Gu Mumu

I sat in the sterile silence of a VIP fertility clinic, clutching my Chanel purse and praying for good news after three years of trying for a baby. But as the doctor told me my body was "pristine," my phone lit up with a Page Six headline: "Garold Chandler Spotted with Mystery Woman at OB-GYN—Heir on the Way?" The "mystery woman" was Jenilee Shaw, and the man in the charcoal suit was my husband. That night, I waited up to show him the news, but he didn't even offer an apology. When I asked if he ever wanted children, he pried my hands off him and looked at me with cold, dead eyes. "Not with you," he said, before walking away to take a shower. I packed my bags and left a divorce agreement on his nightstand, but Garold wasn't about to let his "perfect" wife go that easily. He shredded the papers and froze every one of my credit cards, leaving me stranded with forty dollars and a crumbling family estate. He even mocked me when I accidentally texted him for a loan, telling me to come home and beg for my allowance like a child. He thought he had me cornered, but he forgot one thing: I wasn't just his trophy wife. Years ago, I was "Aria," the anonymous design genius the fashion world had been hunting for. I didn't need his money—I had a secret offshore account and a lead designer job at his biggest rival. As I walked into Twelve Bridges for my first day, I ran into his mistress and smiled. "Keep him," I told her. "I'm bored of the three-minute disappointments."

On my daughter Lily' s sixth birthday, her only wish was to go to the amusement park with her dad. But my husband, Liam, sent tickets instead of showing up, only for us to find the park closed for a private event. That event was for Tiffany, Liam' s ex-girlfriend. He was there, kissing her, their arms wrapped around each other. The entire park, a thousand happy sounds, was just for her. Then, Lily, pure and innocent, ran through a gap in the fence, calling for her dad. Liam' s face twisted into rage, and he kicked our six-year-old daughter to the ground. He snarled at me, blaming me for Tiffany' s miscarriage, and accused me of bringing Lily to upset her. He strapped our crying daughter onto the tallest ride, despite her tiny size, and instructed the operators not to stop it. He and Tiffany walked away, their laughter echoing, as Lily' s screams faded against the roar of the machine. I smashed the control room window, bleeding, and hit the emergency stop, but it was too late. Lily' s broken body fell into my arms, splattered with blood. At the hospital, Mark, Liam' s assistant, blocked our way, saying no Miller family members were allowed. Liam had transferred every doctor in the city to Tiffany' s luxury hotel. Then, a delivery guy arrived, sent by Liam, with band-aids. "Bleeding isn' t dying," he' d said. My hope turned to ice. Why was I, the one who rebuilt his company and bore his child, reduced to begging for my dying daughter's access to medical care, while he celebrated with the woman who betrayed him and potentially ruined his family? How could he deny Lily' s death, blaming me for her existence, even as he subjected me to physical and emotional torture. With Lily' s cold body in my arms, and my father-in-law weeping beside me, I calmly told Liam on the phone, "You killed my child. I want a divorce." My war had just begun.

I was supposed to be happy. Three years of marriage, a baby due in a month, and a husband everyone said adored me. Liam was my childhood friend, my rock, my supposed happy ending. But that illusion shattered in a hospital parking lot when I overheard Liam confess to orchestrating my mother's car accident-a murder meant to secure her heart for my dying stepsister, Chloe. He then married me to keep me out of the way, a tool in his twisted obsession. The truth was a physical blow. My mother, murdered. My proposed husband, a silent accomplice at her funeral, was just a performer in a long charade. Liam' s meticulous care for Chloe, his obsession with her "pure" style, all those signs I' d dismissed as overflow of love, screamed at me now. Then Chloe, after feigning pregnancy due to her infertility, deliberately threw herself down the stairs. Liam, convicting me on the spot, burned my hand, permanently crippling me, while my own father watched him. He funded my revenge, transferring his fortune to me as an apology. My heart was ripped apart by their betrayal. I couldn't comprehend how a man I loved could devise such a monstrous plan, making me a mere pawn in his sick game. How could I have been so blind? With unwavering resolve, I decided to fight back. I had my own secret plans, a quiet escape route, and a final, shocking gift for Liam, a macabre reminder of his crimes. He thought he had broken me, but he had only forged a weapon.

