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By my third month on the job, I discovered that my coworkers had been calling me "the old crow" behind my back. The nickname came from none other than Jace's condescending secretary—because at 32, I was still clutching onto an eight-year relationship that hadn't ended in marriage. I confronted Jace. "Do you know your employees have been calling me the old crow?" He didn't even bother to look up. "That's just Sadie—she speaks her mind and means no harm. You're 32; why get so worked up over what a young girl says?" Then he gave me a faint, mocking smile. "Though honestly, it's a pretty fitting nickname." It felt like a cold hand had wrapped around my heart. So that was it—eight years of my youth, nothing more than a joke to him. I turned and walked away, handed in my resignation, and blocked every way he could reach me. But for the first time, the man who had always seemed so calm and untouchable finally panicked. "Elara," he pleaded, "please come back."

I'd been assigned overseas for three months, but I wrapped up my work ahead of schedule and flew home early to spend New Year's Eve with my wife. While waiting for a ride, I scrolled through TikTok and came across a video captioned: [Marrying the one you love feels like winning a war.] Then the scene shifted, and my world tilted. The bride slung over the groom's shoulder… was my wife. At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. But then I spotted familiar faces—her relatives, unmistakable in the crowd. I didn't hesitate. I checked the hotel location tagged in the video and shoved my phone toward the taxi driver. "Change the route. Take me here," I said. "I'm going to catch them in the act."

All along, I've been following a social media account that's dedicated to a couple sharing about their romance. It doesn't have a lot of followers, but the posts are all very heartwarming. The owner of the account records all the little details about his relationship with his girlfriend. They get into arguments over a plate of pasta before breaking into laughter and calling each other an overgrown child. They climb up the hill to hold each other under the sky full of stars, wishing they could make time pause at that very moment. Even though the owner of the account never reveals his face, I am always moved by the words he writes. The day before my wedding, the owner uploads a new post. "This marks the end of our ten-year relationship. From now on, she'll be his wife, and I'll only be his friend. There won't be any more updates to this account. I wish nothing but the best for my best friend and the woman he loves the most." The picture uploaded with this caption is one of my fiancee and me, taken from behind.

Before my crazy grandmother died, she gave me three walnuts. According to her last wish, I cracked open the first walnut on my twenty-fifth birthday. Inside the walnut was a slip of paper. 'Go to the skybridge and grovel at the first beggar you meet' was the instruction written on it. When I looked at the note, I could feel my cheeks burning with embarrassment. Still, I did as told. To my surprise, the beggar turned out to be an undercover cop. Only later did I learn that I had long been targeted by human traffickers, and the bow had saved my life. As for the second walnut, my grandmother told me to crack it open before I got married. When I put on my wedding dress, ready to marry the policeman who saved me, I happily opened it. This time, there was a crumpled old photograph inside. In the photo, my fiancé was smiling as he strangled another bride.

Everyone in the city knew that James Frost loved me and our son to bits. When I suggested stargazing, James spent millions to create a meteor shower. As my son loved riding carousels, James built the biggest amusement park and named it after him. He was never stingy when it came to doting on us, and it was only natural he brought in the best doctors to save me when my son and I were caught in a car crash. I fought to stay conscious and asked him to save our son first, only for him to tell me tearfully that our son had died while being transported to the hospital. Devastated, my mind caved, and I passed out. When I woke up, I overheard the doctor asking James, "Why did you stop us, Mr. Frost? We could have saved your son!" "Stan is only alive to save the son I had with Sue," James replied nonchalantly. "If he was alive, how would I ever transplant his heart without legal repercussions? "I've been plenty kind to him and Wanda over the years—it's time they repay me." So everything he did for me and Stan was just a trade—for Stan's heart. That meant he was responsible for the suffering Stan and I were put through as well! In that case, I would let him have his wish!

One immigration application ended my marriage— and erased me from my husband’s world forever. I was Arabella Ashford— the wife of the man everyone wanted to marry. An Italian mafia heir—Born into power, wealth, and fear. A bloodline successor watched by international law enforcement, forbidden to cross borders, permanently barred from U.S. territory. They said he adored me— built me a private estate so I’d never hear the city, sent me flowers for no reason, just to make me smile, remembered every little thing I liked, every habit and quirk, No one saw the truth. And while the world called him perfect— he was putting another woman in my place, and another life in her womb. So I made my choice. I filed for permanent residency overseas. With that one signature, I erased myself from his world. From that moment on, he would never find me again. This was the price of his betrayal. He didn’t realize I was losing him that day. When he discovered the woman he betrayed was already beyond his reach. That was when he lost everything. He gave up his position. Walked away from his inheritance. Turned his back on a throne men would kill for— all to cross an ocean he was never allowed to enter.

On the day I came of age, my grandfather, Wilson Saddler, laid out photos of the most eligible bachelors from elite families in the capital, asking me to choose one for an arranged marriage. Without hesitation, I chose the eldest son of the Sullivan family, Ethan Sullivan. Everyone present was stunned. After all, everyone in our circle knew that I, Sabrina Saddler, eldest daughter of the powerful Saddler family, had always liked Aaron Johansen, the young heir of the Johansen family. Ever since I was little, I’d followed Aaron around, declaring I would marry him when I grew up. In my previous life, I did marry Aaron as I wished. But after the wedding, he told me he had always loved my younger sister, Rachel Saddler, and would remain a virgin for her. He made me sleep alone for three months. When my father found out, he married Rachel off to the son of a business partner. Aaron thought I was the one who meddled and forced Rachel to leave. From then on, he stayed out every night, indulging in nightlife, sometimes even flaunting women in front of me. In the end, I was pushed into traffic by Rachel and Aaron, and I died at an intersection. Given a second chance at life, I decided to stay far away from him. I gave him and Rachel my blessing. I never expected that at my engagement party with Ethan, he would completely lose control and try to crash the wedding.

At my wedding rehearsal, my fiancé's colleague, Haley Rhodes burst in and tore apart the carefully arranged decor. "Ryan promised he'd marry me!" she shrieked, storming closer, "Who do you think you are?" Without warning, she lunged, grabbing hold of the wedding gown, which was worth a fortune. But she only got so far—she was too heavyset to even squeeze it past her head. I let out a mocking laugh. "Don't tell me you're too big to fit even a plus-size wedding dress?" That really set her off. With grim determination, she forced herself into the gown. But as soon as she did, the delicate fabric tore, leaving absurdly stretched holes across her back and waist. "Too bad the dress is ruined now. But who cares?" she sneered triumphantly. "Ryan loves me. He’ll buy me another wedding gown, anyway." But when the actual wedding began, she got the shock of her life. The groom walking down the aisle wasn’t Ryan at all. It was their boss — Ryan and Haley's boss. Well, I never said this was my wedding.

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."

I've always been a goody-two-shoes. The boldest thing I've ever done is falling in love with my older brother's friend, Oliver Anderson. The day Oliver finds out about my feelings for him, he's left feeling shell-shocked for a long time. But in the end, he still agrees to become my boyfriend. I thought we loved each other. But Oliver sends me a video featuring him and another young woman on my birthday. In the video, they did everything a couple can possibly do. At the end of the video, Oliver glances at the camera casually while smoking. "Vera, this is my gift for you. Never trust a man this easily." That's when I feel my confidence getting smashed into smithereens. That's why when Oliver and that woman show up in front of me, I give up on pursuing him once and for all.