Realism

During my cousin Monica Bleuthe's birthday party, my boyfriend, Grayson Chapman, who claimed to be on a business trip, suddenly appeared holding her hand and toasting the crowd. We were stunned when our eyes met. Monica hugged his arm intimately. "I forgot to introduce him to you, Ella. This is my boyfriend, Grayson. He's the CEO of the company we worked with last time." Grayson approached me and lowered his voice to say, "It's just a misunderstanding. I'm only pretending to be Monica's boyfriend." We had been in a relationship for four years, and he had never allowed our relationship to go public. He even refused to let me attend any high-end parties with him because he thought I was just an ordinary employee who was not glamorous enough to be introduced to anyone. He had no idea that my father wanted me to gain valuable work experience away from the family business. I hid my identity so that I would be better equipped to take over my family business one day. If I had married Grayson, he would have enjoyed a portion of my family's fortune. Unfortunately, that was no longer possible.

After blowing through 15 million, which was my wedding gift from the Masons, I turned myself in for marriage fraud. That was when the housekeeper's daughter, Hannah Castillo, panicked. On May 5th, Castillo Enterprise and Mason Group were set to unite through marriage. I was meant to be the bride, but instead, I was locked away in a dark storage room. By the time I fought my way to the ceremony, Hannah had already finished the wedding using my identity. I went onstage and said I was the Castillos' real daughter, only to be questioned by everyone in the company. The reason was simple: Hannah had been using my name and status openly inside the company for the past six months. Hannah kicked me to the ground and sneered, "You're the housekeeper's kid! How dare you make a scene!" Before I could pull out any proof, the bodyguards Hannah hired dragged me out and dumped me on the road. A car ran into me, and I died on the spot. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day before the wedding.

On the night of Christmas Eve, Finn Shore, my boyfriend of three years, has invited me to his place for an official family dinner. As soon as I sit down and drink a glass of water, I collapse immediately. It turns out that Finn has drugged the water. "I'm sorry, Rosaline. If I don't cough up the payment, they'll throw me behind bars. My debtor is already targeting me, so please help me out. "Don't blame me for this, Rosaline. You only have your own face to blame—after all, you look so similar to the woman Mr. Olson is deeply in love with! Hell, you two look far too similar! "Once I clear my debt, I'll be free! Who knows? You might be able to live a lavish life with Mr. Olson as your lover! Isn't this a win-win situation for us?" I end up getting delivered to an insanely familiar estate. When I open my eyes groggily, I notice my surroundings. Isn't this Uncle Wesley's home? My uncle, Wesley Olson, has never fallen for any woman except my mom. In fact, she's his weakness. To think that Finn actually brought me here… I wonder who's the unlucky one in this situation.

Before my wedding, my fiance's secretary dumped out all the Dom Perignon champagne I had ordered for the guests and replaced it with Yoo-hoo. I turned grim instantly and demanded an explanation. But my fiance—who had always claimed to dote on me—stood firmly in front of his secretary to defend her. "Susie only had your best interest. Don't ruin the mood for everyone." His pack of so-called friends burst into laughter, egging him on. "Come on, don't be petty, Giselle. It's just a few bottles of Dom Perignon. Don't be so selfish." Yet their eyes were enveloped in evident malicious amusement. At that moment, one thing became certain: this fiance had to be replaced.

On the seventh day after my daughter goes missing, I kidnap an entire kindergarten. I lock away all 27 students and two teachers in a classroom. I tell the police that if they can't find my daughter, I will kill a kid every 30 minutes. The principal falls to her knees, wailing and begging, "It's not my fault that your daughter is missing. Why should other children pay for it?" I glance at my watch. "29 minutes left. Find her." I know she's in this kindergarten.

On New Year's Eve, my own brother slapped me three times. He stood there, full of himself, and spat at me in disgust. "This is my house. Who do you think you are, coming in here and telling me what to do? Get out. You're nothing but bad luck. If you dare stay, I'll hit you again." He seemed to have forgotten something. The house he was living in was the one I had bought for Mom. The jewelry his wife wore was all paid for by me. The money in his children's hands was the generous allowance I had just given them. My face still burning, I looked around at the others. My sister-in-law curled her lips into a mocking smile and let out an icy snort. The two children stared at me with open hostility. Mom, who had called me there tonight for my birthday, stood silently in the corner. Just like always, her eyes were red, yet she said nothing. At that moment, something in me snapped.

