His Substitute, His Madness After My Death
Ladys · Completed · 5.8k Words
Introduction
"Emily!"
Ethan's hands shook violently as he pulled it open. She lay inside, a white sheet draped over her face. With trembling fingers, he peeled back the fabric. Her face was paper-white, lips bloodless, her eyelashes casting faint shadows. So still.
This wasn't the Emily he knew. The Emily he knew could smile, could cry, could clumsily try to warm his frozen heart. But now, she was just a corpse. A corpse because of him.
"Cancer... stage four..." he whispered, drowning in a tidal wave of panic.
He remembered all those times she had clutched her stomach in agony, and he had mocked her. He remembered demanding she give her heart to his lover. He remembered her final silent words through the surgical glass: "I hate you."
"AHHH—!!" A raw scream tore from his throat. He slammed his fist into the metal drawer, blood blooming across his knuckles.
He collapsed beside her, pulling her stiff, freezing body into his arms. She was so light. Like holding air.
"Emily, I was wrong. I was so wrong," he choked out, crying for the first time in years. "Wake up. Hit me. Hate me. I'm begging you..."
But death is the most absolute silence of all. How far will a man go when he realizes he murdered his only salvation?
Chapter 1
I spent years as Ethan Nelson's stand-in, only for him to decide my heart belonged to his lover.
On the operating table, he said coldly, "Emily, this is what you owe Zoey."
After I died, Ethan lost his mind.
He broke down the morgue door, clutching my cold body, screaming my name over and over.
This time, let him feel what it's like to have his heart ripped out.
01
My name is Emily Scott. For ten years, I've been Ethan's trophy mistress—or as he calls me, his most ungrateful substitute.
Right now, I'm standing in the ballroom of Nelson Manor, wearing some generic beige dress his assistant grabbed off a rack. It's shapeless, outdated, the waistline sagging awkwardly.
Meanwhile, Zoey Garcia glides through the room in this season's haute couture—a champagne-colored mermaid gown that hugs every curve. Around her neck: the diamond necklace Ethan bought her at auction last month.
"Emily! You made it!"
Zoey approaches on Ethan's arm, her voice sickeningly sweet. "I wasn't sure Ethan had invited you."
Ethan doesn't even glance my way. His eyes stay locked on Zoey with a tenderness I haven't seen in ten years.
"Zoey's not feeling well. Don't make her stand around," he finally speaks—to me. "Go get her some warm water. Exactly 104 degrees."
A familiar cramping seizes my stomach. I press my hand against my abdomen, face draining of color.
"What, you got a problem with that?" Ethan's brow furrows, his tone sharpening.
"No." I keep my voice low and turn toward the refreshment area.
Behind me, Zoey's sugary voice drifts over.
"Ethan, don't be so hard on Emily. She's been through a lot..."
"She doesn't deserve your sympathy." His words cut through the air, crystal clear.
My nails dig into my palms. I force my spine straight.
Ten years. This scene has played out countless times. I should be used to it by now.
So why does it still hurt?
Halfway through the evening, Ethan's mother approaches—that woman with her flawless makeup and razor-sharp eyes—carrying a champagne flute.
"Emily, I hear the compatibility results came back? You and Zoey?" Her voice carries just enough to reach nearby guests.
I grip my juice glass tighter. "Yes, Mrs. Nelson."
"Excellent." She nods with satisfaction. "Surgery's scheduled for Monday. Get yourself ready. Ethan's already told you, hasn't he?"
Eyes turn toward me from every direction—curious, pitying, gleeful.
I feel stripped naked under a spotlight, every inch of skin burning.
"Mrs. Nelson, I—"
I want to say I haven't agreed to this. That my body can't handle it.
"Is there a problem?"
Ethan appears out of nowhere, towering over me, casting me in shadow. "Emily, don't make me repeat myself. You owe Zoey this."
Owe? What do I owe Zoey?
Three years ago, I took a car crash meant for Ethan. Glass shards tore through my abdomen. I spent three months in the hospital while Zoey swooped in.
Or maybe I owe her for these years of enduring everyone's contempt, all because I loved him.
The cramping intensifies. Something metallic and warm rises in my throat.
I bite down hard on my lip to keep from throwing up right there.
"Ethan, please don't push Emily like this."
Zoey appears on cue, eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"I know... taking cardiac tissue is dangerous. It's normal for Emily to be scared. Maybe we should just... forget it. My condition..."
