Why Does The Protagonist In Arch Of Triumph: A Novel Of A Man Without A Country Feel Lost?

I'm the true heir to an affluent family who got switched at birth. But when I'm reunited with my family, they suddenly announce their bankruptcy. The sprawling mansion is repossessed, leaving me, my wife, and my parents to sleep on the streets. My parents are so furious that they end up getting admitted to the hospital—one gets a stroke, and the other passes away. My wife gets her legs broken by one of the creditors, and my son is so frightened that he becomes mentally impaired. To bear the astronomical medical bill, I work countless part-time jobs and put myself through the wringer. Everything changes when, one day, I accept a job as a temporary driver. I go to a lavish hotel's banquet hall. A celebration for a gold wedding is being held there, and I see my late mother and paralyzed father sharing a kiss onstage. My crippled wife is dancing offstage as she enjoys the festivities. Meanwhile, my son speaks fluently in a foreign language as he speaks with a foreign child.

After being missing for eighteen years, I was finally found by my wealthy birth parents. The impostor—the young man who had taken my place all this time—dropped to his knees, sobbing. "Goodbye, Mom and Dad. Thank you for raising me. Now that Jason is back, this family doesn't need me anymore." My parents hugged him with heartbreaking tenderness. "Don't be ridiculous," they said. "You're our only real son." Even my fiancée confessed her love to him. "I don't care who you really are. You're the only one I love." They all orbited around him, like planets around the sun. When I was nearly killed in a car accident, they were too busy throwing a birthday party for his dog. So I packed my things in silence. Without a word, I accepted an invitation from the space agency to join a five-year satellite research mission in complete isolation. Yet after I left, it was like the whole family lost their minds. They scoured the entire country, desperate to find any trace of me.

Anthony Seymour couldn't wrap his mind around it. He was the one who'd saved them. And yet, in the end, they kept pushing him away. They toyed with him using false confessions, treated him as someone else's stand-in, and left him gravely injured. He never got so much as a scrap of the good fortune he deserved. Instead, after one emotional wound too many, he developed a disorder that stripped away his ability to feel, and little by little, he lost all attachment to the world. Then, one day, Anthony made a decision. He would end his life, and when he did, he'd use his own organs to save seven others. That would be his final goodbye to the world. From that day on, he began searching for strangers who needed help, using death as his purpose and his method of choosing who to save. But once word got out, the very women who'd once hurt him came flooding back, begging him through tears not to die. Anthony, who'd already lost every last one of his emotions, only found it puzzling. After everything that had happened, he wondered—what were they even crying for?

Five years ago, he promised me forever but then he disappeared without an explanation, I lost everything, my future, my reputation, and the only man I'd ever loved. Forced out of the country while carrying his child, I swore he would never discover our son's existence. Now I'm back for one reason only... and I plan to leave before he ever sees us but fate has other plans. The moment our eyes meet again, the past comes crashing back and before I can escape, my little boy runs toward us. "Mama... who is this man?" The color drains from his face as he stares at the child with his own eyes. "Tell me..." he says, his voice trembling for the first time in years. "Is he my son?" The secret I protected for five years is about to destroy us all.

“Ma’am, there’s no marriage record between you and Mr. Mark Henderson in the system.” My fingers tightened around the pregnancy report as my legs nearly gave out beneath me. Five years ago, Mark was recruited by a top law firm abroad with a high-paying offer. Without hesitation, I followed him across the ocean. He had told me, “Once I’m settled, I’ll take care of your status.” However, five years had passed, and my lawful permanent residence was still “in process.” Meanwhile, his assistant, Tonya Irving, who followed him abroad, had secured hers under his sponsorship. Back then, I made a scene, insisting on a divorce so I could return home. For the first time, the ever-composed Mark, an attorney, lost his calm. He grabbed my hand and said, “Tonya’s all alone out here, and it hasn’t been easy for her. Helping her is just the right thing to do. You’re my wife. Your status is only a matter of time. My work is sensitive right now, and I need to avoid any complications. You understand, don’t you?” But I had understood him for five whole years. My phone suddenly rang. Mark’s voice came through, light with laughter. “Tonya’s permanent residence was approved today. We’re celebrating tonight. I need you to get home early and cook up a feast.” I stared at the marriage license in my hand—now nothing more than a worthless piece of paper. A cold chill spread down my spine. As it turned out, I was never his legal wife. I had no legal status and no protection, much less rights secured for the child I was carrying. After hanging up, I scheduled an abortion and booked the earliest flight home. This time, I wouldn’t look back.

He built empires by never loving anyone. She survived him by becoming something unstoppable. Adrian Blackwell did not believe in mercy—only leverage. As the youngest billionaire to dominate three continents, he ruled boardrooms with ice in his veins and blood on his hands. Falling in love with his wife was his only mistake. And when betrayal came, he chose the lie that preserved his empire over the woman who gave him everything. When Adrian cast Elara out of his life, he never knew the truth. She was pregnant. And she refused to beg. Disappearing with nothing but her name and a secret that could shatter him, Elara rebuilt herself from ruin. Years later, she returns not as the discarded wife—but as a powerbroker in her own right. Wealth sharpened by vengeance. Grace forged in fire. A woman who learned that survival is the most dangerous form of ambition. Now their worlds collide again—at the summit of global power. Adrian wants her back. Elara wants justice. But the past has claws, the truth has a price, and the child between them is no longer a secret that can stay buried. As enemies circle and empires tremble, love becomes a battlefield where forgiveness may cost everything and revenge may cost even more. Because in a world ruled by billionaires, love is the most expensive risk of all.