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Chapter 2
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2025-03-19 08:00:00Once a Fool, Now a Queen
Aurora Sinclair’s POV ⸻ The World Takes His Side The rain hadn’t stopped when I found myself outside Celeste’s apartment, drenched and shaking. She pulled me in without a word, wrapping a thick blanket around my shoulders. I must have looked like a ghost—hollow, broken, nothing like the woman I had been just hours ago. But Celeste wasn’t one for empty sympathy. She sat across from me, arms crossed, her dark eyes sharp. “You need to check your phone.” I had ignored it all night. It was buried deep in my bag, vibrating incessantly. Now, with unsteady hands, I pulled it out. And the world collapsed all over again. BREAKING NEWS: DAMIAN CARTER FILES FOR DIVORCE—AURORA SINCLAIR’S FALL FROM GRACE INSIDERS REVEAL: AURORA CARTER NEVER CONTRIBUTED TO HER HUSBAND’S SUCCESS THE TROPHY WIFE WHO NEVER EARNED HER CROWN The headlines screamed at me, each one crueler than the last. Every article painted me as a gold-digger, a woman who had latched onto a powerful man and contributed nothing. Nothing. I had spent years helping Damian build his empire—late nights reviewing contracts, attending meetings he didn’t have the patience for, smoothing over deals when his temper flared. And now, I was nothing more than a discarded wife, a liability erased from his story. My fingers tightened around the phone. “They turned on me.” My voice was barely a whisper. Celeste scoffed. “You expected anything else? Damian’s PR team is working overtime to make sure you’re the villain.” The images plastered across every news outlet were calculated: Vanessa smiling in perfectly staged candids, Damian looking somber yet dignified, and me—grainy, unflattering shots of me leaving the hotel, eyes wild with shock. I could already hear the whispers. She wasn’t good enough for him. She was just a pretty face. Damian deserves better. My own family had started calling, but not to check on me. Mom: Aurora, I saw the news. Please tell me it’s not true. Tell me you didn’t just waste your marriage doing nothing. Uncle James: You should’ve built something for yourself. You should’ve known this could happen. Even the people who had once supported me now hesitated, wondering if maybe—just maybe—Damian was right. Maybe I had been nothing. Celeste’s voice pulled me back. “This wasn’t just a smear campaign. This was a goddamn execution.” I looked up at her, something sharp and raw curling inside me. “He wants me gone.” She nodded. “From his life. From his narrative. And more than that—” She hesitated. “From the industry.” A chill slithered down my spine. I had always been involved in Damian’s business dealings, but never in my name. My power had always been tied to him. If he shut every door, if he poisoned every connection— He wouldn’t just erase our marriage. He’d erase me. I swallowed, forcing steel into my voice. “He’s not going to win.” Celeste studied me, then smirked. “Good. Because I have something you need to see.” She pulled out a small flash drive and placed it on the table between us. “This,” she said, her voice like a match waiting to be struck, “is proof that Damian Carter isn’t the golden boy he pretends to be.” ⸻ The First Crack in His Empire I stared at the flash drive, pulse pounding. It was so small, so insignificant. And yet, Celeste looked at it like it held the power to change everything. “What’s on it?” My voice was steady, but my hands weren’t. Celeste leaned back, stretching out her long legs. “Financial records. Emails. Transactions that don’t add up. Let’s just say Damian has been creative with his bookkeeping.” I sucked in a sharp breath. “Fraud?” She smirked. “More like… misallocation of funds. Money funneled through shell companies, offshore accounts. The kind of thing that, if it ever got out, would make investors very, very nervous.” Damian had always been ruthless in business, but this—this was the first real evidence that he wasn’t just ruthless. He was reckless. I reached for the flash drive, but Celeste held it back. “Aurora, listen to me.” Her voice softened, just slightly. “This isn’t just dirt on your ex. This is a weapon. If you use it, there’s no going back.” I met her gaze. “He’s already taken everything from me.” She nodded, satisfied, and handed it over. “Then let’s burn his empire to the ground.” Clutching the flash drive, I exhaled slowly. Damian Carter thought he had buried me. He had no idea I was about to rise. *** To be continued *** Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this chapter, don’t forget to leave a comment or a review—it means the world to me and keeps me motivated to write more! See you in the next chapter!
