True Friendship

The doctor told me I had 72 hours left, unless I got access to the newest experimental treatment. However, there was only one slot available, and my husband Bowen Liddell gave it to my sister Yvonne Lawson instead. "Her kidney failure is more critical," he said. I nodded and swallowed the white pills that would only speed up my death. In the time I had left, I got a lot done. The lawyer's hand trembled as he passed me the documents. "Are you sure you want to transfer the two billion dollars in shares?" I replied, "Yes. Give them to Yvonne." My daughter, Candice Liddell, was giggling in Yvonne's arms. "Mommy Yvonne bought me a new dress!" I said, "It looks beautiful. Make sure you always listen to Mommy Yvonne, okay?" The art gallery I built from the ground up now had Yvonne's name on the sign. "You're too kind, Kathy," she said, crying. I told her, "You'll run it even better than I ever did." I even signed all my parents' trust fund away. That was when Bowen finally gave me his first genuine smile in years. "Kathleen, you've changed. You're not so aggressive anymore... You're beautiful like this." Indeed. This dying version of me finally became the 'perfect Kathleen Sullivan' in their eyes—obedient, generous, and no longer argumentative. The 72-hour countdown had already begun, and I couldn't help but wonder what they would remember when my heart stopped for good. The good wife who 'finally learned to let go', or the woman who completed her revenge by dying?

I died once—on the eve of their wedding. He held her in his arms while the one I loved most shoved me into the firelight. Laughter and the gleam of blood were the final scene before I left this world. But the Moon Goddess seemed to have pity for me. I was reborn and sent back to the point where everything first collapsed—the day my parents forced me to give up the Alpha’s love, forced me to go abroad, forced me to ‘disappear sensibly’ like a joke. My lover texted me to ‘stop fantasizing,’ and had me to watch with my own eyes as he tangled with her. In my previous life I knelt and begged, cried as I explained, begged them to believe in what the Moon Goddess had ordained. This time, I smiled and agreed to every one of their demands. I would go; I would be good; I would be more obedient than anyone. But when I turned back again, I would never beg for anyone’s forgiveness. I would make them watch with their own eyes how the Omega that was trampled into the mud, little by little, tore apart their so‑called destiny and glory.

Three years after I ran away from home, my parents finally remembered me. The fake heiress, Kelly Horner, was not satisfied with her groom, so they came up with the idea of having me marry him in her place. When Mom saw the man who had eloped with me sitting in a wheelchair and picking up garbage, she felt extremely pleased. "She gave up being a wealthy heiress and even pushed Kelly off a building to run away. She must be regretting it now." Alex Cameron appeared absent-minded as he muttered, "She does regret it. She regrets ever going back to that home with you guys." Dad scoffed. "Enough with the fuss! Tell her to come back immediately for the wedding and we'll call it even!" Seeing Alex remain silent, Dad kicked over his wheelchair. "You cripple, where have you hidden my daughter?" I floated in the air, watching Alex writhe on the ground. My soul felt like it was being ripped apart. "Dad, Mom, I've been dead for three years. How can I marry in Kelly's place?"

"Whose illegitimate child are you pregnant with?" My parents demand to know, looking crazed. They want to know whose child I'm carrying. I look at them and laugh. "One of the kidnappers, of course." My parents and brother are stunned, and they turn ashen. I continue softly, "Don't you guys remember? The kidnappers asked for a ransom, but you guys were only willing to save your other daughter. You wanted to teach me a lesson." Mom collapses on the couch. "That can't be. We wanted to teach you a lesson so you would stop bullying Eden. I didn't… We didn't…" I crouch before her. "You guys never expected the kidnappers to violate me, right?" I don't wait for an answer. "Do you think a few kidnappers would have morals and ethics?" She parts her lips to speak, but I don't give her the chance. "I was covered in injuries when I got home. Why didn't any of you ask me about them? "You guys took Eden away without bothering to save me. You didn't return for a day, for two days, for a month… Did you think the kidnappers would think that they could still receive the ransom?" They should be happy now—I'm about to die.

Zoe Jensen's parents kick her out because she doesn't want to share them with Alice Reed. She ends up homeless on the streets. She ultimately dies of starvation. When she's reborn, she finds herself standing before Alice. The latter is crying and begging her. Zoe is delighted by this. Alice can have her parents if she wants them—Zoe doesn't want to lose her life because of them again!

