The Con That Broke My Heart

The Con That Broke My Heart

Kinship

5.0
Comment(s)
154
View
11
Chapters

The air in the City Clerk' s office was thick with the smell of old paper and cheap disinfectant. My name, Ethan Miller, sat on the marriage license, waiting for one more signature to make Chloe my wife. Then, a picture of her childhood friend, Liam O' Connell, bleeding with a razor blade nearby, flashed on her phone: "Goodbye, Chloe." She bolted, claiming he' d kill himself because of her. A minute later, a message from Chloe arrived: "Even though Liam and I are married now, he's still willing to let you be my side-piece. You should learn from his generosity and understanding. Don't be ungrateful." She then promised me weekly visits once my father' s assets transferred to her. I was left alone, staring at the empty space where she had been, with the clerk looking on with pity. The staged suicide, her frantic escape-it was all a setup. They had been bleeding me dry, and I had been too blind, too desperate for her love, to see it. It wasn't just a few incidents. It was a pattern. A long con. She thought she had abandoned me, but she had no idea. The game was over. She just didn't know it yet.

Introduction

The air in the City Clerk' s office was thick with the smell of old paper and cheap disinfectant. My name, Ethan Miller, sat on the marriage license, waiting for one more signature to make Chloe my wife.

Then, a picture of her childhood friend, Liam O' Connell, bleeding with a razor blade nearby, flashed on her phone: "Goodbye, Chloe." She bolted, claiming he' d kill himself because of her.

A minute later, a message from Chloe arrived: "Even though Liam and I are married now, he's still willing to let you be my side-piece. You should learn from his generosity and understanding. Don't be ungrateful." She then promised me weekly visits once my father' s assets transferred to her.

I was left alone, staring at the empty space where she had been, with the clerk looking on with pity. The staged suicide, her frantic escape-it was all a setup.

They had been bleeding me dry, and I had been too blind, too desperate for her love, to see it. It wasn't just a few incidents. It was a pattern. A long con.

She thought she had abandoned me, but she had no idea. The game was over. She just didn't know it yet.

Continue Reading

Other books by Kinship

More
He Chose His Secret Wife Over Me

He Chose His Secret Wife Over Me

Modern

5.0

I reached for my fiancé's phone to silence an alarm and found a hidden folder named "The Protocol." Inside was a spreadsheet that systematically dismantled my entire existence. Task 399: Buy blue hydrangeas. Note: Her favorite. For Denzel. Task 400: Schedule anniversary dinner. Note: Make sure she feels special. For Denzel. In that heartbeat, I realized the man I had loved for three years hadn't looked at me once without seeing a chore list left by his dead brother. I wasn't Elfrieda Stewart, the woman Jaxon Tate loved. I was a legacy project. The truth turned lethal at our engagement gala. When a massive chandelier detached from the ceiling, Jaxon didn't lunge for me. He tackled his "ex" Janice—who I later discovered was his secret wife—to safety. He left me standing in the center of the target to be crushed by shattering glass. But the cruelty didn't end there. On a "reconciliation" yacht trip, Janice pushed me overboard. Jaxon looked at me struggling in the freezing black water, then threw the life preserver to her. He saved the shark and left me to drown. I lost everything in that water, including the unborn child I hadn't even told him about. He thought I was dead. He thought he was free to play house with Janice. But my brother pulled me from the darkness. And when I resurfaced in Norway, wearing the ring of a man far more dangerous than Jaxon could ever dream of being, Jaxon realized too late that he had destroyed the only thing that could have saved him.

