Which Man Stays?

Which Man Stays?

ENI OLA · Ongoing · 74.3k Words

1.2k
Hot
1.2k
Views
0
Added
Add to Shelf
Start Reading
Share:facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

Introduction

Her world shatters when she discovers her husband celebrating his secret daughter's birthday while their own son fights for life. As her marriage crumbles under the weight of lies, the only one standing by her is his brother, Liam, with his silent devotion. Now, caught between a husband entangled in a web of power and deceit who will stop at nothing to win her back, and a brother who has loved her from the shadows for years, Maya faces an impossible choice. Two brothers, one devastating war fought in the name of love. Her choice will reshape their destinies forever...

Chapter 1

  MAYA'S POV

  The bakery box in my hands is heavy, filled with the chocolate dinosaur cake my son, Leo, has been talking about for a month. Six years old today. My heart feels light, a balloon ready to soar. I picture his face, the gap-toothed grin, the way he'll launch himself at his father, Daniel. I've already texted Daniel three times this morning. Don't forget, 5 PM sharp at home. Surprise! He never replied, but he's been busy. I make excuses for him even before I need to.

  I balance the box with one arm, fumbling with my keys at our front door. The house isn't quiet. Laughter spills from the living room. A child's high-pitched giggle that isn't Leo's. Confusion prickles my skin. Did Daniel invite people over for the party without telling me? My surprise plan, ruined.

  I push the door open.

  The scene in my living room is a photograph from someone else's life. Balloons are tied to the chair, but they are silver and blue, not Leo's favorite fiery red. A banner hangs over the mantel. It reads, "Congrats Grad!"

  And there they are.

  Daniel, my husband of six years, has his arm around a woman. She leans into him, her smile familiar and terrible. I know her instantly from the one picture he could never bring himself to throw away. Clara. His first love. The one who moved away, the one he said was just a memory.

  Between them is a little girl, maybe five, wearing a tiny cardboard graduation cap. She blows on a noisemaker.

  My Leo stands by the staircase, holding a single blue balloon, his small face a mask of confused hurt. He's still in his school uniform.

  The balloon box slips from my numb fingers. It hits the floor with a sickening, soft thud.

  All noise stops. Daniel's smile freezes, then melts into shock. "Maya? You're home early."

  Clara straightens, her hand staying on Daniel's arm. "Oh, hello," she says, as if I'm a neighbor dropping by.

  I can't breathe. The air is syrup. "Leo's birthday," I manage to choke out. "It's today."

  Daniel's eyes widen. A genuine, horrifying blankness fills them. He forgot. He looks from the cake box on the floor to the banner, to Clara's daughter, Lily, and then to our son. "Oh, God. Leo. I…"

  "We were just finishing up," Clara says smoothly, her voice a gentle poison. "Lily had her kindergarten graduation ceremony today, and Daniel wanted to celebrate. He's been so supportive."

  Supportive. The word is a knife. I see the paper plates with cake crumbs. Our plates. I see the presents stacked by the door, wrapped in princess paper. Not a single one for Leo.

  Leo runs to me, burying his face in my leg. I feel his silent tears through the fabric of my pants.

  "Maya, let me explain," Daniel starts, taking a step forward.

  But there is no explanation. The ground is gone. I am falling. I pick up the ruined cake box, take Leo's cold hand, and walk out of my own living room. We go upstairs. I close his bedroom door and sit with him on the bed, holding him as he cries quiet, confused sobs. I don't cry. I am made of shattered glass.

  Downstairs, I hear murmurs, the front door closing, then silence. A long time later, Daniel knocks. Leo is asleep, exhausted from heartbreak.

  "Go away," I say, my voice flat and final.

  The world moves in a fog for a week. Daniel tries to talk. Words like "innocent celebration," "old friends," and "I'm sorry" bounce off me. I am a stone. My only focus is Leo, who has become too quiet.

  Then, the world breaks completely.

  It starts with a fever. A high, fierce burn that medicine won't touch. Then the seizures. The ambulance ride is a blur of sirens and my own voice, begging, praying.

  In the sterile, beeping chaos of the Pediatric ICU, my boy looks small. Tubes and wires surround him. The doctor says words like "severe infection" and "medically-induced coma." My knees buckle. Daniel isn't here. I called him twelve times. His phone goes to voicemail.

  For three days and three nights, I live in a plastic chair by Leo's bed. I hold his limp hand. I talk to him about his dinosaurs, his favorite park, the way the sun looks in the morning. I beg him to fight.

  And then, in the deepest hour of the night, his lips move. A dry, cracked whisper. "Daddy?"

  My heart splinters. "He's coming, sweetheart," I lie, my voice raw.

