Login to ManoBook
Home / Romance / My Heart, His Cruelty
icon 0
icon TOP UP
rightIcon
icon Reading History
rightIcon
icon Sign out
rightIcon
icon Get the APP
rightIcon

Home

Genre

Ranking

Short Stories

My Heart, His Cruelty

My Heart, His Cruelty

Gavin
Romance | Completed
5.0
Comment(s)
25.7K
View
23
Chapters

The phone buzzed frantically during my board meeting. It was my mother, her voice a shredded mess, whispering, "He's here. At the university. He's making us..." before the line went dead. "He" was Gustav Bradford, the man I loved, the man who was destroying me. I raced to Westwood University to find my parents on their knees, humiliated, with Gustav standing over them, beautiful and terrifying, beside his therapist, Estelle Strong. Estelle, his new everything, whispered lies about my parents disrespecting them, while my father, a man who debated world leaders, bowed his head in shame. My mother sobled silently as a drone live-streamed their humiliation. When I confronted him, Gustav, with a chilling smile, ordered his guard to break my father's leg. A sickening crack echoed, followed by my father's agonizing scream. Then, my mother's. They both lay broken. The love I had for Gustav shattered, replaced by a cold, vast emptiness. "I will kill you," I whispered, the words tasting like poison. He just smiled, kissed my cheek, and left, telling me he'd be home for dinner. That night, my parents, in a desperate act to free me, took their own lives. My scream was soundless. I called Amit, my friend, for the drug that would make me look dead. I had to die to live, and I had to live to see Gustav Bradford burn.

Thriller Modern Revenge Drama Kickass Heroine
Chapter 23
11-04 05:51

Chapter 1

The phone buzzed frantically during my board meeting. It was my mother, her voice a shredded mess, whispering, "He's here. At the university. He's making us..." before the line went dead.

"He" was Gustav Bradford, the man I loved, the man who was destroying me.

I raced to Westwood University to find my parents on their knees, humiliated, with Gustav standing over them, beautiful and terrifying, beside his therapist, Estelle Strong.

Estelle, his new everything, whispered lies about my parents disrespecting them, while my father, a man who debated world leaders, bowed his head in shame. My mother sobled silently as a drone live-streamed their humiliation.

When I confronted him, Gustav, with a chilling smile, ordered his guard to break my father's leg.

A sickening crack echoed, followed by my father's agonizing scream. Then, my mother's. They both lay broken. The love I had for Gustav shattered, replaced by a cold, vast emptiness.

"I will kill you," I whispered, the words tasting like poison. He just smiled, kissed my cheek, and left, telling me he'd be home for dinner.

That night, my parents, in a desperate act to free me, took their own lives.

My scream was soundless. I called Amit, my friend, for the drug that would make me look dead.

I had to die to live, and I had to live to see Gustav Bradford burn.

Chapter 1

The phone buzzed against the polished wood of the conference table. I ignored it. Gustav hated interruptions during my board meetings. He said it made me look weak.

It buzzed again. And again. A frantic, desperate rhythm.

Something was wrong.

I excused myself, my voice tight. "I need to take this."

I stepped into the hallway, my heart pounding a sick beat against my ribs. It was my mother. I answered, my breath held tight in my chest.

"Janey," she sobbed, her voice a shredded mess. "He's here. At the university. He's making us..."

The line went dead.

I didn't need to hear the rest. He. There was only one he who had the power to make my mother, a tenured professor, sound so broken. Gustav Bradford. The man I loved. The man who was destroying me.

I ran. I left my laptop, my notes, my company. I ran out of the building and into the street, flagging a cab with a wild wave of my arm.

"Westwood University! As fast as you can!"

The driver took one look at my face and floored it.

The campus quad was crowded. Too crowded. Students and faculty were gathered in a wide, silent circle, their phones held up like a thousand accusing eyes. In the center of that circle, on the cold stone ground, were my parents.

On their knees.

Gustav stood over them, a king surveying his conquered. He was beautiful, as always, in a tailored suit that probably cost more than my first car. But his face was a mask of cold fury. Beside him, clinging to his arm, was Estelle Strong. His therapist. His new everything.

She was whispering something to him, her face a perfect portrait of concern, but her eyes, when they flickered toward the crowd, held a glint of triumph.

My father, a man who had debated world leaders, had his head bowed. My mother's shoulders shook with silent sobs. A live-stream drone whirred above them, broadcasting their humiliation to the world.

"Gustav!" My voice ripped from my throat.

He turned, and a slow smile spread across his perfect lips. It didn't reach his eyes. His eyes were for me, and they were full of a terrible, possessive love that felt like hate.

