't work—

Because news flash #2: there's another girl standing in front of the same boy, asking him to love her, too

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Part One

Her by JVKE

Chapter One

MOM: Jose wants me to go to Mexico with him and I just HAD to say yes lol. But dont worry I already made arrangements for the summer ok?

Huh.

That’s new. The only times my mom makes plans in advance are when she asks me what I want for dinner, and it’s usually a choice between two types of leftovers.

I sit up straighter on my bed and scroll down, already bracing myself. The dorm room is quiet around me. Unusually so, since Cami left yesterday with two rolling suitcases and a boyfriend who drove up from New York in a Porsche to collect her. Which means I’m alone for the first time all semester in a room that is approximately 80% Cami, 15% communal, and 5% me.

It’s not hard to tell which 5% is mine. My side of the room is a narrow strip of bed, desk, and closet, the closet being a plywood box with a metal rod that wobbles every time you hang anything on it. The only personal touch is a laundry schedule I printed out during orientation week and stuck to the wall with a single piece of tape that’s been slowly losing its grip since October.

Cami’s side, on the other hand, looks like a boutique had a baby with a Pinterest board. Shopping bags from stores I’ve never set foot in are stacked three deep beside her dresser. Her vanity mirror is framed with photos of her and various boyfriends, all of whom are terribly rich and even more terribly good-looking. She also cheerfully admits to cycling through them with the efficiency of someone who treats dating the way most people treat subscription services. Some are just good for a three-day deal, to be revisited only when they offer something hot and new.

Cami’s clothes take up not just her closet but half of mine. No beef, though; she very cheerfully offered to pay rent for additional space after seeing what little I had, and I was just as cheerful in accepting. We may be polar opposites, my roommate and I, but our friendship is also proof that honesty when negotiating is everything.

Everything that I know about Cami is something she’s admitted herself. My mom, she’s just as honest. But whereas Cami’s comes off as charmingly self-aware, my mom’s version of being true to one’s self is the kind that forces everyone around her to be the adult—and her own kids are no exception.

Case in point: this message of hers that has me taking deep, calm breaths with every line I read.

Mom: I texted Icelle—

Oh God, here we go again.

Mom: and she said you can totally stay with her fam for the summer!! You guys can just ride back together when school starts. It’s going to be SO fun!!!

Three exclamation marks. My mother only uses three exclamation marks when she’s already mentally on the plane to wherever her latest boyfriend is taking her and she needs me to not make a fuss about being left behind.

I lower my phone to my lap and stare at the wall across from me. There’s a hairline crack that runs from the ceiling down to the light switch, and I’ve been tracing it with my eyes since freshman orientation, imagining it as a tiny fault line that will one day split the building in half and swallow this room and everything in it, which, in my case, would amount to one suitcase’s worth of stuff and a laundry schedule. Cami’s side would probably survive. Her faux-fur throw alone has enough structural integrity to shield a small village.

Why do I even try? Why try making friends when there’s always my own mother to scare them all away? And the worst thing about it is that she never sees anything wrong in what she does. Like the time she called Daphne to ask if we were friends, and when Daphne said yes, she then asked with zero shame if Daphne could ask her mom to pay for our rent because—

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The Sicilian Billionaire’s Accidental Wife Read Online Marian Tee http://www.wownovels.com/the-sicilian-billionaires-accidental-wife-read-online-marian-tee Fri, 03 Apr 2026 23:15:41 +0000 http://www.wownovels.com/the-sicilian-billionaires-accidental-wife-read-online-marian-tee Genre: Alpha Male, Billionaire, Insta-Love Authors: Marian Tee Advertisement

Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 44860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 224(@200wpm)___ 179(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >49

An innocent woman who almost loses her life. A billionaire who doesn’t believe in love. And a well-meaning deception that traps them both in a proxy marriage they can’t escape from.
Surviving a three-year coma has given twenty-two-year-old Chelsea Regis the courage to surrender everything to her gorgeous, powerful husband—even though he’s never once said he loves her.
To curb his growing obsession with his wife, Olivio Cannizzaro ruthlessly turns his unplanned marriage into a business solution.
But when the truth comes out, and everything falls apart, it’s the Sicilian billionaire who’s driven to despair, realizing too late that he’s already thrown away the best thing in his life.

