Our Time
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Our Time's Books and Stories
Buried Alive With My Fake Husband
Romance I woke up in total darkness, the air smelling of stale chemicals and dying flowers. When I tried to sit up, my forehead slammed into solid wood just three inches from my face.
I was trapped in a coffin, buried alive next to the cold, stiff body of my fake husband, Cedric. My stepmother, Hermina, had poisoned our champagne at the gala to seize my trust fund, and now she was hosting a lavish memorial service for us right outside the lid.
I found a faint, erratic pulse in Cedric's neck, but I couldn't just scream for help. If Hermina realized the dose wasn't lethal, she'd finish the job with a lethal injection under the guise of medical assistance. To survive, I bit my tongue until I tasted blood and tore my hair into a tangled mess. When I finally kicked the lid open and spilled onto the marble floor, I didn't act like a rescued heiress; I crawled like a broken doll, shrieking about poisoned bubbles and "the bad man" while Manhattan's elite watched in absolute horror.
The betrayal was suffocating. My own family watched as Hermina tried to sedate me back into silence, playing the role of a grieving saint while her eyes remained cold as ice. Even more shocking was Cedric, who rose from the casket like a predator, commanding the room with a terrifying authority that proved our entire marriage had been a lie.
I couldn't understand how many secrets were buried in that house, or why my "boring" husband was suddenly acting like a man who owned the city.
After kneeing Cedric in the stomach to break his iron grip, I bolted out into the torrential rain. I didn't care that I was barefoot or that the world thought I was insane. I had the key to my father's secret safe in my hand, and I was going to make sure Hermina paid for every second of darkness she forced me to endure. The Mute Wife's Silent Revenge
Modern I haven't spoken a word in three years. As a professional art restorer, I spent my days fixing seventeenth-century Dutch oils and playing the role of the perfect, silent wife to billionaire Arno Rutledge. I thought our marriage was a cold but stable arrangement, a gilded cage I had accepted to keep my father’s medical bills paid.
That illusion shattered when I found a VIP hospital pass in Arno's suit pocket. Following the trail, I discovered my husband was keeping a woman named Serena on life support in a restricted wing. He wasn't just paying for her care; he was micromanaging her vitals from a tablet like a volatile stock portfolio, obsessed with controlling her every breath while lying to me about late-night board meetings.
When I confronted him at the hospital, the mask of the refined businessman slipped. He didn't offer an apology; he offered a violent shove. I crashed into a glass display case, the shards slicing deep into my dominant hand—the hand I used to restore history. As blood pulsed onto the white tiles, Arno didn't even look back. He was too busy cradling the other woman’s hand, leaving me to stitch my own mangled flesh together with industrial glue in a public restroom.
Back at the penthouse, the nightmare only escalated. When I tried to pack my bags, Arno froze my bank accounts and reminded me that he controlled the ventilator keeping my father alive. He dragged me into my studio, snapped my custom sable brushes in front of my face, and forced himself on me atop my own workbench.
"You’re an asset, Edlyn," he whispered against my skin. "And right now, you’re underperforming."
He told me that since my hands were now "broken equipment," I had to find other ways to compensate for my lack of value. He thought he had successfully liquidated my soul, leaving me a hollow shell trapped in his high-rise fortress.
But Arno made one fatal mistake. He thinks because I am mute, I am also blind. He thinks because he broke my hand, I have lost my touch. He doesn't realize that a restorer’s greatest skill isn't her hands—it's her ability to see the hidden rot beneath the surface. He wants to treat me like a line item on a balance sheet? Fine. I’m about to show him exactly what happens when an asset decides to set the entire portfolio on fire. I Revealed a Terrible Secret After my Daughter's Place was Take Away
Modern After completing a top-secret mission for the government, I received a call from my daughter, Michelle Harper.
"Mom! I got the offer from the UN Secretariat Department as an intern! I have worked hard to apply for it for a whole year!" Her voice on the other end was trembling with excitement.
She immediately started preparing her visa documents and sent me three voice messages asking what she should prepare.
However, a week later, her location watch remained fixed at the third floor of the administration building of their college.
I secretly went to her college, only to find her tied up cruelly in the corner.
The culprit, Lacey Palmer said with disdain, "How dare you, a nobody, take the position at the UN Secretary Department that my father helped me get? Are you courting death?"
Even the advisor chimed in obsequiously, "Lacey's father is the richest man in the country, and her mother is a top expert. That position is meant for Lacey."
I was stunned.
The position at the UN Secretariat Department?
It was the position Michelle worked so hard to win.
They clearly talked about me and my husband, who was married into my family, by mentioning the top expert and the richest man.
I immediately dialed a familiar number and asked, "I heard you have an illegitimate daughter. Is that true?" When Love Turns to Vicious Control
Romance "I need the money, Jaida. My mom's in the hospital." My plea was met with a sneer from my ex-fiancé, Kirk Knapp, who then dropped a thick file on the table, detailing every single dollar he'd spent on me during our relationship.
Then it got worse. "One box of tampons, $8.99. One pack of birth control pills, $50. A lace nightgown from Victoria's Secret... $78." He announced I owed him $200,000, which he generously reduced to $150,000 since I was trying to collect a debt from his niece.
My humiliation was a spectacle for his wealthy friends, who then suggested I "work it off on my back." Kirk, enjoying my torment, offered an alternative: drink ten bottles of whiskey for the money. I did it, desperate for my mother's surgery.
I rushed to the hospital, cash in hand, only to be told by the doctor, "An hour ago, we received a call from Mr. Knapp. He instructed us to halt all life-sustaining treatment for your mother. He said you could no longer afford it."
My world shattered. I screamed into the phone at Kirk, "Why would you do that?" His cruel laugh echoed, "Because you dared to bother Jaida. This is your punishment, Holly. Her life is on you." My mother was gone.
I didn't understand why he would do something so monstrous. Why would he take away my last hope, my last family, for a petty revenge?
