Book picks similar to
The Forgotten Wife by Christine Michelle


cheating
marriage
romance
marriage-of-convenience

Have Mercy


N.E. Henderson - 2019
     It's hard to get over that kind of betrayal. It leaves a mark on the heart. A slow bleed that never goes away. She was my girl. We were supposed to be partners. She was going to be the mother of my children down the road. The only girl to warm my bed. She was my forever girl. Until she ran away. I thought she felt the same. But if she did she wouldn't have ditched me like I didn't matter. All the plans we made meant nothing to her. She disappeared without so much as a goodbye. Those cuts are the deepest. A gaping hole that can't be sealed. I could've stomached anything else—a meaningless one-night stand, drifting apart, vanishing love. But abandonment is a deadly strike that can't be forgotten. It sticks with you forever. Three months later she showed up, expecting me to welcome her back with open arms. Excuses, lies, not even her crying eyes could make me believe the manipulative bullshit coming out of her mouth. For months I felt like I was burning alive. She shattered my heart and stole my soul.  I moved on. Now, eighteen years later, a nightmare unfolds. Every detail makes my stomach churn. Lies come to the light. The truth is uncovered. And the people I thought I knew become strangers. The heartbreak I felt was only a scratch compared to the sliced open heart in my chest.  Winning her back seems like an impossible feat. She may never forgive me, because the thing about mercy—you have to give to receive. ***Have Mercy is a 107K word standalone, second chance love story.***

Her Faithless Prince


Mysty McPartland - 2013
    Determined never to wed a deceitful cheater she flees half-way across the world. However, she knew he would come after her and all she could do was remain hidden long enough for everyone to accept the fact she would never become his bride. Several week fly by until one morning she is woken by the sound of a helicopter arriving. He had found her and knew there was no choice but to return home and inform their families there would be no marriage. Hurt and unable to believe they would not accept her decision and had lied to her for years she has no other option but to go through with the farce of a ceremony tying her to a lying cheating prince. Though he would never love her and if she could hide what was in her heart from him she wanted only one thing and nothing else. She would lavish all her affection on the baby he would give her. At first furious when he was informed Mersiha had run away, Immad is determined to fetch her back. Her fate had been decided from the moment she drew breath. After speaking to one of her friends he learns the true reason why she had left and is filled with guilt. When he found her, he would make it up to her. His plans go awry after the announcement on television that his ex-mistress his pregnant with his child. Knowing how much his princess was hurting he could only set her free and hoped some day in the future he would make her his wife. Riddled with remorse he wanted only to win her heart and trust back once more. Astounded when she requests that he makes love to her, he’s deeply wounded that she wants nothing but cold blooded sex from him. Even more indomitable he sets out to prove to her that what they feel for each other is true and lasting love.

The Devil Wears Black


L.J. Shen - 2021
    J. Shen comes a second-chance romance about love, loss, finding yourself, and getting lost in the right person.Maddie Goldbloom stitched up a plan to ensure everything in her life was perfect—from a career in fashion to a chic NYC apartment to a pediatrician boyfriend.When her ex, Chase Black, storms back into her life with an outrageous request, her immediate reaction is to refuse him. But he only wants to fulfill his father’s last wish. So even though he’s the man who broke her heart, playing his fiancée shouldn’t be hard, especially if it means she gets to watch the arrogant devil squirm a bit.What ensues is a chain of events that detonates Maddie’s life—and when Chase’s walls come down, they both are forced to face reality.They say keep your enemies close. But what if your enemy is also the man you love?

Hatefully Yours


Kelli Callahan - 2020
    Five years ago I left Cabot Beach with a broken heart, but I didn't leave without telling the guy who broke it how much it hurt.All of my emotion and angst was written in a letter that ended with Hatefully Yours.Five years later, the guy I never thought I would see again is my new boss.He doesn't want to put things in the past or move on.He wants to destroy me.Guess what? I feel the same way.The battle lines are drawn and neither of us intends to play fair.But there are things I never knew about what happened in Cabot Beach the night my life took an unexpected turn, and finding out the truth may be more painful than losing him to begin with.This is a full length Enemies to Lovers Standalone Romance.

Inhale, Exhale.


