Leaving the Billionaire's Shadow

Leaving the Billionaire's Shadow

Edik Brandwein

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I woke up to the sterile silence of my master bedroom, 27 again. This wasn' t a dream; it was my second chance to escape a life everyone else called a fairytale. On my wife Olivia' s side of the king-sized bed, the sheets were undisturbed. She was Olivia Hayes, the tech mogul, a name that carried weight. To the outside world, I was Ethan Miller, the lucky architect married to a billionaire, but looking at our family photo, a chilling emptiness consumed me. I saw a stranger with a forced smile standing next to a woman who was never there, and two children whose affection I' d lost to Liam Thorne, Olivia' s childhood sweetheart. Years of being a shadow, my efforts ignored, my presence taken for granted-I wouldn' t live that life again. I found the file I was looking for: Divorce_Agreement.pdf. After printing two copies, I scrolled through my contacts until I found the name that haunted my previous life. Liam Thorne. He picked up on the third ring, his voice thick with sleep. "Who is this?" "It' s Ethan Miller," I said, devoid of emotion. A confused pause, then. "Ethan? Do you know what time it is? Is Olivia okay?" "Olivia is fine," I replied. "I' m calling about something else. I have divorce papers here. I' m ready to sign them. I want to give you everything. Olivia, the children, this house. It' s all yours."

Introduction

I woke up to the sterile silence of my master bedroom, 27 again.

This wasn' t a dream; it was my second chance to escape a life everyone else called a fairytale.

On my wife Olivia' s side of the king-sized bed, the sheets were undisturbed.

She was Olivia Hayes, the tech mogul, a name that carried weight.

To the outside world, I was Ethan Miller, the lucky architect married to a billionaire, but looking at our family photo, a chilling emptiness consumed me.

I saw a stranger with a forced smile standing next to a woman who was never there, and two children whose affection I' d lost to Liam Thorne, Olivia' s childhood sweetheart.

Years of being a shadow, my efforts ignored, my presence taken for granted-I wouldn' t live that life again.

I found the file I was looking for: Divorce_Agreement.pdf.

After printing two copies, I scrolled through my contacts until I found the name that haunted my previous life.

Liam Thorne.

He picked up on the third ring, his voice thick with sleep. "Who is this?"

"It' s Ethan Miller," I said, devoid of emotion.

A confused pause, then. "Ethan? Do you know what time it is? Is Olivia okay?"

"Olivia is fine," I replied. "I' m calling about something else. I have divorce papers here. I' m ready to sign them. I want to give you everything. Olivia, the children, this house. It' s all yours."

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A Mother's Curse, A World Undone

A Mother's Curse, A World Undone

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For fifteen years, silence was my shield, a vow I kept to prevent my "disaster prophecies" from unleashing chaos into the world. My six-year-old son, Noah, was my entire universe, the one shining star in my muted life. But then my ex-husband, Kevin, and his new, beautiful girlfriend, Jessica, sent Noah—who was terrified of dogs—to a brutal ‘discipline’ camp filled with vicious Rottweilers. Soon after, the camp director curtly informed me that Noah "didn’t make it," handing me a small bag containing his torn shirt and a muddy sneaker. When I confronted Kevin with the devastating truth and the remnants of our son, his response shattered my very being. He laughed, callously dismissing Noah's last belongings as "trash," then threw the sacred fragments to his own German Shepherd, watching as the dog tore at them. The familiar sting of my silence, always a weapon against me, now became an unbearable agony, a fire raging inside my soul. But in that moment, as the last shred of my world crumbled, the dam broke, and a raw, hoarse sound ripped from my chest. My voice, silent for a decade and a half, returned with a chilling clarity. "Kevin," I hissed, "you will pay for this. Everything you value will turn to dust." And to Jessica, shielding her pregnant belly, I declared, "Your child will not live, and fire will consume your beauty for the rest of your miserable life." This was no longer sorrow; this was a mother’s curse, freshly spoken, and the world would soon discover its terrifying power.

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