Oops, Looks Like You're the One Dying, Sweetheart

Adeline's stage-four diagnosis arrives the same week her husband empties their joint accounts — an "investment opportunity," he calls it, while her jewelry quietly disappears from the safe. His mother locks her out of family meetings. His investor refuses her calls. She is dying broke in a house that no longer feels like hers. Then the hospital phones with three words that change everything: we mixed them up. The terminal patient was never her. It was him. His money is gone, his mistress won't return it, and Adeline has all the time in the world. She doesn't ask for a divorce. She doesn't ask for the money back. She waits — with the evidence she's been quietly collecting, and a smile that terrifies the woman who used to be his mother.

Chapters

Chapter 2

I dropped the fake emerald back into the velvet slot. It hit the wood with a hollow plastic tap.

I marched straight into the walk-in closet and shoved my winter coats aside. My fingernails dug into the edge of the hidden wall panel. I yanked the wood free and punched the four-digit code into the steel safe.

Green light flashed. The heavy metal door swung outward.

Empty ring boxes stared back at me.

"Where is it?" I whispered to the quiet room.

I pulled out the leather tray that held my grandmother’s vintage sapphire earrings. Gone. I checked the velvet pouch meant for the heavy gold bangles from my mother. Empty.

My fingers scrambled for the certified diamond tennis bracelet Julian bought me three years ago. It sat in its designated groove, but the second I picked it up, the weight felt wrong. Too light. I dragged the main stone hard against the metal interior of the safe.

No scratch. Glass.

He hadn’t just stolen my jewelry. He had taken the time to buy cheap replicas to keep me blind.

A cold sweat broke out across my collarbones. This wasn't a sudden panic move to hide assets during a rough patch. This was a calculated, long-term extraction. He had been hollowing out my life while I was busy planning our future.

I grabbed a large cardboard box from the top shelf and started tossing old scarves and sweaters inside. If anyone walked in, I was merely organizing for the new season. I moved with mechanical precision, emptying drawers, checking every hidden compartment we shared.

The emergency cash envelope? Empty.

The bearer bonds my father left me? Replaced with blank stationary paper.

I needed proof of where it all went.

I left the box on the floor and walked down the hall to Julian’s study. The hinges squeaked as I pushed the door open.

His mahogany desk was a mess of generic folders and junk mail. I bypassed the clutter and tugged on the bottom right drawer. Locked.

I grabbed the brass letter opener from his pen cup and wedged the pointed tip into the cheap lock mechanism. A sharp twist forced the metal to yield. The drawer popped open.

Inside sat a single blue ledger. I flipped the heavy cover back.

Wire transfer receipts. Three of them, neatly stapled to the pages, all dated over the last two months.

*Account ending in 4092. Amount: $150,000.*

*Account ending in 4092. Amount: $200,000.*

None of these numbers matched our joint accounts.

"What are you doing in here?"

I slammed the ledger shut and spun around.

Julian stood in the doorway, his silk tie loosened, eyes locked entirely on my hands.

"Looking for the warranty on the espresso machine," I lied, keeping my voice entirely flat. "It started making a weird noise this morning."

He stepped into the room. His gaze flicked from my face to the open drawer.

"You broke the lock."

"It was stuck." I tapped the blue cover. "What are these wire transfers, Julian? Three hundred and fifty thousand dollars?"

His jaw clenched. A muscle ticked under his ear.

"It's a new venture." He snatched the ledger from my grip. "A commercial property in the arts district. I told you I was moving funds."

"Without discussing it with me?"

"You don't understand commercial real estate, Adeline." He threw the ledger back into the drawer and shoved it shut with his hip. "I'm securing our future."

"Is that why my jewelry is missing?"

Footsteps padded down the hallway. Martha appeared behind him, clutching a feather duster.

"Oh, Adeline, leave the poor man alone," she scolded, sliding past Julian to wipe down a perfectly clean bookshelf. "He works himself to the bone for this family."

"My grandmother's sapphires are gone, Martha."

"Julian had them cleaned, dear." She didn't even look at me, focusing intently on a row of encyclopedias. "He mentioned it yesterday. Didn't you, Julian?"

"Yes." He adjusted his cuffs, his posture instantly relaxing. "They're at the jeweler downtown. I wanted to surprise you."

