
Beyond A Substitute
Chris Muna · Completed · 226.0k Words
Introduction
Realizing too late that Katherine was his true love, Kingsley tries to win her back. But Beth, obsessed and unhinged, takes a dark turn, bending reality to keep him by her side.
As Katherine uncovers the chilling truth, she must decide whether to give him a second chance and fight for their love or walk away forever.
Chapter 1
"Let's divorce," Kingsley said calmly, placing a set of documents on the coffee table in front of her.
Katherine looked up from where she sat on the couch, her expression unreadable at first—until her brows slowly drew together. "What did you just say?"
"I want a divorce," he repeated, his voice low and steady. "I came with the papers. All I need is your signature."
Katherine's lips parted in disbelief. "You're serious?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "A divorce?"
Kingsley didn't answer.
Her confusion gave way to a sharp, bitter laugh. "After all this time... You're asking me for a divorce? Me, the woman who's been in the shadows for you. The one no one even knows you married. The woman you made invisible so you could pretend to the world you were single."
He looked down, jaw clenched.
"You kept me hidden, Kingsley," she went on, her voice gaining strength. "And I let you. I told myself it was temporary, that it was for us, for your career, for your image. But now you're here, handing me a divorce like it's some business transaction?"
"I didn't mean to hurt you," he said quietly. "But this... it's the only way."
Katherine shook her head, heart pounding. "Is this about Beth? Of course it is. The whole world saw you kissing her on the red carpet last night. The way you held her, smiled at her like she was your everything."
Kingsley hesitated, then nodded. "I love her."
A silence fell between them.
"I love Beth," he said again. "She's the one I want to spend my life with. The one I can be with openly, without secrets."
"And what was I?" Katherine's voice cracked. "What am I to you, Kingsley?"
He took a breath, his eyes softening for the first time. "You were comfort. Safety. Your eyes... they reminded me of her."
Katherine stared at him like he'd lost his mind. "You married me because I reminded you of Beth?"
He nodded slowly. "I was confused. I told myself I could move on, that I could learn to love you the way I needed to. And for a while, I thought I could."
"And now?" she asked, rising to her feet. "Now you want to marry her instead?"
"She's always been the one," Kingsley saId, you can't understand, we have been together before, our story; it's complicated."
Katherine stared at him, eyes glistening with unshed tears. "So I was a placeholder. A shadow."
"I'll make sure you're taken care of," he said quickly. "You'll never have to worry. I'll give you money, property—whatever you need to be comfortable. Just sign the papers, Katherine. Let's end this quietly."
Katherine walked toward him slowly, eyes locked on his. "You think this is about money?"
"I'm trying to make things easier."
"For you or for me?" she snapped.
He didn't answer.
She stood just inches away from him now. "You humiliated me. You buried our marriage like it was something to be ashamed of. And now you want to walk out and play prince charming to your precious Beth. But I'm not going to make this easy for you."
"I don't want to fight," he said, voice firm but calm.
"No," she said, stepping back. "Of course you don't. You want everything neat and clean. You want your secret wife to disappear so you can parade your new bride in front of the cameras like a saint."
Katherine turned toward the hallway. "Come find me when you're ready to tell the world the truth. Until then... I'll be in the bedroom."
She disappeared down the hall, the soft click of the door her final word.
Moments later, the silence was broken by the soft footsteps of another woman emerging from the corner of the hallway—Beth.
"She's not going to sign it," Beth said quietly, folding her arms.
"She will," Kingsley replied, without hesitation. "She has to."
Beth looked at him, uncertain. "Kingsley, I don't want to come between you and—"
"You're not," he cut in gently. "You're the one I've always loved. She was just... she was a mistake I kept making. But no more."
Beth gave him a small, unsure smile. "You promise?"
"I swear it," he said. "Go home. I'll call you when it's done."
Beth nodded and leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "I love you."
"I love you too."
She turned and left.
Kingsley stood still for a long moment, staring down at the divorce papers.
Then, with a long breath, he walked toward the bedroom.
Last Chapters
#128 128
Last Updated: 1/29/2026#127 127
Last Updated: 1/29/2026#126 126
Last Updated: 1/29/2026#125 125
Last Updated: 1/29/2026#124 124
Last Updated: 1/29/2026#123 123
Last Updated: 1/29/2026#122 122
Last Updated: 1/29/2026#121 121
Last Updated: 1/29/2026#120 120
Last Updated: 1/29/2026#119 119
Last Updated: 1/29/2026
You Might Like 😍
Lightborn: The Demon’s Bond
The Dragon's Last Fae Queen
“Prince? Dickhead? Asshole? Or stalker?” A slow, dangerous smile curved his lips. “Maybe I should show you the one title I want you to use.” Before I could react, his hand closed around my chin, tilting my face up. His lips crashed into mine, hard, claiming, breath-stealing. When he finally pulled back, his voice was a rough whisper against my lips. “You could call me yours… because you are mine.”
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.
A pack of their own
The Deadly Mafia Princess
Her gang take the matter in their own hands, to try to save their leader from the horror of her home. What none of them know, they wasn’t her real parents, and now Ro will be sent away to live with her real family. That makes her closest members in her gang pack up and move as well. They don’t want to be far away from their leader.
