

The day his mother dies, Evan Brooks learns his wife Elise Hayes is out meeting her first love — and reading her diary, discovers she's only ever seen him as a stand-in. Five years of marriage, and she never let go of the other man. Heartbroken, Evan walks away. Too late, Elise regrets everything.

For three years, Ava Carter believed Ethan Hayes's devotion was real, never knowing she was only a stand-in for his first love. When her father dies and Ethan ignores all 99 of her calls, she secretly ends her pregnancy, secures a divorce, and leaves. Starting over at a winery, Ava finds purpose and a man who truly sees her. Only then does Ethan realize the wife he took for granted has become the one memory he cannot escape.

My wife made me get a vasectomy. Not once, but ninety-nine times. Right before the hundredth operation, the doctor looked at me with pity in his eyes as the anesthesia failed to fully kick in. "Ms. Gibson really knows how to destroy a man," he murmured. "She's put him through ninety-nine vasectomies, then had them reversed—again and again. However, his body's long since broken. There's no chance of children now." "It's probably for her ex. Word is, it's his own brother. The scandals in these wealthy families—unbelievable." Because of a hospital mix-up at birth, my and Jeff Cunningham's fates were exchanged. He grew up with the Cunningham family, while I lived a poor life. Years later, my parents found the truth, taking me in and sending Jeff away. To make things worse, I became Wynnie Gibson's new fiancé. I once asked her, barely able to speak through the pain, why she would marry someone she did not love. She looked at me calmly. "To get revenge," she said. "You came home and stole Jeff's place. He was the one I love. He drank himself to death after you returned." Even my biological parents knew she was poisoning me. However, they turned a blind eye. They did nothing to stop her. They knew Wynnie had got pregnant with Jeff's child through IVF—planning to raise the child and let him inherit the family fortune. I coughed up blood and threw myself into the sea. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day I was first reunited with them. This time, when I saw the sorrow in their eyes—sorrow not for me, but for the son they lost— I chose to let them go.

When one-sided love crumbles under the weight of disappointment, Harvey Blair chooses to leave. Peyton Nord signs the divorce papers without reading them, too indifferent to notice. By the time Peyton realizes their relationship has ended—a whole month later—Harvey has already built a new life with the warmhearted Nicole Carter.

At his engagement ceremony, Damon Wells is publicly jilted when Elise Stone chooses her old flame, Felix Blake. She has no idea Damon has quietly propped up her family for years, or that Felix only wants her to rescue his failing fortune. Damon walks away with dignity and accepts an arranged marriage to heiress Iris Stone. When Damon withdraws his backing and Felix's mask slips, Elise realizes the man she discarded is now far beyond her reach.

Aria Vale loves her idol Noah Rivers so completely that his fictional death feels like a personal injustice. Then she blinks and finds herself inside the novel, in a world where the cities are overrun and the story is already in motion. Reinventing herself as a mysterious talent manager, she finds the boy before anyone else does and helps him become exactly who he was supposed to be, rewriting the ending she couldn't accept. Her phone knows what's coming, which helps. What she doesn't account for is how quickly depending on each other becomes something neither of them has a word for.

Countryside girl Elise Jensen marries Cyrus Fenton in place of her twin, Sylvia, to secure an alliance between the two families. In the next three years, she endures neglect, misunderstandings, and harm, all for the promised pay. But when Sylvia reclaims her place, conflicts and complications arise, eventually bringing the truth to light. When Cyrus finally realizes his love for Elise, she has already started a new life with someone else.

I grew up abroad. My mother feared I might marry a foreign man, so she arranged an engagement for me with a talented and handsome man in Flodon. She insisted that I return home to get engaged. I came back and started shopping for an engagement dress at a luxury boutique. I selected an off-white strapless gown and decided to try it on. Suddenly, a woman nearby glanced at the dress in my hand and told the saleswoman, “That’s a unique design. Let me try it.” The saleswoman immediately yanked it out of my hands. I protested indignantly, “Excuse me, I was here first. Don’t you understand the principle of ‘first come, first served’? Or do you just not care about common decency?” The woman scoffed and retorted, “This dress costs $188,000. Do you really think a broke nobody like you can even afford it? “I’m Lucas Goodwin’s sister in all but blood. He’s the chairman of Goodwin’s Group. In Flodon, the Goodwin family sets the rules.” What a coincidence! Lucas Goodwin was my fiance! I immediately called him and said, “Hey, your ‘sister in all but blood’ just stole my engagement dress. Do something about it.”

Countryside girl Elise Jensen marries Cyrus Fenton in place of her twin, Sylvia, to secure an alliance between the two families. In the next three years, she endures neglect, misunderstandings, and harm, all for the promised pay. But when Sylvia reclaims her place, conflicts and complications arise, eventually bringing the truth to light. When Cyrus finally realizes his love for Elise, she has already started a new life with someone else.

The Keller couple adopted Caleb Dale, who eventually marries their daughter, Nina Keller, and manages the family company with dedication. Yet, Nina sees him only as a useless live-in husband. Her willfulness leads to her parents getting into a fatal accident. Despite being a top doctor, Nina refuses to save them. Caleb must lay them to rest with dignity and find a way to hold the heartless Nina accountable.