The Housekeeper Who Stole My Life

For ten years, Liam was my world. I was the silent force behind Aegis, his tech empire, turning a garage startup into a titan on the brink of its IPO. Every all-nighter, every neutralized threat, every high-stakes deal – I was there, a ghost in the shadows, believing his promise: "Once Aegis goes public, Ava… I' ll make you my wife." But tonight, at the pre-IPO celebration, I overheard him. He called me a "loyal old dog," suitable only for a "generous severance package," while declaring his intention to marry "pure, clean" Chloe. My world shattered. The man I loved, the man I sacrificed everything for, saw me as something disposable, a liability from a past he wanted to bury. He said Chloe was the "prize at the top," and I was merely a "partner for the climb." The ultimate betrayal, a decade of my life reduced to a job, my loyalty deemed an investment he' d now pay out with calculated interest. I walked through hell for him, taking bullets and doing his dirty work so his hands could stay "clean," only to be cast aside for being "unclean" myself. Then, he was kidnapped. And even after he threw me away like trash, I walked into a den of armed killers, taking two bullets for him, just to cut the final ties. He ran straight to his new love, leaving me bleeding on the cold concrete. Now, he' s back, crawling, begging for forgiveness and offering me everything-his company, his name, his future-because his "prize" betrayed him. But I'm not a trophy to be won back. He shattered me, and I refuse to be pieced back together for his convenience. My past is a battlefield, my scars are my resume, and this time, I choose myself.

The email chimed, promising a breakthrough – a perfect 1600 on my SATs, a golden ticket to the future, and finally, acceptance into the Miller family. But then, Chloe, my adoptive sister, gasped, her own 1599 score turning her face green with envy. In an instant, joy curdled into a nightmare as Liam, my adoptive brother, materialized, his protective fury ignited by Chloe' s crocodile tears. He branded me a cheat, an ungrateful outsider out to humiliate his beloved sister, tearing down everything I' d worked for. They dragged me, terrified, from the house, not to reflect, but to a rundown animal shelter, a place designed to exploit my deepest, most traumatic childhood phobia: dogs. This was no prank; it was calculated malice. Left bleeding and broken, Liam' s scathing words on the phone twisted the knife deeper, dismissing my pleas for help as manipulation. Then, Chloe' s voice, sickeningly sweet, promised to destroy my most cherished possession-a photo of my late mentor, Mr. Harrison-and I heard the shattering glass. The line went dead, leaving me in the dark with a freed, aggressive pit bull, its growl a death knell. Just as hope flickered, Chloe' s voice, cruel and dismissive, echoed again, mocking my screams as "dramatic." They weren' t coming. They wanted me to die. But then, I heard the sirens, and found the strength to scream one desperate command: "Break it down!" The world exploded in light, but so did the Millers' carefully constructed facade, exposed live on national television as a horrific betrayal. Now, as they face the consequences of their monstrous acts, I will rise from the ashes, no longer an outsider begging for crumbs of affection, but the architect of my own destiny.

The piercing beep of the carbon monoxide detector was the last sound I heard on Christmas Eve, my thirtieth birthday. Then, a searing pain, and I gasped awake, not in my cold, dark apartment, but in a sterile, bright hospital room, giving birth. I was twenty-five again, watching Liam, my charismatic husband, and his perfectly coiffed mother, Brenda, barely acknowledge our newborn son, Leo. I remembered my first life: Liam' s growing indifference, sacrificing my culinary dreams for a love that was never returned, watching my son embrace another woman. The pain of that life, more real than the lingering ache of childbirth, burned in my gut: I vowed I would not live that life again. When Chloe, the woman Liam had left me for, showed up at our door, ostensibly as a "colleague," and I overheard Liam confessing that I was nothing more than "the next best thing," "a substitute." My heart shattered, but this time, it forged ice. When Liam sabotaged my return to the culinary world, taking the restaurant opportunity I had secured and handing it to Chloe, then poaching my entire team, all to publicly humiliate me. The numbness shattered, replaced by a white-hot, furious clarity: This was war. I walked into his office, saw Chloe perched on his desk, and told him, "Liam, I want a divorce." He followed me to Paris, trying to reclaim me, but I refused, winning the culinary competition he' d tried to sabotage. I knew, with sickening certainty, that he had lost the best part of himself. I built my own kingdom, and the future was a blank page, and for the first time, I was the one holding the pen.

