Betrayed by the man she loved. Thrown out by the mistress carrying his child. Struck down in the street with nothing left to live for… Anna Storm died broken. But fate had other plans. Given a second chance at life, Anna wakes up in the care of a mysterious man named Hae-Jae, far from the pain of her past—and far from the child she once carried. No longer bound to Max, no longer a shadow of who she used to be, Anna is reborn with a new purpose: to rebuild her life, reclaim her strength, and rise from the ashes of betrayal. She was once the wife they discarded. Now, she’s the woman they’ll regret ever crossing. In a world where second chances come with power, vengeance, and unexpected love—Anna must choose: Will she hide in the shadows of her past, or rise and become the storm she was always meant to be?
View MoreAnna’s POV
The room smelled faintly of fresh basil, clean and calming. The paintings on the wall—simple strokes of white on white—mirrored exactly how I felt inside: bare, quiet, untouched. But under that stillness, something incredible stirred. I could barely keep the smile off my face as I remembered the doctor's words echoing through my mind. "Mrs. Max—you’re four weeks pregnant." My breath had caught in my throat. For a second, the world paused. Ten years. Ten long years of tests, prayers, tears, and waiting. And now… this. The joy that rushed through me felt like sunlight after a decade of stormy nights. It was too big for words. I glanced up at the wall clock. 12:03 a.m. Max still wasn’t home. Anxiety crept into my chest like smoke—slow, suffocating. I began pacing the floor, my hands trembling slightly, trying to hold on to the joy, to the hope, to the moment. My phone vibrated on the table, the sudden noise breaking the silence. I grabbed it with a small gasp and answered without even checking the screen. "Where the fuck are you?" My voice cracked through the receiver before he could say a word. There was a pause. "Come open the gate for me," Max replied, sounding unaffected. Cold, even. I blinked, confused. Ten years of marriage, and never—not once—had he returned this late. Something was off. I slipped on my slippers, heart pounding against my ribs, and stepped outside. The air was colder than I expected, or maybe it was just the chill growing inside me. The headlights of his car cut through the darkness, the engine revving a little too loud. He drove in fast, recklessly. I flinched as he hit the brake hard. What’s going on, Max? The passenger door opened before he even turned off the ignition. "What’s wrong with you?" a woman’s voice snapped from inside the car—sharp, annoyed, entitled. I froze. Maybe… a cousin? A sister? I clung to that thought like a lifeline. But deep down, something twisted in my gut. Max got out, slamming the door without a word to me. I forced a smile and followed them silently to the parking lot, each step heavier than the last. The woman stepped out too, her heels clicking confidently on the driveway. Her dress was tight, her lipstick loud, her presence impossible to ignore. She looked at me like I was the help. "Won’t you help me with my bags?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as she leaned against Max’s car like she belonged there. I stood still. For a second, the world went quiet again—just like earlier at the hospital. But this silence wasn’t filled with joy. It was sharp, cutting through my skin like glass. I swallowed hard, holding in the tears that threatened to rise. This was supposed to be the happiest night of my life. And yet here I was, pregnant, alone, and being humiliated on my own doorstep. I took a shaky step forward, the weight of her words still ringing in my ears. "Won’t you help me with my bags?" She repeated. The nerve. In my own home. On a night that was supposed to be one of the happiest of my life. I clenched my fists. “Excuse me?” I asked, forcing my voice to remain calm, but the heat bubbling beneath it betrayed me. The woman scoffed. “You heard me,” she said, flipping her hair like a queen addressing a maid. “Or do you want me to ask again?” My vision blurred with rage. I turned to Max, my voice trembling. “Who the hell is she, Max?” Max sighed—sighed—like I was being dramatic for asking a simple, rightful question. He stepped in between us, raising his hand as if to hold me back. “Don’t cause a scene, Anna.” I blinked at him, utterly confused. “Cause a scene?” My voice cracked. “There’s a strange woman in our home—disrespecting me—and you’re worried about a scene?” The woman chuckled under her breath. That laugh felt like poison. Max rubbed his forehead, then muttered under his breath, “She’s pregnant.” The words hit me like a slap. “What...?” “She’s carrying my child,” he said, eyes cold, voice