How Does False Start: A Novel End?

⚠️WARNING: This book contains explicit sexual content, possessive and toxic male leads, manipulation, emotional abuse, and disturbing themes that may be triggering to some readers. This is nothing like healthy love. ¥¥¥¥ I loved Tyler Beaumont for twelve years. Years of hoping and waiting, believing that one day, he would finally choose me. So when my parents told me I was being arranged to marry into his family… I thought it was fate. I thought I had won. But I was wrong, because the man waiting for me at the altar isn’t Tyler. It’s his brother, Grayson Beaumont. The one I never heard of—the one with cold eyes, a cruel mouth, and a hatred for me sharp enough to bleed. I don’t know what I did to deserve it. I don’t even remember. But he does. He remembers everything. He didn’t marry me for love, because from the moment I became his wife, he made one thing clear—I would pay for a past I don’t even remember. “I tried to forget you,” he tilted my chin, staring directly into my soul. “But watching you love him? That was the first time I understood what hatred really feels like.” And Tyler? The man I spent twelve years loving? He won’t let me go. “I don’t need you to choose me,” he whispered. “I just need you to understand… no matter whose name you take, you will always be mine.” Two brothers. One filled with hatred. The other with obsession. And me? Caught between a past I can’t remember…and a truth that could destroy us all. Because somewhere between lies, desire, and betrayal, I realize the most dangerous thing of all: I was never meant to love the right brother.

Everyone thought Stellar Rivers was a fraud—a fake heiress thrown out by the powerful Harlow family. They believed her real parents were supposedly poor nobodies from the countryside. With nowhere else to go, she clung to Percy Moore, the youngest heir of the illustrious Moore family. Try as they might, no one could drive her away. But when Stellar overheard that Percy planned to marry the Harlow family’s true heiress, her lifelong rival, everything changed. Fine, he could have his perfect match. Stellar wasn’t going to waste another moment on someone who didn’t value her. Instead, she turned her back on him and reclaimed the life that had always been hers. A country bumpkin? Hardly. It turned out Stellar’s real family was wealthier and more powerful than anyone could imagine. With four influential uncles showering her with love and protection, she was ready to take the world by storm. And while she believed in playing fair, she also knew one thing: revenge was best served by her own hand. Meanwhile, Percy’s perfect world began to unravel. Without Stellar, his life was a mess—his business floundered, his fiancée’s reputation crumbled, and his carefully constructed future came crashing down. Desperate and full of regret, he showed up at Stellar’s doorstep, begging her to come back. But Stellar only smirked, casually leaning onto the tall, devastatingly handsome man at her side. “Sorry, Percy. I don’t take back what I’ve already let go.” As if that wasn’t enough, Stellar even dismissed the powerful man standing beside her, leaving him in the dust. “I said it before, and I’ll say it again—I don’t go back to what’s already behind me.” Even Stephen Ward, who broken off their engagement before they ever met, found himself on his knees, pleading, “Honey, I was wrong. Please, give me another chance!”

On the day of my wedding, my fiance suddenly announced that he had already registered his marriage with my sister. The system declared my mission a failure and sentenced me to be erased in a car crash. Just as despair closed in, Wayne Kinsey threw himself in front of me to save my life—and lost the use of his legs because of it. Later, I was given another chance to choose a new target, and I accepted his proposal. But five years into our marriage, I overheard a conversation between him and a friend. "Wayne, your crush already has a husband and children. Your legs are healed too. Aren't you going to come clean with Arden?" "No. Arden will always be a risk. Only if she keeps feeling guilty will she stay away and let Naomi have her happiness." As his familiar but cold voice echoed in my ears, my tears fell like beads of a broken string, and that was when I finally realized the so-called salvation Wayne had given me had been nothing but a lie through and through. In that case, there was no reason for me to keep holding on to this sham of a marriage.

Married for five years, I'm known as the woman with the perfect husband. Alexander Foster is tall, strong, endlessly passionate, and people love to joke that we can't keep our hands off each other. Then he goes on a mission one day and never returns. I fall apart. I try to end my life six times, and six times someone drags me back. On the night of the sixth attempt, I overhear my mother-in-law, Anna Greyson, whispering to the man everyone believes is Alexander's younger brother, Daniel Foster. "Alexander, how long are you going to keep hiding this? Mia has tried to kill herself six times because of you." Alexander's voice stays calm. "Mom, before Daniel died, he asked me to take care of Lily. She's fragile, and now she's pregnant with my child. If she learns the truth, she won't survive it." And that's when the truth hits me. My husband isn't dead at all. He's been pretending to be his own younger brother and plans to have a child with Lily Harper under that lie. After crying until I can barely stand, I contact Margaret Warren at the matchmaking agency. "About that blind date you mentioned. I'll take it. And I want the wedding as soon as possible."

We had been together for seven years, yet my CEO boyfriend canceled our marriage registration 99 times. The first time, his newly hired assistant got locked in the office. He rushed back to deal with it, leaving me standing outside the County Clerk's Office until midnight. The fifth time, we were about to sign when he heard his assistant had been harassed by a client. He left me there and ran off to "rescue" her, while I was left behind, humiliated and laughed at by others. After that, no matter when we scheduled our registration, there was always some emergency with his assistant that needed him more. Eventually, I gave up completely and chose to leave. However, after I moved away from Twilight City, he spent the next five years desperately searching for me, like a man who had finally lost his mind.

After a century of wandering and sealed away in seclusion, I came home to the Ashveil Order. The one who received me was the youngest apprentice of the current generation. Taking me for a fresh recruit, he put me through a so-called pre-training inspection and helped himself to my travel pack. "You're carrying this many rare reagents and relics? For someone just starting out, that's nothing but a burden. I'll go to the trouble of taking some off your hands." "Why do you have so many elixirs and warding sigils? Did you rob someone? That's dangerous. I'll keep them safe for you, so no one comes hunting you for them." Then he laid a hand on my soul-bound blade and said, "This sword carries far too much killing edge. It clashes with your gift and will tear at your soul if you wield it. Lucky for you, it suits mine perfectly. I'll take care of it for you." I'd had enough. I backhanded him across the face. Did he have any idea that the Ashveil in Ashveil Order came from me—Rowan Ashveil?