THE HEART THEY STOLE: Rebirth of the Scapegoat Bride

THE HEART THEY STOLE: Rebirth of the Scapegoat Bride

Thapeachy

5.0
Comment(s)
59
View
11
Chapters

In her first life, Elara Silas was a biological insurance policy a spare part for her sickly brother and a shadow to her saintly twin sister, Elena. Her existence ended on a cold operating table, her heart harvested while her husband, John Grant, watched with chilling indifference. But death was only a detour. Waking up three years in the past, Elara is no longer the obedient dog begging for scraps of affection. Armed with the memories of her family's ultimate betrayal, she prepares to dismantle the Silas empire from the inside out. Her first move? Rejecting her father's control to sign a secret contract with his greatest rival: the enigmatic and breathtakingly handsome Orion. Expectations shatter when she meets him. Orion isn't just a powerful jeweler; he is a man haunted by the same ghost. In a world-altering revelation, he confesses the truth: he wasn't a bystander in the first life-he was the man behind the glass, murdered by Elara's father while trying to save her. Now, two souls who died in the same tragedy are united by a lethal alliance. As Elara returns to the Silas mansion to play the role of the repentant daughter, she finds herself trapped in the same deadly games-including Elena's blood-soaked frame-ups and her mother's toxic healing schemes. But this time, Elara isn't alone. With Orion's shadow looming over the Silas household and a black opal ring hiding a shared secret, the hunt has begun.

THE HEART THEY STOLE: Rebirth of the Scapegoat Bride Chapter 1 The Price of a Spare Heart

"If you die, just think of it as paying back the air you've wasted for twenty-three years."

My mother's voice was as cool as the sterilized tiles of the operating theater. She didn't look at my face. Instead, her eyes were fixed on the

surgical consent form in her hand, her thumb stroking the paper with a rhythmic, anxious twitch. She wasn't worried about the needles that were about to pierce my skin; she was worried the ink wasn't dry enough on the legalities that would save her 'precious' son.

"Sign it, Elara," my father added. He stood by the window, the harsh afternoon sun casting his shadow long and jagged across the floor. He smelled of expensive cedarwood and the metallic tang of the hospital. "Leo is the only heir this family has. You? You're just a girl with a cursed mark and a debt to pay. This heart is the only thing you've ever possessed that is actually worth something."

I looked down at my hands. They were trembling, the hospital gown-thin, scratchy, and smelling of industrial bleach-clinging to my damp skin. My fingers traced the small, raised ridge behind my ear. The rose birthmark. To me, it had always been a petal-shaped kiss of fate. To them, it was the mark of a thief-a reminder that I had remained safe while my twin sister, Elena, had been snatched away into the dark.

"I've already given him my kidney," I whispered. My throat felt like it was lined with glass. The surgery from three weeks ago still throbbed, a dull, biting ache in my side every time I took a breath. "The doctor said I haven't healed. If you take my heart, I won't wake up."

"Then don't wake up," my mother snapped, finally looking at me. There was no mistaking the vitriol in her eyes. "Elena is back now. We have our daughter. We don't need the one who let her get kidnapped. Giving Leo your heart is the only way you'll ever be equal to her sacrifice."

The door to the private suite swung open with a soft whoosh of pressurized air. Elena walked in. She was draped in silk the color of cream, looking every bit the fragile survivor they believed her to be. She held a thermal flask in her hands, the steam smelling faintly of bitter herbs and something sickly sweet-the 'special soup' she made for Leo every morning.

"Is she being difficult again?" Elena asked, her voice a melodic pout. She walked over to my mother and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Mom, don't be upset. Elara is just scared. She's always been... sensitive. Even when we were kids, she'd cry for attention while I was the one actually hurting."

I stared at her. I saw you run, Elena, I wanted to scream. I saw you slip out the gate because Mom didn't get you that doll. I tried to grab your hand and you pushed me into the dirt. But the words died in my chest, suffocated by years of being told my memories were lies.

"Sign it," my father barked, stepping toward the bed. The floorboards didn't creak-this was a five-star medical wing-but the air seemed to vibrate with his impatience.

My hand moved. It wasn't because I wanted to die. It was the exhaustion. The bone-deep, soul-crushing fatigue of trying to be enough for people who saw me as an inventory of spare parts. I signed the paper. The scratching of the pen sounded like a death rattle in the quiet room.

The transition to the operating room was a blur of fluorescent lights passing overhead like cold, white ribs. Thump-swish, thump-swish. The wheels of the gurney rhythmically clicked against the metal dividers in the floor.

I was cold. So cold.

The nurses didn't speak to me. They spoke over me, discussing the logistics of the transplant as if I were a piece of equipment being decommissioned.

