Just as I expected, once he couldn’t get his hands on my cousin anymore, Owen came crawling right back—only this time, he wasn’t looking for love. He was looking for release.

He spiraled fast. Late-night parties, sketchy hookups, wild purchases—his online cart turned into a parade of increasingly bizarre toys. I took screenshots of everything, documenting it like a case file— using it as ammo.

Then I broke up with him.

No drama, no long texts. I just told him it was over. At first, Owen kept showing up at the hospital, trying to talk to me, win me back. But when his attempt result for nothing, he gave up.

My cousin, of course, was thrilled when she found out. Thought she’d “won.” Thought her irresistible charm had finally done the trick.

And Owen? He wasn’t just licking his wounds—he was hell-bent on payback. The two of them dove headfirst into something even more reckless than before. The toys got darker, the stunts even more unhinged.

It wasn’t long before the consequences caught up.

She started smelling… off. Like something rotting underneath all that designer perfume. And instead of fixing the problem, she just sprayed more on—trying to mask it, trying to pretend nothing was wrong.

Then came the big day.

Aunt Hannah had found her next target—a rich heir named Soren Armitage. She’d pulled out all the stops: luxury dress, fine jewelry, salon appointment booked. The whole nine yards.

“Alison, this is your big chance,” she gushed as the tailor adjusted the hem. “Soren Armitage is the real deal. He’s been raised on manners and money. And he likes innocent, wholesome girls like you.”

I caught the way my cousin flinched—just barely, but it was there. The panic. The guilt.

“I already have a boyfriend,” she muttered, eyebrows drawn tight.

“Then break up with him,” Aunt Hannah snapped. “You think your little boyfriend can hold a candle to someone like Soren Armitage?”

She waved it off like it was nothing. “Besides, you’re not even sleeping with him. Break it off, have Fran give you the surgery and you’ll be good as new. Clean as a whistle.”

That was the plan. One surgery away from being a virgin again. One lie away from landing a fortune.

But for once, Alison hesitated. She faked a stomach ache, refused to go to the event no matter what Aunt Hannah said.

Aunt Hannah wasn’t about to let a golden opportunity slip away. So instead, she turned to me.

“You’ll go in her place,” she said, like it was a simple favor. Like I owed her.

I refused, of course.

That’s when she pulled out her favorite line. The one she’d used for years, the one that always made my blood run cold:

“Don’t forget who gave you everything you have, Fran. I worked so hard to raise you and this is how you repay me? With disobedience?”

I ended up in Alison’s designer gown, sitting next to her at a swanky hotel ballroom, pretending to be her.

In my past life, I hadn’t paid much attention to Soren Armitage. All I remembered was that he had a strong sense of principles. But meeting him again this time… there was a strange sense of fate in the air.

He was handsome, well-mannered and refreshingly down-to-earth—not at all like the typical spoiled heir. Like me, he’d only been in one serious relationship before and he carried himself with quiet integrity.

When I told him I believed in a lifelong, exclusive kind of love, he lit up. Said he’d been pursued by plenty of women over the years, but all he really wanted was someone who shared his ideals. His “one and only.”

That night, we talked for hours. Everything just clicked.

We went on a few more dates after that and he seemed to like me more and more. Soon enough, Aunt Hannah’s doorstep was flooded with designer gifts and lavish bouquets.

The moment Alison saw him—polished in a sharp suit, leaning against his Cullinan—her entire attitude flipped. That very night, she dumped Owen and called me up, claiming that Soren had always been meant for her.

But I wasn’t about to roll over this time. I met her words with a smile full of barbs.

“Poor, Alison. Are you addicted to stealing my boyfriends?”

She scoffed.

“I let you have Owen because he was trash. But Soren? Soren has standards—and you don’t meet any of them.”

Her mask slipped just for a second, but then she put it right back on, her voice laced with smug confidence.

“Think you’re so great?” she hissed. “Believe it or not, Soren Armitage is going to be mine. And when that day comes, I’ll savor the moment you finally realize you’re nothing but a failure—never able to keep a man.”

Rage boiled up inside me and I slammed my glass down so hard the rim cracked.

I slammed my glass down so hard it cracked.

Aunt Hannah came storming in and when she heard my cousin had finally “come to her senses,” she was thrilled.

“Well, looks like Alison’s finally come to her senses,” she said, like we were all part of some sick game show.

Then she turned to me and dropped the hammer. Then she turned to me with that frosty, commanding tone.

“Fran, let’s not forget you were only standing in for Alison at that event to begin with. It’s only right you give Soren back to her.”

My hands shook. My jaw was clenched so tightly I could feel my molars grinding. I couldn’t believe I was hearing this.

And just when I thought she couldn’t cut deeper, she delivered the line she knew would paralyze me.

My hands trembled. My jaw clenched so hard I thought my teeth might break. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

And then she hit me with the line she knew would shut me up.

“Don’t forget who gave you the life you have, Fran. Don’t you dare repay kindness with betrayal.”

The words lodged in my throat like a shard of glass. My vision blurred as tears poured down, silent and relentless.

If Mom and Dad were still here, they would’ve never let this happen. They wouldn’t have just stood there and watched me get humiliated like this.

No—I wasn’t going to crumble. I still have Soren. He said he liked me. He promised that he wanted to spend forever with me.

Soren would stand by me. He had to. He wasn’t the kind of man to fall for Aunt Hannah’s manipulation. I ran out of the house, my heart pounding as I tried to call him. But the line was busy. I tried again. And again. Nothing but that damn busy tone.

Two hours later, my phone finally rang.

“Soren Armitage,” the screen read.

I snatched it up, hopeful. “Hello?”

“Fran, I have something to tell you,” he said, voice flat. “I don’t think we’re a good match. Let’s break up.”

Just like that. A single sentence hit me like a gut punch. It echoed in my ears like thunder.

Yesterday, when we parted, he held me so tight, whispered that he couldn’t wait to marry me.

And now this?

“Why?” I choked out, biting my lip so hard I tasted blood.

There was a long pause.

Then—before Soren could say anything—I heard another voice.

“Do you really need someone to spell it out for you?”

It was Aunt Hannah. “Soren met your cousin and realized she’s a better fit,” she said, her voice smug and cruel. “She’s prettier, more talented. She can play the piano, dance. What do you have? You're a doctor crawling around in scrubs, covered in sweat and other people’s fluids. Soren’s just being kind not to mention the risk of catching something from someone like you.”

Every word was a slap to the face.

I had never been ashamed of my job. I saved lives. I worked hard. Soren wasn’t this shallow. He couldn’t be.

“Shut up!” I snapped, voice trembling. “I want to hear it from him.”

“She’s right, Fran. I’m the only son of the Armitage family. My future wife has to carry herself with grace, know how to handle herself in public. Your cousin’s more polished, more charming and if I had to choose between you two, of course I have to choose the best.”

He paused.

“But hey, at least we haven’ done it. Don’t hate me, okay, Fran? Who knows, we might still be family someday.”

Screw that! Soren and his entire family can burn in hell for all I care. I hung up, floored the gas pedal and let the road blur beneath my tears.

I made up my mind right there: I was going to move out, find a place near the hospital and never owe Aunt Hannah anything again. Whatever debt she claimed I had, consider it paid in full.

When I parked at the hospital, I took a moment to breathe, then opened my photo album. One by one, I deleted everything related to Soren. Every picture. 

Every message. Then I looked up—and saw something that stunned me into silence.

All my heartbreak, all my bitterness—it vanished in an instant. Because right in front of me, I saw an opportunity. If they all wanted to play dirty, fine. I’d play right back.