Diewu Pianpian

"She’s just like a sister to me, Eliana. You’re being dramatic." That was Jax’s excuse every time he chose Catalina over me for three years. When Catalina staged a fake drowning in three feet of water, he pushed me aside to save her, telling me my life wasn't his problem. But the breaking point came when she deliberately pushed me down a flight of stairs. My ankle shattered on the concrete. I was lying there in agony, unable to move. Yet, Jax didn't check on me. He stepped over my bleeding body to scoop Catalina up because she had a minor scratch on her elbow. He screamed at me for "hurting" her. While I lay in the hospital alone, waiting for surgery, he was spoon-feeding her soup in her dorm, posting photos captioned "My Hero." He thought I would always be his "Elie Bear," the doormat waiting at home to clean up his messes. He was convinced that no matter how much he hurt me, I would never actually leave. But he was wrong. I didn't scream. I didn't fight. I simply signed the withdrawal papers, blocked his number, and boarded a one-way flight to New York without saying goodbye. Three months later, when Jax finally realized his "sister" was a nightmare and came crawling back to beg for forgiveness, he found me. But I wasn't alone. I was holding the hand of a billionaire heir who looked at Jax with cold, deadly eyes. "Touch her again," my new fiancé whispered, "and I will destroy your entire family by morning."

There are ninety-nine Hermès Birkins sitting in my walk-in closet. To the world, it' s a collection worth millions. To me, it' s a tally of ninety-nine times my husband, Harris, betrayed me. Each bag was a silent apology I accepted to keep our hollow marriage alive. But the hundredth betrayal wasn't fixed with crocodile leather. On the anniversary of my mother's death, I tracked Harris to my family' s private cemetery. He wasn't alone. Jessica, his "first love," was there, standing over the empty plot reserved for my living father, right next to my mother' s grave. They were digging a hole. Jessica smirked, holding a velvet box containing her dead cat and a plaque that read To Arvel, my eternal companion. "It' s just a cat, Cecily," she laughed, tossing her hair. "Don't be so dramatic. Your father won't mind the company. Besides, it shows who Harris really listens to." For years, I accepted the bags and the lies. But desecrating my family's sacred ground? The submissive wife died in that moment. I walked toward them, clutching the evidence that would destroy Jessica' s life and shatter Harris' s world. "Dig it up," I commanded, my voice colder than the grave. "Or I will bury you both right here."

I was the anchor for my tech billionaire husband, Killian-the only person who could ground his chaotic soul. But when my brother was dying, Killian gave the life-saving funds to his mistress for a multi-million dollar cat sanctuary. After my brother died, he left me bleeding in a car wreck to save her. The final betrayal came when I tried to file for divorce and discovered our entire marriage was a lie, the certificate a carefully crafted forgery. He had built my world on a foundation of deceit to ensure I could never leave, never have anything of my own. So I called the one man I'd rejected years ago and began my plan to burn his empire to the ground.

The last thing I remembered was the cold, sterile operating room. A sharp pain tore through my abdomen, and my husband Ethan's chilling indifference burned into me. "Sign it, Ethan! The doctor says she's bleeding out. They need to perform the surgery to save her!" I screamed, my voice distant and desperate. But he wouldn't. He stood there, arms crossed, saying, "The doctor said there's a risk to the baby. I can't risk my daughter's life." "There won't be a daughter if I die!" I countered, agony blurring my vision. "The baby can't survive if I don't!" Then, my six-year-old stepson, Liam, holding Ethan's hand, pointed at me. "Dad, Sophia said this woman is just faking it. She said if she dies, Sophia can be my new mom and take care of you and the baby." His words hit harder than any physical pain. My own stepson, a child I'd raised since he was two, was wishing for my death. Ethan didn't scold him. He squeezed Liam' s shoulder in silent agreement as Sophia Davis, Liam's beautiful young tutor, stepped into view with a triumphant smirk. They never signed the papers. I bled out on that operating table, my last sight the three of them-Ethan, Liam, and Sophia-already looking like a happy family. A sharp gasp snapped me awake. My eyes flew open. I was in my own bed, morning sun streaming through the silk curtains. My hand went to my stomach. It was still there, a gentle, rounded swell. My baby girl was safe. I grabbed my phone. The date confirmed it: today was the day my life unraveled. The day Liam brought Sophia home. I hadn't died. I was back. The memory of my death wasn't a dream. It was a searing brand, a horrifying premonition. The betrayal, the pain, the cold finality-all of it clear as day. A wave of nausea washed over me, not from pregnancy, but from cold, hard fury. They would not kill me this time. They would not harm my daughter. This time, I would make them pay for a crime they hadn't committed yet. Just then, the doorbell rang. I heard the housekeeper, then Liam's excited chatter. My heart turned to ice. It was starting.

