The Inheritance Bride

The Inheritance Bride

McKenzie Shinabery · Ongoing · 32.3k Words

1k
Hot
1k
Views
0
Added
Add to Shelf
Start Reading
Share:facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

Introduction

Valentina Kane doesn’t believe in love… not really.

As the fierce founder and CEO of Kane Publishing, she’s poured every ounce of herself into building an empire from the ground up. Years of relentless hustle, sleepless nights, and sacrifices have left no room for distractions, no space for heartbreak. Love, to her, has always been a luxury she couldn’t afford.

But now, with her father’s health fading fast, everything changes. His final, desperate wish pierces her steel heart: he wants to see her married before he dies.

The problem?

Valentina doesn’t have a fiancé.

Hell, she doesn’t even have a boyfriend.

Panic claws at her chest, and in a reckless act of desperation, her loyal assistant takes matters into their own hands, secretly posting an advertisement searching for a husband.

Then comes the last person Valentina ever expects to answer.

Jace Walker.

Feared CEO of Walker Foundation Construction Group. America’s most eligible bachelor. The man every woman dreams of, and the man who couldn’t care less about being wanted.

Jace has his own demons, his own battles, and maybe, just maybe, they both need something more than what either of them dared to admit.

Chapter 1

Valentina

The steady beep of the heart monitor had become the soundtrack of my life, an unyielding rhythm marking every fragile moment left with my father.

Three weeks ago, that sound might have grated on my nerves.

Now, I dreaded every pause between the beeps, the hesitation that reminded me how quickly time was slipping away.

I sat beside his hospital bed, my fingers curled gently around his frail hand. The late afternoon sun streamed through the window, casting a soft golden glow that tried to breathe warmth into the sterile room. But it was a lie. Everything in this sterile, quiet place was fading. Dying. Including him.

The thought squeezed my chest so tightly I nearly couldn’t breathe.

The doctors no longer sugarcoated the truth.

Stage four.

Metastatic.

Aggressive.

Terminal.

Those words had become etched in my nightmares.

Three weeks.

Maybe four, if luck or miracles dared visit.

I wasn’t foolish enough to believe in miracles anymore.

Dad’s hand gave mine a weak squeeze. “Tina.”

The nickname was rough when it came from him now, his voice once filled boardrooms, auditoriums, libraries, even the corners of my childhood. Now it barely rose above a whisper.

I forced a smile. “Hey.”

His tired eyes searched mine, the same warm brown eyes I’d inherited, the same eyes that had always looked at me like I was the center of his universe.

“You look exhausted.”

I chuckled softly, despite the ache in my gut. “Says the man living in a hospital bed.”

His lips twitched in what might have been a smile. For a brief moment, I saw the father I’d always known.

Then cancer stole that too.

Silence settled between us like a thick fog. Neither of us wanted to speak the truth looming over the room.

Finally, he broke the stillness. “Tina.”

“Dad.”

“You know what I want.”

I closed my eyes, already weary of this conversation.

For a week now, he’d brought it up every single day... not confusion, not forgetfulness, but relentless determination.

“I know.”

“I want to walk you down the aisle.”

There it was.

His final wish. Not a bucket list adventure. Not a last fishing trip. Not a grand farewell.

Just that. A wedding. My wedding.

I looked down at our entwined hands. “Dad—”

“No.” His voice was gentle but unyielding.

The same tone he used when I was ten and begged to quit piano lessons.

The same tone he used when I was seventeen and convinced I’d never make it through college.

The same tone when I was twenty-four, terrified to launch Kane Publishing.

“No excuses.”

I laughed, though a lump formed in my throat. “Excuses? Dad, I don’t even have a boyfriend.”

“Get one.”

I stared at him, disbelief flashing in my eyes.

He met my gaze, deadly serious.

“Dad.”

“What?”

“You make it sound like I can just order one online.”

A slow smile curved his cracked lips. “You order everything else online.”

I groaned.

He chuckled weakly, then coughed... a harsh, ragged sound that tore through me.

I waited until it passed before speaking again. “I don’t want a relationship.”

His expression softened, full of understanding. “I know.”

“You know why.”

“I know.”

I swallowed hard.

Of course he knew.

He’d been there through it all, the broken promises, the betrayals, the lies.

The revolving door of men my mother let in and out of her life.

Men who left, who hurt her, who took pieces of her heart with them.