Note: A marriage-of-convenience billionaire romance. HEA guaranteed, tissues required

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Prologue

CHELSEA CHECKED HER smartwatch.

How strange.

She gazed at the numbers, but they didn’t change. Her heart was still able to beat normally even when a single conversation had just broken it into pieces.

Her gaze turned to her stepmother’s retreating back, but tears blurred everything before she could make sense of it. Francesca was already through the cafe door, not rushing, not looking back. The way a person left when they’d done what they came to do, and the aftermath was someone else’s problem.

The cafe kept going around her. Someone laughed at the table behind her. A barista called out a name. The trailing plants above the counter swayed in the draft from the door, and Chelsea sat there with her hands wrapped around a chamomile tea that had gone cold, and her fingers were trembling so badly that the liquid inside the cup was making small, concentric circles.

She’d seen those circles before.

In the bath. This morning. When her husband’s hands had moved through her hair and the water had rippled—

Stop it, Chels.

This morning was a different world, and so it no longer felt right to remember that time. When she had woken up in his arms this morning, and he had kissed her forehead, and she had kissed him back...

When she had stood in the foyer in his stolen t-shirt and already counting the minutes before they could be together again...

That world was gone.

And it might never even have been real.

But now though...

This world she was living in now...hurt.

And it hurt even more when her phone buzzed, and a part of her just wanted to hide and pretend and lie to herself. But this world had somehow turned her into a masochist, and she ended up looking anyway.

Olivio.

He was texting her...like usual. And honestly, she’d been like everyone else in the past, thinking that a billionaire like Olivio Cannizzaro would think of texting as beneath him. People should be the one calling and sending him messages, not the other way around.

And yet...in the nine days they’d been married, Olivio had texted her.

All the time.

And she used to think (foolishly, she realized now) his texts were proof that she was important. But now, oh God...

How is your day, tesoro?

The preview on the screen was enough to show the entirety of his message, and every word just...hurt. It wasn’t so long ago that this message would’ve made Chelsea bite her lip in an effort to keep her lips from forming another silly little smile. It wasn’t so long ago that she would’ve been quick to text him back, shyly but eagerly, because it meant so much to know that her very busy husband remembered her and wanted to know about her day.

But now, though...

The message was a blur like the rest of her surroundings, the tears making it impossible to see everything clearly with her eyes while the pain made it impossible for her heart to understand anything.

Her hands were shaking so badly it took a while before she could even dig her phone out of her purse, and it took three painful attempts to even scroll through her contacts just to find Edgar’s name and hit the Call button.

So far, blinking rapidly had kept the tears at bay, but she knew it was only a matter of time. She knew it was painfully inevitable, and that sooner or later...

Is this really happening, God?

Can't this just be a dream?

Please.

Edgar answered on the second ring, his voice gruff and warm at the same time. “Perfect timing, child. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about this foundation—”

“I’m s-sorry, but c-can I ask you a question first?” She’d already cut him off before she realized what she was doing, and the guilt was terrible and instant.

This isn't me. So why am I doing it?

She had never cut someone off, but here she was, doing exactly that, and all because she got her heart broken?

“What’s wrong, Chelsea?”

The concern in the older man’s tone only made her feel more ashamed.

I don't want to be like this, God. I don't want to change, I don't want to start hurting people just because someone hurt me first.

Her fingers tightened around her phone, and she found herself choking out an apology. “I’m sorry for cutting you off.”

“You don’t have to apologize. I know you, child. Tell me what’s wrong. What do you want to ask?”

Her gaze strayed to her smartwatch. How strange, she thought again. The numbers were still within the normal range even as the pain kept growing. Her throat tightened, and she had to swallow hard several times before she could finally manage to ask—

“Do you k-know anything about the Marquez deal? Is it...is it t-true that he only stayed married to me to close it?”

The question gave birth to the most awful silence, and it just made her hurt more and more because she knew how Edgar’s mind worked, and so that awful, awful silence was an answer in itself.

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >49

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Rejected by the Stallion Prince Read Online Marian Tee http://www.wownovels.com/rejected-read-online-the-stallion-prince-read-online-marian-tee Fri, 03 Apr 2026 23:15:06 +0000 http://www.wownovels.com/rejected-read-online-the-stallion-prince-read-online-marian-tee Genre: Alpha Male, Insta-Love Authors: Marian Tee Advertisement

Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44703 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 224(@200wpm)___ 179(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >47

She’s a nobody. He’s a stallion shifter prince. She should’ve known this was too good to be true.