The memory was a ghost that never left my apartment. It played on a loop: Sarah, glowing on screen, cheering fans, my game "Aetheria" about to launch. "Five more minutes, baby," she' d whispered, "And the world will see what a genius you are. I' ll make sure of it." I believed her. I poured everything into "Aetheria," my masterpiece. Sarah, the biggest streamer, was my partner, promising a massive launch. But when her stream hit zero, not "Aetheria," but "Chrono Rift," a cheap clone, filled the screen. Then her voice, slick and commercial, declared, "THIS is the game of the year. 'Chrono Rift' is here!" The betrayal was immediate. She savaged my game: "A little birdie told me 'Aetheria' is a buggy, unplayable mess. Don' t waste your money. The developer is in way over his head." The world broke. Months later, surrounded by final notice bills, I heard her on the news. "Chrono Rift" sold ten million units. Mark, its developer, wrapped an arm around her, speaking of their "stable future." I later learned of their affair, their secret deal. My ruin was their business expense. Why? How could she? The woman I loved, my partner, had systematically destroyed me for profit. Clicking off the TV, I saw an old hard drive labeled "Nexus," my abandoned first project. Plugging it in, I saw a strange line of code, a "developer' s blessing," reminding me of boundless creativity. A jolt. I would rebuild. I started "Aetheria 2.0." Their castle of glass stood, but I was gathering stones.

The last thing I remember from my first life is the roar of flames and the ceiling crushing me in my family' s manor. My fiancée, Nicole, and my supposed long-lost brother, Wesley, watched from outside, their faces twisted not in grief, but in triumph. I died alone, framed, betrayed, and erased from existence. Now, I'm back, reborn into the very moment their insidious plan unfolded. Wesley, the charming newcomer who miraculously appeared after my parents' funeral with a "prophecy" of our housekeeper Maria's death, was setting the stage. Then came the "vision" of an earthquake, threatening to destroy our ancestral home, driving my sisters Jennifer and Gabby into a panicked retreat. In my past life, I believed their lies, fled the house, and it exploded with me inside, solidifying Wesley's prophetic credibility. But this time, I saw it all: Nicole's subtle glances with Wesley, her calculated suggestions leading to Maria's peril, the same conniving smiles they wore as I perished. How could I have been so blind? So trusting of the very people who plotted my agonizing demise, all for the fortune my family built? My body may have died once, but my spirit refused to be extinguished. Now, with fire in my veins and memories sharp as steel, I am ready to rewrite our destiny and turn their perfect scheme into their worst nightmare.

I woke up in my New York penthouse bedroom, sunlight harsh in my eyes. The date on my phone read five years ago, before the fire, before I died. My breath hitched in my throat as I understood: I was reborn. My husband, Ethan, walked in, his voice flat, demanding I authorize a quarter-million dollar transfer from my trust fund. In my first life, that money went to Chloe Sanders, his intern, his mistress. Every painful memory came flooding back: his coldness, his brazen affairs, and finally, him locking me in a remote ski lodge wing as smoke filled the air. He drove away, leaving me to die in the flames. I whispered that I didn't feel well, but he only scoffed, telling me to sign the papers and stop being dramatic. Later, I saw him with Chloe, his tenderness and warm smile solely for her, confirming his betrayal was still ongoing. When I finally confronted him, his hand swung, cracking across my cheek, leaving me stunned and bleeding. He then slammed the door to our bedroom shut, locking me inside, threatening a private care facility, calling me "unhinged." The injustice burned, fueling a cold fury deeper than fear. Was this my cruel fate, to relive the same nightmare with the same monster? Why had I been given a second chance, only to face his baseless accusations and violence once more? This time, I wouldn't just endure his cruelty; I would break free. As I sent a coded message to my parents, my escape plan was in motion, and my fight for freedom had truly begun.