C.L. Matthews - 2019
    In sickness and in health. For better or for worse. Til death do us part. And death dragged us apart. We both said those vows. But neither of us kept them. This is not one of those happy stories. Life isn't made of simple choices and happily ever afters. It's a dark place. It's not easy. It's full of mistakes and lessons. It hurts. And in the end, those two words said in love, are the same ones said in hate. "You want a divorce?" "I do."

When Forever Changes


Siobhan Davis - 2018
    Perhaps I did, but I subconsciously chose to ignore them. From the time I was ten, when I first met Dylan, I knew he was my forever guy. Back then, I couldn’t put words to what I was feeling, but, as the years progressed, I came to recognize it for what it was—soul-deep love. The kind only very few people ever get to experience. Dylan was more than just my best friend, my childhood sweetheart, my lover. He was my soul mate. We were carved from the same whole—destined to be together forever. Until he changed. And I believed I was no longer good enough. Until he shattered me so completely, it felt like I ceased to exist. And I’d never experienced such heart-crushing pain. Until he leveled me a second time, and I truly wanted to die. But I had to stay strong because I wasn’t alone in this cruel twist of fate. I look to the sky, pleading with the stars, begging someone to tell me what I should do because I don’t know how to deal with this. I don’t know how to cope when my forever has changed, and I can’t help wondering if I had seen the signs earlier, if I’d pushed him, would it have been enough to save us? Or had fate already decided to alter our forever? Due to mature content and potential triggers this book is only recommended to readers over the age of eighteen.

Forgiving Reed


C.A. Harms - 2014
    She had no choice but to move forward and give her son the best life she could. Which meant moving back home. Except there was one problem.Home was where Reed would be...The man who once held her heart, then shattered it into a million pieces. Grieving the loss of Rhetts dad, and learning to forgive those who have betrayed her, Kori was battling it all.But will she ever have the strength to forgive Reed?

The Italian


T.L. Swan - 2019
    Travel the world. And fall hopelessly in love. I aimed to do all three. I went to Italy to find myself. But he found me. It was like a story book, our eyes met across a crowded room. He asked me if I needed help reading the menu. We ate, we laughed, we danced, and I fell. Unfortunately, things didn’t go to plan, and we parted ways. Two years later, our eyes meet across a room again. Only this time I was on a date with another man. He went crazy in a jealous fit. But the man I met then is different now. He’s colder, harder, and officially one of the most powerful men in Italy. Dare I say it, even more enticing. But if you dance with the devil, you get burnt. And the fires in Italy are scalding hot.

Serendipity


Janet Nissenson - 2013
    But with the dawn of a new day came only heartache and betrayal, and her dreams were snuffed out like so much fairy dust. Nathan Atwood felt like the lowest sort of life form after seducing the incredibly beautiful girl he met in New York, only to break her tender heart with the confession that he was already involved with someone else. Leaving Julia was the hardest thing he’d ever done, and the memory of their passionate night together haunted his dreams for months afterwards.Now fate has brought them together again, and they are forced to work alongside each other. Will Julia be able to put aside the feelings she still has for her handsome boss and forge a new life for herself in San Francisco? And how long will Nathan be able to resist the gorgeous woman he’s never really stopped thinking about or wanting?

A Vow Of Hate


Lylah James - 2021
    We were poison together and there was no antidote.Our story began like any other fairy tale ended.With a beautiful wedding.One kiss.Two rings.Three vows.Killian Spencer became my lawfully wedded husband and I, his dutiful wife.But he was no Prince Charming. He didn’t come to save me… and he vowed there would be no happily ever after.And me?Just like the legends I'd read as a little girl, I always thought I’d be the princess in my fairy tale.Well, I was the villain of our love story.“Till death do us part…”

Tiny Threads


Jami Denise - 2016
    That was until the heels on her glass slippers snapped and left her tumbling down to reality.But knights in shining armor tend to tarnish after twenty years, and she’s far from the wide-eyed princess she’d once been. Four kids, money problems and a crumbling marriage tend to wipe away all the shiny and bright and bring on the reality of broken dreams. Royal Grainger knows he’s a lucky man—in theory. His wife is caring and beautiful, he has four amazing kids and his own business, and yet, he’s miserable. He’s detached, tired, and dissatisfied. No matter what he does, it’s not enough—for anyone. The Grainger’s know they’re treading in the deep end, and they have to work together to push through the pain, the hurt, and the monotony of a long stale marriage to reconnect again. A marriage once full of passion and consideration, becomes one full of bitterness and resentment. The past comes back to haunt them in a way they never imagined and their happily ever after becomes a battle. Whatever it takes. The stakes are too high to let go, and for each other, they’ll walk through fire.