The day I was about to quit the game, countless floating comments suddenly appeared before my eyes. [Finally! The villainess is quitting!] [Now Janet Cole doesn’t have to worry about getting exposed for using her account to flirt online.] [The heroine is so smart–she always uses voice chat in-game. The villainess has no idea.] [Janet is living the dream–using her max-level account to juggle five top-tier players at once!] [At 2 PM today, she’s meeting her 'No.1 catch'–the cold, untouchable campus heartthrob Cedric Barnes!] [Assassin god tomorrow, rich scion the day after… her time management is insane!] The Janet they were talking about… was the fake heiress who had taken my place in my own family. She had been impersonating me–using my account to flirt with five elite players at once? Then more comments appeared… [Why hasn’t the villainess left yet? The male lead is already waiting.] [This is the first sweet date between the leads–can’t wait!] I turned to look at Janet, touching up her makeup in front of the mirror–and suddenly, it all clicked. The 'villainess' they were talking about… was me. So the real heiress–me–was nothing more than a disposable side character, a stepping stone for the fake one? A faint smile curled on my lips. If she could impersonate me online and play the field, then me showing up in person and stealing everything... wouldn't be too much, right?

Robbie Garvie and Samantha (Sam) Laplow have always been best friends until Sam returns home from her study abroad program engaged. Shocked, jealous, and confused Robbie joins the army to escape his emotions and hide the truth of his father's death. Will their friendship survive the hardships of adulthood or will they be forced to go their separate ways?

My daughter unplugs my oxygen tube before throwing herself into her nanny's arms. "The old hag is finally dying, Mom. I don't need to call a thief my mother anymore!" It turns out the nanny switched my child for hers when they were born. I've spent the last two decades doting on the nanny's daughter. I die of an aneurysm after recalling my birth daughter's horrible death. When I open my eyes again, I'm taken back to the day my daughter was born.

From the moment she was born, Seraphina Grant was doomed to live a life without being loved. Her dad, the Alpha of the pack, said to her, "You owe Layla too much. Give her the Moonshadow Blade blessed by the Moon Goddess." Her mom, the Luna, asked her, "Are you really going to stand by and watch Layla die? We're just asking that you give her a bit of your life essence each day. You'll be fine." Later, Seraphina met Damien Norman. He swore that across lifetimes, whether as a wolf spirit or in human form, he would love only her. But later still, Damien told her, "Layla ended up like this because of you. Staying with her is my way of helping you atone." Even her son said, "I don't want you to be my mom. I want Aunt Layla!" In the end, every single one of them demanded that she give her life for her sister, Layla Grant. All because she belonged to the legendary Sunfire bloodline and possessed the power of Ember Rebirth. So Seraphina did what they wished and set her own life ablaze, not to trade it for Layla's, but to erase them all from her heart forever.

In my second year running the company, my high school class monitor suddenly started tagging me nonstop in the group chat. [Alice, Vivian was only joking with you back then. Why won't you come to her party? Are you trying to make her feel guilty?] I didn't understand what was going on. Only after reading the messages did I realize that our class beauty, Vivian Spencer, had recently found her biological parents—and today, she had thrown a party to announce it to the world. Me: [I'm busy.] I had no intention of attending a party hosted by someone who used to bully me. But my answer didn't shut them up. Instead, it stirred up even more absurd speculation. [Don't tell me you're doing some kind of labor job and can't take leave?] [We're all former classmates. If you show up, I'll give you sixty dollars. That should cover two days of your salary.] Vivian chimed in as well. [Alice, it was just a joke back then. And I'd already dropped out by then. Why can't you let it go?] I stared at her message for a long moment before typing: [Only trash would call bullying a joke.] The group exploded instantly. [Vivian's no trash! She's a wealthy heiress. She's not even in the same league as you. Poor people really love to nitpick.] Vivian, ever the hypocrite, tried to smooth things over. [No matter what, today marks a new beginning for me. I hope you'll come to witness it. [We're classmates, after all. I don't hold it against you for forcing me to drop out. If you're short on money, I can even ask my dad to arrange a job for you.] Then she sent a screenshot of her chat with her father. When I saw her father's profile picture, I froze. Wasn't that the same profile picture as my freeloading dad? But I look seventy percent like my mom—it's impossible for me to be a fake daughter. And Vivian was two months younger than me. I let out a laugh. "Alright, I'll definitely attend your recognition party."