Novels by Awesome booktopia

Ariana ~Ethan stopped mere inches away from me, the sheer heat radiating off his frame cutting off any remaining air in my lungs. His dark eyes burned into mine, filled with a raw, possessive hunger that made my skin tingle. He reached out, his warm calloused fingers tracing the bare curve of my shoulder before sliding down to grip my waist, pulling me flush against his hard chest. "You've been playing the quiet, obedient wife for weeks," Ethan murmured, his voice a low, gravelly hum against my skin as his gaze dropped to my mouth. "I have to admit, I prefer the woman who looks like she's ready to start a war."His thumb brushed across my bottom lip, and his head dipped down, closing the distance between us. The air grew thick, charged with an intensity that made my heart race for an entirely different reason. He wanted intimacy. He wanted to pull me deeper into this marriage, to claim every piece of the life he thought belonged to him. Panic spiked, sharp and cold, beneath the su

Ariana ~My back was pressed so hard against the heavy oak door of the master suite that the carved wood dug painfully into my spine. I couldn't stop shaking. My chest rose and fell in ragged, shallow gasps as I stared across the expansive, dimly lit bedroom. The sheer magnitude of the estate—the soaring ceilings, the imported Persian rugs, the towering wall of windows overlooking the private cliffs of Long Island—felt less like luxury now and more like a high-security prison cell. He felt it. I could see the wheels turning behind those cold, obsidian eyes. Ethan wasn't just a wealthy businessman; he was a master manipulator who noticed every tiny shift in cadence, every hesitation. My silence had thrown off the rhythm he expected from his wife. My hands flew to my face, my palms pressing hard against my burning eyes. *Think,* I scolded myself, my thoughts spinning out of control. *Think, think, think.* I needed to pivot, and fast. If I wanted to survive this marriage long enough

Ariana ~"I love you, Aria," he whispered against my lips. The words settled over me like a heavy, suffocating blanket. I froze. I kept my eyes shut for a second too long, my hands gripping the lapels of his shirt. My throat completely locked up. The lie was right there on the tip of my tongue, ready to be spoken to save my life, but I couldn't force it out. I just couldn't say it back. The silence in the library stretched, thick and dangerous. Ethan pulled back slowly. His warm hands fell from my face. I opened my eyes to see the soft, devoted warmth completely gone from his expression. In its place was a slow, distinct frown. His sharp obsidian eyes narrowed, studying my face with a dark, calculating intensity. He tilted his head, the muscles in his jaw ticking. "Nothing to say?" he murmured. His voice was dangerously low, carrying a completely different weight now. Panic flared hot and fast in my chest. I knew exactly what he was thinking. The real Aria would never stay quie

Ariana ~Three weeks had slipped by like a slow-moving storm. In that time, the sprawling Vaughn estate had become both my safest sanctuary and my most terrifying prison. Ethan had settled into a steady, grueling routine of early morning board meetings, high-stakes international calls, and late-night returns to the penthouse. Yet, despite the crushing weight of his empire, he made sure he was never entirely a stranger in his own home.Every single morning before he left, he still brought me breakfast on a silver tray. He would press a warm, unhurried kiss to my forehead, his obsidian eyes lingering on my face with a quiet, grounding affection that made my chest ache with guilt. He treated me with a gentle, patient care that I had never experienced in my entire life—all because he believed I was the woman he had loved for six years. And every day, I lived with the agonizing knowledge that it was all built on a massive, unforgivable lie.I stood by the floor-to-ceiling glass windows o

Ariana ~The morning light cut sharp angles across the hardwood floor of the master suite, casting long, pale shadows over the edge of the velvet rug. I sat curled up in the corner of the oversized window seat, staring out at the manicured lawns of the estate while the phone pressed tight against my ear. "I still can't believe you actually let them do this," Julian’s voice murmured through the speaker, low, frantic, and dripping with a bitter edge. "Ariana, you’re legally bound to a monster. Do you have any idea what Ethan Vaughn does to people who cross him? If he finds out you swapped places with your sister... if he finds out you’ve been lying to him since the second you walked down that aisle...""Keep your voice down," I whispered back, my fingers gripping the edge of the phone until my knuckles turned stark white. "Please, Julian. I had no choice. My parents would have dragged me through the dirt anyway, and you know how bad the debts were. I'm surviving. That's all.""Survivin

Ariana ~The drive back to the estate was entirely silent. In the back of the sleek black limousine, the partition window remained rolled up, sealing us off from the driver. Ethan sat close to me, his arm draped easily over the plush leather seat behind my shoulders. He occasionally glanced down, his obsidian eyes softening with a warm, deep affection as he watched the city lights play across my face. He didn't know the truth. To him, I was Aria—the woman he had loved, cherished, and planned his entire empire around for the last six years. The man beside me wasn't a cold stranger; he was a deeply devoted partner who thought he had finally reached the happiest day of his life. When the car rolled through the massive iron gates and glided up the private driveway, Ethan gently took my hand, lacing his fingers through mine. His touch sent a warm, terrifying shiver straight up my arm. "We're home, my love," he murmured softly, his voice low and rich. He stepped out of the vehicle firs