A splash of ice-cold water shocked me awake, but the smell of stale takeout and cheap air freshener told me something was terribly wrong. The last thing I remembered was a dark cargo container, the scent of the sea, and the chilling realization that my own brother, Liam, had sold me to human traffickers to pay off his gambling debts. I was supposed to be dead, yet here he was, whining about co-signing a loan, completely oblivious. Then I saw the date: three years ago. Three years before my life completely fell apart, three years before he' d betray me. A cold, sharp rage drowned out years of guilt and my mother' s dying wish: "Always look after your brother, Chloe. Promise me." That promise had been a chain around my neck, strangling me until I lost my marriage, my savings, my home, and finally, my life. Not again. I looked at him, really looked at him, for the first time without the filter of sisterly obligation. I saw a parasite. Then I did something I had never done in my entire life. I slapped him. His eyes widened in disbelief. "What the hell, Chloe?" he shrieked. "No," I said, my voice low and steady. "I'm not signing anything. Not today. Not ever again." "You don't get to be 'done'! You owe me! I'm your brother!" he snarled, grabbing my arm. "A brother doesn't sell his sister to traffickers for a hundred grand," I said calmly. The blood drained from his face as his grip loosened. He hadn't done it yet in this timeline, but the idea, the calculation, flickered in his eyes. He didn' t know how I knew. And that gave me all the power. I was back, and this time, I would be the one writing the ending.

The small, intricate knot of red silk and jade dangled from David Chen' s fingers. He was about to hand it to me, just like he always did. This was the moment that began a lifetime of misery in my first life. "Sarah," he began, his voice the same smooth tone that once soothed me. But this time, I pushed his hand away, a sharp, instinctive motion. His gentle look vanished, replaced by confusion, then irritation. He turned, and without hesitation, offered the charm to my stepsister, Chloe. I watched Chloe' s triumphant little smile, the memory of my death fresh in my mind. My sweet dog, Lucky, had died. My husband, David, had then lost his mind. He' d claimed Chloe looked just like my dead dog and brought her to our friends' gathering. "Sarah, let' s get a divorce," he' d shrieked, eyes wild. "I want Chloe to be my wife." He then killed me, and took his own life before my fading eyes. His obsession wasn't with a woman; it was with a ghost. And now I was back, at the charity gala meant to celebrate our arranged engagement. The outcome was supposed to be set in stone, a merger of families and fortunes. But this time, I had changed the script. I would not ignore Mark Evans. This time, I would live for myself.

Ten years. That' s how long it took for Sarah Miller to finally be Mrs. Ethan Black. But on their wedding day, Dr. Ethan Black didn't show up. Instead, his assistant delivered a "no-questions-asked forgiveness voucher" -his excuse? His socialite ex, Brittany Hayes' s show dog was sick. When I tried to talk to him, I walked in on Brittany lounging on my sofa, her dog chewing my shoe. Before I could process the scene, the dog attacked, sinking its teeth into my leg. Brittany slapped me, then shrieked, "He' s a prized show dog! If you' ve hurt him, I' ll kill you!" And Ethan? He stood by, watching, ultimately telling me to apologize to the dog. He even tried to give me another voucher, an invoice for my humiliation. But the ultimate blow came at my mother' s grave, which Brittany claimed was now hers. With Ethan' s complicity, she scattered my mother' s ashes, then broke my arm. I was left for dead, but I survived. Ethan thinks I' m gone, that a debt has been paid. He has no idea. Now, it' s my turn to make him pay, to show him what happens when you use up all your chances-and all my unconditional love.

Dayna had worshiped her husband, only to watch him strip her late mother's estate and lavish devotion on another woman. After three miserable years, he discarded her, and she lay broken-until Kristopher, the man she once betrayed, dragged her from the wreckage. He now sat in a wheelchair, eyes like tempered steel. She offered a pact: she would mend his legs if he helped crush her ex. He scoffed, yet signed on. As their ruthless alliance caught fire, he uncovered her other lives-healer, hacker, pianist-and her numb heart stirred. But her groveling ex crawled back. "Dayna, you were my wife! How could you marry someone else? Come back!"