The one thing Zia Morgan learned from a painful preters and humans don’t mix.

The one reason she can’t seem to remember that Prince Alexei Lykaios, who storms every defense she has to prove her wrong. He’s royally irresistible and dangerously unpredictable, disarming her with his gentleness one moment, his possessive dominance the next.

As her inner walls begin to crumble, Zia makes the one mistake that will cost her she entrusts her heart to the prince, only to have Alexei shatter it with a single demand.

Would you prefer a divorce or an annulment?

This is a full-length paranormal romance. HEA guaranteed

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

PROLOGUE

NICOLO CELESTINI LEFT with the file still open on the table between them, and for a long moment, Alexei did not move.

The party continued around him. Laughter and champagne and the delicate chime of enchanted crystal that the Fae artisans had crafted specifically for tonight’s celebration. Somewhere to his left, Ada was still apologizing to Nicolo’s stepmother about the shattered Bellecourt vase, her voice carrying across the courtyard in that uniquely breathless way of hers, as if every sentence was a small emergency she hadn’t quite figured out how to survive.

“I’m so sorry,” Ada was saying. “I was just trying to take a selfie with it because it’s literally the prettiest vase I’ve ever seen and I thought Maryah would want to see it up close since she’s still doing the baby thing, but then this waiter came by with those tiny quiche things, and I haven’t eaten since breakfast because I was so nervous about the party, and—”

“It’s perfectly fine, dear.” Maude patted her arm. “Accidents happen. Especially around you.”

None of it registered.

Alexei reached for the file and drew it closer.

He had already memorized every word inside it. Every data point. Every metric. He could have recited the contents in his sleep, and the fact that he knew this about himself—that he had read this particular file enough times to have committed it to memory—was something he had chosen not to examine too closely.

Until tonight.

Tonight, he had handed the file to Nicolo and said, “I pick her.”

Three words. Spoken with the same flat calm he brought to treaty negotiations and trade disputes and the sort of geopolitical maneuvering that kept the preter world from descending into chaos every other Tuesday.

Three words that betrayed nothing.

Nicolo had opened the folder. Had studied the photograph, the background report, the compatibility scores. And then his former Oxford classmate had turned to him with a frown and the two observations that the rest of the world would also make, in approximately that order, once the news became public.

“She’s been rejected.”

“Yes.”

“By her fated mate.”

“Yes.”

“This is going to cause a scandal.”

“I certainly hope so.”

Nicolo had given him a long look at that—the look of a man who wanted to ask more but knew better—and then he had left to check on Maryah and the baby, taking his perpetual glare with him and leaving the evening air noticeably more pleasant.

And now Alexei was alone with the file.

Again.

THE PHOTOGRAPH WAS a standard identification portrait, the kind taken for university records. Unremarkable lighting. Plain background. The subject had been instructed to face forward, and she had—obediently, it seemed, because everything about the girl in the photograph suggested a person who did as she was told and expected nothing in return.

Dark hair. Not black like his, but a deep warm brown that would catch the light in ways she probably never noticed. It fell past her shoulders, tucked behind one ear with the carelessness of someone who had more important things on her mind than how she appeared to the world.

Her eyes were what held him.

An unremarkable shade of brown by any conventional standard. Eyes that most people would glance at and forget. But there was something in them that the camera had caught without intending to—a quiet intelligence that coexisted with something softer. Something bruised.

She was smiling in the photograph, but only just. A smile offered by someone who wasn’t sure it would be welcome. As if she had learned, somewhere along the way, that expecting too much from other people was a luxury she could not afford.

Zia Morgan.

Twenty-two. Human. Fresh graduate of the University of Colorado with a degree in product development and a GPA that was respectable without being remarkable. Her thesis had been on sustainable packaging for preter-human trade goods—a subject that had earned her a single mention in an industry newsletter and precisely zero job offers in her field.

She had taken a barista position at a coffeehouse near campus three days after graduation.

She had held that position for four months.

Alexei turned the page.

THE FINAL PAGE OF THE file was the one that had given Nicolo pause.

Prior bond history. One entry.

Billy Stein. Wolf shifter. Age twenty-four. Son of Marcus and Helena Stein, whose pack controlled a modest but profitable territory in the foothills west of Denver. Compatibility score with Zia Morgan: 91.3%.

Relationship duration: two years.

Conducted entirely in secret, at Billy’s insistence.

Terminated seven months ago.

The reason was clinical in its brevity. Family disapproval of human mate. Subject chose to comply with family ultimatum.

Alexei did not need the file to tell him what that meant. He had lived long enough to understand the mathematics of cowardice. A boy who loved a girl but loved his inheritance more. A girl who had given two years of her life to someone who kept her hidden like something to be ashamed of. And when the moment came to choose—when it cost something real to stand beside her—the boy had decided that she wasn’t worth the price.

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >47

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The Rancher Rejects Her Heart – Billionaires of Evergreen Texas Read Online Marian Tee http://www.wownovels.com/the-rancher-rejects-her-heart-billionaires-of-evergreen-texas-read-online-marian-tee Sat, 28 Feb 2026 17:32:26 +0000 http://www.wownovels.com/the-rancher-rejects-her-heart-billionaires-of-evergreen-texas-read-online-marian-tee Genre: Alpha Male, Billionaire, Insta-Love Authors: Marian Tee Advertisement

Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 59827 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 299(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >59

Aristocratic billionaire rancher Veil Hampton didn’t trust her from the moment he met her.
While every one of his mother’s previous assistants had thrown themselves at him within days, Evianne barely looked at him and treated him like furniture.
Either she’s the most gifted actress he’s ever met, or she genuinely doesn’t care about his title.
Veil will use whatever it takes to find out. Seduction, intimidation, whichever proves more effectively…pleasurable. And once he’s done, he won’t waste time throwing her away.

Note: This edition also includes a bonus copy of The Rancher’s Unloved Wife, an about-to-be-divorced arranged marriage romance

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Chapter One

‘YOU’RE GOING TO LOVE Foxtown,’ Lady Geena signs to me, and I’m nodding, smiling, pretending my heart isn’t shattered into a million pieces.

This ring was supposed to mean forever.

But I was wrong.

I put the ring in my other pocket before signing back my reply. ‘It’s fine.’

I don’t think any other answer is inappropriate. And anyway, I am fine. Or I know I will be, even if I can still feel myself fragmenting into a thousand pieces.

But I’m good at this. I’m good at holding it together. I’m good at being professional and capable and invisible until it’s safe to fall apart.

So I smile, accept the water glass from the flight attendant, and buckle my seatbelt while pretending that my world isn’t ending as the jet engines start to roar.

Lady Hampton is talking to the pilot. I can see them through the open cockpit door, and she’s using her voice, which means she’s comfortable with him, which means he probably knows sign language too.

But even as I try to focus on their exchange, I’m also trying not to think about how Joseph’s probably boarding his own flight right now.

Does he know I saw?

Does Glenda?

Do they care?

I press my palms against my thighs and focus on my breathing. In for four counts. Hold for four counts. Out for four counts. It’s a technique Dorcas taught me, something about calming the vagus nerve, and I’m doing it now because if I don’t calm down I’m going to have a full panic attack on this beautiful private jet.

In for four counts. Hold for four counts. Out for four counts.

The jet starts moving. We’re taxiing toward the runway, and through the window I can see the terminal getting smaller, and somewhere in that terminal is Joseph, and somewhere in that terminal is my cousin, and somewhere in that terminal is the life I thought I was going to have.

But I’m here. On this jet. Flying toward something unknown with a stranger who showed me more kindness in five minutes than my fiancé had in...

Oh God.

I can’t even remember the last time Joseph was kind to me.

When did that happen? When did I stop noticing? When did I start accepting crumbs and calling it love?

My fingers curl into fists against my lap as I strive to recall the best memories we shared as a couple. But all I remember now was Joseph telling me three years ago that I was boring...and how a part of me had just shrunk in shame because I believed him. He was popular, after all. So of course he’d recognize someone who wasn’t like him?

The engines roar louder, and we’re picking up speed, and my stomach drops as we lift off the ground, and I’m watching New York disappear beneath us, and—

Oh.

Lady Hampton catches my eye from across the aisle. She’s watching me with that same gentle concern, and for a moment I think she’s going to ask if I’m okay, but she doesn’t.

She just offers me a small, understanding smile.

And somehow that’s worse.

Because it means she knows.

She knows I’m breaking.

And that underneath the professional exterior, I’m a complete mess.

The flight attendant appears with champagne. Lady Hampton accepts a glass, but I shake my head—alcohol sounds terrible right now, my stomach is already in knots—and ask for water instead.

“Of course, miss.”

The jet levels out, and I force myself to take a sip of water, to breathe, to not think about Joseph or Glenda or the way he was looking at her like—

Stop.

I press my palms against my thighs.

Focus on something else, Evianne. Focus on anything but him. Them.

And so I do my best to just think about the jet and its plush leather seats while Lady Hampton across from me, sipping her champagne with elegant grace.

She’s so composed. So put-together. The kind of woman who probably never falls apart in airports or makes impulsive decisions or—

My phone buzzes again, and this startles me. We have signal here?

I glance at my employer afer taking it out of my pocket, and she smiles and nods, giving me permission to check my messages.

Joseph: Can’t wait to see you in two weeks. Love you.

The lie sits there on my screen, glowing.

Love...you?

I wonder what he was thinking or feeling when he typed those words.

Did he ever love me, really?

I turn my phone face-down on the seat beside me and close my eyes because I can’t...I can’t look at those words right now, I can’t pretend they mean anything, I can’t—

My throat is tight.

My eyes are burning.

Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.

But it’s too late.

The first tear escapes, and then another, and I’m turning my face toward the window because I cannot fall apart in front of Lady Hampton, I cannot be that person who has a breakdown on her employer’s private jet during their very first meeting.

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >59

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The Italian Billionaire’s Shy Waitress – A Billionaire Breaks My Heart Read Online Marian Tee http://www.wownovels.com/the-italian-billionaires-shy-waitress-a-billionaire-breaks-my-heart-read-online-marian-tee Thu, 26 Feb 2026 08:21:33 +0000 http://www.wownovels.com/the-italian-billionaires-shy-waitress-a-billionaire-breaks-my-heart-read-online-marian-tee Genre: Alpha Male, Billionaire, Insta-Love Authors: Marian Tee Advertisement

Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 34995 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 175(@200wpm)___ 140(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >36

Thirty-six days. One corner booth. Zero chance she’ll stop counting the times he’s caught her staring.
Thea Clancy counts everything. Steps to the kitchen (fourteen). Ceiling tiles (forty-seven). Reasons to stay invisible in a small-town Wyoming café (too many to name). But when Italian racing champion Santino Aleotti walks into Gail’s and orders breakfast with that low, unhurried voice, she forgets the specials. Then she forgets how to breathe.
Professional race car driver Santino Aleotti came to Jackson Hole to escape the noise. The speed. The expectations that never stop chasing him around every curve. He doesn’t do attachments. Doesn’t do vulnerable. Until a waitress with anxious eyes and defensive invisibility drops a coffee pot and makes him want to catch more than her wrist.

She’s been invisible her whole life. He’s made her feel seen. But when a beautiful rival moves in and Santino’s racing past comes calling, Thea discovers that being visible means being vulnerable…and the man who taught her to stop hiding might be the one who breaks her completely

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Chapter One

THIRTY-SIX.

That's how many days it's been since the man in the corner booth walked into my life and ruined my ability to carry a coffee pot without trembling.

Not that anyone noticed the trembling. Or me, for that matter. But that's a different problem for a different day, and right now I have a much bigger problem, and it's sitting six feet away from me, eating a mushroom and gruyère omelet like it personally offended him.

I've been watching him eat for thirty-six days.

I've been counting.

I always count. Steps from the kitchen to the front counter (fourteen). Ceiling tiles in the café (forty-seven, and the one above the register has a crack shaped like Idaho). Seconds between the moment Jolie says something inappropriate and the moment I can feel my face catch fire (average: one point five).

I count because counting makes things manageable, and also because I started doing it during my father's trial when I was twelve and everything in my life was the opposite of manageable, and I guess some habits just...stick.

Like the habit of staring at this man, apparently. Because that's definitely stuck, and no amount of self-discipline or prayer or Jolie kicking me under the counter has been enough to shake it loose.

Thirty-six, I find myself thinking again, and the number almost makes me cringe, more so when I realize just how vividly I recall the first day I saw him.

I was just working my usual morning shift at the café, the one that technically doesn't have a name but everyone local calls Gail's because that's the owner's name, and also because Jackson Hole has exactly three hidden spots that tourists haven't ruined yet, and this

is one of them.

