The Rejected Burden: Rising From The Shadows

Chapter 7 No.7

Word Count: 669 | Released on: 04/02/2026

yped out text messages and deleted them. I didn't mean it. Y

memory of Isadora's cold e

. He parked his Porsche illegally in

rying a bag of recycling. She was wearing sweat

d out of the

sighed, a sound of pure exhaustion. She walked over, dumped the

locking her path to the door. "Can

on," Isadora said. She wrapped her arms

lub... I didn't ignore you on purpose. Bella just got back from

matter," I

e been friends for twenty years. You can't ju

harsh shadows on his face. He looked like a

u," Isadora

stopped.

rd you talking to Topher. You said I wa

d from Grafton's fac

you s

ng closer. "I was just trying to... you know, l

ight. I was dependent on you. I built my whol

her. "No, Izzy. I take it back. I

hand. "You don't need a friend, Graf

said. "I wish you and

oor. The lock buzzed. She pulled the h

slammed his hand

. She walked to the elevat

r disappear. He felt a surge of anger. How

, harder this time. The do

to his car. His pho

ella cooed. "W

ice shaking with rage. "Isadora is

just jealous. Listen, why don't we invite her to dinner tomorrow? At Le Bernardin. My treat.

ering wheel. It was a l

"She just needs to see

eathing a sigh of relief

A dinner. A nice, expensive

down on her vanity. She looked at her reflect

It was a s

es you after tomorrow," Bel

Chapter End

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The Rejected Burden: Rising From The Shadows

Annabell Seto Modern

“I liquidated every asset I owned for a single gala ticket, convinced that after twenty years, Grafton Blanchard was finally going to ask me to be his partner. My husband, Kingston Riddle, even hinted that the diamond "Eternity Lock" bracelet I'd been eyeing was gone from the vault, and I was sure it was waiting for me. But when I reached the VIP suite, Grafton didn't look at me with love; he snapped that very bracelet onto the wrist of my rival, Bella Sterling. He stood before the crowd and announced their engagement, laughing as he called me his "little mascot" while I stood there in my best dress, feeling the entire world crumble beneath my feet. The betrayal went deeper when I overheard him telling his friends I was nothing more than a "burden" and a "puppy" he was too kind to kick to the curb. Desperate to fix his image, he lured me to a "peace offering" dinner where Bella theatrically threw herself down a flight of marble stairs. Within seconds, Grafton was looming over me, his face twisted in fury as he accused me of being a jealous, vicious monster. "I'm calling the cops. You want to play games? Let's see how you like a holding cell," Grafton roared, snatching my phone so I couldn't record his cruelty. The restaurant manager and the crowd sneered at me, ready to watch me be hauled away in handcuffs for a crime I didn't commit. I was a pariah, discarded by the man I'd spent my entire life protecting. I stood trembling against the wall, realizing that the man I loved was willing to ruin my life to protect a lie. I felt the weight of twenty years of devotion being thrown into the trash, and for the first time, I stopped wondering why I wasn't enough and started wondering how I could have been so blind. Just as the security guards moved in, the heavy doors swung open. My husband, Kingston-the man I thought was a cold stranger-stepped into the light and demanded the manager play the security footage on the big screen. As the video of Bella launching herself backward played for the entire restaurant, I didn't look at Grafton's pathetic apologies; I looked at the exit and realized my life was finally beginning.”