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2024-11-14 07:12:28Related chapters
A Marriage of Convenience Three years
Today marks the three-year anniversary of her coma. The woman my husband loves. The. Woman. My. Husband. Loves. It also happens to be my birthday. What an unfortunate coincidence. I’m unsure of all of the details, as James has barely spoken of his time before me or his time with Marina, but his true love saved him from some form of brutal attack that killed almost his entire family. The doctor that I was shadowing at the time took the woman, as she was barely breathing and I took the man, who despite all of his wounds, was almost stable. It was a miracle. Something about this man felt like we knew each other. The familiarity was undeniable, like how I would imagine love it first sight. I tended to his wounds for a week before he’d finally woken up and the moment I saw those bright green eyes, I was hooked. I’ve never been the type of woman to fall head over heels for a man. Hell, my father made it impossible for me to even date. No one would be good enough for the heir of Red
Last Updated : 2024-01-27A Marriage of Convenience Determined
I went to follow James out to the ambulance. As Marina’s caretaker and James’ wife, I felt a duty to be there, but he turned abruptly, causing me to bump into his chest, “You’ve done enough already. Can’t you see that?” he growled, turning and slamming the door in my face. He rode in the ambulance with Marina while I stood plastered in the spot he’d left me in, wondering what to do. Chewing my bottom lip, I stared at the closed door feeling empty inside. I’ve done everything he’s asked. For three years I’ve made sure Marina had the best care. Three years I’ve carefully followed every one of James’ requests, attempting to show him where my heart was. The entire time mine broke just to get a scrap of attention from him.I wasn’t about to throw all of that hard work in the trash. I rushed down to the garage, where our driver stood posted, “Mr. Green, I need a ride to Saosin Medical. Please," I pleaded with him, fighting the emotions that were swirling in my gut.He nodded, walking
Last Updated : 2024-01-27A Marriage of Convenience Divorce
After seeing the look in his eyes, I was certain he’d agree to her requests, but instead he’d changed the subject, “I have so much to tell you. So much has happened in the last three years.” “Why aren’t you answering my questions?” Marina whined, sounding more like a child than a twenty-three-year-old woman. “Can you just let me enjoy the fact that you are finally awake? Goddess, Marina. I’ve just gotten you back and you want to drill me about things that don’t matter compared to you being okay,” James reached up, tucking a strand of Marina’s hair behind her ear. His fingers lingered lovingly before I watched her lean forward, closing the distance between them and pressing her lips against his. I didn't miss the subtle dig in his sentence. I thought my heart couldn’t feel any worse, but I was wrong. He didn’t bother telling her that he wouldn’t break our sacred vows. We said until death do us part. That was supposed to mean something to him. Sure, maybe not as much as it meant
Last Updated : 2024-01-27A Marriage of Convenience Confusion(JAMES POV)
There aren’t words to describe how happy I was when Marina finally opened her eyes after all this time. Here in the human world, I am James Wood, heir to Wood Industries and the CEO of a billion-dollar corporation. I am active within our community. With more money than I know what to do with, I participate in Charity Galas, help with political campaigns, and help fund schools. The world knows me as the selfless billionaire CEO. What they don’t know is that I am known as the ruthless Alpha of Blackwood. My pack was my life. It was ingrained in who I was. I kept everything running like a tight ship.But my pack was destroyed in an attack that left only two members; Marina and me. The last three years have been hell with the only connection to my past life lying in a coma. That attack cost me everything, including my wolf. He has been silent for three years. Locked away in some sort of holding cell in my head. I can still feel his presence, but it’s as if there is something keeping
Last Updated : 2024-01-27A Marriage of Convenience One condition
“Rosa, wait,” James ran after me, gripping my arm and spinning me towards him. I stared into his green eyes, wondering how I’d ever mistaken this man for someone that would find it in his heart to love me. “What is so wrong with me James? After three years, the least you can do is explain that.” His head fell back as he released a heavy breath. James interlocked his fingers behind his neck muttering curses under his breath, “Nothing. There is nothing wrong with you. It’s me.” Anger bubbled just beneath my skin, “What an original line that is,” I scoffed, shaking my head in disbelief. “You don’t understand,” he started, but I cut him off, “Then make me understand.” His hand found the small of my back as he led us away from Marina’s room and back down to the room we’d been in previously, “Don’t do this.” James’ voice sounded as if he was pleading with me, but it was too late. I’d made up my mind the moment he walked back into that room and suggested I was simply the help and e
Last Updated : 2024-01-27A Marriage of Convenience Old friend
“It’s been a long time,” Shawn’s lips pulled into a warm smile before his brows knitted in confusion, “Are you okay? I saw the woman they wheeled to the ambulance. She seemed dazed, but fine.” Shawn was my brother’s best friend and the man I swore I was going to marry up until I met James. He’s been a part of my life since we were both in the first grade. My childhood crush turned into a full-on obsession when we were teenagers. He was the center of every dream I had ever created. But no matter how much I planned for him to be a part of my future, to him, I was simply his best friend's little sister. My lips quivered as the last few hours replayed in my mind. “Rosie,” Shawn placed his hands against the bare skin on my upper arms, “What’s going on?” I haven’t seen Shawn in years, but somehow, he still knows me. The way my nickname rolls off his lips takes me back to a time when things were so much simpler. Shaking my head, I forced a smile, “It’s just been a rough day,”
