And When I Try To Walk Away Novels & Stories

For six years, Catherine Kingsley has been invisible. She married Ryan Brook to repay a debt her blood saved the life of the woman he truly loved. But gratitude doesn't warm a marriage bed. Ryan has never touched her. His mother and brother have treated her as a servant. And now, after half a decade of silence and cruelty, Ryan is bringing Sarah home. He wants Catherine out. But for the first time in six years, Catherine doesn't bow her head. She doesn't beg. She doesn't cry. She signs the divorce papers, takes nothing, and walks away with her dignity intact. What Ryan doesn't know is that Catherine is done being invisible. With the help of an old friend Michael and a young artist whose life she once changed, Catherine begins the painful, powerful journey of remembering who she was before she became Mrs. Brook. But as Catherine rises, Ryan begins to fall. The cold, distant husband who never looked twice at his wife suddenly can't stop seeing her everywhere. And Sarah the woman for whom he destroyed his marriage may not be the innocent victim he always believed. Dignity Over Devotion is a raw, emotional story about what happens when a woman who gave everything finally decides to take herself back.

The seventh time Claire Fisher bailed on our marriage license appointment, I finally cut her out of my life—for good. From then on, if she was at a party, I wasn't. When she was scheduled to perform at our college's anniversary celebration, I made sure to leave early. The moment my company announced a collaboration with hers, I resigned without a second thought. Even on Christmas Eve, when she showed up at my parents' house with gifts, I slipped out with a half-hearted excuse about "visiting a friend." I blocked her number. Deleted her from my contacts. Burned every bridge and salted the earth behind me. No calls. No texts. No social media. I didn't reach out. She couldn't reach me. Simple as that. For the better part of my life, I was hopelessly in love with her—waiting on her, caring for her, putting her first in every way that mattered. I gave her all of me without ever holding back. But after the seventh time she left me sitting alone at the City Hall, something inside me broke. I was done. If that meant spending the rest of my life alone, so be it. Better that than sitting in an empty apartment, listening to the silence, holding on to hope for someone who never planned to show up.

In Hollow Creek, there was an old custom: if you turned thirty and still were not married, the community chair would arrange for you to come home and meet potential matches. When I told Marcus about it, he laughed coldly. “What kind of backwoods tradition is that supposed to be? “Constance, I said I would marry you, and I will. But pressuring me is something else.” Then he took out the ring and casually handed it to Hannah. She accepted it with a blush. “I was going to propose,” he said. “But since you want to act like this, maybe we should cool off for a while.” The ring I had waited years for was handed to someone else like it meant nothing. For a moment, I just stood there, stunned. Marcus walked out of my office with an easy confidence, the corner of his mouth lifted in a victorious smile. Hannah held the ring out to me. I did not take it. “Keep it,” I said. “Wasn’t it meant for you anyway? “You wear it. It suits you.” Her face went pale. I showed her to the door. Before closing it, I said, “Tell Mr. Vale that he and I are done.”

Abby is a girl quiet, hard-working and middle-class, she worked daily in a restaurant, she lives alone in a small apartment in the east of the city of Bello Norte... who would go to think that she least a great responsibility ahead?

I used to be the one and only girl spoiled by my family. But everything changed on my 18th birthday, when my father adopted a she-wolf orphan named Sophia from the Werewolf Charity House. My elder brother, Alex, started to love her more and began to look down on me. My mate, John, who had grown up with me, liked her and ignored me. Even my father said that Sophia, an orphan, was ten thousand times better than his own birth daughter. It was my graduation day from Werewolf University. But instead of celebrating with me, they broke their promise because of Sophia.The 101st time. I counted. And it hurt worse than all the hundred before. I couldn't help crying out, "Am I really part of this family?" My father looked at Sophia—whose eyes turned red because of my words—with pity. Then he slapped me across the face. "You're still fighting for affection? I wish I had never given birth to you," he shouted. Alex snapped at me too. "You make me sick. I'm ashamed to have a sister like you. Get out of this den!" I didn't say a word. I simply packed up my things and left in silence. After I left, the den fell into a strange quiet. They took Sophia to the South Pole to see penguins, as if nothing had happened. No one contacted me or showed concern, because they assumed I would eventually come back—just like before. They never planned to do anything for me. They never had. But this time, they didn't know I was leaving for real. I called my mother, who lived in another pack far away, and told her I'd finally agreed to go live with her. Because this time, the family… Was no longer a place I needed.