With nothing left to lose, I accepted an offer to join a national research project, determined to build a new life, free from his shadow. His Betrayal, Her Unstoppable Rise
Romance I was gone for two years. When I returned, my world had moved on without me. It felt more like a funeral than a welcome-home party, with my fiancé, Liam, walking in with another woman, Ava, on his arm. She was a cheap copy of me, and everyone, including my own brother, Mark, seemed to adore her.
I pretended to ignore them for ten minutes, then confronted Ava. "Tell me, did you run out of your own face, so you decided to borrow mine?" She then staged a fall, splashing wine on a senator, and screamed, "Elara, why would you push me?"
Liam grabbed my arm, furious. "You're a monster! Apologize to her! Apologize to everyone!" Mark, my brother, rushed over, yelling, "What the hell is your problem?" I watched as Liam and Ava continued their performance, framing me as the villain.
I didn't flinch. I just slapped Liam across the face, the sound like a gunshot. "Don't ever touch me again." I then announced, "Our engagement is over. The Vance family does not associate with fools."
They thought I was having a breakdown, but I had a plan. I pulled out my phone and played a video of Ava deliberately tripping herself. "The internet is going to love this." And as for everyone else, "I have two years of receipts on every single person in this room who smiled in my face and then stabbed me in the back. Cross me again, and I will burn your entire world to the ground." Her Heart, His Cruel Game
Horror Three years ago, I became the lost heiress to the Sterling fortune. David Sterling, the family' s handsome son, saved me from a dark clinic, spending millions on my recovery. We married, had a son, and our life felt perfect.
At our son Anna's first birthday party, David pulled a scalpel from his pocket and, in front of all our guests, cut open our baby's chest. He then ripped out Anna's tiny, beating heart to save Sarah Miller' s daughter.
He kicked me hard in the stomach, growling about how I had "manipulated his parents" and that my son "blamed me for being wicked." I lay in a pool of my own blood and despair, forced to watch him walk away with my son's heart. My whole life with David had been a cruel, elaborate plan for revenge.
Days later, I was confined to a hospital bed in David' s mansion, not for care, but for harvesting my blood for Sarah. I was subjected to constant humiliation, forced to view videos of my son's murder, my C-section wound tearing open from the pain. David and Sarah paraded their love, while I lay in agony, ridiculed for my weakness.
My heart was gone, ripped out just like my son's, leaving a hollowness so vast it swallowed me whole. How could the man I loved, the father of my child, commit such an unspeakable act of depravity? Why was I, an innocent victim, suffering this unimaginable torture?
In my deepest despair, I remembered the small, hidden button on the bracelet David had given me. A desperate signal shot out into the world, a cry for help. I just had to survive for three more days. Betrayed Heart, Rewritten Fate
Romance My life was perfect, capped off by being named "Young Architect of the Year." A loving family, a devoted boyfriend, a loyal best friend-I had it all.
Then my distant cousin, Ashley, arrived – an orphan in need. Suddenly, my perfect world cracked.
On my 25th birthday, the crack shattered into a million pieces. My family, my boyfriend, my best friend-they abandoned me, throwing a surprise party for Ashley instead, while I waited alone.
The betrayal cut deep, but it was just the beginning. The scholarship I' d worked for, my reputation, my sense of self-all systematically destroyed by Ashley' s hidden machinations and their inexplicable complicity.
Sick and alone, cast out of my home, I stumbled upon a mysterious bookstore. There, I found a leather-bound book titled "The Rise of Ashley Green," revealing I was merely a villain in someone else's story, destined for a tragic end.
But I refused to be a pawn in a pre-written tale. If my life was a book, I' d be the author. I chose my own ending, faked my death, and quietly disappeared.
Four years later, I returned, a phoenix from the ashes. With a new fiance and unwavering resolve, I walked into the city' s most anticipated gala, ready to reclaim my narrative and expose the truth to the world.
The show was just beginning, and this time, I was writing the script. Love's Final Betrayal: A Fading Star
Romance On the day of my funeral, Chloe was getting married.
That' s the simplest way to put it, the starkest truth that defined the end of my story and the beginning of hers.
While a handful of people who genuinely loved me gathered under a gray, weeping sky, she was bathed in sunlight and applause, standing under an arch of white roses.
But before that quiet end, there was a loud, painful beginning.
It started the day Mark Johnson came back, pulling up to our small, rented house in a car that cost more than I made in three years.
That night, the air in our little house felt tight, suffocating.
Chloe stood in the doorway, her arms crossed, not looking at me, but at a future I clearly wasn't a part of.
"We need to talk, Ethan."
Her voice stripped of warmth, cool and measured, delivered the blow.
"Mark is back. He' s offered me a position at his firm. A real career. A chance to have the life we' ve talked about."
The "we" felt like a lie.
"I' m saying I can' t do this anymore," she finally met my eyes, her gaze hard. "I can' t keep waiting for you to make it. This game of yours… it' s a hobby, Ethan. It' s not a future. I need security. I need more than what you can give me."
Each word landed like a physical blow, a deep ache starting in my chest. What she didn' t know, what I hadn' t told anyone, was why I was always tired, why I was losing weight, why I coughed.
A month ago, a doctor used words like "inoperable" and "palliative."
I had chosen to finish my game, my legacy, rather than waste away in a hospital.
Chloe saw my silence, my gaunt frame, and my tired eyes, and she misinterpreted it all. She saw weakness.
"Look at you," she said, her voice laced with new cruelty. "You' re always tired. You' re letting yourself go. Is this what you want? To just waste away in front of this computer screen?"
The irony was so thick I could have choked on it.
I just turned back to my screen, my fingers finding the keyboard.
"Are you even listening to me?" she snapped, frustration boiling over. "This is what you always do! You just retreat into your little fantasy world and ignore reality! I' m talking about our future, and you' re playing with your stupid game!"
The pain in my chest turned sharp, a real physical thing.
"I' m sorry, Chloe. I' m sorry I couldn' t be what you needed."