I had spent years watching love destroy people I loved.

I didn’t want to be part of that.

I had my company. My books. My authors. My life.

That was enough.

More than enough.

“I’ve never wanted marriage.”

His eyes shimmered with quiet sadness. “Tina.”

“Dad, seriously.... I’ve never even had a relationship. Sex doesn’t count.” I choked on the words.

He laughed, a sound that shook the room but lifted my heart. “You know what I mean. Please stop avoiding this.”

I dropped my head into my free hand.

He was impossible. Even now. Especially now.

After a long pause, his voice softened. “I just want to know someone will be there.”

My chest tightened. “Dad…”

“When I’m gone.”

Those words shattered something deep inside me.

I looked away.

Because if I looked at him, I’d break.

And if I broke, he’d see exactly how terrified I was.

“I’ll be fine.”

“No.” His answer was immediate, certain. “You’ll survive.”

I frowned. “What does that mean?”

“It means surviving isn’t the same as living.”

Silence fell again, thick and heavy.

My throat burned with unshed tears.

“I don’t want you to be alone.”

I blinked, once, twice, three times, desperate to hold myself together.

But my father always saw through me.

Even now.

Even like this.

“I’ll think about it.”

A lie.

A terrible one.

We both knew it.

But he smiled anyway.

Because it was the closest thing to hope I could give him.

And right now…

Hope was all either of us had left.

A soft knock broke the heavy silence.

The door creaked open, and a nurse stepped in, carrying a tablet. Her smile was gentle, the kind worn by those who had weathered years of grief and heartbreak, yet still managed to offer a quiet kindness.

“Sorry to interrupt,” she said softly.

Dad squeezed my hand one last time before letting go.

“You’re not interrupting anything,” I whispered, though it was a lie neither of us wanted to admit.

The nurse glanced between us, her eyes flickering with a practiced empathy. “They’re ready for your CT scan.”

My stomach twisted into knots. Another test. Another scan. Another reminder that nothing was getting better. That time was slipping away.

Dad sighed, the sound heavy with exhaustion and frustration. “See? They’re always poking me.”

I rolled my eyes, forcing a smile I couldn’t quite summon. “You complain more than anyone in this hospital.”

“Damn right I do.”

The nurse laughed softly, stepping back into the hallway. “I’ll give you two a minute.”

The door closed behind her, and the silence returned, settling over us like a thick, suffocating blanket.

The comfortable kind of silence.

The painful kind.

The kind that exists when neither person wants to say goodbye, even if it’s only for a few hours.

I rose slowly from my chair, my knees protesting every movement. I’d grown too accustomed to these stiff limbs, too many nights spent sleeping upright in cold hospital chairs.

Dad’s tired eyes tracked me. “You should go home.”

I snorted, bitter. “I have work.”

“That’s not better.”

“I suppose it’s slightly better.”

“Tina.”

I wagged a finger at him. “Don’t.”

His lips twitched, almost a smile.

I bent down, carefully tucking the blanket around his shoulders, a ritual I’d repeated a thousand times in these endless weeks. The small things were all I could do for him now. Cancer had taken everything else.

My throat tightened, a lump forming that refused to move.

I pressed a kiss to the top of his thinning hair.

For a long second, neither of us moved.

Neither of us spoke.

Because deep down, that terrifying thought hovered in the air...

What if this is the last time?

It haunted every goodbye, every visit, every hug, every whispered phone call.

I hated it.

“I love you, Dad.”

His hand found mine one last time, warm and fragile. “I love you too, Tina.” And then he smiled.

That same warm smile I’d seen my entire life... the one that made me feel like I was six years old again, safe and small in his arms.

“Think about what I said.”

I groaned, exhaustion and frustration bubbling up. “Unbelievable.”

“I’m serious.”

“Dad.”

“One wedding.”

I laughed through the ache. “Rest.”

“One wedding.”

“Goodbye.”

“One husband.”

“Dad!”

His laughter echoed down the hallway, fragile and fading.

And somehow, that hurt more than anything.

Last Chapters

You Might Like 😍

HER ALPHA, HER SAVIOUR

HER ALPHA, HER SAVIOUR

2.4k Views · Ongoing · Iris
I sold myself to a monster to save my mom—and walked into a cage.