My name is Katia, and I am just trying to survive until my fated mate arrives. Which may be easier said than done. Rejectection is the last straw. Whispering my acceptance of his rejection. I run through the pack house, out across the manicured lawn into the forest. "I'm sorry, my sweet girl," I say to my wolf. I'm sorry you have been stuck with me and have had to suffer everything I have. She whispers," it's not your fault, Katia. We came to a cliff with a waterfall. The hurt keeps pounding at me. I need it to stop. My sweet girl, and I just want peace, I keep running and leap off the cliff. Spreading my arms wide, with tears streaming down my face, I fall, not making a sound, waiting for sweet oblivion where we feel nothing ever again. "I love you, my sweet girl! Until we meet again, "My wolf replied just before we hit the water, "I love you too, Katia. I have never regretted a moment with you." The Snow Moon pack is having their last barbecue of the summer next to the waterfall on their land. The adults are laughing and joking while watching the pups play. The alpha, beta, and gamma are swimming with some of the older children and playing a game of Marco Polo. Someone yells, "Oh my goddess, someone just jumped over the waterfall!" Everyone is frozen as they watch what looks to be a child falling arms spread wide, no one makes a sound. The small body hits the water like a plane crashing into the side of a mountain. The alpha, beta, and gamma, spring into action, swimming towards the area the person went under. The alpha is screaming his wolf is going crazy repeating, "Find her. Find her...find her!" They dive and the beta surfaces with a small person in his arms. Alpha takes the girl from his beta, laying her on the ground. The men are shocked by what they see. She is covered in scars and injuries. Her body is twisted and broken. The Beta asks, "Who could have done this to someone so defenseless?" Alpha drops to his knees, repeating, "MATE...MATE...MATE!"

"Tell me, my sweet Mila, do you want me to stop?" "No!" I gasp. "Good, because no matter what, no matter who walks in, I won't," He promised. Killian Knight was many things, dangerous, a certified killer, devastatingly handsome, my father's business partner and married. He was not just off limits, he was forbidden, he was a sin and I was tempted enough to risk the hell fire. He was everything that could ruin me and my body, my mind and my soul; everything was ready for it. Mila Anderson's life takes an unexpected turn when she succumbs to the magnetic allure of her father's enigmatic and dangerous mafia associate. What she doesn't know is that Killian Knight has the power to unravel everything she's carefully built. One secret revealed could bring it all crashing down. For Killian, one night with Mila changes everything. She's everything he desires, yet she comes with her own web of secrets-and he's determined to uncover every single one.

"Love is blind!" Lucinda abandoned her beautiful and comfortable life because of a man. She married him and slaved off for him for three long years. One day, the scales finally fell off her eyes. She realized that all her efforts were in vain. Her husband, Nathaniel still treated her like shit. All he cared about was his lover. "Enough is enough! I quit wasting my years with an ungrateful man!" Lucinda's heart was shattered into many pieces, but she summoned up the courage to ask for a divorce. The news caused a stir online! A filthy rich young woman recently got divorced? She was a good catch! Countless CEOs and handsome young men immediately swarmed to her like bees to honey! Nathaniel couldn't take it anymore. He held a press conference and begged with teary eyes, "I love you, Lucinda. I can't live without you. Please come back to me." Would Lucinda give him a second chance? Read to find out!

Abandoned as a child and orphaned by murder, Kathryn swore she'd reclaim every shred of her stolen birthright. When she returned, society called her an unpolished love-child, scoffing that Evan had lost his mind to marry her. Only Evan knew the truth: the quiet woman he cradled like porcelain hid secrets enough to set the city trembling. She doubled as a legendary healer, an elusive hacker, and the royal court's favorite perfumer. At meetings, the directors groaned at the lovey-dovey couple, "Does she really have to be here?" Evan shrugged. "Happy wife, happy life." Soon her masks fell, and those who sneered bowed in awe.

Elliana, the unfavored "ugly duckling" of her family, was humiliated by her stepsister, Paige, who everyone admired. Paige, engaged to the CEO Cole, was the perfect woman-until Cole married Elliana on the day of the wedding. Shocked, everyone wondered why he chose the "ugly" woman. As they waited for her to be cast aside, Elliana stunned everyone by revealing her true identity: a miracle healer, financial mogul, appraisal prodigy, and AI genius. When her mistreatment became known, Cole revealed Elliana's stunning, makeup-free photo, sending shockwaves through the media. "My wife doesn't need anyone's approval."