flat. “She’s my mistress.” A tight silence fell between us. My heart stopped. For a moment, I forgot how to breathe. My hands flew to my stomach, instinctively protecting the tiny life growing inside me. “You... you got someone else pregnant?” My words were barely a whisper, drowning in the flood of emotions rising inside me. Tears welled in my eyes, burning hot against my cheeks. I couldn’t hold them back anymore. I turned and ran. I didn’t care how I looked or what she thought. I ran past them, through the hallway, up the stairs—back to the room that had smelled like hope, like basil, just minutes ago. Now it smelled like betrayal. I shut the door behind me and collapsed on the edge of the bed, sobbing. My shoulders shook violently, hands gripping the bedsheet as if it would keep me from breaking apart completely. I didn’t hear him come in. But I felt it when he tossed something beside me. A file. A paper. My name written coldly at the top. I stared at it through the blur of my tears. Divorce Agreement. “Max…” I looked up, my voice barely holding together. “You knew I was pregnant... didn’t you?” He looked at me, eyes empty. “I figured after your hospital visit,” he said. “It doesn’t change anything, Anna.” I bit down on my trembling lip, feeling my world shatter completely. Ten years. Ten years of loyalty. Of fighting for us. Of dreams. Of waiting. And this was how it ended? With her bags in our home, and a contract on my bed? I didn’t even have the strength to scream. I just cried. Cried for the years I gave. Cried for the baby I’d have to raise alone. Cried for the woman I used to be—before Max crushed her under his feet. I stared at the divorce papers like they were written in a language I couldn’t understand. Everything blurred—my tears, the shaking in my fingers, the roaring silence of betrayal pressing down on me like a storm cloud. This wasn’t a nightmare. It was real. Max stood across the room, checking his watch like he had somewhere more important to be. Like he hadn’t just destroyed ten years of love and marriage. “I don’t have all night, Anna,” he said coolly. “Sign it.” I swallowed hard. There was no apology. No guilt. No fight. Just coldness. Cruelty. Closure. My eyes dropped to the paper again. The baby growing inside me fluttered gently, as if reminding me I wasn’t alone. I picked up the pen. And I signed it. Every stroke of ink across the page felt like it carved another scar into my heart. When I finished, I stood. My legs felt like they could barely hold me up, but I stood tall. I walked over to him, handed him the file, and met his eyes—his cold, betraying, beautiful eyes. “Thank you,” I whispered. Max raised an eyebrow. “For what?” “For setting me free.” He scoffed and turned away, tossing the file on the table like it meant nothing. But to me, it meant everything. Because in that moment, something inside me cracked wide open. Not just from pain—but from something deeper. Older. Stronger. A fire. Later that night I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, wiping the tears from my swollen eyes. My reflection stared back at me—broken, bruised, betrayed. But beneath the pain, I saw her. The woman I used to be. Before Max. Before the begging. The longing. The years of being told I was never enough. And now… I was carrying a life inside me. Not his legacy. Mine. I touched my belly gently. “It’s just us now,” I whispered. My voice trembled, but it didn’t break. And somewhere in that trembling... I felt power.Anna POV The soft click of the apartment door closing behind me was the loudest sound I had ever heard. It was a full stop. An ending.I stood frozen in the hallway, my small duffel bag hanging from my numb fingers, half-expecting—half-hoping—for the door to fly open again. For him to run after me, to stop me, to tell me we would figure it out, that nothing was more important than this.The door remained shut.A sob welled up in my throat, and I choked it back, pressing the back of my hand to my mouth. I couldn't break down here. Not in this hallway that smelled of our neighbor's cooking and the faint, floral scent of the floor polish we both hated. I had to move.I made it to the elevator and pressed the button, my entire body trembling. The descent felt like it took a lifetime. When the doors slid open into the pristine, cold lobby, I walked through it like a ghost, not seeing the doorman's nod, not feeling the cool evening air on my skin.I hailed a cab and gave my sister’s addres
