Reborn in the City of Light

His Billions Can't Buy Her Forgiveness Now

The scissors made a sickening crunch as I severed the long hair Marcus worshipped. For three years, I had been his "silk anchor," the hidden woman who grounded him while he conquered New York. But as the dark strands hit the porcelain sink, my phone lit up with a news alert that shattered my world. *Thorne Enterprises CEO Marcus Thorne and Isabella Vance announce engagement.* While I was waiting for his call, he was sliding a massive diamond onto another woman's finger. At the gala that night, I was forced to watch them. Izzy leaned across the table, her voice sweet enough to rot teeth. "You look exhausted, Olivia. Especially now that you're... alone." Marcus didn't defend me. He didn't even look at me. He just swirled his scotch and told me to focus on the merger data, dismissing me like an inconvenient employee rather than the woman he swore to protect. He thought I was a pragmatist. He thought I would stay in the shadows, accepting the scraps of his affection while he married for power. He was wrong. I went home and packed my life into a single suitcase. I took the river rock he had carved for me—the one he called his anchor—and left it on the empty easel with a note in black marker. *You were my rock. Now you’re just a stone.* By the time he realized his mistake and came pounding on my door, I was already gone, flying toward a new life in Montana where he couldn't reach me.

From Tool To Treasure: My New Life

For nine years, I was Kane Hill' s secret. I was his emotional punching bag, the convenient stand-in for my twin sister, Harper-the woman he truly loved. I endured his cruelty, convincing myself his control was a twisted form of love. Then, just before he announced their engagement, Harper sent me a recording. It was Kane, his voice smooth and dismissive. "Eden? She's useful," he told Harper. "An emotional pressure valve. I need to vent on someone so I can be the perfect man for you." The cold truth shattered me. I wasn't a person, not even a substitute. I was a tool. That night, he polished Harper's engagement ring right in front of me before ending our nine-year "game" with a single, bored phone call. He never knew that I was the girl who had saved him at a summer camp all those years ago, not Harper. He'd called my attempts to tell him the truth "pathetic." So I packed a single bag and vanished into the night, leaving his gilded cage for a quiet farm in Vermont. But just as I started to heal, he found me, clutching the proof of my story in his hand, begging for a second chance I had no intention of giving.

The Fallen Star: A Wife's Betrayal

The auction hall was a tomb, suffocating me with the hum of self-important whispers. My mother' s guitar, the last tangible piece of her, gleamed mockingly under a harsh spotlight. Then I saw them: Dylan, my wife' s childhood friend, his arm possessively around Maya, my wife. They smirked. Moments later, the auctioneer announced the bidding for the guitar, and my wife' s friend, Dylan, a man I despised, countered my desperate bid with escalating relish. I emptied my shattered bank account, pouring every last cent into reclaiming a piece of my soul, only to have the win feel hollow. That night, Maya dismissed it as "just an old guitar" while scrolling through her phone, a tight, cold smile on her face. The next day, the public backlash against Dylan was brutal, twisted by media fanfare, leading him to attempt suicide. Maya relayed this with chilling detachment, a calculating glint in her perfect, elegant eyes, confirming my suspicions. A week later, on the anniversary of my mother' s death, Maya announced a surprise: a private exhibition to "honor" her. A knot of dread twisted in my stomach, confirming my fears. The gallery walls were lined with massive, horrifying photographs from my mother' s fatal car accident-mangled metal, shattered glass, a single bloodstained shoe. The exhibition title, "The Fallen Star," was a cruel mockery. Maya watched me, a faint, triumphant smile playing on her lips, expecting me to break. My mother' s sacrifice, her dignity, laid bare for public consumption. "One million," I stated, cutting through their murmurs, my voice clear and steady, not for a single photo, but for each. Maya' s smile vanished. Her composure shattered. It was then, amidst the gasps and sick excitement, surrounded by vultures, that I realized I was trapped in her twisted game, my pain her performance, her cruelty boundless. Why? Why would my own wife do this to me? Why inflict such calculated, public agony on the anniversary of my mother's death? As Maya, flanked by Dylan, announced the auction would proceed for the entire collection, promising a "personal story from me about the deceased" with every bid, the horrifying truth dawned: this wasn't just a spectacle; it was a torture session, and my mother' s memory was the weapon. She cold-heartedly revealed freezing my accounts, leaving me with nothing – turning my final act of defiance into a public display of financial ruin. But as I knelt among the shattered fragments of my mother' s jade pendant-a sacred relic Maya had maliciously thrown to the floor-a profound shift occurred. The pain, the humiliation, the utter desecration of my mother' s memory, ignited a cold, hard resolve within me. I had nothing left to lose. I made a call, a desperate gamble on a forgotten connection, a titan of industry whose private number I' d clung to for years. It was time to fight back.

