Secrets and Second Chances

Secrets and Second Chances

Lapez

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Maria Stone felt she had everything, love and the man she thought loved her by her side. But everything came tumbling down when he threw the divorce papers at her. She had to leave and when she came back five years later. She wasn't alone; her triplets were with her, and she was ready to give love a chance. Not to him but to someone else. But when he came begging, she told him.  "I have moved on, and I have my kids and I. So, bye, billionaire ex-husband". In an instant, Maria's life changed; the man she thought loved her, Ethan Woods never loved her in the first place. He was only with her to pass the time and to gain his inheritance.  After the 3-year contract ended she was hoping that the unborn child would bring them together and he would love her again. Still, she got the shock of her life when she got back home to give him the good news; there professing his love for another woman was Ethan, and the woman was no other person but her cousin, who was his college sweetheart but kept it away from Maria. The truth was that they had been dating secretly without her knowing.  As if that wasn't enough, he threw the divorce papers at her and asked her to sign them. Maria tried to leave because there was no use staying back. But Ethan and Susan couldn't let her; she had to suffer all through her days of pregnancy until she gave birth through forced labor. Her heart shattered into thousands of irreplaceable pieces when her aunt told her that Ethan had finally married her cousin Susan.  With the pain and betrayal in her heart, she left the city never to be seen again.

Chapter 1 The Day Hope Died

MARIA'S POV

I raced up the stairs, my heart dancing with every step. Three years, three long years of cold, empty marriage, and now, finally, I had a reason to hope.

I was pregnant.

I could hardly breathe as I imagined the look on Ethan's face.

Maybe, just maybe, this baby would change everything.

Maybe it could make him see me and love me so much.

Though he did, it was just a little, and ever since we got to the third year of our marriage, he started behaving so distant.

I burst through the door, my cheeks flushed with excitement.

But as soon as I stepped inside I heard muffled voices.

I paused.

My smile froze on my lips. I shook my head, pushing the doubt away.

No, this was a happy day.

But when I opened the door to our bedroom, my world shattered.

There he was. Ethan, my husband was on the couch with a woman sitting casually across his lap like she belonged there.

Her lips pressed against his, their bodies entwined as if I didn't exist.

"Ethan!" I gasped, my voice breaking. He pulled back, startled, his eyes meeting mine with a mixture of shock and annoyance.

"Maria," he said, his voice flat, almost bored. "You are back earlier than I thought."

I stood there frozen, the room spinning around me. "Who is she?" I managed to choke out, pointing at the woman who seemed comfortable in my home.

He didn't even have the decency to look guilty, at least that could be better but instead, he smirked, he did and said

"This is Susan, my college sweetheart and we are getting married soon."

His words hit me like a slap.

"Married?" I whispered, my voice trembling. "But we are married, you and I, for three years, Ethan."

Susan, still sitting on his lap, chuckled softly, a smile spreading across her perfect face. I felt my heart twist painfully at the sound.

Ethan rolled his eyes, a look of irritation crossing his face. "Oh, come on, Maria, you knew this was a business arrangement from the start. Your father practically forced me into this mess, and now that he is gone, nothing is holding me here anymore."

My chest tightened, and I felt a tear drop down my cheeks.

"You promised, Ethan, you said we had to give it a chance, that we would try!"

"Try?" he laughed, a bitter sound that echoed through the room.

"I never agreed to any of this. You threw yourself at me, and your father made sure I had no choice. But now I'm done, Susan and I are moving on together."

I staggered back and felt my world crumbling around me.

I wanted to scream to tell him about the baby, but the words were stuck in my throat, swallowed by my pain and shock.

Susan's smile only grew wider, her hand reaching to caress Ethan's cheeks. "Why are you doing this?". I cried, my voice breaking. "I thought we were finally getting somewhere..."

"Getting somewhere? Where exactly?" Ethan snorted. "Maria, you are delusional. This was never real, not to me, and now it's over."

Tears blurred my vision as I stepped closer, and my hands trembled.

"But- I love you," I whispered, the confession sounding so small and pathetic in the face of all their confidence, their certainty.

Ethan's face darkened, his eyes flashing with anger. "Love me? You don't even know what that means. You think you can trap me with your desperate infection just like your father tried to trap me into this sick marriage."

His words were like knives each one cutting deeper than the last.

Susan's laughter was soft and mocking.

"Ethan, don't be too hard on her," she cooed, her voice dripping with fake sympathy.

"She is just... confused."

