
The Day I Walked Away
July will be ok · Ongoing · 232.8k Words
Introduction
Ethan didn't just break my heart;
he let his mistress steal my jewelry designs, and manipulated my own son into calling me a monster.
I was suffocating in a marriage built on lies.
But they made one fatal mistake: they pushed me too far.
The day I walked away, I didn't just leave a toxic husband and an ungrateful son.
I left behind the broken woman they created.
With the support of my best friend and the unexpected warmth of a powerful CEO who saw my true worth, I reclaimed my name, my career, and my life.
Now, as my designs shine on the world stage, Ethan is on his knees begging for forgiveness.
But he’s too late.
The day I walked away was the day I finally found myself.
And I will never look back.
Chapter 1
I saw my own design on the television screen.
"Congratulations to Bianca White, winner of this year's Jewelry Design Competition. Please welcome Ethan Locke, CEO of the Locke Group, to present the award!"
The camera panned to the side of the stage.
Ethan walked out in a black suit, his posture straight and commanding, and handed the trophy to Bianca. That usually cold face of his held a rare smile.
Then a little boy in a small suit ran onto the stage, carrying a bouquet of sunflowers.
"Aiden!" Bianca crouched down and pulled him into her arms along with the flowers, kissing his cheek. "Thank you, sweetheart!"
The reporters' cameras flashed wildly.
"Mr. Locke, Bianca's work is absolutely stunning. As the presenter, what are your thoughts?"
"It's said that the 'Starlight Kiss' design was inspired by love. Bianca, would you care to share?"
"The little boy is adorable! He looks so much like Bianca!"
"What a happy family of three!"
Yeah. They really did look like a family of three.
I tugged at the corner of my mouth, trying to smile, but I couldn't.
Today was my wedding anniversary with Ethan.
And this was supposed to be my awards ceremony.
This Starlight Kiss was something I'd spent three full months on, revising it seventeen times before finalizing the design. In the end, Bianca destroyed my original draft with a cup of coffee. And the finished piece was gifted to her by my husband and my own son.
So Bianca traced over a version of the "original" and submitted it for the competition.
Bianca was Ethan's first love. Years ago, they'd almost gotten married.
But seven years ago, Ethan was drugged by someone with a grudge. I was working a part-time job at that hotel, and through a series of accidents, I ended up in his room. The next morning, gossip reporters posted photos of us online.
When Bianca saw the news, she was heartbroken. She bought a plane ticket and left the country the next day.
Ethan had wanted to go after her, but his parents forced him to marry me to calm the scandal and stabilize the Locke Group's stock price.
I'd always known Ethan didn't love me.
So initially, I refused to marry him. Even after I found out I was pregnant, I firmly told his parents I could have an abortion. They didn't need to take responsibility.
But Ethan's mother rejected my offer outright.
To push me and Ethan together, they even threatened me with the fact that I'd received financial aid from the Locke family. I was an orphan. I never would have made it through college without their help.
Out of gratitude, I married Ethan in the end.
After the wedding, I gave up my career and stayed home to take care of Ethan and our child. And Ethan, believing I was the one who'd drugged him that night and trapped him into marriage, had been cold to me ever since.
I wasn't discouraged by this. I believed that if I kept treating Ethan well, he would eventually accept me.
But Bianca White's return turned the past seven years of my devotion into a complete joke.
Three months ago, she came back. She found Ethan and told him she had cancer. Her dying wish was to spend her remaining time by his side.
Ethan agreed immediately.
After that, not only did he stay with Bianca constantly, but he demanded I unconditionally fulfill all of Bianca's requests.
"You owe Bianca this."
"You already have the title of wife. You shouldn't expect anything more."
"I'm just taking care of Bianca. I'm not cheating. You need to be more understanding."
That's what Ethan always told me.
Yes, he wasn't technically cheating. But everything he did for Bianca—what was the difference?
I was a victim that night seven years ago, too.
I'd been heartbroken. I'd been furious.
But it didn't matter. Bianca was still a thorn lodged deep in my marriage.
Later, even the son I'd risked my life to give birth to was gradually drawn to Bianca.
I was tired. So tired.
I turned off the TV and prepared to go upstairs to rest.
That's when Ethan walked in holding Aiden's hand. Father and son wore matching dark overcoats, standing together like a large and small copy of the same person.
"Mommy!"