Last Updated : 2024-02-03A Marriage of Convenience Nothing to celebrate
“Can we not tell my mother and father about this? Not yet at least,” I held the papers in my shaky hands. My father would never approve of what I was doing. When James and I announced that we would be getting married, my father was elated. My mother even more so. Their status in the world was always a top priority. They wanted Chris and I to be in the spotlight. We were the product of American royalty and old money. Red Pharmaceutical was passed down from my grandfather to my father, and his father before him. My mother was your typical housewife. Status and appearance were everything. She wanted me to follow in her footsteps, being a housewife to James before having a couple of his children. The future heirs to a fortune. A Red and a Wood creating a family would be the talk of the century. But much to her dismay, James didn’t want children. At least not with me. “Of course. It’s not my place to tell, Rosie,” Shawn distracted me from my thoughts, “Are you sure about this
Last Updated : 2024-02-04A Marriage of Convenience Inferno(James POV)
The hospital had cleared Marina to come home, but I was torn. Rosa had heard me say that I would divorce her. The look in her eyes will haunt me forever. Once she’d stitched up her wound and it had stopped bleeding, I’d slowly been able to pull myself from whatever trance she’d had me wrapped in. Marina was my mate. Not only that, but she was the last remaining link to my past life. And the key to my future. I couldn’t explain why Onyx had awoken at the scent of Rosa’s blood. I couldn’t make sense of any of it. “Fuck,” I growled, slamming my fist against my desk. I don’t beg for anything. I’m James fucking Wood. I don’t need to beg. But today, I was reduced to a blubbering mess trying to hold onto a marriage that I never even wanted. Marina hasn’t spoken to me since we’ve been home. She heard me beg Rosa to stay. She heard the desperation in my voice, but I couldn’t tell her the truth. I couldn’t explain to her something that I didn’t even understand myself. Surely Ros
Last Updated : 2024-02-06
Latest chapter
A Marriage of Convenience Guilt
“I’ve increased security and will be checking in hourly. Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” James held my annoyed stare, knowing that nothing was getting in or out of these walls without him knowing.He held up his hands in mock surrender, “Fine. FINE. I get it,” he stepped towards me, his large frame crowding my space. My butt hit the counter and my crutches fell to the ground. James lifted me with ease and placing me atop the cool, granite countertop. A shiver rolled through my body as the chill seeped into my skin, “I’m allowed to worry about you, you know?”“Worry all you want, but don’t stop letting me live. Please. I’ll be fine and I trust that all of the additional security measures you’ve put in place will keep me extra safe,” I pecked his lips, attempting to pull away quickly, but he grabbed my face, crashing our lips together in a searing kiss.James held me there until we were both breathless, and my chest ached from the lack of oxygen.“The office can wait,” he growled
A Marriage of Convenience The Perfect Mate
James assisted me into a house, where the smell of bleach assaulted me the moment I walked through the threshold. A crew of cleaners froze as we walked inside, but a single look from James had them scurrying back to their jobs.The glass had been removed and the blood no longer stained the white porcelain. A new pane of glass shimmered beneath the midday sun, and I found myself frozen as I stared at the picture-perfect home.“It feels weird to see looking how it was before,” I whispered, still feeling the fear of that night swim through my veins. The large floor to ceiling window overlooked the forest in the backyard, and I silently wondered if that fear would multiply once the sun went down and the shadows of the night came out to play.James pressed his lips to my temple, “I replaced the glass from before with something graded to be bullet proof. Nothing will get through those windows again.”A shiver rolled down my spine. Either James replaced the window with bulletproof glass to m
A Marriage of Convenience Something is off
I was finally cleared to go home from the hospital, but I’m not quite sure how to feel about it. On one hand, I missed my bed and the comfort of my own home. On the other, I didn’t know how to feel about being there after the attack.Not to mention my mind has been running in circles since Marina showed up here yesterday.James came shortly after she left, but something seemed off, and I wanted to dissect everything that Marina had said before confronting James about it. But even more confusing was the fact that she’d specifically said a wolf bite, when she shouldn’t have known that small fact.She couldn’t have known that unless she orchestrated it or James had told her about it, but I was leaning towards her orchestrating the attack.“How’s Ahmed?” I glanced up at James as he wheeled me out to the awaiting car.“He’s awake and recovering. I’ve placed him on paid leave and instructed his wife to come to me if they need anything at all,” James’ voice held an edge to it, but I didn’t c
A Marriage of Convenience Cops(James POV)