I considered telling her, a desperate plea, but imagined the pity, her ambition chained to a dying man. I loved her too much to burden her.
She took my apology as failure.
"It' s too late for sorry, Ethan."
She walked out, the front door closing with a soft, final click.
The sound echoed in the sudden, crushing silence.
I was alone.
The pain in my chest exploded. My breath caught. I slid from my chair, hitting the floor with a dull thud.
The last thing I saw was my glowing monitor, a testament to a love she had just thrown away.
I woke up in a new kind of silence, hovering weightless, looking down at my own still body.
I was dead.
The silence was broken by Sarah, my best friend, slumped in the hospital chair, shaking with silent sobs.
Her grief was immense, a storm.
In the days that followed, I watched her, heartbroken, as she handled my final affairs. She grew thinner, hollow-eyed, fueled by pure will. She found my favorite hoodie, inhaling its scent.
"What do I do, Ethan?" she whispered to the empty room. "I don' t know how to finish it without you."
Then, her phone rang. Chloe.
Sarah' s thumb hovered.
"Hello?" Her voice was flat.
Chloe' s voice was unnaturally cheerful. "Sarah! Hi! I know things were… tense… the other day, but I wanted to put that behind us. Mark and I are getting married!"
Sarah' s muscles tightened.
"We' re having the ceremony this Saturday. It' s at the Botanical Gardens. It would mean a lot to me if you came. As a sort of… peace offering."
Saturday. This Saturday.
Sarah' s eyes darted to the calendar. Next to it, one word: Funeral.
The phone slipped from her hand.
Chloe' s voice tinny from the floor, "Sarah? Are you there?"
Sarah stared into space, a horrifying mask of disbelief and dawning rage. My funeral and Chloe' s wedding. The same day.
She picked up the phone, ended the call.
She looked at my game icon, then at the hoodie.
"Oh, Ethan," she whispered, a sound half-sob, half-laugh. "She' s getting married. On the day we bury you, she' s getting married."
I floated there, helpless. The tragedy was written.
On Saturday, Sarah stood in front of her mirror, not in simple black, but in a stark, severe goth dress.
She looked like an avenging angel of grief.
She was going to the wedding first.
No, Sarah, don' t. My silent scream from my ethereal prison. Just let it go. Let me go.
But she couldn' t hear me.
The Botanical Gardens buzzed with happy chatter. When Sarah walked in, a hush fell. People stared.
Chloe saw her, annoyance clouding her bridal radiance.
"Sarah, what in the world are you wearing? Is this some kind of sick joke? You look like you' re going to a funeral."
Sarah' s voice was unnervingly calm.
"That' s because I am."
Chloe stared, uncomprehending.
"After this, I' m going to a funeral. It' s at two o' clock. It' s for Ethan."
Chloe' s face went slack with shock, then hardened with disbelief and anger.
"That is not funny, Sarah. That is the most twisted, horrible thing you could possibly say. You' re trying to ruin my wedding day. Did he put you up to this? Is this his pathetic attempt at revenge?"
Mark strode over. "Is everything alright, darling?" He sneered at Sarah' s dress. "What is this? Some kind of performance art?"
"She' s trying to ruin our day," Chloe said, trembling. "She' s saying… she' s saying Ethan is dead."
Mark laughed, a dismissive, ugly sound. "Don' t be ridiculous, Chloe. It' s a pathetic cry for attention. He' s probably hiding in the bushes somewhere, hoping you' ll come running."
Chloe looked back at Sarah, her certainty reinforced by Mark. "You need to leave. Now. I' m sorry I ever invited you. I should have known you' d try to pull something like this."
She turned to Mark. "I' m sorry, honey. I' ll have security escort her out."
Sarah didn' t move, a small, bitter smile touching her lips.
The wedding planner called Chloe' s name. It was time.
Chloe gave Sarah one last, withering glare, then stopped. A flicker of doubt, of pure, cold fear, crossed her face.
But the music was starting. Her future awaited.
Chloe turned her back on Sarah, on the truth, and walked away to become Mrs. Mark Johnson.
As Chloe walked down the aisle, a wave of memory hit me. Our cheap wine, designing her wedding dress on a napkin. Her laughter filling our small apartment.
Now, she was a stranger in a dress I didn' t recognize, walking toward a man I despised.
Sarah stood alone, a solitary figure of grief.
"I' m the one who introduced them, you know," she murmured. "I' m so sorry, Ethan."
The ceremony reached its peak.
"Do you, Chloe Davis, take Mark Johnson…"
Sarah turned to leave.
"Wait." Chloe' s voice, quiet but clear.
The officiant paused. Mark turned, confused. Guests murmured.
Chloe wasn' t looking at Mark. She was looking at Sarah' s retreating figure.
"Sarah, wait," she called again, voice stronger.
Sarah stopped.
Chloe took a shaky breath. She turned to Mark, pale. "Mark, I… I' m sorry. I have to… there' s something I have to do. I have to know."
"Chloe, what are you talking about?" Mark hissed, grabbing her arm. "The whole world is watching."
She pulled her arm away powerfully. "I don' t care. I have to know if she' s telling the truth."
She lifted her gown and started running down the aisle, away from the altar, away from Mark.
She was leaving her own wedding.
She was going to my funeral.
I watched her go, a storm of confusion. Mark' s face was a thundercloud of fury. The perfect day shattered.
The cemetery was quiet, a stark contrast. A small group around freshly turned earth. My parents, a few friends, cousins.
Then, a second figure appeared. A woman in a brilliant white wedding dress, now stained. Chloe.
Her arrival sent a shockwave. My father' s sadness hardened.
"What is she doing here?" he growled.
My cousin, David, took a step. "You have no right to be here! Get out!"
Chloe didn' t seem to hear them. Her eyes were fixed on the simple, polished granite headstone.
Ethan Miller. Beloved Son and Friend. 1995 - 2023.
When she read the words, a dry, choked gasp escaped her. She reached out a trembling hand, tracing my name. The cold, hard reality finally broke through her denial.