"No."
Ethan cuts her off, taking her hand. "Your condition can't wait. No matter what, Emily's doing this surgery."
He turns to me, eyes cold as ice—like I'm nothing but a tool.
"Monday morning, nine o'clock. The driver will pick you up. Don't try anything stupid. Remember, your mother's still at that care facility."
The same threat. Always.
He always uses the people I love against me.
I open my mouth. I want to tell him I have stomach cancer. Stage four.
The words "I might not even survive the surgery" hover on my tongue.
But looking into those emotionless eyes, everything catches in my throat.
What's the point? Would he even believe me?
And if he did—would he care?
In Ethan's world, Emily Scott's life has never been worth a damn thing.
Last Chapters
You Might Like 😍
On Christmas Eve, I aborted the CEO's child
On Christmas Eve night, my husband brought his mistress home and demanded that I, his pregnant wife, leave with nothing.
On this day, I lost my husband and also lost the child in my womb...
I Loved You in Silence, You Betrayed Me in French
At my birthday party, my husband whispered to his mistress in French that he missed her. His voice was low, but I heard it all—the black lingerie, the bit about how pregnancy makes you more sensitive. His French clients around us were laughing. He turned and put his arm around me, claiming he was just helping his clients come up with sweet nothings.
He doesn't know I understand every single word. Just like he doesn't know that inside my body, I'm carrying his other surprise. And his mistress—she's pregnant too. Two wombs, one secret.
Confrontation would be too cheap. Tears are worthless. I quietly started cataloging the hidden networks my father left behind, activating the Swiss accounts.
In seven days, Zoey Smith will cease to exist. And what will my husband's reaction be?
When I Disappeared, He Regretted It
The moment the screen lit up, my entire world came crashing down.
The woman on the bed was Calista - that girl who grew up with us since we were kids. And that hand caressing her skin was wearing the wedding ring I had personally put on Matteo's finger.
"I've missed you so much..."
"You drive me crazy, baby..."
Those sweet words I knew so well completely destroyed me.
Everyone said we were the perfect couple, but who knew this marriage was built on nothing but lies?
Since he's so good at acting, I guess it's time I gave him a show of my own. I'm going to make sure everyone sees what this "perfect husband" really is...
The Family Sacrifice
I simply said one word: "Okay."
My parents and Gilbert were stunned. They rushed to have me sign the voluntary donation form, afraid I’d change my mind.
Some days later, they sent me to the operating room.
Dad said, "Yvonne will finally be saved. We're so proud of you."
Mom said, "After the surgery, we'll make it up to you."
Gilbert looked tenderly at Yvonne and said, "When you're better, where should we travel?"
What they didn't know was that the day I agreed, I'd just received my diagnosis, stage four cancer. Three months to live.
As I lay on the cold operating table, as the anesthesia began to take effect, I only wanted to know one thing:
If I die on this operating table, will they regret it?
He Never Loved Me, Until I Left
I put away the divorce agreement with a wry smile.
When he and my son completely disappeared, he finally panicked.
Three months later .
He knelt down on the streets of Chicago in despair, begging me to remarry him.
My six-year-old son looked coldly at his biological father and said, "Get lost, you bad uncle! You don't deserve to be my dad!"
He Thought I'd Never Leave
When he said he was being bullied, I believed him. When he kissed me on that rooftop, I thought he felt the same. When he asked me to transfer schools with him, I said yes without hesitation.
Then I heard him bragging to his friends: "She'd save her first time for me. Hell, she'd still be thinking of me on her wedding night."
The bullying was staged. The kiss meant nothing. He just wanted me gone—so his new girl could feel more comfortable.
He thought I'd beg. He thought I'd cry. He thought I'd never actually leave.
I left the country.
And ran straight into his stepbrother.
I Died While They Threw Her a Party
Their real daughter came home. She'd only been back two years. That's all it took to erase twenty-four.
When kidnappers grabbed us, I used my body as a shield. They beat me until something inside me ruptured. I was dying from internal bleeding, but no one could tell.
My parents wouldn't even look at me. "This is your fault! None of this would've happened if it weren't for you!"
"Get downstairs and apologize to your sister. If you can't, pack your things and get out."
They threw her a party at a downtown hotel while I died alone in my room.
I thought they'd be relieved. Maybe even glad. I thought they'd just move on like I never existed.
But when they finally learned the truth, they fell apart.