My heart pounded. This was it – the final presentation for the American Innovators Architectural Prize. My design, "The Phoenix Initiative," was my masterpiece, my future. Then, Blake Sterling, my rival, strode onto the stage and began presenting my project. Every line, every concept, every innovative detail. Mine. My blood ran cold, but the nightmare deepened when he publicly accused me of plagiarism. Gasps filled the room, and all eyes turned to me. Then Tiffany, my fiancée of seven years, stood up beside him. Her voice trembling, she voiced her "disappointment," her tears sealing my public disgrace. I was abandoned, my life's work stolen, my reputation ruined, and my academic future jeopardized by a powerful family and a corrupt dean. The woman I loved had just publicly thrown me under the bus, dismissing seven years of history for a man she barely knew. My mind reeled from the sheer audacity, the cold betrayal. How could they do this? How could she? I felt utterly crushed, yet a chilling clarity solidified within me. They saw me as a mere scholarship kid, easily crushed, and now they demanded I apologize and help Blake refine the very project they stole, threatening to blacklist me permanently if I refused. So I agreed. But as I worked days under their watch, I wasn' t fixing his project; I was subtly implanting a fatal, hidden flaw – a ticking time bomb only designed for catastrophic failure. Then, feigning a sudden, excruciating illness, I walked out, leaving them scrambling, speeding towards a new life. They thought they had cornered me, little did they know they had just woken up the heir to Cole Capital Development.

Ashley, a diligent high school student, usually focused intently on Ms. Davison's history lectures, diligently preparing for her big exam. But one ordinary day, a sudden, brutal pain, deeper and more sinister than any muscle cramp, surged through her right side, accompanied by an unsettling wave of feverish heat. Despite Ashley's desperate plea to see the nurse, Ms. Davison, with icy contempt, casually dismissed her suffering as "dramatic theatrics" designed to skip class, even offering her questionable, unlabeled pills from a dusty drawer before physically blocking Ashley from leaving the classroom, threatening severe detention as Ashley swayed, on the verge of collapse. The raw, infuriating injustice burned through Ashley and later, her distraught nurse mother, Sarah, who had overheard the chaos of her daughter’s collapse over a disconnected phone call, only to receive the terrifying ER diagnosis of a severe, life-threatening kidney infection that, hours earlier, could have claimed Ashley’s life, all because Ms. Davison prioritized her arbitrary biases over a child's urgent medical need. Fueled by an unshakeable resolve to ensure no other child endures such callous neglect, Ashley’s parents, Sarah and Mark, begin their meticulously planned public reckoning, deciding to expose Ms. Davison’s alarming negligence and deeply ingrained prejudices, not with a lawsuit, but with a scathing, sarcastically-worded "award" and a pointed "care package" at the school's widely attended PTA meeting, setting the stage for a dramatic showdown.

Esther had been imprisoned for accidentally injuring others in defense of her stepsister. Little did she know, it was all part of her stepsister's plan to take her role in the family and everything she had, including her boyfriend. Fortunately, hope arrived when he came into her life and saved her from this dilemma. She thought she had finally found Mr. Right, but it was not meant to be. She soon discovered that he was already engaged to another woman. Depression overtook her and almost suffocated her to death. She disappeared from his life, thinking she was free once more. However, when she met her new boss, she knew she was not and instead got trapped by his mad adoration.

"Stella once savored Marc's devotion, yet his covert cruelty cut deep. She torched their wedding portrait at his feet while he sent flirty messages to his mistress. With her chest tight and eyes blazing, Stella delivered a sharp slap. Then she deleted her identity, signed onto a classified research mission, vanished without a trace, and left him a hidden bombshell. On launch day she vanished; that same dawn Marc's empire crumbled. All he unearthed was her death certificate, and he shattered. When they met again, a gala spotlighted Stella beside a tycoon. Marc begged. With a smirk, she said, ""Out of your league, darling."

Elliana, the unfavored "ugly duckling" of her family, was humiliated by her stepsister, Paige, who everyone admired. Paige, engaged to the CEO Cole, was the perfect woman-until Cole married Elliana on the day of the wedding. Shocked, everyone wondered why he chose the "ugly" woman. As they waited for her to be cast aside, Elliana stunned everyone by revealing her true identity: a miracle healer, financial mogul, appraisal prodigy, and AI genius. When her mistreatment became known, Cole revealed Elliana's stunning, makeup-free photo, sending shockwaves through the media. "My wife doesn't need anyone's approval."

