The CEO's Shattered Vows
Isabella:
Five years ago, I thought marrying Damien Reeds would be my fairy tale ending. I was wrong. He never loved me—I was just a pawn in his family's business deals. When the merger fell through, he threw me away like I meant nothing. He divorced me publicly, in front of over 500 people, then kissed another woman while cameras flashed and I fell apart.
What he didn't know was that I was pregnant.
I disappeared, gave birth alone, and spent years building a life for our daughter—a daughter he knows nothing about. I became stronger, fiercer, and learned to survive without him. I thought I'd never see him again. Then I walked into a job interview... and there he was. Now he's discovered my secret, and the ruthless CEO who destroyed me wants to claim the child I've protected all this time.
Damien:
I thought divorcing Isabella was the right choice. My mother convinced me she was unworthy, that Sophia was my true match. For years, I buried whatever I felt under business deals and cold ambition. I told myself I didn't care. I told myself I'd moved on.
Then she walked back into my life—confident, successful, and completely out of my reach. The shy girl I once knew is gone, replaced by a woman who looks at me like I'm nothing. And then I saw her daughter. My daughter. The child she kept hidden from me for five years.
She says I don't deserve to know her. But I'm not the same man anymore, and I'll do whatever it takes to prove it—I never stopped loving her.
Now, with a child caught between them and a past full of betrayal, can two broken people find their way back to each other—or will the truth destroy them both?
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Chapter: Chapter 9Spring arrived with unexpected warmth, transforming the city from gray and dormant to green and alive. Isabella stood at Rosa's door on a Saturday morning, holding Lily's hand and a bag of groceries she'd insisted on bringing."You don't need to bring food every time you visit," Rosa said, but she was smiling as she took the bag. "Though I won't say no to fresh vegetables. Come in, come in."These Saturday visits had become routine over the past few months. Isabella would bring Lily over, and they'd spend the afternoon at Rosa's house—cooking together, playing in the small backyard, just existing in each other's company. It was different from the weekday drop-offs and pickups. More relaxed. More like family."Miss Rosa!" Lily broke free from Isabella's hand and ran toward the kitchen, where Rosa kept a cookie jar specifically for visiting children."One cookie before lunch," Rosa called after her. "And wash your hands first!"Isabella followed them into the kitchen, familiar now with
Last Updated: 2025-10-29
Chapter: Chapter 8The question came on an ordinary Tuesday afternoon, sandwiched between snack time and a tantrum over the wrong color cup. Isabella was in the kitchen making dinner—grilled cheese because it was one of five foods Lily would eat without a fight—when she heard her daughter's voice from the living room."Mama, where's my daddy?"Isabella's hand froze on the spatula. The bread in the pan started smoking, but she couldn't move. This was the moment she'd been dreading for three years. The question that haunted her dreams and therapy sessions. The conversation she'd rehearsed a thousand times but still wasn't ready for."Mama?" Lily appeared in the doorway, holding her stuffed elephant. "The bread is burning.""Oh. Right." Isabella flipped the sandwich, buying herself a few more seconds. Her heart hammered against her ribs. "What did you ask me, baby?""Where's my daddy? Tommy has a daddy. Casey has a daddy. Everyone has a daddy except me." Lily's voice was matter-of-fact, curious rather than
Last Updated: 2025-10-29
Chapter: Chapter 7Lily turned two on a cold November morning that felt like a mirror of the day she was born. Isabella woke early, staring at the ceiling while her daughter slept peacefully in the toddler bed they'd recently transitioned to. Two years. Two entire years of motherhood, of survival, of building a life from nothing.The apartment looked different than it had a year ago. Isabella had slowly accumulated real furniture—a proper couch from a yard sale, a dining table with only one wobbly leg, curtains that actually matched. The walls had pictures now: photos of Lily at various stages, a few of Isabella and Grace, even one of Rosa holding Lily at the park. It looked like a home, not just a place to sleep.Isabella had saved for weeks to afford Lily's birthday party. Nothing extravagant—just a small celebration at the apartment with Rosa, Grace, Jen and her kids, and a few other daycare families. A homemade cake, dollar store decorations, and a pile of presents that were mostly practical things
