Novels by peejoeddy2026

Upon hearing her grandmother’s suggestion, Emily fell silent.She stood there as though someone had suddenly taken away her voice. Everything was happening too quickly. Her family was pressuring her to divorce James, Marcus was offering himself as a replacement, and the mysterious Morrison family had appeared with gifts so extravagant that the entire family was desperate to uncover their purpose.But Emily could not make sense of any of it.Why would a family so powerful take an interest in the family? The two families were not even on the same level, why had the Morrisons sent these gifts?At that moment Emily’s eyes drifted toward the items arranged throughout the meeting room. The expensive television, the rare medicinal herbs, the diamond necklace, the jade ornaments, the imported wine, and the other valuables were dazzling beneath the bright lights.No one would send such an astonishing collection of gifts without a reason.But if that was truly the reason, they want something, t

"Poor Emily. She's got the Anderson name, the Anderson looks, the Anderson breeding but she's stuck with a maid's fate, isn't she?""Absolutely tragic!" Julia agreed, pressing a hand to her chest in mock distress. "All that potential, completely wasted!""You know what?" Stephanie said, her eyes glittering with malice. "We should actually thank James! He took Emily out of the running for us! One less competitor to worry about!"The women dissolved into peals of laughter, high-pitched and cruel, echoing off the vaulted ceilings.Emily kept her head bowed, her hair falling forward to hide her burning face. Her hands trembled at her sides, fingernails digging into her palms hard enough to leave marks. She wanted to scream. She wanted to run. She wanted to disappear.But she couldn't. Not here. Not in front of everyone.So she stood there, frozen, drowning in humiliation while the laughter crashed over her in waves.Meanwhile, James stood in his corner, completely still, his eyes fixed on

Marcus continued, his tone confident. "Think about it. Families at that level don't just throw money around for no reason. These gifts—the jewelry, the cash, the luxury items this is a courtship display. They're signaling their interest in one of the Anderson daughters."The unmarried women in the room exchanged glances, their eyes wide with dawning realization."Oh my God," breathed Melissa Anderson, a cousin in her mid-twenties with carefully highlighted blonde hair. "He's right. This is a marriage proposal!""Or at least a PRE-proposal," added another cousin, Julia, who was already mentally calculating how much the diamond necklace was worth. "They're testing the waters. Seeing if we're interested.""Well, obviously it's me they're interested in," Melissa said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "I mean, I'm the most beautiful woman in this family. Everyone says so.""Are you kidding me?" Julia whirled on her. "You? You already have a boyfriend! Everyone knows you've been dating t

James touched his cheek where the cut had already scabbed over. "You don't owe me anything, Emily.""Yes, I do. I don't like being in debt, even emotional debt. We're going to divorce eventually anyway might as well keep the accounts clean." Her tone was businesslike, distant, as if they were discussing a contract rather than their marriage.James felt something shift in his chest. He stepped closer, lowering his voice. "What if I could change? What if you saw a completely different version of me?"Emily's jaw tightened. For just a moment, something flickered in her eyes hope? curiosity? but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. She shook her head."Don't talk nonsense, James. As long as you're in the Anderson family, you'll be crushed. Every single day. If you actually had talent, ability, backbone anything worth having you wouldn't have spent three years being everyone's punching bag." Her voice wasn't cruel. It was tired. Resigned. "People don't change. Not really. Especially not

James stood motionless, staring at Emily, whose eyes glistened with unshed tears. A thin line of blood traced down his left cheek where her ring had caught his skin."Did you do this on purpose?!" Emily's voice cracked, trembling with fury and humiliation. She glared at him, her mascara beginning to smudge at the corners of her eyes. "Why did I ever believe you could just keep your mouth shut for one night?!"Emily Anderson was known for her composure. Even when life knocked her down, she kept her chin up, her spine straight, her face a perfect mask of confidence. She'd survived business setbacks, professional rivalries, and three years of whispered gossip about her embarrassing marriage all without shedding a single tear in public.But tonight, standing in front of her entire family, her friends, her colleagues, and Marcus Wellington the man everyone said she should have married her dignity had been ground into the marble floor beneath her designer heels.James let out a long, weary

The crowd murmured in agreement. "Yeah, apologize!" "Who does he think he is?" "He should be grateful we even let him in!" James stood frozen, the teapot still in his hands. His mind was racing. He knew the piece was fake. Every instinct, every bit of research he'd done, everything was screaming at him that he was right. But what did it matter? they didn't want the truth. They wanted a scapegoat. "No," James said quietly. "What?" David's smile faltered. "I said no." James set the teapot down carefully. "I'm not going to kneel. And I'm not going to apologize for telling the truth." For a moment, nobody moved. Then David's face contorted with rage. "You arrogant piece of—" He snatched a glass of red wine from a nearby relative's hand and hurled it directly at James's chest. The wine exploded across James's shirt, deep crimson spreading across the faded blue fabric like blood. The liquid soaked through immediately, cold and sticky against his skin. The room erupted in laughte