Rising after Grief
/1/125737/coverbig.jpg?v=a18d7818f6b72d3eab96d6ab03ee0a41)
Jilted Ex-Wife? The Secret Billionaire Heiress!
I was in the hospital, enduring the agonizing pain of labor, while my husband, a famous hockey captain, refused to show up. When I called him for the twelfth time, begging for him, he lost his patience. "Giving birth is a woman's job, don't bother me with this stuff." Then, I heard my stepsister's sweet voice offering him a drink, and he immediately softened before hanging up on me. I gave birth to twins all by myself. The nurses treated me with cold indifference, and the family in the next bed loudly mocked me as a pathetic "Puck Bunny" who was just an adopted orphan about to be dumped. They were right. A month ago, my husband had thrown divorce papers at me, demanding I make way because my stepsister was pregnant with his child. I thought my life was a joke. I was just a discarded prop he married to satisfy his grandfather, a fake daughter my adoptive parents only used to elevate my stepsister. I was completely alone, ready to sign the papers just to protect my two babies. But then, the head of the hospital rushed in, transferred me to the top-floor VIP suite, and handed me a DNA test. It turned out I wasn't an unwanted orphan, but the long-lost daughter of the ultra-wealthy Sinclair family who had been searching for me for twenty years. Looking at my billionaire parents and three powerful brothers who just flew in on their private jets to protect me, I picked up my phone to call my arrogant husband. This time, I was going to make him leave with nothing.
Chapter 1
ANYA POV:
When I was lying in the operating room with postpartum hemorrhage and in urgent need of a family consent form during emergency situations, the twelve phone calls I made to my husband with my last strength were not worth one tenth of the hockey stick in his hand.
The operating room was in chaos. The monitor screamed and the nurses ran around.
After a day and a night of childbirth, my body was exhausted. Every pulse took away warm, sticky blood and slipped away from me quietly. I knew I was going to die. I could feel it.
Two years of marriage, and I should have known. I was just a prop he married to satisfy his family.
But for the sake of my unborn child, I continued to make one last effort.
This was the thirteenth time I had called him.
Waiting in agony, I heard the call connect.
But it wasn't his voice. It was his assistant's, crisp and professional. "Mr. Knight is in a critical strategy meeting before tonight's game, Mrs. Knight."
My voice was so weak I could barely hear it. "Please, let me say something to him, just once...... Maybe after today, he won't have to answer my calls anymore. ”
A moment of silence. Then, I heard Keenan's voice, laced with irritation. The background noise was unmistakable-the sharp tap of hockey sticks on a locker room floor.
"Anya, what trick are you playing now? Didn't I tell you every pre-game meeting is crucial?"
My eyes were blurred with tears. "Keenan, I know you always wanted me to sign that divorce agreement. Now I agree to your request. As long as you come to the hospital—"
He cut me off, his tone brutal. "Giving birth is a woman's job. You have doctors and nurses for that. Don't bother me with this stuff. You can't afford to be responsible for messing with the team's focus."
Just as I was about to speak again and beg for help, another voice. Sweet, familiar, and dripping with poison. "Keenan, the competition is about to start.don't let irrelevant people upset you. Come try the energy drink I made for you."
The daughter of my adoptive family, Kinley Hayes.
Keenan's voice instantly softened. "Okay, babe."
The line went dead.
I let the phone slip from my numb fingers. Tears mixed with the sweat on my face.
I gave up the struggle, and numbly closed my eyes.
But nurse Miller suddenly rushed in. "Dr. Reynolds! The mother's family has just signed the consent form. We're ready for the operation!"
When I heard these words, my eyes, which I had just closed, slowly opened again.
My adoptive parents?
No, they would rather have me die than let this happen. I couldn't help but wonder whether maybe the family of one of their patients signed the wrong form.
But I no longer had the time to care about these things. The darkness had blinded my eyes.
When I opened my eyes once again, I found myself in a regular ward. Two small, transparent baby beds were placed beside my bed.
Through the clear plastic, I saw two tiny, wrinkled beings. One slept peacefully, the other waved a minuscule fist in the air. So small. So fragile.
My children… they are all alive. I am also alive.
Tears flowed from my eyes as I stretched out my trembling hand, pressing my fingers against the smooth plastic surface of the baby cribs, as if I could feel their warmth through them.
At that moment, I suddenly remembered the person who signed the informed consent form for the emergency treatment.
Just as I was about to call the nurse to ask about this matter, the TV on the wall flashed briefly. Someone must have changed the channel. Live sports news began to play in the room.
"Keenan Knight leads his team to a stunning victory tonight! The star player delivered an unforgettable performance, securing their place in the finals!"
My eyes snapped open.
On the screen, Keenan stands in the middle of the rink, arms raised in triumph. The crowd roars behind him. His face is all smiles—the same face that had called me a trick just hours ago.