The flickering TV in my dingy motel room was the only light, illuminating the peeling wallpaper. On screen, Ethan Vance, my ex-fiancé, smiled his perfect, camera-ready smile, touting 'EvolveAI' and his "future-defining" Prometheus algorithm. Reporters swarmed him; he was the king of Silicon Valley, the brilliant mind behind the world' s most advanced AI. My world. My code. My future. He had stolen it all. Everything. I remembered the day he left, his eyes cold and empty, my three years of coding on a hard drive in his bag, a venomous "You were always just… holding me back." He didn't just take the code; he took my savings, my reputation, blacklisting me from an industry I helped build, all while Bethany Cole, my best friend, stood arm-in-arm with him, eyes gleaming with triumph. They left me with nothing but eviction notices, forcing me to sell everything I owned, living as a ghost under pseudonyms, cleaning up security flaws for companies that would never hire Scarlett Hayes. The pain of that betrayal was a constant, suffocating darkness, a deep pit I couldn' t climb out of, trapped by unseen enemies and their whispers of my failure. But watching him on that screen, basking in my stolen glory, a cold, sharp rage began to burn through the despair. In that cheap motel, I swore a vow: I would get justice, I would take back what was mine, and he would not build his empire on my ruins. My chance came weeks later: a vulnerability in his IPO network led me to a familiar digital signature-a back door I'd built into 'Prometheus,' a failsafe only I knew. He was arrogant, so certain he' d erased me he never looked for the ghost I' d left behind. He was on the verge of becoming a billionaire. And I had the key to his kingdom. A slow smile spread across my face. The game wasn't over. It had just begun. I wasn't going to be a victim. I was the storm he never saw coming. I would let him climb to the peak of his triumph. And then, I would burn it all to the ground.

My father, a titan of industry, called me in to seal my fate: an arranged marriage to solidify his empire. All eyes were on me, Liam Hayes, heir to the powerful Hayes Group, as I consented, the word heavy with unspoken guilt towards Olivia, the woman I loved for seven years. That night, back in the modest apartment I shared with Olivia-where I was just "Liam, the architect"-her phone buzzed, illuminating a message preview from "Alex Reed": "I miss you, Liv. Can't stop thinking about your birthday." My blood ran cold. Alex, her childhood friend, the one she always spoke of with strange fondness. I opened her password-free messages, and my world shattered. Conversations spanning months, years, filled with "I love yous" and "I wish we could be togethers." Then, tonight's texts: "He's with his parents. So boring. I wish you were here." Followed by, "I can't wait. I love you so much, Alex." I scrolled further, reading complaints about my "lack of ambition," our "boring life," realizing how she saw me: a placeholder. The pain was a physical blow. Seven years, a lie. The woman sleeping peacefully beside me was a stranger, a user. How could I have been so blind, so stupid? The guilt I felt about my arranged marriage vanished, replaced by a searing clarity. I was the fool, not the disloyal one. A cold resolve set in. I wouldn't be her safety net anymore. My relationship with Olivia was over, and the prearranged marriage to Charlotte Davies, the woman I hadn't even met, suddenly felt like my only escape.

The humid Southern air always brought back the dread. Today was the day-the day the two proposals would arrive, sealing my fate. My sister, Sabrina, burst in, her eyes manic, declaring she' d marry Brian Hughes, the charming mechanic, and I would marry Andrew Lester, the comatose heir. This wasn't how it happened before. In my first life, Sabrina scheme her way into marrying Andrew, condemning me to Brian' s terrifying abuse – the beatings, the broken bones, the eventual fire she set to kill me because she thought my brokenness was a form of happiness. Now, reincarnated, she remembers only Brian' s public devotion, oblivious to the monster beneath. She wanted my nightmare. As a wave of dizzying relief washed over me, I realized… my tormentor, the man who destroyed me, was her desperate prize. My mother, always favoring Sabrina, quickly agreed. They thought they were pushing me into a living widowhood, a quiet misery. They had no idea they were finally setting me free.