The Wife He Destroyed

I remember the fall. The sharp, brutal shove from my husband, David. The sickening crack as my head hit the marble staircase. The last thing I saw was his face, twisted not with remorse, but with a grief-fueled rage. His father' s last, wheezing words echoed in my ears: "She did this... Sarah... with her rabbit food..." They blamed me for their self-inflicted misery. For years, I, a dietitian, poured my soul into saving my tech mogul father-in-law, Richard Sterling, from himself. He was a man of excess, his wife enabling every destructive craving, and my husband, David, worshipping his father's stubbornness as strength. I crafted healthy meals, managed his medications, and pleaded with him to care for his own body. My reward? His constant resentment, my mother-in-law's accusations of starvation, and David's growing impatience with the "unpleasantness" I caused. I fought for his health, for our family. I got a broken neck for my efforts. They chose his dying delusion over our life together, over my life. The darkness that swallowed me was absolute, an unjust end to a life spent trying to do the right thing. Then, I felt the sunlight on my face. It was warm, a gentle caress. I opened my eyes to the familiar silk sheets of my own bed, the digital clock glowing 8:15 AM, October 12th. The day it all began, the day Richard was diagnosed with severe type 2 diabetes. I had been given a second chance. Not a chance to save him, but a chance to save myself. This time, I would do nothing. I would let him eat his cake.

The Forgotten Past, The Found Self

The sterile smell of antiseptic was the first thing I registered, a dull ache throbbing in my head. I was in a hospital bed, my mind a complete blank. "You're finally awake," a woman with a tired, angry face snapped. "Do you know how much trouble you've caused? Trying to kill yourself over a man. Olivia, you are a disgrace to the Hayes family." More names were thrown at me by a man equally displeased: Liam, Scarlett, Olivia Reynolds-my name. They painted a picture of a pathetic woman, obsessed with her adopted sister Scarlett's fiancé, Liam Sterling. According to them, I had forced Liam into marriage and was now attempting suicide because he wouldn't love me back. My adoptive parents and husband spoke about me as if I wasn' t there, their words cold, cruel, and utterly foreign. Then came the demand: "Scarlett needs a blood transfusion. You have the same rare type. You're going to the operating room now to donate blood to your sister." It wasn't a request. It was an order. I was dragged to the donation room, where Liam-the object of my supposed obsession-followed. "Make sure you take enough," he told the nurse, his eyes burning with contempt. "Don't think this changes anything, Olivia. After this, you'll sign the divorce papers." He even threw a million-dollar check on the bed, a brutal payment for my blood. The old Olivia, who they claimed would have shattered, was gone. The memories, the pain, the love-it felt like a stranger's story. Amnesia had wiped the slate clean, leaving an eerie calm. Lying there, listening to nurses whisper about my pathetic desperation, I realized something profound. The woman they were talking about wasn't me. The past wasn't mine. And my future? It was a blank canvas, finally mine to paint. I took out my phone, found a lawyer's number, and dialed. "I want to file for divorce," I said, my voice steady. "And I want to sever all legal ties with my adoptive parents."

When Love Turned to Ash

I stared at the divorce papers, a symbol of freedom after years trapped in Mark Davis's gilded cage, where my art and my soul withered. But just as I dared to breathe, Mark' s self-serving facade shattered completely. His icy disregard for my well-being climaxed when, after a public humiliation at a gala engineered by his mistress, I collapsed at home, suffering a miscarriagewhile he watched, more concerned with his wounded pride and her presence. And then, in the sterile hospital hallway, he twisted the knife deeper, telling her – and anyone who would listen – that I had faked my entire pregnancy for attention. There was no turning back; I would never again be the woman who stood silently in his shadow. I walked away, not just from him, but towards reclaiming the artist I was always meant to be.

