Three Years After They Abandoned Me

In the third year after my death, my mother finally remembered me. But it wasn't out of longing—it was because my younger sister's leukemia had relapsed, and she urgently needed a bone marrow transplant. Clutching a donation agreement, my mother made her way to the basement I once lived in. She kicked open the door and was met with a floor slick with blood and scattered medicine bottles. "Cassidy, what game are you playing this time? Do you really think a self-inflicted act of suffering could fool me? Why are you so selfish? Why won't you save your own sister?" Her voice roared with anger, echoing through the space. From the crowd that had gathered to watch, a ragged little boy stepped forward. "Are you talking about Cassidy Porter? She… she died three years ago of organ failure… she vomited so much blood…"

When I'm about to apply for medical insurance for my son, Connor Sawyer, who's about to start his first year in kindergarten, I'm told that I'm not his biological father at all. "Are you sure this is your son? The system shows that his father is an entirely different person." I don't respond at all. Instead, I secretly take a photo of the unfamiliar-looking address before tracking it down. It turns out that it's actually a residential area right by my own. The moment my wife, Giselle Lambert, sees me, she freezes momentarily. At the same time, she blocks the door subconsciously with her hand. "In the end, you still found out about the truth. But there's no use kicking up a fuss, you know. I never mistreated you in any way over the past three years, after all." When I notice the familiar figure standing behind Giselle, I feel my limbs going cold. That person is actually my younger brother, Vincent Sawyer, who has just graduated from college. Vincent hands Giselle a glass of water before smiling at me apologetically. "Don't blame me, Hayden. The doctor says that I'm severely depressed, so I can't handle hearing a child's cries at all. I'm really thankful to you for raising Connor on my behalf in the past few years." At that moment, Connor, who's supposed to be waiting for me in my car, rushes into the apartment. He runs into Vincent's arms happily before turning to look at me. "Don't cry, Uncle Hayden. Daddy says you're a good person, so he's asked you for help. Mommy tells me that if I call you 'daddy' in your home, I'll get to visit my real daddy during the weekends."

This is my 18th time coming to City Hall, yet Tessa's still nowhere to be seen. Right as I'm about to call and ask her how much longer she'll be, her childhood friend's post popped up on my screen. "Celebrating 1000 days of marriage with my wife. May we always be this happy." The photo highlights a marriage certificate, and Tessa Cross' name is right there under "wife". As for the license date, it shows February 14th, three years ago. So this is why she hasn't shown up the last eighteen times. It turns out that she's already somebody else's wife.

On my way to a meeting at work, I call my daughter, who is at home. Instead, I hear a voice identical to mine over the phone. She claims that she is me three years in the future. "Dezarae, go home to Liv right now. Your daughter is in danger." I am stunned. I argue in disbelief and question who is behind this prank. When I step on the accelerator, she stops me sternly. "Do not drive ahead any further. There will be a traffic accident at the intersection where Peace Street is." In the next second, at the intersection that is less than 30 feet away from me, two cars collide. Cold sweat starts to trickle down my back when the woman with a voice identical to mine says, "Liv will fall off a building and die in three hours. This is your only chance to save her."

​"Three billion? You've got to be kidding me, Evelyn, I knew you liked the lifestyle but I didn't think you were this greedy, or maybe you really were just a gold digger this entire time like Rebecca always said," he spat, his voice dripping with sudden contempt.   ​"You said I could name my price, Arthur, and that is the price for three years of my life that I can never get back, so either you pay it or we can spend the next year fighting this in court and making sure your precious Samantha has to wait even longer to marry you," I said, picking up the pen that was tucked into the envelope.***** Evelyn spent three years playing the part of the perfect, invisible wife to Arthur Hayes, a man who only married her out of a sense of obligation to his father. She endured the cold nights, the silence, and the constant belittling from his family, hoping that one day he would truly see her. But when his first love returns, Arthur doesn't hesitate to throw divorce papers in her face. ​After a final, violent confrontation where Arthur chooses a lie over the truth, Evelyn disappears with a secret he was never supposed to know. Five years later, she is back—not as the girl who needed a savior, but as a powerhouse who owns the very debt threatening to sink the Hayes empire. Arthur wants his heir and a second chance, but Evelyn is no longer for sale. This time, if he wants her, he’ll have to survive the wreckage of the lies he once believed.

