THE FORGOTTEN SON-IN-LAW
Synopsis:
In a marriage of cold convenience, Adrian Cole weds Selene Harlow, the beautiful and distant heiress to the powerful Harlow fortune. To the elite world of politicians and tycoons, Adrian is nothing but a "useless nobody," a penniless man tolerated only as a laughingstock and a pawn. Forced into the union by her family, Selene treats him with glacial contempt, echoing the open disdain of her iron-willed mother, Eleanor, and her dismissive father, Victor.
Publicly humiliated and relegated to the shadows of the Harlow Corporation, Adrian endures the constant mockery, especially from Julian Black, a rival executive with a predatory interest in Selene and the company. Adrian bears it all with quiet restraint, his true nature hidden behind a mask of meekness. But beneath the surface, he is far more than he appears. Secretly, he commands a hidden power and respect, with loyal operatives referring to him as "Young Master" and awaiting his orders.
The fragile peace shatters when subtle threats escalate into open warfare: a shattered heirloom, a violent ambush in an alley, and a near-fatal "accident" on the road. With each attack that Adrian effortlessly deflects, Selene's icy skepticism begins to thaw into burning curiosity. Who is this man she married? His calm authority in the face of danger and his quiet acts of protection clash with the image of the helpless man everyone scorns.
As Julian Black's schemes grow more dangerous and desperate, Adrian is forced to let his carefully constructed facade begin to crack. The forgotten son-in-law can no longer remain in the shadows. He must choose between his vow to conceal his powerful past and the need to protect the wife who is slowly starting to see the formidable man hidden behind the ridicule.
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Chapter: Chapter Twenty-one Assassins cloaked in moonsteel struck in silence. Their daggers shimmered with poison that even Adrian’s flames struggled to burn. Selene shielded Kael, but one blade grazed her scar — and she screamed as if her soul were torn open.Kael’s shadow-self ripped free, taller, darker, more human than ever. It slaughtered Nysera’s blades without hesitation, whispering into Kael’s ear:“See how easily they fall. You don’t need him. You don’t need her. Only me.”Furious, Adrian raised a firestorm across the camp. Assassins burned, tents turned to ash. Rival kings shouted — some saw him as savior, others as a demon. By dawn, every throne had chosen a side.The wound on Selene’s scar spread, veins of black crawling across her chest. She gasped, whispering:“It’s not poison. It's a curseblade. They’re trying to *merge* me with the Master.”Adrian held her tighter. “Not while I breathe.”Captured mid-battle, Nysera spat blood and laughed.“You think I serve the Master? No — I serve myself. A worl
Last Updated: 2025-09-16
Chapter: Chapter Twenty Assassins cloaked in moonsteel struck in silence. Their daggers shimmered with poison that even Adrian’s flames struggled to burn. Selene shielded Kael, but one blade grazed her scar — and she screamed as if her soul were torn open.Kael’s shadow-self ripped free, taller, darker, more human than ever. It slaughtered Nysera’s blades without hesitation, whispering into Kael’s ear:“See how easily they fall. You don’t need him. You don’t need her. Only me.”Furious, Adrian raised a firestorm across the camp. Assassins burned, tents turned to ash. Rival kings shouted — some saw him as savior, others as a demon. By dawn, every throne had chosen a side.The wound on Selene’s scar spread, veins of black crawling across her chest. She gasped, whispering:“It’s not poison. It's a curseblade. They’re trying to *merge* me with the Master.”Adrian held her tighter. “Not while I breathe.”Captured mid-battle, Nysera spat blood and laughed.“You think I serve the Master? No — I serve myself. A worl
Last Updated: 2025-09-16
Chapter: Chapter Nineteen Adrian stepped forward, flame blazing. “Touch her again and I’ll burn this whole pit down.”The Master only chuckled. “You already burn, Cursed King. But your fire feeds me.”Kael clutched his head, screaming. His body was still a boy’s, but his shadow — his other self — rose from him, fully grown, crowned, and kneeling to the Master.Selene held him tighter. “Stay with me!”But he whispered: “Part of me doesn’t want to.”The Master’s voice deepened.“One life for two. Give me the heir, and I’ll free the Queen from her curse — and free the King from his fire. You’ll walk out whole, mortal, untouched. Only the boy will remain mine.”Adrian hissed: “This is what I warned you of. If you even think of taking that deal, Selene!”Selene snapped back, eyes wet: “If you ever loved me, don’t ask me to choose between you and my son.”For the first time, the word hung heavy. Son.Kael looked up, eyes glowing both flame and shadow. “If my death saves you — then maybe I should go.”Selene fell to
Last Updated: 2025-09-16
Chapter: Chapter Eighteen “They told me… I was born wrong,” he whispered. “That the crown made me from pieces that shouldn’t go together. That’s why things obey me.”Selene knelt, brushing hair from his face. “Wrong? No, Kael. The world was wrong for letting them say that to you. You’re more than what made you.”His eyes brimmed, desperate. “Do you believe that?”She kissed his forehead. “Yes.”Adrian overheard.Later, while Kael slept, he pulled Selene aside. His voice was a low growl.“You can’t give him hope like that. You’ll only make it worse when he loses control.”Selene’s scar pulsed, her temper breaking. “He is not just power, Adrian. He is a boy. And if we treat him like a monster, that’s all he’ll ever become.”Their eyes locked — flame against shadow. Neither yielded.They stumbled upon a ruin — a temple half-swallowed by sand. Its carvings were old, older than any kingdom. In its center, an altar bore the same crown sigil that haunted Kael’s dreams.As he touched the stone, whispers filled the air
Last Updated: 2025-09-16
Chapter: Chapter Seventeen Selene gripped the boy’s hand tighter. “Don’t look back,” she whispered.Adrian turned once more, sword flaming, to hold off the wave of cultists who still clawed after them. His voice thundered over the flames:“Run!”As they fled through Karandel’s broken streets, Selene felt it again — that eerie resonance between her scar and the boy’s power. His shadows leaned toward her like flowers to sunlight. His fire dimmed in her presence.“Why do you know my face?” she asked breathlessly as they ran.The boy’s small voice cracked: “I see you in my dreams.”Selene stumbled. For years, her scar had carried whispers of Julian — but now those whispers twisted, reshaped into something new. A child’s laughter. A child’s cry.Adrian pulled her forward. “We don’t have time for riddles. We need to reach the forest.”Far away, word raced faster than fire: Karandel had fallen. Witnesses swore they had seen the cursed couple alive — and worse, with the child.The kings of the fractured realms convened
Last Updated: 2025-09-15
Chapter: Chapter Sixteen The boy was six years old when his power first broke free. A gang of raiders cornered Lysandra in a mountain pass. She fought hard, but steel pierced her side. The boy screamed — and shadows swallowed the raiders whole, leaving nothing but ash and silence. When it was done, he stared at his hands. “I didn’t mean to…” he whispered. Lysandra trembled. The world wasn’t ready for this child. Perhaps it never would be. That night, a storm raged. Adrian and Selene huddled in a broken temple, rain soaking their cloaks. “I fear I’m losing you,” Selene confessed. “Piece by piece.” Adrian cupped her face. “If fire consumes me, then let it burn us both.” She kissed him through tears. Even as lightning split the sky, they clung to each other, love burning against the storm. In a cavern deep beneath the ruins, the relic crown pulsed like a living heart. It whispered with a thousand voices. It remembered fire. It reminded me of the shadow. It remembered him. And slowly, crawling on ske
Last Updated: 2025-09-15