"Janey, darling," he said, his voice smooth as silk, carrying across the silent quad. "You're just in time. Your parents were just apologizing."

"Apologizing for what?" I choked out, pushing my way through the wall of bodies.

"For their disrespect," Estelle said, her voice soft and wounded. "They said terrible things about me, Gustav. About us."

She was lying. My parents had confronted him about his control, his paranoia, about the bruises he'd left on my arms that I tried to hide with long sleeves. They had tried to protect me.

"They came to my office," Gustav continued, his gaze never leaving mine. "They accused me of hurting you. Can you imagine? Me, hurting the woman I adore more than life itself?"

He gestured to Estelle. "They insulted Estelle. My healer. The one person who has helped me manage the... intensity of my feelings for you."

"They're lying, Janey," Estelle whispered, burying her face in his shoulder. "I would never want to cause a problem between you and your family."

"You lying bitch," I snarled, my last shred of composure snapping.

Gustav's face darkened. "Apologize to her, Janey."

I stared at him, my mind reeling. The man who once wrote me poetry, who flew to another continent just to bring me a specific brand of tea when I was sick, was gone. This was a monster.

"No."

"No?" He laughed, a short, ugly sound. He turned to one of the two large men standing behind him. "Break his leg."

"Gustav, no!" I screamed.

But it was too late. The man moved with brutal efficiency. He kicked the back of my father's knee. A sickening crack echoed in the silence. My father screamed, a raw, agonized sound that would haunt me forever, and collapsed onto the stone.

"Now, ask me again, Janey," Gustav said, his voice dangerously calm. "Nicely."

Tears streamed down my face. I looked at my father, writhing on the ground. I looked at my mother, her face ashen with terror.

"Please," I begged, my voice a hoarse whisper. "Please, Gustav. Stop. I'll do anything."

"Anything?" he purred. He knelt, grabbing a fistful of my mother's hair and forcing her head up. "Then you will kneel with them. And you will beg Estelle for her forgiveness."

My mother looked at me, her eyes pleading. Not for herself. For me. Run, her eyes said. Save yourself.

I saw it then. The final sacrifice. They would endure anything to see me free. But I couldn't leave them. I couldn't.

I took a step forward, ready to fall to my knees, ready to say whatever he wanted.

But my father, through the haze of his pain, spoke. "Don't you dare, Janey. Don't you dare let him win."

He tried to push himself up, his face contorted in agony and defiance.

Gustav sighed, a sound of theatrical disappointment. "Such a shame." He nodded to the other guard. "The other one, too."

Another crack. Another scream, this time from my mother. They both lay broken on the ground.

Something inside me shattered. The love I had for him, the hope that I could fix him, all of it turned to ash and blew away. All that was left was a cold, vast emptiness.

"I will kill you," I whispered, the words tasting like poison and promise.

Gustav smiled, a true, radiant smile this time. "I know, my love. That's why this is so much fun."

He leaned down and kissed my cheek, his lips cold against my tear-stained skin. "I'll be home for dinner. Don't be late."

He turned and walked away, Estelle still attached to his arm, the two of them disappearing into the stunned crowd like royalty departing a stage. The drone whirred one last time and then zipped away.

The spell was broken. People rushed forward. I fell to my knees between my parents, the world a blur of pain and flashing lights from the campus emergency services.

My mother grabbed my hand, her grip surprisingly strong. "He framed us, Janey," she rasped, her breath shallow. "He planted files. Corporate espionage. Everything will be seized."

"It doesn't matter," I sobbed. "I'll get you out. I'll fix this."

"No," my father said, his voice weak but firm. "There's no fixing this. There is only one way out. For us. For you."

Before I could understand, before I could stop them, they acted. In the chaos of the arriving paramedics, my father grabbed a dropped syringe from a medical kit. My mother pulled a small, deadly vial from her own pocket-a chemistry professor always had access. It was a pact. A final, desperate act to free me from a debt they believed I would feel forever.

They were gone in seconds, together, even in death.

The world went white. My scream was soundless, a hole ripped in the fabric of the universe.

That night, hiding in the sterile silence of a hotel room, I made a call.

"Amit," I whispered into the phone, my voice raw. "I need it. The drug you told me about. The one that makes you look dead."

There was a pause on the other end. "Janey, what happened?"

"He killed them, Amit. Gustav killed my parents."

Another silence, longer this time. Then, his voice, low and full of a cold, shared hatred. "I'll have it for you by morning."

