Is 'The Chosen And The Beautiful' A LGBTQ+ Retelling Of Gatsby?

My husband, Kenneth Welch, handed me divorce papers as a cruel gift for our 5th anniversary. He didn't need me anymore. For him, I had become quiet and submissive, but that wasn't enough. Lilly Sanders had no money, no name, and no power, so he threw me away like a toy he no longer wanted. He crushed my heart, but he also gave me something important—a new beginning. Once my heart was no longer his, it opened up for someone who offered me kindness—a mysterious billionaire named Darren. But how could I stay by his side when, after so many years of pretending, I no longer knew who I was? Summoning my courage, I opened up the letters my ex-husband had hidden from me, and I faced my true identity… Now Lilly Sanders no longer exists; Lillian Hayes has taken her place. I've returned to New York as the heiress of Hayes Global Group. I am powerful enough to squash those who harmed me, but I didn't come back only for revenge. I came back for love…

In exchange for a modeling career and wanting to chase her dreams, Beauty Acuesta agreed to substitute her sister as a secretary at Monde Corporation. However, she soon realizes the job is not as easy as she thought, and the office work is quite chaotic. Fresh from a cheating breakup, Beauty realizes she missed out on many opportunities due to her ex. Beauty then unexpectedly encounters Drew Mondragon, the man who rescued her from hell that night, not realizing his true identity as her sister's boss, the CEO, and owner of Monde Corporation. Drew Mondragon, a member of the Royal Mondragon family, is a billionaire known for his short temper and perfectionism, tempered by his kind heart. When his secretary filed for an extended leave, a substitute was provided, and her name was Beauty. Drew had met Beauty before, and that night was unforgettable. Beauty had captured Drew's heart. Shockingly, Beauty is a headache! She's obviously out of Drew's standard, but somehow, Drew wants to keep and protect her. And whenever they get close together at work, the intense attraction between them escalates like fireworks. Beauty dreams of becoming a supermodel, and Drew wants Beauty to be his wife. One heart desires to chase a dream, while the other craves a family. Can love conquer ambition? Or will the Billionaire be able to keep his Beauty forever? Matured content 18+ This is under The Mondragon Billionaire's Boys Club, a stand-alone series. C.M. LOUDEN

To the world, Joe Brian is America's most influential oil billionaire—a single king of a sprawling empire. To Davidson Ekon, he is the mentor who shaped him, the man he wishes to be in every way. But Joe's universe is built on a secret. And when Davidson discovers the truth—that the man he idolizes is gay—it shatters his own carefully constructed life of faith, family, and ambition. Seduced into a life of forbidden passion and the promise of an inheritance he never knew he had, Davidson must decide. He can cling to the respectable life he knows, or become the scandalous heir to a fortune—and a man—he cannot defy. Their tryst will set off a firestorm that may burn to the ground everything they have built. Amidst the rubble, Davidson must decide if being Joe's heir is worth the price of his past, and if their love can survive the scandal that has bound them.

"In the gilded halls of wealth, bloodlines twist and fray, tangled by greed. It’s not legacy that binds them—it's the ruthless hunger to take what can never truly be theirs." Raelynn Winters is an orphan who grew up under the stress of Harlem; she is a girl who is content with what she has until she accidentally enters the world of the Montgomery family after saving a stranger. What begins as an innocent act of kindness becomes a game of power, betrayal, and manipulation. And just when her life can't get any harder, she is made heir to the Montgomery family empire and now she is the target of hungry and caged tigers.

BLURB: After an extended silence, she gathered the courage to speak. “Mum, what do you mean? I have my life in Paris.” she implored, clutching her mother’s hand. Lois diverted her gaze, the moment slipping away. “Refusing my offer means also returning all the assistance I provided when your business was in trouble,” she said, rising to leave. “You have just 48 hours to agree to my terms, and remember, I dislike waiting.” Freja has always been in love with Clinton Blackwood before he married her twin sister and since then she has despised him. She maintained her distance from her twin sister, Freya, and her husband enjoying her peaceful and lonely life. Her life took a turn when her sister died. Freja's mum, Lois Aaron, proposed a new business contract for the Greenwoods, leaving them in a tight corner. She was made to get married to her sister's husband a year after her sister's dismay.

Ever since I was a little girl, I'd watched those of age walk off into the woods. Each one of them wore the finest of silks, adorned with jewels hoping to please the moon goddess. Why, you may be asking. That's all because of our village tradition. As my birthday nears, I fear the day I'll be sent out into those woods. But what will happen if my heart pulls me towards it when my mind pushes me away?