The Divorced Architect's Spectacular Comeback

My husband of three years dragged me into the freezing autumn ocean because my stepsister claimed I bullied her. When she faked a sprained ankle in the shallow water, he immediately abandoned me in the roaring waves to save her, not knowing I was eight weeks pregnant. The icy undertow swept me away, causing a brutal miscarriage. Later in the hospital, my traumatized body started hemorrhaging, and I desperately needed a rare blood transfusion. My stepsister, who shared my blood type, held my life hostage. She forced my husband to sign our divorce papers before she would donate a single drop. By the time the blood reached me, my uterus was irreparably damaged. I permanently lost the right to ever be a mother. "The Anderson family can't have an infertile matriarch." My own parents said this as they falsified my medical records to protect her. And my husband, blinded by his misplaced loyalty, simply walked away, leaving me with a meager settlement. I lost my baby, my fertility, and my marriage all in one week. How could the people I trusted most be so completely heartless? But looking at the divorce papers, I didn't shed a single tear. I calmly signed my name and unsealed my Yale architecture degree. "I'm in. Send me the files for the Manhattan project." The weak, pathetic Mrs. Anderson died on that operating table. Crista Cherry is back, and it's time for them to pay.

Chapters

Chapter 3

The sharp smell of antiseptic hit her nostrils. Crista forced her eyes open, squinting against the harsh glare of the fluorescent lights above.

Beep. Beep. Beep. The rhythmic sound of the heart monitor filled the room. She tried to move her fingers and felt the tug of an IV line taped to the back of her hand.

The door to the room opened. Dr. Thorne walked in, a medical chart in his hand. He paused, a look of surprise crossing his face when he saw her open eyes.

He walked quickly to the bedside, pulling out a small penlight. He shone it into her eyes, checking her pupils. "Crista? Can you hear me? Does anything hurt?"

Her lips were dry and cracked. She parted them, her voice a rough whisper. "Where... where am I? What happened?"

The doctor sighed, his expression turning serious. "You're at Mount Sinai Hospital. You've been in a coma for a full week. The Coast Guard pulled you out of the water."

A sharp pain lanced through her brain. The suffocating feeling of the water, Conrad's resolute back as he walked away-the memories crashed over her. She squeezed her eyes shut, a groan escaping her lips.

"Crista," Dr. Thorne said, his tone heavy. He flipped open the chart. "There's something I need to tell you. You were pregnant. Eight weeks along."

Her eyes flew open. Her hand flew to her flat stomach, disbelief washing over her face, followed instantly by a rush of tears.

"I'm so sorry," the doctor continued, his voice cutting through her momentary joy like a knife. "The severe hypothermia and trauma caused an inevitable miscarriage. We did everything we could, but the fetus was already gone when the Coast Guard found you."

"No..." She reached out, grabbing the front of the doctor's white coat, her knuckles white. "Please. Tell me you're wrong. Tell me my baby is still there. Please!"

Dr. Thorne gently pried her fingers loose, patting her hand. "We're doing everything we can to help your body recover. I'm giving you medication to prevent infection and stop any further hemorrhaging. But you must stay in bed. Absolute rest is required for your traumatized body." He gave her one last sympathetic look and left the room.

The room fell silent. Crista lay there, her hand resting on her flat stomach. A suffocating wave of grief pressed down on her chest. She had to tell Conrad. Maybe if he knew about the baby they had just lost, the child he had unknowingly killed, he would finally see the truth.

She leaned over, ignoring the pull of the IV, and grabbed her phone from the nightstand. The screen lit up. No missed calls. No messages.

A heavy weight settled in her chest, but she bit the bullet and dialed Conrad's private number.

It rang for a long time. Finally, the line clicked. But the voice that answered wasn't Conrad's.

It was Else. A giggling, laugh. "Hello? Sister?"

Crista's blood ran cold. Her hand tightened around the phone. "Where is Conrad? Let me talk to him."

Else laughed again, a sound full of cruel triumph. "He's right here. He's peeling an apple for me. He's been by my side this whole week, Crista. He doesn't care if you live or die."

To prove her point, Else called out, her voice sickeningly sweet, "Conrad! My sister is on the phone!"

Then, Conrad's voice came through the receiver. It was cold, impatient, and utterly devoid of emotion. "Tell her, unless she signs the divorce papers, don't bother me."

The words hit Crista like a physical blow. The phone slipped from her numb fingers, landing silently on the blanket.

