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"Gabrielle? Are you awake?" The whisper cut through the dark, the same saccharine sweetness that had once chilled me to the bone. My eyes snapped open, a breath catching in my throat. I wasn't in the cramped, lonely apartment where I'd taken my own life. I was back in my Boston University dorm, sophomore year, the exact moment the psychological torture had begun. In my last life, my roommate Molly Fuller, the seemingly naive small-town girl, methodically dismantled my sanity, piece by piece. From "accidental" coffee spills on my laptop to "innocent" lies that ruined my relationships, her constant torment culminated in a crippling mental breakdown. I lost my scholarship, my future, and eventually, the will to live. I died alone, haunted by her pervasive manipulations, utterly bewildered by how someone so seemingly innocent could orchestrate such a devastating campaign of destruction. But this time, as her silhouette materialized through the curtain, my heart didn't pound with fear. It thrummed with a cold, hard rhythm of vengeance. This time, I knew every single move she would make, and I would make her regret every single one.
"Gabrielle? Are you awake?" The whisper cut through the dark, the same saccharine sweetness that had once chilled me to the bone.
My eyes snapped open, a breath catching in my throat. I wasn't in the cramped, lonely apartment where I'd taken my own life. I was back in my Boston University dorm, sophomore year, the exact moment the psychological torture had begun.
In my last life, my roommate Molly Fuller, the seemingly naive small-town girl, methodically dismantled my sanity, piece by piece. From "accidental" coffee spills on my laptop to "innocent" lies that ruined my relationships, her constant torment culminated in a crippling mental breakdown.
I lost my scholarship, my future, and eventually, the will to live. I died alone, haunted by her pervasive manipulations, utterly bewildered by how someone so seemingly innocent could orchestrate such a devastating campaign of destruction.
But this time, as her silhouette materialized through the curtain, my heart didn't pound with fear. It thrummed with a cold, hard rhythm of vengeance. This time, I knew every single move she would make, and I would make her regret every single one.
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Short stories
Today is my sixth wedding anniversary. It's also the day my husband, Liam, brought up divorce for the 47th time. He does this for Seraphina, his childhood friend. The woman who orchestrated a car crash on our wedding day, a tragedy that left her unable to have children and left him shackled by a debt of guilt. For six years, I have been the price of his repayment. I endured the relentless cycle. But this time was different. This time, after Seraphina pushed me down a spiral staircase, Liam promised me justice. He swore he would make her pay. Instead, he ensured the smart home security system "mysteriously" erased all evidence. That night, from the supposed safety of a house he had arranged, Seraphina had me kidnapped. As her hired thugs tore at my clothes in the back of a cold, dark van, I managed to make one desperate emergency call to Liam through my smartwatch. He saw my plea. And he hung up. I leaped from that moving van, not onto asphalt, but into the cold, unforgiving sea. As I fought for my life in the icy water, swallowed by the darkness, I made a vow. This time, there would be no 48th remarriage. This time, I would simply cease to exist.
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Modern
For years, I, Ethan, poured my family's wealth and my own mentorship into Sarah and Emily, cultivating them into tech prodigies destined to lead our industry. Their acceptance to MIT, cemented by their victory in the National Coding Competition, was supposed to be the crowning achievement, our shared golden ticket to the future. Then the email dropped: they'd deferred MIT for some 'unremarkable' junior developer, Alex. My attempts to reason with them were met with empty excuses, until a chilling blue holographic warning materialized before my eyes, threatening a "career-ending injury" if the "male lead" interfered with the "plot." I was forced to comply, to watch them choose a path I knew would lead to ruin, but I wouldn' t just stand by; my family's resources, the very foundation of their genius, quietly slipped from their grasp. They didn't realize that without me, they weren't prodigies; they were just two smart girls about to compete on their own. Their rage was palpable when they realized their access was revoked. "Are you punishing us?" Emily accused. I met their eyes. "This isn't punishment. It's policy. You made a choice. These are the consequences." Later, I overheard them. "He's just trying to make us come crawling back," Emily hissed. "He thinks because his family paid for things, he owns us." Then the true venom of their betrayal struck me: "We'll flatter him... hint I might reconsider the marriage arrangement... Once he restores our access, we'll get what we need for Alex, win the competition, and then dump Ethan and his whole arrogant family for good. He's just a stepping stone." "Stepping stone." My stomach clenched, the years of gratitude replaced by entitlement. How could they betray everything we built?" When they brazenly invaded my home with Alex, demanding my office for their "male lead," the holographic text flickered back, labeling me an "obstacle" to their "plot." But just as Emily, her gentle facade shattered, grabbed my arm, and Sarah slapped me across the face, trying to physically enforce their warped reality, a cold resolve settled in. I stared at the red mark blooming on my cheek, the pain a searing clarity. They would hurt me to get what they wanted. "No." My voice was calm despite my throbbing cheek. This wasn't just about them anymore; it was about reclaiming my life. I would not be a stepping stone. I would not be an obstacle. I would not be written out of my own story.
