A Love Left in Ashes

A Love Left in Ashes

exclusivegmj

153.7k Words / Ongoing
1k
Hot
1.1k
Views

Introduction

Aurora Calloway was the wife no one knew existed, trapped in a marriage where love was a distant illusion. But when betrayal cuts too deep, the life she thought she had unravels, forcing her into a battle she never saw coming.
Read More

Share the book to

facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

About Author

exclusivegmj

Chapter 1

Aurora's POV

"I don't have a wife."

As though the weight of our vows and the presence of our marriage were nothing more than a gossip to be brushed aside, Cassian's remarks flow naturally from his lips in a smooth, unconcerned tone.

I don't wince. I stay put. I've learnt to remain motionless and invisible. Deep down, though, something breaks—not outwardly or noisily, just a silent, shattering crack in a heart that has been fracturing for two years.

Sharp-eyed and wearing a sleek black dress, the journalist tilts her head slightly. She presses, adjusting the microphone, "Mr. Viero." "Your marriage has been the subject of rumors—"

Cassian's lips form a contemptuous grin that causes rivals to falter and investors to perspire. As he adjusts the sleeves of his fitted suit, he remarks, "Rumors carry as much weight as fiction." "I'm not married to some imaginary wife; I'm married to my work."

The crowd erupts in laughter.

Phantom.

Ghost.

Curling my fingers around the stem of my unopened champagne flute, I take a deep breath. My mask remains in place—a meticulous, honed display of elegant detachment. I ought to be accustomed to this.

This, however, is a new low.

Julian West, the one man in this room who sees too much, laughs quietly next to me. "Brutal," he whispers, pointing to Cassian with his whiskey glass. Despite his humorous tone, there is a severe undertone.

I keep my eyes off of him. "It is merely business." The deception comes easily to me.

Julian spends too much time studying me. With a slightly too-soft voice, he observes, "You're either the most patient woman in the world or the most foolish."

I grin politely at him. "Perhaps both."

The audience parted to make place for Cassian as he strode toward the middle of the ballroom, stepping down from the platform like a king stepping down from his throne. He looks around the room, through me, beyond me, and not a trace of recognition.

The sting shouldn't still be there.

I should give up hope.

However, I do.

And my biggest error was that.

---

Cassian's POV

I sense it as soon as I leave the stage—the change in the atmosphere, the whispers beneath the surface. I don't care, though.

With his trademark smirk, my CFO, Archer Whitmore, murmurs, "Strong statement," as he settles into step next to me.

I hardly give him a look. "That was the reality."

He gives a snort. "Was it?"

I disregard him. I belong to no one in my universe, and perception is power. Even if my father coerced me into marriage, I never had to admit it.

Then someone moves in front of me.

Julian West.

Smug. It's annoying. And overly preoccupied with matters that don't affect him.

Swirling the amber liquid in his glass, he says, "Viero," with ease. "What a statement that was." For a split second, his gaze darts past me.

I stay put.

I don't play games that I don't want to win.

I take a sip of my bourbon and say, "West." "Are you having fun at my event?"

"Very much." Julian's grin widens as he tilts his head. However, I must ask... Who is the woman observing you as if she were debating whether to burn down the entire place if your wife doesn't exist?

Before I can stifle it, a sharp object flickers in my chest. I don't like the way he says it, but I don't make my face readable. As if he perceives something that I do not.

As if he is aware of something I'd rather not acknowledge.

I take a sip of my beverage. "You must be wrong."

Julian shakes his head and laughs. "Maybe." But before he leaves, his eyes stay on the scene a little longer than is required.

And I find that annoying.

---

Aurora's POV

I must breathe.

I leave the ballroom as soon as Cassian's eyes pass me by, as if I were merely a shadow on the edge of his vision. As I enter the balcony, the crisp night air welcomes me, and I clutch the chilly railing, my knuckles whitened.

I removed the mask. Only for a second.

Aurora, take a breath.

It doesn't matter, I tell myself. that when I married him, I was aware of what I was getting into. That long ago, I agreed to the norms of this invisible, quiet life.

However, something feels different tonight.

Something breaks a little more inside of me.

"Aurora."

The voice is silky and deep. Additionally, Cassian does not own it.

