When the Underdog Rises: Ash's Awakening

I just won fifty million dollars, enough to finally shed my quiet librarian life and embrace true freedom. Bursting with generosity and eager to share the news, I rushed back to my childhood home, the beautiful house my deceased mother had left to me. But instead of a warm welcome, my stepbrother and his pregnant girlfriend treated me like a parasitic squatter, demanding rent and arrogantly claiming my house was theirs. Then, my world truly shattered when I overheard my stepmother hiss about "getting rid of the problem" – me – with the same slow-acting "supplements" they'd used on my mother, whose fatal "accident" was, in fact, a calculated murder. My own father, complicit in my mother's death and now mine, was poisoning me daily. The naive Chloe died in that musty basement; a cold, calculating survivor emerged, armed with fifty million dollars to expose their deadly conspiracy and ensure justice for my mother and myself.

The doorbell rang, a cheerful chime that felt utterly out of place, ushering in my mother-in-law, Eleanor, unannounced. Her unusual warmth and compliments were a warning, a performance leading up to her real ask. Then, over dessert, she dropped the bombshell: a request for a $250,000 "loan" from my disabled father' s settlement to fund my brother-in-law' s extravagant wedding. My father's money was for his life-long medical care, sacrificed from a lifetime in the steel mills. I refused, unleashing years of suppressed anger against her family' s disdain for my working-class roots. But the true betrayal came later, a phone call from a real estate agent asking to schedule a viewing for my house, which my husband, Kevin, had secretly listed for sale. He was planning to liquidate our home, our future, to fund his family' s delusional prestige. The shock, the raw devastation of his betrayal, quickly morphed into a cold, precise fury. He thought I was a naïve, hardworking girl he could easily manipulate. He had no idea I was about to weaponize a secret I had meticulously guarded for our entire marriage: his infertility. I decided, then and there, he would learn what it truly meant to lose everything.

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.

I was Caroline Devereaux, New Orleans' formidable state senator, and my life was a calculated masterpiece of power and prestige. My marriage to Julian Boudreaux, though arranged, was merely another conquest, and I treated my sickly husband with the disdain he deserved for his family's past sins. I watched his cough worsen, dismissed his pleas, stripped him of his inheritance, and systematically dismantled his family, reveling in their ruin. When he knelt in the rain for his dying grandfather, begging for life-saving medicine, I had Leo smash it before his eyes. I broke him, watched his grandfather and sister die, and finally, saw him take his own life in despair, fleeing me even in death. Then, the world shattered. I woke to the sound of jazz, the smell of wilting flowers, and the chilling realization that it was my wedding day-four years ago. I was given a second chance, thrown back into the life I had so utterly destroyed. Now, with the memory of his death haunting me, and Julian's cold, knowing eyes meeting mine, I know I must undo everything. This time, I will not only save him but protect my heart and the man I never knew I loved.

I woke with the violent jolt of the plane landing, but it wasn't the impact that shocked me deeply; it was the chilling, immediate memory of icy black water filling my lungs as an anchor dragged me down. My husband, Captain Mark Vance, watched from the boat with eyes as blank as a winter sky-the last sight before my first life ended ten years ago. Miraculously, incomprehensibly, I was alive, but the life I' d returned to was a meticulously crafted lie built on my erased existence. My husband and best friend, Ashley Barnes, had stolen my identity, swindled my parents, and even sent my brilliant young daughter, Chloe, to a brutal camp, twisting her trauma into a story of her mother's "psychotic break." Now, they flaunted a lavish life built on my ruin, with my very own child reduced to a bruised, silent servant in her own home, while guests used my family heirlooms for cheap hors d'oeuvres. The betrayal was a deep, burning wound, but the sight of Chloe' s thin, bruised arms ignited a pure, glacial rage within me, a fury that promised a reckoning far colder than any Alaskan winter. How could they stand so proudly, so shamelessly, after committing such unspeakable atrocities against me and my child? This was no longer a scientist returning home; it was a ghost resurrected, armored by ten years of accumulated savings and a thirst for justice. I walked into their opulent party, not for revenge, but to reclaim what was mine, armed with the truth and a fury that would shatter their carefully constructed world. Tonight, the perfect facade they' d built would be exposed, and they would finally face the woman they thought they' d killed.

