My life with Mark was perfect, a picture of happy marriage. He and his identical twin, David, ran a thriving brewery, and together with my sister Jess, we were an unbreakable foursome. Then, a shattering phone call. David, always so full of life, had collapsed and died. Weeks of agonizing grief followed, but the true nightmare began at a solemn family dinner. Mark's mother, Brenda, demanded the unthinkable: I was to carry David's child for my sister, a vessel for the "Thompson legacy." My own mother, always favoring Jess, twisted the knife, urging me to "be understanding." I stood paralyzed, while Mark, my supposed anchor, vehemently defended me. But that defense was a cruel facade. One night, I found him in my guest room, not comforting my grieving sister Jess, but kissing her. And then I heard it: "I want your baby, Mark. Openly. Not... not David's ghost." Jess was pregnant with his child. The man who swore to protect me was betraying me with my own sister, all while their desperate family tried to force me into a truly monstrous act. Every loving gesture, every word of trust, twisted into a grotesque lie. Was I truly so blind? So easily manipulated? Why me? Why this profound and sickening betrayal? That night, the naive wife died. A cold, hard rage ignited. I demanded a divorce, packed my bags, and moved halfway across the country. But Mark, Jess, and their twisted family thought they could sweep me aside. They were wrong. I wasn't running; I was retreating to draw the battle lines. This wasn't just about escape anymore. It was about meticulously crafting the perfect retribution, a revenge so complete, they'd wish they never crossed me.
My life with Mark was perfect, a picture of happy marriage.
He and his identical twin, David, ran a thriving brewery, and together with my sister Jess, we were an unbreakable foursome.
Then, a shattering phone call.
David, always so full of life, had collapsed and died.
Weeks of agonizing grief followed, but the true nightmare began at a solemn family dinner.
Mark's mother, Brenda, demanded the unthinkable: I was to carry David's child for my sister, a vessel for the "Thompson legacy."
My own mother, always favoring Jess, twisted the knife, urging me to "be understanding."
I stood paralyzed, while Mark, my supposed anchor, vehemently defended me.
But that defense was a cruel facade.
One night, I found him in my guest room, not comforting my grieving sister Jess, but kissing her.
And then I heard it: "I want your baby, Mark. Openly. Not... not David's ghost."
Jess was pregnant with his child.
The man who swore to protect me was betraying me with my own sister, all while their desperate family tried to force me into a truly monstrous act.
Every loving gesture, every word of trust, twisted into a grotesque lie.
Was I truly so blind?
So easily manipulated?
Why me?
Why this profound and sickening betrayal?
That night, the naive wife died.
A cold, hard rage ignited.
I demanded a divorce, packed my bags, and moved halfway across the country.
But Mark, Jess, and their twisted family thought they could sweep me aside.
They were wrong.
I wasn't running; I was retreating to draw the battle lines.
This wasn't just about escape anymore.
It was about meticulously crafting the perfect retribution, a revenge so complete, they'd wish they never crossed me.
Chapter 1
Sarah Miller folded Mark's shirts, the scent of his detergent familiar and comforting.
It was a Tuesday morning, quiet, the kind she usually liked.
Mark was already at the brewery, a text from him earlier saying, "Big mash day. Love you."
She smiled, placing the neatly folded pile in his drawer.
Her own job at the community event planning company didn't start for another hour.
She was making coffee when her phone buzzed on the counter.
It wasn't Mark.
The screen showed "Brenda Thompson."
A knot formed in Sarah's stomach instantly. Brenda rarely called her directly, especially not this early.
Sarah answered, trying to keep her voice light. "Hi, Brenda."
"Sarah," Brenda's voice was tight, strained, not its usual commanding tone. "It's David."
A pause hung heavy, thick with unspoken fear.
"He collapsed at the brewery. An ambulance is taking him to St. Luke's. Mark is with him. You need to come."
Shock hit Sarah, cold and sharp. "Collapsed? Is he... is he okay?"
"They don't know. It's bad, Sarah. Just come." The line clicked dead.
David. Mark's identical twin, her sister Jess's husband.
The four of them were a unit, or supposed to be.
Sarah and Mark, married three years, a love she thought was her anchor.
Jess and David, married five, a more flamboyant pairing. Jess, her older sister, always the star, always getting what she wanted, especially from their mother, Karen.
Sarah often felt like a pale shadow next to Jess's vivid colors.
The Thompson twins co-owned the craft brewery, their father's legacy, now their success.