Last Updated: 2025-10-29
Chapter: Chapter 6"No."It was Lily's new favorite word, delivered with the conviction of someone who'd just discovered personal autonomy and planned to weaponize it. No to getting dressed. No to eating breakfast. No to leaving for Rosa's. No to everything Isabella suggested, needed, or desperately begged for."Lily, sweetie, we need to put on your shoes." Isabella crouched down, holding the tiny sneakers like peace offerings. "Mama has to go to work, and you get to play with Tommy and the other kids.""No!" Lily stamped her foot for emphasis, then took off running toward the bedroom wearing nothing but a diaper and one sock.Isabella checked her phone. 7:47 AM. She needed to leave in eight minutes or she'd be late. Again. Jennifer had been understanding about Isabella's occasional tardiness, but there was a limit to everyone's patience."Lily Grace Blake, you come back here right now."The sound of drawers being opened and emptied came from the bedroom. Isabella closed her eyes, counted to ten, remind
Last Updated: 2025-10-27
Chapter: Chapter 5Three months into her new job, Isabella finally moved into her own apartment. It wasn't much—a cramped one-bedroom in a building that had seen better decades, with radiators that clanked at odd hours and a refrigerator that hummed like it was trying to communicate. But it was hers. Hers and Lily's. No more sleeping on Grace's generosity, no more feeling like a burden.The apartment came unfurnished, which meant Isabella spent her first night there sleeping on an air mattress with Lily in the bassinet beside her. They had exactly three plates, two forks, one pot, and a collection of mismatched cups from the dollar store. The walls were bare except for water stains. The carpet was brown—whether by design or years of neglect, Isabella couldn't tell.It was perfect."What do you think, baby girl?" Isabella asked, holding Lily up to see their new kingdom. "It's not a penthouse, but it's ours."Lily, now three months old and getting chubbier by the day, just drooled on Isabella's shoulder.
Last Updated: 2025-10-27
Chapter: Chapter 4The discharge papers felt heavier than they should have in Isabella's hands. Two days in the county hospital had cost her nearly a thousand dollars even with the charity care discount. A thousand dollars she didn't have. A thousand dollars that could have bought diapers and formula and all the things her newborn daughter needed."Sign here, here, and here," the nurse said, her voice kind but tired. She'd probably processed dozens of discharge papers that day alone, seen dozens of scared new mothers walking out into uncertain futures.Isabella signed with shaking hands, her body still aching from labor. Lily slept in her arms, wrapped in a thin hospital blanket that Isabella would need to return. She'd dressed her daughter in the only outfit she owned—a simple white onesie Grace had brought to the hospital, along with a car seat Isabella knew her friend couldn't afford either."You have follow-up appointments scheduled?" the nurse asked, checking her tablet."Yes." Isabella had the pap
Last Updated: 2025-10-27
Falling For His Forsaken Wife
She gave him everything—her heart, her vows, her trust.
He gave her nothing but rejection.
Emily had loved Alexander Reed all her life, and when she became his wife, she thought her dreams had finally come true, but her dream quickly turned into a nightmare. To Alex, she was never a partner, only a burden someone forced into his life while his heart belonged to another woman. Every cold word, every look that passed right through her, reminded Emily she was nothing more than his forsaken wife.
Humiliated and heartbroken, she walked away. He never knew the pain she carried and never knew her value until he lost her.
Later, he realizes what he had lost, but Emily is no longer the fragile girl he once cast aside. She’s stronger now, colder, and untouchable. And this time, the tables have turned.
The man who once rejected her now chases her shadow, desperate to win back the heart he broke, but will Emily’s wounds ever truly heal, or has his love come too late?
