u/PsychologicalRough91

At the engagement gala - I didn't care where I sat. My family was celebrating an alliance I never wanted and all I wanted was to disappear into the crowd.

I sank into the first empty chair. I found my chest tight, my smile painted on. Then I felt it - heat. Intense. Controlled. Dangerous.

Tattoos traced the veins if his forearms peeking out from his cuffs. His presence filled the air sharp and heavy like smoke before a fire. I turned my head and froze.

He wasn't just looking at me. He was studying me like a man who recognized a threat....or a temptation. Our knees brushed and I flinched.

Without a word, he took off his jacket and laid it across my lap.

"Cover yourself" he said, voice low, calm, and terrifyingly sure.

"It's fine." I whispered, forcing a smile.

"It's not." he replied, his jaw tightening. "Because every man in the room is looking at you and I'm already one second away from losing control."

My breath caught. "Why would you care?"

There were no names provided in the snippet....TIA!

I flew 2,000 miles to help my best friend confront her cheating boyfriend.

But I was the one who got blindsided.

There was Alex Thorne-my boyfriend of four years-down on one knee in a packed restaurant, sliding a ring onto another woman's finger.

"You and Savannah have been together for five years!" his buddies cheered.

"Drinks on you tonight!"

Alex laughed and kissed her cheek.

"When we get married, you're all at the head table."

My blood ran cold.

Savannah.

The same girl who'd stalked him in high school.

The one who cornered me in an alley and said she'd "ruin my face" so he'd finally notice her.

He told me he hated her.

He got expelled for beating her up-or so he claimed.

But here was his "cut-off" best friend from back then, slapping his shoulder like nothing ever happened.

And Alex was laughing along.

I pulled out my phone.

Hit record.

Then I walked over and smiled.

"Alex, you forgot to mention one thing. You've been with Savannah for five years. But you and I? Four years. So who exactly is the side chick?"

I traveled with a friend to confront her boyfriend after she found out he was cheating.

Since I was already there, I planned to surprise my own boyfriend, Alex Thorne. We'd been doing long distance for four years.

Alex was supposed to be pulling another late night in the lab.

Instead, he was down on one knee in a restaurant, proposing to another girl.

A bunch of guys crowded around them, egging them on.

"You and Savannah have been together for five years. Took you long enough. Drinks are on you tonight."

Alex laughed and kissed the girl on the cheek.

"Deal. When I get married, you guys are sitting at the head table."

I went still.

Then a memory hit me.

Back in high school, there was a girl from the neighboring vocational school who kept chasing after Alex.

Her name was Savannah, too.

Junior year. The first time Savannah Rourke cornered Alex outside the school gates, she showed up in a leather jacket on a motorcycle.

After he rejected her, embarrassment turned into anger.

She pointed at me with a sneer.

"So this is your type? Some boring, straitlaced goody two-shoes? Wow, your standards are trash."

That one sentence was enough.

Alex couldn't stand her after that.

Later, she snuck into the freshman welcome assembly and confessed to him in front of the entire school.

He didn't hold back. He called her shameless right to her face.

But Savannah never got the message.

Every night after school, she waited by the gate like clockwork.

"Hey, honor student. Hop on. I'll give you a ride home."

Alex walked beside me and didn't even spare her a glance.

"No, thanks."

Three months later, she tricked me into the alley behind the school.

She brought a group of her friends with her.

She grabbed my chin and studied my face.

"Honestly, this pretty face is all you've got. If I ruin it, maybe Alex will finally get over you."

After that day, I carried a four-inch scar across my face.

It was the first time in my life that I saw Alex completely

lose control.

His eyes were bloodshot when he stormed into Ridgeway Technical Academy.

He dragged Savannah out of class and be@t the h31l out of her. He was expelled for it.

I stood outside the principal's office for three straight days with stitches still on my face.

In the end, his expulsion was reduced to disciplinary probation.

Alex had always been proud. But that day, he stood in fron of the whole class, fighting back tears as he apologized to me.

After that, Savannah transferred schools. I never saw her again.

The woman in front of me now had soft curls and a sky-blue dress.

She was bright, confident, and be@utiful. Nothing like the red-haired girl in a leather jacket I remembered.

I couldn't connect the two. But my gut knew. This was Savannah.

