Jeanette was waiting for them in the grand foyer. Her eyes, full of undisguised hatred, locked onto Ember. She ignored Ember completely, linking her arms through Julian' s and Estelle' s.
"Brother! Stel! I' m so glad you' re here!" she gushed, pointedly turning her back on Ember.
"Jeanette, be nice," Julian chided weakly, but made no move to include Ember in the family reunion.
"Estelle will be staying in the room next to yours, Ember," Julian announced. "Just until the wedding."
"That' s fine," Ember said, her voice distant. "It has nothing to do with me."
Before the awkward silence could grow, a butler appeared. "Mr. Carlo Copeland would like to see you in his study, Miss Tucker."
Ember followed the butler down a long, wood-paneled hall. Carlo Copeland, Julian' s father, sat behind a massive mahogany desk. He was a cold, pragmatic man who valued the Copeland empire above all else.
"Ember," he said, his voice devoid of warmth. "The family is grateful for what you did for Julian. You saved our heir."
He slid a black velvet box across the desk. "This is a small token of our appreciation."
Ember didn't open it. "I don' t want it, Mr. Copeland."
He raised an eyebrow.
"There is one thing I want, though," Ember continued, her voice gaining strength. "It' s a request."
She looked him straight in the eye. "I am not going to marry Julian. On the day of the wedding, I will be leaving the country. For good."
Carlo' s composure finally cracked. He looked genuinely surprised.
"I want your promise," Ember said, pressing her advantage. "I want you to promise that you will not let Julian look for me. Let him believe I vanished. Let him have his life with Estelle. It' s what he wants."
Her heart was a steady, resolute drum in her chest. This was it. The final cut.
Carlo studied her for a long moment, his shrewd businessman' s mind calculating the angles. A quiet, clean break was better than a messy, public divorce down the line.
"Are you certain?" he asked.
"Yes," Ember said, her voice unshakable.
She left the study feeling lighter than she had in years. It was past lunchtime, and the house was quiet. Julian had already left for the office.
She found Estelle and Jeanette in the conservatory, laughing over tea.
"Look who it is," Jeanette sneered as Ember approached. "Finally decided to show your ugly, scarred face?"
Ember ignored her and walked past.
Jeanette jumped up, blocking her path. "Don' t you walk away from me! You' re just a low-class tramp who got lucky. You' re a nobody. A freak!" She gestured wildly, knocking a heavy ceramic vase off its pedestal. It shattered on the floor, and a sharp piece of porcelain flew up, slicing a thin, bloody line across Ember' s arm.
"You' re a bastard, you know that?" Jeanette screamed, her face contorted with rage. "Everyone knows your mother was a homewrecker, and you' re just the same! A worthless nobody!"
Ember' s hand flew up, the crack of her palm against Jeanette' s cheek echoing in the sudden silence.
"I am the future Mrs. Copeland," Ember said, her voice low and cold, her eyes burning with a fire Jeanette had never seen before. "And you will show me respect."
Jeanette, stunned, tried to swing back, but Ember pushed her away. Estelle rushed forward, playing the peacemaker. "Please, stop! Don' t fight!" she cried, positioning herself perfectly between them.
Enraged, Jeanette lunged at Ember again. Ember sidestepped, and Jeanette crashed into Estelle. Both of them went down in a tangle of limbs.
"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" a voice boomed from the doorway.
It was Carlo. He took in the scene: Jeanette on the floor, Estelle crying, and Ember standing over them with a bleeding arm.
"Take her to the discipline room," Carlo ordered the household staff, pointing a stern finger at his daughter.
Jeanette paled. She knew what that meant. She was dragged away, screaming and begging.
Estelle immediately knelt on the floor, tears streaming down her face. "Mr. Copeland, please, it was my fault! Punish me instead! Jeanette was only defending my honor!"
Carlo looked down at her, his expression unreadable. "Very well," he said. "You may join her."
He turned and walked away. A moment later, Estelle, realizing her ploy had backfired spectacularly, let out a small shriek and fainted.
Lustful Desires (Erotic Shorts)
WARNING: This Book Contains Explicit Sexual Content and Adult Language Do you crave hot, wild, and unapologetically erotic tales that leave you breathless and begging for more? If yes, then Lustful Desires (Erotic Shorts) is exactly what you've been yearning for. Brace yourself for steamy adventures that will make your heart race, your skin tingle, and your deepest desires come alive. This book is a provocative collection of short erotic stories featuring a wide range of fantasies, forbidden pleasures and dark desires, each chapter is hotter than the last.
Steamy Chronicles collections
**Can You Keep a Secret? 😉🤫** **WARNING: This Book is Rated 🔞 (18+) for Adult Audiences** Dive into a world of unrestrained passion with our captivating collection of erotic tales that will leave you breathless. This book delves into your favorite fantasies, featuring raw, intimate content that explores the depths of desire. Prepare for tantalizing twists and steamy encounters in: - Stepbrother Affairs - Stepfather Secrets - Best Friend's Father Exploits - Unforgettable Uncle Encounters - Student-Teacher Temptations - The Handsome Next-Door Neighbor - Sensational Doctor Romances And much more that will ignite your imagination! If you're seeking something intense, unexpected, and delightfully dark, then the *Steamy Chronicles* is your ticket to a world overflowing with steamy romance and heart-wrenching desire. Are you ready to be swept away?
