Serena Light

Five years ago, my fiancé, tech billionaire Jaxon Kent, went missing. When I reported it, I became the laughingstock of Seattle. The police told me his real fiancée was an actress named Kamila. But I was the one living with him, hidden away in his coastal villa. I was his secret, his ghost, while she wore my identity for the world. After a fall at the police station, a miracle happened: I regained my sight. The first thing I overheard was Jaxon telling a doctor not to let my vision be restored. He said he' d fallen for my replacement. That a blind, dependent wife was better for him now that his substitute was pregnant with his heir. He had built me a castle not to protect me, but to imprison me. He had given me the 'Eternal Heart' diamond, then sold our love for a cheap copy. My life was a lie. My future was stolen. And the man I loved was a monster. So I set the castle on fire. As the flames consumed the monument to my stolen life, I whispered to the inferno, "Your love is tainted, Jaxon, and I don't want it anymore."

My arranged marriage had a cruel condition. My husband, Rico, had to pass nine "loyalty tests" designed by his childhood obsession, Sofia. Nine times, he had to choose her over me, his wife. On our anniversary, he made his final choice, leaving me sick and bleeding on the side of a highway in a storm. He raced to her side simply because she called, claiming to be scared of the thunder. He’d done this before—abandoning my gallery opening for her nightmare, my grandmother’s funeral for her conveniently broken-down car. My entire life was a footnote in their story, a role Sofia later admitted she had hand-picked for me. After four years of being a consolation prize, my heart was a block of ice. There was no more warmth left to give, no more hope left to crush. I was finally done. So when Sofia summoned me to my own art gallery for a final act of humiliation, I was ready. I calmly watched as my husband, desperate to please her, signed the document she slid in front of him without a glance. He thought he was signing an investment. He had no idea it was the divorce agreement I’d slipped into the folder an hour before.

For nine years, my marriage to tech titan Julian Gallegos was a fairytale. He was the powerful mogul who adored me, and I was the brilliant architect who was his world. Our love was the kind people whispered about. Then, a car crash stole it all. He woke up with the last nine years of his memory erased. He didn't remember me, our life, or our love. The man I loved was gone, replaced by a monster who saw me as his enemy. Under the influence of his manipulative childhood friend, Helena, he had my brother killed over a petty debt. He didn't stop there. At my brother's funeral, he ordered his men to break both of my legs. His final act of cruelty was stealing my voice-having my vocal cords surgically transplanted into Helena, leaving me mute and shattered. The man who once promised to protect me had become my tormentor. He had taken everything from me. My all-consuming love for him finally curdled into pure, absolute hate. He thought he had destroyed me. But he was wrong. I faked my own death, leaked the evidence that would burn his entire empire to the ground, and vanished. The man I married was already dead. It was time to make the monster wearing his face pay for everything.

For six years, I' d been Julian Hayes' s perfect accessory, Eleanor Vance, the "beautiful artist" he' d saved. On my birthday, playing poker with powerful men, Julian, with a cruel smile, offered me as his wager: "If I lose this hand, Eleanor is yours for the night." He' d won, of course, and then claimed me with a possessive kiss, a chilling display of ownership. That night, my world truly shattered. Julian ignored me, charming a young woman named Chloe, a carbon copy of his deceased first love. He then sent me to dress Chloe for her new life with him, revealing I was pregnant during this humiliating ordeal. My secret hope that a child would change things was crushed when Chloe, the exact person who made me pregnant, staged an accident, throwing herself down the stairs and blaming me. Julian, believing her, cast me out, coldly messaging my sister to "Keep her. She' s a liability." From my hospital bed, I was released from Julian' s gilded cage only to find myself traded to Marcus Thorne, a ruthless rival, like property. He was violent, leaving bruises that I had to hide. My desperation led to a dangerous choice-a last resort plan to fake my own death. How could the man I loved, my childhood savior, discard me so carelessly, then sell me to a monster? How could he fall for such a transparent lie engineered to completely erase me? Despite everything, I had to create a new life, to build a future free from the shadow of the man who had bought and sold me like a thing.