And then the camera panned.
Kinley was there, at his side, clinging to his arm. Her head leaned against his shoulder. She looked up at him, her cheeks flushed.
The news anchor's voice continued, "And it looks like the victory isn't the only good news for Knight tonight! Rumors are swirling that he and his long-time girlfriend, influencer Kinley Hayes, are getting closer to making things official. Wedding bells might be ringing soon for this golden couple!"
Golden couple. Long-time girlfriend. Wedding bells.
My chest hurts terribly. But I swallowed the pain back down. I looked at my child again… I couldn't collapse now.
In this crowded ward, there were two other beds. Both of these beds were surrounded by family members. The husband held the wife's hand. The mothers were busy taking care of the newborns. The grandparents laughed as they watched the babies. The room was filled with conversations, laughter, and expressions of love.
My corner was completely silent. I closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep, trying to ignore all this chaos.
"Look, that's the woman who married Keenan Knight. I heard she's just an adopted daughter with no background."
"Her husband didn't even show up for the birth. Tsk, tsk. Being a rich man's wife isn't easy."
"I heard Keenan's real love is her influencer sister. This marriage is probably about to end."
"She's so pathetic. A Puck Bunny who thought she could climb the ladder, only to get kicked off."
I clenched the blanket, my nails digging into my palm. That was what they thought of me. I didn't marry him for his fame or his money.
The malicious speculation was a physical pain, worse than the tearing of childbirth. Humiliation and grief made it hard to breathe.
As I turned my head, my two babies were snoring softly beside me. They were my only comfort in this world.
I gently took my daughter's tiny hand.
This one-woman show was over. For my children, I had to leave him.
/0/85113/coverbig.jpg?v=18960febb42c742af39055f049357594)
My Grief, His Masterpiece
The phone buzzed, a relentless vibration I tried to ignore, but Sarah' s furious face on the video call told me I couldn' t. My artist husband, Ethan, had unveiled his new exhibition, "Raw Truths," a brutal public dissection of our dead marriage. The centerpiece? A twenty-foot-tall projection of
/1/115219/coverbig.jpg?v=ac0b61ae340a76ed373cc5f4b95fc13f)
Rising from Ashes: Back to Glory After Divorce
My billionaire husband, Cooper, was thirty minutes late to my father's funeral. When the heavy cathedral doors finally opened, he wasn't there to comfort me. He was tightly shielding his mistress, Celeste, under his umbrella, treating her like a fragile lily while I stood alone in my black mourning
/0/41809/coverbig.jpg?v=cba3e2e38cf346b129adb5842eb5d10f)
Rising Phoenix
"Mark my words, Mr. Rout, I will bring you on your knees for marrying me under false pretense." she roared. The corners of my lips lift in amusement as I replied, "I will gladly go down on my knees but only for the thoughts I have in my mind for our first night together, my phoenix.And don't always
/0/40507/coverbig.jpg?v=d62a03e15543f4182fed3cecace40aaa)
Neron Rising
“I…am nothing.” He takes a step forward, shaking his head twice, with absolute conviction. “You’re not nothing, Nova.” In the Eon galaxy, Dominion controls any planet with solid Neron deposits, and Nova just found out they’re coming for hers. Korpillion isn’t supposed to have any Neron—the galaxy’s
/0/66780/coverbig.jpg?v=6cb4df6b6bfdad518b6b04197e5a2561)
Alpha Rising
Grace Hunter, a quiet and unassuming omega, had always admired the powerful and charismatic Alpha Dante Nightshade. But on her 18th birthday, the bond she longed for was severed before it could even begin-Dante rejected her, dismissing her as too weak to stand by his side. Shattered but determined
/0/51654/coverbig.jpg?v=20260526032712)
After
"TODAY is our fourth anniversary. Then... T-Then... Are you just playing with me? Tell me, Jai. Do you really love me?" I asked him while I was crying. It feels like my chest is being stabbed with a sharp blade and it seems non-stop, so I feel more pain in my heart. "I love you, Miamor. I love you
/0/81273/coverbig.jpg?v=6b11b7f287619ded3e59e6ca58cb36ce)
His Faked Death, Her Real Grief
I woke up, reborn into my transactional marriage with Amelia, flooded with agonizing memories of my past life – how I, Ethan Miller, shamefully used her, flaunted an affair, and never saw her fierce, hidden love until my dying breath. This time, I vowed to right every wrong, to love her as she tru
/0/83232/coverbig.jpg?v=6fe4e23a671cb94e5512501be61f8b7c)
When His Grief Was a Lie