I lead my team to develop a new drug formula that passed its first clinical trial. It becomes the key to the company's IPO. So, the board votes unanimously to award me an additional 5% in shares. But at the celebration party, my shares turn into three hams. I assume it is a prank by my colleagues. But to my surprise, Draco Faraday looks at me with disgust and says, "Don't think I don't know. You used your position as team leader to assign all the experimentation to Avery. Then, you take the credit for the results. This reward should go to her. As for you, you should be satisfied with the ham!" Seeing Avery Blake looking both flattered and overwhelmed, I am rendered speechless. I argue, "Avery is an art major. Does she even understand chemical formulas?" Draco's expression darkens. "Cross-disciplinary expertise is her strength, not a weakness. I won't argue with you this time. If it happens again, I'll fire you!” When I try to defend myself, he snaps, "Starting today, Avery is the team leader. You should get a taste of how it feels to be exploited." I look at him in disbelief for a moment before nodding forcefully with a sneer. "Fine. From now on, I won't assist if the projects run into any issues. Don't regret it." Draco looks at Avery approvingly."The only thing I regret is not making Avery the person in charge sooner."

I knew my husband, Josh Perkins, had faked his death and taken on his younger twin brother's identity—but I never said a word. Instead, I went straight to the commander of the military district and filed an official report of my husband's death, requesting his name be permanently removed from the service rolls. In my last life, my brother-in-law died in an accident. Josh gave up his rank as regimental commander, abandoned his own name, and stepped into his brother's shoes—all to spare his fragile sister-in-law from becoming a widow. Back then, I recognized him immediately. I confronted him and demanded to know why he was pretending to be a dead man. But Josh just looked through me, cold as a winter morning. "Riley, I know you're grieving Josh. But I'm not him. Don't mistake me for my brother." He shielded that delicate sister-in-law of his behind him, then shoved me into the icy river and warned me not to harbor delusions. Later, our five-year-old daughter cried, asking why her daddy didn't want her anymore. For that, she was dragged to the cowshed for "reflection"—left there, starving, for three days and nights. My mother-in-law called me a curse, a jinx who'd killed her son, and threw my daughter and me out with nothing but the clothes on our backs. Josh made sure everyone knew I'd "gone mad"—that I was lusting after my brother-in-law before my husband was even cold in the ground. The whole town turned their backs on us. That last winter, I wandered the streets with my girl, dazed and numb, until the cold finally took us both. But when I opened my eyes again, I was back. Back to the very day Josh buried his old life and stole his brother's.

When I stand in the sales office and watch my best friend beat me to purchasing the foreclosed property I have my eye on, I finally know for sure that she has been reborn too. In my previous life, both my best friend and I had some savings. She invested all her money in the stock market, while I decided to buy a house to live in. Since I didn't have much savings, I ended up buying a foreclosed property where a murder had taken place. But inside the ceiling cavity, I discovered a safe containing ten million dollars in cash and over a dozen gold bars. Meanwhile, my best friend's money was trapped in the stock market. She lost everything and even ended up in debt. When she watched me move into a villa, drive luxury cars, and spend money extravagantly every day, my best friend flew into a rage. She lured me to a highway where an oncoming freight truck killed me. After my death, my soul floated in the air as I watched her and my boyfriend deceive the police together. They claimed I had been drinking and ignored traffic rules, rushing onto the highway to my own death. When I open my eyes again, I find myself back on the day I'm supposed to buy the foreclosed property.

My 60-year-old father hasn't been able to sire any other children than me due to an injury that affects his manhood. However, my mom has just gotten pregnant with triplets. When I take him to the hospital for a follow-up checkup, a man suddenly shows up and drags Dad off to undergo a vasectomy. Upon returning to the scene after registering Dad's details at the nurse's station, I'm stunned by what I see. Still, I rush over to stop the man. Instead, a nurse stops me and tells me, "Ms. Ashford's husband is apprehending the man she's cheating with right now! Don't go rushing into their mess!" I'm both shocked and confused at the same time. Ms. Ashford, a.k.a Selena Ashford, is my mother! Then her husband should be my dad! "You old bastard! You already have one foot in the grave, and yet you still have the balls to seduce a married woman! How dare you attempt to fight over my family's assets with my son! I'll have you know that this hospital belongs to my daughter-in-law, Emily Carter! Let's see if you can survive long enough to spend any of my family fortune!" Dad refuses to enter the surgery room. Instead, he manages to wrestle the man away from him and try to escape. Upon noticing Dad's escape attempt, the man yells for other people to hold him down. Then, he punches Dad in the groin a few times. "Selena and I have been married for 40 years, and we only have Elias as our only son! Emily is the daughter-in-law whom we've personally selected for him as well! Since when did she become your daughter-in-law?" Dad screams hysterically. "That's right! Emily is my wife! You're no father of mine!" I quickly exclaim. The man eyes me up and down in disdain. "Nowadays, even homewreckers have their buddies to do their dirty work with them! My son, the heir of Ashford Group, is Dylan Ashford! How dare you impersonate him!" Before I can say anything, the man dials a number and starts yelling into his phone. "Emily Carter, are you and your mother-in-law both cheating on my son and me together? I'm giving you a chance right now! You'd better come over and deal with this side piece of yours before Dylan finds out about your affair!" I feel as though my world has come crashing down. Are my mom and my wife seriously cheating on my dad and me at the same time?