I also remember it was a Tuesday then. Tuesdays are that day of the week when we get our bread delivered from the bakery over in Green Heights, and I remember it was when I was in the back counting loaves (twelve sourdough, eight whole wheat, six rye) when Jolie came through the swinging door with her perpetual cup of coffee in one hand and her worn

paperback of Wuthering Heights in the other.

She always has that particular book with her, but she’s never explained why. Its dust jacket is creased and faded but still intact, like she's protecting something precious underneath.

"New customer," she said, and there was something in her voice that made me look up from the bread count. "Corner booth. Yours."

"What's wrong with the corner booth?" I asked, because Jolie loves the corner booth. Best tips, she always says, because it's the table with the view of the elk refuge, and people pay extra for views.

"Nothing's wrong with it." She took a sip of coffee, and her eyes—dark and bright and always seeing too much—did that thing where they go all innocent, which means she's about to say something that will make me want to disappear into the walk-in freezer. "I just think

you should take this one."

"Jolie—"

"Trust me." She was already heading back through the door, her beloved Emily Bronté classic tucked under her arm. "You'll thank me later."

I didn't thank her later.

I'm still not sure I've forgiven her, actually, but that's beside the point.

The point is that I walked out of the kitchen with my apron strings tied too tight because I'd retied them three times trying to get them even, which is something I do when I'm nervous even though I have no idea why I was nervous about a corner booth customer, and I looked up.

And I saw him.

He was sitting with his back to the window, which meant the morning light was coming in behind him, turning everything around him into this soft gold haze that made absolutely no sense for February in Wyoming. He had dark hair, dark eyes, and he was reading something on his phone with an expression that I can only describe as beautifully unhappy, which is

a contradiction, I know, but I don't have better words for it.

He looked up, our eyes met, and I swear it was just like how you see it in the movies.

Because right then and there...

I forgot the specials.

For real.

They were just gone.

Completely erased from my brain. I was standing there with my order pad and a pen and approximately zero thoughts in my head except for the fact that his eyes were the kind of dark that you can't read, like deep water, and I had this wild urge to keep looking until I could see the bottom, which was possibly the most ridiculous thought I'd ever had about a customer, and I've had some ridiculous thoughts.

"Hi," I managed. "Welcome to, um, Gail's. Can I—do you need a menu?"

Smooth, Thea, I remember thinking at that time with major cringe. Really stellar work.

He studied me for a second, and I couldn't tell if he was amused or annoyed or completely indifferent, but then he said, "Yes. Thank you."

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >36

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Her Protective Prince – A Sheikh Breaks My Heart Read Online Marian Tee http://www.wownovels.com/her-protective-prince-a-sheikh-breaks-my-heart-read-online-marian-tee Thu, 26 Feb 2026 08:20:19 +0000 http://www.wownovels.com/her-protective-prince-a-sheikh-breaks-my-heart-read-online-marian-tee Genre: Alpha Male, Insta-Love Authors: Marian Tee Advertisement

Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 30190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >31

What if you receive true love’s kiss…from your sister’s royal sheikh?
When my family’s tragic death left me orphaned, I became the prince’s ward. The prince was my akh–my big brother, the man once promised to marry my sister.

He was also my first love.
For such a long time, I pretended I didn’t want him, pretended I didn’t notice the little things that made me think he was aware of me as a woman.
For such a long time, I tried to respect the distance between us until one day…I could no longer keep my feelings to myself.
I kissed him, thinking he’d push me away…but he did not.

Themes: Sleeping Beauty romance, age gap romance

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Once Upon A Time

THERE WAS A STRONG and handsome sheikh who was betrothed since birth. The girl he was promised to marry was alluring and exotic, passionate and intelligent. She was a woman certainly fit to be the sheikh’s bride and a queen in the future. The sheikh thought so, too, until the day his betrothed’s family came to his kingdom, and he met her.

His betrothed’s sister.

“YOUR HIGHNESS, THEY are here.” Aretha touched his back, and Mik’hail turned immediately, curling an arm around her waist so they could present a united front.

The day had arrived that his betrothed’s family was to come live with them in his palace, and the sheikh was genuinely looking forward to welcoming Aretha’s kin.