Brenda, their mother, a woman of iron will, saw the brewery and her sons as the Thompson dynasty. Grandchildren were essential to that vision.
Sarah's hands shook as she grabbed her keys and purse.
Her mind raced, a blur of terrible images. David, always so full of life, a mirror image of her Mark.
She drove to St. Luke's, her heart pounding against her ribs.
The emergency room waiting area was stark, smelling of antiseptic and anxiety.
She saw Mark first, his face ashen, his shoulders slumped. He looked lost.
He rushed to her, pulling her into a hug that felt desperate.
"They're working on him," he choked out. "It happened so fast."
Jess was there too, a crumpled figure on a plastic chair, her usually perfect makeup smudged by tears.
She was wailing, a raw, animal sound of grief that filled the small space.
Their mother, Karen, was beside Jess, stroking her hair, murmuring words Sarah couldn't catch.
Sarah went to Jess, placing a hand on her sister's shaking shoulder. "Jess, I'm so sorry."
Jess barely registered her presence, her eyes wide with panic and disbelief, fixed on the closed doors of the trauma room.
Mark took over, speaking in low tones to a nurse, his voice strained but trying to be practical.
Brenda Thompson arrived then, her formidable composure fractured.
She looked ten years older, her face a mask of anguish.
She didn't speak, just walked straight to Mark, her hand gripping his arm as if for support.
The air was thick with a shared, suffocating sorrow. David, the vibrant, laughing David, was fighting for his life, and the family felt like it was shattering around them.
A doctor finally emerged, his expression grim.
The news was the worst. David was gone. A sudden, aggressive brain aneurysm. Nothing they could do.
Jess's wail turned into a scream of pure agony.
The days that followed were a blur of grief and funeral arrangements.
The wake, the service, the burial. So many people, so much sadness.
Sarah moved through it all in a daze, trying to support Mark, trying to offer comfort to Jess, who was inconsolable.
Mark was her rock, but he was grieving his twin, his business partner, his other half. She saw the deep well of his pain.
Brenda was a stoic, grieving matriarch, her eyes holding a universe of loss.
Karen hovered around Jess, her focus entirely on her favored, now widowed, daughter.
Weeks passed. The initial shock began to subside, replaced by a dull, persistent ache.
Jess was staying at Brenda's house, unable to face the home she'd shared with David.
One Sunday, Brenda called for a family dinner. "We need to talk," she'd said, her voice still heavy but with a new note of purpose.
The atmosphere at the Thompson home was somber, portraits of David displayed prominently.
Grief still clung to every surface.
Brenda looked at Jess, her expression a mixture of sorrow and a strange resolve.
"Jess, my dear," Brenda began, her voice trembling slightly. "Losing David... it's a wound that will never heal. And for you, to lose your husband, your future..."
Jess just stared blankly, tears welling up again. She couldn't speak.
Brenda took a deep breath. "You and David... you were about to start IVF. You had embryos. His embryos."
Sarah felt a chill. Where was this going?
"A part of David can still live on," Brenda continued, her voice gaining strength. "Jess can still have his child. Our grandchild."
She turned her gaze directly to Sarah.
"Sarah, you are young, you are healthy. Jess needs this. We need this."
Brenda's eyes were intense, almost pleading.
"We want you to be a surrogate for Jess. To carry David and Jess's baby."
Sarah stared, speechless. The fork in her hand clattered onto her plate.
Carry her dead brother-in-law's child for her sister?
The idea was monstrous, a violation.
Brenda repeated it, her voice firm, as if stating the most natural thing in the world.
"It's what David would have wanted. For his line to continue. For Jess to have the child they planned. It's the ultimate gift to your sister, Sarah. A way to heal this family."
Sarah's head spun. Her stomach churned. She felt sick.
She looked at Mark, her eyes begging for him to say something, to stop this.
Mark stood up so abruptly his chair scraped loudly against the floor.
"Mom! That is completely out of line!" His voice was a whip crack.
"You can't ask Sarah to do that. It's her body, her life. It's an insane request."
He moved to Sarah's side, his hand protectively on her shoulder.
"We will support Jess in every other way possible, but not like this. Absolutely not."
A wave of immense gratitude washed over Sarah. He understood. He was protecting her.
Brenda's face hardened. "Mark, this is about family. About legacy. About David."
She turned back to Sarah, her voice softening into a manipulative plea.
"Sarah, dear, think of poor Jess. She's lost everything. This is her only hope for a piece of David, for a future. Don't you want to help your sister?"