The door to the room burst open. Audrey rushed in, her face flushed, her eyes red and puffy.

"Crista!" Audrey ran to the bed, taking in her friend's pale face. She burst into tears. "That bastard! That absolute bastard!"

Crista grabbed Audrey's hand, tears finally spilling over. "I was pregnant, Audrey," she choked out, her voice breaking into a sob. "And I lost the baby. But he just wants a divorce."

Audrey gasped, her face draining of color. She reached into her handbag and pulled out a crumpled square of glossy paper. "While you were unconscious, I went to your apartment to get your things. I found this ultrasound picture in your bag. You were going to surprise him, weren't you?"

Crista looked at the blurry image and squeezed her eyes shut, unable to speak. Audrey's face then twisted in rage. "I've already contacted my cousin, Caleb Arnold. He's one of the best trauma surgeons here at Mount Sinai. He's going to make sure you get the best care while I go deal with that bastard!" She stood up, rolling up her sleeves. "Where is he? I'm going to go give that son of a bitch a piece of my mind!"

Crista looked up, confused. "What are you talking about?"

Audrey pointed angrily toward the door. "They're in this hospital! Else is in the VIP suite at the end of the hall. 'Severe ankle sprain observation,' my ass. He's been playing nurse with her while you were dying!"

The realization hit Crista like a bucket of ice water. He was right there. Just a few steps away. And he hadn't come.

The grief in her eyes slowly hardened into something cold and sharp. She wiped her face with the back of her hand, her jaw setting. She placed both hands protectively over her stomach.

"Get me a wheelchair, Audrey," she commanded, her voice weak but firm. "I'm not lying here while he plays happy family. I'm going to see him."

Continue to next part

"Just watch... I'll take you away from that deceitful woman." Yvette whispered softly, but the resolve in her heart was unshakable. Her heart shattered as she witnessed the wedding of Aaron-the man she had loved for so long, the very same adoptive brother who once gave her a sense of home-to another woman. It was no secret. Aaron knew how she felt. And yet, he still chose to marry someone else... as if Yvette's love had never meant a thing. Just when she tried to accept that painful reality, she uncovered a truth far more devastating. Belinda... was not as kind as she seemed. The cunning hidden behind her gentle smile only made it harder for Yvette to let go-only strengthened her belief that the man she loved had fallen into the wrong hands. The love she had once buried deep within her heart had now twisted into something far darker. An obsession. Yvette no longer wished to surrender. She would take back what was meant to be hers... by any means necessary. Even if it meant destroying their marriage.

Modern Mystery Romance

7.1

Betrayed By Love, Erased From Memory

7.1

I was the Architect who built the digital fortress for the most feared Don in New York. To the world, I was Brendan Wiggins’s silent, elegant Queen. But then my burner phone buzzed under the dinner table. It was a photo from his mistress: a positive pregnancy test. "Your husband is celebrating right now," the caption read. "You are just the furniture." I looked across the table at Brendan. He smiled and held my hand, lying to my face without blinking. He thought he owned me because he saved my life ten years ago. He told her I was just "functional." That I was a barren asset he kept around to look respectable, while she carried his legacy. He thought I would accept the disrespect because I had nowhere else to go. He was wrong. I didn't want to divorce him—you don't divorce a Don. And I didn't want to kill him. That was too easy. I wanted to erase him. I liquidated fifty million dollars from the offshore accounts only I could access. I destroyed the servers I had built. Then, I contacted a black-market chemist for a procedure called "Tabula Rasa." It doesn't kill the body. It wipes the mind clean. A total hard reset of the soul. On his birthday, while he was out celebrating his bastard son, I drank the vial. When he finally came home to find the empty house and the melted wedding ring, he realized the truth. He could burn the world down looking for me, but he would never find his wife. Because the woman who loved him no longer existed.

Mafia Modern Romance

8.9

The billionaire contract bride: from contract wife to his obsession

8.9

Betrayed by the people she trusted most, Ava Lin's perfect life shatters overnight. From losing her mother under mysterious circumstances to being tormented by her stepmother and stepsister, Ava learns early that love in her world comes at a price. But nothing prepares her for the ultimate betrayal,catching her fiancé in bed with her own sister just weeks before their wedding. Humiliated and heartbroken, Ava makes a reckless decision that changes everything: a contract marriage to a stranger. What she doesn't know is that her new husband is Elias Ward,a powerful, cold-hearted billionaire with secrets of his own. Thrown into a world of wealth, power, and hidden enemies, Ava finds herself entangled in a dangerous game of revenge, lies, and unexpected passion. As she rises from the ashes of betrayal, those who once destroyed her will stop at nothing to bring her down even if it means exposing deadly secrets buried in her past. But when love begins to bloom in the most unexpected place, Ava must decide,will she continue fighting for revenge, or risk everything for a second chance at love? In a story filled with scandal, heartbreak, and justice, one woman's pain becomes her greatest strength... and her ultimate weapon.