I wanted to run to hide but I forced myself to stand tall even as my heart shattered. "I'm pregnant", I blurted out, hoping and praying that it would change something. That he would soften, that he could remember the man he used to be for a moment, just a moment. There was silence, and then Ethan's expression turned cold, the lips curling in disgust.

" You are lying", he spat. " Do you think a baby will fix this? Fix us? You think you can manipulate me into staying?"

" I'm not lying!" I cried, feeling the tears stream down my face.

" This baby is yours, Ethan, our baby -"

Susan leaned in closer, her smile even more smug. "Ethan, don't fall for it. She is just trying to hold on to you to cling to some pathetic hope that you will stay."

Ethan didn't even look at me. He turned to Susan, who handed him an envelope with joy plastered on her face.

He tore it open and pulled out a stack of papers.

" Here," he said, tossing them at me. The divorce papers landed at my feet and my eyes bulged out in shock.

"Sign them," he commanded. "I already have."

I stared at the papers, my vision blurring with tears.

I felt like I was drowning in the air, thick and heavy in my lungs.

"How can you be so cruel?" I whispered. "How can you throw me away like this?"

He sneered. "Cruel? The only cruelty here is you forcing yourself into my life for three years. Sign the damn papers, Maria!"

I looked from him to Susan, her smile so victorious, so assured.

My hands shook as I picked up the papers. This was happening. The life I had tried so hard to build, the love I had so foolishly believed in, it was all falling apart.

With trembling hands, I grabbed a pen from the table, my heart was breaking with every stroke.

"You'll regret this, Ethan". I whispered, my voice hoarse with emotion."I swear you'll regret this".

His cold laughter followed me as I turned to leave, my world crashing down around me.

I stepped out of the room each step feeling heavier than the last

I was alone, abandoned, but as I reached the door, I glanced back one last time.

"You think this is over?" I whispered to myself. "Just wait and see".

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Chapters
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Secrets and Second Chances
1

Chapter 1 The Day Hope Died

16/05/2025

2

Chapter 2 House Arrest

16/05/2025

3

Chapter 3 Leaving For Good

16/05/2025

4

Chapter 4 Stitched From Scratch

16/05/2025

5

Chapter 5 Back

16/05/2025

6

Chapter 6 The Award And Him

16/05/2025

7

Chapter 7 The Masked Truth

16/05/2025

8

Chapter 8 The Face of Denial

16/05/2025

9

Chapter 9 Unspoken Tensions and Unseen Dangers

16/05/2025

10

Chapter 10 The Silent Intruder

16/05/2025

11

Chapter 11 Haunted By The Past

16/05/2025

12

Chapter 12 Free Ethan

07/06/2025

13

Chapter 13 Hard time Convincing Ethan

07/06/2025

14

Chapter 14 Susan's Dilemma

11/06/2025

15

Chapter 15 Penetrating Maria's Walls

11/06/2025

16

Chapter 16 Maria's Den of Utmost Confusion

13/06/2025

17

Chapter 17 Susan's Breakthrough

13/06/2025

18

Chapter 18 Expectation Met With Disappointment

15/06/2025

19

Chapter 19 Where's Ethan Woods

15/06/2025

20

Chapter 20 A Visit From The Dead

15/06/2025

21

Chapter 21 Actions and Consequences

17/06/2025

22

Chapter 22 Clustered Emotions

19/06/2025

23

Chapter 23 Picking Up The Broken Pieces

20/06/2025

24

Chapter 24 The Crisis Before The Chaos

20/06/2025

25

Chapter 25 My Husband Is Mine To Keep

20/06/2025

26

Chapter 26 Susan's Fortress of Solitude; the woods' mansion.

20/06/2025

27

Chapter 27 The Spoiler

20/06/2025

28

Chapter 28 Trapped In The Closet

20/06/2025

29

Chapter 29 Hard time convincing Mr. Woods.

20/06/2025

30

Chapter 30 Surviving Angela's Intrusion

20/06/2025

31

Chapter 31 Bringing A Sword To A Gun ight.

20/06/2025

32

Chapter 32 Angela's Undisputed Influence

20/06/2025

33

Chapter 33 Tackling Angela's Brilliance

20/06/2025

34

Chapter 34 Digging the it for Angela

20/06/2025

35

Chapter 35 Plot to break existing protocols.

20/06/2025

36

Chapter 36 Revisiting the past.

20/06/2025

37

Chapter 37 Unleashing The Dragon

20/06/2025

38

Chapter 38 Burying The Hatchet

22/06/2025

39

Chapter 39 The Secret Spy

22/06/2025

40

Chapter 40 Blowing Angela's Cover

22/06/2025