Five Years, A Forgotten Name

Five Years, A Forgotten Name

Modern

5.0

He remembered my childhood pet' s name, our first meeting, and my obscure tea brand, but for five years, Braylon couldn't remember I was allergic to shrimp. It glistened in my pasta, a cruel reminder of how little of me registered in his mind, especially as he laughed with a familiar blonde across the room. My stomach churned, not from the allergy, but from a deeper sickness. That night, at a sprawling rooftop party, Braylon handed Dallas Huff, a young blonde, a delicate bracelet-a replica of her grandmother's, a story he'd told me a hundred times. "Dallas, this reminded me of you," he said, his voice soft, intimate. She beamed, leaning into him, her eyes sparkling, then flickered to me with a triumphant, venomous gleam. When Dallas purred about a gallery opening, Braylon chuckled, "Eliza will be coming with us. Our anniversary dinner is that night." He turned to me, a forced smile pleading for me to play along. But I was done. "It's over, Braylon," I whispered, "And my name is Eliza." He looked genuinely lost, unable to recall my actual name, while Dallas and his friends mocked his forgetfulness. His eyes, wide and confused, searched my face. "Eliza? What are you talking about? Your name is... it's always been..." He trailed off, genuinely lost. A bitter taste filled my mouth. He remembered every trivial detail of Dallas' s life, but my actual name? It was a blank. Later, he left me stranded on a dark, winding road after I refused to apologize to Dallas. My phone was dead, and I stumbled, breaking my ankle. As I lay there, alone and injured, I sobbed, "Why did I stay? Why did I waste five years on him?" Braylon, meanwhile, drove away, a gnawing unease simmering beneath his anger, only to return to a horrifying scene.

His Public Shame

His Public Shame

Romance

5.0

The sweet scent of my boyfriend' s cologne filled the hotel room, a comforting blend as I watched Ryan sleep beside me. But my perfect moment shattered when his phone lit up, revealing a group chat confessing he' d just "bagged the quiet art chick" and describing me as a mere "mission accomplished." My stomach churned as I scrolled, finding a picture of me, asleep, and his chilling message: "Not as innocent as she looks, boys. Played hard to get for years, but she caved pretty easy tonight." Then, the ultimate horror-a private, intimate video of us, shared with the caption: "Proof. She was all over me." The sweet smell suffocated me, every word a fresh stab of humiliation, and the video a violation that left me breathless. I fled, scrubbing at my skin, but his scent, his touch, the memory felt like an indelible stain. The next day, the video was everywhere, plastered across the university forum, labeling me a "slut." Ryan, the master manipulator, had already twisted the narrative, portraying himself as the victim. I lost everything: my dorm, my internship, and worst of all, my own mother disowned me, slapping me publicly. The ultimate betrayal came when I discovered his co-conspirator: my stepsister, Jessica, who gleefully confessed to orchestrating my public downfall. With nothing left to lose, I made a promise to myself: I would expose them, not for revenge, but for the truth. My chance came at Ryan's birthday party, where I went live on social media. "I' m not here to wish you well, Ryan," I announced, the camera capturing his panicked face. "I' m here to give you the birthday present you deserve. The truth."

The Unremembered Betrayal

The Unremembered Betrayal

Romance

5.0

The hospital room was a blank canvas compared to my mind-empty, save for the rhythmic beep of a machine. I was Ava, or so they said, suffering from amnesia after a car accident. Liam, my dashing fiancé, and Chloe, my teary-eyed sister, were constants by my side, weaving a perfect narrative of our lives: a successful businesswoman, heiress, engaged to be married. But their perfect picture began to fray. Fragments of memories, sharp and brutal, flashed in the dark: a swerving car, screeching tires, a look of terror-and something else-on Chloe' s face, Liam' s white-knuckled grip on the wheel. These didn't feel like accidents; they felt like lies. The diamond ring Liam pressed into my hand felt heavy and foreign, a symbol of a life that wasn't mine. Then, the shattering realization: a faded photo, Liam leaning into Chloe, a shared secret smile, while I stood between them, an outsider. The truth began to surface, cold and undeniable. The accident wasn't an accident. Liam and Chloe, my supposed loved ones, were conspirators, their devotion a carefully crafted facade. He was cheating with my sister, and I was merely a pawn in their scheme to seize my family' s fortune. The "caring" gestures, the possessive touches – they were traps. The house, our supposed home, became a gilded cage. How could I have been so blind? How could the two people closest to me orchestrate such a cruel betrayal, even attempting to end my life? The indignity burned, replaced by a searing clarity: I was not a victim, but a survivor. With a throbbing arm and a heart hardened by rage, I knew I couldn' t stay. This wasn't just about reclaiming my memories; it was about exposing their deception and forging a new path, a life on my own terms, free from their lies.

You'll also like

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book