"Vitals are low," one whispered.

"Doesn't matter," the other replied. "The family gave the order. The recipient is already prepped in OR 4."

Then came the mask. It smelled of chemical sleep and ending. As the darkness swirled at the edges of my vision, I saw a flash of movement near the viewing gallery. A man stood there. Tall, broad-shouldered, with eyes as dark and unforgiving as a winter sea.

John. My husband.

The man I had married three days ago in a ceremony where I stood alone next to his framed photograph. The most powerful man in the city, and he hadn't even bothered to show up to stop his new bride from being carved open. He just watched, his face a mask of granite.

You're all the same, I thought as the anesthesia took hold. I hope this heart rots in his chest.

The last thing I heard was the steady, rhythmic beep... beep... beeeeeeeeeee-

Gasp.

--

My lungs expanded so violently it felt like they were tearing. I lunged upward, my spine snapping straight, my hands flying to my chest.

No pain.

There was no searing heat of a surgical saw. There was no bandage. My fingers met soft, unmarred skin and the fabric of a floral sundress I hadn't worn in years.

I was gasping for air, my vision swimming with spots of color. I wasn't in the cold, sterile OR. I was sitting on a velvet sofa. The air didn't smell like bleach; it smelled of expensive lilies and the buttery aroma of baking bread.

I looked at my hands. They were full. No IV bruises. No tremors of kidney failure.

"Elara? What are you doing sitting in the dark? Get up and help me with the crystal vases. Your sister will be here any minute."

The voice hit me like a physical blow. I turned my head so fast my neck cracked.

My mother stood in the foyer. She looked younger-the lines of bitterness around her mouth hadn't quite deepened into permanent trenches yet. She was wearing her favorite navy blue shift dress, the one she wore the day the private investigators called with the news.

"Mom?" I rasped. My voice worked. It didn't sound like glass.

"Don't 'Mom' me with that voice," she huffed, wiping a speck of dust off a mahogany side table. "I know you're jealous. I know you've enjoyed being the only child these last few years, but Elena is coming home. You will be on your best behavior. You will not mention the kidnapping, and you will not make that ugly face you do when you're seeking attention."

I looked at the calendar on the wall.

June 14th.

The day of the return. I was twenty-three again. No-I was twenty-three, but the surgeries hadn't happened. My heart was beating a frantic, healthy rhythm against my ribs.

Continue Reading

You'll also like

Inferno Heiress: Freed From Hell To Reclaim My Empire

Inferno Heiress: Freed From Hell To Reclaim My Empire

Clara Voss

Hayley was betrayed by those who should have loved her most. To save their precious adopted daughter from a punishment she deserved, her own parents sent Hayley straight into a living hell—an infamous prison where survival demanded cruelty, and weakness meant death. Four years later, the girl who had entered those iron gates no longer existed. She emerged with a single, unbreakable rule carved into her soul: Every betrayal would be repaid tenfold. The day she walked free, the world trembled. A convoy of luxury cars lined the road. A legion of loyal followers awaited her triumphant return. Her father tried to buy her silence with money. But money had long lost its power over her. Her adopted sister hid behind sweet words and false kindness. But empty smiles no longer fooled her. Everything that had once been stolen would be reclaimed—piece by piece. When her parents attempted to tie themselves to the city's most feared man by offering their adopted daughter, Hayley's lips curved into a cold smirk. "Not on my watch." Backed by a legendary hacker, shadowy allies, and an entire prison willing to burn the world for her, Hayley dismantled her enemies with terrifying precision. Then the tyrant noticed her. "You're interesting," he said. "Be my woman, and the city is yours." Hayley raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "You want to own me? Survive me first." High society became their battlefield. Power collided with desire. Ambition clashed with obsession. In this ruthless game of dominance and temptation, only one would kneel first. The girl once abandoned in hell rose from its ashes, crowned by fire and vengeance—And in the end, even the most feared ruler in the city would bow, offering his empire to the woman who had conquered both hell… and him.