"You want to be free of me so badly you'll throw yourself into danger?" he asked. "I have nothing left to lose, Eddie. They already took my friends and my freedom. You keep me locked aside, and I have to watch you sleeping around even in our house. What does freedom cost when the price of staying is my soul?" "I will never divorce you, Maggie," he stated, his voice final. "You are mine, and this marriage ends when I say it ends. And not because of some childish, self-destructive tantrum." Maggie Grayson built her global empire on cold calculation and a profound need for independence. But her arranged marriage to the powerful CEO Eddie Grayson is not a union-it's a high-stakes, public prison. When Maggie's emotionally abusive family publicly humiliates her, Eddie does nothing, revealing the true nature of their toxic bond. Seeking a way out, Maggie throws herself into a scandal, only to discover Eddie isn't merely possessive; he's actively leveraging her trauma and her successful company to build a corporate dynasty that will guarantee her absolute, permanent captivity. Now, caught between a husband determined to be her "sculptor" and a father willing to destroy her company to regain control, Maggie knows the only way to break free is to turn the cold, ruthless mask she wears into a devastating weapon. She's not just fighting for a divorce; she's fighting for her very soul. To survive, Maggie must dismantle her gilded cage brick by brick, even if it means destroying the man who holds the key.

In the second year of our marriage, my husband cheated on me with his first love and even had the audacity to ask me to step aside. So, I activated the system and made the two lovebirds swap bodies. Now, I couldn't wait to see if the husband burdened with a massive debt in place of his dream girl, and the dream girl waking up to a fortune overnight, could still maintain the “unbreakable love” they claimed to have.

"You're evil, Jake. I curse the day I met you, and the day I said yes to you. You're the biggest mistake of my existence," I muttered, my voice tight with pain and hatred. "I know. No explanation can atone for the pain I caused. I have nothing but words.... but please, Jessy. Let me speak. Let me tell you I'm sorry," He murmured, voice trembling with emotions. I refused to let him see my heart. I refused to give him any clue that he still had power over me. I exhaled sharply and masked my emotions behind a calm facade. Jessica Wilson thought marrying billionaire Jake Stone would save her dying mother but instead, it imprisoned her in a cold, controlled marriage she barely survived. Two years after escaping, Jessica returns to New York stronger, fearless, and determined to live for herself alone. But fate has other plans. The moment Jake discovers she's back, the one who once broke her becomes obsessed with getting her back, this time not out of obligation, but love. However, Jessica is no longer the naive 24years old girl he once controlled. Now, she's his greatest loss and his biggest challenge. And as enemies rise, secrets unfold, and past wounds reopen, and one question remains. Can a man who once destroyed her ever deserve her again?

In our five years of marriage, I had given in to my husband, John, for a grand total of three times. The first time was during my pregnancy. He had taken his ex-girlfriend Stacy, who had once taken three bullets for him, back home and cared for her. When I became angry, he immediately sent her away once she recovered. The second time was after childbirth, when I was ready to return to work. To repay a favor, he gave the position I had worked years for to Stacy. He said it was so I could rest well. I looked at my son, who needed me, and I conceded. The third time was during our son’s birthday. In front of the entire company, he had announced that Stacy was his wife, all so she could establish herself in the company. I gave him two choices: divorce or send her away. Without hesitation, he chose the latter and immediately sent her abroad. The fourth time was when my father suddenly had a heart attack and urgently needed surgery. He disappeared again. I searched everywhere for him to cover the hospital expenses, and I finally discovered that he had gone to the airport to pick up a pregnant Stacy, who was returning to the country. Because of that, my father missed the best chance for treatment and died. I was done giving in. I disguised the divorce agreement as our son’s medical bill and tricked him into signing it. No compensation or apology would matter. I did not wish to have him near my son or myself again.

In the previous timeline, my younger brother was adopted by a wealthy family, while I was taken in by a scrap collector. Ten years later, he was cast out by the elite household, while I had built the most prominent steel company in Kingsport City. Given a second chance, my brother tried to walk the same path I once did. He begged the scrap collector to take him instead. Though what he never understood was that without me, the steel company that was renowned throughout Kingsport City would never have existed.