The Player Next Door


K.A. Tucker - 2020
    With a teaching job secured and an adorable fixer-upper to call home, things in her life are finally looking up.That is, until she finds out that Shane Beckett lives next door.Shane Beckett, the handsome and charismatic high school star quarterback who smashed her heart. The lying, cheating player who was supposed to be long gone, living the pro football dream and fooling women into thinking he's Prince Charming. Shane Beckett, who is as attractive as ever and flashing his dimples at her as if he has done no wrong.Scarlet makes it abundantly clear that old wounds have not been forgotten. Neighbors they may be, but friends they most certainly are not. She won't allow herself to fall for the single father and firefighter again, no matter how many apologies he offers, how many times he rushes to her aid, or how hard he makes her heart pound.But as she spends more time with him, she begins to fear that maybe she's wrong. Maybe Shane has changed.And maybe this time she's the one playing herself—out of a chance at true happiness.

Her Errant Earl


Scarlett Scott - 2013
    After he suddenly returns, determined to prove to her he's a changed man, she's not about to forgive him, trust him, or succumb to his scorching kisses.A future duke trapped by obligationWill has devoted his life to enraging his loathsome father by creating one scandal after the next. Duty forces him back to the wife he resents, but he isn't prepared for the raw desire she makes him feel. Seducing her will hardly be a tedious task. Guarding his heart, however, is another matter entirely.A marriage of convenience no moreWhat begins in deception and necessity turns into an attraction neither can deny. Can their newfound passion keep them together forever, or will the truth tear them apart? Wicked Husbands Book OneIf you enjoy steamy Regency and Victorian romance and second chance love stories,don't miss the Wicked Husbands series. Fiercely independent, dazzlingly beautiful, and married to handsome scoundrels, these American heiresses are ready to turn the tables on the insufferable English lords they've wed. What happens when their wicked husbands start falling for the wives they never thought they wanted?Corsets come off, bed chambers ignite, the passion sizzles,and more than one stubborn English rake gets reformed by love.

Keeping What’s His: Tate


Jamie Begley - 2015
    Tate Porter had found that out when he was eighteen, and he had no intention of letting her make a fool out of him again. He didn’t care how much pain he saw in her eyes or how old memories tugged at his unforgiving heart until, the night a hidden secret is revealed and everything Tate had believed about their past is shattered, proving he had let the woman he loved get away.Between trying to protect his family and running their pot growing business, Tate doesn't have time to play the "Nice Guy". He'd just have to remember the most important rule his father had given them: A Porter always keeps what's his.

Pure Abandon


Jeannine Colette - 2015
    For me, it was in the soul-searing golden eyes of a magnanimous CEO. It all started when I decided to go back to work. After putting my career on hold, I told my husband I wanted to reclaim the woman I once was. My intentions were pure, and my heart belonged to my husband. Then, I met him. Alexander Asher is arrogant. Rude and dismissive, he got under my skin. I absolutely hated working for the Manhattan playboy and heir to his family’s fortune. Then, a misunderstanding led to friendship, the friendship became fierce, and soon I found myself questioning Asher’s motives … and my own.I shouldn’t feel this way. I fought the temptation until a dark secret had me rethinking everything, especially what I once thought was perfect. Two men are devastatingly broken by my actions—and I can only fix one. When I make my choice, will he even want me after all that’s happened? ******Pure Abandon is a STANDALONE novel in the Abandon Collection and a USA Today Smashwords Hitlist Bestseller!The Abandon Collection is a series of standalone novels featuring dynamic heroines who have to abandon their reality in order to discover themselves . . . and love along the way. Each book features a new couple, an exciting city, and a rose of a different color.