The Path Less Traveled

His Secret Son, Her Public Shame

I was Aliana Donovan, a resident physician, finally reunited with the wealthy family I' d been lost from as a child. I had loving parents and a handsome, successful fiancé. I was safe. I was loved. It was a perfect, fragile lie. The lie shattered on a Tuesday when I discovered my fiancé, Ivan, wasn't at a board meeting but at a sprawling mansion with Kiera Reese, the woman I was told had a mental breakdown five years ago after trying to frame me. She wasn' t disgraced; she was radiant, holding a little boy, Leo, who giggled in Ivan' s arms. I overheard their conversation: Leo was their son, and I was merely a "placeholder," a means to an end until Ivan no longer needed my family's connections. My parents, the Donovans, were in on it, funding Kiera' s lavish life and their secret family. My entire reality-the loving parents, the devoted fiancé, the security I thought I' d found-was a carefully constructed stage, and I was the fool playing the lead role. The casual lie Ivan texted me, "Just got out of the meeting. So exhausting. I miss you. See you at home," while he stood beside his real family, was the final blow. They thought I was pathetic. They thought I was a fool. They were about to find out just how wrong they were.

His Deceit, My Vengeance

I stood at the awards ceremony, basking in the success of my firm, Miller Thompson, and eagerly anticipating my fiancé David Chen' s arrival. He' d texted that he was in a last-minute investor meeting, brimming with pride for me. Then I saw the ring. On another woman' s hand. The Möbius strip engagement ring I had designed for David, the one he claimed he' d lost six months ago in Singapore. And then I heard her on the phone, cooing to "David" about their child, Leo, and him laughing in the background. My world shattered. David, my loving fiancé who talked about our future, was secretly a husband and father living a parallel life-a life I was unknowingly funding. All those late nights, "tech conferences," and tearful stories about "lost" rings were elaborate lies designed to extract my money and trust. My heart pounded with the sickening realization: I was his chief investor, not his partner in love. How could I have been so blind? He was the architect of my dreams, or so he said. He was everyone' s favorite, my parents adored him. All the while, he was building another life with someone else, using my money, my network, and my love as his foundation. Every memory we shared, every promise he made, turned into a grotesque parody of the truth. The fury that replaced my shock solidified my resolve. I dropped the phone on his name and typed two words: "Call me." This was no longer about heartbroken despair; it was about cold, calculating vengeance. He had stolen my future, my money, and my trust. Now, I would make him pay.

Love Forged in Flames of Hate

The fire consumed everything. It wasn' t an accident. I lit it myself, watching the flames devour the apartment where I' d cried for so many nights, wiping away the misery. Across the room, Tiffany Chen, my former roommate and so-called friend, was tied to a chair, her eyes wide with terror, her expensive clothes torn and dirty. She was the one who lured me, a naive college kid struggling with tuition and rent, into her family' s predatory online loan scheme. She promised quick cash, easy approval, a solution to all my problems. Instead, the money never materialized, the interest rates ballooned to illegal levels, and the "online loan" turned into a hundred-thousand-dollar nightmare. When I couldn't pay, she forced me into her family' s "club" -a hellhole where rich men paid to do whatever they wanted, and I was just another girl forced to endure their hands. But that wasn't enough. She released photos and videos of me online, sending them to my university and my quiet hometown. The shame broke my parents; my father died of a heart attack, and my mother drowned herself a week later. With nothing left to lose, I found Tiffany, doused her apartment in gasoline, and watched her scream as the flames reached her. Then, a blinding light, a jolt, and I gasped awake, not in a burning apartment, but in my old dorm room. Tiffany Chen sat at her desk, putting on makeup, looking young, happy, and completely innocent. "Bad dream?" she asked, with the same smile that started my nightmare. The date on her digital clock confirmed it: I was back at the very beginning. This time, I was ready to play a different game.