I turn to see Julian standing a few steps away, his face impassive as he watches me. Even though his drink is half-empty and his tie is a little loose, the way he looks at me is not casual.

"Julan, what do you want?" With a firm voice, I ask.

He looks at me, then gives me a little, regretful smile and shakes his head. "I could pose the same question to you."

I don't respond. Because, in all honesty, I no longer know.

Julian looks down at the city lights as he rests against the railing. With a calmer tone, he states, "You have two options." "Remind him of your true identity or remain in the background and allow him to erase you entirely."

My heartbeat quickens. "And why are you concerned?"

He pushes a hand through his dark hair and lets out a long laugh. "Because, Aurora." His voice falters a little. "A ghost is helpless. A woman scorned, though? That is an extremely powerful force.

Something else, not dread, sends a chill down my spine.

Something that is perilously near temptation.

I start to reply, but before I can do so, I tense up at the sound of footsteps.

Cassian.

Before I even turn, I am aware of it.

His face is unreadable as he enters the balcony, but his presence is commanding as usual. His gaze darts from Julian to me. "Am I disturbing someone?"

Julian remains still. doesn't turn away. "Not at all. All I was doing was talking to Aurora.

Although Cassian's tone remains neutral, his eyes become more intense. That's intriguing. I had no idea my wife and my rival were talking about anything.

My wife.

The words ought to have some meaning. However, they are completely meaningless in light of what he said tonight.

Julian just grinned. "Verio, there are a lot of things you don't know." Pulling his cuffs straight, he pushes off the railing. "But I guess that's the result of ignoring what's directly in front of you."

Cassian clenches his jaw.

I'm left alone with the one man I shouldn't still want when Julian gives me one more glance before leaving.

We both remain silent for a long time.

Cassian then looks at me, his eyes unreadable. "Avoid getting close to him."

I laughed softly and without humor. "Cassian, are you finally admitting that I exist?"

His jaw tightens, but he remains silent.

He doesn't, of course.

Because only when it suits him does Cassian Viero speak.

And I've finally realized tonight that I need to stop waiting for him to notice me if I want to be seen.

I'll need to get him to see me.

In one way or another.

Comments

No comments yet.

You Might Like 😍

From Best Friend To Fiancé

From Best Friend To Fiancé

Ongoing · Page Hunter
“You have no idea what you’ve done to me. I’ve been replaying every sound you made, every way you came apart for me.” His grip tightened. “I’m not letting that go. I’m not letting you go. Fuck the friendship. I want you.”
I let out a little gasp. His thumb rubbed across my lower lip.
“I don’t just want to fuck you—I want to keep you. You’re my favorite sin, and I’ll commit it again and again until you understand you’re mine.” His lips twitched a little. “You’ve always been mine, Savannah.”
——-
Her sister is marrying her ex. So she brings her best friend as her fake fiancé. What could possibly go wrong?
Savannah Hart thought she was over Dean Archer—until her sister, Chloe announces she's marrying him. The same man Savannah never stopped loving. The man who left her heartbroken… and now belongs to her sister.
A weeklong wedding in New Hope. One mansion full of guests. And a very bitter maid of honor.
To survive it, Savannah brings a date—her charming, clean-cut best friend, Roman Blackwood. The one man who’s always had her back. He owes her a favor, and pretending to be her fiancé? Easy.
Until fake kisses start to feel real.
Now Savannah’s torn between keeping up the act… or risking everything for the one man she was never supposed to fall for.
1.9m Views
Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother

Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother

Ongoing · Harper Rivers
Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother.

"What is wrong with me?

Why does being near him make my skin feel too tight, like I’m wearing a sweater two sizes too small?

It’s just newness, I tell myself firmly.

He’s my boyfirend’s brother.

This is Tyler’s family.

I’m not going to let one cold stare undo that.

**

As a ballet dancer, My life looks perfect—scholarship, starring role, sweet boyfriend Tyler. Until Tyler shows his true colors and his older brother, Asher, comes home.

Asher is a Navy veteran with battle scars and zero patience. He calls me "princess" like it's an insult. I can't stand him.

When My ankle injury forces her to recover at the family lake house, I‘m stuck with both brothers. What starts as mutual hatred slowly turns into something forbidden.