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Once a Fool, Now a Queen Chapter 3
Once a Fool, Now a QueenAurora Sinclair’s POV⸻The flash drive sat in the palm of my hand, a deceptively ordinary object carrying the weight of something far more dangerous.I plugged it into Celeste’s laptop, my breath tight in my throat.And then I saw it.Spreadsheets of transactions that didn’t add up. Wire transfers moving through shell companies with vague, meaningless names. Large sums disappearing and reappearing in accounts overseas.It was clear: Damian had been laundering money.I clenched my jaw, scrolling through pages of evidence. Every email, every manipulated invoice—it was all there, hidden in plain sight.A cold, bitter laugh escaped me.For years, Damian had called me useless. A liability. A gold digger who contributed nothing.But I had built him. I had stood by his side, supported him, helped him make decisions that propelled his company forward.And now? Now
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-20Once a Fool, Now a Queen Chapter 4
Once a Fool, Now a QueenAurora Sinclair’s POV⸻I didn’t blink. Didn’t look away.Killian Wolfe wasn’t a man who made casual offers.If he was here, speaking to me like this, it meant he had already calculated his risks. He had already decided I was useful.The question was—useful for what?I set my empty glass down and met his gaze. “Who are you, Killian?”He smirked, slow and deliberate, as if I had just asked a foolish question.“You already know,” he said simply.His confidence was maddening, but he wasn’t wrong.Killian Wolfe was a name spoken in hushed tones in the corridors of power. An investor whose touch turned businesses into gold, whose partnerships were as rare as they were deadly.And he was Damian’s rival.Which made him dangerous to me.I leaned back, folding my arms. “Why are you here?”His fingers tapped lazily against his glass. “Becau
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-20Once a Fool, Now a Queen Chapter 5
Once a Fool, Now a QueenAurora Sinclair’s POV⸻I had never been one to hesitate.But as I stared at my phone, Killian’s number glowing on the screen, my fingers hovered over the call button.I knew what this meant.Accepting his offer wasn’t just about revenge. It was about power. About stepping into an arena where men like Damian and Killian thrived—and proving I could do the same.And I would.With or without Killian Wolfe.I pressed dial.He picked up on the second ring. “Aurora.”No pretense. No small talk.“I’ll do it,” I said. “But on my terms.”Silence. Then a low chuckle. “I was hoping you’d say that.”Of course he was.Killian never made an offer he wasn’t certain would be accepted.I tightened my grip on the phone. “I don’t want to be your pawn, Killian. If we do this, we do it as equals.”Another pause. This one longer.
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-20Once a Fool, Now a Queen Chapter 6
Once a Fool, Now a Queen Aurora Sinclair’s POV ⸻ The second I stepped into the ballroom, silence rippled through the crowd like a shockwave. Eyes turned. Conversations stuttered. And then—Damian saw me. I caught the flicker of surprise in his expression before he masked it with that smug indifference I once mistook for charm. Too late. He had already given himself away. I descended the marble staircase, the slit of my black satin gown parting just enough to command attention but never to beg for it. Every detail had been calculated—my posture, my walk, the deep crimson of my lips. I wasn’t here to blend in. I was here to make him remember. Killian had warned me. Make them doubt their version of you. And judging by the way Damian’s jaw tensed, I was succeeding. Celeste, standin
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-20Once a Fool, Now a Queen Chapter 7
Once a Fool, Now a QueenAurora Sinclair’s POV⸻I should’ve known Damian wouldn’t take my victory at the gala lightly.Powerful men like him didn’t lose. They retaliated.The first sign came the next morning.Celeste called me, her tone sharp. “Aurora, something’s wrong.”I sat up in bed, my stomach twisting. “What happened?”“I reached out to a few investors who seemed interested last night. Every single one of them suddenly pulled back.”I inhaled sharply. “Damian.”“Of course it’s Damian,” she muttered. “He’s making calls, using every connection he has to shut doors in your face.”I clenched my jaw. I should’ve expected this.Damian never played fair.And now, he was making sure I knew it.⸻I met Killian that evening in his penthouse office, the city lights casting long shadows over the room.He leaned against his desk, watching me with
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-21Once a Fool, Now a Queen Chapter 8
Once a Fool, Now a QueenAurora Sinclair’s POV⸻I wasn’t going to destroy Damian by becoming him.I was going to destroy him by being smarter.And that meant playing the long game.I scrolled through my contacts, my fingers hesitating over a name I hadn’t spoken in years. Eleanor Hawthorne.She was a legend in the business world. Ruthless. Unyielding. And once upon a time, she had been Damian’s mentor—until he betrayed her to take over her company’s biggest deal.If anyone had a reason to hate him as much as I did, it was Eleanor.I took a breath and hit call.The line rang once. Twice. Then—“Aurora Sinclair,” a voice purred on the other end. “Didn’t think I’d ever hear from you.”“I think we have something in common,” I said smoothly. “A certain man who thinks he’s untouchable.”There was a beat of silence. Then, a low chuckle. “I’m listening.”⸻Elean