"Are you sure about this, Chloe?" Ethan' s voice came through the phone, a mix of hope and disbelief. "Marrying me?" For seven years, I had loved Mark, believing we were a power couple, an architect and a developer building dreams. A week ago, I discovered I was just his "pastime," a "fun distraction." He was already engaged to Sophia Miller, a socialite whose picture was plastered all over the society pages. He offered to keep me as his mistress, a proposition he tried to seal with a diamond-studded collar engraved with "Mine." I reeled, but kept my face blank as he left for Sophia' s birthday party- which I later learned was a surprise party at his mountain estate. He abandoned me on a deserted road after I slapped him for trying to put the collar on me in the car. Sophia appeared, feigning concern, then publicly humiliated me and accused me of pushing her, an accusation Mark instantly believed. He left me in his car, miles from home, only to send his secretary to pick me up and bring me to Sophia' s party. There, Sophia, with Mark's approval, arranged for me to be assaulted, then lied again, claiming I had attacked her. Mark, seeing my bleeding knee but choosing to believe them, told me to apologize, calling me a "crazy ex." Why did he believe her so easily? Why was I, after seven years, so easily replaced by a woman he barely knew, who so clearly hated me? Why was I left feeling nothing but sick, used, and utterly disposable? With the last shred of my dignity, I pulled myself up, refusing to be his victim or her pet. I took the blood money he offered, blocked his number, and escaped, flying home to Ethan, ready to leave the nightmare behind and build a new future for myself.

The last thing I remembered was the splintering pain as I tumbled down the stairs. My mother-in-law, Martha, stood at the top, her face a mask of cold satisfaction. "You should have just stayed in your place, Sarah. None of this had to happen." Her words were crueler than the impact that shattered my bones. My vision blurred to a dark red. The last image in my mind wasn't of her, but of my daughter, Lily, her tiny body limp in my arms. Lily was dead because of Martha. And now, so was I. My husband, Mark, would believe his mother. He always did. My death would be just another inconvenience for them. Then, a sudden, blinding light. I shot up, drenched in sweat. My room was familiar. My hands were whole. No pain. My phone buzzed. October 12th. The day Lily died. Pure terror washed over me. This had to be a dream. But the room was real. My frantic heartbeat was real. I had come back. I was given a second chance. Not for forgiveness. Not for reconciliation. A chance for revenge. The submissive Sarah was gone, shattered at the bottom of those stairs. The woman who woke up was forged in betrayal and grief. Lily was downstairs with Martha. Martha, who in a few hours, would give my peanut-allergic daughter a "special" peanut cookie. The same Martha who dismissed Lily' s deadly allergy as "just a little sensitivity." They didn' t believe me. Or they didn' t care. The result was the same. My daughter died. Not this time. I ran. The smell of sweet, nutty death filled the air. I burst into the kitchen, just as Martha offered Lily the cookies. "No!" I ripped the plate from her hand, shattering it in the sink. "You will never, ever eat Grandma's cookies," I told Lily, holding her close. "They will make you very, very sick." Martha puffed out her chest. "Peanut isn't going to kill anyone. It builds up tolerance." The same words she'd used before. The same excuses that put my daughter in a casket. But I wasn't that woman anymore. "You are a stupid, stubborn old woman," I said, cold and clear. "Your 'wisdom' is going to get someone killed." I knew all their secrets now. The game had changed. And I was making the rules.

The party was a glittering facade, and I, Ethan Miller, a prop in Scarlett Hayes' s meticulously crafted charade. A medical student desperate to save my dying mother, I agreed to be her temporary fiancé, a stand-in for her deceased step-brother, Liam. But her cruelty escalated, punishing me by cutting off my mother' s critical medical funding, a sadistic game that led directly to her death. In that sterile hospital room, a chilling confession: Scarlett admitted her malicious act, transforming my grief into a cold, burning rage. Days later, Liam, Scarlett' s obsessive step-brother, brutally attacked me in an alley, leaving me for dead, fueled by her manipulative lies. I clung to life, recovering in the city' s underbelly, a ghost of my former self, my dreams of becoming a doctor shattered. Just as I thought I had disappeared, they found me, mocking my new low, publicly humiliating me again. Their power felt absolute, her control over me a suffocating weight. But a flicker of humanity, a shocking intervention from Liam himself, offered a glimpse of escape from their twisted game. I refused their blood money, turning my back on their toxic world, determined to seek justice for my mother and reclaim my life. I rebuilt, pouring my soul into neuroscience, achieving the success they tried to deny me, finding love and a future brighter than I ever imagined. Their empire crumbled, Liam imprisoned, Scarlett a ghost haunted by her past. In a final, shocking twist, she shielded me from a vengeful bullet, an act of sacrifice that closed the darkest chapter of my life. Now, free from their shadow, I live a life of purpose and joy, a testament to resilience, a future built on love, not lies.

