The Masked Princess Bound To The King She Hates
Princess Ella walks down the aisle to marry the man who destroyed her life.
Behind her mask lies a secret powerful enough to bring a kingdom to its knees-and a revenge plan years in the making. To the world, she is a quiet and obedient queen. In truth, she is a survivor who has come to finish what war began.
But King Augustine is not a man easily deceived.
Cold, intelligent, and dangerously observant, he quickly realizes his new bride is hiding more than she shows. Instead of exposing her, he watches... waits... and begins a silent game where every glance, every word, and every move becomes a test.
As tension builds inside the palace, a survivor from Ella's past arrives-someone who can reveal her identity and destroy everything she has planned.
Now trapped between revenge and survival, Ella must decide how far she is willing to go.
Because in a marriage built on lies, one truth could ruin them both-
or bring them closer than either ever intended.
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Chapter 6
The palace was silent.
Not that quiet of peace.
This one bore something more--something alert, something that lingered in the intervals between footsteps and behind lowered tones.
King Augustine passed the corridor with a calm pace, his face unchanged, his pose as calm as ever. He did not seem to have been affected by what had happened in the council chamber to anyone who was watching.
But his thoughts were anything but still.
They know you lied.
The words were already in place.
Not all of them.
Not yet.
But enough.
Danger enough to start assuming form.
He stood in front of the high windows that looked out on the inner court. The light of morning fell upon the stone floor, pale and thin, and could not warm the extremities of the palace.
One hand behind his back, he stood in silence.
He had been questioned by the council.
The palace was starting to talk.
And now the lie was on the move.
Doubt in itself did not bother Augustine. Doubt was expected. Powerful men were never left unnoticed, gauged, weighed against rumor and anticipation.
It was a question of control.
And power was starting to change.
"Your Majesty."
A guard was standing a little way behind him.
Augustine made no turn. "Speak."
The guard said, We have started watching the council as you said. Lord Ferguson has already seen two of them this morning privately.
Of course he had.
"And?"
They are questioning about the queen.
Silence.
Predictable.
Keep on watching, said Augustine. Not the loudest voices--the quiet ones. The ones that other people listen to.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
And Ferguson, Augustine added, his voice becoming a little sharper. I would like to know all he does before he does it.
The guard bowed. "At once."
The footsteps faded.
Augustine stood still with his head stretched out.
Ferguson was not wanton.
This would not stop, said he.
It would grow.
He finally turned around and walked towards the chambers of the queen.
Ella saw it even before she realized it.
Not in words.
Not in anything addressed to her.
But in silence.
The corridors changed as she had entered them.
Servants bowed, as they always bowed--but now their eyes lingered a moment too long before they dropped.
Two maids standing together hushed as she passed.
One of the guards by the archway straightened, as though he had been caught at some mischief.
Nothing obvious.
Nothing that she could face.
But enough.
Sufficient to her knowledge.
Something had changed.
When she had gone back to her chamber the feeling had become certain.
The council.
The king.
The lie.
She walked up to the window, her hands mere brushes of the material of her sleeve as she gazed out over the palace grounds.
He lied on her behalf.
The idea came back.
Unwelcome.
Unsettling.
Such a man as Augustine did not do in vain.
Each word he uttered was weighty.
Each silence was intentional.
So why protect her?
The door was opened behind her.
Ella twitched a little, but did not turn immediately.
She had guessed who it was.
You have observed, Augustine, said.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
She turned slowly. I had no need to be told.
His eyes were fixed on her, and were unreadable.
Now they are looking at you, he said.
They were ever on the lookout, she answered.
"Not like this."
There was a moment of silence between them.
Ella crossed her arms. "You lied to them."
It wasn't a question.
Augustine shut the door. "Yes."
She was surprised by the simplicity of the answer.
"Why?" she asked.
He did not answer immediately.
Rather, he moved deeper into the room and his presence occupied the room without any effort.
Since the truth would have provided them with a reason, he said.
"For what?"
"To act."
Ella held his gaze.
"And now?"
Now, he said, they have nothing but doubt.
The words sank.
She turned away, her thoughts tightening
Worse still, doubt is worse, she said to herself.
To them, he said.
"For me."
That made him pause.
Just briefly.
But she noticed.
She glanced back at him. You left me the centre of their suspicion.
I made you more difficult to get at, he corrected.
The contrast bothered her.
She took a step closer.
You are talking like you are defending me.
"I am."
The response was too easy.
Too directly.
Ella looked at him attentively. "From what?"
Augustine never turned his head.
And what becomes of strong men when they suspect that you have something to conceal.