The Man She Had To Hide

Today was my 18th birthday, the day I was supposed to inherit a fortune and officially become the man my family expected. But all I wanted was to be the woman I truly was, especially for Chris, my best friend. Then, at my birthday party, I suddenly heard it – Chris' s thoughts, loud and clear. He loved me. Not as his male best friend, Alex, but with a fierce, forbidden passion that surprised even him. He was willing to throw away his wealthy fiancée, his family' s expectations, and his entire future, all for "Alex." It was the most incredible, terrifying revelation. How could I possibly tell him the truth – that the "man" he loved was actually Alexandra, a woman forced to pretend for 18 years? My carefully laid plans to confess shattered, replaced by the terrifying realization that my truth might break the man who loved me more than anything. I knew then: I had to secure my family' s future, then, and only then, could I reveal the real me, and pray his love was as strong as his thoughts proclaimed.

The Twin They Tried To Erase: My Mother's Million-Dollar Lie

My final ballet scholarship audition was supposed to be my destiny. Instead, I found myself in a police interrogation room, accused of stealing from a sick girl. My own mother sat beside me, dabbing fake tears, whispering for me to confess to a "moment of weakness" while orchestrating my ruin. They showed me a security photo of a girl who looked exactly like me stuffing cash from a donation box. I denied it, but the overwhelming evidence, coupled with my mother' s performance, painted me as a desperate thief, shattering my ballet dreams and reputation. I couldn' t understand why my mother, the one person who should have supported me, was so determined to destroy my life. For years, she had subtly sabotaged my auditions-a slippery substance on my pointe shoes causing a career-ending injury, a powerful laxative in my "power smoothie" making me miss another crucial tryout. Now, she was pushing me to confess to a crime I didn't commit, driving me to the brink of suicide. Lying in a hospital bed after a desperate overdose, a chilling truth clicked into place: my grandmother' s multi-million dollar trust fund, accessible at 21 or upon "significant professional success," would go to my mother if I died or was deemed incompetent. It was never about my ballet; it was about the inheritance, and every "accident" was a calculated attempt to break me. In that moment, I knew I had to fight back, not as a victim, but with every fiber of my being.

The Silent Liberator

The Hugheses' estate shimmered with white roses and sunlight, a picture-perfect setting for Caleb' s wedding. I stood at the edge of the manicured lawn, a single dark spot in a sea of pastel suits. He was marrying a kind schoolteacher named Nicole, a carefully chosen part of the gilded cage his adoptive parents had built around him. I just looked past them, toward the white tent where Caleb stood, a stranger in his expensive tuxedo. He looked like the town' s beloved veterinarian, the perfect son. But I knew the real Caleb, the boy who hid under flimsy beds in the foster home, the one who dreamed of the ocean. As he cut the cake, I slipped through the guests, a quiet shadow. I leaned in close, lips beside his ear. "It' s okay to be you." For a terrifying second, nothing happened. Then, his entire body went rigid. The polite smile shattered like porcelain. He snatched the cake knife and lunged, stabbing Nicole repeatedly. Blood bloomed across her white dress, turning the perfect wedding into a scene of horror. They took Caleb, catatonic, and me, silent. Detective Stevens looked at me, weary and cynical. "You whispered something in his ear, and he butchered his new bride. What did you say?" I stayed silent. They called me a witch, a puppet master, a monster. I watched Nicole' s parents weep on TV, calling for my arrest, and felt a deep, hollow ache for them, for her. No one understood. Five years later, the Hugheses announced Caleb' s "recovery" and a grand welcome-home party, on the anniversary of the wedding. They were putting him back in his cage, this time with reinforced bars. I knew it was time. I pulled out the navy dress.

Bound By Love: Marrying My Disabled Husband

"You need a bride, I need a groom. Why don't we get married?" Both abandoned at the altar, Elyse decided to tie the knot with the disabled stranger from the venue next door. Pitying his state, she vowed to spoil him once they were married. Little did she know that he was actually a powerful tycoon. Jayden thought Elyse only married him for his money, and planned to divorce her when she was no longer of use to him. But after becoming her husband, he was faced with a new dilemma. "She keeps asking for a divorce, but I don't want that! What should I do?"

