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?
Lihat lebih banyakAnna’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’s POVI felt a kind of joy that I hadn’t felt ever in my life. The kind that added a smile to my face.The awe on Sandra’s face and Max’s face gave me more strength. It was like fuel to my fire. Their wide eyes, their stiff posture, the fear they tried so hard to hide—oh, it was priceless. It was one thing that I prayed to happen every night and day. She betrayed me once and I have to give her back that same poison she served me.I stood taller, my shoulders square. “What’s wrong?” I asked, smiling. “Don’t tell me you’re shocked. You didn’t see this coming?”Sandra’s jaw tightened, her eyes filled with rage. “Anna, you’re making a mistake you would regret. You don’t belong here. This isn’t your world." Sometimes I think of she is a fool. Cause what the fuck was she saying. I laughed lightly, the sound echoing through the walls of the room. “Funny. You said the same thing when you tried to push me out of fashion indirectly. When you tried to make me forget business and take r
Anna POV His face was filled with high type of irritation or should I say it was filled with surprise. Who wouldn't be surprised by what is happening here. The girl they planned to bring down is now the CEO of there own company. “Are you surprised Mr Raymond?” I asked with a stern smile. It felt like his leg were stuck to the ground. Strong expression. Strong aura. I just didn't care about how he felt or how anyone in this room felt. I wanted to feel how I want to feel. I suffered under his room each day, thinking that I was loved. Same day I confirmed my pregnancy was same day my baby died. I curse that day and everything that had to deal with that day. Now I have to take things to my hand and deal with him, so no man would ever play with me nor my future anymore.Mr. Raymond’s mouth opened slightly, but no words came out. His hands pressed against the table as if he needed support not to fall. The silence in the room was alive and truly heavy than imagined. Everyone’s eyes wer
Anna POV My heels clicked against the tile floor. Each step I took screamed aura and I loved it. Today was the day to tell the world who I truly am. My head up high, with a grin smile. I walked like the boss of herself. Each step made me know I was walking into a greatness that no man could drag me out ofI walked into the board room, 20 when the meeting had already started.I pushed the door open. There all faces were filled with something I couldn't tell, same with Max and Sandra.“What are you doing here?” Max immediately stood up with a brave aesthetic. One that showed boldness and fierceness.I let out a scoff, mocking one and walked close to the table of the meeting. The awe on Alistar's face and Max's face added a smile to my heart. “You know,” I said the words after each footstep i take.” You don't get what you want at the time you want it.” I let out a mocking smile at the end of my every sentence. There whole eyes were on me, and it was as expected. Well planned.
Anna's POV As I gazed out the window of my room in Sandra's apartment, my eyes wandered over the estate. Sandra's words still echoed in my mind—she had snagged the largest shares in Max's company. It always amused me when she mentioned it, prompting a hidden smile to creep onto my face. I reached for my phone and dialled the number of someone who's been a tremendous help to me—Ethan. Ethan used to be Max's best friend until he betrayed him. I cleverly used him to acquire half of the company's shares and then enlisted another person to triple my initial acquisition. "Hello, Anna!" I couldn't help but let a sly smile spread across my face. "How have you been?" I asked, keeping my tone calm and composed. I glanced toward my room door, knowing that Sandra mustn't hear this, no matter what. "Been good," he said with a relaxed voice from his own end. "Tomorrow is the big day," I said with an exhale as if a huge weight had been on my chest for a long time. I heard a calm and attract
Anna POV The diner's dim lighting gave everything a yellow tint, but in our cozy booth, it felt like the sun was shining brightly on us. The heavy burden I had been carrying was feeling as if it was already lifted. My best friend wasn't a traitor; she was a hero and a genius. But I had to act smart this time around, she isn't to be highly trusted."A shareholder meeting?" I exclaimed with a wide a sly smile. "Sandra, that's incredible.""It's the only way," she replied. "We hit him where it hurts—his money and his position."I laughed, feeling a sense of relief. "You bought his company! That's the most wonderful thing I've ever heard."She laughed too, a joyous, genuine sound, but she still doesn't know anything about my own plans. "I know, right? He gave me money to spy on you, and I used it to buy his job."We were like two kids sharing a delightful secret. The fear was gone, replaced by excitement."Okay, boss," I said, leaning forward. "What's the plan? Tell me everything."Her e
Anna POV Sandra stood under the streetlight, her face a mask of concern and something that didn't stand out clear to me. My chest raced fast, a sharp anxiety was hitting me already. But as I hesitated, something flickered within her eye.The tears dried up.“You have it, don’t you?” she said, her voice no longer trembling. It was calm. Clear. “The list he showed you.”I took a step back, my hand slowly making it's way to my pocket. “How do you know about that?”“Because I knew he’d try to buy you off,” she said, taking a confident step forward to me. “It’s what he does. He shows you a fraction of the truth to make you think you’ve won. He gave you the beneficiary list, didn’t he? My name is on it.”I was speechless. She knew. And she wasn’t denying any fact related to it. I wanted to roar out already with anger and another part of me wanted just to calm down.“You’re not… you’re not upset?” I stammered out the words as if they were heavy for me.“Upset?” A small, sharp smile appear
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