Her parents were the first ones he saw, a distinguished-looking couple he had heard only good things about. Lord Richard had known the late king, Mik’hail’s father, during their years in Eton, and it was because of the two men’s friendship that their children’s betrothal had come to be.

“Please.” The sheikh shook his head when Lord Richard was about to bow, and Lady Elizabeth had already raised her skirts to curtsy. “Formalities are not needed.” Instead, Mik’hail stepped down from the dais to shake hands with Aretha’s father and bowed in greeting to his future mother-in-law. “We are to be a family, after all.”

The words put the older couple at ease, and with a smile, Lady Elizabeth said, “May I present my younger daughter, Lady Aurora?” She stepped back and drew a girl forward—

And in that second, the sheikh’s life was turned upside down.

The girl was tall where her sister was dainty, and slender where her sister was buxom. Her hair was the shade of the sun, her eyes blue gray like stormy skies.

Dipping into a curtsy, the girl said sweetly, “Thank you for the welcome, akh.” She was clearly teasing him, the twinkle in her eyes unmistakable.

It had his lips twitching, but the rest of her family was horrified.

“Aurora!” Aretha’s tone was sharp with disapproval while their father sighed and their mother gasped.

Straightening, the girl said with cheeky innocence, “What?” She glanced at the sheikh. “You don’t mind, do you, Your Highness?” Her voice, even mischievous, was low and husky, and the sound of it did something strange to his chest.

Mik’hail slowly shook his head.

No, he did not mind.

In fact, he had a feeling that whatever this girl did, he would not mind at all, and that, the sheikh thought grimly, was the problem.

THE SHEIKH WAS ENCHANTED. He strove to hide it, even denying the truth to himself. But each day, the feelings became deeper, and it did not help that Aretha and he had begun to quarrel as well. Although they had never spoken about it, the sheikh suspected that Aretha was aware of his interest and considered it a personal slight. He saw it in the way she so jealously guarded him whenever Aurora was around, saw it with the way she would take out her anger and insecurities on her sister...like now.

Aurora had just entered the dining hall when Aretha started shrieking.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

The younger girl froze.

“Did I not teach you how to walk? To do it like a lady instead of galloping and stomping like a horse?” Aretha gestured to the sheikh furiously. “Do you want everyone to think that the sheikh is marrying into a family of Thoroughbreds?” She wanted to say more but was forced to swallow the rest of her words when she saw the sheikh turning her way with cold, dark eyes.

“Enough of that, milady.” The words, albeit softly spoken, were clearly a command. “You know it doesn’t matter to me. I do not insist on formalities with your family.”

Aretha’s lips tightened. “Don’t spoil her, Your Highness. You’re only making it worse. She needs to remember these things so she won’t mess up at our wedding.”

When the sheikh was about to retort, Aurora said hastily, “She’s right, Your Highness. Let me try it again.” Hurrying back to the doors, Aurora took care not to let her usual exuberance show as she retraced her steps, and she walked with such grace this time that she was unaware of how elegant she appeared, more so than Aretha could have ever aspired.

Aurora turned to her sister upon reaching her chair. “Is that okay, Aretha?” There was no note of sarcasm in her tone. It was clear in her hopeful expression that she only yearned for the older woman’s approval.

“It’s passable.” Aretha’s voice was clipped, but the envious resentment in her gaze betrayed her true feelings.

Aurora, however, appeared oblivious to her sister’s animosity and simply shrugged as she took her seat, saying cheerfully, “I’ll be sure to improve in time.”

Mayhap so, the sheikh thought, but unfortunately the same could not be said for the rest of the evening.

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >31

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Too Hard to Love – A Billionaire Breaks My Heart Read Online Marian Tee http://www.wownovels.com/too-hard-to-love-a-billionaire-breaks-my-heart-read-online-marian-tee Sun, 01 Feb 2026 09:23:22 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/too-hard-to-love-a-billionaire-breaks-my-heart-read-online-marian-tee Genre: Alpha Male, Insta-Love Authors: Marian Tee Advertisement

Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 320(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >66

This was previously published as Bad Boy Billionaire (Jaak and Ilse).

She wanted him as a client. The billionaire wanted her as his lover.

Heiress-turned-pauper Ilse Muir had no time for love, but she also couldn't say no when bad boy billionaire Jaak de Konigh offered to be her best friend instead.

She wanted their relationship to stay platonic, but Jaak took her V-card instead.