It only takes one unfortunate evening for Amara: she is jobless, she catches her fiancé with her stepsister, and her own father places the blame on her. One too many drinks led to Adrian Cole, a powerful CEO and the greatest rival of her ex-fiancé. Adrian gets to offer to treat her mother when she becomes critically ill, one of those very few moments in Amara's life when she doesn't have enough money for her treatment. He makes her one proposition: Amara must marry him for three years. Jealousy, lies, and an ex trying to return threaten to rip apart their contract marriage. Amara attempts to walk away, but Adrian refuses to let her go. Until the truth comes out. Now she wants her freedom. He wants another chance. And three years may not be enough.

For ten years, Autumn Lewis and Julian Carter were childhood sweethearts. After three years of marriage, all she got in return were injuries, neglect from her brothers, and betrayal from her husband. When Autumn found out she had stage-two stomach cancer, something in her finally let go. She picked herself up and rose from an unnoticed employee to a powerhouse in the tech world. As soon as the divorce cooling-off period ended, she tricked Julian into signing the papers and made a clean break. The next time they met, the ever-calculating Julian’s eyes turned red as he tore up the divorce certificate. “Autumn, I was wrong. We’re not getting divorced. If I could give you my stomach, I would—just please don’t leave me.” Her once-proud brothers now pleaded, “Autumn, forgive us. Your sister-in-law is filing for divorce. Could you spare us some money?” Just then, a man stepped out from behind her, lifted his shirt slightly, and sneered. “Autumn, why waste your time on these jerks? Look at me instead.” Indeed, affection that came too late was worth less than dirt. She didn’t care for it anymore.

In my previous life, no one loved me except my Alpha mate, Grayson. My parents and brothers treated me like a mobile wolf essence bank for my sister Victoria. But Grayson remembered I was afraid of the dark and quietly left a nightlight after my essence transfusions; he kept my casual mention of "wanting to find a quiet place to paint" in his heart, and casually gave me $5 billion to buy my favorite forest. When I confessed my feelings to him, though he was shocked, he still accepted my confession and promised he would definitely mark me. God knows how happy I was then—the person I liked actually liked me too. I only realized when I was dying that his kindness towards me was predicated on my continued donations of wolf essence to Victoria. After my rebirth, the first thing I did was spend five billion dollars to buy an isolated forest. "Miss Ember, are you sure you want to purchase this forest? If you buy it and move in, it'll be nearly impossible to contact the outside world." I nodded, my voice carrying a hint of relief. "That's exactly what I want—somewhere no one can reach me." But when I really left, why did my family and Grayson go crazy and beg me to come back?

On New Year's Eve, I returned home. At the welcome party, my boyfriend, Grayson Caldwell, suddenly appeared, holding a bouquet of red roses and a diamond ring, dropping to one knee. "Although this proposal comes a full three years late, our love will never be late," he said. "Alexa, marry me!" Friends cheered from the sidelines, all expecting me to nod through tears and say yes. But they had forgotten that three years ago, on New Year's Eve, he had promised to propose. That night, I dressed to the nines and waited until dawn—but he never showed up. Instead, there was only a cold phone call. "Tanya is sick. I'm busy taking care of her. You'll have to wait a little longer for the proposal." And so, on New Year's Day, I left the country alone, bound by a family-arranged marriage. I had already married someone else three years ago.

Jessica Albert did everything to support her husband but when his first love returned, Dylan changed. Do you think Jessica will agree to leave her marriage? Find out.