I'm falling for my boyfriend's brother.

**

I hate girls like her.

Entitled.

Delicate.

And still—

Still.

The image of her standing in the doorway, clutching her cardigan tighter around her narrow shoulders, trying to smile through the awkwardness, won’t leave me.

Neither does the memory of Tyler. Leaving her here without a second thought.

I shouldn’t care.

I don’t care.

It’s not my problem if Tyler’s an idiot.

It’s not my business if some spoiled little princess has to walk home in the dark.

I’m not here to rescue anyone.

Especially not her.

Especially not someone like her.

She’s not my problem.

And I’ll make damn sure she never becomes one.

But when my eyes fell on her lips, I wanted her to be mine.
The War God Alpha's Arranged Bride

The War God Alpha's Arranged Bride

Ongoing · Riley Above Story
On the day Evelyn thought Liam would propose, he shocked her by getting down on one knee—for her stepsister, Samantha. As if that betrayal wasn’t enough, Evelyn learned the cruel truth: her parents had already decided to sell one daughter’s future to a dangerous man: the infamous War God Alpha Alexander, who was rumored to be scarred and crippled after a recent accident. And the bride could’t be their precious daughter Samantha. However, when the "ugly and crippled" Alpha revealed his true self—an impossibly handsome billionaire with no trace of injury—Samantha had a change of heart. She was ready to dump Liam and take Evelyn's place as the family daughter who should marry Alexander.
Yet Alexander made his decision clear to the world: “Evelyn is the only woman I will ever marry.”
Accidentally Yours

Accidentally Yours

Ongoing · Merffy Kizzmet
“Who the hell are you and why are you tied to my bed?”

Lola Marlowe’s morning-after is a disaster. She’s got a killer hangover, zero memory of Burning Man, and a half-naked, sculpted stranger tied to her bed with her own lavender silk ropes. To make matters infinitely worse, the furious (and frustratingly handsome) “accidental hostage” is Enzo Marchesi, Vegas’s most notorious mafia Don.

For Enzo, this is the ultimate security breach. But the fiery, unpredictable tattoo artist is the most intriguing thing to happen to him in years. To stop his crew from “neutralizing” the threat, he makes an impulsive claim: she’s his fiancée.

Thrust into a world of high-stakes lies and feral attraction, they must navigate rival families and their own explosive chemistry.

One wrong move sparked it. Now neither of them wants out.
1.9m Views
The Prison Project

The Prison Project

Ongoing · Bethany Donaghy
The government's newest experiment in criminal rehabilitation - sending thousands of young women to live alongside some of the most dangerous men held behind bars...

Can love tame the untouchable? Or will it only fuel the fire and cause chaos amongst the inmates?

Fresh out of high school and suffocating in her dead-end hometown, Margot longs for her escape. Her reckless best friend, Cara, thinks she's found the perfect way out for them both - The Prisoner Project - a controversial program offering a life-changing sum of money in exchange for time spent with maximum-security inmates.

Without hesitation, Cara rushes to sign them up.

Their reward? A one-way ticket into the depths of a prison ruled by gang leaders, mob bosses, and men the guards wouldn't even dare to cross...

At the centre of it all, meets Coban Santorelli - a man colder than ice, darker than midnight, and as deadly as the fire that fuels his inner rage. He knows that the project may very well be his only ticket to freedom - his only ticket to revenge on the one who managed to lock him up and so he must prove that he can learn to love…

Will Margot be the lucky one chosen to help reform him?

Will Coban be capable of bringing something to the table other than just sex?

What starts off as denial may very well grow in to obsession which could then fester in to becoming true love…

A temperamental romance novel.
After One Night with the Alpha

After One Night with the Alpha

Completed · Sansa
One Night. One Mistake. One Lifetime of Consequences.

I thought I was waiting for love. Instead, I got fucked by a beast.

My world was supposed to bloom at the Moonshade Bay Full Moon Festival—champagne buzzing in my veins, a hotel room booked for Jason and me to finally cross that line after two years. I’d slipped into lacy lingerie, left the door unlocked, and lay on the bed, heart pounding with nervous excitement.

But the man who climbed into my bed wasn’t Jason.