She fell to her knees, a raw, animalistic cry escaping her throat. It was the sound of a world breaking apart.
I watched, stunned. This was not the reaction of a woman who never truly loved me.
My mother shrieked, pointing. "You! This is your fault! You did this to him! You broke his heart and you killed him!"
"Helen, stop," my father said, but his eyes burned cold. "Leave. If you' re just here to make a scene, to show off your wedding dress at my son' s grave, then you can leave."
Chloe didn' t respond. She was on her hands and knees, clawing at the dirt, trying to dig me up. "No," she sobbed. "No, it' s not real. Ethan! It' s not real!"
Sarah rushed forward, grabbing Chloe' s arms. "Chloe, stop it! Stop! You' re making it worse!"
"Let go of me!" Chloe screamed. "He can' t be gone! He can' t!"
Another car screeched to a halt. Mark Johnson stormed up the hill, face purple with rage.
"Chloe! What the hell are you doing?" he yelled, shoving Sarah. "Get your hands off my fiancée!"
He tried to pull Chloe up, but she fought him off. "He' s gone, Mark!" she wailed. "Ethan' s gone!"
Mark looked from her hysterical face to my grave, then to my angry family. "This is insane," he spat, pointing at Sarah. "This is your fault! You filled her head with this nonsense and dragged her here!"
David stepped up to Mark, fists clenched. "She came on her own. And you need to back off. You' re not welcome here."
"I' ll go where my fiancée goes," Mark sneered.
My father, a man I' d never seen lose his temper, walked up to Mark. "She is not your fiancée here. Here, she is the woman who destroyed my son. Now get off this sacred ground before I have you removed."
The air was thick with hate. My quiet funeral had become a battlefield.
Chloe stood amidst the shouting, pale and streaked with tears and dirt, clutching a piece of her wedding dress.
Mark tried to pull her away. "Chloe, let' s go. We can fix this. We' ll go on our honeymoon, forget any of this ever happened."
She shook her head, pulling her arm from his grasp. "No," she whispered, a new, terrible finality in the small word.
Sarah stepped between them, deeply exhausted. "You should go, Chloe. He wouldn' t have wanted this. He wouldn' t have wanted to see you like this."
The words finally reached Chloe. She looked at my grave one last time, body shaking with a suppressed sob. Without another word, she turned and walked away, a ghost in a ruined wedding dress.
As I watched her disappear, a sense of peace settled over me. It was over. The storm had passed. The truth, in its brutal way, was out. I felt the ties that bound me to her, to the pain and the love, finally loosen.
I was free.
In the weeks that followed, life, for the living, began to move on. My parents, heartbroken but practical, offered my game studio to Sarah.
"We want you to have it, Sarah," my father said, voice thick with emotion. "It was Ethan' s dream. You were a part of that dream. We want you to carry it on."
Sarah initially refused. "I can' t. It wouldn' t be right."
"He would have wanted you to have it," my mother insisted. "Please."
Sarah looked around the studio, at the concept art, my empty chair. She finally nodded, tears filling her eyes. "Okay. For Ethan. I' ll do it."
A new fire lit in her. She threw herself into the work, determined to make my last game, "Chloe' s Star," a success.
One night, looking for a file, she found a 'Personal' folder. Videos. Candid clips I' d taken.
Me and her, years ago, laughing at an arcade. Us pulling an all-nighter in college, arguing playfully. Dozens of them. A hidden library of our friendship.
"You saved all these?" she whispered to the empty room, a sad smile. "You nerd."
Her phone rang, jarring her. The cemetery caretaker.
"Ms. Clark? I' m sorry to bother you so late. But you need to come down. There' s been a problem at Mr. Miller' s grave. It looks like someone tried to… dig it up."
Sarah' s car tore through the night, headlights cutting through darkness. Her knuckles white, face a mask of cold fury.
At the cemetery, under harsh security lights, the scene was worse than imagined. My grave was torn up. A shovel discarded.
And standing there, in the middle of the mess, were two figures: Chloe and Mark.
Chloe looked lost, eyes vacant, clothes disheveled. Mark held a second, smaller shovel, his suit rumpled.
"What in God' s name do you think you' re doing?" Sarah' s voice was a low growl.
Mark had the audacity to look indignant. "We' re paying our respects! Chloe wanted his ashes. We were going to move them to a proper family mausoleum. A place of honor."
"A place of honor?" Sarah laughed, harsh and bitter. "You mean a place where you could control his last remains? You think there' s some inheritance, don' t you? You think this struggling game developer was secretly a millionaire, and you want to get your hands on it."
Her furious gaze turned to Chloe. "And you. I almost felt sorry for you. I almost thought you understood. But this? To do this with him? How could you?"
Chloe shook her head, muttering, "I had to… I had to have him near me."
That was the last straw for Sarah' s promise.
"You want to know about honor, Chloe?" Sarah' s voice trembled with rage. "You want to know about the man you threw away? Let me tell you about him."
She stepped closer. "Two years ago, your father' s company was about to collapse. A mysterious benefactor paid off all his debts. Anonymously. Do you know who that was, Chloe?"
Chloe just stared, confused.
"It was Ethan," Sarah said, words landing like hammer blows. "He sold everything his grandparents left him. Every last cent. That was the 'failed investment' he told you about. He chose to look like a failure in your eyes rather than let you see your family' s shame. That' s the money you accused him of wasting. That' s the man you said was holding you back."
Color drained from Chloe' s face. Vacant eyes replaced by dawning, soul-crushing horror. "No," she whispered. "No, that' s not true."
"It is true," Sarah said, relentless. "And you want to know about the man you chose instead?" She pulled out her phone. "I did some digging after the funeral, Mark. You' re not as careful as you think you are."
She turned the screen to Chloe. Photos. Mark, kissing another woman. Screenshots of damning texts from before the wedding.
Chloe looked from the phone to Mark. The final piece of her shattered world crumbled. "You…" she whispered, a strangled gasp.