  He says it again, and again. Each "Daddy" is a plea, a hook dragging through my soul. I call Daniel until my phone dies. Nothing.

  Exhaustion is a weight dragging me under. On the fourth morning, a nurse with kind eyes forces me to go to the family lounge. "Just for an hour. Sleep. He's stable."

  I don't want to go. But my body gives out. I collapse onto a hard couch and fall into a black, dreamless void.

  I wake up disoriented, panic immediate. Leo. I stumble back to his room, my body aching.

  I stop in the doorway.

  Daniel is here. Finally. He stands at the foot of Leo's bed, his hands in his pockets.

  He did not come alone.

  Clara is perched on the windowsill, looking out. Her daughter, Lily, sits in the visitor's chair, swinging her legs, coloring on a pad. They are a tableau. A perfect, peaceful little unit surrounding my sick child's bed.

  I am a ghost in the hallway.

  Daniel sees me. "Maya. You're awake. The nurse said you collapsed. You should have called me."

  The absurdity of it steals my voice. Called him?

  Clara turns and offers me a small, sympathetic smile. "We came as soon as we heard. Poor little guy."

  We. The word hangs in the antiseptic air. Lily looks up at Daniel. "Uncle Dan, can we get juice?"

  Uncle Dan. The glass shards inside me shift, cutting deeper. I am invisible in my own son's hospital room. Replaced in the space where my world has ended.

  I cannot move. I cannot speak.

  After a few more minutes that last an eternity, Clara stands. "We should let him rest. Come on, Daniel, we'll get some coffee." She touches his arm.

  Daniel nods. He leans over and brushes Leo's hair, a tender gesture he hasn't made in years. It's for their benefit. Then they leave, the three of them, walking down the hall together. They don't look back.

  Silence returns to the room, broken only by the beep of the heart monitor. I sink into the chair by Leo's bed, my body hollowed out.

  Then, a miracle. A small movement.

  Leo's eyelids flutter. Slowly, so slowly, they open. He looks at me, his gaze foggy from drugs and sleep.

  "Mom?" His voice is a thread.

  Tears I have been holding for days finally fall. "I'm here, baby. I'm right here."

  He is silent for a long moment, gathering strength. He looks toward the door, then back at me. The confusion in his eyes is worse than the sickness.

  His weak hand tightens around mine. His question, when it comes, is a whisper that holds the weight of every broken thing.

  "Mom… did Dad get a new family?" He swallows, a painful little sound. "Is that why he doesn't love me anymore?"

  The pain is physical, a tidal wave that cracks my ribs and drowns my heart. I look at my son, the absolute center of my universe, and I have no answer. No shield. Only the devastating truth, reflected in his glassy, wounded eyes. I bring his hand to my lips, kissing his small knuckles, and let my silent tears be the only reply he gets.

Last Chapters

You Might Like 😍

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?
Surrendering to Destiny

Surrendering to Destiny

708.4k Views · Completed · Allison Franklin
Catherine is not only a rogue half-breed, she is also the result of mate-bond infidelity, was abandoned as a baby and, to top it off, she can only shift during the full moon. When Catherine left the only pack she'd ever known in order to escape the new alpha, the last thing she expected was to find her mate... let alone for him to be the mouth-watering, heavily tattooed, lead warrior of the most feared lycan pack on the continent.

Graham MacTavish wasn't prepared to find his mate in the small town of Sterling that borders the Blackmoore Packlands. He certainly didn't expect her to be a rogue, half-breed who smelled of Alpha blood. With her multi-colored eyes, there was no stopping him from falling hard the moment their mate bond snapped into place. He would do anything to claim her, protect her and cherish her no matter the cost.

From vengeful ex-lovers, pack politics, species prejudice, hidden plots, magic, kidnapping, poisoning, rogue attacks, and a mountain of secrets including Catherine's true parentage there is no shortage of things trying to tear the two apart.

Despite the hardships, a burning desire and willingness to trust will help forge a strong bond between the two... but no bond is unbreakable. When the secrets kept close to heart are slowly revealed, will the two be able to weather the storm? Or will the gift bestowed upon Catherine by the moon goddess be too insurmountable to overcome?
Shattered Girl

Shattered Girl

851.1k Views · Completed · Brandi Rae
Jake's fingers danced across my nipples, squeezing gently and making me groan in pleasure. He lifted my shirt and stared at my hardened nipples through my bra. I tensed, and Jake sat up and moved back on the bed, giving me some space.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Was that too much?” I could see the worry in his eyes as I took a deep breath.

“I just didn’t want you to see all my scars,” I whispered, feeling ashamed of my marked body.


