Stolen Chance

Before the Fall Griffin Vale never wanted the wine business. He respected it, sure. Grew up breathing in the barrel-soaked air of fermenting cellars and shaking hands with tycoons in tailored suits before he could spell Bordeaux. But his real love? Architecture. Spaces. Silence. He had an eye for beauty most billionaires ignored-the crooked beams of old barns, the way light poured through cracked windowpanes. He wanted to restore things, not sell them. But legacy doesn't care about dreams. His father, Thomas Vale, the larger-than-life titan of Vale Vineyards, had always said, "A Vale leads. A Vale does not walk away." So Griffin stayed. Showed up at boardrooms. Designed a few tasting rooms on the side. Smiled for the cameras. Dated women who fit the brand. Laughed at jokes he didn't find funny. And then it all collapsed. Fraud. Embezzlement. Stock manipulation. Words that painted headlines in gold and blood. His father arrested, the company in freefall. Investors turned predators. The press camped outside his penthouse. And Griffin? Griffin vanished. He took his grandfather's old truck and drove until the cell towers faded and the roads turned to dust. He didn't want to clear his name. He didn't care who thought he was guilty. He just wanted to forget. The Vineyard Riverbend was the kind of place that didn't make it on tourist maps. A family-run vineyard clinging to the last edge of harvest season, its tasting room barely functioning, its staff down to three. Thalia was its heart-unpaid manager, grape whisperer, and single mother all rolled into one. She hadn't planned on hiring anyone else. But when she found him-"Chris"-sitting on the edge of the loading dock, sipping gas station coffee and asking for work, something in her said yes. He was too clean. Too careful. But his eyes were quiet. And he said please. She put him on vine duty. Watched him fumble with shears and blisters. Smirked when he cursed under his breath. But day after day, he showed up. Never late. Never loud. And never asked for more than what she gave. Thalia didn't need another complication. She had enough-an autistic son who spoke with his eyes more than words, a mortgage two months late, and the memory of her father's vineyard dying beneath the weight of unpaid taxes. But Chris wasn't a man looking to be needed. He just needed to be. And somehow, in the way he held silence like a prayer, she found room to breathe. What He Didn't Know Thalia's vineyard sat on land once owned by Reyes Cellars-her father's dream. A vineyard that once competed with the likes of Vale. But twenty years ago, when a brutal drought hit and investors pulled out, her father was forced to sell. To the Vales. The sale broke him. The land was his soul, and when it was gone, so was his joy. Thalia watched him wither, bottle by bottle, until there was nothing left but debts and a bitter name. She swore she'd never trust a Vale again. And now, unknowingly, she was feeding one. Letting him walk her rows. Letting him into her son's world. Into her own. If she knew-if she found out who Chris really was-there would be no forgiveness. No future. But love doesn't wait for the perfect truth. It rises like steam from morning soil, unexpected and slow. And by the time it's visible, it's already soaked through the skin. The Breaking Point When the truth finally cracks open-when Chris becomes Griffin Vale again-it's not the betrayal that cuts deepest. It's the shame in his own voice when he says, "I didn't come here to lie. I came here because this is the first place I've ever felt real." Thalia doesn't scream. Doesn't cry. She just stares, like she's watching something precious rot in her hands. And her son-her quiet, sweet Mateo-who had just started calling Chris "Tío," won't look at him at all. Trust, once broken, doesn't rebuild with apologies. It rebuilds with action. With hands in the dirt. With late harvests and second chances. With showing up. And Griffin? For the first time in his life, he's willing to fight for something that can't be bought. Even if it means walking away from the empire he was born to save. Side Stories & Emotional Layers Mateo Reyes, Thalia's son, doesn't speak much. But he paints. His world is made of color and shadow, of silence and shape. Chris-Griffin-doesn't try to fix him. He just listens. Offers brushes. Buys better paints with the last of his hidden savings. It's through Mateo's art that Thalia sees who Chris really is-not the billionaire heir, but the man willing to sit still long enough for a child to trust him. Then there's Rosa, Thalia's grandmother, who suspects the truth before anyone else. Her eyes are sharp, her tongue sharper, but she holds secrets like vines hold memory. She tells Thalia that love doesn't come clean. It comes messy. Tangled. The way roots grow underground before they bloom. Even Diego, the town's gruff mechanic, has a part to play. He once lost his own family to a corporate buyout. He warns Chris: "If you want redempt