Billionaire Modern Romance

9.7

Divorced And Rich: Falling For The Mechanic

9.7

For three years, I endured being treated like a walking ATM and a maid by my husband's family, biting my tongue to keep the peace. Then, my husband's buddy suddenly dropped off a nine-year-old boy at my front door. The crumpled note from my husband casually explained it was his illegitimate son, blaming me for being barren and demanding I raise the kid as our own. My mother-in-law was absolutely thrilled, parading the boy around as the true heir at the dinner table. "Some trees just don't bear fruit, no matter how much water you give them," she sneered. My brother-in-law cheered, and my drunk father-in-law demanded I cook a feast to celebrate. They actually expected me to continue paying the mortgage, buying the groceries, and cleaning up their endless messes, all while raising the living proof of my husband's betrayal. I looked at the parasites who had drained me dry for years, acting like they were doing me a favor by letting me stay in a house that my money paid for. I didn't scream, and I didn't cry. I simply called my lawyer to file for an immediate divorce, froze every single bank account and credit card they relied on, and drove off to my grandmother's secluded cabin in the woods. Let them see how long they survive without my money.

Billionaire Modern Romance

8.5

His Contracted Wife: When Revenge Meets Love

8.5

Five years ago, Nina Hale lost everything... her family, her reputation, and the man she once loved. Betrayed by her own sister and abandoned by those she trusted most, she disappeared without a trace. Now she's back. With a new identity and a burning determination, Nina is ready to reclaim her life and chase the dream she once gave up: becoming a star actress. But her return awakens old enemies, and her scheming sister Lydia is determined to ruin her again. Just when Nina thinks things can't get worse, she's caught in another trap... and unexpectedly crosses paths with a quiet, lonely little boy. Ethan Grant hasn't spoken in years. Feeling responsible for him, Nina agrees to stay and help the child come out of his shell. But she didn't expect Ethan's dangerously charming father, Lucas Grant, to enter the picture. Cold, powerful, and impossible to read, Lucas slowly finds himself drawn to the woman who brightens his son's world. What begins as a simple act of kindness soon turns into something far more complicated, because Nina came back for revenge. She never planned to fall in love. ********** "I saw you with him," Lucas said quietly, but the tension in his jaw gave him away. Nina exhaled, crossing her arms. "You don't get to care." "Don't I?" He stepped in, close enough that she had to tilt her head back to meet his eyes. "This is just a contract." "Then why does it bother me?" His hand hovered near her waist, not touching-yet. "It shouldn't." Her breath faltered. His gaze darkened, "And yet it does."

Action Modern Romance

9.4

Reclaiming My Life From Their Betrayal

9.4

I was Aliana Donovan, a resident physician, finally reunited with the wealthy family I' d been lost from as a child. I had loving parents and a handsome, successful fiancé. I was safe. I was loved. It was a perfect, fragile lie. The lie shattered on a Tuesday when I discovered my fiancé, Ivan, wasn't at a board meeting but at a sprawling mansion with Kiera Reese, the woman I was told had a mental breakdown five years ago after trying to frame me. She wasn' t disgraced; she was radiant, holding a little boy, Leo, who giggled in Ivan' s arms. I overheard their conversation: Leo was their son, and I was merely a "placeholder," a means to an end until Ivan no longer needed my family's connections. My parents, the Donovans, were in on it, funding Kiera' s lavish life and their secret family. My entire reality-the loving parents, the devoted fiancé, the security I thought I' d found-was a carefully constructed stage, and I was the fool playing the lead role. The casual lie Ivan texted me, "Just got out of the meeting. So exhausting. I miss you. See you at home," while he stood beside his real family, was the final blow. They thought I was pathetic. They thought I was a fool. They were about to find out just how wrong they were.

Modern Mystery Romance

The Divorced Architect's Spectacular Comeback

Chapter 3

You may also like