One moment, I was Scarlett, the culinary world's rising star, my hands turning simple ingredients into art. The next, a brutal car crash stole everything: my sense of taste and smell, my career, my future. My boyfriend, Ethan, stayed by my side, a devoted rock, bringing me medication for pain, assuring me of his unwavering love while I swallowed tasteless food, devoid of joy. But one night, a overheard conversation shattered my broken world: Ethan, conspiring with my half-sister Bethany, revealing the "accidental" crash was orchestrated, the "pain medicine" was suppressing my recovery, all to ensure Bethany won a culinary competition. The man who swore he loved me had meticulously dismantled my life for her, his every sweet word a lie. I swallowed the bitter pills, no longer for pain, but a promise to myself: I would escape, play the part of the fragile victim until I could break free, and reclaim what was stolen from me.

For eight years, I played the perfect high-society fiancée to Andrew Lester, a man consumed by guilt, whose emotional distance masked a disturbing fixation on his "niece," Molly. I silently endured his self-imposed celibacy, convinced his aloofness was just his penance. But weeks before our wedding, I found a positive pregnancy test in our bathroom trash. It wasn't mine. Hours later, the man who hadn't touched me in years stormed into my bedroom and his hands closed around my throat. "Where is she?" he whispered, desperate, then chillingly revealed, "She's pregnant, Jennifer. With my child." My heart didn't break; it turned to ice as he choked me while begging for the girl carrying his baby. Then, the ultimate betrayal: thrown into our freezing pool by his guards, I watched him comfort Molly, heard him call me a "shield," right before a sharp, agonizing pain erupted. I looked down to see a dark plume of blood in the water. I was losing my baby. I woke in a bare guest room, branded "dramatic" for bleeding out in his pool. Later, Molly, with a smirk, told me she' d removed my roses for her fake allergies and that Andrew only married me "for show." Moments later, she faked a fall into the pool, shrieking about her baby, and Andrew, without hesitation, slapped me across the face, utterly blind to her deception. The sting on my cheek, the taste of blood in my mouth, and his complete devotion to her lie finally shattered my last illusion. He had made his choice. Now, I would make mine.

For a decade, I poured my soul into InnovateNext, transforming it from a garage startup into a Silicon Valley unicorn, building its core technology from scratch as CTO, all alongside the man I loved, Ethan Vance. Today, the eve of our massive IPO, was supposed to be our shared triumph. Instead, I walked into the boardroom to find a perfectly poised stranger, Chloe Hayes, sitting in my chair, the one next to Ethan. He introduced her as our new COO, the very position he had promised me for years, casually informing me she' d be taking my office, too. My blood ran cold as I heard him parrot corporate jargon about her "polish" and "background," realizing he chose his high school ex-girlfriend over me-the woman who had saved his company from bankruptcy and coded for 72 hours straight, collapsing in the process. The betrayal was absolute, reducing ten years of my life, my sacrifice, my very worth, to a mere "business decision." But what he didn't realize was that when he took everything, he also freed me. He was about to discover what happens when you discard the architect and expect the building to stand.

For a decade, I was Ace. Dominic Russo' s top enforcer, his strategist, the ghost who made his problems vanish. I built his empire in Port Sterling, brick by bloody brick, on the promise of a shared throne, our future intertwined. My loyalty was absolute, my love fierce. Then, I heard shattered glass. Standing outside his office, I listened as he planned his wedding to Chloe Miller, a socialite. He called me a mere "tool," "not wife material," unfit for his meticulously crafted public image. Ten years of unwavering loyalty, countless sacrifices, casually thrown away. The man I bled for, who I loved, demanded I empty our shared home for his new bride. Chloe, viciously, later read from his journal, twisting every one of my life-threatening missions into romantic backdrops for her. His lies ran deeper than I imagined, confirmed by his own rival: he' d manipulated me, used me as a human shield. How could he discard me so utterly, erase my sacrifices, gaslight my reality, turning my devotion into a weapon against me? The shock hardened into glacial fury, burning away every lingering sentiment. He thought I was just a tool? He was about to discover how sharp a tool could be when it decided to carve its own destiny. I picked up my burner phone and called Elijah Kane. Dominic' s entire empire was now a gift, served on a silver platter.