Emmy Nichols is used to surviving. She survived her abusive father for years until he beat her so severely, she ended up in the hospital, and her father was finally arrested. Now, Emmy is thrown into a life she never expected. Now she has a mother

who doesn't want her, a politically motivated stepfather with ties to the Irish mob, four older stepbrothers, and their best friend who swear to love and protect her. Then, one night, everything shatters, and Emmy feels her only option is to run.

When her stepbrothers and their best friend finally find her, will they pick up the pieces and convince Emmy that they will keep her safe and their love will hold them together?
After the Affair: Falling into a Billionaire's Arms

After the Affair: Falling into a Billionaire's Arms

1.3m Views · Ongoing · Louisa
[Dear readers, if you loved this book, be sure to read my new recommended read: Cheating Husband, Vengeful Me.]
From first crush to wedding vows, George Capulet and I had been inseparable. But in our seventh year of marriage, he began an affair with his secretary.

On my birthday, he took her on vacation. On our anniversary, he brought her to our home and made love to her in our bed...

Heartbroken, I tricked him into signing divorce papers.

George remained unconcerned, convinced I would never leave him.

His deceptions continued until the day the divorce was finalized. I threw the papers in his face: "George Capulet, from this moment on, get out of my life!"

Only then did panic flood his eyes as he begged me to stay.

When his calls bombarded my phone later that night, it wasn't me who answered, but my new boyfriend Julian.

"Don't you know," Julian chuckled into the receiver, "that a proper ex-boyfriend should be as quiet as the dead?"

George seethed through gritted teeth: "Put her on the phone!"

"I'm afraid that's impossible."

Julian dropped a gentle kiss on my sleeping form nestled against him. "She's exhausted. She just fell asleep."
The Lycan Prince’s Puppy

The Lycan Prince’s Puppy

3.1m Views · Ongoing · chavontheauthor
“You’re mine, little puppy,” Kylan growled against my neck.
“Soon enough, you’ll be begging for me. And when you do—I’ll use you as I see fit, and then I’ll reject you.”


When Violet Hastings begins her freshman year at Starlight Shifters Academy, she only wants two things—honor her mother’s legacy by becoming a skilled healer for her pack and get through the academy without anyone calling her a freak for her strange eye condition.

Things take a dramatic turn when she discovers that Kylan, the arrogant heir to the Lycan throne who has made her life miserable from the moment they met, is her mate.

Kylan, known for his cold personality and cruel ways, is far from thrilled. He refuses to accept Violet as his mate, yet he doesn’t want to reject her either. Instead, he sees her as his puppy, and is determined to make her life even more of a living hell.

As if dealing with Kylan’s torment isn’t enough, Violet begins to uncover secrets about her past that change everything she thought she knew. Where does she truly come from? What is the secret behind her eyes? And has her whole life been a lie?
Oops, Wrong Girl to Bully

Oops, Wrong Girl to Bully

237.5k Views · Completed · Xena Kessler
An original story by Xena Kessler
My back hit the desk. Pain exploded through my skull.
"Girls like you don't get to dream about guys like Kai." Bella's breath was hot on my face. "You don't get to write pathetic love letters."
She shoved me again. Harder.
"Maybe if you weren't such a desperate little—"
I fell. My head cracked against the corner.
Warmth trickled down my neck. Blood.
Their laughter turned to gasps.
The door slammed.
I tried to stand. Couldn't. The room was spinning, fading to black.
Someone... please...
Angelina, the most powerful Alpha who conquered forty-nine packs, dies in a yacht explosion—only to wake up as Aria Sterling, a fifteen-year-old Omega's daughter who just died from bullying.
The original Aria's life was a nightmare. Humiliated when golden boy Kai Matthews posted her love letter online, then shoved to death by his girlfriend Bella Morrison. But that's not all her family faces:
"You got until Monday," the tattooed gangster sneered at Aria's mother. "Ten grand cash. Or I'm taking collateral—your kids' organs fetch top dollar. That pretty daughter of yours? She could make us money another way too."
Now Angelina's lethal combat skills awaken in this fragile body. No more hiding. No more fear.
Armed with an Alpha's ruthlessness and a mysterious blood-red pendant, she'll dismantle everyone who hurt this family—one calculated move at a time.
Goddess Of The Underworld

Goddess Of The Underworld

650.9k 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.
The Prison Project

The Prison Project

1m Views · Ongoing · Bethany Donaghy
The government's newest experiment in criminal rehabilitation - sending thousands of young women to live alongside some of the most dangerous men held behind bars...

Can love tame the untouchable? Or will it only fuel the fire and cause chaos amongst the inmates?

Fresh out of high school and suffocating in her dead-end hometown, Margot longs for her escape. Her reckless best friend, Cara, thinks she's found the perfect way out for them both - The Prisoner Project - a controversial program offering a life-changing sum of money in exchange for time spent with maximum-security inmates.

