Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto

The day the Porter family went bankrupt, my elder sister, who had been engaged to Calvin Porter, claimed she was in love with someone else and cut ties with him without a second thought. I was the one who stepped forward to take her place, becoming the laughingstock of our social circle. I smoothed away all the hardness in him, tried to shape myself into the woman he liked, and swallowed countless moments of bitterness, hoping only to warm his distant heart. Until our wedding day. A car accident happened, and Calvin's first instinct was to shield my sister with his whole body. "Rebecca, don't be scared. Where are you hurt? We'll get you to the hospital right away!" He carried her into the ambulance without so much as glancing back at me. I looked down at the iron rod piercing my chest and felt warm blood gush out. It was only then I understood. He was not indifferent by nature, he was simply indifferent to me. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Calvin came to our house carrying the engagement gift.

“Get married to my son if you ever want your father to be released!” Mr. Carter uttered the very words that would end up turning my life around. I knew he wasn't joking. The look on his face was all the evidence I needed. I knew I had to do it because it was the only choice I have left, but... I'll not go down without a fight! "I, Althea Ruiz, swear on my life that I will never get married to Adam Wilson!" I said out loud, my voice echoing through the room. "We'll see about that!" Adam said through the phone. *With blood on the line and an arranged marriage as ransom, Althea has to make the most difficult choice of her life; abandon her boyfriend of six years and get married to a man that no one has seen for the last ten years. What could go wrong?

After my husband, Trevor Penn, abuses me for the 98th time just to stand up for Callista Whitcombe, I've completely given up on him. That's when I accept his best friend, Maddox Harlow's confession. After spending the night with Maddox, he agrees to help me fake my death. That way, I'll be able to use a brand new identity to marry him overseas. I've taken the fake-death drug Maddox has given to me, only to wake up in a coffin earlier than expected. I can't move a single muscle in my body. But that's when I overhear Maddox's conversation with another person outside the coffin. "Mr. Harlow, you convinced Trevor to abuse Judith before pretending to save her from her abusive life. Now that you've obtained her full-fledged trust, why did you still arrange for her to be buried after faking her death?" "Only by doing this will the Whitcombes trust that Judith is truly dead. That way, Callie's position as the heiress will be unshakable. No one will ever bring up the fact that she's an illegitimate child ever again." The other person sounds hesitant. "Won't it be too long if we only dig the coffin out one week from now, after you've held the wedding with Callista?" "The fake-death drug's effects can last for five days. I've already had someone put enough water, food, and oxygen tanks in the coffin. There's no way Judith will die."

Sasha Barlow receives a call from Aidan Gallagher when she leaves the hospital after getting an abortion. He says, "Get ready. Mr. Conley is coming tonight, so bring five bottles of whiskey and three bottles of red wine." Sasha subconsciously clenches her hand around her phone. "Can I skip tonight?" Aidan pauses. "I know you're angry about yesterday, Sasha. Natalie hit you yesterday, but I reprimanded you instead of helping. "You need to remember that she's my girlfriend, though. She comes from a good family, and her parents have always treated her like a princess. She's bound to be a little willful and spoiled. You're older than her, so cut her some slack."

For the Christmas holiday, my family sets off to the Christmas holiday camp up north. Along the way, my younger brother, Jamie Hale, says he needs to use the restroom. Mom tells my older sister, Ava Hale, and me to go as well. "It'll be a while before we reach the next rest stop, so you two should go with Jamie. I don't want anyone fussing to go to the restroom again on the way. And be quick! Don't waste time dawdling." I run to the restroom at once. But when I come back out, I see the familiar SUV slowly driving away. I'm left standing outside, in -4 degrees Fahrenheit weather, while a snowstorm sweeps through the rest stop. Mom and Dad have forgotten all about me, their Omega daughter. I've been left behind at the rest stop, with no one else around. I run as fast as I can, shouting, "Mom! Dad!" But the SUV turns the corner and disappears into the traffic along the interstate.

Three years into our marriage, Chris Davis doted on me deeply. But I accidentally discovered that he had been cheating on me for two years. In front of that woman, everything he said showed his disdain towards me. "Who would marry a cripple?" "She's like a dead fish in bed." "She's just a deaf person who makes me want to throw up now." Later, I took the initiative to file for divorce. But he went crazy. Kneeling in front of me, every word was filled with regret...