Caged Pheonix

Violet has always been the perfect daughter and the loyal friend, moulded by expectations, driven by guilt, and too afraid to disappoint. From childhood, she was taught that "good girls don’t argue," and so she spent her youth silencing her desires to fulfil others’ dreams. She chose the degree her parents wanted, behaved like her parents wanted, and even married a guy who's father was her dad's business partner. She worked hard, hoping love could change her life, but all she earned was humiliation, no matter how much she gave, it was never enough. Her so called family never even asked what she wants. All her life she spent earning love from her parents who raised her to bear the responsibility of a good daughter. She never say no to her parents knowing they are the reason of her living a good life. She wants to repay the debt for raising her in a safe environment like her real parents even though they are not. But she didn't expected her soon to be husband will turn out her bully.

Chapters

Chapter 3

Flashback

The first time she met Ethan, she’d mistaken his smile for kindness. They knew each other from high school but things started getting weird in college.

It was during orientation—everyone had laughed at her for some reason she didn’t understand. She had smiled, awkward and confused, trying to seem unbothered.

Ethan had tilted his head at her like she was a puzzle he didn’t care enough to solve.

“Do you really think you can be one of us? Someone like you—Pfft.”

The laughter had stung. But it was only the beginning.

____

The next day, someone spilled hot coffee on her. She flinched but seeing her classmate Emma, she dropped the idea of asking to apologise.

Emma, Ethan's childhood friend, she knows her since High school but they never talked even though they were in the same stream. She knew Emma for so long so she brushed off the coffee with a smile but Emma started blaming her.

“What the fuck? Can’t you watch where you’re going?”

Later, during an argument with another student, Ethan arrived.

"She ruined my assignment! I worked all night!"

"I-I didn’t—"

"Of course you didn’t. Just like you didn’t steal that book. Just like you didn’t humiliate my friend.."

"Please... listen to me. I’m not doing anything wrong. You all keep—"

"Oh my god, Ethan why are we even talking to her right now. I don't want to waste my time anymore"

Emma cried in irritation as if Violet wanted to continue the fight.

"Emma, Y-You know it's not m-my fault. Wh-Why are doing this to m-me? I've not said anything that doesn't mean I wo-would tolerate everything with my mouth shut"

He leaned in close, his voice a low threat.

"What are you going to do? Go cry to the Dean?"

"Y-yes, if you won't stop this..! " she snapped, trembling.

And after that day, the real cruelty began.

---

One evening, someone told her she had forgotten her bag in an empty room. When she went to retrieve it, they locked the door behind her. She screamed and pounded on the door.

"Please! Please! I’m scared!"

Nothing.

Then laughter. Male voices. Ethan’s voice.

She slid to the floor, fists clenched, sobbing quietly into her knees. She stayed there for hours until finally someone let her out.

She wiped her face, ran for the gate—and saw them. Ethan and his friends, laughing like children who’d pulled off a prank.

Something inside her snapped.

She stormed up to him and slapped him, her voice trembling with fury.

“I never thought you go this far. I feel sorry for your mother—for raising someone like you. You’re a really a cowered pathetic guy.”

His face flushed deep red. He didn’t speak. He stepped forward and grabbed her neck, squeezing just hard enough to make her panic.

Her eyes went wide. His grip wasn't violent. It was worse—it was controlled. Calm. Calculated.

His friends didn’t move.

The sound of approaching footsteps made him stop. He released her, leaned in, and whispered:

“You’ll regret that.”

He was right.

______

From that day on, college became a living nightmare.

People ignored her. Her food would vanish before she got to the table. Her notes stolen. Her name was written on bathroom walls. She became invisible to teachers, erased by whispers and laughter.

The final straw had been the presentation—when her USB drive was switched with a video of her dancing clumsily alone in her room, a clip no one should’ve seen.

Everyone laughed. Even the professors.

But what broke her wasn't the humiliation. It was that he always watched it happen. And smiled.