The Billionaire's Secret Triplets: Mom's Revenge

The Billionaire's Secret Triplets: Mom's Revenge

HONEY MULLINS

Six years ago, I was a naive girl sold by my father to the powerful Sanders estate, only to be tossed onto the streets after a brutal assault they labeled "marital infidelity." I fled the country pregnant and broken, hiding from the shadow of a husband I had never even met. Now, I've returned to New York with my triplets to sign the final divorce papers and disappear forever. But Archibald Sanders-the man I was told was a crippled recluse-intercepted us with the cold precision of a predator. He didn't see the woman his family destroyed; he saw a gold-digger who had shamed his name. His security team hunted us to a grimy motel, using tactical force to snatch my children away and drag me to his glass-walled empire. In his office, he loomed over me, demanding a DNA test and threatening to throw me in prison while my babies were lost to the foster system. He was convinced I'd cheated, yet he stared at my sons with a haunting confusion, unable to ignore the stormy blue eyes that were a perfect mirror of his own. I stood there, paralyzed by his scent-the sharp tang of rain and expensive leather that triggered the icy dread of my worst nightmares. How could he accuse me of betrayal when he felt exactly like the monster who had shattered my life in that dark hotel room? "I'll sign anything," I sobbed, "just give me my kids." But the game changed when my five-year-old son hacked the tower's security, holding the skyscraper hostage to save me. In the chaos, a fragile, silent boy-Archibald's secret son-wandered into the room and reached for me as if I were his missing soul. Archibald's face turned to stone as he tore up the agreement and locked the doors. "Until I find out why my son is looking at you like that," he growled, "you aren't going anywhere."

The Cold CEO's Unwanted Genius Wife

The Cold CEO's Unwanted Genius Wife

Meng Xinyu

I stood in the darkest corner of the Pierre Hotel’s ballroom, my cheap polyester dress itching against my skin while my wristband buzzed with a DARPA Priority Red alert. In front of the city’s elite, my fiancé Bryce Calloway took the stage, not to toast our future, but to publicly end our engagement and announce he was with my sister, Chloe. The room turned on me instantly, a hundred pairs of eyes pinning me down with pity and disgust as they physically backed away like I was contagious. When I returned home, my mother shattered a crystal vase at my feet, screaming that I was a humiliation and a "dropout" who didn't deserve a cent of the family fortune. Chloe and Bryce mocked me, laughing when I told them I had a mission with the National Security Agency, convinced I was either a pathological liar or a low-level criminal. They watched in horror as a black, unmarked military helicopter descended on our backyard to extract me, yet they still chose to believe I was being arrested for drug trafficking. They saw a pathetic girl who couldn't even parallel park, never realizing I was Dr. Nova Vance, the lead physicist behind the world's first successful fusion reactor. To secure funding for my research and gain a "fortress" of a name, I signed a thirty-day marriage contract with the arrogant billionaire Roman Knight. He treats me like a fraud, convinced I’m a gold-digger who failed out of college, while I quietly run global energy simulations from his guest bedroom. He has no idea that the "loser" he’s forced to live with is the same anonymous grandmaster who has been ruthlessly crushing him in online strategy games for months. "The contract is active," I told him, looking past his expensive suit. "But don't expect me to be your maid."

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book
THE HEART THEY STOLE: Rebirth of the Scapegoat Bride THE HEART THEY STOLE: Rebirth of the Scapegoat Bride Thapeachy Romance
“In her first life, Elara Silas was a biological insurance policy a spare part for her sickly brother and a shadow to her saintly twin sister, Elena. Her existence ended on a cold operating table, her heart harvested while her husband, John Grant, watched with chilling indifference. But death was only a detour. Waking up three years in the past, Elara is no longer the obedient dog begging for scraps of affection. Armed with the memories of her family's ultimate betrayal, she prepares to dismantle the Silas empire from the inside out. Her first move? Rejecting her father's control to sign a secret contract with his greatest rival: the enigmatic and breathtakingly handsome Orion. Expectations shatter when she meets him. Orion isn't just a powerful jeweler; he is a man haunted by the same ghost. In a world-altering revelation, he confesses the truth: he wasn't a bystander in the first life-he was the man behind the glass, murdered by Elara's father while trying to save her. Now, two souls who died in the same tragedy are united by a lethal alliance. As Elara returns to the Silas mansion to play the role of the repentant daughter, she finds herself trapped in the same deadly games-including Elena's blood-soaked frame-ups and her mother's toxic healing schemes. But this time, Elara isn't alone. With Orion's shadow looming over the Silas household and a black opal ring hiding a shared secret, the hunt has begun.”
1

Chapter 1 The Price of a Spare Heart

24/02/2026

2

Chapter 2 The Bitter Taste of Gratitude

24/02/2026

3

Chapter 3 The Scalding Truth

24/02/2026

4

Chapter 4 The Shattered Mirror

24/02/2026

5

Chapter 5 The Architect of Diamonds

24/02/2026

6

Chapter 6 The Weight of the Crown

24/02/2026

7

Chapter 7 The Witness at the Glass

24/02/2026

8

Chapter 8 The Trojan Daughter

24/02/2026

9

Chapter 9 The Crimson Performance

24/02/2026

10

Chapter 10 The Rot in the Roots

24/02/2026

11

Chapter 11 The Predator's Morning

24/02/2026