And just when she needed him the most, he broke her heart by walking out of her life. For good

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Prologue

Eleven years ago

St. Valentine, Contini

“Mind if I join you?” At his younger brother’s nod, Willem de Konigh stepped out to join Jaak on the balcony. Behind them, the rest of the chateau was still blanketed in the quiet of sleep, their three younger siblings unknowingly missing out on the chance to say goodbye to Jaak.

“Are you here to change my mind?” Jaak’s tone was light and humorous.

“You know me better than that,” was his older brother’s mild reply.

Jaak laughed. Standing almost as tall as his brother, he possessed the same blue eyes that the de Konighs were famous for. But unlike Willem’s blond good looks that made women all over Europe think of him as a real-life Prince Charming, Jaak’s ebony black hair and trademark smirk lent the younger de Konigh a devilishly wicked aura. If these were the olden days, he would have no doubt been mistaken for a rakish pirate, a man guaranteed to steal the virginity of any lady in his presence.

The grandfather clock inside the chateau chimed out a heavy tune, and both brothers instinctively stiffened at the unwanted reminder of the time. Even though a decade had already passed since they had escaped their father’s brutality, there were still things they were struggling – and failing – to forget.

It was two o’clock in the morning, and not so long ago, this was the hour of the night that insanity, cultivated by years of alcoholism and emotional instability, would take over their father.

Willem’s beatings would start, an almost-nightly ritual that left him bloodied and broken.

And Jaak had not known.

He had not known because he, unlike Willem, had been the apple of his father’s eye, the only one among his children that Edgar de Konigh had deigned to notice.

Or maybe he had not known because he hadn’t wanted to, Jaak thought bitterly. Maybe even then, he had been a weak and spineless idiot who had idolized his father—-

The same father that had turned his eldest son into a punching bag because he didn’t have the guts to beat his wife for cheating—-

“I am aware it’s pointless to say this, but as I like being thorough—-”

“You’ll say it anyway,” Jaak finished.

“Correct.” Willem inclined his head in agreement.

“Then consider the words said,” Jaak murmured evenly, “and disregarded – courteously, mind you.”

A brief grin cracked Willem’s mask. “Bullshit.”

Jaak rolled his eyes. “If the press could only hear you now.”

Willem’s gaze turned towards their surroundings. It was another beautiful December day in the north of Contini, the kingdom that their paternal grandmother had ruled since she was eighteen years old. Snow completely covered the roofs and roads, but the wintry landscape was enlivened by splashes of color coming from hardy perennials lining the sidewalks. Yellow mahonia and winter jasmine grew next the occasional blooms of snapdragons, violas, and cyclamen, with its petals boasting an ombre display from deep red to pale pink to white.

The ten-bedroom chateau that stood behind them was just as eye-catching, with its ornamental brick façade and pillared entrance.

“We have had a good life, haven’t we?” Willem asked reflectively. His kind of people represented the tiniest fraction in the world that literally had more money than they could ever spend in various lifetimes. Their wealth was boundless, but more miraculously than that, Willem had also been blessed with brothers and sisters he would die to protect – and who would do the same for him. The same could even be said for the Queen of Contini, their grandmother, and the large brood of cousins they had grown up with.

They might have not lucked out on the parental department, but considering all the other blessings they had received—-

Willem saw no cause for complaint.

At the end of the day, they had more than most other people could ever dream of having, and it was for this sole reason why Willem didn’t even think of praying to God to make his younger brother stay.

Jaak glanced at his older brother, asking mockingly, “Are you about to become emotional?” He feigned a light shudder, saying, “Because that would be horrendous.”

Willem only gazed at him, blue eyes remaining unreadable, and his hard face unyielding. It was clear that he wasn’t willing to make this easy for his younger brother.

“You knew this would happen sooner or later.” Jaak shoved his fists into his pockets in an effort to curb the frustration inside of him. “I stayed for as long as I could, and I swear to God I did try to put everything behind me—-” His tone became uncontrollably savage. “But I can’t. Our family means everything to me—-”

“Then stay,” Willem said simply.

Jaak rejected the suggestion with a sharp shake of his head. “Not until I feel I deserve it.” Disapproval flashed in his older brother’s eyes, but Jaak didn’t let it stop him. “I need to pay for my sins,” he grated out, “but if you won’t make me pay them—-”

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