The girl who nearly scarred my face for life. The one who disappeared without so much as an apology.

The crowd started heading inside.

I hurried after them, only to have a server step in front of me.

"I'm sorry. The restaurant has been reserved for a private event tonight."

Megan Frost had seen Alex's picture on my phone before.

The moment she realized I'd been cheated on too, she looked ready to march in there and tear him apart herself.

"We're not here to eat," she snapped. "My friend's boyfriend is cheating on her, and we're going in."

The server kept smiling.

"Then I definitely can't let you in. One of our VIP guests is proposing tonight."

Megan exploded. "That cheating piece of trash has the nerve to propose? I swear I'm gonna s1@p the h311 out of both of them."

A few more staff members came over and tried to usher us away.

"You must be mistaken. Mr. Thorne has booked our restaurant on this exact date every year for the past five years to celebrate his girlfriend's birthday."

"This year, he finally proposed. They're a match made in heaven."

I stopped breathing for a second.

Five years ago, Alex and I were still in our senior year of high school.

I've kept a diary ever since I was a kid.

Five years ago today, we had our last practice exams before graduation.

Alex had always been disciplined. Even with a fever, he'd still finish an entire set of papers.

But that day, he took a sick day-something he never did. I texted him, asking to come check on him.

He turned me down, saying he didn't want me to catch his cold.

On this day during freshman year, he'd sent me a picture of a birthday cake and told me his roommate was celebrating.

Sophomore year, we'd planned a trip out west together.

But then he told me he'd landed a rare internship and couldn't go with me.

The more I flipped through my journals, the harder my hands shook.

A terrifying possibility started taking shape.

I pulled out our yearbook photo from high School.

"I'm a student at Kingsley University," I told the server.

"Mr. Thorne and I were high school classmates."

"I happened to be in town and saw he was proposing. Just wanted to give him my best."

"My friend just found out her boyfriend's been cheating, so she's a little emotional and saying things she doesn't mean."

After I pleaded with them for what felt like forever, the server finally agreed to let me in alone.

By the time I found the private room for the birthday party, the cake had already been cu/t.

Everyone was lounging on the couches and chatting.

I stood in the doorway.

Alex was sitting there, his fingers intertwined with the woman who had once bullied me.

A moment later, he walked out with another man to smoke.

I clung to one last shred of hope and texted him.

[Where are you right now?]

He replied almost instantly with a photo.

[Still in the lab, babe. So tired.]

The man beside him caught a glimpse of the screen and looked surprised.

"Wait, you're still in touch with Clara?"

That was when I recognized him. He used to be Alex's closest friend back in high school.

He was also the one who'd told me that Savannah had cornered Alex in the alley behind the school.

I rushed over without thinking and walked straight into her trap.

After what happened, Alex cu/t him off right in front of me.

Or so I thought.

Now here they were, arms slung over each other's shoulders like none of it had ever happened.

Before Alex could answer, the man kept talking.

"But then again, she was so into you. No way a little distance would've made her leave you."

"Back then, you got a low score just so you'd end up at the same college as Savannah."

"Clara almost gave up her own future to stay with you."

Alex and I grew up across the hall from each other.

Ever since we were kids, we'd planned on going to Kingsley University together.

Throughout high school, aside from the students on the competition track, we consistently ranked in the top three. Every teacher told us getting into Kingsley would be easy. Then Alex bombed the SATs. He missed the cu/toff. I thought the terrible flu he'd caught right before the test had ruined his performance.

I even thought about changing my application just to stay with him.

But Alex refused. "I can't let you give up your future for me."

"There are plenty of great schools besides Kingsley."

"You go to Kingsley. Chase the dream I couldn't reach for both of us, okay?"

I took his advice. I went to Kingsley University. He barely made it into Caldwell University.

Those eighteen points became an unbridgeable chasm, splitting us between the north and the south.

Every time we said goodbye at the end of a break, he'd make the same promise.

"Just few years. I'll get into Kingsley for grad school."

"And when we graduate, we'll get married. Deal?"

Only now, the proposal had come first. Just not to me.

"Then what are you gonna do about Clara?"

Alex exhaled a slow stream of smoke.

"I'll marry Clara."

"She almost got her face scarred for life because of me. I owe her that much."

"Honestly, she's exactly the kind of girl my mom always hoped I'd end up with."