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Romance
The last thing I remembered was the coppery taste of my own blood. Mark, the man I loved more than life itself, smiled cruelly as I bled out on the floor of the company he' d stolen from my family. My family, ruined. Our name, dragged through the mud. And me, dead at twenty-four, all because I chose the wrong man. He just whispered, his voice a venomous hiss, "You should have just stayed a stupid, useful tool, Chloe. Did you really think I could love someone like you?" I, Chloe Sterling, heir to a business empire with an almost supernatural gift for market trends, had given him everything. I saved him from ruin, sacrificing my own company to build his, only to have him systematically dismantle mine. His final betrayal? Announcing his engagement to my best friend, Sarah, the same one who' d fed him my strategies and framed my father for embezzlement. My father subsequently suffered a fatal heart attack. Then, Mark killed me. I never understood how I could have been so blind, so utterly foolish, to let him destroy everything. But then, a blinding white light. I gasped, finding myself in my old bedroom, two years younger, with my phone buzzing. It was the day I first saved Mark. This time, I wouldn't be his savior. I would be his spectator. And then, his judge.
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Romance
My husband, Liam, the anchor I' d clung to for ten years, just filed for divorce. Standing outside the Houston courthouse, the bone-deep chill wasn' t just from the freak Texas snow; it was the cold truth of his disdain. He sped off in his Porsche, leaving me stranded, echoing his brutal words: "You need to learn to stand on your own." Back in our sterile mansion, two crushing secrets sat on my nightstand: a diagnosis of Stage IV pancreatic cancer and an ultrasound photo showing I was ten weeks pregnant. He never came home to find them. Instead, I called him, only for a pop starlet' s syrupy voice to answer-the woman he was having an affair with. In that gut-wrenching moment, my despair didn't break me; it hardened. I was dying, pregnant, and abandoned by the man who promised forever. I burned my secrets in the fireplace, the smoke stinging my eyes, then called Liam back. "I' m contesting the divorce." My voice was steady, newfound steel replacing shattered hope. I would drag this out, make it messy, expose him. If he wanted his freedom, he' d have to come home. He' d have to spend our last thirty days together. This was no longer about love; it was about survival, and I wouldn't be discarded.
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Modern
My wife, Jessica, and I built NovaTech Solutions from the ground up. I was the tech genius, the lead architect for our most critical DoD contract, Project Chimera. Our life seemed perfect. Then came the call: Jessica had a minor car accident. Her memory loss was selective, remembering board members but not our anniversary. She started bringing her young, flashy intern, Kevin, everywhere, claiming he was "helping her remember." One night, I came home early and overheard them. "This amnesia thing is working perfectly," Kevin smirked. My brilliant, beautiful wife laughed, "Of course, sweetie. You'll have my undivided attention. He' ll be gone, and the company will be ours." My blood ran cold. The woman I loved had orchestrated this elaborate lie to steal everything I built. The next morning, at an all-hands meeting, she publicly humiliated me, calling my professional arrangement "unclear," and demanded I resign, handing over Project Chimera to Kevin. Everyone watched as I calmly signed the termination papers. Then, looking her in the eye, I said, "Jessica, I want a divorce." They thought they had won. They thought I would crawl back. But as I walked away, leaving my company, my home, and the woman I thought I knew, a chilling resolve settled in. I wouldn't just disappear; I would stand back and watch the inevitable consequences of their betrayal unfold. Their victory was only the beginning of their true downfall.