Let Them Kneel
Cast out by her pack. Forgotten by the Lycans.
She lived among humans—quiet, invisible, tucked away in a town no one looked at twice.
But when her first heat comes without warning, everything changes.
Her body ignites. Her instincts scream. And something primal stirs beneath her skin—
summoning a big, bad Alpha who knows exactly how to quench her fire.
When he claims her, it’s ecstasy and ruin.
For the first time, she believes she’s been accepted.
Seen.
Chosen.
Until he leaves her the next morning—
like a secret never to be spoken.
But Kaelani is not what they thought.
Not wolfless. Not weak.
There is something ancient inside her. Something powerful. And it’s waking.
And when it does—
they’ll all remember the girl they tried to erase.
Especially him.
She’ll be the dream he keeps chasing… the one thing that ever made him feel alive.
Because secrets never stay buried.
And neither do dreams.
The Game of Claiming
A drunken bet becomes their private game: win the maid.
The rules?
Don’t let the others know you’re falling for her.
And never, ever let her leave.
But each brother plays differently—
The eldest buys her obedience.
The second steals her breath.
The third corners her in the dark.
The youngest ruins anyone who touches her.
Lila isn’t sure if she’s a player in their game… or the prize they’ll destroy each other to claim
The Rogue King II
Under the weight of his grief and pain, along with of the uncertainty of the new mate bond forged between Silas and Nate, Silas decides that he needs help. The weight of being Alpha that nearly just lost his pack if his little sister hadn’t been there, Silas decides to push everything away to be a better and stronger Alpha. Using magic is father gave him, Silas loses so much more than his way.
Nate, struggling with the mate bond, what the bond means for him, has continued to fight Silas, his Alpha, his best friend, and now his mate. When their fight goes too far, both Silas and Nate must deal with the consequences. It both pulls them together and tears them apart. Eventually leading to a full break in any relationship they had ever had.
On his own, Silas has to navigate through the next chapter alone. Coming to realize his actions, the consequences, and just how much it’s going to take to repair the damage he has done.
Nate, also on his own, works through what it means to step up in more ways than one. Somehow, even after her death, Aelia is still reaching out and helping Nate navigate the world on his own. He vows to grow and step up into the wolf that she knew he could be.
Book 2 in The Rogue Kings following immediately after The Rogue Kings I - Solaris' Reign. Trigger Warnings. Rated 18+.
From Substitute To Queen
Heartbroken, Sable discovered Darrell having sex with his ex in their bed, while secretly transferring hundreds of thousands to support that woman.
Even worse was overhearing Darrell laugh to his friends: "She's useful—obedient, doesn't cause trouble, handles housework, and I can fuck her whenever I need relief. She's basically a live-in maid with benefits." He made crude thrusting gestures, sending his friends into laughter.
In despair, Sable left, reclaimed her true identity, and married her childhood neighbor—Lycan King Caelan, nine years her senior and her fated mate. Now Darrell desperately tries to win her back. How will her revenge unfold?
From substitute to queen—her revenge has just begun!
The mafia princess return
A Queen Among Tides (Book 5 in the Gods' Saga)
Shocked to find he's been bound in more ways than one to Sebastian, the future King to the Kingdom of Atlesper, Lemuel resists Sebastian's advances at every turn, believing this may be one pairing Goddess Zarseti got wrong.
Lemuel will have to face his past in hopes of starting a new future, but an overly flirtatious King is the least of his worries when he learns Sebastian's parents are convinced that a conniving usurper disguised as a curvy blonde, is the future king's true soulmate.
A Queen Among Tides is the 5th book in the Queen Among Series/The Gods' Saga. This is an interconnected series. To see how it ends, I recommend reading the full series.
Books in the series order:
A Queen Among Alphas - Book 1
Bite-Size Luna - A Queen Among Alphas Prequel (available under book 1)
A Queen Among Snakes - Book 2
A Queen Among Blood - Book 3
A Queen Among Darkness - Book 4
Whole Again - A Queen Among Alpha's spin-off (available under book 1)
A Queen Among Tides - Book 5
Valor, Virtue, and Verve - Tides Prequel Spin-off (will be available under book 5)
A Queen Among Gods - Book 6
Runaway Empress - A Queen Among Snakes Prequel (will be available under book 2)
A Queen Among Tempests - Book 7
Dark Vocation - Darkness spin-off (will be available under book 4)
A Court of Arcane Souls Anthology (side character short stories exclusive to Ream)
Royal Shadow Series (Next Gen Coming Soon)
Game of Destiny
When Finlay finds her, she is living among humans. He is smitten by the stubborn wolf that refuse to acknowledge his existence. She may not be his mate, but he wants her to be a part of his pack, latent wolf or not.
Amie cant resist the Alpha that comes into her life and drags her back into pack life. Not only does she find herself happier than she has been in a long time, her wolf finally comes to her. Finlay isn't her mate, but he becomes her best friend. Together with the other top wolves in the pack, they work to create the best and strongest pack.
When it's time for the pack games, the event that decides the packs rank for the coming ten year, Amie needs to face her old pack. When she sees the man that rejected her for the first time in ten years, everything she thought she knew is turned around. Amie and Finlay need to adapt to the new reality and find a way forward for their pack. But will the curve ball split them apart?