Craving Forbidden Pleasures
Alert: Mature Content. Contains graphic and explicit scenes. It isss a compilation of irresistible. erotic fantasies and adventures. ****** "You're mine," he whispered, his mouth tracing fire down her neck. "And I'll prove it until you can't remember what it felt like to be untouched." Her protest died in a gasp as he pushed her panties aside and slid two fingers into her in one smooth motion. Her hips bucked helplessly, clutching at him even as she whispered, "Stop, stop-" But she didn't push him away. She pulled him closer. "That's it," he said, his thumb circling her clit, his pace merciless. "Let me hear the truth." Her moans filled the room, drowning out the TV, the world beyond. The orgasm ripped through her before she was ready, leaving her sobbing into his shoulder, clinging to him as though he were the only solid thing in existence. But he wasn't done. He squeezed her throat, just enough to make her choke on her next breath. "Say it." Her body convulsed as another orgasm tore through her, violent and uncontrollable. The words spilled out with her scream. "I'm your slut!" His grin was feral, triumphant. "Good girl." He flipped her onto her stomach, dragging her hips up, slamming back into her soaked pussy from behind. Her face pressed into the cushions, muffling her cries as he pounded into her. "You'll never forget this," he growled, pulling her hair so her head snapped back. "Every time you sit at that desk, every time you look your coworkers in the eye, you'll remember me fucking you like this. You'll remember what you are." Her body shook with another climax, juices spilling down her thighs, soaking the couch. She sobbed into the cushions, too wrecked to resist, too consumed to deny. She couldn't deny it anymore, God help her, but she was addicted to this demon of lust of hers.
From Mafia Wife To Free Woman
For three years, I've been the wife of Dante Moretti, the head of the Chicago Bratva. My only purpose was to give him an heir. Today, I stared at the second pink line on a pregnancy test-a death sentence. But my husband didn't want a wife. He wanted a vessel. Hiding outside his office door, I heard him talking to his sister, Isabella. They were placing a million-dollar bet on the gender of my unborn child. "But what about her?" Isabella asked. "Once she gives you the heir, she'll be useless." The silence that followed was heavy, suffocating. "She served her purpose," Dante said, his voice dropping to a chilling whisper. "A broodmare is only valuable when it can produce. After that..." He didn't have to finish. In his world, useless things are discarded. Violently. Every touch, every calculated smile had been a lie to secure his dynasty. He saw a legacy, not a child. He saw a vessel, not a wife. The only way to win his game was to knock the whole board over. I pulled out my phone and called the clinic my friend had told me about. "Yes," I said, my voice a stranger's, hollow and steady. "I'd like to schedule a termination."
The Don's Wife's Sweetest Revenge
For fifteen years, I was Isabella Moretti, the perfect wife to the city's most powerful Don. We were a power couple, a carefully curated masterpiece of influence and affection. Our life was flawless. That masterpiece shattered on our anniversary when a burner phone lit up with a picture of his assistant's hand on my husband's thigh. Soon, I found his second phone and discovered the full scope of his betrayal. His mistress, Sofia, was pregnant. He lied to my face about "work emergencies" while she began a campaign of terror, sending me photos of them together, a grainy ultrasound, and a video of her parading in my silk robe, bragging about becoming the new Mrs. Moretti. I was supposed to endure it in silence. That's the rule for a Don's wife. But all the pain hollowed out, leaving only a cold, chilling certainty. He truly believed I was nothing without him. "Where would you go, Bella?" he'd once laughed, his voice dripping with condescension. "Everything you have, everything you are, is because of me. You wouldn't last a week." He thought it was a game. "I'll take that bet," he'd said. So while he was away on a final "business trip" with her, I made my move. I liquidated our assets and hired movers to strip our mansion bare, erasing every trace of my existence. I walked out forever, but not before leaving two gifts on the empty mattress where we once slept: the signed divorce papers, and the melted, grotesque slug of gold that used to be my wedding ring.
When Love Rebuilds From Frozen Hearts
On the night of my career-defining art exhibition, I stood completely alone. My husband, Dante Sovrano, the most feared man in Chicago, had promised he wouldn't miss it for the world. Instead, he was on the evening news. He was shielding another woman-his ruthless business partner-from a downpour, letting his own thousand-dollar suit get soaked just to protect her. The headline flashed below them, calling their new alliance a "power move" that would reshape the city. The guests at my gallery immediately began to whisper. Their pitying looks turned my greatest triumph into a public spectacle of humiliation. Then his text arrived, a cold, final confirmation of my place in his life: "Something came up. Isabella needed me. You understand. Business." For four years, I had been his possession. A quiet, artistic wife kept in a gilded cage on the top floor of his skyscraper. I poured all my loneliness and heartbreak onto my canvases, but he never truly saw my art. He never truly saw me. He just saw another one of his assets. My heart didn't break that night. It turned to ice. He hadn't just neglected me; he had erased me. So the next morning, I walked into his office and handed him a stack of gallery contracts. He barely glanced up, annoyed at the interruption to his empire-building. He snatched the pen and signed on the line I'd marked. He didn't know the page tucked directly underneath was our divorce decree. He had just signed away his wife like she was nothing more than an invoice for art supplies.