I was America' s Grammy-winning country star, married to the nation' s pop sweetheart, Nicole. Our life was a picture of musical royalty, until a trashy music blog screamed about my wife' s new video. "Nicole Anderson and Jayden Hughes: More Than Just Acting?" She came to me sobbing, confessing a "one-time mistake" with the bad-boy rapper. She poured millions into a new record label, publicly funding my next album as a grand gesture of devotion. I believed her, held her, and told myself she was my perfect muse. Then, one quiet Tuesday, using her laptop, I found a password-protected folder labeled "PROJECT N&J." On a whim, I typed "Jayden." Access granted. Two hundred explicit videos revealed a timeline spanning months. Her voice, clear and triumphant in the most recent one, shattered my world: "Ethan' s too trusting… he thinks I' m his perfect little country muse." Jayden' s smug reply: "And what about this baby? You sure it' s gonna pass for his?" The air left my lungs. My wife, the woman the world adored, was a calculated monster carrying another man' s child, planning to use my name and money to escape a prenup. Every award, every photo in our mansion, felt like a prop in her elaborate con. The betrayal was a physical ache, a cold, hard certainty. How could I have been such a fool? But as disgust rose in my throat, a new feeling emerged: not despair, but a quiet, chilling clarity. I found my prenup, snapped a picture of the infidelity clause, and sent it to my lawyer. It was time for the truth to be the truth.

The courtroom fell silent as the judge announced the verdict: "Not guilty." I watched my husband, Ethan Caldwell, a high-powered lawyer, rush to embrace Tiffany Hayes, the woman who had just been cleared of killing our five-year-old son, Leo. But what truly murdered me was the sickening text I received later that night: "I ran over your little brat on purpose. Backed up and did it again just to make sure. And Ethan? He got me the best doctor his money could buy to say I was crazy." When I confronted my husband with the confession, he didn't deny it. Instead, he coolly told me, "We can just have another kid," before having me declared unstable and committed to a psychiatric facility for 72 hours. He destroyed the evidence, stripped me of my home, my credibility, and left me with nothing. How could the father of my child conspire with our son's killer, protect her, and then frame me as insane? How could a system so easily be bought and twisted against a grieving mother? Was I truly powerless against his wealth and influence? They thought they had buried me and the truth, but they forgot one thing: my father was a Sergeant Major, a Medal of Honor recipient, and he had a best friend, a four-star General, who owed him a favor. So, I packed Leo' s urn, took my father' s medal, and walked straight to the gates of Fort Bragg.

Ethan, a dedicated auto mechanic, had poured his life savings and unwavering love into his high school sweetheart, Jessica, tirelessly financing her father Mr. Miller's mounting medical bills and meticulously preparing for their engagement party. He believed this event, lovingly planned, marked the beginning of his happy future. However, at the very party he funded, Jessica publicly shattered his world, introducing a new man, Brandon, and coldly dismissing Ethan as "like a brother." Humiliation stung as Jessica offered a meager "severance," while Mr. Miller, whose care Ethan had funded for years, showed shocking ingratitude prioritizing expensive liquor. The next morning, retrieving his savings and a cherished guitar, Ethan faced greater contempt; Jessica and Brandon shamelessly demanded his money, then rallied townsfolk to corner him at a bus stop. Their cruel ridicule escalated into a violent assault on Ethan and the luxury SUV sent for him, Jessica callously encouraging the destruction, even yelling to slash the tires. Surrounded by brutal betrayal from those he' d loved and served, Ethan felt a chilling void, bewildered how his deep loyalty earned such merciless scorn and physical attack. But just as despair threatened to consume him, a commanding convoy of luxury vehicles arrived, dramatically revealing Ethan' s true identity as the long-lost heir to the colossal Davenport Industries, poised to claim his rightful place and deliver stunning justice.