____

And now, as she sat dressed like a bride, watching him approach like a groom, her chest felt like it was caving in.

Ethan.

The boy who had shattered her once... was the man being handed her future.

And everyone expected her to smile.

Ethan smirked

"I almost didn't recognize you. You look totally different today."

Their parents were relieved to see that they knew each other, unaware of the strained relationship between them.

"She usually dresses like this, except for college. She doesn't want to be the center of attention because she is very serious about her studies. But she is not like what she shows in college."

He raised his eyebrows in disbelief and scoffed after listening her mother. He was right; she was pretending to be all innocent and naive when, in reality, she was not. Violet's hands were trembling under the table, and she kept looking down. She was on the verge of tears because she felt so unlucky and scared.

"It's good that you guys know each other. So, we can proceed with the marriage as soon as possible."

"Great! I've already selected a designer for my daughter's wedding dress."

Violet looked up, wanting to refuse so badly, but she couldn't say a single word in front of them. She looked at him and saw him staring at her with his signature smirk, and she gulped before looking away.

"W-why don't you a-ask him if he wants to ma-marry me or n--'

Liam, her dad zipped her mouth while giving her weak glare.

"Violet! Mr. William already--"

" I'm ready. I have no problem with this marriage."

Ethan eased the tense atmosphere, and his father and aunt sighed in relief after hearing his answer. His father smiled proudly and patted his back. Everyone picked up their glasses except Violet and cheered for this new relationship.

Violet heart dropped into her stomach, and she felt so helpless. She looked at him with teary eyes and a confused expression, wondering why he agreed to this marriage. He kept staring at her, and when he noticed her looking at him, he winked and smiled sweetly..

To be continued...

Continue to next part

My adoptive sister drugged me and sent me to a hotel for a fake audition, where a powerful stranger assaulted me in the pitch-black suite. When I escaped home, my fiancé, Ethan, and my entire family ambushed me. They threw staged photos in my face, accusing me of selling my body to a sleazy director. They called me a whore, stripped me of my trust fund, and threw me onto the street. But Ethan refused to let me go. He had me blacklisted from every job and even froze my only friend's bank accounts, trying to break me completely. Forced into a corner, I had no choice but to attend a high-society party as his date, where he and my sister made sure everyone in New York saw me as worthless trash. I couldn't understand the depths of their cruelty. Why would the very family who took me from an orphanage orchestrate such an elaborate plot to ruin me? But during a sudden blackout at the party, I ran straight into the arms of my attacker. When the lights came back on, I finally saw his face. He wasn't a director—he was Abraham Bush, the most ruthless billionaire in the country. And just as my ex-fiancé is about to strike me after discovering I'm pregnant, Abraham's men have surrounded the house.

Billionaire Modern Romance

7.9

Boyfriend's Cruel Scheme

7.9

The taxi's worn seats had never felt more uncomfortable, but I barely noticed. My fingers kept drifting to my carry-on bag, where the gold medal from the Global Design Awards rested in its velvet case—proof that three years of relentless work had meant something. The weight of it felt both substantial and surreal. I'd texted Thomas twice from the airport. No response. Typical lately, but I'd convinced myself he was just busy. After all, I'd been gone for two months—first for the preliminary rounds, then the finals. He was probably planning some small celebration. The thought made me smile despite my exhaustion. But as the taxi turned onto Elm Street, my smile faltered.