Aurora woke up to the sterile chill of her king-sized bed in Sterling Thorne's penthouse. Today was the day her husband would finally throw her out like garbage. Sterling walked in, tossed divorce papers at her, and demanded her signature, eager to announce his "eligible bachelor" status to the world. In her past life, the sight of those papers had broken her, leaving her begging for a second chance. Sterling's sneering voice, calling her a "trailer park girl" undeserving of his name, had once cut deeper than any blade. He had always used her humble beginnings to keep her small, to make her grateful for the crumbs of his attention. She had lived a gilded cage, believing she was nothing without him, until her life flatlined in a hospital bed, watching him give a press conference about his "grief." But this time, she felt no sting, no tears. Only a cold, clear understanding of the mediocre man who stood on a pedestal she had painstakingly built with her own genius. Aurora signed the papers, her name a declaration of independence. She grabbed her old, phoenix-stickered laptop, ready to walk out. Sterling Thorne was about to find out exactly how expensive "free" could be.

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.

Vesper's marriage to Julian Sterling was a gilded cage. One morning, she woke naked beside Damon Sterling, Julian's terrifying brother, then found a text: Julian's mistress was pregnant. Her world shattered, but the real nightmare had just begun. Julian's abuse escalated, gaslighting Vesper, funding his secret life. Damon, a germaphobic billionaire, became her unsettling anchor amidst his chaos. As "Iris," Vesper exposed Julian's mistress, Serena Sharp, sparking brutal war: poisoned drinks, a broken leg, and the horrifying truth-Julian murdered her parents, trapping Vesper in marriage. The man she married was a killer. Broken and betrayed, Vesper was caught between monstrous brothers, burning with injustice. Refusing victimhood, Vesper reclaimed her identity. Fueled by vengeance, she allied with Damon, who vowed to burn his empire for her. Julian faced justice, but matriarch Eleanor's counterattack forced Vesper's choice as a hitman aimed for her.

Trigger/Content Warning: This story contains mature themes and explicit content intended for adult audiences(18+). Reader discretion is advised. It includes elements such as BDSM dynamics, explicit sexual content, toxic family relationships, occasional violence and strong language. This is not a fluffy romance. It is intense, raw and messy, and explores the darker side of desire. ***** "Take off your dress, Meadow." "Why?" "Because your ex is watching," he said, leaning back into his seat. "And I want him to see what he lost." ••••*••••*••••* Meadow Russell was supposed to get married to the love of her life in Vegas. Instead, she walked in on her twin sister riding her fiance. One drink at the bar turned to ten. One drunken mistake turned into reality. And one stranger's offer turned into a contract that she signed with shaking hands and a diamond ring. Alaric Ashford is the devil in a tailored Tom Ford suit. Billionaire CEO, brutal, possessive. A man born into an empire of blood and steel. He also suffers from a neurological condition-he can't feel. Not objects, not pain, not even human touch. Until Meadow touches him, and he feels everything. And now he owns her. On paper and in his bed. She wants him to ruin her. Take what no one else could have. He wants control, obedience... revenge. But what starts as a transaction slowly turns into something Meadow never saw coming. Obsession, secrets that were never meant to surface, and a pain from the past that threatens to break everything. Alaric doesn't share what's his. Not his company. Not his wife. And definitely not his vengeance.

The roasted lamb was cold, a reflection of her marriage. On their third anniversary, Evelyn Vance waited alone in her Manhattan penthouse. Then her phone buzzed: Alexander, her husband, had been spotted leaving the hospital, holding his childhood sweetheart Scarlett Sharp's hand. Alexander arrived hours later, dismissing Evelyn's quiet complaint with a cold reminder: she was Mrs. Vance, not a victim. Her mother's demands reinforced this role, making Evelyn, a brilliant mind, feel like a ghost. A dangerous indifference replaced betrayal. The debt was paid; now, it was her turn. She drafted a divorce settlement, waiving everything. As Alexander's tender voice drifted from his study, speaking to Scarlett, Evelyn placed her wedding ring on his pillow, moved to the guest suite, and locked the door. The dull wife was gone; the Oracle was back.