Kane Hellboud, charm and wealth personified, wanted only me in exchange for her treatment. No cameras, isolation, or noose-like rules were part of the deal. Behind his smile? Cold, violent possessiveness that destroyed our fake marriage.

Most of all, I didn’t know the supernatural walked among us, hiding in the cracks of ordinary life. Not until Abel Stone stepped into mine—dark-eyed, sharp-tongued, and oozing dangerous promises. He’s my new boss. He shouldn’t make my skin tingle or my pulse race. I shouldn’t feel this primal pull, this illogical recognition that tugs at something deep in my bones.

Around him, lights burst, electronics fry, and something ancient in me awakens.

Kane feels it. His grip tightens, punishments turn brutal, and he hides the truth of what I am.

Trapped between two powerful men, I’m no prey, no pawn—no helpless victim.

Prisons burn. Monsters bleed. As for me? I'm the storm in skin—deadly beyond suspicion.
The Family Books 1-3 (A Mafia romance)

The Family Books 1-3 (A Mafia romance)

2.1k Views · Ongoing · Emma Mountford
Saints and Sinners- She was the light to my dark.
The saint to my sinner. with her innocent eyes and devilish curves.
A Madonna that was meant to be admired but never touched.
Until someone took that innocence from her.
She left.
The darkness in my heart was finally complete.
I avenged her, I killed for her, but she never came back.
Until I saw her again. An angel dancing around a pole for money.
She didn’t know I owned that club. She didn’t know I was watching.
This time I won’t let her escape.
I will make her back into the girl I knew.
Whether she likes it or not.
2/ Judge and Jury- I can’t stop watching her.

I’m not even sure I want to.

Taylor Lawson, blonde, beautiful, and totally oblivious to how much dangers she’s in.

She’s also the one juror in my upcoming murder trial that hasn’t been bought.

The one who can put me behind bars for a very long time.

I know I should execute her.
After all that’s what I do.

I am the Judge.
I eliminate threats to The Family.
And Taylor is a threat.
But I don’t want to kill her.
Possessing her, making her love me seems like a much better plan for this particular Juror.

3/ Rags and Ritches-
Bound by Fate, Freed by Choice

Bound by Fate, Freed by Choice

5.3k Views · Completed · Nafisatuu
When Lyla's fated mate is revealed as Alpha Kaiden—her sister's ruthless ex-husband—the only thing he offers her is public humiliation and a brutal rejection. Heartbroken and branded as unworthy, she flees her pack, determined to uncover the truth behind her sister's mysterious disappearance.

Her escape leads her to Alpha Rowan, the commanding leader of the Blackwood Pack, who offers shelter, protection, and an unexpected chance at a new life. But Rowan’s fierce and jealous fiancée sees Lyla as a threat, and the pack’s charming Beta is drawn to her quiet strength.

As a dangerous attraction simmers between Lyla and Rowan, they begin to unravel a dark web of secrets that implicates Kaiden and threatens both their worlds.

With her hidden power awakening, Lyla must navigate treacherous loyalties, face the alpha who shattered her, and decide: Will she follow the destiny fate forced upon her, or claim the love and strength she has chosen for herself?
Accardi

Accardi

994.9k Views · Completed · Allison Franklin
“I thought we discussed this earlier, Weakness? I warned you. His death is on your hands.”
“I thought you said you were done chasing me?” Gen mocked.
“I am done chasing you.”
Before she could formulate a witty remark, Matteo threw her down. She landed hard on her back atop his dining room table. She tried to sit up when she noticed what he was doing. His hands were working on his belt. It came free of his pants with a violent yank. She collapsed back on her elbows, her mouth gaping open at the display. His face was a mask of sheer determination, his eyes were a dark gold swimming with heat and desire. His hands wrapped around her thighs and pulled her to the edge of the table. He glided his fingers up her thighs and hooked several around the inside of her panties. His knuckles brushed her dripping sex.
“You’re soaking wet, Genevieve. Tell me, was it me that made you this way or him?” his voice told her to be careful with her answer. His knuckles slid down through her folds and she threw her head back as she moaned. “Weakness?”
“You…” she breathed.


