Jake Exposes Ryan's Lies

On my birthday, Braden left me for the 99th time to chase after his suicidal elusive ideal. I informed the system, "I'm giving up on this mission. I'm exhausted." For a full twelve years, I pulled out all the stops to warm Braden's heart, but I never succeeded. The system told me that if I died in this world, I could return to my original world. The first time, I cut my wrists in the bathroom. Braden kicked the door open and rushed me to the hospital, accusing me of playing the victim for attention. The second time, I swallowed an entire bottle of sleeping pills. He burst in at the last moment, cradling me in his arms and sobbing, saying he realized his mistakes. But wait. There was still a third and fourth time to come.

Chapter 1 Everyone in the capital knew Lord Bradley Sterling, heir to the Sterling estate, was hopelessly in love with Miss Layla Cunningham, the minister’s daughter. Then, after Layla inadvertently drew a divination slip at Kingsport Monastery that read “fated to bear no children,” not a soul dared propose. So Bradley declared he had drawn the same ill-fated lot. He knelt in the ancestral hall for three days and nights, endured thirty-three lashes, and nearly gave his life to secure her hand. On their wedding night, the man who claimed no religious belief summoned the abbot to seek a remedy. Willingly taking vows, he donned monastic robes and entered seclusion at Kingsport Monastery for three years, chanting prayers and striking the ritual block. All that time, Layla lived as a wife in name only. Yet she never complained, steadfastly awaiting their reunion. For nine hundred and ninety-nine days, without fail, through rain or shine, Layla would climb the mountain path to the monastery, kneeling and bowing low with every third step. At the summit, she copied a volume of the Diamond Sutra in her own blood and burned it as an offering. The abbot said sincerity would move the heavens. Today was the final day. Layla had come especially early. It was the dead of winter. The rain had frozen into stinging pellets that turned to ice upon the ground. “May my husband, Bradley Sterling, find joy and health, and live a long life.” With devout reverence, Layla bowed her head, performing ritual prostrations every few steps as she climbed, the prayer a constant whisper on her lips. Her maid, Julia, held an umbrella to little avail. Icy pellets dusted Layla’s fox-fur cloak. She shivered, her breath misting the air, yet the relentless rhythm of her ascent never faltered. The staircase seemed endless. A single misstep would send her tumbling to her death. Reaching the monastery gate, she stumbled and fell, striking her forehead hard enough to raise a lump. Her cloak was smeared with dark mud. Layla scrambled to her feet. To approach the sacred task in such a state felt disrespectful. So Julia found her a warm cell in which to change. One final volume, copied in blood, and the curse of their “childless fate” would be broken. Bradley could return to her. They would raise a family and grow old together. At the thought, a smile warmed Layla’s face. The familiar, sharp pain returned as the dagger sliced her wrist. She dipped the brush into the welling blood—but before it could touch the paper, indecent sounds drifted from the adjoining cell. “My lord, you spend every day here entangled with me. What if your wife discovers us?” “She’s too busy with her prostrations and her bloody scriptures. Now, be good. Turn over.” “But today is the last day. What will become of me after this, Eva?” “To make a place for you as my mistress, I arranged for her to draw that barren lot. Yet on the day she entered my house, she still looked down on you, humiliated you. Three years have passed. That pride of hers must be worn away. Does it not reassure you, watching her pitiful decline with me here every day?” Eva had been his mistress—the concubine his mother had selected to secure the succession. On the day Layla wed Bradley, he had presented the girl to her. “This is the woman Mother chose to bear me an heir…” Layla had immediately thought of her own fate and frowned uneasily. Unable to bear her distress, Bradley sent Eva away at once, holding and comforting Layla for a long time. But Eva appeared on a chair outside their bridal chamber, a white silk cord in hand, weeping bitterly. “If my lady cannot abide me, then grant me this cord. Let me hang myself and be done with it.” Fearing a scandal would displease his mother, Bradley spent the entire night coaxing Eva in a side chamber. He never came to the bridal suite, never consummated the marriage. He had said, “Layla, my love, our wedding day should not be tainted by such ill omens.” Yet the very next day, he produced a divination slip from Kingsport Monastery, marked with the worst fortune. “The abbot says a childless fate is our divine will. But if the one I love kneels in prayer for nine hundred and ninety-nine days and copies the sacred texts in her own blood, the curse can be broken. Layla, are you willing?” In their childhood, Layla had fallen into the water. Bradley risked his life to save her. Since that day, her heart had been his. Later, it was Bradley who fabricated the lie about his own barren fate and insisted on marrying her. Disregarding her parents’ objections, Layla began her devotions for him the day after the wedding, becoming the capital’s notorious, love-mad fool. To show his sincerity, Bradley waited for her at the monastery each day. He said, “Dearest, you do so much for me. I will never fail you!”

Adeline has never had enough, even though the world believes she has it all. Found abandoned on the street as a baby, she grew up under the roof of a foster mother who constantly reminded her of her "good fortune." One day she's supposed to celebrate the happiest moment of her life, her world collapses: her foster mother has agreed to hand her over in an arranged marriage-not to a kind stranger, but to a billionaire who barges into their home with a breathtaking offer. "You can't just walk into my house and claim you want to marry my daughter. Who do you think you are?" she protests. "Two hundred million dollars," he replies coldly. "I want her." With her freedom sold for a fortune, Adeline faces a choice she never imagined: Would she fight the deal and lose everything she's ever known? or sign away her future to a man whose wealth hides darker motives?

"If you leave, I'll kill your son," Conrad says, his voice firm. I stop by the entrance door, turning to face him. "Go ahead. Kill him if you want to." He scoffs. "At the expense of your three-year- old son's life? You really don't care, do you?" I sigh. "No, I don't. Not if he's your son too. I have nothing to do with your blood anymore." He stares at me, his eyes narrow. "My son? He's my son?" _________________ Amelia Hughes is forced to marry Conrad, her sister's fiance after her sister dies. Not able to meet up with her parents' conditions and having no say over their decision, she went ahead with the marriage, not knowing who her sister's fiance was. Conrad Pierre is a cold and menacing individual. He never trusts anyone close to him and doesn't need approval from anyone. When Amelia meets with her worst nightmare from three years ago, what will she do? How will betrayal, pain and secrets affect their lives and marriage?

Our grandfather had always been a strange man, but what he did before his death shook my brother's and my world to its core. Stas had already come to terms with the fact that the entire inheritance would go to me as the older one. But the will changed everything-our lives, our bond, our closeness as brothers. The family business and property would go to the one of us who married the granddaughter of our grandfather's best friend-the small, awkward, unattractive girl who had been pushed on us our entire lives. The old men had long dreamed of becoming family, and when they failed to earn our sympathy, they chose a far more twisted solution. Back then, we couldn't even imagine that the ugly duckling would one day turn into a swan... or that our rivalry for the business would fade into the background.

Three years of marriage, and Sarah still feels like an outsider in her husband’s family. Every visit to their home is a minefield of cold glances, cutting remarks, and silent judgments—but nothing could prepare her for what happens next. When priceless family heirlooms suddenly go missing, Sarah becomes the target of accusations, betrayal, and a public humiliation that shatters the fragile peace she’s tried to maintain. With her husband hesitant to defend her, she is left facing the family’s wrath alone. Betrayed, humiliated, and questioning everything she thought she knew about love and loyalty, Sarah must decide: will she continue to fight for a family that never wanted her, or will this be the moment she finally stands up for herself?