Poisoned Love: A Wife's Reckoning

In my last life, I was played for a fool by my charming fiancé, Curtis, and my jealous cousin, Chloe. He promised me the world, but it was all a beautiful illusion built on lies. He stole my ideas, shattered my reputation, and left me broken and alone. My death was ruled an "accident," but I knew the truth. They had orchestrated it all. Chloe, my own cousin, stood by his side, watching with twisted satisfaction as my world burned. They took everything from me-my career, my dignity, and finally, my life. The betrayal was a cold rage that settled deep in my bones. I couldn't understand how I had been so blind to the monster hiding behind his perfect smile. Now, I've opened my eyes to a second chance. I'm back at the beginning, forced to choose a husband to save my family's failing company. On one side is Curtis, the charming serpent who destroyed me. On the other is the cold, ruthless Arjun Becker, a man who promises security, but at what cost? This time, I won't be a fool. I know exactly who to choose.

I was a Grammy-winning musician, engaged to the love of my life, tech mogul Julian Watson. But on the night of my greatest triumph, he framed me for plagiarism to protect his secret lover, the pop starlet Kaylene Avila. He leaked my private journals, and the world turned on me. An enraged fan, fueled by his lies, attacked me, leaving a scar across my face and destroying my vocal cords forever. My grandfather died from the shock. I ran, changing my name and hiding for five years as a barista. But Julian found me. He threatened the kind old woman who'd given me a job and even my grandfather's grave. His price for their safety? I had to become Kaylene's ghostwriter. Trapped in a luxury apartment, I was a tool for their ambition. Kaylene, wearing a bracelet Julian once gave me, smirked as she handed me her terrible lyrics. "Don't worry, Annie," she purred. "Your voice might be gone, but your words can still be mine." But my usefulness ran out. Kaylene arranged for me to be beaten and left for dead. As I faded into darkness, I heard her final, chilling order to "make sure she's permanently out of the picture." What she didn't know was that my estranged sister, a federal prosecutor, had just found me. And she was about to fake my death.

The church doors opened, and my wedding day shattered. My groom, Colby, turned from me at the altar, his eyes fixed on his pregnant sister-in-law, Camryn. He led her down the aisle as if she were the bride, leaving me a statue in white lace. He begged me to stay, promising his love, claiming duty to his dead brother. Foolishly, I believed him, only to find Camryn' s suitcases already in our new home.

My mentor, Emily Stone, had me admitted to Serenity Hills Wellness Center, claiming it was for "stress." I knew it was to control me. But I had a secret purpose stronger than her grasp: my body donation agreement for ALS research, the only thing I had left to give as my life slipped away. Just as I believed I' d secured my final act of defiance-enough money for a quiet exit-Emily' s security team appeared. They dragged me back to her penthouse, a gilded cage I' d inhabited for five years, ever since she blamed me for her brother Liam' s death. Emily, fueled by a grief twisted into obsession, subjected me to endless torment, treating me as a possession to mold and punish. She mocked my weakening body, forcing me to perform impossible tasks, and unleashed her new partner, David Chen, to systematically brutalize me, physically and mentally. The torture culminated when David, feigning a rare blood disorder, coerced Emily into crippling me for a bone marrow transplant, severing my nerves to ensure I' d never walk again. I was confined to a wheelchair, my music silenced, my body broken, betrayed by the woman I had sworn to protect. I was left to wonder: Why did she believe such blatant lies? Why did her love for me curdle into such cruel hatred? And what was the secret that sealed my fate from the moment Liam died? Yet, even as Emily abandoned me to a fiery death, I clung to an impossible promise. This torment, this injustice, would not be the end of my story.

The heavy prison gates clanged shut behind me. After five years of hell, I, Ava Smith, was finally free. My first stop, however, wasn' t a warm bed, but the county clerk' s office. I needed a divorce from Liam Johnson. The clerk' s words hit me like a physical blow: "There's no record of a marriage between Ava Smith and Liam Johnson. This is a fake, honey." My entire marriage was a lie. Memories flashed back-Liam, the grieving businessman, conceiving our son Ethan in a drunken haze, calling me his deceased first love. His powerful family forced him to marry me, but on our wedding night, his words were cold: "I will never love you, Ava." I played the perfect wife, loving our son with every fiber of my being. Then, I was framed for destroying a memorial garden. Liam believed every lie, his eyes full of disgust, and sent me to prison. For five years, the thought of Ethan was all that kept me alive. My son, the same one who now screamed at me, "Mom! What did she do to you?" as he ran to my best friend, Scarlett Hayes-the woman who was supposed to be dead, now living in my home and raising my child. "She's more of a mother to him than you ever were," Liam said, shielding them both from me. The agony was unbearable. How could he believe her? How could my son, the child I carried and loved, hate me so fiercely? It was a betrayal beyond words. I picked up my phone, dialing a number I hadn't used in years. "I'm not interested in my 'marriage' anymore. Or my son." The lie tasted like acid. "The children in the mountains," I said, my voice gaining strength, "they'll be my new family now."