Bury Me in His Regret
The kidnapper pressed the gun to my temple and asked, "Choose your wife or your sister-in-law?"
Zachary didn't hesitate. "Let Valerie go," he said.
He actually chose to save his sister-in-law! In that moment, even the baby in my belly seemed to stop kicking.
Later, they locked me in the basement. Drugs to delay labor were pumped into my veins over and over. Zachary wanted to save the "firstborn son" status for his sister-in-law's child.
When warm blood finally soaked through my skirt, I dialed the number I knew by heart with shaking hands.
"Zachary," I whispered into the phone, "our child... can't wait any longer."
The Kidney That Killed Me
A few months ago, my sister was hospitalized with kidney failure. The doctor said she needed a transplant. My family's first thought was me—the backup daughter they'd kept around all these years.
When my husband Allen took my hand with tears in his eyes and said, "Only you can save her," I agreed without hesitation.
When the doctor explained the surgical risks and potential complications, I smiled and nodded my understanding.
My parents said I'd finally learned what sisterly love meant.
Even Allen, who'd always been cold to me, held my hand gently and said, "The surgery's safe. You're so healthy, nothing will go wrong. When you recover, I'll take you to Hawaii."
But they don't know that no matter how the surgery goes, I won't be around to celebrate.
Because I just got my own test results—I have terminal brain cancer. I'm going to die anyway.
After the Affair: Falling into a Billionaire's Arms
From first crush to wedding vows, George Capulet and I had been inseparable. But in our seventh year of marriage, he began an affair with his secretary.
On my birthday, he took her on vacation. On our anniversary, he brought her to our home and made love to her in our bed...
Heartbroken, I tricked him into signing divorce papers.
George remained unconcerned, convinced I would never leave him.
His deceptions continued until the day the divorce was finalized. I threw the papers in his face: "George Capulet, from this moment on, get out of my life!"
Only then did panic flood his eyes as he begged me to stay.
When his calls bombarded my phone later that night, it wasn't me who answered, but my new boyfriend Julian.
"Don't you know," Julian chuckled into the receiver, "that a proper ex-boyfriend should be as quiet as the dead?"
George seethed through gritted teeth: "Put her on the phone!"
"I'm afraid that's impossible."
Julian dropped a gentle kiss on my sleeping form nestled against him. "She's exhausted. She just fell asleep."
Alpha Nicholas's Little Mate
What? No—wait… oh Moon Goddess, no.
Please tell me you're joking, Lex.
But she's not. I can feel her excitement bubbling under my skin, while all I feel is dread.
We turn the corner, and the scent hits me like a punch to the chest—cinnamon and something impossibly warm. My eyes scan the room until they land on him. Tall. Commanding. Beautiful.
And then, just as quickly… he sees me.
His expression twists.
"Fuck no."
He turns—and runs.
My mate sees me and runs.
Bonnie has spent her entire life being broken down and abused by the people closest to her including her very own twin sister. Alongside her best friend Lilly who also lives a life of hell, they plan to run away while attending the biggest ball of the year while it's being hosted by another pack, only things don't quite go to plan leaving both girls feeling lost and unsure about their futures.
Alpha Nicholas is 28, mateless, and has no plans to change that. It's his turn to host the annual Blue Moon Ball this year and the last thing he expects is to find his mate. What he expects even less is for his mate to be 10 years younger than him and how his body reacts to her. While he tries to refuse to acknowledge that he has met his mate his world is turned upside down after guards catch two she-wolves running through his lands.
Once they are brought to him he finds himself once again facing his mate and discovers that she's hiding secrets that will make him want to kill more than one person.
Can he overcome his feelings towards having a mate and one that is so much younger than him? Will his mate want him after already feeling the sting of his unofficial rejection? Can they both work on letting go of the past and moving forward together or will fate have different plans and keep them apart?
Omega Bound
Thane Knight is the alpha of the Midnight Pack of the La Plata Mountain Range, the largest wolf shifter pack in the world. He is an alpha by day and hunts the shifter trafficking ring with his group of mercenaries by night. His hunt for vengeance leads to one raid that changes his life.
Tropes:
Touch her and die/Slow burn romance/Fated Mates/Found family twist/Close circle betrayal/Cinnamon roll for only her/Traumatized heroine/Rare wolf/Hidden powers/Knotting/Nesting/Heats/Luna/Attempted assassination