I hung up and curled into a ball on the bed. I took the small pill bottle from my purse. It was from Amit. A single, white tablet. Hope in a tiny, bitter package. I swallowed it with a glass of water, the first step in a plan born of grief and rage.

I had to die to live. And I had to live to see Gustav Bradford burn.

Continue Reading

Other books by Gavin

More
Contract With The Devil: Love In Shackles

Contract With The Devil: Love In Shackles

Mafia

4.5

I watched my husband sign the papers that would end our marriage while he was busy texting the woman he actually loved. He didn't even glance at the header. He just scribbled the sharp, jagged signature that had signed death warrants for half of New York, tossed the file onto the passenger seat, and tapped his screen again. "Done," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. That was Dante Moretti. The Underboss. A man who could smell a lie from a mile away but couldn't see that his wife had just handed him an annulment decree disguised beneath a stack of mundane logistics reports. For three years, I scrubbed his blood out of his shirts. I saved his family's alliance when his ex, Sofia, ran off with a civilian. In return, he treated me like furniture. He left me in the rain to save Sofia from a broken nail. He left me alone on my birthday to drink champagne on a yacht with her. He even handed me a glass of whiskey—her favorite drink—forgetting that I despised the taste. I was merely a placeholder. A ghost in my own home. So, I stopped waiting. I burned our wedding portrait in the fireplace, left my platinum ring in the ashes, and boarded a one-way flight to San Francisco. I thought I was finally free. I thought I had escaped the cage. But I underestimated Dante. When he finally opened that file weeks later and realized he had signed away his wife without looking, the Reaper didn't accept defeat. He burned down the world to find me, obsessed with reclaiming the woman he had already thrown away.

Marrying The Rival: My Ex-Husband's Despair

Marrying The Rival: My Ex-Husband's Despair

Mafia

5.0

I stood outside my husband's study, the perfect mafia wife, only to hear him mocking me as an "ice sculpture" while he entertained his mistress, Aria. But the betrayal went deeper than infidelity. A week later, my saddle snapped mid-jump, leaving me with a shattered leg. Lying in the hospital bed, I overheard the conversation that killed the last of my love. My husband, Alessandro, knew Aria had sabotaged my gear. He knew she could have killed me. Yet, he told his men to let it go. He called my near-death experience a "lesson" because I had bruised his mistress's ego. He humiliated me publicly, freezing my accounts to buy family heirlooms for her. He stood by while she threatened to leak our private tapes to the press. He destroyed my dignity to play the hero for a woman he thought was a helpless orphan. He had no idea she was a fraud. He didn't know I had installed micro-cameras throughout the estate while he was busy pampering her. He didn't know I had hours of footage showing his "innocent" Aria sleeping with his guards, his rivals, and even his staff, laughing about how easy he was to manipulate. At the annual charity gala, in front of the entire crime family, Alessandro demanded I apologize to her. I didn't beg. I didn't cry. I simply connected my drive to the main projector and pressed play.

The 100-Point Divorce Plan

The 100-Point Divorce Plan

Romance

4.6

For three years, I documented the slow death of my marriage in a black journal. It was my 100-point divorce plan: for every time my husband, Blake, chose his first love, Ariana, over me, I deducted points. When the score hit zero, I would leave. The final points vanished the night he left me bleeding out from a car crash. I was eight weeks pregnant with the child we had prayed for. In the ER, the nurses frantically called him-the star surgeon of the very hospital I was dying in. "Dr. Santos, we have a Jane Doe, O-negative, bleeding out. She's pregnant, and we're about to lose them both. We need you to authorize an emergency blood transfer." His voice came over the speaker, cold and impatient. "I can't. My priority is Miss Whitfield. Do what you can for the patient, but I can't divert anything right now." He hung up. He condemned his own child to death to ensure his ex-girlfriend had resources on standby after a minor procedure.

The Ninety-Ninth Goodbye

The Ninety-Ninth Goodbye

Young Adult

5.0

The ninety-ninth time Jax Little broke my heart was the last time. We were the golden couple of Northgate High, our future perfectly mapped out for UCLA. But in our senior year, he fell for a new girl, Catalina, and our love story became a sick, exhausting dance of his betrayals and my empty threats to leave. At a graduation party, Catalina "accidentally" pulled me into the pool with her. Jax dove in without a second's hesitation. He swam right past me as I struggled, wrapped his arms around Catalina, and pulled her to safety. As he helped her out to the cheers of his friends, he glanced back at me, my body shivering and my mascara running in black rivers. "Your life isn't my problem anymore," he said, his voice as cold as the water I was drowning in. That night, something inside me finally shattered. I went home, opened my laptop, and clicked the button that confirmed my admission. Not to UCLA with him, but to NYU, an entire country away.