The pressure was immense, the emotional blackmail suffocating.
Sarah felt her throat tighten. She wanted to scream.
Then, her own mother, Karen, chimed in, her voice dripping with false sympathy.
"Sarah, honey, Brenda's right. Think of poor Jess. What she's going through. It's the least you can do for your sister. You've always been so understanding."
Betrayal, sharp and bitter, rose in Sarah's chest. Her own mother.
"It's a chance for Jess to have happiness again," Karen continued, "a beautiful baby. David's baby."
Sarah felt cornered, painted as selfish if she refused.
Her hands clenched into fists under the table, nails digging into her palms.
The unfairness of it all was a familiar weight. Jess always came first.
Sarah had always been expected to "be understanding," to "make sacrifices."
But this? This was a sacrifice of her body, her autonomy, her life with Mark.
She looked at Mark again, searching his face.
He had always been her champion, her safe harbor.
He'd sworn to protect her, to love her. She remembered his vows, his tender reassurances over the years.
Her trust in him was absolute. He wouldn't let them do this to her.
Mark stepped forward, positioning himself slightly in front of Sarah.
His voice was low, but steel ran through it.
"Mom, Karen, I understand you're grieving. We all are. But this conversation is over."
He looked directly at Brenda. "Sarah will not be doing this. We will not be doing this. End of discussion."
"We will help Jess find other options for surrogacy if that's what she wants," Mark continued, his tone firm but respectful. "We will support her financially, emotionally. But asking Sarah to carry David's child is not acceptable, and it won't happen."
Brenda's eyes flashed with anger. "You're denying David his legacy, Mark! You're denying Jess her child!"
"I'm protecting my wife," Mark stated, his gaze unwavering.
He then looked at Brenda, a flicker of apology in his eyes for her pain, but his resolve was clear.
He squeezed Sarah's shoulder gently, a silent message of solidarity.
Sarah's heart swelled. He was her husband, her protector.
He was standing up for her, for them, against both their mothers.
The relief was so profound, it almost brought tears to her eyes.
She loved him so much in that moment. She trusted him completely.
"Ethan, this is unethical. It's criminal. She hasn't consented." Those chilling words, whispered in the sterile hum of an operating room, were the first thing I heard as consciousness flickered back. My heart pounded, cold dread snaking through my veins. Dr. Ben Carter, Ethan's old friend, was arguing with him. "She's my girlfriend, Ben. Practically my wife," Ethan scoffed, his voice laced with a terrifying casualness. "Chloe needs this kidney. Ava is a perfect match." Kidney. Chloe. My blood ran cold. The beautiful, fragile Chloe Vahn, who had always haunted our relationship, was now taking a piece of me, quite literally. I tried to scream, to move, but my body felt like lead, my throat raw. I felt a sharp tug, a searing line of fire on my side-the scalpel. Ten years of love, of sacrifice, building Ethan Reed and his company back from nothing, all for this. To be carved up like an animal for the woman he truly loved. When I finally regained full awareness, Ethan was by my bedside, a practiced look of concern on his face, spinning a lie about a ruptured ovarian cyst. But then, the overheard nurse's whispered conversation confirmed my nightmare: "Chloe's kidney transplant... he barely left her side." The pieces slammed into place. My despair solidified into a cold, hard resolve. No more. I grabbed my phone, scrolling to one contact I hadn't dared to call. Noah Hayes, Ethan's rival, a man of integrity. My finger trembled as I typed. "Noah," I managed, my voice raspy. "Are you still looking for a COO who knows Reed Innovate's strategies... and perhaps, a wife?" The silence stretched, then his voice, calm and serious, cut through the noise of my crumbling world. "My jet, seven days. LaGuardia."
My parents died when I was seventeen, leaving me heartbroken and orphaned. Mr. Julian Vance, my father's charismatic former mentee and a Silicon Valley titan, unexpectedly stepped in as my guardian. He moved me into his lavish Atherton mansion, offering a bewildering new life of privilege. Confused by teenage feelings, I tragically developed a crush on him, confessing my yearning in a clumsy letter. Julian found it, and his kind facade shattered into a mask of pure fury. He denounced me as an "ungrateful, perverse child" and promptly sent me away to ClearPath Academy, a mysterious institution that promised to "fix" me. ClearPath was a nightmare. I endured forced medication, sleep deprivation, and brutal re-education, emerging months later a broken shell of my former self. Upon my return, Julian introduced his icy fiancée, Eleanor, who immediately launched a campaign of insidious manipulation and abuse against me. Julian, inexplicably blind to Eleanor's malice, repeatedly believed her lies over my pleas, dismissing my visible ClearPath scars as theatrics and ultimately abandoning me to violent thugs. Why was the man who once seemed to care so willing to believe such falsehoods and inflict such profound pain? How could he be so utterly deceived? The crushing weight of betrayal and abandonment pushed me to one final, desperate act beneath the Golden Gate Bridge. My shattered death finally tore away Julian's blinders. Consumed by agonizing guilt, he now confronts the horrifying truth about ClearPath and Eleanor's monstrous deception. He vows bloody retribution and embarks on a chilling penance, willing to endure my every torment in a desperate, last-ditch effort to redeem his tormented soul and reclaim my spirit.