The inside of the house looked like a massacre. Tiny shards of glass decorated the floor like snow. Some of the larger bits were painted with a deep, blackish crimson from the dried blood, and the smell was nauseating.‘These were definitely rogues,’ Onyx spat through gritted teeth, his anger blending with mine the more we assessed the scene.Through it all, I could smell Rosalind’s blood, and the thought of them hurting her while I was off chasing some ignorant lead on Marina made my blood boil with anger. But the anger was directed at myself.I should have been here. I should have been the one to protect her, and Ahmed did his best, but one man against multiple wolves just didn’t succeed.Rainwater had flooded most of the evidence, causing it to spread before drying. The cops wouldn’t be able to pull anything from this mess. Not anything concrete anyways.I’d learned the hard way how easily evidence can be destroyed. If you’re not on the scene within a tiny window of time, your succ
A Marriage of Convenience Our. Home
“Rosalind,” Chris shouted, shouldering through a group of nurses who were conveniently gossiping about James. They still couldn’t believe he was married to a woman like me. Sure, I was a doctor, but that wasn’t anything special when the most eligible, billionaire bachelor in Georgia was in the running. He was like a God around here. And me? Well, I was simply an average looking woman who also happened to be a doctor. My status as a Red didn’t mean a damn thing, because I wasn’t a hot man who also happened to have enough money to buy the entire United States and not blink an eye. “What the fuck?” Chris muttered; eyes wide as he stared at my elevated leg. Blood had seeped through the bandages because they couldn’t seal the wound and for someone who doesn’t see this kind of thing on a regular basis, it was pretty disgusting. “Close the curtain,” I whispered, and he did quickly, rushing back to my side.“Was that,” he pointed at my injury, “From one of them.”“We are one of them,” I n
A Marriage of Convenience Cross me(James POV)
Pure, unfiltered rage didn’t even begin to describe the poisonous feeling flooding through my veins. The anger feels like a living, breathing thing.Like a Goddamned snake slithering its way beneath my skin, releasing toxic poison in the form of fury that bleeds into every square inch of my body.I want the heads of every single person who stepped foot on my property last night. I don’t give a shit who they were or what they were doing there. If they accidentally stumbled upon the forest at the back of the property…. I’m going to find them and make them pay.Since my driver is now fighting for his life in the hospital with Rosalind, I’m forced to call and wait for a driving service to offer me a temp replacement for Ahmed.A few painstaking minutes pass while I pace a hole in the cement out front of the hospital, sweating from the sweltering, humid Georgia heat before the damn driver finally shows up.‘He is clearly incompetent,’ Onyx spats in my head, ‘Ahmed would never keep us waiti
A Marriage of Convenience No one in or out
“Rosa,” James’ voice filters through the darkness, “Rosalind, baby.”My body shakes softly on my shoulders and my eyelids flutter. The lashes on my left eye are stuck to my face, and after a few attempts, they tear free.Bright lights above my head blind me as I blink away my disorientation.The sound of multiple different voices has my eyes panning around the room. EMS workers move quickly, rushing inside the small space and focusing their attention on Ahmed. I recognize a few of the faces rushing around me, but a relieved sigh falls from my lips as I finally focus on James.“What’s going on?”My voice sounds foreign and gravelly.“Are you injured?” James rushes out, coming back to my side and ignoring the emergency personnel shouting at him to back up.“My…” I start, trying to move the leg that had gotten bit, but it felt numb and stiff, “My leg and my ribs.”“What happened here?” The gold flecks in James’ eyes glitter beneath the harsh lights of the elevator, and his eyes soften as
A Marriage of Convenience Creatures
A loud noise jars me awake and my eyes struggle to focus in my disoriented state. The sky is nearly black and rain pelts against the floor to ceiling windows at the rear of the house.The television remains on, but the show I’d been watching has long ended. Glancing at my phone, I blink away the sleepiness seeing that somehow, I’d managed to nap for the last five hours.Another loud crack startles me as the sky lights up with a flash of lightning. A few seconds later, the power goes out, causing complete darkness to blanket me. The storm raging outside is the only sound I hear, and I quickly grab my phone, illuminating the flashlight as I walk towards the rear windows.The backyard leading into the forest looks eerie blanketed in complete darkness. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and the feeling of being watched envelopes me as I squint my eyes, trying to see anything through the heavy sheets of rain.Another flash of lightning illuminates the sky, and I swear I saw someth
A Marriage of Convenience Liar
James left early this morning for work and forbade me from going into the hospital. I called in with a family emergency, and there was no questioning. They knew if I was taking off, it was necessary, even though it didn't feel that way. Chris remained passed out on the back patio, and I’m not sure if I should force him awake or let him sleep off the shockwave that was yesterday. I still don't even know if I've managed to brush off the reality that I've been a werewolf my entire life and everyone I loved kept it from me..... and I've had weeks to process it.My phone buzzing against the countertop startles me, and I glance over to see that my father is calling.Begrudgingly, I grab the phone, hesitating as my finger hovers over the small green button. I’ve been avoiding talking to either of them. Since my meeting with my father and my mother’s explosion over the scathing interview I did with Mr. Arden; I’m not sure they even consider me a member of the Red family.“Hey dad,” I finally