She launched herself at him, grief and rage finding a target. She beat at his chest, screaming.
Mark, shocked, shoved her hard. "Get off me, you crazy bitch!"
Chloe stumbled backward, her heel catching on the disturbed earth around my grave. She fell, her head hitting the corner of my granite headstone with a sickening, final crack.
She lay still. A dark pool spread from her head.
Mark stared, panicked. Sarah screamed.
In the ensuing chaos of sirens and flashing lights, I felt my purpose fade. The truth was out. My legacy safe with Sarah. My name cleared.
As they covered Chloe' s body, just as they had covered mine, I felt a lightness. The pain, love, betrayal-all dissolved into the cool night air.
My game, "Chloe' s Star," released by Sarah, became a global sensation. My name, a symbol of a legacy that triumphed in death.
And me? I was finally at peace. I turned from the living, from the wreckage, and faded into the quiet, starlit darkness. The Scars We Carry
Modern The heavy iron gate of the juvenile detention center groaned open, a sound I had dreamed of for five long years.
I stepped out, a small, warm hand in mine-Leo' s. He was my only good thing from that hellhole, a promise to his dying mother.
But freedom felt just as suffocating as my cell, because the world outside held nothing but the bitter truth.
The Blackwood family, powerful and relentless, had already claimed everything I loved.
They had driven my parents to suicide with their lies and pressure, all while I was locked away, helpless, branded "Chloe the Monster."
The media fed their narrative, and even my own brother, Daniel, pointed an accusatory finger in court, sealing my fate.
Then, a familiar fleet of black luxury cars screeched to a halt, boxing us in.
Ethan Blackwood, my former fiancé, stepped out, his handsome face contorted with hatred.
He wanted me to suffer, to pay for Sophia, his mother, who now sat in a wheelchair.
They forced me to crawl across burning coals, my hands and knees searing, just to protect Leo.
But it wasn't enough.
They dragged me to my parents' fresh graves, informing me they had "couldn't handle the shame."
Then, they tied me to a frame, and Daniel, my own brother, systematically ran me over with a car.
My world went black.
I woke in a hospital, broken, only to be reunited with Leo, who was terrified, apologizing for something he didn' t understand.
The day they took him to a foster home was the hardest of my life, leaving me with a shattered body and no hope.
I earned pennies cleaning toilets, clinging to the jar that symbolized my only goal: getting Leo back.
Then came the ultimate cruelty: a message from Ethan with a picture of Leo playing by a pool, followed by: "He looked so happy. It's a shame he was so clumsy. This is what happens when you defy me, Chloe. Everything you love will turn to ash."
My innocent boy was dead.
The grief wasn't despair; it was a blinding, white-hot rage that consumed everything.
I found them, Ethan, Daniel, and Sophia at the hospital, and with a primal howl, I confronted them.
As their faces twisted in shock and contempt, a horrifying clarity hit me: there was no escape.
I shoved Daniel toward Ethan, then, without a second thought, I threw myself through the twelfth-story window.
But instead of endless dark, I woke up back in the courtroom, five years earlier, on trial for attempted murder.
Daniel was on the stand, about to lie, about to seal my fate.
This time, things would be different. His Mother's Ring, His Vengeance
Billionaires For seven years, I was Ethan Lester, the perfect prop for Jocelyn Gordon' s Silicon Valley empire, trapped in a gilded cage designed to project her ideal family image.
My reward? Enduring her chilling indifference, the parade of her lovers, and watching my soul slowly erode.
But when her latest boy toy, Ryan, brazenly sported my deceased mother' s cherished heirloom ring, and Jocelyn casually dismissed my outrage, a chilling calm settled over me.
Then came the accident: crushed in a car wreck I was driving for Ryan, bleeding out, I watched Jocelyn rush past me, her only concern the "boy toy's" minor scratch.
The sheer, sickening cruelty of her neglect was more profound than any physical pain, a clarity that screamed: You are nothing to her.
I survived, but that man died in the wreckage; a new one was born, fueled by an icy resolve.
Now, I' m building my own empire, while the woman who threw away my life is about to watch hers crumble, piece by painful piece. The Firefighter's Accidental Wife
Romance My life, as a firefighter paramedic, seemed straightforward.
I was engaged to Chloe, my high school sweetheart, and planned a future with her.
But a secret, solemn commitment changed everything: to fulfill my dying adoptive mother Sarah's final wish, I quietly married Army Captain Maya Rodriguez.
However, my return home to our shared house in Havenwood plunged me into a nightmare.
Chloe, without consultation, announced her manipulative "rescuer," Ricky Vargas, and his young son Leo, were moving in indefinitely.
This unwelcome intrusion quickly escalated into hostile takeover.
Chloe dismissed my every concern, turning my personal office into Ricky's son's room, only for that child to deface my most sacred heirloom-my late father's firefighter helmet.
When I confronted the boy, Ricky, the master manipulator, orchestrated a scene where his son feigned injury, leading Chloe to immediately side with him, accusing me of violence.
She then unleashed a torrent of venom, calling me "just an orphan" and ordering me to leave, a cruel tirade unknowingly recorded and later shared by Ricky to twist the knife deeper.
The ultimate betrayal came when Chloe, exploiting my profession, had me detained at the hospital and actively blocked my calls, callously preventing me from saying goodbye to my dying mother.
Sarah passed away alone, a direct consequence of Chloe's spiteful actions.
How could the woman I was supposed to marry, my childhood love, inflict such profound pain and injustice, stripping me of my dignity and my last moments with my mother?
Reeling from grief, despair, and an overwhelming sense of betrayal, I chose to sever all ties, escaping the suffocating toxicity of my past.
I walked away from Havenwood, from Chloe, and got on a plane, ready to face an unknown future with my new wife, Maya. Rewriting Our Love Story
Romance I was consumed by Olivia, my older brother's best friend.
My obsession was a dark, unhealthy thing.
At a college party, I led her to a quiet room, her drink secretly spiked, ready to make her mine.
