Betrayal's Echo: A Husband's Reckoning

Betrayal's Echo: A Husband's Reckoning

MAINUMBY

5.0
Comment(s)
64
View
12
Chapters

The air in the bank was cold, a stark contrast to the warm spring day outside. I shifted, the familiar ache in my leg a dull reminder of my past, as the teller tapped at her keyboard. "I'm sorry, Mr. Hayes," she said, "I can't seem to find a joint account under that name for you." I frowned, "That's not possible. It's a joint savings, with my wife, Sarah Hayes. We've had it for years." "I see a Sarah Hayes," the teller replied slowly, "but the account lists her as Sarah Miller. And you are not listed as a signatory." Miller. The name hit me like a physical blow. My former commanding officer. The man whose orders had sent my team into an ambush, ending my career and leaving me with a leg full of metal. My world tilted as I stumbled out of the bank, clutching a phone that shook in my hand. Then, I heard her voice, bright and cheerful. "Liam! Honey, is everything okay?" "I heard your voicemail, Sarah." My voice was eerily flat. Silence. Then, a choked sound. "Liam... I can explain..." "No," I cut her off. "There's nothing to explain. I just called to say... congratulations." I hung up, the emptiness inside me starting to fill with a purpose I hadn't felt since I wore the uniform. They thought I was a broken man, a harmless relic. They were about to find out how wrong they were.

Introduction

The air in the bank was cold, a stark contrast to the warm spring day outside. I shifted, the familiar ache in my leg a dull reminder of my past, as the teller tapped at her keyboard.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hayes," she said, "I can't seem to find a joint account under that name for you."

I frowned, "That's not possible. It's a joint savings, with my wife, Sarah Hayes. We've had it for years."

"I see a Sarah Hayes," the teller replied slowly, "but the account lists her as Sarah Miller. And you are not listed as a signatory."

Miller. The name hit me like a physical blow.

My former commanding officer. The man whose orders had sent my team into an ambush, ending my career and leaving me with a leg full of metal.

My world tilted as I stumbled out of the bank, clutching a phone that shook in my hand. Then, I heard her voice, bright and cheerful.

"Liam! Honey, is everything okay?"

"I heard your voicemail, Sarah." My voice was eerily flat.

Silence. Then, a choked sound. "Liam... I can explain..."

"No," I cut her off. "There\'s nothing to explain. I just called to say... congratulations."

I hung up, the emptiness inside me starting to fill with a purpose I hadn\'t felt since I wore the uniform. They thought I was a broken man, a harmless relic. They were about to find out how wrong they were.

Continue Reading

Other books by MAINUMBY

More
Their Fall, My Rise

Their Fall, My Rise

Young Adult

5.0

I had my life meticulously planned: top grades, intense training, a clear path to the U.S. Service Academy. My future was a beacon, a reward for years of unwavering dedication. But then came the devastating twist: Mark, my childhood best friend, and his conniving girlfriend, Tiffany, decided my ambition was a threat to their own twisted narrative. They systematically sabotaged my critical fitness test and derailed my SATs, watching my dreams shatter with chilling indifference. My carefully constructed world collapsed in an instant. I was plunged into years of soul-crushing dead-end jobs, a life of grinding poverty, and the bitter taste of shattered potential. The final, brutal act of their cruelty came during a chance reunion: cold fury from Tiffany, an almost apologetic glance from Mark, then the hired thugs, the balcony, and the irreversible fall. I lay dying, haunted by the crushing weight of their malice. How could the people I once trusted engineer such a complete and utter destruction of a life? The raw injustice burned hotter than any pain, leaving me with a desperate, unanswered question: Why them, why me? But instead of oblivion, I was hurled back. The familiar scent of lavender, the drone of a lawnmower, the calendar screaming August 10th. Three months before my future was stolen. Seventeen again, with the searing clarity of what was to come. And then I saw them. Mark' s cold, assessing eyes told me he knew. This wasn't a do-over; it was war.

You'll also like

My Alpha's Heartless Contract Wife

My Alpha's Heartless Contract Wife

Rabbit
5.0

"Anya, a 'wolfless' in a world of powerful werewolves, was invisible, drowning her sorrows and desperately lonely. One drunken text, a desperate cry for attention, accidentally reached the Alpha, pulling her into his terrifying orbit. Now, she's trapped, a pawn in his game, forced to warm his bed while he waits for his true mate, her heart breaking with every stolen moment. As a 'wolfless' in the Blackwood Pack, Anya felt like an outsider, always yearning for a connection. One night, in a drunken haze, a misdirected text meant for her best friend landed in Alpha Declan Blackwood's inbox: ""Send me something hot."" Minutes later, the most powerful, terrifying man in the Pack stood at her door, claiming her with a possessive kiss that ignited a dangerous, unwanted fire. The next morning, his cold indifference shattered her world. Publicly humiliated and instantly fired, Anya became a pariah. Her dying mother's urgent need for a million-dollar heart transplant left her with an impossible choice: accept the Alpha's cold, transactional marriage proposal or watch her mother die. She became his ""placeholder"" wife, a contract, not a partner, all while battling a confusing attraction to the man who treated her as property. Why did he demand her, only to remind her constantly of her worthlessness, especially when everyone knew he waited for his true mate? Her world crumbled when she overheard Declan tell his returning ""true mate,"" Kristin Larsen, that Anya was ""just a substitute."" Despite the crushing betrayal and a strange, unyielding pull, Anya, fueled by her mother's desperate need, vowed to survive this gilded cage and reclaim her life before she lost herself completely."

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book