A shiver ran along her.
Since she was aware that he was correct.
He stepped closer.
To touch not enough.
Sufficient to move the air between them.
The council will not cease, he added. And Ferguson will not tarry.
Ella's pulse quickened. "You sound certain."
"I am."
Silence fell again.
Heavy.
Then gradually his hand rose.
Ella stilled.
His fingers were close to the edge of her mask.
Not touching.
Not yet.
What changes, I said to myself, should I take this away?
Her breath caught.
Everything.
You have no right to ask that, she said.
A pause.
Then-
"No," he agreed.
His hand lowered.
Control. Always control.
Ella gave a breath that she had never known she was holding.
"You keep doing that."
"Doing what?"
"Acting as if you know something I don't."
His gaze held hers.
"I do."
She was frustrated.
"Then say it."
His response was swift.
"No."
The rejection was like a wall between them.
At last he withdrew.
Tomorrow night, there will be a gathering, he said.
Ella frowned. "The council?"
"The court," he corrected. "Which makes it worse."
Understanding settled slowly.
They desire to visit me.
They desire to criticize you.
Her hands clenched a little.
"And you're going to let them?"
Augustine's expression did not change.
I will leave it to them to believe that they have an opportunity.
The words were colder than she thought.
You are making this a game.
"No," he said. "I'm ending one."
Silence followed.
He walked to the door.
When anyone asks you point-blank, then tell him nothing.
"And if they don't stop?"
His hand was on the door.
"They will."
She frowned. But how are you certain?
He looked over his shoulder at her.
I want to know who dares.
And then he left.
The door closed.
Ella stood in her place.
Still.
Thinking.
The deception had not saved her.
It had exposed her.
The palace was now on the lookout.
The court was in waiting.
and somewhere out of it--
Somebody was about to find out the truth.
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9.1
Julian Laurent was known as the most notorious playboy in Rivermont, changing girlfriends as often as he changed his clothes and treating marriage like a joke.
Clara Sterling, on the other hand, had always been the most quiet and obedient daughter of the Sterling family. Raised as the heir since childhood, she had been flawless in every word and every gesture.
A family-arranged marriage forced these two complete opposites into the same life.
On their wedding night, Julian openly made out with a young model at a nightclub.
For the first time, Clara cast aside her propriety, slapping him and demanding a divorce on the spot.
But before the next day was over, their families had forced them to remarry.
This time, Julian managed to stay faithful for a month before he cheated again.
Clara filed for divorce once more, cutting ties with him completely.
However, that very same day, it was revealed that Clara was not the real daughter of the Sterling family, and she was thrown out.
At her lowest point, Julian found her and solemnly promised to protect her from then on.
They remarried again, and from that day forward, the scandals surrounding Julian ceased.
Everyone said Clara was lucky. Even her best friend insisted that Julian had truly settled down, and Clara believed it.
Until she saw him in a hospital corridor, holding her best friend's hand, his voice strained with deep emotion, "I never liked her. You're the one I've always loved!"
It turned out all of his tenderness had been a lie.
This time, she walked away and never looked back.
And the man who had once treated her as disposable only realized after she was gone that he had long since drowned in her quiet love, unable to escape.
8.6
In my past life, the Cerberus strain leaked, turning the world into a blood-soaked hell of rotting flesh and mutated monsters.
I thought my boyfriend Declan and my best friend Hailee would have my back as we fled the quarantine zone.
Instead, when the surging crowd of the infected cornered us, they didn't hesitate.
They shoved me backward into the horde just to buy themselves three seconds to run.
As I fell into the mud, I saw them fleeing without a single backward glance.
"She's dead weight anyway!" Hailee screamed.
"Just keep running, she'll distract them!" Declan yelled back.
I was torn apart, feeling the agonizing tear of rotting teeth sinking into my neck and the hot spray of my own blood.
Before the apocalypse, my greedy uncle had locked away my ten-million-dollar trust fund, leaving me with nothing but a fake boyfriend who only wanted me for my money.
Until my last breath, I couldn't understand how the people I loved most could trade my life for a head start.
Why did I blindly trust them? Why didn't I see through their perfectly choreographed lies?
Opening my eyes again, the stench of decaying flesh vanished, replaced by the sterile smell of my college dorm room.
Hailee and Declan were standing over my bed, faking tears of concern over my meningitis fever.
I was back exactly seven days before the world ended, and my spatial vault ability had come back with me.
This time, I'm extorting my uncle for every cent, hoarding the city's supplies, and leaving them all to rot.