But just as I leaned in, a horrifying vision fractured my world.
I saw a nightmare future: a miserable marriage to Olivia, her eyes full of hate, my brother Alex dead because of my jealousy, and my own lonely, pathetic end.
Convinced I was a villain destined to ruin them all, I confessed everything in a panic, branded as a monster.
To save them from that "script," I ran, vanishing for six years, living in self-exile, always alone.
I fabricated endless lies, like a fake German doctor girlfriend, deliberately pushing Olivia away, believing she belonged with Alex.
But when Alex's sudden health crisis brought me home, Olivia's best friend, Maya, dropped a bombshell that shattered my entire flawed reality.
Maya, who eerily "remembers" other timelines, revealed the impossible truth: Olivia never loved Alex; she loved me.
My entire sacrifice, my six years of running, my fervent belief in a fixed tragic script - all based on a catastrophic misunderstanding.
Now, with my world turned upside down, I must face the woman I pushed away for years, confess the depths of my fear and misunderstanding, and somehow, try to rewrite a love story I thought doomed us all. When Love Wore A Mask
Romance Ethan Miller was an architect, but his life was ending.
He was entering witness protection to avenge his father, a journalist murdered by corrupt forces.
The cost?
Everything he knew, especially Ava, the woman he loved.
He shattered her heart, feigning greed and ambition to protect her from immense danger.
Then, he walked into their apartment to find her intimate with his childhood friend, Julian.
He was a ghost in his own home, watching his own replacement.
Ava's contempt became his daily torture.
She treated him like a paid servant, throwing money at him.
He endured public humiliation, serving them at parties, known only as "Ava's pet."
After her terrible accident, he anonymously donated a kidney to save her life.
Yet Julian took all the credit, building a false narrative of heroism.
Ethan silently suffered Ava's accusations and physical abuse, trapped in a role of ultimate humiliation.
His silence was his shield, his coldness a desperate act of love.
He let her believe he was an unfeeling monster, relentlessly crushing her hope.
Every insult was a fresh wound, but revealing the truth would expose her to deadly enemies.
Why did he choose her hatred, this agonizing self-sacrifice?
Then, an impossible truth emerged: Ethan, believed dead, was seen alive, engaged to another woman.
Ava' s world shattered, her grief morphing into furious betrayal.
Now, she will confront him, demanding answers, ready to tear apart every secret, dragging them both back into the shadows of his dangerous past, no matter the cost. Reclaiming My Empire, My Son, My Love
Romance Our fifth wedding anniversary should have celebrated a decade building our tech empire with my husband, Ethan.
Instead, at dinner, he introduced Tiffany, an intern secretly pregnant with his child, expecting me to welcome her and the baby into our home.
Soon, my Seattle mansion became a living hell: I was stripped of my master suite, endured constant humiliation, and was framed by Tiffany for destroying my own mother's ashes.
Then, miraculously pregnant, I was accused by Ethan of cursing their baby, and he allowed his father to brutally cut my hair, causing a traumatic miscarriage.
How could the man who swore to protect me watch as I lost everything, even our unborn child, twisted into a witch by his legacy-obsessed family?
Broken and alone, a forgotten past awakened: a rival CEO, Liam, rescued me, revealing a lost son and a love I'd erased from my memory, igniting my resolve to reclaim my true identity and bring retribution to those who wronged me. Love After The Lie
Romance For three years, I'd worn the shroud of a grieving widow, clinging to the memory of my hero firefighter husband, Mark, who supposedly died saving lives.
Every diner shift, every sniff of stale coffee, was a testament to my struggle, ensuring our son Leo had shoes on his feet, his father's heroism the only legacy I could offer.
But on the third anniversary of the fire, a single overheard sentence ripped my world apart: "You took his name, Mark! What about Olivia? What about your own son, Leo?!"
My Mark, the man I'd cried myself to sleep mourning, the brave dad Leo revered from faded photos, was alive.
He hadn't died a hero; he'd faked his own death, letting us believe he was gone, letting me struggle alone, all while living a comfortable lie under his late twin brother's identity.
The grief I'd carried, the unwavering loyalty I'd sworn to a memory, transformed into a searing, white-hot rage.
He wasn't just a liar; he was a coward who chose debt and another family over his own flesh and blood.
Three years of my life, a cruel, elaborate joke, built on his monstrous deceit.
I stumbled away from that house, away from that lie, knowing one thing with absolute clarity: I wouldn't waste another day on a ghost.
It was time to burn down the past and build a truth for Leo and me, even if it meant setting fire to everything I once held sacred. The Nanny's Secret
Billionaires I prided myself on being the "Tech Queen," the CEO who built Innovatech from the ground up.
My success came at a price: missed dinners, demanding schedules, and less time with my precious daughter, Emily.
But I always made sure she had the best, like the custom robot cake and Parisian designer jacket for her recent birthday.
Then, a photo on Instagram shattered my perfect world.
It was Emily's unique cake, her coveted jacket—but on another boy.
When I questioned my husband, Kevin, he casually dismissed it, claiming Emily had a tantrum and ruined her own cake.
A lie, I instinctively knew.
The unease deepened.
Emily, once vibrant, became withdrawn, her laughter replaced by silence.
During bath time, I saw them: faint, purplish bruises, tellingly finger-shaped, on her tiny arms.
Then she whispered the words that turned my blood to ice: "Maria gives me special sleepy juice at night, Mommy. It makes me sleep very, very deep."
Maria, the nanny Kevin insisted was "family."
My stomach twisted with a sickening mix of dread and fury.
How could I have been so blind?
Was my entire life, my family, a lie?
That night, with my heart hammering, I accessed the hidden security cameras I'd secretly installed across our house.
The "Tech Queen" was about to uncover her darkest secret.
And when I did, no one involved would escape her wrath. You might like
He Thought I Was A Doormat, Until I Ruined Him
SHANA GRAY The sterile white of the operating room blurred, then sharpened, as Skye Sterling felt the cold clawing its way up her body. The heart monitor flatlined, a steady, high-pitched whine announcing her end. Her uterus had been removed, a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding, but the blood wouldn't clot. It just kept flowing, warm and sticky, pooling beneath her.