My husband Julian celebrated our five-year anniversary by sleeping with his mistress. He thought I was a clueless trophy wife, too dim to notice the vanilla and tuberose scent on his expensive suits. He was wrong. For years, I played Mrs. Vance, hiding my brilliance while Julian claimed my patents. An anonymous email confirmed his ultimate betrayal: photos of him and Scarlett Kensington in ecstasy. My heart didn't break; it solidified into ice at five years wasted. I activated "The Protocol" for a new identity and escape countdown. Playing the doting wife, I plotted his downfall, catching him with his mistress selling my work, and publicly snapping his credit card. His betrayals and stolen work ignited a cold, calculated fury. He had no idea the monster he'd created. I was dismantling his empire. I shredded his patent papers, stripping him of his ill-gotten gains. With a final tap, I initiated "Identity Erasure." Mrs. Vance was dead. Dr. Evelyn Thorne had just begun her counterattack.

Vivian clutched her Hermès bag, her doctor's words echoing: "Extremely high-risk pregnancy." She hoped the baby would save her cold marriage, but Julian wasn't in London as his schedule claimed. Instead, a paparazzi photo revealed his early return-with a blonde woman, not his wife, at the private airport exit. The next morning, Julian served divorce papers, callously ending their "duty" marriage for his ex, Serena. A horrifying contract clause gave him the right to terminate her pregnancy or seize their child. Humiliated, demoted, and forced to fake an ulcer, Vivian watched him parade his affair, openly discarding her while celebrating Serena. This was a calculated erasure, not heartbreak. He cared only for his image, confirming he would "handle" the baby himself. A primal rage ignited her. "Just us," she whispered to her stomach, vowing to sign the divorce on her terms, keep her secret safe, and walk away from Sterling Corp for good, ready to protect her child alone.

Serena Vance, an unloved wife, clutched a custom-made red velvet cake to her chest, enduring the cold rain outside an exclusive Upper East Side club. She hoped this small gesture for her husband, Julian, would bridge the growing chasm between them on their third anniversary. But as she neared the VIP suite, her world shattered. Julian's cold, detached voice sliced through the laughter, revealing he considered her nothing more than a "signature on a piece of paper" for a trust fund, mocking her changed appearance and respecting only another woman, Elena. The indifference in his tone was a physical blow, a brutal severance, not heartbreak. She gently placed the forgotten cake on the floor, leaving her wedding ring and a diamond necklace as she prepared to abandon a marriage built on lies. Her old life, once a prison of quiet suffering and constant humiliation, now lay in ruins around her. Three years of trying to be seen, to be loved, were erased by a few cruel words. Why had she clung to a man who saw her as a clause in a will, a "creature," not a wife? The shame and rage hardened her heart, freezing her tears. Returning to an empty penthouse, she packed a single battered suitcase, leaving behind every symbol of her failed marriage. With a burner phone, she dialed a number she hadn't touched in a decade, whispering, "Godfather, I'm ready to come home."

Yelena discovered that she wasn't her parents' biological child. After seeing through their ploy to trade her as a pawn in a business deal, she was sent away to her barren birthplace. There, she stumbled upon her true origins-a lineage of historic opulence. Her real family showered her with love and adoration. In the face of her so-called sister's envy, Yelena conquered every adversity and took her revenge, all while showcasing her talents. She soon caught the attention of the city's most eligible bachelor. He cornered Yelena and pinned her against the wall. "It's time to reveal your true identity, darling."

The acrid smell of smoke still clung to Evelyn in the ambulance, her lungs raw from the penthouse fire. She was alive, but the world around her felt utterly destroyed, a feeling deepened by the small TV flickering to life. On it, her husband, Julian Vance, thousands of miles away, publicly comforted his mistress, Serena Holloway, shielding her from paparazzi after *her* "panic attack." Julian's phone went straight to voicemail. Alone in the hospital with second-degree burns, Evelyn watched news replays, her heart rate spiking. He protected Serena from camera flashes while Evelyn burned. When he finally called, he demanded she handle insurance, dismissing the fire; Serena's voice faintly heard. The shallow family ties and pretense of marriage evaporated. A searing injustice and cold anger replaced pain; Evelyn knew Julian had chosen to let her burn. "Evelyn Vance died in that fire," she declared, ripping out her IV. Armed with a secret fortune as "The Architect," Hollywood's top ghostwriter, she walked out. She would divorce Julian, reclaim her name, and finally step into the spotlight as an actress.