Modern Mystery Romance

7.1

CELINE:The Sheikh Dessert Bride

7.1

* **One night of betrayal. One night of passion. A lifetime of consequences.** Celine was always the shadow-the reliable twin who worked while her sister, Celeste, basked in the spotlight. But when she finds her boyfriend of five months in her sister's bed, the shadow finally snaps. A reckless night at a dive bar with a hazel-eyed stranger was supposed to be her escape, a way to forget the people who saw her as a spare part. But the stranger wasn't just a face in the crowd. He was **Idris Al-Miraj**, the billionaire Sheikh and the owner of the very hotel where Celine works. When her parents attempt to sell her into a sacrificial marriage to save the family's reputation, Celine finds herself hunted by her past and trapped by her future. Idris doesn't just want her back in his bed; he wants to own every brick of the wall she's built around her heart. Jobless, homeless, and backed into a corner by a family that only needs her when they can use her, Celine prepares to run again. But Idris has other plans. He doesn't want her to run. He doesn't even want her to surrender. He wants her to fight back. **"Use me,"** he says. In a world where power is the only currency, Celine must decide if the man who dismantled her life is her greatest enemy-or the only weapon she has left.

Action Modern Romance

9.0

Divorce After Wife's Cheat

9.0

On the day of the piano concert, my wife sat in the audience with the new intern from the orchestra, clutching the VIP ticket I had given her. She had told me she was catching a flight out of town to gather inspiration and wouldn't be back in time for my performance. From the stage, I could see Eliza, but she was focused on the intern rather than the performer, who was obviously me. Even though there was no crowd blocking her view, she seemed unaware. Seeing her joy, I suddenly understood her words from earlier that morning: "As much as I love turkey, sometimes you crave a burger." Three days after the concert, I bumped into Eliza outside our apartment building. She stood bashfully beside a gleaming motorcycle, with the orchestra's intern, Quinn, at her side. Normally aloof around strangers, she allowed Quinn to cup her face in his hands. Eliza even rose on her tiptoes to give him a brief, almost invisible kiss on the lips. Then, like a young woman head-over-heels in love, she turned back with a coy smile and reluctantly headed upstairs. Snow began to fall suddenly.

Modern Romance Young Adult

9.8

He Chose His Secret Wife Over Me

9.8

I reached for my fiancé's phone to silence an alarm and found a hidden folder named "The Protocol." Inside was a spreadsheet that systematically dismantled my entire existence. Task 399: Buy blue hydrangeas. Note: Her favorite. For Denzel. Task 400: Schedule anniversary dinner. Note: Make sure she feels special. For Denzel. In that heartbeat, I realized the man I had loved for three years hadn't looked at me once without seeing a chore list left by his dead brother. I wasn't Elfrieda Stewart, the woman Jaxon Tate loved. I was a legacy project. The truth turned lethal at our engagement gala. When a massive chandelier detached from the ceiling, Jaxon didn't lunge for me. He tackled his "ex" Janice—who I later discovered was his secret wife—to safety. He left me standing in the center of the target to be crushed by shattering glass. But the cruelty didn't end there. On a "reconciliation" yacht trip, Janice pushed me overboard. Jaxon looked at me struggling in the freezing black water, then threw the life preserver to her. He saved the shark and left me to drown. I lost everything in that water, including the unborn child I hadn't even told him about. He thought I was dead. He thought he was free to play house with Janice. But my brother pulled me from the darkness. And when I resurfaced in Norway, wearing the ring of a man far more dangerous than Jaxon could ever dream of being, Jaxon realized too late that he had destroyed the only thing that could have saved him.

Modern Mystery Romance

8.8

My Groom’s Mistress Claimed She Was Carrying His Baby

8.8

The mirror in the Plaza Hotel’s bridal suite was an antique, the glass slightly warped at the edges, distorting my reflection just enough to make me look like a ghost. I smoothed the lace of my bodice for the hundredth time. My fingers were trembling. Not with excitement, but with a cold, creeping dread that had settled in my stomach three months ago and refused to leave. "Stop fidgeting, Oaklynn," my mother said, her voice tight as she adjusted my veil. She didn't look at me, only at the image of the Palmer daughter she was about to sell. "You look perfect. The Richardsons will be pleased." *Duty.* That was the word etched into my bones. I was the bridge between the fading elegance of the Palmer name and the raw, staggering wealth of the Richardson empire. I took a shallow breath, the corset biting into my ribs.

Billionaire Modern Romance

Caged Pheonix

Chapter 3

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