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-21Once a Fool, Now a Queen Chapter 9
Once a Fool, Now a QueenAurora Sinclair’s POV⸻If I was going to take Damian down, I needed to know exactly where his power came from. And more importantly—who was keeping him on top.I spent the next week doing what I should have done years ago. I dissected every piece of Damian’s empire. His investors, his legal team, the men who owed him favors and the ones who feared him too much to speak against him.I wasn’t alone in this.Celeste had a gift for uncovering skeletons people thought were safely buried. She spent days combing through financial records, real estate holdings, and offshore accounts.And then, one night, she called me.“I found something,” she said, her voice edged with excitement. “Something big.”Within the hour, we were sitting in her apartment, a thick folder spread across her coffee table.“What am I looking at?” I asked, flipping through the documents.“Shell compani
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-21Once a Fool, Now a Queen Chapter 10
Once a Fool, Now a QueenAurora Sinclair’s POV⸻The invitation came in the form of a single black card, embossed with gold lettering.The Augustine ClubExclusive Investor’s Circle | By Invitation OnlyI didn’t need to ask how Killian had gotten me in. I knew what kind of doors he could open with a mere whisper of his name. But the real question was—why?I found him waiting in the hotel lounge, dressed in a perfectly tailored charcoal suit, the crisp lines emphasizing his broad shoulders and the raw confidence he carried so effortlessly.“You clean up well,” I said, sliding into the seat across from him.Killian smirked, sipping his whiskey. “And you look like you’re ready to conquer an empire.”I was. The fitted black dress hugged my curves, the diamond drop earrings adding just enough edge to make me look expensive—untouchable.Because tonight, I wasn’t Damian Sinclair’s ex-wife. I was A
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-21
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Once a Fool, Now a Queen EXTRA CHAPTER 3
Once a Fool, Now a QueenAurora Sinclair’s POV***EXTRA CHAPTER 3: A SUNDAY IN BEDThe world could wait.For once, we weren’t at war with it. There were no meetings to attend, no business negotiations looming over our heads, no scandals to extinguish before they could spark into something greater.It was just us.Wrapped in the golden glow of morning light filtering through the curtains, tangled beneath the sheets, bodies warm from sleep and something deeper, something unspoken.I stirred first, stretching lazily, my limbs brushing against Killian’s. He made a sound—a deep, contented hum that vibrated against my skin.“Morning,” I murmured.“Too early,” he grumbled, voice rough with sleep, arms tightening around my waist as he pulled me against his chest. “Go back to bed.”I smiled, nestling into the warmth of him. “It’s past noon.”“Then let’s call it a Sunday in bed.”—
Once a Fool, Now a Queen EXTRA CHAPTER 2
Once a Fool, Now a QueenAurora Sinclair’s POV***EXTRA CHAPTER 2: THE POWER IN HIS HANDSThe gala was a masterpiece of wealth and influence—crystal chandeliers casting golden light over a sea of the elite, the murmur of expensive conversations, and the delicate clink of champagne flutes echoing through the air.I walked through it effortlessly, the silk of my gown sliding against my skin with every step. The fabric clung in all the right places, the deep crimson shade designed to draw attention. And it worked. Heads turned as I passed, whispers trailing in my wake.But there was only one gaze I felt.Killian.I hadn’t looked at him directly yet, but I knew exactly where he was.Somewhere in the periphery, watching.Enjoying.It was a game we played—one of control, of power, of the intoxicating push and pull between us.I took a champagne flute from a passing waiter, bringing it to my
Once a Fool, Now a Queen EXTRA CHAPTER 1
Once a Fool, Now a QueenAurora Sinclair’s POV***EXTRA CHAPTER 1: THE NIGHT WE WERE JUST USThe waves rolled in soft, rhythmic whispers against the shore, the salty breeze tangling in my hair as I stood barefoot on the cool sand. The night was impossibly still, the sky endless above me, painted in deep indigo with flecks of stars that shimmered like scattered diamonds.Behind me, the villa stood in quiet luxury, its floor-to-ceiling windows glowing faintly with warm light. It was the kind of place that felt untouched by the outside world—secluded, intimate, a haven carved out just for us. No business meetings. No headlines. No one watching.Just me and Killian.I heard the rustle of his movements before I felt him—his presence like a slow-moving storm, electric in its intensity.“You’re quiet,” Killian murmured, his voice a low vibration against the hush of the waves.I turned my head slightly, just enough to c
Once a Fool, Now a Queen Chapter 55