The Waitress Is Actually The Mafia Queen

The Waitress Is Actually The Mafia Queen

Mafia

4.5

I spent a year scrubbing floors in my fiancé’s club, hiding my identity as the daughter of the Capo dei Capi. I needed to know if Connor Bishop was a King worth merging empires with, or just a puppet. The answer came walking in wearing a neon pink dress. Jaden Juarez, a civilian he was infatuated with, didn't just treat me like a servant; she deliberately poured scalding espresso over my hand because I refused to be her valet. The pain was blinding, my skin blistering instantly. I video-called Connor, showing him the burn, expecting him to enforce the code of our world. Instead, seeing his investors watching, he panicked. He chose to sacrifice me to save face. "Get on your knees," he roared through the speaker. "Beg her pardon. Show her the respect she deserves." He wanted the daughter of the most dangerous man on the East Coast to kneel to his mistress. He thought he was showing strength. He didn't realize he was looking at a woman who could burn his entire world to ash with a single phone call. I didn't cry. I didn't beg. I simply hung up the phone and locked the kitchen doors. Then, I dialed the one number everyone in the underworld feared. "Dad," I said, my voice cold as steel. "Code Black. Bring the papers." "And send the wolves."

He Chose The Mistress, Losing His True Queen

He Chose The Mistress, Losing His True Queen

Mafia

5.0

I was the Architect who built the digital fortress for the most feared Don in New York. To the world, I was Brendan Wiggins’s silent, elegant Queen. But then my burner phone buzzed under the dinner table. It was a photo from his mistress: a positive pregnancy test. "Your husband is celebrating right now," the caption read. "You are just the furniture." I looked across the table at Brendan. He smiled and held my hand, lying to my face without blinking. He thought he owned me because he saved my life ten years ago. He told her I was just "functional." That I was a barren asset he kept around to look respectable, while she carried his legacy. He thought I would accept the disrespect because I had nowhere else to go. He was wrong. I didn't want to divorce him—you don't divorce a Don. And I didn't want to kill him. That was too easy. I wanted to erase him. I liquidated fifty million dollars from the offshore accounts only I could access. I destroyed the servers I had built. Then, I contacted a black-market chemist for a procedure called "Tabula Rasa." It doesn't kill the body. It wipes the mind clean. A total hard reset of the soul. On his birthday, while he was out celebrating his bastard son, I drank the vial. When he finally came home to find the empty house and the melted wedding ring, he realized the truth. He could burn the world down looking for me, but he would never find his wife. Because the woman who loved him no longer existed.

You'll also like

She Took The House, The Car, And My Heart

She Took The House, The Car, And My Heart

Krishnah Wagner
4.6

After two years of marriage, Kristian dropped a bombshell. "She's back. Let's get divorced. Name your price." Freya didn't argue. She just smiled and made her demands. "I want your most expensive supercar." "Okay." "The villa on the outskirts." "Sure." "And half of the billions we made together." Kristian froze. "Come again?" He thought she was ordinary-but Freya was the genius behind their fortune. And now that she'd gone, he'd do anything to win her back.

My Sister Stole My Mate, And I Let Her

My Sister Stole My Mate, And I Let Her

regalsoul
4.8

"My sister threatens to take my mate. And I let her keep him." Born without a wolf, Seraphina is the disgrace of her pack-until a drunken night leaves her pregnant and married to Kieran, the ruthless Alpha who never wanted her. But their decade-long marriage was no fairytale. For ten years, she endured the humiliation: No Luna title. No mating mark. Just cold sheets and colder stares. When her perfect sister returned, Kieran filed for divorce the same night. And her family was happy to see her marriage broken. Seraphina didn't fight but left silently. However, when danger struck, shocking truths emerged: ☽ That night wasn't an accident ☽ Her "defect" is actually a rare gift ☽ And now every Alpha-including her ex-husband-will fight to claim her Too bad she's done being owned. *** Kieran's growl vibrated through my bones as he pinned me against the wall. The heat of him seared through layers of fabric. "You think leaving is that easy, Seraphina?" His teeth grazed the unmarked skin of my throat. "You. Are. Mine." A hot palm slid up my thigh. "No one else will ever touch you." "You had ten years to claim me, Alpha." I bared my teeth in a smile. "Funny how you only remember I'm yours... when I'm walking away."