He paused. "As for Savannah..."

A faint smile crossed his face.

"We're soulmates. We don't need a piece of paper or some traditional label to prove what we are."

I wanted to cry. But nothing came. Not a single tear.

Until then, I always thought history mattered more and that no one new could take the place of someone who had been there from the beginning.

I wanted to cry. But nothing came. Not a single tear.

Until then, I always thought history mattered more and that no one new could take the place of someone who had been there from the beginning.

I thought what Alex and I had was enough to survive anything.

I never knew he'd crossed the line long ago, where I couldn't see.

I should've walked out and confronted him. But my feet felt like they weighed a ton. I couldn't move.

When I finally made it back outside, Megan was still arguing with the staff, trying to force her way in.

One of the servers sighed. "I follow Mr. Thorne and his girlfriend's couple account. I see their posts all the time."

"They really are in love. He's not the guy you're making him out to be."

As she spoke, the server pulled out her phone and showed Megan the screen.

"Last Valentine's Day, Mr. Thorne knitted her a scarf by hand."

"Every winter, they go up north to ski together. Just because Miss Rourke had never seen real snow before."

"All of us working here wish we could find a boyfriend as thoughtful and generous as Mr. Thorne."

Then she seemed to remember what I'd said earlier about my friend's cheating ex.

Her expression softened.

"I hope you both find someone like him someday."

I let out a quiet laugh.

It took everything I had to force the tears back down.

On the ride to the airport, I searched for the account using the ID I'd seen.

Only to find I'd already been blocked. So I made a burner account.

Every single post made my blood run cold.

Last Valentine's Day, I'd finally managed to get a break and offered to fly to his university to spend it with him.

He turned me down.

"My advisor's making me stay in the lab."

"Even if you came, I wouldn't have time for you-you'd just be spending Valentine's Day alone."

"And you get airsick. I hate the thought of you going through all that trouble. I'll fly to you the second I'm free." Later, he did come. But he only stayed for one day before rushing off.

He told me the university suddenly needed paperwork submitted immediately.

The truth was, Savannah had come back early to surprise him.

Alex had promised to take me skiing ever since we graduated from high school.

Four whole years, and he never kept that promise. But he'd already taken another girl there more times than I could count.

And that was only one example. There were too many to count.

I always worried about him the most. In the end, he just thought I was the easiest to fool.

Megan only scrolled through a few videos on their page before her anger exploded.

I grabbed her arm before the curses started flying.

"Clara, why'd you pull me away?"

"I would've ripped those shameless bastards apart today, I swear."

"I may look delicate, but trust me, I can throw down when I have to."

"I know," I said quietly. "But our situations aren't the same."

Megan had met her boyfriend while traveling over the summer.

They dated for two months before going long-distance.

Alex and I were different. We'd grown up together.

We'd known how we felt about each other long before either of us said it out loud.

I trusted him completely.

When he took hours to reply to my texts, I always had an excuse for it.

When Megan said that long-distance relationships never worked out, I was the first person to defend him.

I said he replied to me instantly. I said he always told me where he was.

I truly believed that even with thousands of miles between us, our he@rts were still close.

Today, I finally understood.

The instant replies only meant he happened to be looking at his phone.

The updates about his whereabouts had all been made up.

I had never truly known the life he lived in that city.

If our flight hadn't stopped here, and if I hadn't decided to visit him, I'd still be counting down the days until summer break.

I'd still be waiting for him and believing everything was fine.

I didn't say a word on the way home.

After sending that photo from the lab and not hearing back, Alex kept texting. Message after message.

By the time dawn broke and my flight landed in Kingsley,

I'd finally calmed down enough to answer.

[Let's break up.]

It's called I died on our honeymoon on astra novel, but I'm sure it's under a different name.

It's a rebirth novel. Characters are Vivienne, Adrian, Dominic and maren.

Anyone know where to get a free link??

Looking for the rest of the story. The novel's called Ring in the Champagne on Noel Novel, and Scorned Heiress No More Mercy on the link I found on a previous post from a month ago on "creativeauthors" but both it cut off halfway through.

It's about an heiress kidnapped to mountains and returns, though no one knows what happened to her.