Through heavy eyes, she saw a trembling nurse holding a phone on speaker. "Mr. Kensington," the nurse's voice cracked, "your wife... she's critical." A pause, then a sweet, poisonous giggle. Seraphina Miller. "Liam is in the shower," Seraphina's voice purred. "Stop calling, Skye. It's pathetic. Faking a medical emergency on our anniversary? Even for you, that's low." Then, Liam's bored voice: "If she dies, call the funeral home. I have a meeting in the morning." Click. The line went dead.
A second later, so did Skye. The darkness that followed was absolute, suffocating, a black ocean crushing her lungs. She screamed into the void, a silent, agonizing wail of regret for loving a man who saw her as a nuisance, for dying without ever truly living.
Until she died, she didn't understand. Why was her life so tragically wasted? Why did her husband, the man she loved, abandon her so cruelly? The injustice of it all burned hotter than the fever in her body.
Then, the air rushed back in. Skye gasped, her body convulsing violently on the mattress. Her eyes flew open, wide and terrified, staring blindly into the darkness. Her trembling hand reached for her phone. May 12th. Five years ago. She was back. After Divorce: My Arrogant Ex Regrets Calling Me Trash
Sea Jet Aurora woke up to the sterile chill of her king-sized bed in Sterling Thorne's penthouse. Today was the day her husband would finally throw her out like garbage. Sterling walked in, tossed divorce papers at her, and demanded her signature, eager to announce his "eligible bachelor" status to the world.
In her past life, the sight of those papers had broken her, leaving her begging for a second chance. Sterling's sneering voice, calling her a "trailer park girl" undeserving of his name, had once cut deeper than any blade. He had always used her humble beginnings to keep her small, to make her grateful for the crumbs of his attention. She had lived a gilded cage, believing she was nothing without him, until her life flatlined in a hospital bed, watching him give a press conference about his "grief."
But this time, she felt no sting, no tears. Only a cold, clear understanding of the mediocre man who stood on a pedestal she had painstakingly built with her own genius.
Aurora signed the papers, her name a declaration of independence. She grabbed her old, phoenix-stickered laptop, ready to walk out. Sterling Thorne was about to find out exactly how expensive "free" could be. Flash Marriage To My Best Friend's Father
Madel Cerda I was once the heiress to the Solomon empire, but after it crumbled, I became the "charity case" ward of the wealthy Hyde family. For years, I lived in their shadows, clinging to the promise that Anson Hyde would always be my protector.
That promise shattered when Anson walked into the ballroom with Claudine Chapman on his arm. Claudine was the girl who had spent years making my life a living hell, and now Anson was announcing their engagement to the world.
The humiliation was instant. Guests sneered at my cheap dress, and a waiter intentionally sloshed champagne over me, knowing I was a nobody. Anson didn't even look my way; he was too busy whispering possessively to his new fiancée. I was a ghost in my own home, watching my protector celebrate with my tormentor.
The betrayal burned. I realized I wasn't a ward; I was a pawn Anson had kept on a shelf until he found a better trade. I had no money, no allies, and a legal trust fund that Anson controlled with a flick of his wrist.
Fleeing to the library, I stumbled into Dallas Koch—a titan of industry and my best friend’s father. He was a wall of cold, absolute power that even the Hydes feared.
"Marry me," I blurted out, desperate to find a shield Anson couldn't climb.
Dallas didn't laugh. He pulled out a marriage agreement and a heavy fountain pen.
"Sign," he commanded, his voice a low rumble. "But if you walk out that door with me, you never go back."
I signed my name, trading my life for the only man dangerous enough to keep me safe. His Twisted Game, My Dangerous Love
Elroy Notman Vesper's marriage to Julian Sterling was a gilded cage. One morning, she woke naked beside Damon Sterling, Julian's terrifying brother, then found a text: Julian's mistress was pregnant. Her world shattered, but the real nightmare had just begun.
Julian's abuse escalated, gaslighting Vesper, funding his secret life. Damon, a germaphobic billionaire, became her unsettling anchor amidst his chaos.
As "Iris," Vesper exposed Julian's mistress, Serena Sharp, sparking brutal war: poisoned drinks, a broken leg, and the horrifying truth-Julian murdered her parents, trapping Vesper in marriage.
The man she married was a killer. Broken and betrayed, Vesper was caught between monstrous brothers, burning with injustice.
Refusing victimhood, Vesper reclaimed her identity. Fueled by vengeance, she allied with Damon, who vowed to burn his empire for her. Julian faced justice, but matriarch Eleanor's counterattack forced Vesper's choice as a hitman aimed for her. One Night With My Billionaire Boss
Nathaniel Stone I woke up on silk sheets that smelled of expensive cedar and cold sandalwood, a world away from my cramped apartment in Brooklyn.
Beside me lay Ezra Gardner—my boss, the billionaire CEO of Gardner Holdings, and the man who could end my career with a snap of his fingers.
He didn’t offer an apology for the night before; instead, he looked at me with terrifying clarity and proposed a cold, calculated business arrangement.
"Marriage. It stabilizes the board and solves the PR crisis before it begins."
He dressed me in archival Chanel and sent me home in his Maybach, but my life was already falling apart. My boyfriend, Irving, claimed he had passed out early, yet his location data placed him at my best friend’s apartment until three in the morning. When I tried to run, I realized Ezra was already ten steps ahead, tracking my movements and uncovering the secret I’d spent twenty years hiding: my connection to the powerful Senator Grimes.
I was trapped between a CEO who treated me like a line item on a quarterly report and a boyfriend who had been using me while sleeping with my closest friend. I felt like a pawn in a game I didn't understand, wondering why a man like Ezra would walk up forty flights of stairs on a broken leg just to make sure I was safe.
"Showtime, Mrs. Gardner."