My life with Liam Goldstein was a fairytale, a perfect love story plastered across every magazine and TV screen in Manhattan. He'd even unveiled the "Maya's Horizon" necklace, a multi-million-dollar cascade of sapphires, celebrating our perfect devotion. But fairytales are just that – tales. Then came the burner phone, the hushed calls, the screenshots, and hotel receipts that screamed 'affair'. I watched him live-stream gifts to his young mistress, Ava Sinclair, calling her his "queen," only to later find her visibly pregnant in a hospital, flaunting our engagement necklace and talking about a "situation" with me. His friends, the same ones who toasted our "perfect love," smirked as he publicly kissed Ava and joked about his "side action," assuring her I'd "never find out." Every grand gesture he'd made, from donating a kidney to cultivating a white rose garden, flashed before my eyes, revealing themselves as calculated performances. How could the man who saved my life, the one I vowed to, betray me with such grotesque audacity, in front of the world and his complicit inner circle? It felt like a sick cosmic joke, a public humiliation disguised as love. But I had given him a warning on our wedding day: "If you ever lie to me, truly lie, I will vanish from your life as if I never existed." Now, it was time to activate the Phoenix Initiative, erase Maya Goldstein, and leave Liam with nothing but ghost of a promise he had shattered.
My life revolved around Ethan, the secret husband I loved fiercely, despite the feud between our families. Then, Chloe Vance, his ex-girlfriend and now stepmother, cornered me in a powder room with a cruel bet: ten chances to make Ethan publicly claim me, or I'd sign divorce papers and disappear. Each attempt to win his affection ended in public humiliation. He remained cold, his attention always on Chloe, who openly delighted in my torment. He looked at me with disgust when I tried to bridge the distance, abandoned me in a fire, and watched me suffer an acid attack – his only concern for her. Despite my agony, he later tried to make me take the fall for her sordid scandals. How could the man I loved treat me with such brutal indifference, repeatedly choosing his ex-girlfriend while I withered? Was I merely a convenient shield, a secret to be hidden, while his true devotion remained with another woman? The casual cruelty, the dismissive betrayal, chipped away at everything I believed. Watching him side with her after that horrific attack, something inside me irrevocably shattered. My foolish, stubborn love for Ethan Gold finally, completely died. I decided then that I wouldn't just leave; I would reclaim my life and dignity, severing every last tie to the man who never truly saw me. And he would finally understand what he had lost.
For three years, I lived a lie as Ava Cole, wife to Ethan, whose devotion was reserved not for me, but his college sweetheart, Chloe Vance. I meticulously tracked his escalating betrayals in my secret "Breaking Point Ledger," knowing 100 points meant freedom. The ledger filled quickly, fueled by his unapologetic neglect and public displays of obsession. Then, disaster struck: caught in a violent car crash, I lay bleeding, my world shattering around me. Doctors, grim-faced, revealed I was eight weeks pregnant, desperately needing help. But when the hospital reached Ethan, his urgent command echoed chillingly: prioritize Chloe, who had a mere allergic reaction. My baby, our baby, was lost. "We couldn't save the baby," the nurse later confirmed, her voice laced with a silent fury that mirrored my own. The ledger, once a quiet tally, now screamed past its limit, leaving a brutal, undeniable score of his final, ultimate betrayal. There was no going back; only forward. With a soul-deep resolve, I signed my divorce papers, reclaiming Ava Miller and leaving behind the shattered remnants of a life that was never truly mine. My bags were already packed for Austin, ready for a new chapter where I would rebuild, reclaim, and rise from the ashes.
