"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."
"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."
Chapter 1
The "special recovery drink" Ethan handed me tasted faintly metallic, but he smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
"For your fatigue, Ava. Drink up."
I trusted him. For ten years, I had.
My eyes grew heavy almost immediately.
Consciousness slowly withdrew, pulling me under into a thick, syrupy darkness.
I woke up confused.
Not in our bed, not in any room I knew.
The air smelled sharp, like antiseptic.
My head throbbed.
A bright light glared above me.
Panic, cold and swift, tightened my chest.
This wasn't right.
Then I heard voices.
Muffled at first, then clearer.
Ethan's voice, sharp with impatience.
And another, deeper, calmer, but strained.
"Ethan, this is unethical. It's criminal. She hasn't consented."
That was Ben Carter's voice.
Dr. Ben Carter. Ethan's old friend from Yale. A surgeon.
My blood ran cold.
"Consent?" Ethan scoffed, his voice dripping with a chilling pragmatism I knew too well when it came to his desires.
"She's my girlfriend, Ben. Practically my wife."
"Chloe needs this kidney. Ava is a perfect match."
"It's a gift, really. A small price for everything."
Chloe.
Of course.
Chloe Vahn, the beautiful, hollow woman who had always held a piece of Ethan's soul, the piece Ava could never reach.
Chloe, who had abandoned him when he was broken after that Aspen skiing accident, only to reappear when he was powerful again.
"A small price?" Ben's voice was incredulous, laced with a fury I'd rarely heard from him.
"Her kidney, Ethan? After everything she's done for you?"
"She put her entire career on hold."
"She used experimental treatments on herself to get you walking again when Chloe wouldn't even answer your calls!"
Ethan's reply was flat, devoid of emotion.
"Chloe was scared. She's delicate."
"Ava is strong."
"Besides, I'll marry Ava. She's always wanted that."
"Consider it compensation."
"Chloe needs this more. Her life is at stake."
Delicate? Chloe, whose recklessness had led her to this point, acute renal failure.
Strong? Was that my reward for years of unwavering devotion?
For the miscarriage I still mourned, the one I blamed on my own stress, never suspecting the "herbal supplements" Ethan had encouraged me to take, supplements Chloe had provided?
Tears pricked my eyes, hot and furious.
Betrayal, so profound it stole my breath, flooded through me.
My body felt like lead.
I tried to move, to scream, but only a faint groan escaped my lips.
"She's waking up," Ben said, his voice urgent.
"Then be quick about it," Ethan snapped.
"I want this done."
A cold dread, sharper than any physical pain, washed over me.
I felt a pressure, a tugging sensation on my side.
Then, a searing line of fire.
The scalpel.
My mind reeled.
Ten years. A decade of love, of sacrifice.
Pouring my intellect, my biotech research-research that had once promised a brilliant future for me-into his recovery, into his company, Reed Innovate.
Building him back up, piece by piece.
For this.
To be carved up like an animal, a resource to be plundered for the woman he truly desired.
The darkness swirled again, beckoning.
This time, I welcomed it.
The physical agony was a dull echo of the torment ripping through my soul.
My kidney. My love. My life, sacrificed on the altar of his obsession.
When I next surfaced, the bright overhead light was gone.
I was in a different room.
A hospital room, sterile and cold.
A dull ache throbbed in my side.
My throat was raw.
The door opened, and Ethan walked in, his expression carefully arranged into one of concern.
He sat by the bed, took my hand. His felt clammy.
"Ava, thank God. You gave us quite a scare."
I stared at him, my vision blurry.
"You had a ruptured ovarian cyst," he said, his voice smooth, practiced.
"Emergency surgery. But you're going to be okay. Ben Carter did a fantastic job."
Lies. All lies.
The casual cruelty of it was a fresh stab to my already bleeding heart.
I wanted to scream, to rage, to tear him apart.
But only tears came, silent, bitter tears that tracked down my temples into my hair.
He squeezed my hand, a gesture that now felt like a violation.
"Hey, don't cry. It's over. You're safe."
Safe. I had never been less safe.
His phone buzzed. He glanced at it, his feigned concern vanishing, replaced by an all-too-familiar attentiveness.
"It's Chloe," he murmured, already standing.
"She's a bit shaken up. Worried about you, of course."
"But she's desperate for that artisanal gelato from that little place in Tribeca. You know how she gets."
He leaned down, brushed a kiss on my forehead. It felt like ice.
"I'll be back later. Rest."
And just like that, he was gone.
Abandoned. Again. For Chloe.
Even now, as a Nor'easter was supposedly bearing down on Manhattan.
The door clicked shut behind him.
The silence in the room was heavy, broken only by the distant wail of a siren and the quiet hum of medical equipment.
Later, two nurses bustled in.
