The Price of Forgiveness
My name is Cassie Aster. I was born Cassandra Burton.
I wasn’t born rich, or with a powerful name. But I was born smart—some would say lucky.
At fifteen, I entered a contest for a scholarship to the most prestigious school in the country: Aster Academy of Excellence. Out of more than four hundred applicants, only five were chosen. By sixteen, I was walking through its gates.
That’s where I met him—Jacob Aster. The son of the school’s owners. The heir to one of the wealthiest families on Earth.
I fell for him immediately, but I rejected him—over a hundred times. My studies, my scholarship, my future came first. To him, that meant only one thing: he had to buy my love.
Over a decade later, we’re married. And to the world, I’m the luckiest girl alive—proof that fairy tales come true. From rags to riches, just like that.
But I never thought of myself as having only rags. And I didn’t marry him for his riches. Still, every time he strays, he buys my forgiveness—for $100,000.
For him, I gave up my career. For him, I live like a caged bird, taken out only for display. For him, I die a little every day. Every time my card doesn’t decline, my heart does.
Most of his women at least have the shame to stay out of my sight. But not her.
Coral Monroue is shameless. He favors her now. And I can’t help but wonder—
will she be the one who finally pushes me to leave?
Read
Chapter: Chapter 32I hadn’t cooked for anyone other than myself in weeks. Even Jacob had enough sense to not complain when maids made him his breakfast adjacent to what I made myself.Apparently Coral and Teresa didn’t share that sense.“Are you only going to feed yourself?” Teresa asked as she sat.Coral smiled blissfully as she cradled her flat stomach. She sat between Teresa and Jacob. She smiled bashfully at him as if she might get his attention but he focused only on his newspaper.“I didn’t plan on having guests.” I had never been this unwelcoming. But why should I help such cruel people. “And I have to leave for work soon.”Teresa gaped at me before looking around the table to collect a sense on everyone’s reaction. Coral was the only one to give her an equally shocked reaction.“That’s not how you should speak to Mrs. Aster.” Coral gasped. “She’s a wonderful, strong, and brave woman who deserves your respect.”Teresa put a hand on Coral’s forearm.“Thank you, my darling.” She praised. Then she l
Last Updated: 2025-11-07
Chapter: Chapter 31I sat in front of my mirror brushing my hair. Time stayed still. The dark growing outside was unnoticeable. I breathed but every breath felt shallow.I shared at myself in the mirror – lost in my own eyes. My hair had been lined with oils at the repetitive strokes.What was I supposed to do now? My father's bills and depts had all been paid. But he was furious that we used Jacob to do it. Even the mention of Jacob’s name seemed to ready him for another heart attack.I couldn’t tell him. I couldn’t tell him why I needed to leave my husband. Or that I so desperately wanted to. I couldn’t lean on them for help.Whatever I did – I had to do it alone.I couldn’t live in this house any longer. Especially not with his mistress in it. Did he really intend to keep her here? And what if Teresa stayed too? What would I do then?I would be tortured – humiliated – treated as a slave in my home. And for what?First I needed to get my family out of Jacob’s reach. But how? Who could help me? How? Jac
Last Updated: 2025-11-05
Chapter: Chapter 30I was fuming when I walked into the house. This wasn’t a normal argument. This was war. This was unstoppable – unbridled – unpredictable – war.He had taken my life and was now threatening my friends and family to keep it. For what? What did he gain by holding me hostage? What did he get from being married to me?!I’m not sure how long I paced along the front foyer. My mind imagining over and over – every conceivable argument we could have when he got home.He would be home soon – I knew that. He wouldn’t trust me at home alone for that long. Not right now. He shouldn’t.Were he not the main financial resource for my father who still needed 3 medical check ups, I would’ve already run.The door finally opened and I whirled to yell at him. But I was instantly frozen in place.Teresa Aster – Jacob’s mother – stood in the light of the door. I could practically hear the theatre orchestra playing a somber and pensive dramatic piece. She draped herself in expensive white firm and massive diam
Last Updated: 2025-11-03