She's abandoned by her fiance at their engagement party for the fake heiress and then cut from the family. She meets a rich man who was poisoned by family. She agrees to help him in exchange for his help to get revenge on her family.

She's loved by her aunt and cousin.

She is a secret doctor, knows all about nature, and knows jewelry and gems.

The family wants the company shared her grandfather left for her and try various tricks to get them back.

Thank you!!

Ad was for Cadence app, but I accidentally closed it before it gave me the title. And I imagine the title wouldn't have been a searchable one anyway...

At the engagement gala - I didn't care where I sat. My family was celebrating an alliance I never wanted and all I wanted was to disappear into the crowd. 

I sank into the first empty chair. I found my chest tight, my smile painted on. Then I felt it  - heat. Intense. Controlled. Dangerous.

Tattoos traced the veins if his forearms peeking out from his cuffs. His presence filled the air sharp and heavy like smoke before a fire. I turned my head and froze. 

He wasn't just looking at me. He was studying me like a man who recognized a threat....or a temptation. Our knees brushed  and I flinched. 

Without a word, he took off his jacket and laid it across my lap.

"Cover yourself" he said, voice low, calm, and terrifyingly sure.

"It's fine." I whispered, forcing a smile.

"It's not." he replied, his jaw tightening. "Because every man in the room is looking at you and I'm already one second away from losing control." 

My breath caught. "Why would you care?"

Ad was for Cadence app, but I accidentally closed it before it gave me the title. And I imagine the title wouldn't have been a searchable one anyway...

At the engagement gala - I didn't care where I sat. My family was celebrating an alliance I never wanted and all I wanted was to disappear into the crowd. 

I sank into the first empty chair. I found my chest tight, my smile painted on. Then I felt it  - heat. Intense. Controlled. Dangerous.

Tattoos traced the veins if his forearms peeking out from his cuffs. His presence filled the air sharp and heavy like smoke before a fire. I turned my head and froze. 

He wasn't just looking at me. He was studying me like a man who recognized a threat....or a temptation. Our knees brushed  and I flinched. 

Without a word, he took off his jacket and laid it across my lap.

"Cover yourself" he said, voice low, calm, and terrifyingly sure.

"It's fine." I whispered, forcing a smile.

"It's not." he replied, his jaw tightening. "Because every man in the room is looking at you and I'm already one second away from losing control." 

My breath caught. "Why would you care?"

It's called I died on our honeymoon on astra novel, but I'm sure it's under a different name.

It's a rebirth novel. Characters are Vivienne, Adrian, Dominic and maren.

Anyone know where to get a free link??

Claire's blindsided at her wedding when sister Vanessa is the bride. Blows up wedding telling everyone groom Aiden was at her place the night before. Almost has a miscarriage after she leaves.

My sister is marrying my ex the man who broke up with me by text. The man i never got over. And she announced it like it was a favor to me.

So i lied i told my entire family i was engaged to my best friend, Roman Blackwell, the man who knows all my secrets.

My facebook account was hacked. When I placed the request to deal with the issue, the result ended in a permanently disabled account. I want this account to be deleted.

Obviously, since it's permanent I can't login which the "help center" instructs.

Can someone help?

Anyone have a free link?

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The Pineapples That Exposed His Cheating

Chapter 1

The second Shawn Hubbard finished his 10th pineapple in three days, I slid the divorce papers across the kitchen table, my voice cold and steady.

"Shawn, I want a divorce."

Shawn froze mid-wipe, dabbing pineapple juice off his fingers with a paper towel.

"Baby, what's with the drama this time?"

"It's about you eating 10 pineapples in 3 days."

I kept my tone flat.

He huffed a laugh, and reached out to ruffle my hair, the same indulgent gesture he always used.

"These last batches were terrible, that's why I didn't save you any. To make it up to you, my princess, I'll take you to the Louis Vuitton boutique tomorrow. Pick any bag you want, yeah?"

I dropped my eyes, a dull ache blooming in my chest.

Three years of marriage, and he'd never once snapped at me.

Every time I let my frustration show, he'd smoothed it over with a fancy gift and an apology, like I was a child throwing a fit.

But this time, I stepped back, smoothly evading his hand.

"No need. I'm just tired of it all."

"Sign the papers. We can wrap this up before your business trip tonight. You'll still make your flight on time."