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Modern
Sarah, a thriving architect, gently touched her four-month baby bump, filled with the boundless joy of expecting her first child. Beside her, her loving husband, Mark, awaited the perfect news from their routine prenatal check-up. But then, Mark, an analytical doctor, accessed the baby's full genetic report on the hospital system. His bright smile evaporated, his face turned a sickly, ashen gray, and his previously warm eyes became cold, hard. "This pregnancy," Mark flatly declared, "It's non-viable. We need to schedule a therapeutic abortion. Immediately." Sarah's world shattered as the man she cherished transformed into a merciless stranger demanding the abortion of their seemingly healthy child. Her powerful parents arrived, not to protect her, but her esteemed father' s face erupted in furious judgment after seeing the report. Her socialite mother chillingly decided, "This is problematic. The pregnancy must be managed. Quietly." They coerced her into a secluded wellness retreat, medicated her into a fog, and orchestrated a miscarriage that tragically led to her death, baffled and utterly betrayed. How could her perfect family conspire such a monstrous act for a baby everyone said was healthy? What unspeakable secret did that genetic report hold that destroyed her life and heart? Then, Sarah jolted awake in her own bed, back to the very morning of that harrowing appointment. The nightmarish memories of her past death were terrifyingly visceral-a second chance. This time, she wouldn't be a victim. She would fight to save her baby, starting by getting that full, revealing genetic report herself. The truth, and her determined survival, would finally be unearthed.
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I stood at the edge of the freezing pond on the Boone estate, my body trembling with a fear that rattled my bones. Across from me, Amanda Olsen looked immaculate in her cashmere coat, a sharp contrast to the jagged reality I was trying to hold together. "Why?" I whispered. Amanda just smiled, admitting she killed Grandpa Boone because he actually liked me. She pulled out a thick envelope-divorce papers Cordero had signed that morning. She told me he called me a parasite and was celebrating with her the night I suffered a miscarriage. Before I could even scream, Amanda lunged and shoved me into the icy water. My heavy wool coat acted like a sponge, dragging me into the artificial abyss. I thrashed and gasped for air, but Amanda just stood on the bank, watching me drown with her hands tucked casually in her pockets. As my lungs burned and the darkness closed in, I realized I had spent my entire marriage taking their abuse. I was the "foster trash" and the "gold digger" who let them win every single time. I was dying alone, hated by the husband I had tried so hard to love, while my murderer stood victorious on the shore. I never fought back. I just let them destroy me. Then, a violent spasm tore through my body. I sat up gasping, sucking in dry, air-conditioned oxygen instead of murky pond water. I wasn't dead. I was back in the opulent master suite, surrounded by red rose petals and wedding decorations. The digital clock glowed: October 14, 2019. I had gone back five years to the very night my nightmare began. The bathroom door clicked open, and Cordero stepped out, looking at me with the same cold disgust I remembered. But as I gripped the silk sheets, a new resolve hardened in my chest. This time, I wasn't going to be the victim. This time, the Boone family was going to find out exactly what happens when you push someone too far.
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Blinded in a crash, Cary was rejected by every socialite—except Evelina, who married him without hesitation. Three years later, he regained his sight and ended their marriage. "We’ve already lost so many years. I won’t let her waste another one on me." Evelina signed the divorce papers without a word. Everyone mocked her fall—until they discovered that the miracle doctor, jewelry mogul, stock genius, top hacker, and the President's true daughter… were all her. When Cary came crawling back, a ruthless tycoon had him kicked out. "She's my wife now. Get lost."
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Elliana, the unfavored "ugly duckling" of her family, was humiliated by her stepsister, Paige, who everyone admired. Paige, engaged to the CEO Cole, was the perfect woman-until Cole married Elliana on the day of the wedding. Shocked, everyone wondered why he chose the "ugly" woman. As they waited for her to be cast aside, Elliana stunned everyone by revealing her true identity: a miracle healer, financial mogul, appraisal prodigy, and AI genius. When her mistreatment became known, Cole revealed Elliana's stunning, makeup-free photo, sending shockwaves through the media. "My wife doesn't need anyone's approval."
