All works

My wife suddenly told me to check her Instagram story. It was a bold, public confession to her childhood best friend: "You were once the dream I could never reach. Now, my sweetest dream has finally come true." I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was just past midnight, marking our exact sixth wedding anniversary. I texted her: "Did it really have to be today?" She replied instantly: "Of course. He only gets happy when you are miserable." Happy? Then I was going to make sure everyone s

1 My house was on fire, and my fiancé, a freaking firefighter, used his pull to get the whole damn team to save his suicidal high-school sweetheart. I didn't call Mike. I just stood there, watching the blaze eat away at the home I'd so carefully put together. Last time, he'd answered my call first, rushing to rescue me, pregnant, from the flames. Bethany, his old flame, who had some issues, jumped from her apartment building and died. Mike said he didn't regret saving me and our baby. We

I had been dating Raymond Vance for three years, yet he never once acknowledged our relationship in public. But the moment he found his "true love," he couldn't wait to announce it to the world on social media. The young girl was flipping through his phone and pointed at a contact labeled "Lapdog." She pouted and asked him who it was. He laughed it off like it was the funniest joke in the world. "That was just a woman I used to satisfy my physical needs," he told her. "She is nothing

Chapter 1 "Sir, about that research project at the overseas base... I want in. Sign me up." On the other end of the line, my supervisor sounded completely blindsided. "You've turned this down a dozen times, Cassie. You always said you couldn't bear to leave Jesper Sterling. Why the sudden change of heart?" I lowered my red-rimmed eyes and forced a small, hollow laugh. "I hit a dead end. I've finally realized it's time to turn around." My supervisor sighed, his voice turning heavy and seriou

1 The virus broke out. Thousands of students were rushed to the ER, including my daughter, Maisie. My husband, Silas Miller, was the only expert who had successfully developed the antidote. He promised to deliver the serum today. It was only a thirty-minute drive, but no one ever showed up. I watched, helpless, as my daughter's body turned cold and lifeless. I called Silas, my hands shaking, desperate to tell him the news. But Seraphina Sterling, his first love, was the one who answered. I

1 My husband and son lost their memories. They forgot everyone. The only person they remembered was my recently widowed sister-in-law. Not only did they treat her like his wife, but my son even called her "Mom." I desperately searched for a cure, but one day, I overheard my whole family talking. "Mom, Dad, if this goes on, Clara will find out sooner or later. We need to find a way to get rid of her." "That's easy. You two just get divorced, then you and Krystal can be together. We'll still

1. The day I had my surgery, alone, a notification popped up on my phone. It was an Instagram post from my husband's "high school sweetheart." [Thanks to Damian for bringing me to see the Northern Lights.] The photo showed the two of them in a tight embrace under the brilliant aurora in Fairbanks, Alaska. I liked the post. Then I commented: [You two look perfect together.] A second later, Damian's call came through, his voice thick with accusation. "What the hell, Hailey? Sienna just got di

My secretary was out there playing the trust-fund billionaire. He had even become a massive influencer, with millions of followers fawning over him. He built his fame by streaming lies about me, claiming I was involved with illegal substances just to get views. When my father tried to clear my name, the guy twisted the narrative. He made it look like we were using old money and power to sweep things under the rug, triggering a wave of online harassment. The resulting hate campaign destroyed m

"Ah... mmm... easy, Ray..." Serena gasped, her body moving rhythmically beneath mine. She looked like a blooming white lily, both pure and incredibly seductive. I couldn't help but smirk. This was the goddess every guy on campus was dreaming about, and right now, she was all mine. The feeling was addictive. "How was that, baby? Am I the best?" I whispered, kissing her smooth shoulder. I wasn't exactly an honor student, but I was a star on the college basketball team. My stamina was top-tier

During our beach getaway, my husband pushed me into the crashing waves just so his little mistress could win a photography competition. With the raging tide beneath me, I grabbed his pant leg and begged him through my tears to pull me up. He didn't hesitate. He kicked my hand away with a cold look in his eyes. I watched the silhouette of his speedboat racing away into the distance, and my heart turned to ash. I thought the ocean would be my grave, but a local fisherman pulled me from the wat

