My Ex-Wife's Bitter Brew

On my twenty-fifth birthday, I discovered my boyfriend of seven years and my best friend were having an affair. They gave me matching necklaces-a sea and a mountain-the very set I had picked out for him as a symbol of our love. It was their silent confession, a confirmation of the betrayal I had just witnessed. Later that night, my best friend was attacked. I rushed to her side, only to be met with my boyfriend's fury. He accused me of being selfish and late, then broke up with me, leaving me alone and bleeding in the snow after I coughed up blood from my terminal lung cancer. He didn't see the blood. He didn't know I was dying. He just saw me as an inconvenience. My world shattered. I had been hiding my illness to spare them pain, only to find they were building their happiness on my quiet suffering. I received his call from the hospital, not out of concern for me, but because he had just discovered the truth about my cancer. He was too late. I was already on a plane to Oregon, having sent my final message: "I love you both. Always. Find your happiness. I'll be okay." This was my last gift to them-their freedom, bought with my life.

For three years, I was Alpha Laurence's fated mate, a title he never honored. He was in love with another woman, Rosalie, and I was just an inconvenient placeholder he refused to mark. The night my father lay dying, I begged him for the life-saving medicine he had promised to deliver. He was with Rosalie. Through our mental link, I heard her laugh in the background before he cut me off. "Stop bothering me with trivial matters," he snarled. His lover then faked an illness, pulling every senior healer away from my father's side. He died while my mate was choosing a tuxedo with another woman. My father's life was a "trivial matter" to the man who was supposed to be my other half. In his obsession, he had become an accomplice to murder. But he had no idea what I had done. Days earlier, while he was distracted by a call from her, I slipped a single page into a thick stack of documents. He signed it without reading, and with a flick of his wrist, he severed his own soul. He had just signed the Ritual of Rejection.

Eight years of my life, my brilliance, my family inheritance-all poured into Mark' s biotech startup, GenLife. I was the unsung architect, coding his prototypes late into the night, nursing his dying mother, while my own career gathered dust. When GenLife finally soared, Mark was captivated by Cassandra, his self-proclaimed muse and my own biological parents' golden child. Then, gravely ill with pneumonia and desperate, I tried to reach him to pick up our son, Ben. Instead of my husband, I found an Instagram story: Mark, Ben, and the Winthrops-my birth parents-toasting Cassandra' s lavish 'surprise promotion.' The centerpiece? A cake featuring my revolutionary molecule design, dismissed by Mark years ago as "too theoretical," now proudly presented as her intellectual triumph. Standing right there, in front of everyone, our son called Cassandra "Mommy" while his father looked on, unbothered. The raw betrayal, the audacity of parading my stolen work and my own child' s shifted affection, was a physical shock that cut through my fever. How could the man I loved, the family I sacrificed everything for, erase my existence so thoroughly, so publicly? They believed they had broken me, reduced me to nothing. But as I walked out of that opulent restaurant, leaving their celebration behind, a quiet, icy clarity settled in: a phoenix doesn't rise from ashes without first burning down the old world. This was my turning point. This was the moment I chose to reclaim my name, my work, and my future, on my own terms.

My fiancé, Jacob, crashed another woman' s wedding. I found out from a viral video while preparing his favorite dessert to celebrate our upcoming IVF cycle. It was Kierra Gates, the "struggling artist" he always claimed to pity. This wasn't the first time. Three years ago, he beat a man bloody for her, a public scandal that nearly broke us. I stood by him then, swallowing the humiliation and my friends' warnings. I even forgave him for the miscarriage his violent outburst caused. He swore it was over, that our future, our family, was all that mattered. But as I watched the video of him snatching her from the altar, his promises echoed like a cruel joke. He' d abandoned me again, on the cusp of our dream, for the same woman. My love for him, a fifteen-year constant, finally ran dry. This wasn't just another betrayal; it was the end. I picked up the phone, my hand steady. "I'd like to cancel my IVF appointment," I told the clinic. "And schedule an abortion. As soon as possible."

The acceptance letters for NYU, side-by-side on my desk, symbolized four years of high school effort and a shared dream with David: studying architecture in New York City. Our entire lives were perfectly planned. Then, I overheard David on the phone, his voice low and excited, revealing a horrifying truth: "California is going to be insane. No, she has no idea. I can't do it anymore. The clinginess... I need to be free." My world shattered. The boy I'd loved since childhood, who held our future, was crushing it without a thought. He admitted he was going to UCLA to study film, and when I asked about our plans, he flatly said, "I' m tired of you. I need space to be my own person." His words hit harder than any blow. I realized my devotion had been seen as a cage. All those years I' d put his needs first, sacrificing my own friendships and passions to support him, believing it was love. Now, I saw it was all to make him feel bigger while I made myself smaller. He' d left me feeling like the villain in our story. I couldn't understand. How could the boy who once declared, "Sarah's not a girl. She's Sarah," now call me clingy and dismiss me like trash? Why did he always pull me back with sweet gestures, only to lash out and abandon me when I tried to look out for him? But a tiny, hard kernel of anger began to form. He thought I couldn't survive without him. I would go to NYU, I would study architecture, and I would prove him wrong. Even if it killed me.

