A Li

I was just another invisible marketing clerk at the Jennings Group, a single mother counting pennies to pay for my daughter’s medical bills. Then the glass doors of the executive elevator opened, and the new CEO walked in. It was Bridger Jennings, the man who had shattered my world five years ago and left me to pick up the pieces alone. He wasn't the boy I once loved; he was a ruthless tycoon who looked through me with a gaze of total, crushing indifference. The torment started immediately. Bridger targeted me in front of the department, cutting the late-night transportation I relied on and mocking my "supportive husband"—a man who didn't even exist. When he spotted a red smudge of paint on my neck, he mistook it for a love bite from a rival. His jealousy turned into a weapon, and he buried me under a mountain of impossible work, sneering that I should let my husband provide for me instead. I stayed up until dawn to finish the task, only to realize someone had sabotaged my files to ensure my termination. My manager threatened to fire me on the spot, and Bridger stood by with a cold smile, waiting for me to crawl and beg for mercy. I couldn't understand why he was so obsessed with destroying the life I had built from the ashes of our breakup. Did he still care enough to hate me, or was he just trying to prove I was nothing more than a smudge on the glass of his empire? Slumping against my desk, I finally found the digital footprint of the person who tampered with my work. Bridger thinks he has me cornered, but he doesn't know I'm the secret artist he's been desperately trying to hire—or that he's the father of the child he's punishing me for. The war has just begun.

I was the Hayes heiress, the silent engine behind my husband’s startup, and the woman carrying his child. But while I sat in the waiting room, rubbing my six-month-pregnant belly, Michael was on Instagram posting a photo of his "friend" Selena’s baby with the caption: *My little Prince, Michael II.* He claimed it was a joke. He claimed I was hormonal. But when Selena fell ill with leukemia, the mask finally slipped. He didn't just ask me to get tested for a bone marrow transplant; he begged me to cut myself open for the woman who treated me like an intruder in my own marriage. I asked him the only question that mattered: "If we were both dying, who would you save?" He didn't hesitate. "Selena." He lied to me about a business trip to Singapore so he could donate his kidney to her. He wanted to be her hero. He didn't know that while he was under anesthesia saving her, I was alone in a cold hospital room, losing our baby. When he finally woke up, expecting my devotion, he found the villa stripped bare. On his desk sat a signed divorce decree and a medical report: *Fetal Demise.* Underneath, I left one final note: *He would have had your eyes. But you were too busy looking at her.* I didn't just leave him. I took my money, erased my existence, and vanished into thin air.

My husband, Christopher Kramer, was Manhattan's most notorious playboy, famous for his seasonal affairs with nineteen-year-old girls. For five years, I believed I was the exception who had finally tamed him. That illusion shattered when my father needed a bone marrow transplant. The perfect donor was a nineteen-year-old named Iris. On the day of the surgery, my father died because Christopher chose to stay in bed with her instead of taking her to the hospital. His betrayal didn't stop there. When an elevator plunged, he pulled her out first and left me to fall. When a chandelier crashed, he shielded her body with his and stepped over me as I lay bleeding. He even stole my dead father's last gift to me and gave it to her. Through it all, he called me selfish and ungrateful, completely oblivious to the fact that my father was already gone. So I quietly signed the divorce papers and vanished. The day I left, he texted me. "Good news, I found another donor for your dad. Let's go schedule the surgery."

I spent seven years as the ghost developer for my husband's billion-dollar empire. On our anniversary, I discovered our marriage was a lie-he was already married to the protégée I personally trained. When I confronted them, they tried to kill me and my unborn child, leaving me for dead with a crime family. But they made one fatal mistake: they didn't know my real father was a reclusive tech billionaire who had been searching for me my whole life. And he just found me.