Standing on the red carpet in a gown that cost more than my life, I watched my cheating ex-boyfriend’s face turn pale as Ezra claimed me in front of the world. I wasn't just an assistant anymore; I was a weapon, and it was time to burn their world down. Reborn Rich, My Vengeance Rises
Rabbit My husband, Ethan Vance, made me his trophy wife. My best friend, Susanna Thorne, helped me pick out my wedding dress. Together, they made me a fool.
For three years, I was Mrs. Ethan Vance, a decorative silence in his billion-dollar world, living a quiet routine until a forgotten phone charger led me to his office.
The low, feminine laugh from behind his door was a gut-punch; inside, I found Ethan and Susanna, my "best friend" and his CMO, tangled on his sofa, his only reaction irritation.
My divorce declaration brought immediate scorn and threats. I was fired, my accounts frozen, and publicly smeared as an unstable gold-digger. Even my own family disowned me for my last cent, only for me to be framed for assault and served a restraining order.
Broke, injured, and utterly demonized, they believed I was broken, too ashamed to fight. But their audacious betrayal and relentless cruelty only forged a cold, unyielding resolve.
Slumped alone, a restraining order in hand, I remembered my hidden journal: a log of Ethan's insider trading secrets. They wanted a monster? I would show them one. HIS DOE, HIS DAMNATION(An Erotic Billionaire Romance)
Viviene Trigger/Content Warning:
This story contains mature themes and explicit content intended for adult audiences(18+). Reader discretion is advised.
It includes elements such as BDSM dynamics, explicit sexual content, toxic family relationships, occasional violence and strong language.
This is not a fluffy romance. It is intense, raw and messy, and explores the darker side of desire.
*****
"Take off your dress, Meadow."
"Why?"
"Because your ex is watching," he said, leaning back into his seat. "And I want him to see what he lost."
••••*••••*••••*
Meadow Russell was supposed to get married to the love of her life in Vegas. Instead, she walked in on her twin sister riding her fiance.
One drink at the bar turned to ten. One drunken mistake turned into reality. And one stranger's offer turned into a contract that she signed with shaking hands and a diamond ring.
Alaric Ashford is the devil in a tailored Tom Ford suit. Billionaire CEO, brutal, possessive. A man born into an empire of blood and steel.
He also suffers from a neurological condition-he can't feel. Not objects, not pain, not even human touch.
Until Meadow touches him, and he feels everything. And now he owns her. On paper and in his bed.
She wants him to ruin her. Take what no one else could have. He wants control, obedience... revenge.
But what starts as a transaction slowly turns into something Meadow never saw coming.
Obsession, secrets that were never meant to surface, and a pain from the past that threatens to break everything.
Alaric doesn't share what's his.
Not his company.
Not his wife.
And definitely not his vengeance.
Pregnant and Divorced: I Hid His Heir
Shirlee Melnick Vivian clutched her Hermès bag, her doctor's words echoing: "Extremely high-risk pregnancy." She hoped the baby would save her cold marriage, but Julian wasn't in London as his schedule claimed. Instead, a paparazzi photo revealed his early return-with a blonde woman, not his wife, at the private airport exit.
The next morning, Julian served divorce papers, callously ending their "duty" marriage for his ex, Serena. A horrifying contract clause gave him the right to terminate her pregnancy or seize their child. Humiliated, demoted, and forced to fake an ulcer, Vivian watched him parade his affair, openly discarding her while celebrating Serena.
This was a calculated erasure, not heartbreak. He cared only for his image, confirming he would "handle" the baby himself. A primal rage ignited her. "Just us," she whispered to her stomach, vowing to sign the divorce on her terms, keep her secret safe, and walk away from Sterling Corp for good, ready to protect her child alone. Burned By Him, Reborn A Star
Rabbit The acrid smell of smoke still clung to Evelyn in the ambulance, her lungs raw from the penthouse fire. She was alive, but the world around her felt utterly destroyed, a feeling deepened by the small TV flickering to life. On it, her husband, Julian Vance, thousands of miles away, publicly comforted his mistress, Serena Holloway, shielding her from paparazzi after *her* "panic attack."
Julian's phone went straight to voicemail. Alone in the hospital with second-degree burns, Evelyn watched news replays, her heart rate spiking. He protected Serena from camera flashes while Evelyn burned. When he finally called, he demanded she handle insurance, dismissing the fire; Serena's voice faintly heard.
The shallow family ties and pretense of marriage evaporated. A searing injustice and cold anger replaced pain; Evelyn knew Julian had chosen to let her burn.
"Evelyn Vance died in that fire," she declared, ripping out her IV. Armed with a secret fortune as "The Architect," Hollywood's top ghostwriter, she walked out. She would divorce Julian, reclaim her name, and finally step into the spotlight as an actress. After Betrayal, She Claimed Her Empire
Rabbit Serena Vance, an unloved wife, clutched a custom-made red velvet cake to her chest, enduring the cold rain outside an exclusive Upper East Side club. She hoped this small gesture for her husband, Julian, would bridge the growing chasm between them on their third anniversary. But as she neared the VIP suite, her world shattered.
Julian's cold, detached voice sliced through the laughter, revealing he considered her nothing more than a "signature on a piece of paper" for a trust fund, mocking her changed appearance and respecting only another woman, Elena. The indifference in his tone was a physical blow, a brutal severance, not heartbreak.
She gently placed the forgotten cake on the floor, leaving her wedding ring and a diamond necklace as she prepared to abandon a marriage built on lies. Her old life, once a prison of quiet suffering and constant humiliation, now lay in ruins around her.
Three years of trying to be seen, to be loved, were erased by a few cruel words. Why had she clung to a man who saw her as a clause in a will, a "creature," not a wife? The shame and rage hardened her heart, freezing her tears.
Returning to an empty penthouse, she packed a single battered suitcase, leaving behind every symbol of her failed marriage. With a burner phone, she dialed a number she hadn't touched in a decade, whispering, "Godfather, I'm ready to come home." 
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