The Humble Ex-wife Is Now A Brilliant Tycoon

The Humble Ex-wife Is Now A Brilliant Tycoon

Flory Corkery
4.9

For three quiet, patient years, Christina kept house, only to be coldly discarded by the man she once trusted. Instead, he paraded a new lover, making her the punchline of every town joke. Liberated, she honed her long-ignored gifts, astonishing the town with triumph after gleaming triumph. Upon discovering she'd been a treasure all along, her ex-husband's regret drove him to pursue her. "Honey, let's get back together!" With a cold smirk, Christina spat, "Fuck off." A silken-suited mogul slipped an arm around her waist. "She's married to me now. Guards, get him the hell out of here!"

I Slapped My Fiancé-Then Married His Billionaire Nemesis

I Slapped My Fiancé-Then Married His Billionaire Nemesis

Jessica C. Dolan
4.9

Being second best is practically in my DNA. My sister got the love, the attention, the spotlight. And now, even her damn fiancé. Technically, Rhys Granger was my fiancé now-billionaire, devastatingly hot, and a walking Wall Street wet dream. My parents shoved me into the engagement after Catherine disappeared, and honestly? I didn't mind. I'd crushed on Rhys for years. This was my chance, right? My turn to be the chosen one? Wrong. One night, he slapped me. Over a mug. A stupid, chipped, ugly mug my sister gave him years ago. That's when it hit me-he didn't love me. He didn't even see me. I was just a warm-bodied placeholder for the woman he actually wanted. And apparently, I wasn't even worth as much as a glorified coffee cup. So I slapped him right back, dumped his ass, and prepared for disaster-my parents losing their minds, Rhys throwing a billionaire tantrum, his terrifying family plotting my untimely demise. Obviously, I needed alcohol. A lot of alcohol. Enter him. Tall, dangerous, unfairly hot. The kind of man who makes you want to sin just by existing. I'd met him only once before, and that night, he just happened to be at the same bar as my drunk, self-pitying self. So I did the only logical thing: I dragged him into a hotel room and ripped off his clothes. It was reckless. It was stupid. It was completely ill-advised. But it was also: Best. Sex. Of. My. Life. And, as it turned out, the best decision I'd ever made. Because my one-night stand isn't just some random guy. He's richer than Rhys, more powerful than my entire family, and definitely more dangerous than I should be playing with. And now, he's not letting me go.

Rejected No More: I Am Way Out Of Your League, Darling!

Rejected No More: I Am Way Out Of Your League, Darling!

Kennan Parish
4.8

For ten years, Daniela showered her ex-husband with unwavering devotion, only to discover she was just his biggest joke. Feeling humiliated yet determined, she finally divorced him. Three months later, Daniela returned in grand style. She was now the hidden CEO of a leading brand, a sought-after designer, and a wealthy mining mogul-her success unveiled at her triumphant comeback. Her ex-husband's entire family rushed over, desperate to beg for forgiveness and plead for another chance. Yet Daniela, now cherished by the famed Mr. Phillips, regarded them with icy disdain. "I'm out of your league."

The Cursed Heiress: Now I'm Their Billionaire Nightmare

The Cursed Heiress: Now I'm Their Billionaire Nightmare

Ruby Skye
5.0

Nadine reunited with her family, convinced she'd been discarded, rage simmering-only to find collapse: her mother unstable, her father poisoned; a pianist brother trapped in a sham marriage, a detective brother framed and jailed, the youngest dragged into a gang. While the fake daughter mocked and colluded, Nadine moved in secret-healing her mother, curing her father, ending the union, clearing charges, and lifting the youngest to leader. Rumors said she rode coattails, unworthy of Rhys, the unmatched magnate. Few knew she was a renowned healer, legendary assassin, mysterious tycoon... Rhys knelt. "Marry me! The entire empire is yours for the taking!"

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book
My Heart, His Cruelty
1

Chapter 1

16/07/2025

2

Chapter 2

16/07/2025

3

Chapter 3

16/07/2025

4

Chapter 4

16/07/2025

5

Chapter 5

16/07/2025

6

Chapter 6

16/07/2025

7

Chapter 7

16/07/2025

8

Chapter 8

16/07/2025

9

Chapter 9

16/07/2025

10

Chapter 10

16/07/2025

11

Chapter 11

16/07/2025

12

Chapter 12

16/07/2025

13

Chapter 13

16/07/2025

14

Chapter 14

16/07/2025

15

Chapter 15

16/07/2025

16

Chapter 16

16/07/2025

17

Chapter 17

16/07/2025

18

Chapter 18

16/07/2025

19

Chapter 19

16/07/2025

20

Chapter 20

16/07/2025

21

Chapter 21

16/07/2025

22

Chapter 22

16/07/2025

23

Chapter 23

16/07/2025