9.3
Six years ago, my adoptive family framed me for commercial espionage, stripped me of my identity, and threw me out. Now, I finally returned to the Solis estate as a commercial pilot to take back what was mine.
But the first thing my adoptive mother did was threaten me with that forged evidence again. She demanded I take my sister Kiana's place in a marriage contract with a disabled man, simply because Kiana refused to marry him.
When I refused, Kiana ambushed me at the airport with a mob of reporters. She cried for the cameras, publicly accusing me of causing our father's and brother's deaths. She painted me as a ruthless monster who bankrupted the company and ruined the family. The crowd instantly turned on me, screaming that I was a murderer and a gold-digger. Kiana wanted to completely destroy my reputation so I would have no choice but to submit to her arrangement.
I looked at her fake tears, feeling a cold, absolute fury. How dare she use the tragic deaths of the only family members who actually loved me as a prop for her sick show? They had ruined my life once, and now they wanted to bury me alive.
I didn't hesitate. I slapped her hard across the face right in front of the flashing cameras.
"That was for my father and brother."
Then, my real fiancé, a decorated Delta Force commander, rolled through the crowd in his wheelchair. He tossed a classified Pentagon file to the reporters, completely clearing my name and exposing Kiana's lies. I married him to start my revenge, but as I stepped into his heavily secured penthouse that night, I realized my powerful new husband had been preparing for me for a very long time.
9.5
"You shouldn't be here, Fiona," his deep voice rasped against her ear, his hand still pressed against the wall behind her.
"Then tell me to leave," she whispered, her lips trembling inches from his. He didn't move. He didn't breathe. And in that moment, she knew he wanted her just as much as she wanted him.
Fiona Harry has lived her whole life in a golden cage of wealth, reputation, and suffocating rules. University was supposed to be her escape, her first taste of freedom. But nothing could prepare her for the moment she came face-to-face with Professor Jalen Hart, her father's best friend. One reckless night changes everything. A drunken mistake turns into an irresistible obsession, pulling her deeper into Jalen's forbidden world. But secrets don't stay hidden forever. Between Jude, her possessive friend who knows too much, Marian, Jalen's wicked wife, and the dangerous power of desire, Fiona is about to risk not only hers and her family's reputation but her entire future.
And what happens when the truth comes out especially to Marian?
9.3
WARNING!! THIS STORY CONTAINS A LOT OF MATURE THEMES, ELEMENTS OF HARDCORE BDSM, PRAISE KINKS, SLUT-SHAMING KINKS, AND DEGRADATION KINKS. READ WITH CAUTION.
(BOOK ONE OF THE DELUCA KINGS SERIES)
Serena would do anything to uncover the death of her parents, including sleeping with the most dangerous man in New York, Nero DeLuca. And he knows this, so he strings her along so he can see how far she's willing to go.
***
"Get on your knees," Nero said.
"Excuse me-"
"You're my submissive, and you exist for the sole purpose of my pleasure. I don't tolerate defiance. When I say get on your knees, you get on your knees."
"Yes," I replied as I got on my knees, hating how much his commanding tone turned me on.
He put his finger under my chin and lifted it so I could look at him.
"Yes, what?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good girl. Now get on the bed and show me that beautiful cunt. I want to see what it looks like before I destroy it with my cock. Tonight, the whole of New York will know you belong to me. I'll not take anything less than you screaming my name, and by the time I'm done with you, you'll feel me between your legs for a week."
7.5
After spending five grueling years securing the Madden Pack's empire, I thought my Alpha mate and I were finally building a perfect family.
But on my birthday, I returned home to find a thick, impenetrable wall of ice in our Mate bond.
Caden had completely shut me out to throw a lavish party for my half-sister, Adalynn.
He let Adalynn pollute our penthouse with her cheap perfume and brainwash my five-year-old daughter, Elara.
"Auntie Adalynn is a million times better than Mommy!"
Elara chirped happily to a camera, while Caden watched with a doting smile.
He publicly humiliated me, commanded the servants to ignore me, and deliberately fed Elara severe allergens just to spite my maternal rules.
When my pup ended up in the pack hospital gasping for air, Caden confiscated her tablet and roared at her to stop crying for the mother who "abandoned" her.
My heart shattered into a million irreparable pieces.
I couldn't understand how the man destined to protect my soul could twist my love into cruelty and use our helpless cub as a punching bag for his ego.
But the weeping, pathetic Luna died right there.
I calmly signed the divorce papers, surrendered all my assets, and walked out into the cold night.
Opening my encrypted laptop, I reclaimed my hidden identity as the global elite hacker "Ghost" and initiated a lethal protocol.
It was time to burn his entire world to the ground.