My food truck, "Sarah's Sizzle Stop," wasn't just a business; it was my life's work, providing for me and constantly bailing out my unemployed brother Kevin, his demanding fiancée Brittany, and our enabling mother Carol. When I needed special chilies for a big Austin food festival, I simply asked Kevin, assuming he could help given his ample free time. Instead, Brittany unleashed a torrent of venomous texts, branding me a "lonely workaholic" and a "bougie bitch" for asking a simple favor, followed by Kevin's outrageous demand for a luxury handbag and a public apology on my business social media-or else he'd call off my financially supported wedding. My refusal prompted their horrifying retaliation: I found "Sarah's Sizzle Stop" desecrated, tires slashed, windows smashed, and hateful obscenities spray-painted across its every panel. When I confronted them, Kevin, Brittany, and my mother shamelessly demanded $10,000 for Brittany's "emotional distress," threatening worse. They then launched a vicious online smear campaign, using tearful videos and a "pity party" GoFundMe to portray me as a heartless monster abandoning my "sick" mother and "struggling" brother, effectively turning public opinion and damaging my reputation. Even after this financial ruin and public humiliation, our mother still begged me to drop it all, prioritizing Kevin's "happiness" over my destroyed livelihood. Years of their greed, entitlement, and emotional blackmail culminated in this calculated act of destruction, igniting a cold, righteous fury within me. They truly believed they could destroy my life and still control me through manufactured victimhood and public shaming. But the moment Kevin lunged at me, and I instinctively defended myself with a pan, I snapped-the time for being their victim was finally over. I called the police, filing full charges for vandalism and assault, and then immediately told my stunned mother I was selling the house I owned and cutting off every cent of financial support. This wasn't just family drama; this was my declaration of freedom, and I would fight to ensure the world knew the brutal, liberating truth.

To save her father's company from bankruptcy, Melissa sold herself to Charles. In their marriage, she found humiliation, indifference, and love rivals awaiting for her. However, that was not all of it. Charle's adoration was the light at the end of the tunnel, which saved her from a life of desperation. She soon became intoxicated by his soft kiss, gentle smile, and the affectionate look he would only spare her. If this were a dream, she would rather never wake up again. But since life wasn't a fairy tale, the fact that he made her days seem magical wasn't the end of the story. What turn of events awaited her next?

From the moment she signed the agreement, her fate was sealed. Elise had stepped into the abyss. She agreed to become a surrogate mother for Cherry to pay the debts she owed the hospital. However, she didn’t know that it was a trap set by Cherry. When she moved into Cherry's villa for surrogacy, she met Cherry’s husband---Adam, a handsome but cold and intimidating man. Even though their agreement was very clear about Elise and Adam's temporary relationship, Elise didn't know that he wanted her forever.

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!"

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."

"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."

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.

In their previous lives, Gracie married Theo. Outwardly, they were the perfect academic couple, but privately, she became nothing more than a stepping stone for his ambition, and met a tragic end. Her younger sister Ellie wed Brayden, only to be abandoned for his true love, left alone and disgraced. This time, both sisters were reborn. Ellie rushed to marry Theo, chasing the success Gracie once had-unaware she was repeating the same heartbreak. Gracie instead entered a contract marriage with Brayden. But when danger struck, he defended her fiercely. Could fate finally rewrite their tragic endings?

For three years, Cathryn and her husband Liam lived in a sexless marriage. She believed Liam buried himself in work for their future. But on the day her mother died, she learned the truth: he had been cheating with her stepsister since their wedding night. She dropped every hope and filed for divorce. Sneers followed-she'd crawl back, they said. Instead, they saw Liam on his knees in the rain. When a reporter asked about a reunion, she shrugged. "He has no self-respect, just clings to people who don't love him." A powerful tycoon wrapped an arm around her. "Anyone coveting my wife answers to me."

The whispers said that out of bitter jealousy, Hadley shoved Eric's beloved down the stairs, robbing the unborn child of life. To avenge, Eric forced Hadley abroad and completely cut her off. Years later, she reemerged, and they felt like strangers. When they met again, she was the nightclub's star, with men ready to pay fortunes just to glimpse her elusive performance. Unable to contain himself, Eric blocked her path, asking, "Is this truly how you earn a living now? Why not come back to me?" Hadley's lips curved faintly. "If you’re eager to see me, you’d better join the queue, darling."

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."

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.

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.