In the pitch-black room, drowned in a heady, spicy scent that made my head spin, I felt hands—urgent, scorching—searing my skin. His thick, pulsing cock pressed against my dripping cunt, and before I could gasp, he thrust hard, tearing through my innocence with ruthless force. Pain burned, my walls clenching as I clawed at his iron shoulders, stifling sobs. Wet, slick sounds echoed with every brutal stroke, his body unrelenting until he shuddered, spilling hot and deep inside me.

"That was amazing, Jason," I managed to say.

"Who the fuck is Jason?"

My blood turned to ice. Light slashed across his face—Brad Rayne, Alpha of Moonshade Pack, a werewolf, not my boyfriend. Horror choked me as I realized what I’d done.

I ran away for my life!

But weeks later, I woke up pregnant with his heir!

They say my heterochromatic eyes mark me as a rare true mate. But I’m no wolf. I’m just Elle, a nobody from the human district, now trapped in Brad's world.

Brad’s cold gaze pins me: “You carry my blood. You’re mine.”

There is no other choice for me but to chose this cage. My body also betrays me, craving the beast who ruined me.

WARNING: Mature Readers Only
1.1m Views
Invisible To Her Bully

Invisible To Her Bully

Ongoing · sunsationaldee
Unlike her twin brother, Jackson, Jessa struggled with her weight and very few friends. Jackson was an athlete and the epitome of popularity, while Jessa felt invisible. Noah was the quintessential “It” guy at school—charismatic, well-liked, and undeniably handsome. To make matters worse, he was Jackson’s best friend and Jessa’s biggest bully. During their senior year, Jessa decides it was time for her to gain some self-confidence, find her true beauty and not be the invisible twin. As Jessa transformed, she begins to catch the eye of everyone around her, especially Noah. Noah, initially blinded by his perception of Jessa as merely Jackson’s sister, started to see her in a new light. How did she become the captivating woman invading his thoughts? When did she become the object of his fantasies? Join Jessa on her journey from being the class joke to a confident, desirable young woman, surprising even Noah as she reveals the incredible person she has always been inside.
Goddess Of The Underworld.

Goddess Of The Underworld.

Completed · sheridan.hartin
Left at a pack border with a name and a stubborn heartbeat, Envy grows into the sharpest kind of survivor, an orphaned warrior who knows how to hold a line and keep moving. Love isn’t in the plan…until four alpha wolves with playboy reputations and inconveniently soft hands decide the girl who won’t bow is the only queen they’ll ever take. Their mate. The one they have waited for. Xavier, Haiden, Levi, and Noah are gorgeous, lethal, and anything but perfect and Envy isn’t either. She’s changing. First into hell hound, Layah at her heels and fire in her veins. Then into what the realm has been waiting for, a Goddess of the Underworld, dragging her mates down to hell with her. Then finally into lycan princess, stronger, faster, the moon finally answering back, giving her exactly what she needs to protect her family.

When the veil between the Divine, the Living, and the Dead begins to crack, Envy is thrust beneath with a job she can’t drop: keep the worlds from bleeding together, shepherd the lost, and make ordinary into armor, breakfasts, bedtime, battle plans. Peace lasts exactly one lullaby. This is the story of a border pup who became a goddess by choosing her family; of four imperfect alphas learning how to stay; of cake, iron, and daylight negotiations. Steamy, fierce, and full of heart, Goddess of the Underworld is a reverse harem, found-family paranormal romance where love writes the rules and keeps three realms from falling apart.
1.2m Views
Crossing Lines

Crossing Lines

Ongoing · medusastonebooks
MM | Coach/Player | BDSM | Forbidden Romance | Power Imbalance | Age Gap | Sports Romance
Noah
I was here to prove myself—
One last shot at football, at freedom, at a future no one ever thought I’d deserve.
And then I met him.
Coach Aiden Mercer.
Cold. Demanding. Built like a legend and twice as ruthless.
From the first command, I wanted to fight him.
From the first Sir, I wanted to kneel.
But this wasn’t just about the game anymore.
He looked at me like he saw through every mask I wore…
And spoke to me in a voice I knew far too well.
The same one that called me baby boy in the darkest corners of the internet.
Now I didn’t know if I wanted to win…
Or just be his.
Aiden
Noah Blake was supposed to be a challenge.
A cocky, reckless quarterback with raw talent and no discipline.
But one message had changed everything.
One night on ObeyNet, a stranger with attitude and submission tangled in his words.
And when I saw Noah in person—his fire, his fear, that ache to be seen—
I knew it was him.
He didn’t know who I was. Not yet.
But I was already testing him. Pushing him.
Breaking him down until he begged for what he swore he didn’t need.
This was not supposed to get personal, but every second he disobeyed made me want to claim him harder.
And if he crossed the line…
I’d make damn sure he never forgot who he belonged to.
685.2k Views
The Delta's Daughter