My parents, the last Lifeweavers, left me with a heavy legacy: marry a Hamilton for protection. My wedding day came, but my fiancé, Ethan, chose another, leaving me to his charming half-brother, Liam. He wrapped me in a web of supposed care, until the miscarriages began. Five times, I held fleeti
/1/103962/coverbig.jpg?v=9249fbed799fe4bce2417d7588574e24)
BETRAYAL HEARTS, RISING FLAMES
Betrayed Hearts, Rising Flames tells the gripping tale of Alaric, a young man whose quest to save his beloved Elara's family plunges him into a world of betrayal and rebellion. Returning from a perilous journey with a rare healing herb, Alaric finds Elara married to the powerful Lord Riven, and his
/0/86955/coverbig.jpg?v=7d3f86b817a6f2174ff8a8f497610cfd)
Shattered Heart, Rising Spirit
The moment I told Jake Reynolds we were over, he didn't believe me. He just laughed like I was joking. We had been together for five years, living in his penthouse with my mom. I never thought our life would change. It all started when his ex-girlfriend, Brittany Davis, showed up. He asked me to co
/0/77877/coverbig.jpg?v=20260424210836)
Rising From Betrayal
Mirabella had her life built around love, trust, and devotion, believing Ethan was her Prince Charming and the perfect husband until she catches him in bed with her elder sister, Sienna. Sienna makes her pregnancy known and humiliates Mirabella for being barren; if only they knew. Ethan, on the othe
/0/60041/coverbig.jpg?v=6c214ab1e17d195cd416786ac2ffd2e6)
Feral Hearts: Luna Rising
Lunadelephia, a town where hunters and werewolves are sworn enemies, becomes a maze of conflicting loyalties, when Kimberly Silversmith, the destined Leader of the Silversmith Werewolf Hunters, defies the Hunters' Curse. Instead of dying, she survives the fatal bite from a ruthless alpha, Nicholas,
/0/83118/coverbig.jpg?v=61e72d0e0fe93220ed7f983f0b9c029c)
My North Star Rising
My dream of studying at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris was finally within reach, a Golden Whisk nomination sparkling on my laptop screen. My life as a rising pastry chef was just beginning. And then, my phone buzzed. It was Ethan, my charming boyfriend, the heir to the prestigious Vance Family Vineyard. H
/0/84042/coverbig.jpg?v=c85755dc4aec82e52ec3770e62693339)
Discarded Husband, Rising Mogul
Tonight was our tenth anniversary, wrapping up ten years of a meticulously kept contractual marriage. For a decade, I, Ethan Lester, had been the silent architect behind my wife Sabrina Chadwick' s booming real estate empire. I managed her entire life, a dutiful husband and housekeeper, all to rep
/0/41969/coverbig.jpg?v=91150c54f9122bb8677bd48009138a4a)
Rising from the Ashes
Young and tenacious Abigail James encounters many difficulties along the way to achievement. She finds herself pregnant and alone after losing her business and parents. She starts a new chapter in Texas, determined to provide her kids with a better life. Abigail obtains a position at Magabase Compan
/0/59801/coverbig.jpg?v=7e9299d28bad859c43760041fabb92b0)
Blood Moon Rising
Like any other human, Aria has lived all her life dispelling the aged-long stories of werewolves—just bedtime stories told to scare little children. And nothing more. With nothing to her name, her only hope is to one day find herself in the arms of her true love. Well, her wish came true during an
/0/1821/coverbig.jpg?v=20171122115705)
The Rising Tide
A single car-track ran through Payton Street, and over it, once in a while, a small car jogged along, drawn by two mules. Thirty years ago Payton Street had been shocked by the intrusion upon its gentility of a thing so noisy and vulgar as a street-car; but now, when the rest of the town was shuttle
/0/23182/coverbig.jpg?v=38d523f2cc5484cd456d489bfb035fae)
FRENZY: The Rising
WORK OF FICTION "Let's do this." Says Azie through gritted teeth as she stares to her acquaintances and gave each of them sharp looks and a nod. - Amara Azrail Freyja known as Azie 17, high school student from Marie university who'll spend 2 hours inside the detention room after kicking some bull
/0/83290/coverbig.jpg?v=8deeb6c8777999beb5bc2742e62329f8)
Broken Luna, Rising Wolf
Ayla Stable spent years suffering abuse and humiliation from her own pack, and her own family hates her. But when she meets her fated mate on her eighteenth birthday... Alpha Darius Vale, her lifelong tormentor. Her world collapses with one cruel sentence spoken before the entire pack. Rejected. Di
/0/66820/coverbig.jpg?v=a0f0d56cfb8b1cfe9117359aff1a57ac)
After Highschool
Ashley, a resilient girl from a humble background, catches the attention of Fred, the wealthy heartthrob of her high school, at a party where she is working as a waitress. Their unexpected connection sparks jealousy in Emily, the school's queen bee, who is determined to claim Fred for herself. As Em