Rebirth of the Broken Luna: A Second Chance at Luna's Heart

Luna has tried her best to make her forced marriage to Xen work for the sake of their child. But with Riley and Sophia- Xen's ex-girlfriend and her son in the picture. She fights a losing battle. Ollie, Xen's son is neglected by his father for a very long time and he is also suffering from a mysterious sickness that's draining his life force. When his last wish to have his dad come to his 5th birthday party is dashed by his failure to show up, Ollie dies in an accident after seeing his father celebrate Riley's birthday with Sophia and it's displayed on the big advertising boards that fill the city. Ollie dies and Luna follows after, unable to bear the grief, dying in her mate's hands cursing him and begging for a second chance to save her son. Luna gets the opportunity and is woken up in the past, exactly one year to the day Sophia and Riley show up. But this time around, Luna is willing to get rid of everyone and anyone even her mate if he steps in her way to save her son.

Abandoned Luna: Now Untouchable

For eight years, Cecilia Moore was the perfect Luna, loyal, and unmarked. Until the day she found her Alpha mate with a younger, purebred she-wolf in his bed. In a world ruled by bloodlines and mating bonds, Cecilia was always the outsider. But now, she's done playing by wolf rules. She smiles as she hands Xavier the quarterly financials-divorce papers clipped neatly beneath the final page. "You're angry?" he growls. "Angry enough to commit murder," she replies, voice cold as frost. A silent war brews under the roof they once called home. Xavier thinks he still holds the power-but Cecilia has already begun her quiet rebellion. With every cold glance and calculated step, she's preparing to disappear from his world-as the mate he never deserved. And when he finally understands the strength of the heart he broke... It may be far too late to win it back.

Marrying Her Was Easy, Losing Her Was Hell

"Stella once savored Marc's devotion, yet his covert cruelty cut deep. She torched their wedding portrait at his feet while he sent flirty messages to his mistress. With her chest tight and eyes blazing, Stella delivered a sharp slap. Then she deleted her identity, signed onto a classified research mission, vanished without a trace, and left him a hidden bombshell. On launch day she vanished; that same dawn Marc's empire crumbled. All he unearthed was her death certificate, and he shattered. When they met again, a gala spotlighted Stella beside a tycoon. Marc begged. With a smirk, she said, ""Out of your league, darling."

After Betrayal, She Claimed Her Empire

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."

Brilliance Unmasked: The Cold-Blooded Tycoon Wants His Vengeful Queen

Arabella, a state-trained prodigy, won freedom after seven brutal years. Back home, she found her aunt basking in her late parents' mansion while her twin sister scrounged for scraps. Fury ignited her genius. She gutted the aunt's business overnight and enrolled in her sister's school, crushing the bullies. When cynics sneered at her "plain background," a prestigious family claimed her and the national lab hailed her. Reporters swarmed, influencers swooned, and jealous rivals watched their fortunes crumble. Even Asher-the rumored ruthless magnate-softened, murmuring, "Fixed your mess-now be mine."

Rejected Heiress: My Heartless Family's Regret

For seventeen years, I was the pride of the Carlisle family, the perfect daughter destined to inherit an empire. But that life ended the moment a DNA report slid across my father’s mahogany desk. The paper proved I was a stranger. Vanessa, the girl sobbing in the corner, was the real biological daughter they had been searching for. "You need to leave. Tonight. Before the press gets wind of this. Before the stock prices dip." My father’s voice was as cold as flint. My mother wouldn't even look at me, staring out the window at the gardens as if I were already a ghost. Just like that, I was erased. I left behind the Birkin bags and the diamonds, throwing my Centurion Card into a crystal bowl with a clatter that echoed like a gunshot. I walked out into the cold night and climbed into a rusted Ford Taurus driven by a man I had never met—my biological father. I went from a mansion to a fourth-floor walk-up in Queens that smelled of laundry detergent and struggle. My new siblings looked at me with a mix of fear and disgust, waiting for the "fallen princess" to break. They expected me to beg for my old life back, to crumble without the luxury I’d known since birth. But they didn't know the truth. I had spent years training in a shark tank, honing survival skills they couldn't imagine. While Richard Carlisle froze my trust funds to starve me out, my net worth was climbing by millions on an encrypted trading app. They thought they were throwing me to the wolves. They didn't realize they were just letting me off my leash. As the Carlisles prepared to debut Vanessa at the Manhattan Arts Gala, I was already making my move. "Get dressed. We're going to a party."