Fifty million dollars. My cracked phone screen showed the winning Powerball numbers, confirming an impossible match. Twenty years a ghost, living paycheck to paycheck in a tiny Brooklyn apartment, and now, I held the key to a new life. But the buzz of my phone pulled me back to a familiar nightmare. It was Brenda, my "adoptive" mother, calling with fake sympathy, quickly turning to thinly veiled greed for money for my "father's" liver transplant. When I calmly told her I had won the lottery, her manufactured panic vanished, replaced by an ugly, avaricious gasp. My refusal to hand over a single cent unleashed a public tirade; soon, I was plastered across every news channel, dubbed the "Powerball Parasite," buying Birkin bags while my "dying dad" lay in a hospital bed. The world hated me, calling me a monster. Every comment was a venomous stab, every headline a condemnation. They didn't understand the icy calm behind my eyes, the cold precision of my actions. They saw heartless cruelty; I saw the meticulously laid foundation for a justice long overdue. Why would I invite such public scorn? Why play the villain? Because this wasn't some selfish whim. This was a calculated strike. And when the invitation came from 'The Dr. Grant Show' – Brenda's last desperate plea – I knew it was time for the world to see the truth. Not just my truth, but their truth.

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?

Janet was adopted when she was a kid -- a dream come true for orphans. However, her life was anything but happy. Her adoptive mother taunted and bullied her all her life. Janet got the love and affection of a parent from the old maid who raised her. Unfortunately, the old woman fell ill, and Janet had to marry a worthless man in place of her parents' biological daughter to meet the maid's medical expenses. Could this be a Cinderella's tale? But the man was far from a prince, except for his handsome appearance. Ethan was the illegitimate son of a wealthy family who lived a reckless life and barely made ends meet. He got married to fulfill his mother's last wish. However, on his wedding night, he had an inkling that his wife was different from what he had heard about her. Fate had united the two people with deep secrets. Was Ethan truly the man we thought he was? Surprisingly, he bore an uncanny resemblance to the impenetrable wealthiest man in the city. Would he find out that Janet married him in place of her sister? Would their marriage be a romantic tale or an utter disaster? Read on to unravel Janet and Ethan's journey.

"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."

"Mr. Evans, please maintain some dignity. Don't forget I'm your brother's wife!" Having caught her husband and best friend together in the bed, Elena wanted nothing more than to exact revenge on the people she once called family. She refused to be a pitiful divorcee and vowed to make everyone who had once looked down on her beg for forgiveness. And to start with her newfound freedom, Elena indulges in a one-night stand with a stranger. However, what was meant to be a fleeting escape turns into a nightmare when she learns that the stranger is none other than her husband's older brother! Would Elena be free from the shackles of her marriage? Or would the mysterious stranger make her life a living hell since he seemed to have a personal vendetta against his family? [The story is 18+ and involves mature content.]

Darya spent three years loving Micah, worshipping the ground he walked on. Until his neglect and his family's abuse finally woke her up to the ugly truth-he doesn't love her. Never did, never will. To her, he is a hero, her knight in shining armour. To him, she is an opportunist, a gold digger who schemed her way into his life. Darya accepts the harsh reality, gathers the shattered pieces of her dignity, divorces him, takes back her real name, reclaims her title as the country's youngest billionaire heiress. Their paths cross again at a party. Micah watches his ex-wife sing like an angel, tear up the dance floor, then thwart a lecher with a roundhouse kick. He realises, belatedly, that she's exactly the kind of woman he'd want to marry, if only he had taken the trouble to get to know her. Micah acts promptly to win her back, but discovers she's now surrounded by eligible bachelors: high-powered CEO, genius biochemist, award-winning singer, reformed playboy. Worse, she makes it pretty clear that she's done with him. Micah gears up for an uphill battle. He must prove to her he's still worthy of her love before she falls for someone else. And time is running out.

Everyone was shocked to the bones when the news of Rupert Benton's engagement broke out. It was surprising because the lucky girl was said to be a plain Jane, who grew up in the countryside and had nothing to her name. One evening, she showed up at a banquet, stunning everyone present. "Wow, she's so beautiful!" All the men drooled, and the women got so jealous. What they didn't know was that this so-called country girl was actually an heiress to a billion-dollar empire. It wasn't long before her secrets came to light one after the other. The elites couldn't stop talking about her. "Holy smokes! So, her father is the richest man in the world?" "She's also that excellent, but mysterious designer who many people adore! Who would have guessed?" Nonetheless, people thought that Rupert didn't love her. But they were in for another surprise. Rupert released a statement, silencing all the naysayers. "I'm very much in love with my beautiful fiancee. We will be getting married soon." Two questions were on everyone's minds: "Why did she hide her identity? And why was Rupert in love with her all of a sudden?"