Without hesitation, Cara rushes to sign them up.

Their reward? A one-way ticket into the depths of a prison ruled by gang leaders, mob bosses, and men the guards wouldn't even dare to cross...

At the centre of it all, meets Coban Santorelli - a man colder than ice, darker than midnight, and as deadly as the fire that fuels his inner rage. He knows that the project may very well be his only ticket to freedom - his only ticket to revenge on the one who managed to lock him up and so he must prove that he can learn to love…

Will Margot be the lucky one chosen to help reform him?

Will Coban be capable of bringing something to the table other than just sex?

What starts off as denial may very well grow in to obsession which could then fester in to becoming true love…

A temperamental romance novel.
The Pack: Rule Number 1 - No Mates

The Pack: Rule Number 1 - No Mates

1.9m Views · Ongoing · Jaylee
Soft hot lips find the shell of my ear and he whispers, "You think I don't want you?" He pushes his hips forward, grinding into the back of my ass and I groan. "Really?" He chuckles.

"Let me go," I whimper, my body trembling with need. "I don't want you touching me."

I fall forward onto the bed then turn around to stare at him. The dark tattoos of Domonic's chiseled shoulders, quiver and and expand with the heave of his chest. His deep dimpled smile is full of arrogance as he reaches behind himself to lock the door.

Biting his lip, he stalks toward me, his hand going to the seam of his pants and the thickening bulge there.

"Are you sure you don't want me to touch you?" He whispers, untying the knot and slipping a hand inside. "Because I swear to God, that is all I have been wanting to do. Every single day from the moment you stepped in our bar and I smelled your perfect flavor from across the room."


New to the world of shifters, Draven is human on the run. A beautiful girl who no one could protect. Domonic is the cold Alpha of the Red Wolf Pack. A brotherhood of twelve wolves that live by twelve rules. Rules which they vowed could NEVER be broken.

Especially - Rule Number One - No Mates

When Draven meets Domonic, he knows that she is his mate, but Draven has no idea what a mate is, only that she has fallen in love with a shifter. An Alpha that will break her heart to make her leave. Promising herself, she will never forgive him, she disappears.

But she doesn’t know about the child she’s carrying or that the moment she left, Domonic decided rules were made to be broken - and now will he ever find her again? Will she forgive him?
Invisible To Her Bully

Invisible To Her Bully

431.3k Views · Ongoing · sunsationaldee
Unlike her twin brother, Jackson, Jessa struggled with her weight and very few friends. Jackson was an athlete and the epitome of popularity, while Jessa felt invisible. Noah was the quintessential “It” guy at school—charismatic, well-liked, and undeniably handsome. To make matters worse, he was Jackson’s best friend and Jessa’s biggest bully. During their senior year, Jessa decides it was time for her to gain some self-confidence, find her true beauty and not be the invisible twin. As Jessa transformed, she begins to catch the eye of everyone around her, especially Noah. Noah, initially blinded by his perception of Jessa as merely Jackson’s sister, started to see her in a new light. How did she become the captivating woman invading his thoughts? When did she become the object of his fantasies? Join Jessa on her journey from being the class joke to a confident, desirable young woman, surprising even Noah as she reveals the incredible person she has always been inside.
Alpha Twins' Mate's broken Human

Alpha Twins' Mate's broken Human

161.6k Views · Ongoing · dragonsbain22
Chiara was raised in the orphanage of the Silver Aspen pack. Not an overly large Pack, but a strong Pack. As a human, she takes the brunt of the pack's bullying, especially the "Ranked Squad" as she calls them. When she turns 18 earlier than she thought, and gets a wolf, will she be able to accept what she is after all the abuse? Accept her wolf? And accept the Twins as her mates? Or will she retreat into herself and leave the Twins struggling to reach her to make things right? Read along to find out.
A Lesson in Magic

A Lesson in Magic

230.1k Views · Completed · Kit Bryan
One day I'm dealing with cranky toddlers and parents who work too much to actually parent, the next my life is turned upside down and I'm working in a bar for supernaturals. I might not know how to mix drinks, but strangely enough the skills needed to deal with misbehaving children seem to work well enough on vampires, werewolves and even witches. The good news is this job is interesting and hey, my boss might be a demon but I'm pretty sure that under all the grumpy expressions he is a total softie. The bad news is that humans aren't supposed to know about all this magic stuff and so now I'm magically bound to this bar until I can convince them that I won't go telling everyone. Or I die, whichever comes first. Sadly dying is seeming more and more likely because someone is after me. I don't know who or why but they are dangerous and they have magic. So I'll domy best to survive, and if that means spending some extra time with my scary but gorgeous boss then so be it. I'll convince him to trust me if it's the last thing I do.