My sister Lily wanted to swap her life with a dog just to get into Harvard. I tried to stop her, to talk sense into her, because who in their right mind would do something so insane? But instead, I found myself on a rooftop, my hands tied, Lily' s wild eyes screaming. "Jump, Sarah! Jump!" She pushed me, and as we plunged towards the city lights, my last thought was of the bitter irony – I tried to save her, and she killed us both. Then, I gasped, my eyes flying open. I was back in Lily's bedroom, the air thick with the scent of expensive perfume and desperation. She was standing there, holding that familiar, ugly flyer, saying the exact same words: "The college entrance exams are in three days. This is my only chance." My mother walked in, two glasses of juice in hand, and smiled at the flyer. "Oh, are you two finally discussing the plan?" They were a team, and I was the enemy, again. But this time, looking at their cruel and delusional faces, a cold calm settled over me. My kindness had been their weapon. This time, it would be different. "No, I' m not jealous," I said, my voice steady, eyes locked on Lily. "I think it' s a brilliant idea. I' ll even help you." Because this time, I knew the truth. I remembered the cold satisfaction on Ethan Blackwood' s face as we fell. He wanted this to happen. The dog, the ritual, all of it. And this time, I was going to let him have his show.

I gave up three years of my life, caring for a powerful U.S. Senator in a remote Wyoming retreat because my mother, Maria, begged me. She said my cousin, Gabby, was too fragile for such a harsh duty, while I was strong enough to do it for "my sister." But when I returned to Texas, travel-worn and exhausted, I found my mother beaming at a lavish party, announcing Gabby' s engagement to my fiancé, Ethan Scott, and gifting her my birthright – the Black Creek parcel. My heart shattered. Maria and Gabby weren't just stealing my man; they were stealing my entire identity, my future as the Fuller heiress. I snatched the deed, demanding they stop. Maria, a woman I thought was my mother, flew into a rage, disowning me instantly. "This girl is just a troubled niece!" she shrieked, ordering the ranch foreman to whip me in front of hundreds of people. My cowboy mentor, Old Man Hemlock, threw himself in front of me, taking the blow. How could the woman who raised me deny my existence, then order me beaten like an animal, all for a lie? What else had she hidden from me my entire life? Just as the whip was raised again, a convoy of black SUVs pulled into the driveway. My true allies were arriving, and this sham was about to unravel – brutally.

I spent seven years loving Nicole, putting her dreams before my own. I promised her the world, believed she was my future. Then, she chose him – Ryan, her volatile artist ex, the one who' d already broken her heart. I died for that betrayal, a quiet overdose, a final pathetic act of devotion. But then, I woke up. Twenty-one again, sitting across from Nicole in a coffee shop, just before she was supposed to choose me. The hesitation in her eyes, the yearning for him, it was all still there. This time, I didn't beg. I told her, "Go to him." I walked out into the rain, leaving our painful past behind. This time, I would live for myself.

At Arlington National Cemetery, I, Chloe, stood beside my mother, Helen, burying my father, Colonel Marcus Evans. A hero to the world, but I knew his secret. Then, a pregnant woman, Tiffany, appeared, loudly claiming to be his mistress. "He loved me!" she cried, "He was going to leave her for us. This is his son." The funeral erupted. Overnight, Tiffany's face monopolized the tabloids: "WAR HERO' S SECRET LOVE!" She branded my mother a "cold, barren wife" and brandished my father's prized, custom-made watch as proof. Reporters besieged our home, and Helen retreated, shattered. Then came the ultimate affront: a demand to exhume my father' s body for a DNA test. It felt impossible, a calculated lie. Yet that watch, his most cherished possession, fueled my confusion. I knew his truth: my father was gay. This secret made her claim absurd, but it was also a weapon they could twist. When Helen, utterly broken by the exhumation threat, finally whispered that truth in a sterile conference room, the real battle began. We wouldn't just defend his honor; we'd expose the shadowy architects behind this vicious attack.