Reynaldo Davies, the first and only son of The Davies, finds himself in a constricted situation of choosing a wife, a command made clear by his Father, Mr Davies, on turning sixty, otherwise, young Davies would forfeit his inheritance to his younger sister. He makes a business proposal with Mia, his cook, who has no expectation of any kind, coming from the fling Reynaldo is. In desperation, she agrees but only on the condition that certain lines are drawn and rules are kept. All is fair and clear until Celine, Reynaldo’s high school friend, comes into the picture. His mother had arranged an engagement for them against Reynaldo’s persistence on dating his cook, “acting as his girlfriend”. Would this act bloom into something beautiful? What wold be the fate of Mia? Would Celine succeed in her quest for love? Will he gain his inheritance?

They don't know I'm a girl. They all look at me and see a boy. A prince. Their kind purchase humans like me for their lustful desires. And, when they stormed into our kingdom to buy my sister, I intervened to protect her. I made them take me too. The plan was to escape with my sister whenever we found a chance. How was I to know our prison would be the most fortified place in their kingdom? I was supposed to be on the sidelines. The one they had no real use for. The one they never meant to buy. But then, the most important person in their savage land-their ruthless beast king-took an interest in the "pretty little prince." How do we survive in this brutal kingdom, where everyone hates our kind and shows us no mercy? And how does someone, with a secret like mine, become a lust slave? . AUTHOR'S NOTE. This is a dark romance-dark, mature content. Highly rated 18+ Expect triggers, expect hardcore. If you're a seasoned reader of this genre, looking for something different, prepared to go in blindly not knowing what to expect at every turn, but eager to know more anyway, then dive in! . From the author of the international bestselling book: "The Alpha King's Hated Slave."

Elena, once a pampered heiress, suddenly lost everything when the real daughter framed her, her fiancé ridiculed her, and her adoptive parents threw her out. They all wanted to see her fall. But Elena unveiled her true identity: the heiress of a massive fortune, famed hacker, top jewelry designer, secret author, and gifted doctor. Horrified by her glorious comeback, her adoptive parents demanded half her newfound wealth. Elena exposed their cruelty and refused. Her ex pleaded for a second chance, but she scoffed, “Do you think you deserve it?” Then a powerful magnate gently proposed, “Marry me?”

“Drive this woman out!” "Throw this woman into the sea!” When he doesn’t know Debbie Nelson’s true identity, Carlos Hilton cold-shoulders her. “Mr. Hilton, she is your wife,” Carlos’ secretary reminded him. Hearing that, Carlos gives him a cold stare and complained, “why didn’t you tell me earlier?” From then on, Carlos spoils her rotten. Little did everyone expect that they would get a divorce.

"Never let anyone treat you like shit!" I learned that the hard way. For three years, I lived with my in-laws. They didn't treat me as their son-in-law but as a slave. I put up with everything because of my wife, Yolanda Lambert. She was the light of my life. Unfortunately, my whole world came crashing down the day I caught my wife cheating on me. I have never been so heartbroken. To have my revenge, I revealed my true identity. I was none other than Liam Hoffman—the heir of a family with trillions of dollars in assets! The Lamberts were utterly shocked after the big reveal. They realized what fools they had been for treating me like trash. My wife even knelt down and begged for my forgiveness. What do you think I did? Did I take her back or made her suffer? Find out!

She was a world-renowned divine doctor, the CEO of a publicly traded company, the most formidable female mercenary, and a top-tier tech genius. Marissa, a titan with a plethora of secret identities, had hidden her true stature to marry a seemingly impoverished young man. However, on the eve of their wedding, her fiance, who was actually the lost heir to a wealthy dynasty, called off the engagement and subjected her to degradation and mockery. Upon the revelation of her concealed identities, her ex-fiance was left stunned and desperately pleaded for her forgiveness. Standing protectively before Marissa, an incredibly influential and fearsome magnate declared, "This is my wife. Who would dare try to claim her?"

On the day of their wedding anniversary, Joshua's mistress drugged Alicia, and she ended up in a stranger's bed. In one night, Alicia lost her innocence, while Joshua's mistress carried his child in her womb. Heartbroken and humiliated, Alicia demanded a divorce, but Joshua saw it as yet another tantrum. When they finally parted ways, she went on to become a renowned artist, sought out and admired by everyone. Consumed by regret, Joshua darkened her doorstep in hopes of reconciliation, only to find her in the arms of a powerful tycoon. "Say hello to your sister-in-law."