Genevieve loses a bet she can’t afford to pay. In a compromise, she agrees to convince any man her opponent chooses to go home with her that night. What she doesn’t realize when her sister’s friend points out the brooding man sitting alone at the bar, is that man won’t be okay with just one night with her. No, Matteo Accardi, Don of one of the largest gangs in New York City doesn’t do one night stands. Not with her anyway.
The Rogue King II

The Rogue King II

1.6k Views · Ongoing · MishanAngel
The hole left by Aelia’s death has a ripple effect through the world. The Alpha King retires, ushering in a new era. The Rogue King title now left vacant for the time being. Silas losing his sister, again. Nate losing his mate. Finn and Noah losing their Alpha and their lover.
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+.
The Contract Wife: Marriage Of Malice

The Contract Wife: Marriage Of Malice

79.5k Views · Completed · Cherie Frost
"Tell me to stop, and I will," he murmured against my ear. "But if you don't..."
He didn't finish. He didn't need to.
I didn't tell him to stop.
Instead, my fingers curled into his shirt, clutching the fabric as though it was my only anchor. Something in him snapped—something he had been holding back for too long. His mouth found mine in a kiss that wasn't tender, but hungry, desperate.
I gasped into him, his hand sliding up to cup my jaw, holding me as if afraid I might vanish.
"You drive me insane," he breathed against my mouth, his lips trailing to my throat. "I can't lose you, Ella. Not you."
My head fell back, a soft sound escaping me as his fingers memorized my waist. My anger melted beneath his desperation.
"James..." I whispered, more plea than protest.
His hand caught mine, fingers threading together tightly. "I'll bring him back. I swear it. Just... don't turn away from me. Please."
The word please—low, ragged, almost broken—undid me more than anything else could have.


Ella never imagined she would marry the man she had secretly loved for years in such a way.
When her brother Theo faced twenty-five years in prison for massive embezzlement, the ruthless business tycoon James Lancaster offered her a deal: marry him in exchange for her brother's freedom.
This wasn't a fairy tale proposal, but a carefully orchestrated revenge. Because in James's heart, Ella was the culprit who had killed his sister Cecilia. He wanted her to pay the price—to atone with a lifetime of suffering.
From Sacrificed Slave to the Dragon King's Obsession

From Sacrificed Slave to the Dragon King's Obsession

2.7k Views · Completed · Ellis Carter
"Ten years of atonement, and you flee?"

His fangs glinted as he gripped my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. Dragon scales shimmered along his neck, breath scorching my skin.

"Your Majesty... I beg—" He shoved me onto the bed. Silk tore with a sharp rip, cold air rushing over my exposed body.

"Scared?" He smirked, palm sliding down my waist, fingers tracing slow, burning circles. "Yet you shiver... not from cold."

I lunged for the candlestick, but he caught my wrist, pinning it overhead. His knee forced my legs apart.

"When your father gave you to me," his lips brushed my ear, voice a dark rumble, "you were already mine."

On the eve of freedom after ten years of servitude, Lina Valeria stood one night away from reuniting with her betrothed. But Dragon King Augustus condemned her to the Abyss Mines on false charges—a trap forged from obsessive desire.

Augustus Ashenwing, Supreme Sovereign of Skyhold Citadel, is ruthless and feared by all races. His obsession stems from ancient grudges and dragonkind's most dangerous instinct: possessive desire. He demands her submission, binding her to his throne as his consort.

From prisoner to queen, Lina battles him through court intrigue and twisted passion—fighting for her mother, her freedom, her dignity.

Yet this cold-blooded tyrant reserves all tenderness for her alone. He indulges her temper, bends his pride, compromises without limit—anything to see her smile. Gradually, her heart wavers. But loving him means betraying Kain, who waited eleven years. Torn between duty and desire, she drowns in agonizing guilt.

Love and hatred intertwined—a forbidden dragon romance in a realm of oppression.
The Alpha's Stripper Mate

The Alpha's Stripper Mate

53.8k Views · Completed · Havilworth
"Come here."
"What?" It was out of my mouth before I could stop it. I did not wait for him to answer me, I walked toward him.
"Dance on my lap."
My head screamed at me to turn around and run. But my whole body responded to his command.
"Yes, Alpha," I pulled my dress over my body, it dropped over my head and fell to the ground behind me. I was left in nothing but my matching bra and thong. My hands covered my chest on reflex.
"Let me see."
My hands dropped to my sides.
I lowered myself into his lap, facing him. His eyes peered into mine, and I could feel his hot breath fan my face. His dick responded to all my moves, hardening against my now-moist vagina. I swallowed hard, allowing my lips to part in a ragged breath. His hands trailed up to my waist.
"No touching."