The day my tech startup sold for a cool eighty million dollars, I walked into my Silicon Valley mansion, ready to share the life-changing news with my fiancée, Chloe, and her mother, Brenda. Instead, I found myself accused. Brenda, her eyes narrowed with disapproval, asked, "Ethan, aren't you going to work today?" I made a joke, a test: "The company went under, Brenda. Actually, we're in a pretty significant amount of debt." Her reaction was immediate, explosive. "Ethan Miller, are you seriously telling me that you expect my daughter to marry you and help pay off your pre-marital debts?" Chloe, my fiancée, walked in, shaking her head. "I told you starting a business was a bad idea, but you never listen. Now look what happened. There goes the designer handbag I wanted." Brenda leaned in, her voice dripping with contempt. "A man needs dignity. My Chloe makes good money as an influencer, but she can't just support a freeloader forever." The mansion we stood in, the car and credit cards Chloe used, the very holiday they were enjoying - all mine. Yet, they saw me as the freeloader. The next few days became a twisted game of power, culminating in Brenda moving into my master bedroom, claiming it was her daughter' s house, and banishing me to the tiny, dark maid' s room. "You and Chloe are not married yet. You can't sleep in the same room!" she shrieked. Exasperated, I endured it. But that night, as I passed my former bedroom, I heard voices, low and chilling. Liam' s voice, angry: "When are you going to get rid of that bastard?" Chloe' s voice, calm and cold: "Not yet. If we get rid of him now, we won't get a single dime of his money." Then Liam, a horrifying whisper: "Is the stuff you're giving him even working? Why isn't he dead yet?" My blood ran cold. Chloe' s next words erased any doubt: "Don't you remember how Ethan's father died? Wasn't it from the exact same stuff you were giving him?" My father' s sudden death, the nosebleeds I'd had for weeks-it all clicked into a terrifying, murderous plot. Suddenly, Brenda' s loud, selfish drama, had accidentally saved my life. My family, the people I loved most, were systematically poisoning me, just as they had my father, to inherit my fortune. I knew then what I had to do. I wouldn' t just survive; I would make them pay.

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."

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.

Isabelle's love for Kolton held flawless for fifteen years-until the day she delivered their children and slipped into a coma. He leaned to her ear and whispered, "Don't wake up. You're worthless to me now." The twins later clutched another woman's hand and chirped, "Mommy," splintering Isabelle's heart. She woke, filed for divorce, and disappeared. Only then did Kolton notice her fingerprints on every habit. They met again: she emerged as the lead medical specialist, radiant and unmoved. But at her engagement gala, she leapt into a tycoon's arms. Jealous, he crushed a glass, blood wetting his palm. He believed as soon as he made a move, Isabelle would return to him. After all, she had loved him deeply.

Camille Lewis was the forgotten daughter, the unloved wife, the woman discarded like yesterday's news. Betrayed by her husband, cast aside by her own family, and left for dead by the sister who stole everything, she vanished without a trace. But the weak, naive Camille died the night her car was forced off that bridge. A year later, she returns as Camille Kane, richer, colder, and more powerful than anyone could have imagined. Armed with wealth, intelligence, and a hunger for vengeance, she is no longer the woman they once trampled on. She is the storm that will tear their world apart. Her ex-husband begs for forgiveness. Her sister's perfect life crumbles. Her parents regret the daughter they cast aside. But Camille didn't come back for apologies, she came back to watch them burn. But as her enemies fall at her feet, one question remains: when the revenge is over, what's left? A mysterious trillionaire Alexander Pierce steps into her path, offering something she thought she lost forever, a future. But can a woman built on ashes learn to love again? She rose from the fire to destroy those who betrayed her. Now, she must decide if she'll rule alone... or let someone melt the ice in her heart.

They don't know I'm a girl. They all look at me and see a boy. A prince. Their kind purchase humans like me for their lustful desires. And, when they stormed into our kingdom to buy my sister, I intervened to protect her. I made them take me too. The plan was to escape with my sister whenever we found a chance. How was I to know our prison would be the most fortified place in their kingdom? I was supposed to be on the sidelines. The one they had no real use for. The one they never meant to buy. But then, the most important person in their savage land-their ruthless beast king-took an interest in the "pretty little prince." How do we survive in this brutal kingdom, where everyone hates our kind and shows us no mercy? And how does someone, with a secret like mine, become a lust slave? . AUTHOR'S NOTE. This is a dark romance-dark, mature content. Highly rated 18+ Expect triggers, expect hardcore. If you're a seasoned reader of this genre, looking for something different, prepared to go in blindly not knowing what to expect at every turn, but eager to know more anyway, then dive in! . From the author of the international bestselling book: "The Alpha King's Hated Slave."

She spent ten years chasing after the right brother, only to fall for the wrong one in one weekend. ~~~ Sloane Mercer has been hopelessly in love with her best friend, Finn Hartley, since college. For ten long years, she's stood by him, stitching him back together every time Delilah Crestfield-his toxic on-and-off girlfriend-shattered his heart. But when Delilah gets engaged to another man, Sloane thinks this might finally be her chance to have Finn for herself. She couldn't be more wrong. Heartbroken and desperate, Finn decides to crash Delilah's wedding and fight for her one last time. And he wants Sloane by his side. Reluctantly, Sloane follows him to Asheville, hoping that being close to Finn will somehow make him see her the way she's always seen him. Everything changes when she meets Knox Hartley, Finn's older brother-a man who couldn't be more different from Finn. He's dangerously magnetic. Knox sees right through Sloane and makes it his mission to pull her into his world. What starts as a game-a twisted bet between them-soon turns into something deeper. Sloane is trapped between two brothers: one who's always broken her heart and another who seems hell-bent on claiming it... no matter the cost. CONTENT WARNING: This story is strongly 18+. It delves into dark romance themes such as obsession and lust with morally complex characters. While this is a love story, reader discretion is advised.