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Chapter: Chapter 102Six months into the time series, I had completed three paintings. The work was slow, meditative, each piece requiring weeks of layering and consideration. I was not rushing. For the first time in my career, I was creating without the pressure of deadlines or expectations."You seem peaceful," Dr. Morrison observed in a June session. "More settled than I have ever seen you.""I think I finally understand what sustainable success actually looks like. Not constant achievement but consistent presence. Not proving myself repeatedly but trusting what I have already built.""That is profound growth. Seven years ago you walked into that motel convinced you were worthless. Now you know your value independent of external validation.""Seven years," I said, letting the number settle. "Seven years since I left Alex the first time. Seven years of transformation.""What have you learned in those seven years?"I thought about it. Really thought about it."That nothing is permanent but effort still m
Last Updated: 2025-11-01
Chapter: Chapter 101The legacy series opened at the Art Institute of Chicago in March, exactly one year after the retrospective had closed. Dr. Whitman had worked with me to create an installation that honored both the new work and its relationship to what came before."This feels like coming home," I said, standing in the gallery before the opening."This is where we documented your development," Dr. Whitman said. "Now we are documenting your maturity. The progression from proving you belong to asking what you want to leave behind."The ten paintings hung in a single large gallery. Each one a meditation on persistence, on what remains, on the relationship between individual achievement and collective impact. The installation created conversation between pieces—layers of meaning emerging as you moved through the space."You have grown as an artist," Dr. Whitman continued. "The retrospective showed technical development. This shows philosophical depth. You are asking the questions that matter most."The o
Last Updated: 2025-11-01
Chapter: Chapter 100January arrived with the legacy series beginning to take shape. The first painting started slowly—large canvas, complex composition, multiple layers suggesting accumulation over time."What are you exploring exactly?" Alex asked, watching me work."What persists after we are gone. Whether individual work matters or if only collective impact endures. The relationship between creating for yourself and creating for future generations.""Heavy questions for a new year.""Heavy questions that feel necessary. I am thirty-two. I have built a career. Created infrastructure. The question now is what lasting impact looks like."The painting was different from anything I had created before. More abstract, more layered, more concerned with texture and depth than clear imagery. It required slow building. Patience."This is taking longer than usual," Lucia observed in late January."Because the questions are more complex. I am not rushing to meet anyone's timeline but my own.""That is sustainable
Last Updated: 2025-11-01
Chapter: Chapter 99Paris in October was beautiful—golden light on stone buildings, trees turning color along the Seine, the city wearing autumn like elegant clothing. Our hotel was in the Marais, walking distance from Vivienne's gallery."How are you feeling?" Alex asked as we unpacked."Calm. Which is strange. London and Tokyo I was terrified. Chicago I was anxious. This time I just—feel ready.""That is five years of learning. You trust your work now. Trust yourself."The gallery was in a converted nineteenth-century building on Rue de Turenne. High ceilings, perfect light, the kind of space that made art look important. Vivienne met us there Monday afternoon for the installation walkthrough."Emily, Alexander, welcome to Paris." She kissed both our cheeks. "Are you ready to see what we have created?"She led us into the main gallery. The eight joy series paintings hung in perfect sequence. Each one illuminated precisely, the colors glowing against white walls. The installation created natural progres
Last Updated: 2025-11-01
Chapter: Chapter 98September arrived with the residency program launching. The three artists—Maya from Kentucky, Jordan from the Bronx, and Carmen from Houston—moved into their studio spaces in Brooklyn. I met them on their first day, feeling nervous in a way I had not anticipated."Thank you for this opportunity," Maya said, looking around her studio with wonder. "I have never had dedicated space like this. Never had time to just create without worrying about rent.""I know exactly what that feels like," I told them. "Four years ago, I was painting in a motel room with supplies I could barely afford. This program exists because I remember what it is like to need support that does not exist."We spent the afternoon discussing their projects, their goals, what they hoped to achieve during the residency. They were talented and hungry and reminded me of myself at the beginning."You are giving them what you needed," Alex said that evening. "That is beautiful.""That is what success should be used for. Crea
Last Updated: 2025-11-01
Chapter: Chapter 97January brought snow and the quiet rhythm of sustained work. The joy series was taking shape—seven paintings completed, three more in progress. I had found a pace that felt maintainable. Four to five hours in the studio most days. Time for other things. Time for life."You seem happy," Dr. Morrison observed in our first session of the new year. "Not just content. Actually happy.""I am. That feels strange to admit. Like I am tempting fate.""That is old programming. The belief that happiness cannot last. However, you have been consistently happy for months now. That is evidence against the old belief.""I keep waiting for disaster. For the career to collapse or the marriage to fail or something to break.""That is understandable given your history. However, notice that nothing is breaking. You have created sustainable systems. You are maintaining what you have built. The disaster you keep anticipating is not coming."She was right. The past six months had been remarkably stable. Good
Last Updated: 2025-11-01
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