Chapter: Chapter 29I felt my eyes narrow as my eyebrows furrowed. Somehow… I couldn’t believe it.“She’s pregnant.”It was one thing… to know it was happening. The humiliation. The betrayal…Somehow none of it mattered that much.The part that struck me – made me feel like I was sinking somewhere inside my own body – he’d lied. So effortlessly.He’d nearly had me fully convinced that he truly loved me. He was convincing that he loved me. He was convincing that he’d never cheated on me. That he didn’t have a mistress. I believed him.I didn’t want to believe him. But despite that – I did. He made himself so believable.Who was this man?Who was this man who could so easily lie and make it seem truly believable? For a moment, I couldn’t even be mad at Coral. How could she not fall for his lies? How could she not believe every word he said?He was convincing. And she wanted to believe him. So how could she not?I’d been told… in a thousand different ways… that Jacob was a dangerous man. Dangerous because h
Last Updated: 2025-11-01
Chapter: Chapter 28I was making the guest room bed when my phone buzzed. It was from the number again. Multiple pictures of Coral and Jacob together looking intimate, cozy, and happy. The caption read, if only he could be this happy at home.I turned off my phone and tossed it to the side. I was lifting the blanket so I could get under when someone grabbed me from behind.I knew his body, and I could smell him so although I tried to break free of his arms, I didn’t panic.He tightened his hold on me.“You can’t get away with everything just because I love you.” He said.I scoffed and choked out a laugh of disbelief.“You don’t love me.”He turned me, pushed me backward onto the bed, and fell over me. A hand on my arm and another one on my throat. It didn’t hurt but his hands were tight.“Why are you being like this again? I helped an employee.”“At the expense of your wife.” I grabbed his hand on my throat as if I could pry it off with one hand. “You wrecked my academic career.”“It’s one TA position.”
Last Updated: 2025-10-30
Chapter: Chapter 27Wait? He wanted this problem to wait?What was I expecting? Did I think he would just wake up one day and suddenly love and respect me? After 10 years of being his toy, now I thought he might actually view me as his equal?I hadn’t gotten stronger. I hadn’t stood up for myself. I just changed the dimensions of our game. I was nothing to him. I was a name on a certificate and a pretty face for high-end parties.It was haunting to see how easily he’d taken my job from me. If I angered him, it would be worse. I needed to establish myself firmly so I could defend myself against his wrath when I left. I had the franchise now. And he’d bought me the two apartments I asked for.I rented out both but didn’t tell him which. Both tenants knew they might get a roommate soon. No plans had been made yet though.I didn’t want my name on anything that might help him find me if I tried to disappear.I packed my suitcases. One tenant was a couple. One was a single woman. I would move in tomorrow with
Last Updated: 2025-10-29
Bound by Madness
When Chloe Samson married her childhood sweetheart, CEO Tom Hayden, at twenty, she thought she'd found her forever. But forever shatters fast when April Sunday—Tom’s enigmatic childhood friend—accuses Chloe of a violent assault and has her committed to a mental hospital.
Now, trapped between the sterile walls of the institution and the crumbling illusion of her perfect marriage, Chloe must piece together the truth. Is April lying? Is Tom hiding something? And how much of her own past can Chloe trust? To survive, Chloe must confront betrayal, untangle buried memories, and find the strength to escape—not just the hospital, but the life she thought she wanted.
Read
Chapter: Retribution TOM’S POVTom paced the kitchen of his new home, lost in thought. The home staff, Hendrix, and April lined up nervously watching him. Uneasy side glances to one another. Biting lips and trembling hands. Restlessly wondering who would be the first to crack“What happened?” He finally asked.He’d asked the question 50 times on the ambulance ride to the hospital. He’d felt his heart shatter with every word from the doctor’s had said.Malnourished? Rotten food? Dehydrated? Bruises on her wrists and ankles?The baby was now in a more critical condition.The stuttering voices of the shaking staff never formed full sentences.“WHAT HAPPENED?!” He bellowed. They all flinched back.Her voice shaken and showing true concern, April stepped forward.“W-wh-when you were gone…. Mrs. Yana—” The head housekeeper looked sideways at April with wide, warning eyes. April met this side stare and continued, “Mrs. Yana informed me that Mrs. Hayden refused to eat in protest. She said you’d punish the staff f
Last Updated: 2025-10-29