Reborn Rich, My Vengeance Rises

My husband, Ethan Vance, made me his trophy wife. My best friend, Susanna Thorne, helped me pick out my wedding dress. Together, they made me a fool. For three years, I was Mrs. Ethan Vance, a decorative silence in his billion-dollar world, living a quiet routine until a forgotten phone charger led me to his office. The low, feminine laugh from behind his door was a gut-punch; inside, I found Ethan and Susanna, my "best friend" and his CMO, tangled on his sofa, his only reaction irritation. My divorce declaration brought immediate scorn and threats. I was fired, my accounts frozen, and publicly smeared as an unstable gold-digger. Even my own family disowned me for my last cent, only for me to be framed for assault and served a restraining order. Broke, injured, and utterly demonized, they believed I was broken, too ashamed to fight. But their audacious betrayal and relentless cruelty only forged a cold, unyielding resolve. Slumped alone, a restraining order in hand, I remembered my hidden journal: a log of Ethan's insider trading secrets. They wanted a monster? I would show them one.

Treasured Beyond Measure: Three Brothers, One Queen

From childhood, Stephanie knew she was not her parents' real daughter, but out of gratitude, she turned their business into a powerhouse. Once the true daughter came back, Stephanie was cast out-only to be embraced by an even more powerful birth family, adored by three influential brothers. The second ruled the battlefield. "Stephanie's sweet and innocent; she would never commit such crimes. That name on the wanted list is just a coincidence." And the youngest controlled the markets. "Anyone who dares bully my sister will lose my investment." Her former family begged for forgiveness-even on TV. Stephanie stood firm. When the richest man proposed, she became the woman everyone envied. The eldest ran the boardroom. "Cancel the meeting. I need to set up the art exhibition for my sister!" The town was turned upside down.

Heartbreak Billionaire: He Should Never Have Let Go

Sunlit hours found their affection glimmering, while moonlit nights ignited reckless desire. But when Brandon learned his beloved might last only half a year, he coolly handed Millie divorce papers, murmuring, "This is all for appearances; we'll get married again once she's calmed down." Millie, spine straight and cheeks dry, felt her pulse go hollow. The sham split grew permanent; she quietly ended their unborn child and stepped into a new beginning. Brandon unraveled, his car tearing down the street, unwilling to let go of the woman he'd discarded, pleading for her to look back just once.

Love Unbreakable

There was only one man in Raegan's heart, and it was Mitchel. In the second year of her marriage to him, she got pregnant. Raegan's joy knew no bounds. But before she could break the news to her husband, he served her divorce papers because he wanted to marry his first love. After an accident, Raegan lay in the pool of her own blood and called out to Mitchel for help. Unfortunately, he left with his first love in his arms. Raegan escaped death by the whiskers. Afterward, she decided to get her life back on track. Her name was everywhere years later. Mitchel became very uncomfortable. For some reason, he began to miss her. His heart ached when he saw her all smiles with another man. He crashed her wedding and fell to his knees while she was at the altar. With bloodshot eyes, he queried, "I thought you said your love for me is unbreakable? How come you are getting married to someone else? Come back to me!"

From Best Friend To Fiancé

Her sister is marrying her ex. So she brings her best friend as her fake fiancé. What could possibly go wrong? Savannah Hart thought she was over Dean Archer-until her sister, Chloe announces she's marrying him. The same man Savannah never stopped loving. The man who left her heartbroken... and now belongs to her sister. A weeklong wedding in New Hope. One mansion full of guests. And a very bitter maid of honor. To survive it, Savannah brings a date-her charming, clean-cut best friend, Roman Blackwood. The one man who's always had her back. He owes her a favor, and pretending to be her fiancé? Easy. Until fake kisses start to feel real. Now Savannah's torn between keeping up the act... or risking everything for the one man she was never supposed to fall for.