Once a Fool, Now a QueenAurora Sinclair’s POV***I stood at the edge of the balcony, my fingers lightly grazing the cold railing, staring out over the city that had once been a place of pain and betrayal for me. But now, it felt like my kingdom. My empire. It was mine, and it had always been mine to claim. All the lies, the deceit, and the heartache had led me here. To this moment. To this life I had built from nothing but ashes.The woman I had been—fragile, uncertain, riddled with self-doubt—no longer existed. The woman who had trusted, who had loved with her whole heart, had fallen into the fire, only to rise again as someone stronger, sharper, and far more dangerous. And I had no regrets.A soft knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. I turned, my pulse quickening, even though I knew who it was.Killian.He entered, his presence commanding, yet comforting. There was a quiet strength in him that matched my own. H
Once a Fool, Now a Queen Chapter 54
Once a Fool, Now a QueenAurora Sinclair’s POV***The weight of the past had been pressing down on me for too long, crushing every attempt I made to breathe freely. And today, I knew the time had come to finally shake it off. The choices before me were clear now. I had been living in the shadows of my past, caught between a man who had betrayed me, a man who had once loved me, and a future that seemed uncertain and just out of reach. But I had learned, after everything, that the past would not define me anymore.The past would never own me again.I stood before Damian’s office, my pulse thundering in my ears as I pressed the intercom.“Aurora Sinclair,” I said, my voice colder than I had intended. “Tell him I’m here.”The receptionist didn’t hesitate, her eyes widening when she saw me standing there—because she knew what had happened between us, what Damian had done, and what it had cost me. I had become a figure that b
Once a Fool, Now a Queen Chapter 53
Once a Fool, Now a QueenAurora Sinclair’s POV***The air in my apartment felt heavier than it ever had before. My own skin seemed to crawl as I paced back and forth, the thoughts spinning in my mind like an out-of-control carousel. I had thought that I was done with decisions—done with the past and its relentless hold on me. But now, it seemed that life had no intention of letting me go.Killian had told me the truth. The ugly, painful truth. And while part of me wanted to believe him—that he had done it all for me, to protect me—the other part of me, the part that had suffered too much at the hands of people I once loved, screamed that I was a fool for ever trusting him in the first place.I closed my eyes, trying to block out the chaos in my head, but all I could see were flashes of the past—Damian’s manipulation, my father’s lies, the betrayals that had shaped me into who I was now. Trust had become a foreign concept to me. It was li
Once a Fool, Now a Queen Chapter 52
Once a Fool, Now a QueenAurora Sinclair’s POV***There are moments in life when everything you thought you knew comes crashing down, revealing the cold truth behind the illusion.It started with a feeling. A nagging sensation, a quiet whisper at the back of my mind that I couldn’t ignore any longer. It wasn’t loud, but it was persistent, like a shadow that grew just a little bit darker every time I looked away. Killian had been by my side through it all, and I had trusted him—trusted him with everything. But lately, something about him seemed… off.I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, but something was missing, or worse—something was being hidden.At first, I told myself I was just being paranoid. After all, the world around me had been nothing short of a whirlwind lately. Damian’s downfall, my triumph, the new paths I was forging. Everything seemed so perfect. Too perfect. And then, of course, there was Killian. Ever-prese
Once a Fool, Now a Queen Chapter 51
Once a Fool, Now a QueenAurora Sinclair’s POV***The day had come—Damian’s fall was no longer a matter of if, but when. And as I watched the news unfold on my phone, my heart didn’t race with anticipation. There was no satisfaction in the destruction of a man who had made my life a living hell. Only a cold finality. He had made his choices, and now the consequences were unraveling faster than I could’ve ever imagined.Damian was bankrupt. Officially. The scandal that had once been whispers in the corners of the city was now a loud, unforgiving roar that reverberated through the business world. His name, once synonymous with power, wealth, and ruthlessness, was now tainted with fraud, lies, and betrayal.I had watched it all unfold—the deals, the investors pulling out, the company he had built crumbling beneath his feet. His empire was falling apart, and I, for once, wasn’t just watching from the sidelines. I was the one responsible for ensur
Once a Fool, Now a Queen Chapter 50
Once a Fool, Now a QueenAurora Sinclair’s POV***The day had arrived. I could feel it in the air, the weight of the world finally lifting from my shoulders. The decision had been made, and there was no turning back. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t looking over my shoulder, haunted by the past. I wasn’t wondering if the next blow would land—if Damian would come crashing into my world once again, trying to tear everything I had built down.He was nothing now.And I was everything.As I walked through the halls of my office, the weight of my heels clicking against the marble floor, I could feel the change in the air. The city outside my windows buzzed with life, but within these walls, I had created something different—a space where I no longer needed to apologize for my existence. A place where I had built something solid, something mine.And it wasn’t just the business world that was mine now. It was me.Kil
