Reborn at Thirty: His Ultimate Regret

Reborn at Thirty: His Ultimate Regret

Shirlee Melnick

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The piercing beep of the carbon monoxide detector was the last sound I heard on Christmas Eve, my thirtieth birthday. Then, a searing pain, and I gasped awake, not in my cold, dark apartment, but in a sterile, bright hospital room, giving birth. I was twenty-five again, watching Liam, my charismatic husband, and his perfectly coiffed mother, Brenda, barely acknowledge our newborn son, Leo. I remembered my first life: Liam' s growing indifference, sacrificing my culinary dreams for a love that was never returned, watching my son embrace another woman. The pain of that life, more real than the lingering ache of childbirth, burned in my gut: I vowed I would not live that life again. When Chloe, the woman Liam had left me for, showed up at our door, ostensibly as a "colleague," and I overheard Liam confessing that I was nothing more than "the next best thing," "a substitute." My heart shattered, but this time, it forged ice. When Liam sabotaged my return to the culinary world, taking the restaurant opportunity I had secured and handing it to Chloe, then poaching my entire team, all to publicly humiliate me. The numbness shattered, replaced by a white-hot, furious clarity: This was war. I walked into his office, saw Chloe perched on his desk, and told him, "Liam, I want a divorce." He followed me to Paris, trying to reclaim me, but I refused, winning the culinary competition he' d tried to sabotage. I knew, with sickening certainty, that he had lost the best part of himself. I built my own kingdom, and the future was a blank page, and for the first time, I was the one holding the pen.

Introduction

The piercing beep of the carbon monoxide detector was the last sound I heard on Christmas Eve, my thirtieth birthday.

Then, a searing pain, and I gasped awake, not in my cold, dark apartment, but in a sterile, bright hospital room, giving birth.

I was twenty-five again, watching Liam, my charismatic husband, and his perfectly coiffed mother, Brenda, barely acknowledge our newborn son, Leo.

I remembered my first life: Liam' s growing indifference, sacrificing my culinary dreams for a love that was never returned, watching my son embrace another woman.

The pain of that life, more real than the lingering ache of childbirth, burned in my gut: I vowed I would not live that life again.

When Chloe, the woman Liam had left me for, showed up at our door, ostensibly as a "colleague," and I overheard Liam confessing that I was nothing more than "the next best thing," "a substitute."

My heart shattered, but this time, it forged ice.

When Liam sabotaged my return to the culinary world, taking the restaurant opportunity I had secured and handing it to Chloe, then poaching my entire team, all to publicly humiliate me.

The numbness shattered, replaced by a white-hot, furious clarity: This was war.

I walked into his office, saw Chloe perched on his desk, and told him, "Liam, I want a divorce."

He followed me to Paris, trying to reclaim me, but I refused, winning the culinary competition he' d tried to sabotage.

I knew, with sickening certainty, that he had lost the best part of himself.

I built my own kingdom, and the future was a blank page, and for the first time, I was the one holding the pen.

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Other books by Shirlee Melnick

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The Surgeon's Wife: A Postmortem Love

The Surgeon's Wife: A Postmortem Love

Horror

5.0

I feel the cold first. It' s the stainless-steel table beneath me, as my soul hovers just above, watching. The man in blue scrubs, my husband Dr. Ethan Cole, picks up a scalpel. He's a surgeon, brilliant they say, but today he' s playing forensic pathologist to my dismembered body. My body is in pieces-a leg here, an arm there. My soul is hollow, devoid of anger or jealousy, as Ethan and his assistant try to piece me together. He remarks, "This is a mess. The killer was thorough. Almost… personal." His voice sends shivers down what used to be my spine, reminding me of all the times he' d used that same dismissive tone. He finds a dark splinter near my ribs, speculating about where I was held. Moments later, his phone rings, and his voice softens for Olivia Hayes, inviting her to her birthday, then turning to me with pure disgust, muttering, "Let' s get this over with." Then he finds our secret. A tiny, nascent fetus within me. His mask shatters, replaced by a choked, guttural sound of shock, horror, and something else-a child he just declared not worth his money. Clara, my best friend, calls, frantic. Ethan coldly dismisses her, claiming ignorance of my whereabouts and indifference. Olivia arrives, radiant in red, bringing him soup. As she turns, her elbow bumps a tray of instruments, and caught off guard, a flash of pure, venomous rage twists her face – a look that unmasks my killer: Olivia. My last memories flood back: Olivia, silhouetted, smiling, whispering, "He' s mine, Chloe," before raising the hammer. Now I watch her ladle soup for Ethan, realizing my death freed him, made him hers. And a foolish, broken part of me thinks, 'Maybe it' s for the best. If my death makes him happy, then let him be happy.' But then Olivia answers Clara' s call, and, with a cruel smirk, lies, framing me as an unfaithful wife who ran off with "Ryan something." Just before Ethan rushes off, claiming a work emergency, I see him make a furtive call to Detective Ryan O' Malley, telling him to ping my real phone. And just as Olivia confidently shoves something into her bag after he leaves, it slips out: my phone, with its cracked screen and cat charm. I know exactly where Ethan is going now-to find my phone at Olivia' s other apartment-and the labyrinth of lies begins to unravel.