Their hushed conversation, not meant for my ears, drifted over.
"Mr. Reed is so devoted to Ms. Vahn, isn't he? Rushing off to get her gelato in this weather."
"She's a lucky woman. He barely left her side after her kidney transplant."
Kidney transplant. Chloe's kidney transplant. My kidney.
The pieces slammed together with brutal clarity.
My despair solidified into a cold, hard resolve.
This was it. The end.
No more chances. No more excuses.
My hand fumbled for my phone on the bedside table.
My fingers trembled as I scrolled through my contacts.
My heart pounded, not with fear, but with a desperate, burgeoning hope for something else, something new.
Noah Hayes.
Ethan's main business rival in Austin.
A man known for his integrity, his quiet brilliance.
We'd met once, years ago, at a tech ethics panel.
He'd listened intently as I spoke, his gaze thoughtful.
I remembered his firm handshake, the respect in his eyes.
A small, cherished photo of me speaking at that panel sat on his otherwise bare desk – I'd seen it in a magazine profile.
A foolish, sentimental detail I'd clung to.
The phone rang twice.
"Noah Hayes." His voice was calm, steady.
"Noah," I managed, my voice raspy. "It's Ava Miller."
A pause. Not long, but enough for me to feel a flicker of doubt.
"Ava," he said, his tone shifting, a hint of surprise, perhaps concern. "Are you alright? You sound..."
"Noah," I cut in, the words tumbling out before I could lose my nerve.
"Are you still looking for a COO who knows Reed Innovate's strategies... and perhaps," I took a shaky breath, "a wife?"
The silence on the other end was profound, stretching for what felt like an eternity.
I closed my eyes, bracing for rejection, for confusion.
Then, his voice, low and serious.
"My jet, seven days. LaGuardia."
"But Ava," he paused, and I could almost hear him choosing his words carefully, "with me, there's no looking back. Are you sure?"
Tears, hot and cleansing this time, welled in my eyes.
"I'm sure, Noah."
"Good," he said. "Seven days."
The line clicked.
I stared at my phone, a lifeline.
Seven days.
A new city. A new life. A chance.
I swiped through the airline apps, my fingers surprisingly steady.
Austin. One way.
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.
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.
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."
"Ms. Crawford, it’s time for you to divorce Mr. Larsen and come home. You're the only heiress the Master's waiting for.” ~•~ For the sake of love, Amara accepted the arranged marriage with Tobias William Larsen. She did everything to gain her husband’s heart but when his old love returned, she realized that all her effort was all for naught. Tobias demanded a divorce on the night of their wedding anniversary, even at the price of threatening her. Heartbroken, she finally dropped all her illusions about him and returned home to be the heiress. The next time she met Tobias, they were no longer couples but opponents. "Mr. Larsen, should I remind you again? We've divorced." "Amara, that's the stupidest mistake I've ever made. Please come back to me."
After two years of marriage, Kristian dropped a bombshell. "She's back. Let's get divorced. Name your price." Freya didn't argue. She just smiled and made her demands. "I want your most expensive supercar." "Okay." "The villa on the outskirts." "Sure." "And half of the billions we made together." Kristian froze. "Come again?" He thought she was ordinary—but Freya was the genius behind their fortune. And now that she'd gone, he'd do anything to win her back.
Madisyn was stunned to discover that she was not her parents' biological child. Due to the real daughter's scheming, she was kicked out and became a laughingstock. Thought to be born to peasants, Madisyn was shocked to find that her real father was the richest man in the city, and her brothers were renowned figures in their respective fields. They showered her with love, only to learn that Madisyn had a thriving business of her own. "Stop pestering me!" said her ex-boyfriend. "My heart only belongs to Jenna." "How dare you think that my woman has feelings for you?" claimed a mysterious bigwig.
Doing a part-time job in a speakeasy bar, Wendy got drunk unexpectedly. When she woke up, she found that she was regarded as a call girl and lost her virginity. After having a one-night stand with Charlie, an incredibly handsome man, Wendy threw out two hundred dollars to defend her own dignity. However, Wendy's arrogant actions annoyed Charlie, who grabbed Wendy back to bed repeatedly for revenge. "What do you want?" Wendy was annoyed. "Be responsible for what I did to you." Charlie smiled. "But how?" Wendy continued. "By keeping sleeping with you."
Three years of marriage couldn't melt Theo's frozen heart. When an art gallery collapsed on Lena, he was off romancing another woman—lavishing her with a private jet. Three steel pins held Lena's shoulder together, but her heart remained broken. She filed for divorce and told everyone that he was impotent. Rising from the rubble, Lena blazed onto the design world's A‑list. She expected him to sail off with his true love—until Theo reappeared at her runway, pressing her against the wall. "Impotent, huh? Care to give it a try?"