Icarus Laughed As He Fell

In a cycle of broken plans, Elena asks Marcus, "Why another delay for her?" He insists, "Sophia's just a friend in trouble—you're my priority." Whispers of the past test their bond, while a quiet ally says, "I've cared for you longer than you know." As accusations fly—"You're imagining things!"—Elena questions her path. A final decision sparks chaos, rewriting fates.

Scarlett needed a job and fast. Bills were piling up and she needed to pay them. When her friend and roommate gives her a time and place to be somewhere Scar's whole world changed. Enter the man everyone knows but no one really sees. He enjoys it that way so he can learn their secrets. Scarlett changes everything in him with her innocence and her willing to do nearly anything, he commands. They find a love most dream of.

Sheena was just an ordinary housewife. Every day she was busy in the kitchen, washing, cleaning the house, and taking care of her child. Her appearance was unkempt, her body overweight, her face dull, and she always wore thick glasses—and all of that made her husband, Gevan, feel ashamed. Sheena’s life grew even more bitter when Gevan openly held hands with his beautiful secretary. What hurt even more was that their only son, Ghani, actually supported his father. The boy openly said that he was embarrassed to have a mother like Sheena. Insults kept coming, even from her own mother-in-law. But Sheena was not a weak woman. She knew she had sacrificed a lot, and she would not stay silent. When everyone underestimated her, Sheena left and divorced Gevan. “You just wait and see, Gevan! I will make you regret underestimating and mocking me!”

Evie has found her contentment on her career as the Executive Secretary of the Director of Yu Solar Panels Inc. for over two years. She has a good relation with her co-workers and especially her boss Benjamin Yu who have grown out became her closest friend. Until her boss needs to be related to the owner of the one of the fastest growing construction company in the country. When Benjamin found out about them, he got threatened by Silver as he might take Evie away from him as his great secretary, a good friend and also he has special feelings for her but afraid to admit it. But Silver's feelings for Evie never change over the years. But will these two gentlemen still pursue Evie when they discover her real past? Will Evie still gonna choose one of them when she ever thought never needing anyone anymore?

My boy friend Caleb Ford's childhood sweetheart, Julia Leclair, is losing her hair from chemotherapy. So, he orders me to cut mine off and make her a wig. "Julia's allergic to synthetic wigs. You've been growing your hair for ten years—it's perfect." I refuse, but his friends tie me down. Someone shaves my head to the scalp, buzzing through my thick, glossy hair until nothing's left but a butchered mess. Julia sits in her wheelchair and laughs, saying I look like a toad. Caleb smiles and nods in agreement. He adds with a chuckle, "It's just some hair. Was that really necessary?" But back when I was bullied for having uneven, choppy short hair for six straight years, it was he who stood in front of me. He had his arms spread wide as he shielded me from harm. Now he's the one wielding the blade. One by one, their little circle chimes in. They tell me not to hold a grudge against someone who's sick. Caleb snaps impatiently, "Stop trying to talk sense into her. She can get lost! Did you see that fit she threw over a few strands of hair? It's not like they won't grow back." I turn around and walk away. I never look back. Later, I hear that Caleb begs for my forgiveness by kneeling his way up 9000 steps until his knees are ruined.

Three months after my husband, Josiah Erikson, disappears in a skiing accident, I spot him in a bar. He's laughing freely with an arm slung casually around his "best friend", Monica Jones' shoulders. "Good thing you came up with the idea. I'd almost forgotten what freedom feels like." One after another, his buddies clink glasses with him and ask about when he plans to reappear. He looks down and thinks about it before saying, "In a week. I'll show up once she's gone completely crazy searching for me." Standing in the shadows, I watch him savor his freedom, then call my friend who works at the state vital records office.

I've waited five years for my mafia fiance, Daniele Moretti, while he keeps pushing our wedding back again and again. I've turned down every man who approaches me and put up with all the snide comments from high society. On the eve of exchanging our marriage alliance contract, thanks to a bet with his lover, Daniele decides it's hilarious to switch the groom's name. He replaces himself with his uncle, Samuele Moretti, a man who is practically on his deathbed. Daniele laughs as he brags to his friends, "Regina's obsessed with me. When she finds out, she'll cry and beg me to change it back." I stand just outside the door and hear every word. On the day of the wedding, I take Samuele's arm—the "sickly wreck" Daniele keeps mocking—and walk him up the aisle. When Daniele finally shows up late with his lover and tries to turn the ceremony into a spectacle, I slap him across the face. Now he's the one who has to call me Aunt Regina.

Elowen Vale is fresh out of high school, with no college plans and an invisible place in a home that never truly felt like hers. Pressured by her sister and her best friend to celebrate their final night of freedom, she agrees to a party, a reckless decision that changes everything. There, she meets billionaire Mael Virelis. A mistaken encounter. A disastrous one-night stand. A stolen identity, and a pregnancy she never expected. Elowen runs, disappearing into a new life, far from betrayal, shame, and the man who never looked her in the eyes. Three years later, she's a successful artist and a mother to a little girl with his eyes. When she returns home for her adoptive mother’s funeral, she comes face to face with the man who unknowingly broke her– in a tailored suit and cold, familiar eyes. Now, the past is a battlefield. And the war of hearts has only just begun.

During the holiday, a hashtag related to honeymoon trips goes viral on social media. The topic is, "How are you planning to spend your honeymoon?" One of the threads that has the most replies reads, "I have to bring my mistress along, of course." "Wow! That's crazy. Can you teach us how to pull that off?" I frown as I scroll down the thread and find the reply. "There are a lot of poor, female backpackers these days. As long as the mistress acts pitiful enough, you can pull the wool over your wife's eyes. And just like that, a couple's haven will become a world of three. "My wife and I will be going on our honeymoon trip tomorrow. I'll give everyone live updates in this thread." Feeling disgusted, I close the thread. … The next day, my husband, Sean Clifford, and I meet a poor, female backpacker on the road. She has no car, money, or any suitcases with her. Sprawling herself across the windshield, she begs, "Can you give me a ride, sir? I have blisters all over my feet. I can't walk anymore."

On our tenth anniversary, I came home with roses and the biggest deal of my career. I expected celebration. Instead, I found my husband in bed with my cousin. They looked at me like I was the one who had interrupted something that mattered. That night, I walked away from the man I thought loved me and the company I built. They thought I vanished. They rebranded everything in my absence, twisted the story, and erased my name from what I created. But I did not disappear. I became Juliana Cross. And I am not here to beg for what was mine. I am here to take it all back.