The Delta's Daughter

Completed · JwgStout
In a realm set in the future, where the human race has fallen and shifters now rule, comes the epic adventure and tale of The Delta’s Daughter.

Born on the same night as the Kings son, Prince Kellen; Lamia Langley, daughter to the Royal Delta of The New Moon pack (royal pack) bares the mark of a royal and is a seemingly ordinary wolf, until she shifts at the age of 14 and by 15 becomes one of the strongest wolfs in the kingdom.

All Lamia ever wanted was to serve her prince, become a warrior, find her mate at 18 and live happily ever after.

Growing up together and sharing a rare and special goddess given bond, everyone is sure Lamia and Prince Kellen will be fated mates. Being given the opportunity to go to the Alpha academy, Kellen and Lamia fall in love and they hope they are fated like everyone thinks.

But the fates have already mapped out her future.
What happens when a wolf from the Kings past has his eye on Lamia?

Follow this epic tale of Love, tragedy and betrayal as Lamia starts to discover her family heritage. Will her family’s forgotten heritage and secrets become more than she can handle?

Will her Prince become her mate or will she be fated to another?
Will Lamia rise to become the wolf the goddess’ fated her to be?

For a mature audience
After the Affair: Falling into a Billionaire's Arms

After the Affair: Falling into a Billionaire's Arms

Ongoing · Louisa
From first crush to wedding vows, George Capulet and I had been inseparable. But in our seventh year of marriage, he began an affair with his secretary.

On my birthday, he took her on vacation. On our anniversary, he brought her to our home and made love to her in our bed...

Heartbroken, I tricked him into signing divorce papers.

George remained unconcerned, convinced I would never leave him.

His deceptions continued until the day the divorce was finalized. I threw the papers in his face: "George Capulet, from this moment on, get out of my life!"

Only then did panic flood his eyes as he begged me to stay.

When his calls bombarded my phone later that night, it wasn't me who answered, but my new boyfriend Julian.

"Don't you know," Julian chuckled into the receiver, "that a proper ex-boyfriend should be as quiet as the dead?"

George seethed through gritted teeth: "Put her on the phone!"

"I'm afraid that's impossible."

Julian dropped a gentle kiss on my sleeping form nestled against him. "She's exhausted. She just fell asleep."
625.5k Views
The Biker Alpha Who Became My Second Chance Mate

The Biker Alpha Who Became My Second Chance Mate

Completed · Ray Nhedicta
I can't breathe. Every touch, every kiss from Tristan set my body on fire, drowning me in a sensation I shouldn't have wanted—especially not that night.
"You're like a sister to me."
Those were the actual words that broke the camel's back.
Not after what just happened. Not after the hot, breathless, soul-shaking night we spent tangled in each other's arms.
I knew from the beginning that Tristan Hayes was a line I shouldn't cross.
He wasn't just anyone, he was my brother's best friend. The man I spent years secretly wanting.
But that night... we were broken. We had just buried our parents. And the grief was too heavy, too real...so I begged him to touch me.
To make me forget. To fill the silence that death left behind.
And he did. He held me like I was something fragile.
Kissed me like I was the only thing he needed to breathe.
Then left me bleeding with six words that burned deeper than rejection ever could.
So, I ran. Away from everything that cost me pain.
Now, five years later, I'm back.
Fresh from rejecting the mate who abused me. Still carrying the scars of a pup I never got to hold.
And the man waiting for me at the airport isn't my brother.
It's Tristan.
And he's not the guy I left behind.
He's a biker.
An Alpha.
And when he looked at me, I knew there was no where else to run to.
Take you Fall into Fantasy.

Download AnyStories App to discover more Fantasy Stories.