"And the money?" I pressed.

"Investment." Martha turned, flashing that tight, artificial smile. "You really should be resting, sweetheart. Stress is terrible for your immune system. You look so pale."

They exchanged a brief, seamless look. A microsecond of shared understanding.

They had rehearsed this.

I realized then that this wasn't just a cheating husband hiding money. This was a mother-son conspiracy. They were building a fortress, and I was locked outside the gates.

I nodded slowly, letting my shoulders drop to mimic defeat.

"You're right," I murmured. "I am tired."

"Go lie down." Julian pointed toward the door. "I'll handle the espresso machine later."

I walked past them. My stomach churned, but I kept my steps steady.

***

Midnight brought a suffocating silence to the master bedroom.

I lay on my side, facing the window. The mattress dipped behind me. Julian shifted, his breathing falling into a shallow rhythm.

I kept my eyes closed. My chest rose and fell in a slow, even pattern.

Ten minutes passed.

The covers rustled. Julian slid out of bed.

His bare feet padded across the rug. The glass balcony door slid open with a soft metallic glide, then clicked shut.

I opened my eyes.

The moonlight cast his shadow through the sheer curtains. He stood near the railing, a phone pressed tight to his ear.

I slipped out from under the duvet and crept toward the glass. The night air seeped through the weather stripping, carrying his hushed voice inside.

"I know, I know," Julian muttered, pacing a tight circle.

I pressed my ear against the cold pane.

"The transfers went through," he said. "The jewelry is already fenced."

A pause. He ran a hand through his hair, leaning against the iron railing.

"She doesn't suspect a thing. She thinks I'm buying commercial real estate."

Another pause. His voice softened, dropping into a register he hadn't used with me in years. Warm. Intimate.

"I miss you too, Elena."

My blood turned to ice.

Continue to next part

I woke up in total darkness, the air smelling of stale chemicals and dying flowers. When I tried to sit up, my forehead slammed into solid wood just three inches from my face. I was trapped in a coffin, buried alive next to the cold, stiff body of my fake husband, Cedric. My stepmother, Hermina, had poisoned our champagne at the gala to seize my trust fund, and now she was hosting a lavish memorial service for us right outside the lid. I found a faint, erratic pulse in Cedric's neck, but I couldn't just scream for help. If Hermina realized the dose wasn't lethal, she'd finish the job with a lethal injection under the guise of medical assistance. To survive, I bit my tongue until I tasted blood and tore my hair into a tangled mess. When I finally kicked the lid open and spilled onto the marble floor, I didn't act like a rescued heiress; I crawled like a broken doll, shrieking about poisoned bubbles and "the bad man" while Manhattan's elite watched in absolute horror. The betrayal was suffocating. My own family watched as Hermina tried to sedate me back into silence, playing the role of a grieving saint while her eyes remained cold as ice. Even more shocking was Cedric, who rose from the casket like a predator, commanding the room with a terrifying authority that proved our entire marriage had been a lie. I couldn't understand how many secrets were buried in that house, or why my "boring" husband was suddenly acting like a man who owned the city. After kneeing Cedric in the stomach to break his iron grip, I bolted out into the torrential rain. I didn't care that I was barefoot or that the world thought I was insane. I had the key to my father's secret safe in my hand, and I was going to make sure Hermina paid for every second of darkness she forced me to endure.

Horror Modern Romance

7.5

Divorcing the Don: And Then I Took Everything

7.5

For six years, Isabella Rossi used her family's immense wealth to save her husband's Mafia empire from bankruptcy while he fought on the front lines. Her reward? Don Damien Moretti returns with a mistress, a secret son, and a demand: Accept them, and keep paying the bills. He expects her to swallow her pride. Instead, Isabella closes her checkbook. She demands a divorce, cuts off their funding, and leaves his "glorious" empire to starve. But a Queen stepping down draws wolves. Enter Giovanni Falcone-the ruthless, untouchable King of the New York Underworld. He doesn't want her money; he wants her. Now, her ex-husband is begging for her back. But Isabella? She's too busy building her own empire-and watching his burn.