Anna POV The car ride home was a mausoleum of silence. The only sounds were the hum of the engine and the occasional, jarringly cheerful voice from the radio before Hae-Jae reached over and snapped it off. He kept his eyes fixed on the road, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. I stared out the passenger window, watching the city blur past, seeing nothing.The moment we stepped into the apartment, the tension solidified, filling the space we usually called our sanctuary."I'm going to make some tea," I said, my voice unnaturally loud in the quiet. I needed a task, something to do with my hands."Okay," he replied, his tone flat. He didn't move from the doorway, just watched me walk to the kitchen.I filled the kettle, the rush of water the only sound. I could feel his gaze on my back."So that's it?" he finally said. "You're just not going to talk to me?"I set the kettle down on the stove with a thud and turned to face him. "What do you want me to say, Hae-Jae? You've made your
Anna POV The silence in the apartment was a physical presence, thick and heavy. I stood frozen in the kitchen, listening to the definitive click of Hae-Jae’s studio door. It was a sound I usually loved—the sound of him creating, of losing himself in the music that was as much a part of him as his breath. Now, it felt like a dismissal.The two full mugs of coffee sat on the counter, steam long vanished. I picked one up, the ceramic cold against my palm, and poured the contents down the sink. The dark liquid swirled, a bitter drain. I did the same with his.I had to move. I grabbed a cloth and started wiping down the already-clean counters, my movements sharp, jerky. The domestic peace of last night felt like a dream from a decade ago.After what felt like an eternity, but the clock insisted was only twenty minutes, I heard the studio door open. His footsteps were slow in the hall. He appeared in the kitchen doorway, his hands shoved deep in his pockets. He looked exhausted.“I’m sorry
Anna POV The soft glow of the phone screen seemed to burn in the darkness long after it faded. It's important. Those two words, so seemingly benign, were a masterclass in manipulation. They were a hook, expertly baited with ambiguity and urgency. I knew Hae-Jae would feel their pull the moment he saw them.He stirred beside me, a deep, sleepy murmur, and instinctively pulled me closer. His body was a furnace of sleep and spent passion, completely unaware of the fresh crack that had just appeared in our foundation. I lay rigid in his arms, my mind racing, tracing frantic, fearful paths. What could be so important? A real crisis? Or just the usual, engineered drama designed to reel him back in?Sleep was impossible. Every minute that ticked by on the glowing clock felt like a countdown. When the first grey light of dawn finally began to bleed through the blinds, I carefully, slowly, extracted myself from his embrace. He didn't stir, lost in a depth of sleep the text message would soon
Anna POV The name hung in the air between us, a specter at our feast. Sandra.The warm, cocooned intimacy of a moment before evaporated, leaving a sudden, brittle chill. Hae-Jae was still, his body rigid against mine. He wasn't looking at me; his gaze was fixed on the dark screen of his phone as if it might come to life again with a venomous bite.My own heart was a frantic drum against my ribs, so loud I was sure he must feel it. The cozy blanket felt suffocating. I slowly extricated myself from his side, the loss of his warmth immediate and profound."Did she leave a voicemail?" I asked, my voice carefully neutral. I didn't want to sound accusatory, or scared, though I was both.He shook his head, a short, tight movement. Finally, he looked at me, and the easy warmth in his eyes had been replaced by a guarded shadow. "No. Just the missed call."He placed the phone back on the coffee table, screen down, a deliberate gesture. But the damage was done. Sandra had reached into our livin
Anna POV The kitchen was warm, filled with the golden light of a dying afternoon. I leaned against the doorframe, watching Hae-Jae. His brow was furrowed in concentration, a small army of poorly julienned carrots on the cutting board before him."Admiring your handiwork?" I asked.He jumped, then shot me a look. "They're rustic.""I think the word you're looking for is 'victimized'." I pushed off the doorframe and walked over, my socked feet quiet on the tiles. I reached for the knife. "Here. Let the professional show you."He relinquished it with a sigh, his fingers brushing mine. A simple touch, but it sent a familiar, warm current up my arm. "They never look like this when you do it.""That's because I possess a mystical, ancient power called 'knife skills'." I took a fresh carrot and began, the steady thump-thump-thump a quiet rhythm in our kitchen. Our kitchen. The thought still sent a little thrill through me.He moved behind me, his chin hooking over my shoulder, his arms wrap
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