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!"

Maia grew up a pampered heiress-until the real daughter returned and framed her, sending Maia to prison with help from her fiancé and family. Four years later, free and married to Chris, a notorious outcast, everyone assumed Maia was finished. They soon discovered she was secretly a famed jeweler, elite hacker, celebrity chef, and top game designer. As her former family begged for help, Chris smiled calmly. "Honey, let's go home." Only then did Maia realize her "useless" husband was a legendary tycoon who'd adored her from the start.

Linsey was stood up by her groom to run off with another woman. Furious, she grabbed a random stranger and declared, "Let's get married!" She had acted on impulse, realizing too late that her new husband was the notorious rascal, Collin. The public laughed at her, and even her runaway ex offered to reconcile. But Linsey scoffed at him. "My husband and I are very much in love!" Everyone thought she was delusional. Then Collin was revealed to be the richest man in the world. In front of everyone, he got down on one knee and held up a stunning diamond ring. "I look forward to our forever, honey."

After five years of playing the perfect daughter, Rylie was exposed as a stand-in. Her fiancé bolted, friends scattered, and her adoptive brothers shoved her out, telling her to grovel back to her real family. Done with humiliation, she swore to claw back what was hers. Shock followed: her birth family ruled the town's wealth. Overnight, she became their precious girl. The boardroom brother canceled meetings, the genius brother ditched his lab, the musician brother postponed a tour. As those who spurned her begged forgiveness, Admiral Brad Morgan calmly declared, "She's already taken."

It was our fifth anniversary, and I sat alone in a Michelin-starred restaurant, staring at a diamond ring that felt more like an anchor than a promise. I kept telling myself Caleb was just busy, rationalizing the sharp, spasmodic pain in my stomach as mere nerves rather than my body's final warning. But when I went to his penthouse to surprise him, I found the double doors ajar. Through the gap, I watched my fiancé devouring Beatrice Blackwood on the sofa-the woman who had the family backing and confidence I supposedly lacked. He wasn't working; he was celebrating our anniversary by replacing me. The fallout was a calculated humiliation. The tabloids branded me a "pathetic orphan," and my Uncle Richard didn't care about the betrayal. He slammed his hand on his desk, claiming I was having another "psychotic episode" and accusing me of paranoia. He threatened to pull the plug on my mother's life support unless I went to the Hamptons to beg Caleb for forgiveness. My family even tried to force me onto heavy antipsychotics to keep me quiet for the sake of a corporate merger. I was being sold to a man who hated me by the very people who were supposed to protect me. I didn't understand why they wanted me broken, or why a mysterious stranger in an elevator had suddenly paid my mother's astronomical medical bills in full. Everything changed at a dinner where my uncle tried to trade me to a predator for a real estate deal. I didn't cry; I shattered a wine bottle and held the jagged glass to the man's throat. That's when Julian Blackwood, the most feared man on Wall Street, walked in and seized the house, the debt, and me. "I take my contracts seriously, Vanessa," he whispered, pulling me into his armored car as my family was thrown onto the street. I had escaped my uncle's cage, but as I looked into Julian's storm-gray eyes, I realized I had just traded a common bully for a beautiful, deadly king.

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.

For three years, Cathryn and her husband Liam lived in a sexless marriage. She believed Liam buried himself in work for their future. But on the day her mother died, she learned the truth: he had been cheating with her stepsister since their wedding night. She dropped every hope and filed for divorce. Sneers followed-she'd crawl back, they said. Instead, they saw Liam on his knees in the rain. When a reporter asked about a reunion, she shrugged. "He has no self-respect, just clings to people who don't love him." A powerful tycoon wrapped an arm around her. "Anyone coveting my wife answers to me."

In their previous lives, Gracie married Theo. Outwardly, they were the perfect academic couple, but privately, she became nothing more than a stepping stone for his ambition, and met a tragic end. Her younger sister Ellie wed Brayden, only to be abandoned for his true love, left alone and disgraced. This time, both sisters were reborn. Ellie rushed to marry Theo, chasing the success Gracie once had-unaware she was repeating the same heartbreak. Gracie instead entered a contract marriage with Brayden. But when danger struck, he defended her fiercely. Could fate finally rewrite their tragic endings?