My marriage to Ethan Cole, a man revered as a titan of industry, felt less like a partnership and more like a never-ending siege. After years of fighting for even a sliver of his attention, I found him on the floor of his study, fixated on a small, wooden box. Inside, nestled on velvet, were forbidden relics: a child's drawing, a pressed flower, and a faded photo of Olivia Vance, the girl he'd been raised with. The raw, yearning expression on his face, a look he had never once given me, confirmed the crushing truth: his emotional unavailability was solely reserved for her. Our sterile, business-transaction marriage was a smokescreen for his lifelong obsession, culminating in him abandoning me in a skyscraper fire as he pulled Olivia to safety. He then brushed off my concussion from Olivia's attack, prioritized her minor burn for a top surgeon, and offered obscene diamonds to buy my silence, while she moved into our home to subtly torture me. His blindness to Olivia's manipulation, his monumental arrogance, and his consistent disregard for my pain made me realize the devastating reality: he didn't just not feel for me, he chose to torment me instead. But as I saved myself from those flames, a cold, hard resolve replaced the agony. My love for him, long dead, was now replaced by a fierce determination: I would reclaim my life, expose his deceit, and make him truly understand the cost of his choices.
Life was perfect until she met her boyfriend's big brother. There was a forbidden law in the Night Shade Pack that if the head Alpha rejected his mate, he would be stripped of his position. Sophia's life would get connected with the law. She was an Omega who was dating the head Alpha's younger brother. Bryan Morrison, the head Alpha, was not only a cold-blooded man but also a charming business tycoon. His name was enough to cause other packs to tremble. He was known as a ruthless man. What if, by some twist of destiny, Sophia's path were to intertwine with his?
Lila didn't expect her life to change so dramatically just days after arriving at the pack. She certainly didn't anticipate being married to the Alpha almost instantly. All she wanted was to return and find a mate, but circumstances changed, and now she has to pay for a sin she didn't commit. "Please Rafael," pulling my undies away, I begged. ''It's Alpha to you... It's only when I'm making that pussy of yours feel good, then you can call me God," his voice was like a whisper, sending cold shivers down my spine.
Betrayed by her mate and sister on the eve of her wedding, Makenna was handed to the ruthless Lycan Princes as a lover, her indifferent father ignoring her plight. Determined to escape and seek revenge, she captured the interest of the three Lycan princes, who desired her exclusively amid many admirers. This complicated her plans, trapping her and making her a rival to the future Lycan queen. Entwined in jealousy and vindictiveness, could Makenna achieve her vengeance in the intricate dance with the three princes?
"On the way to escape, a stranger took away her virginity. She didn’t expect that the stranger was Jasper Milton, who was rich and powerful, as well as ruthless and cold. It was said that he didn’t love woman. However, it was not true. She was suffering from a sore back after having sex with him every day, and finally she couldn’t stand it, “You don’t need to be responsible for me anymore, and you are free now.” He sat by her bed, pulled her into his arms, and said gently: “Stella, are you mistaken, shouldn’t it be you who is responsible? "" Stella Grace:”…"" "
Pandora thought she would have a white picket fence and 2.5 kids with her high school sweetheart. That was until he stood her up on their date and she caught him cheating. Newly divorced Pandora goes to Vegas and lets her hair down. A wild night with a stranger results in her waking up with a terrible hangover. Moreover, she couldn't remember his name or what he looked like! Life after that should have been boring—apart from fighting off her ex-husband and putting the mistress in her place. Who could have known that one night of passion would lead to unexpected and lifelong consequences? Now, Pandora needed to search for the baby of her father. But what is she to do when she is attracted to her doctor? Will she forget about the mystery man who made her laugh or will she start anew with this handsome and polite doctor? Will the demons of her past allow her a happily ever after?
"You're mine, little puppy," Kylan growled against my neck. A soft gasp escaped my lips as his lips brushed my skin. My mind screamed at me to push him away-the Lycan Prince who had humiliated me again and again, but my body betrayed me, leaning into him before I could stop myself. He pressed his lips against mine, and his kiss grew more aggressive, more possessive as I felt my legs weaken. What was I doing? In a split-second, I pulled away and slapped him hard across the face. Kylan's eyes darkened, but the smirk on his lips exposed his amusement. "You and I both know we can't fight this, Violet," he said, gripping my wrist. "You're my mate." "And yet you don't want me," I replied. "You told me you were ashamed of me, that l'd never be your queen, that you'd never love me. So please, accept my rejection and let me go." "Never," he whispered, his grip tightening as he pulled me closer. "Soon enough, you'll be begging for me. and when you do-I'll use you as I see fit and then I'll reject you."