After all, the person he'd eaten those 10 pineapples for would be on our doorstep any second.

Shawn's smile dropped, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"You want a divorce... because I ate 10 pineapples?"

I looked him dead in the eye.

"Yes. Exactly that."

He let out an irritated huff, yanking loose the knot of his tie.

"Chloe Bennett, cut the crap. This merger trip is make-or-break. Be good, and wait for me to get home."

"I'm not messing around."

I held his gaze, no room for argument.

Before he could retort, the beep of the front door keypad cut through the room.

Luna Ward's voice drifted in, bright and syrupy sweet.

"Shawn? The car's downstairs. The CEO for the merger is super picky, so we gotta head in early to prep the docs... Oh! Hi, Chloe! I didn't realize you'd be here!"

She kicked off her heels and slid straight into our matching pink honeymoon slippers, smiling at me like she owned the place.

The second Shawn saw Luna, the furrow in his brow smoothed out.

He glanced back at me, his voice softening in that patronizing, let's-not-make-a-scene way.

"Luna's here to pick me up. Chloe, we can hash this out when I get back. Don't make a fool of me in front of company."

Luna stepped naturally to his side, reaching up to straighten his crooked collar.

Her movements were intimate, practiced, like she was the lady of this house, not me.

"Don't be mad at Shawn, Chloe."

She smiled at me, still fiddling with his collar.

"He's been pulling all-nighters on this project, he's had zero appetite. The only thing he's wanted to eat is something sweet and tangy."

"Those pineapples? I had them air-freighted in from Hawaii just for him. I had no idea he'd love them this much."

She paused, a playful, provocative lilt in her voice.

"I heard you two arguing at the door. You're not upset about something this silly, are you?"

I watched Shawn let her fuss over him, not a single hint of discomfort, not a single boundary drawn.

I'd brought this up to him before.

Luna was the daughter of his late army buddy, the girl he'd taken under his wing, now his executive assistant-but they were still a man and a woman, and lines were being crossed.

What had he said then?

"Luna grew up with no parents. She's just a kid, and she sees me as an older brother. If I push her away, she'll be heartbroken."

"Chloe, you're the bigger person here. Don't be mean to a girl who's already been through so much."

I'd been the bigger person for three years.

And in return, he'd given every ounce of his patience and care to another woman.

"I'm not upset."

I looked at the two of them, my voice quiet and empty.

"That's why I want a divorce."

Luna's hands froze on Shawn's collar.

She clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide with performative shock.

"Divorce? Chloe, you can't be serious. Shawn loves you so much. How can you throw your marriage away like it's nothing?"

Shawn's face darkened completely.

He ripped off his tie and slammed it down on the couch.

"Chloe Bennett, are you done with this childish crap? You're really gonna humiliate me in front of Luna like this?"

"I already explained the pineapples, I explained Luna's here for work. Can you stop being so unreasonable?"

The disappointment in his eyes cut straight through my chest.

For three years, that was the word I heard more than any other: reasonable.

When Luna scraped her knee at 2 a.m., and he left me alone on my birthday to drive her to the ER?

Be reasonable.

When Luna had a bad breakup, and he canceled our anniversary trip to take her on a beach vacation to cheer her up?

Be reasonable.

Now, even when I filed for divorce, I was supposed to be reasonable, to save his precious prestige.

"I'll be reasonable the second you sign these papers."

I held a pen out to him, unwavering.

Shawn stared at me for a long few seconds, then let out a cold, bitter laugh.

"Fine. Real mature, Chloe."

He didn't even glance at the divorce papers.

He turned on his heel and stormed toward the door.

"If you wanna be this way, we can both cool off. I'm staying at the office until you stop throwing this fit. When you're ready to act like an adult, I'll come home."

Luna hurried after him.

As she passed me, she paused, leaning in so only I could hear her, her voice light and cutting.

"Chloe, some things aren't yours to keep, no matter how hard you cling to them. The pineapples... and the man, too."

With that, she clicked her heels down the hallway, calling after him.

"Shawn, wait! You forgot your antacids for your stomach!"

The front door slammed shut.

The house fell dead silent.

I stared at the unsigned divorce papers on the coffee table, grabbed my bag, and walked out.

I didn't take a single thing with me.

This time, I was leaving everything behind.

And I was never coming back.