My fiance has a girl best friend. I hate her and she hates me and she's hated me from the start. My hate grew over time. After some particularly vile things she said, I uninvited her to our wedding. Then Gibson said the wedding wouldn't be happening if she wasn't invited. So I handed him his rings back.

"Don't contact me if you're dying." When Keith Ingram utters those words, he doesn't know how much he'll come to regret them. For years, Ella Bryce has loved Keith from afar. When a fated contract marriage gives her one chance at happiness, she vows to make him see her. And just as her devotion begins breaking through his guarded heart, devastating lies shatter their fragile bond. Ella rebuilds her life from the ashes, determined to live on her own terms. Years later, fate brings Keith storming back into her life-colder, harder and determined to crush anyone that stands in his way. Fate is finally giving Keith a chance to see the truth he was denied from the beginning and win back the only woman he has ever loved. Will he make the same mistake twice... and lose his only chance at true love forever? A slow-burn, second-chance romance where a billionaire CEO must earn back the wife he so carelessly threw away. Trigger warning: This story contains emotional abuse, gaslighting, and family abuse.

I had warned him. My husband was working with his friend's sister to renovate her grandparents' home and get it ready to sell. She was taking more and more of his time, leaving me alone more and more. I had warned him. So on the day I realized my husband was having an emotional affair with this woman was the day I was done with him. I had warned him. And he didn't listen. But he's listening now. Now, when it's too late. He's promising to make it right, to win me back, to not stop until I've forgiven him and we're back together. I've assured him that's not happening. I had warned him. Now he was warning me: I'm going to make this right and I won't stop until you're mine again.

"𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒅. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆 - 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒅𝒐 𝒖𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 - 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑰 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓." What would you do if you found out your husband of eighteen years was having an affair? No, please. Don't answer now. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬. Eighteen years, not eighteen days. We have a history. A family. There's a long road between suspicion, footprints left in the sand, and the absolutely devastating truth that life as you know it has ended. I saw it all coming. Felt it in my bones. Late nights at work. Sleeping at the office. I felt the distance - how his eyes couldn't hold my stare anymore. Secretive texts late at night. Lipstick stains where they didn't belong. Unfamiliar scents on a man who should always smell like him and me. 𝘏𝘪𝘮 & 𝘮𝘦. But when a third person enters your marriage... There's nothing left anymore. My name is Cecily, and this is the story of how my life was 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 - and how I survived 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦.