Login to ManoBook
icon 0
icon TOP UP
rightIcon
icon Reading History
rightIcon
icon Sign out
rightIcon
icon Get the APP
rightIcon
When the Future Called

When the Future Called

Gavin

5.0
Comment(s)
View
11
Chapters

My eyes shot open in "The Daily Grind," our favorite coffee shop, the bitter taste of espresso echoing a nightmare I couldn't shake. Across from me, my boyfriend, Ethan, scrolled on his phone seemingly oblivious, while the barista, Sabrina Chavez, zeroed in on my new work laptop. Her sweet voice dripped with poison as she commented on my "corporate" success, hinting at how Ethan "worked so hard" and how "nice" it must be to afford luxuries. But her words weren't sweet to me; they were a chilling echo of a vivid nightmare, a terrifying memory of betrayal, public humiliation, and ultimately, absolute despair. In that fading dream, this very conversation was the first domino in an avalanche that buried my career, my reputation, and eventually, my life, ending with a handful of pills. I watched her, a chilling certainty settling in my bones: Sabrina, the "sweet small-town girl," wanted Ethan, but more, she wanted my life, and she saw me as nothing but an obstacle. The memory of the nightmare became horrifyingly clear: a spilled coffee, a piercing gun, a Hepatitis C diagnosis, my life in ruins, ending tragically. But this time, I wasn't just remembering; I was reliving the day it all began, and in this horrifying déjà vu, one thing was crystal clear. This time, I would not be the victim.

Introduction

My eyes shot open in "The Daily Grind," our favorite coffee shop, the bitter taste of espresso echoing a nightmare I couldn't shake.

Across from me, my boyfriend, Ethan, scrolled on his phone seemingly oblivious, while the barista, Sabrina Chavez, zeroed in on my new work laptop.

Her sweet voice dripped with poison as she commented on my "corporate" success, hinting at how Ethan "worked so hard" and how "nice" it must be to afford luxuries.

But her words weren't sweet to me; they were a chilling echo of a vivid nightmare, a terrifying memory of betrayal, public humiliation, and ultimately, absolute despair.

In that fading dream, this very conversation was the first domino in an avalanche that buried my career, my reputation, and eventually, my life, ending with a handful of pills.

I watched her, a chilling certainty settling in my bones: Sabrina, the "sweet small-town girl," wanted Ethan, but more, she wanted my life, and she saw me as nothing but an obstacle.

The memory of the nightmare became horrifyingly clear: a spilled coffee, a piercing gun, a Hepatitis C diagnosis, my life in ruins, ending tragically.

But this time, I wasn't just remembering; I was reliving the day it all began, and in this horrifying déjà vu, one thing was crystal clear.

This time, I would not be the victim.

Continue Reading

Other books by Gavin

More
The Unwilling Wife

The Unwilling Wife

Short stories

5.0

The organ music swelled, painting my white wedding dress in shades of blood red. I was marrying Julian Thorne, a man who despised me, believing the lies that had ruined my reputation. This wasn't a marriage; it was a sentence, orchestrated perfectly by my stepsister, Sophia, who had always wanted Julian for herself. Everyone saw Eleanor Vance, the brilliant architect, as the luckiest woman alive, but my heart was a cold stone. As the word "I do" escaped my lips-a whispered surrender-a blinding white light engulfed me. I woke up in my old bedroom, the floral wallpaper still on the walls. My phone read October 12, 2014-ten years ago, the day of my first wedding, the one that never happened. Relief surged through me; I wasn't Julian Thorne's wife. But then dread set in as Sophia's text buzzed on my smaller, older phone: "Julian's family is coming for dinner tonight, you have to make a good impression!" It was all starting tonight, the very dinner where Sophia would introduce me to the Thornes, setting off the chain of events that would lead to my forced marriage. The contempt in Julian's eyes was already there, seeing me as a social climber, exactly the image Sophia had carefully crafted. I was trapped again, a ghost in my own life, burdened by a future I knew was coming: the Thorne family's imminent financial ruin, and my own career sacrificed to support them. But this time, I wasn't the naive girl to be manipulated. I knew all their secrets, and I would not spend another ten years as Eleanor Thorne. I would fight.

You'll also like

The Truth About His Mistress

The Truth About His Mistress

Gavin
5.0

I was four months pregnant, a photographer excited for our future, attending a sophisticated baby brunch. Then I saw him, my husband Michael, with another woman, and a newborn introduced as "his son." My world shattered as a torrent of betrayal washed over me, magnified by Michael's dismissive claim I was "just being emotional." His mistress, Serena, taunted me, revealing Michael had discussed my pregnancy complications with her, then slapped me, causing a terrifying cramp. Michael sided with her, publicly shaming me, demanding I leave "their" party, as a society blog already paraded them as a "picture-perfect family." He fully expected me to return, to accept his double life, telling his friends I was "dramatic" but would "always come back." The audacity, the calculated cruelty of his deception, and Serena's chilling malice, fueled a cold, hard rage I barely recognized. How could I have been so blind, so trusting of the man who gaslighted me for months while building a second family? But on the plush carpet of that lawyer's office, as he turned his back on me, a new, unbreakable resolve solidified. They thought I was broken, disposable, easily manipulated – a "reasonable" wife who would accept a sham separation. They had no idea my calm acceptance was not surrender; it was strategy, a quiet promise to dismantle everything he held dear. I would not be handled; I would not understand; I would end this, and make sure their perfect family charade crumbled into dust.

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book