Chapter: FuryI refuse to speak. He has a camera.“How did she call you?” Tom’s voice was low and menacing.“We found this—” April walks in with a burner phone. My heart stops. How did she find it?But when Tom takes it and looks at it, I see it’s a decoy. Meant for their story. They don’t know about my phone. Fine. So long as I’m not going to be assaulted, just divorce me. If he’d rather be cheated on than to be amicably separated, that’s his choice.Tom examines it for a bit, running through messages that are either imaginary or briefly reading prearranged texts. I don’t know which.Tom throws the phone to the floor and then looks at the men begging forgiveness.“Take them to the cabin. Let them be eaten by animals.” Tom orders and a group of men in suits grab the men as they thrash and argue.They yell, “Mrs. Hayden!”“You said this wouldn’t happen!”“You promised!”“Mrs. Hayden!”“We did what you said—stop him!”“Mrs. Hay—”Tom turns directly to me, his cold eyes hard and emotionless.“Everyone
Last Updated: 2025-09-24
Chapter: Rotten FoodI am tied to the bed in the master bedroom of the otherwise entirely barren house and abandoned. My screams and cries go unheard. By the third day, when I think I’m finally about to die due to dehydration, the door finally opens.April and Hendrix saunter inside.“Oh, my back hurts,” she moans, putting a hand on her back, “he had so much pend up frustration…. I shouldn’t have let him go so long without.”My mouth feels dry and my throat cracked. I want to ask for water but I can’t. My lips threaten to crack and bleed if I open my mouth.April sits on the side of the bed and smiles at me. She puts a hand on my stomach and says, “Nothing can happen to my beautiful baby.”Then Hendrix walks over holding a thermos and puts it to my lips. I can smell whatever’s inside and it’s vile. I want to protest but too fast he pours it into my throat.Although—even starving—I can taste its rancid flavour, I let myself swallow it because my alternative is choking.I gag, though, wanting it to stop but
Last Updated: 2025-09-23
Chapter: You Will Stay At the New HouseI finally meet Victor at lunch with Anna and Carson. He greets me in a suit and wide smile.“I am very excited to help you, Chloe.” He says. “Anna’s told me so much about it.”He’s a stern man, with a steady smile and a professional vibe. So different from what I imagined for Anna.“I believe she’s told me everything. I’ve been in contact with the private investigator. He has told me that although there is a lot of probable cause to distrust your husband’s loyalty, he hasn’t found any direct evidence that your husband had cheated. If it is safe for you to get recordings or records, we’d like you to do that.” He slid a box towards me. “If you put these up around your home, or manage to get them into her home, it will help us to record what happens when you’re not around.”I open the box and see many piles of small camera.“They are all Bluetooth.” He explains. “Onto the job… it may be best to get you away from someone you could conceivably have a relationship with.” He motions to Carso
Last Updated: 2025-09-21
Chapter: New IdeasTom refused to leave my side for the next few days. Despite constantly rejecting him and requesting he be taken away, he continued to try to feed and care for me until I was ready to be discharged.When he get home, I immediately change and starts toward the door.“Where are you going?” He asks.“Work.”“Right now? You were just discharged. You can wait.”“No—I can’t be here another second. April is a floor below us. Why don’t you visit her.”“I was going to move us anyways.” He tries.“Oh… well then I guess it’s okay to buy your mistress an apartment.”He shakes his head, “I already own this building. I just let her stay in an empty unit.”“You know who should be allowed in that empty unit? My dad. Where is he?”“I get you’re upset. Can you stay here and we can talk about it?”“No—”“I’ll bring your dad back.” He finally decides. He looks down and shuffles, “If you quit that job. I will bring him back and move him here.”I am frozen. That deal might be the only way I can get my dad b
Last Updated: 2025-09-20
Chapter: The After PartyCHLOE POVI can’t figure out why he’s doing this to me. I reach up to grab Carson’s arm, “please…. Please don’t let him take me”Tom pulls my hand away and pushes Carson back. Tom says, “It’s been 5 years, you still haven’t given up, huh?”“I stepped aside because I thought you were better than me. A woodchipper would be better than you.” Carson snaps back, trying to push Tom aside but Tom steadies himself quickly.“Get away from my wife.” Tom’s voice is sour and angry.“Look at her!” Carson shouts, “is this really how you treat her?! It’s a miracle the baby made it.”Tom doesn’t look back at me. “That’s my child. I don’t need you to concern yourself with it.”“Someone has to.”April runs around the bed then and grabs my arm. She deliberately pushes into a deep bruise. “Chloe—tell me you haven’t been cheating on Tommy! He cares about you so much. How could you do this?”“Let go of me!” I try to pull my arm away and she throws herself back, knocking over a vase of flowers, a book, and a
Last Updated: 2025-09-19
LOGIN