The termination notice arrived, cold and impersonal, ending my three-year stint as the "unofficial queen" of Hayes Tech and Nathan Hayes' s girlfriend. Just like that, I was collateral damage for the return of Chloe Davis, his high school sweetheart and "white knight." But then, a strange relief washed over me. This corporate execution was a stark contrast to the messy life I lived, a life already tangled in Nathan' s possessive grip. My desk, the one Nathan himself had moved so he could "see me whenever he looked out his office window," now faced a tightly shut blind. Outside, his sleek black car pulled up, and he opened the door for Chloe, a practiced gesture of chivalry he' d never once shown me. His adoration for her was a look he reserved only for her. He was giving her the world, and I was just the discarded memory, a piece of sidewalk furniture he walked past without a glance. My phone, once buzzing with his messages, now remained dark, a testament to his new home with Chloe. Then came the calls from unknown numbers, the news reports of their perfect reunion. During this silent abandonment, I made several trips to the hospital, clutching papers that spelled out a truth I wasn' t ready to face. He stayed home that night, pressing my hand to his cheek. "I' ve been so busy, I didn' t even notice you were sick." His tenderness, a poison I' d willingly consumed, was so easily mistaken for genuine affection. "Ava," he whispered after a night of desperate passion, "you' re not mad I fired you, are you?" How could I be? He was my salvation, the one who paid off my mother' s debts, the possessive voice that rumbled, "Ava, you' re my golden cage bird. The one who can never leave me." But everything had already changed. I just didn't realize how much until Brenda, Chloe's best friend, showed up, displaying my pathetic devotion for scorn. "Homewrecker," she spat, then lunged, slapping me across the face before slamming my head against the tabletop. Waking in a hospital bed, Nathan was there, but his concern was for Chloe' s reputation, not my pain. "Ava, Chloe is different. She's not like you. Just be good, okay?" He didn' t wipe away the single, hot tear that rolled down my temple. To him, I was a nuisance, an inconvenience. So, I had to die for him to let me go? The words were torn from my throat, raw and desperate. He laughed, a strange, humorless sound. He couldn't see it, but I was done. It was time to settle my own accounts. I would give him a spring he would never forget.

Her ex-husband declared, "The person I admired most was that legendary racer." She smiled thinly. "Hate to break it to you-that was me." He said, "Jealous I blew a fortune on a world-famous jeweler for Violet?" She let out a cool laugh. "Funny, that designer trained under me." He scoffed, "Buying a dying firm won't put you in my league. Snap out of it." She shrugged. "Weird-I just steered your company off a cliff." Stunned, he blurted out, "Baby, come back. I'll love you forever." She wrinkled her nose. "Hard pass. Keep your cheap love." Then she took a mogul's arm and never looked back.

Five years of devotion ended when Brynn was left at the altar, watching Richard rush to his true love. Knowing she could never thaw his cold heart, Brynn walked away, ready to start over. After a night of drinking, she woke beside the last man she should ever cross-Nolan, her brother's arch-enemy. As she tried to escape, he caught her, murmuring, "You kissed me all night. Leaving isn't an option." The world saw Nolan as cold and distant, but with Brynn, he indulged her every desire. He even bought her a whole village and held her close, his voice low, deep, and endlessly tempting, his robe falling open to reveal his toned abs. "Want to feel it?"

Since she was ten, Noreen had been by Caiden's side, watching him rise from a young boy into a respected CEO. After two years of marriage, though, his visits home grew rare. Gossip among the wealthy said he despised her. Even his beloved mocked her hopes, and his circle treated her with scorn. People forgot about her decade of loyalty. She clung to memories and became a figure of ridicule, worn out from trying. They thought he'd won his freedom, but he dropped to his knees and begged, "Noreen, you're the only one I love." Leaving behind the divorce papers, she walked away.

The night I discovered my husband's whore was carrying his heir, I smiled for the cameras-and plotted his ruin. Scarlett was born a queen-heir to a powerful legacy, Luna of the Dark Moon Pack by blood and by sacrifice. She gave everything to Alexander: her love, her loyalty, her life. In return, he paraded his mistress before their pack... and dared to call it duty. But Scarlett won't be another broken woman weeping in the shadows. She'll wear her crown of thorns with pride, tear down every lie built around her, and when she strikes, it will be glorious. The Alpha forgot that the woman he betrayed is far more dangerous than the girl who once loved him.

Kallie, a mute who had been ignored by her husband for five years since their wedding, also suffered the loss of her pregnancy due to her cruel mother-in-law. After the divorce, she learned that her ex-husband had quickly gotten engaged to the woman he truly loved. Holding her slightly rounded belly, she realized that he had never really cared for her. Determined, she left him behind, treating him as a stranger. Yet, after she left, he scoured the globe in search of her. When their paths crossed once more, Kallie had already found new happiness. For the first time, he pleaded humbly, "Please don't leave me..."  But Kallie's response was firm and dismissive, cutting through any lingering ties. "Get lost!"

In her previous life, Kimberly endured the betrayal of her husband, the cruel machinations of an evil woman, and the endless tyranny of her in-laws. It culminated in the bankruptcy of her family, and ultimately, her death. After being reborn, she resolved to seek retribution against those who had wronged her, and ensure her family's prosperity. To her shock, the most unattainable man from her past suddenly set his sights on her. "You may have overlooked me before, but I shall capture your heart this time around."