Ada was kidnapped on her wedding day. No one knew that she was pushed by her groom down the cliff to die. While she was rolling down the rugged cliff, she was overwhelmed by despair upon thinking that the man she loved the most had betrayed her. Fortunately, she was rescued. However, she couldn't remember anything when she woke up. She almost went insane after losing her memory. The moment she regained her memory, the first thing she did was rushed to the place where her wedding was supposed to be held. To her surprise, her groom was still there. However, she wasn't the bride anymore, but her sister. After losing everything in her life, she decided to build her empire. Her goal was to conquer the business world and take back everything that she deserved.

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.

For three quiet, patient years, Christina kept house, only to be coldly discarded by the man she once trusted. Instead, he paraded a new lover, making her the punchline of every town joke. Liberated, she honed her long-ignored gifts, astonishing the town with triumph after gleaming triumph. Upon discovering she'd been a treasure all along, her ex-husband's regret drove him to pursue her. "Honey, let's get back together!" With a cold smirk, Christina spat, "Fuck off." A silken-suited mogul slipped an arm around her waist. "She's married to me now. Guards, get him the hell out of here!"

"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."

Sunlit hours found their affection glimmering, while moonlit nights ignited reckless desire. But when Brandon learned his beloved might last only half a year, he coolly handed Millie divorce papers, murmuring, "This is all for appearances; we'll get married again once she's calmed down." Millie, spine straight and cheeks dry, felt her pulse go hollow. The sham split grew permanent; she quietly ended their unborn child and stepped into a new beginning. Brandon unraveled, his car tearing down the street, unwilling to let go of the woman he'd discarded, pleading for her to look back just once.

Linsey was stood up by her groom to run off with another woman. Furious, she grabbed a random stranger and declared, "Let's get married!" She had acted on impulse, realizing too late that her new husband was the notorious rascal, Collin. The public laughed at her, and even her runaway ex offered to reconcile. But Linsey scoffed at him. "My husband and I are very much in love!" Everyone thought she was delusional. Then Collin was revealed to be the richest man in the world. In front of everyone, he got down on one knee and held up a stunning diamond ring. "I look forward to our forever, honey."

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."

Maia grew up a pampered heiress-until the real daughter returned and framed her, sending Maia to prison with help from her fiancé and family. Four years later, free and married to Chris, a notorious outcast, everyone assumed Maia was finished. They soon discovered she was secretly a famed jeweler, elite hacker, celebrity chef, and top game designer. As her former family begged for help, Chris smiled calmly. "Honey, let's go home." Only then did Maia realize her "useless" husband was a legendary tycoon who'd adored her from the start.

After five years of playing the perfect daughter, Rylie was exposed as a stand-in. Her fiancé bolted, friends scattered, and her adoptive brothers shoved her out, telling her to grovel back to her real family. Done with humiliation, she swore to claw back what was hers. Shock followed: her birth family ruled the town's wealth. Overnight, she became their precious girl. The boardroom brother canceled meetings, the genius brother ditched his lab, the musician brother postponed a tour. As those who spurned her begged forgiveness, Admiral Brad Morgan calmly declared, "She's already taken."

Sophie stepped in for her sister and married a man known for his disfigured looks and reckless past. On their wedding day, his family turned their backs on him, and the town laughed behind their hands, certain the marriage would collapse. But Sophie's career soared, and their love only deepened. Later, during a high-profile event, the CEO of some conglomerate took off his mask, revealing Sophie's husband to be a global sensation. *** Adrian had no interest in his arranged wife and had disguised himself in hopes she would bail. But when Sophie tried to walk away, Adrian broke down and whispered, "Please, Sophie, don't go. One kiss, and I'll give you the world."

Two years of marriage left Brinley questioning everything, her supposed happiness revealed as nothing but sham. Abandoning her past for Colin, she discovered only betrayal and a counterfeit wedding. Accepting his heart would stay frozen, she called her estranged father, agreeing to the match he proposed. Laughter followed her, with whispers of Colin's power to toss her aside. Yet, she reinvented herself-legendary racer, casino mastermind, and acclaimed designer. When Colin tried to reclaim her, another man pulled Brinley close. "She's already carrying my child. You can't move on?"