At the tender age of eleven, JoJo Wyatt was forced to grow up far sooner than she should have. Born to a cruel father and a weak mother, she quickly realized she had to become the breadwinner for herself and her sister. Nothing else mattered to her, not even the hottest men. In fact, she despised them. After one horrific night, she swore never to have any contact with the male species again. That was, until she started working for him as his stripper.
Meanwhile, Alpha Lake Rush, thirty, was the most feared Alpha in the country. Burdened by his own share of life's struggles, he had learned only to be cruel and reckless, rejecting not one but two mates. But what happens when he discovers yet another mate, and she turns out to be his stripper?
Rise of the Banished She-Wolf

Rise of the Banished She-Wolf

409.8k Views · Completed · Lily
"White wolf! Kill that monster!"
That roar stole my eighteenth birthday and shattered my world. My first shift should have been glory—blood turned blessing into shame. By dawn they'd branded me "cursed": cast out by my pack, abandoned by family, stripped of my nature. My father didn't defend me—he sent me to a forsaken island where wolfless outcasts were forged into weapons, forced to kill each other until only one could leave.
On that island I learned the darkest edges of humanity and how to bury terror in bone. Countless times I wanted to surrender—dive into the waves and never surface—but the accusing faces that haunted my dreams pushed me back toward something colder than survival: revenge. I escaped, and for three years I hid among humans, collecting secrets, learning to move like a shadow, sharpening patience into precision—becoming a blade.
Then, under a full moon, I touched a bleeding stranger—and my wolf returned with a violence that made me whole. Who was he? Why could he wake what I'd thought dead?
One thing I know: now is the time.
I have waited three years for this. I will make everyone who destroyed me pay—and take back everything that was stolen from me.
Goddess Of The Underworld

Goddess Of The Underworld

883.8k Views · Completed · Sheridan Hartin
Left at a pack border with a name and a stubborn heartbeat, Envy grows into the sharpest kind of survivor, an orphaned warrior who knows how to hold a line and keep moving. Love isn’t in the plan…until four alpha wolves with playboy reputations and inconveniently soft hands decide the girl who won’t bow is the only queen they’ll ever take. Their mate. The one they have waited for. Xavier, Haiden, Levi, and Noah are gorgeous, lethal, and anything but perfect and Envy isn’t either. She’s changing. First into hell hound, Layah at her heels and fire in her veins. Then into what the realm has been waiting for, a Goddess of the Underworld, dragging her mates down to hell with her.

When the veil between the Divine, the Living, and the Dead begins to crack, Envy is thrust beneath with a job she can’t drop: keep the worlds from bleeding together, shepherd the lost, and make ordinary into armour, breakfasts, bedtime, battle plans. Peace lasts exactly one lullaby. This is the story of an orphan pup who became a goddess by choosing her family; of four imperfect alphas learning how to be better. Steamy, fierce, and full of heart, Goddess of the Underworld is a reverse harem, found-family paranormal romance where love writes the rules and keeps three realms from falling apart.
Game of Destiny

Game of Destiny

1.2m Views · Completed · Dripping Creativity
Amie's wolf hasn't shown herself. But who cares? She has a good pack, best friends and a family who loves her. Everyone, including the Alpha, is telling her she is perfect just the way she is. That is until she finds her mate and he rejects her. Heartbroken Amie flees from everything and start over. No more werewolves, no more packs.

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?
Omega Bound

Omega Bound

2.3m Views · Completed · Veronica White
Ayla Frost is a beautiful, rare omega. Kidnapped, tortured, and trafficked to rogue clans and corrupt alphas to do with as they pleased.  Kept alive in her cage, broken and abandoned by her wolf, she becomes mute and has given up on hope for a better life until one explosion changes everything. 

Thane Knight is the alpha of the Midnight Pack of the La Plata Mountain Range, the largest wolf shifter pack in the world. He is an alpha by day and hunts the shifter trafficking ring with his group of mercenaries by night. His hunt for vengeance leads to one raid that changes his life. 

Tropes:
Touch her and die/Slow burn romance/Fated Mates/Found family twist/Close circle betrayal/Cinnamon roll for only her/Traumatized heroine/Rare wolf/Hidden powers/Knotting/Nesting/Heats/Luna/Attempted assassination