

When my parents divorced, their lawyers drafted a custody agreement. My sister and I would live with separate parents, then switch homes at the start of every school year. The handoff happened every August at La Serata, the Moretti family's restaurant. Every year, my parents fought over who got more time with Sofia. "Come to St. Barts with me for Thanksgiving," Mom coaxed. Dad's face hardened. "Sofia is with me this year. She spends the holidays with me." Mom pulled up her calendar. "You dumped her on me for nineteen extra days last year. I get those days back. Every single one." "Two of those days were school overnights. They don't count." Sofia rested her chin on one hand and gave them the helpless smile of a princess burdened by too much devotion. "If only there were two of me." Half an hour later, my parents compromised by booking the trip together. Only then did Sofia glance my way. "What about Emilia?" Dad picked up his water and looked past me. "She's not my responsibility this year." Mom finally met my eyes. "The hotel group closes an acquisition next month. I don't have time for this. St. Gabriel still has rooms in the senior dorm. You'll board there." They had just counted every hour Sofia had spent away from them. When it came to me, they could hand off an entire year without blinking. Under the table, I smoothed the napkin I had crushed in my fist. My phone lit up. [Ms. Harper: Your record puts several top East Coast schools within reach. Westbridge Institute's research scholarship would also be a great fit. Which one is your first choice?] I looked at California on the other side of the map and typed my answer. [Westbridge.] Three thousand miles ought to be far enough to leave my family for good.

Six years ago, Nora Carson spent a night with the formidable Perry Moore. Unwilling to be seen as a gold digger, she chose to walk away without looking back—never realizing she was carrying his child. Now, six years later, her aunt is pressuring her into an unwanted marriage. Desperate for a way out, she has no choice but to send her daughter to find the one man she once left behind. And just like that, their fates intertwine once more, setting the stage for a love story neither of them saw coming.

Ella, a girl from a small town, has secretly loved Adam Grant — heir to one of New York's most powerful families — for five years. Urged on by her best friend Chloe (Adam's adopted sister), she marries him in a whirlwind wedding. It takes three years of marriage for her to uncover the devastating truth: the man she loves is obsessed with his own adopted sister, and marrying a nobody like her was nothing more than a cover for their forbidden affair — and, worse, a scheme to use her as a baby-making tool so his sister's child could be swapped in as the family's legitimate heir. Heartbroken, Ella quietly tricks Adam into signing the divorce papers himself and disappears to Europe without a word. One year later, she returns to New York as an internationally renowned jewelry curator. The once-untouchable billionaire heir, meanwhile, has been cast out of the Grant family for his scandal and now scrapes by risking his life in underground car races. He approaches her again and again, repenting, begging for another chance — even throwing himself in front of a runaway car to save her life. But she never looks back. The woman nobody ever truly saw has learned to see herself, and that is enough.

Leonardo's adoptive sister pulled off a new trick, and this time, it was threatening to slit her wrists. So, like second nature, he handed me the divorce papers. I didn't even read it and let out a self-deprecating laugh. "Leonardo, this is the eighth time. In the entire history of Siciliana, no mafia Don has ever abandoned his partner as frequently as you." He yanked at his tie in frustration, a pleading look surfacing in his eyes. "Bianca, I have to do this. You know Gia's mental state. I can't just leave her to fend for herself, can I? "Move out for a few days first. Don't worry. Once I calm her down, I promise we'll get remarried right away!" I signed in silence. He had already repeated those exact words to me eight times. We finalized the paperwork in family lawyer's office. Pushing up his glasses, the family lawyer, Luca, teased lightly, "When are you guys coming back to sign the ninth marriage contract?" I put away the divorce papers stamped with the Corleone family wax seal and shook my head. "There won't be a next time."

Lydia Nott's mother-in-law falls gravely ill, but Ian Hart, mistakenly thinking the ambulance is for Lydia's ex-boyfriend, blocks its path. At the hospital, he refuses to donate blood and even destroys the blood source needed for the rescue. Despite Lydia's efforts to find help, her mother-in-law dies. Ian skips the memorial to attend Ivy Scott's birthday, only to learn the truth too late. When he tries to expel Lydia from the Hart family, he discovers she's the rightful heir. Stricken with guilt over his mother's death, he is left to face the consequences of his actions.

I was born with a built-in fortune system. Whenever I'm happy, everyone around me makes money. To keep me in a good mood, my billionaire father takes me out on adventures every single day, showering me with limited-edition sneakers, private yacht charters, and one-of-a-kind luxury items. It all comes down to one thing: the Connolly Group's luck is tied directly to my emotional state. As long as I'm laughing hard enough to snort, the stock price climbs and the money pours in. The moment my mood tanks, the losses start. At worst, the whole thing goes bankrupt. Take last month. One of the cleaning staff accidentally tossed out half a macaron I'd left sitting on the counter, and I was mildly annoyed for about a second. The next day, the Connolly Group's West Coast division posted a hundred-million-dollar loss. Dad spent the entire night buying up ten gourmet bakeries and terminating the cleaning company's contract just to smooth things over. After that, nobody in Manhattan's upper-crust social scene dared so much as look at me sideways. That was, until Dad flew out to Los Angeles on business, and Isabella, the long-lost biological daughter who'd just been found, walked into my room. "You've been leeching off this family for years," she said, looking down at me with pure contempt. "Did you actually think draining the Connolly name dry made you the real heiress? I'm the one with Connolly blood. Now that I'm back, it's time for you to crawl out of my house." I didn't react. She picked up the black coffee sitting nearby and poured it straight onto my keyboard. I watched the screen go dark, and something hollow opened up in my chest. "Get on your knees and clean it up." I wiped the coffee off my face. The air had gone cold. The Connolly Group was about to implode, and I found myself wondering whether Dad, thousands of miles away in LA, was already reaching for his heart medication as he watched billions evaporate off the ticker.

Helen Croft was betrayed by her childhood sweetheart Alan Blake and her best friend Lisa Ruth. Her mother died because of it. After the divorce, she had nothing, so she left for Monaland and sold paintings on the street.There she met Tony Rusk, who had loved her quietly for years. His love and care gave her a new life.Five years later, she returned. Seeing her dressed simply, her ex-husband and Lisa mocked her, saying she must have married badly. Calmly, Helen revealed that her husband was the richest man in Amia City. The people who once humiliated her were instantly speechless.

Molly Stowe, a member of the Stowe family, was kidnapped and sold eighteen years ago. She was then adopted and changed her name to Susie Handley. After going through trials and tribulations, she was finally found by her uncles. Susie refused to forgive her ex-husband, Mills Chancey, and returned to the Stowe family as Ms. Stowe. To find out the truth of her kidnapping, she hid her identity and entered a company under the Stowe Group. However, her cousin Nancy Stowe posed as her and bullied her. Susie persisted in her struggle and exposed the truth. Eventually, she became the new CEO of Stowe Group and severely punished the embezzlers. Her uncles appreciated her tenacity and became more and more fond of her. In the end, the Stowe family won a happy ending.

My younger sister, Sophie Sawyer, got pregnant before marriage, gave birth to a baby boy in a small clinic, and then disappeared. The doctor used the address she left behind to find my family and handed the child to me. My parents knelt and begged me to raise him, and that was how I, an unmarried young woman, struggled through life with a child on my hip. When I finally managed to raise him, Sophie came back, standing beside a big-shot boss dripping in gold. She held her son and cried, accusing me of being jealous of her, stealing her child, and tearing them apart. My nephew cut ties with me without hesitation, choosing her over me. My parents kicked me out of the house. The neighbors all condemned me. In despair, I jumped to my death. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Sophie gave birth.