The day before the grand finale, my boyfriend orchestrated a car crash just so his first love could win the competition and debut in the center spot. He crushed my legs with his own hands, making sure I would never stand on a stage again. When I woke up and confronted him through my sobs, he simply shrugged it off as if it were nothing. "Cannie, this is her dream," he said. "She has no one else but me. I have to help her achieve it." But that was my dream, too. Once I decided to stop loving

My mother died in the winter. She was twenty-four that year, pregnant, and had been kicked out of a townhouse on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. In the midst of a December blizzard, she walked twelve blocks wearing nothing but a thin dress. On a park bench in Central Park, she gave birth to me. She didn't go to the hospital. Her wallet had been stolen, her phone smashed, and not a single soul in New York City was willing to help an unwed mother. She survived until I was three. Then, in a r

On our third wedding anniversary, the private restaurant was completely bought out by Chloe's toxic ex. He walked up to our table, crushing rose petals beneath his designer shoes, and slammed an ultrasound report onto the white linen. "Three years ago, I tattooed a rose right over her lower belly." "She promised me that until I found someone I loved more than her, she would never carry your child." He pointed to the unfamiliar woman's name on the pregnancy report, a cruel smirk playing on hi

1. "I've explained this a million times. Elara has less than a year to live. Her final wish is to leave an heir for her family. She saved my life, and now I have to grant her this wish." I’d been hearing the same damn speech for a month. The first time Isaiah Thorne suggested being a sperm donor for Elara, I shut it down immediately. But he didn't give up. He brought it up almost every single day. His tone shifted from a tentative question to an entitled demand. It was like my refusal made

1 Mom said I deliberately tricked Sarah into going to the cemetery, which triggered her heart condition, and she almost died. She was furious and locked me in a coffin, hammering the lid shut. "You need to understand the fear Sarah felt!" "If I don't teach you a lesson, you'll never learn!" Darkness and terror surrounded me, and I pounded on the coffin, begging and apologizing. But Mom wouldn't budge. "So, you're scared now? You can just think about what you did!" She had them dump the c

1. In the five years we have been married, Jaxon Sterling has stood me up ninety-nine times for the sake of his childhood sweetheart. After this most recent disappointment, I discovered two plane tickets to France sitting on his office desk. His voice was icy when he caught me looking at them. "I was going to surprise you for our anniversary, but since you have already seen them, I will see you at the airport." I packed my bags early and waited at the terminal from dawn until the middle of

1. At a charity gala in a high-end steakhouse on the Upper East Side, my husband, the pianist Julian Vance, was using his multi-million dollar insured hands to cut a filet mignon for his assistant, Chloe. He was just trying to coax the girl, who claimed she had no appetite, to eat something. A few minutes earlier, I’d just escaped a sponsor who’d been bombarding me for two hours with his suggestive “investment ideas” for Julian’s upcoming national tour. My stomach was churning. I called out t

I funded Jenna Rivers for five years, and for five years, I was her most devoted lapdog. Just when I thought I had finally melted her icy heart and that she was ready to spend the rest of her life with me, I realized the truth. She had always been in love with her childhood best friend, Hunter Cross, who had been by her side since they were kids. In her eyes, I was nothing more than a wealthy tyrant who used money to grind her dignity into the dirt. A few years into our marriage, she secretl

1 I have been dead for five years. My husband and his first love were facing a total corporate collapse. Brooks stormed into my old home, demanding I hand over my latest patents to save his mistress. My mother told him the truth―that I was gone. Brooks just sneered, his face full of disdain. "Dead? She's been playing this game for five years because of Seraphina. Enough! If she doesn't hand over the research, I'll kill you myself, you old hag!" My mother eventually led him to my grave. "E

My mother was fading away in her hospital bed. Her final wish was to see me married to Rhodes Sterling. She had no idea that Rhodes and I were already a hollow shell of a couple. Looking at her gaunt face and the flickering hope in her eyes, I couldn't say no. I begged Rhodes to play along for just one day. But on our wedding day, in front of everyone, he took another woman's hand and walked out. The shock was too much for my mother's heart. She stopped breathing right there. My wedding tur