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I stood at my mother’s open grave in the freezing rain, my heels sinking into the mud. The space beside me was empty. My husband, Hilliard Holloway, had promised to cherish me in bad times, but apparently, burying my mother didn't fit into his busy schedule. While the priest’s voice droned on, a news alert lit up my phone. It was a livestream of the Metropolitan Charity Gala. There was Hilliard, looking impeccable in a custom tuxedo, with his ex-girlfriend Charla English draped over his arm. The headline read: "Holloway & English: A Power Couple Reunited?" When he finally returned to our penthouse at 2 AM, he didn't come alone—he brought Charla with him. He claimed she’d had a "medical emergency" at the gala and couldn't be left alone. I found a Tiffany diamond necklace on our coffee table meant for her birthday, and a smudge of her signature red lipstick on his collar. When I confronted him, he simply told me to stop being "hysterical" and "acting like a child." He had no idea I was seven months pregnant with his child. He thought so little of my grief that he didn't even bother to craft a convincing lie, laughing with his mistress in our home while I sat in the dark with a shattered heart and a secret life growing inside me. "He doesn't deserve us," I whispered to the darkness. I didn't scream or beg. I simply left a folder on his desk containing signed divorce papers and a forged medical report for a terminated pregnancy. I disappeared into the night, letting him believe he had successfully killed his own legacy through his neglect. Five years later, Hilliard walked into "The Vault," the city's most exclusive underground auction, looking for a broker to manage his estate. He didn't recognize me behind my Venetian mask, but he couldn't ignore the neon pink graffiti on his armored Maybach that read "DEADBEAT." He had no clue that the three brilliant triplets currently hacking his security system were the very children he thought had been erased years ago. This time, I wasn't just a wife in the way; I was the one holding all the cards.
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Today is October 14th, my birthday. I returned to New York after months away, dragging my suitcase through the biting wind, but the VIP pickup zone where my husband’s Maybach usually idled was empty. When I finally let myself into our Upper East Side penthouse, I didn’t find a cake or a "welcome home" banner. Instead, I found my husband, Caden, kneeling on the floor, helping our five-year-old daughter wrap a massive gift for my half-sister, Adalynn. Caden didn’t even look up when I walked in; he was too busy laughing with the girl who had already stolen my father’s legacy and was now moving in on my family. "Auntie Addie is a million times better than Mommy," my daughter Elara chirped, clutching a plush toy Caden had once forbidden me from buying for her. "Mommy is mean," she whispered loudly, while Caden just smirked, calling me a "drill sergeant" before whisking her off to Adalynn’s party without a second glance. Later that night, I saw a video Adalynn posted online where my husband and child laughed while mocking my "sensitive" nature, treating me like an inconvenient ghost in my own home. I had spent five years researching nutrition for Elara’s health and managing every detail of Caden’s empire, only to be discarded the moment I wasn't in the room. How could the man who set his safe combination to my birthday completely forget I even existed? The realization didn't break me; it turned me into ice. I didn't scream or beg for an explanation. I simply walked into the study, pulled out the divorce papers I’d drafted months ago, and took a black marker to the terms. I crossed out the alimony, the mansion, and even the custody clause—if they wanted a life without me, I would give them exactly what they asked for. I left my four-carat diamond ring on the console table and walked out into the rain with nothing but a heavily encrypted hard drive. The submissive Mrs. Holloway was gone, and "Ghost," the most lethal architect in the tech world, was finally back online to take back everything they thought I’d forgotten.
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For three years, I was the perfect, invisible wife. My husband, Jaden, called the songs I poured my soul into "trash," then secretly fed them to his pop-star mistress to make her famous. Then one night, after being drugged at a gala, I woke up in a stranger's bed. It wasn't just the betrayal that shattered me; it was the soul-deep certainty that this powerful, dangerous man was my true fated mate. I fled home in a panic, only to find a message on Jaden's phone confirming my worst fears. His mistress, the woman singing my songs on the radio, was pregnant with the baby he'd always told me I was too weak to carry. The nightmare deepened when I learned the identity of the man from the hotel. He was Carter Mcclain, the ruthless Alpha King-and my husband's older brother. He looked at me with eyes that knew my secret, his cruel smirk promising that my life was now a game for his amusement. Jaden had stolen my music, my dream of a family, and my future, leaving me trapped between his betrayal and his terrifying brother. He thought he had broken me, leaving me with nothing. He forgot he left me with the rage that wrote the songs. And I was about to write their final, brutal verse.


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