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THE SPITEFUL BRIDE: MARRY TO RIVAL'S SON

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4.6

"Let's get married," Mia declares, her voice trembling despite her defiant gaze into Stefan's guarded brown eyes. She needs this, even if he seems untouchable. Stefan raises a skeptical brow. "And why would I do that?" His voice was low, like a warning, and it made her shiver even though she tried not to show it. "We both have one thing in common," Mia continues, her gaze unwavering. "Shitty fathers. They want to take what's ours and give it to who they think deserves it." A pointed pause hangs in the air. "The only difference between us is that you're an illegitimate child, and I'm not." Stefan studies her, the heiress in her designer armor, the fire in her eyes that matches the burn of his own rage. "That's your solution? A wedding band as a weapon?" He said ignoring the part where she just referred to him as an illegitimate child. "The only weapon they won't see coming." She steps closer, close enough for him to catch the scent of her perfume, gunpowder and jasmine. "Our fathers stole our birthrights. The sole reason they betrayed us. We join forces, create our own empire that'll bring down theirs." A beat of silence. Then, Stefan's mouth curves into something sharp. "One condition," he murmurs, closing the distance. "No divorces. No surrenders. If we're doing this, it's for life" "Deal" Mia said without missing a beat. Her father wants to destroy her life. She wouldn't give him the pleasure, she would destroy her life as she seems fit. ................ Two shattered heirs. One deadly vow. A marriage built on revenge. Mia Meyers was born to rule her father's empire (so she thought), until he named his bastard son heir instead. Stefan Sterling knows the sting of betrayal too. His father discarded him like trash. Now the rivals' disgraced children have a poisonous proposal: Marry for vengeance. Crush their fathers' legacies. Never speak of divorce. Whoever cracks first loses everything. Can these two rivals, united by their vengeful hearts, pull off a marriage of convenience to reclaim what they believe is rightfully theirs? Or will their fathers' animosity, and their own complicated pasts tear their fragile alliance apart?

He Thought I Was A Doormat, Until I Ruined Him

He Thought I Was A Doormat, Until I Ruined Him

SHANA GRAY
4.7

The sterile white of the operating room blurred, then sharpened, as Skye Sterling felt the cold clawing its way up her body. The heart monitor flatlined, a steady, high-pitched whine announcing her end. Her uterus had been removed, a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding, but the blood wouldn't clot. It just kept flowing, warm and sticky, pooling beneath her. Through heavy eyes, she saw a trembling nurse holding a phone on speaker. "Mr. Kensington," the nurse's voice cracked, "your wife... she's critical." A pause, then a sweet, poisonous giggle. Seraphina Miller. "Liam is in the shower," Seraphina's voice purred. "Stop calling, Skye. It's pathetic. Faking a medical emergency on our anniversary? Even for you, that's low." Then, Liam's bored voice: "If she dies, call the funeral home. I have a meeting in the morning." Click. The line went dead. A second later, so did Skye. The darkness that followed was absolute, suffocating, a black ocean crushing her lungs. She screamed into the void, a silent, agonizing wail of regret for loving a man who saw her as a nuisance, for dying without ever truly living. Until she died, she didn't understand. Why was her life so tragically wasted? Why did her husband, the man she loved, abandon her so cruelly? The injustice of it all burned hotter than the fever in her body. Then, the air rushed back in. Skye gasped, her body convulsing violently on the mattress. Her eyes flew open, wide and terrified, staring blindly into the darkness. Her trembling hand reached for her phone. May 12th. Five years ago. She was back.

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