Mafia Modern Romance

8.6

MARRIED TO THE CEO WHO RUINED ME: HIS BRIDE, HIS REVENGE

8.6

He shattered her heart to avenge a past that wasn’t hers. Now he desires her in his bed—as his wife. Marceline Valino once believed in love. She gave her heart—and her innocence—to Cross Dejava, the boy who whispered promises in the dark, igniting dreams of a forever that felt so real. But by morning, her world was left in ruins. Private photos were leaked, her name dragged through the mud, and at the eye of the storm? Cross, smirking, cold, and ruthless. “You mean nothing to me,” he said, delivering a blow that would leave scars. “You’re just the bastard daughter of my father’s mistress.” His vengeance had never aimed at her heart; it was meant to punish the daughter for her mother’s sins—an ex-lover who had torn his family apart. Pregnant and abandoned, Marceline begged for mercy, but all she received was the echo of his silence. When she lost the child, she lost every last piece of the girl she used to be. Now, five years later, she’s preparing to return—broke, desperate, and willing to do anything to save her ailing mother. Anything… except this. Because the man extending a lifeline isn’t a savior. It’s Cross. And he has no desire for her heartfelt apologies; he craves her complete submission. A contract marriage awaits her. No love. No escape. No mercy. But Marceline isn’t the naive girl he once broke. She’s a woman who has risen from the ashes, ready to play his game. And as the pieces of their lives fall into place, she’s determining when—exactly—she will ignite a fire that could burn it all down. The future promises a reckoning, and she's preparing to seize it.

Billionaire Modern Romance

7.8

My Celebrity Therapist's Cruel Deception

7.8

On my tenth wedding anniversary, I found my celebrity therapist husband naked with our housekeeper. He called it "somatic therapy." I was pregnant with our miracle baby and secretly battling a brain tumor. But when his lover faked a fall and a miscarriage, framing me for it, he chose her. The fall caused me to lose my actual baby. As I lay bleeding on the floor, my husband scoffed, "Don't play games, Alexis," and rushed her to the hospital. He then had me committed to a psychiatric facility, publicly painting me as delusional to protect his reputation and his affair. He thought he had gotten rid of me forever. But he didn't know my sister would break me out. He didn't know I would fake my own death to escape. Now, I'm back. And I'm about to teach the good doctor a lesson in consequences.

Action Modern Romance

7.8

NAUGHTY DESIRES: A COLLECTION OF DARK EROTICA

7.8

Warning : This book is filthy, addictive, and dangerously addictive. Once you start... you won't want to stop. NAUGHTY DESIRES - because some cravings are too wicked to resist. In the velvet darkness where pleasure and pain entwine, surrender is the only choice. A dominant stranger pins you beneath him on a bed of crimson rose petals, his hand wrapped possessively around your throat as your body trembles in helpless ecstasy. A ruthless billionaire demands your complete submission in a candlelit penthouse, turning your whispered "no" into a breathless "more." A dangerous lover drags you into the shadows, where every touch brands you, every command unravels you, and every climax leaves you aching for the next forbidden taste. These scorching stories plunge deep into the rawest, darkest corners of desire-where powerful men take what they crave and willing women beg to be taken. No limits. No mercy. Only raw, dripping, heart-pounding heat that will ruin you for anything tame.

Billionaire Modern Romance

9.5

Reborn With My Husband

9.5

On the way to the hospital, my husband Kody and I had a huge argument, which led to an unexpected accident. When I opened my eyes again, we went back to when we first met. In our previous life, we were married for ten years. Our marriage was more about mutual respect than passion. However, he was unwilling to have a child with me. It was only later that I discovered he could never let go of his high school sweetheart. After being reborn, I decided to let him go. We silently deleted each other's contact information, kept our distance, and chose different paths in life. Seven years later, he became a top financial strategist and proposed to his high school sweetheart, Daniela, at their high school reunion. Seeing me still alone, he couldn't help but make a snide comment. "Emeline, I know you can't let go of me in both lifetimes. After all, I'm quite the catch, but you don't have to wait around for me." I ignored him and took my daughter's hand. Kody's face went white, his eyes blazing with fury as he demanded, "Didn't you say you'd love me for life and only want our child?"

Modern Romance Young Adult

Oops, Looks Like You're the One Dying, Sweetheart

Chapter 2

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