Aiden ran over. "Did you see the TV? Aunt Bianca won an award! That necklace was so pretty!"
I fought back tears. "I saw. Did you have fun today, Aiden?"
"Yes!" Aiden's eyes sparkled. "Aunt Bianca took me out for ice cream and bought me the new LEGO set! Daddy went too!"
He looked up at me. "Mommy, you're not mad, are you? Aunt Bianca only has one year left. If you're angry, that means you have a really small heart!"
My chest felt like it was being stabbed with needles.
But all I said was, "The doctor said your heart can't handle too much excitement. You should eat less cold food."
Aiden's little face immediately fell. "Again? Mommy, you always control me. Aunt Bianca never does that. She even eats ice cream with me!"
My eyes reddened. "That's because she doesn't have to take responsibility for your health."
"Having it once in a while is fine. Don't be so tense."
Ethan walked over, his voice low.
Always like this.
Every time I was strict, Mr. Locke stepped in to smooth things over.
As if I were the unreasonable villain, and he was the sensible father.
Aiden stuck out his tongue and ran upstairs.
The air went quiet instantly.
I looked up at the man in front of me.
He was tall, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, his features sharp and distinguished, his presence cold and aristocratic. He seemed completely out of reach.
I blinked. "Ethan, do you remember what today is?"
Only then did he notice the decorations in the living room.
Surprise flickered in his eyes before they returned to calm. "Sorry. I had company business today, and then I accompanied Aiden to the awards ceremony."
I smiled. "The awards ceremony? That was my awards ceremony. Bianca won the gold medal in the jewelry competition because she plagiarized my work."
"Plagiarism? Selene, even now, you're still lying."
Ethan's expression was indifferent, his eyes contemptuous.
"When I gave your design draft to Bianca, she told me your draft was almost identical to a design she'd drawn before."
"So if anyone plagiarized, it's you who plagiarized Bianca's work. Bianca achieved what she has through her own ability."
"I was foolish to think about asking you to help Bianca design something."
"A housewife who depends on me for living—how could you possibly design jewelry?"
A housewife who depends on him?
That's how he saw me?
I bit my lower lip, almost laughing from anger.
"Ethan, have you seen Bianca's original design draft? She says I copied her work, and you just believe her?"
"You've been home for seven years and never shown any design talent. Bianca was already an established jewelry designer before she returned. Who do you think I should believe?"
Ethan's face darkened, his tone distant.
Fine. I understood.
Bottom line—he looked down on me from the bottom of his heart.
I clenched my fists and suddenly didn't want to argue with him anymore.
I didn't even want him as a husband anymore.
A stone that stayed cold after seven years of trying to warm it—what was the point?
"Ethan, let's get divorced. Don't you want to take care of Bianca? Once we separate, you can be with her openly."
"What did you say?"
Ethan's usually cold eyes flashed with shock.
"Stop being ridiculous."
He pressed his lips together, displeased. "Selene, you don't have a job. How will you live without me?"
"How I live from now on is none of your business!"
I looked directly into Ethan's eyes and took a deep breath. "I'll send you the divorce papers. Sign them as soon as you receive them."
With that, I stood up.
"What about Aiden? He's only six."
Ethan looked at my profile, his gaze darkening.
"Aiden loves Bianca so much. Perfect. The three of you can have a nice life together."
I kept my head down and didn't look back at Ethan.
Last Chapters
#217 Chapter 217: Raven Wants to See Her (Selene)
Last Updated: 6/12/2026#216 Chapter 216: Aiden Has Changed (Selene)
Last Updated: 6/12/2026#215 Chapter 215: Aunt Bianca, You’re Pathetic (Selene)
Last Updated: 6/12/2026#214 Chapter 214: Bianca's Act (Selene)
Last Updated: 6/12/2026#213 Chapter 213: I Am the Victim (Selene)
Last Updated: 6/12/2026#212 Chapter 212: I Have a Gift for You, Mom (Selene)
Last Updated: 6/12/2026#211 Chapter 211: So Alike (Selene)
Last Updated: 6/12/2026#210 Chapter 210: What Does Aiden Want? (Selene)
Last Updated: 6/12/2026#209 Chapter 209: The Traitor (Selene)
Last Updated: 6/12/2026#208 Chapter 208: Could Selene Be Claire Sloane? (Selene)
Last Updated: 6/12/2026
You Might Like 😍
I Found the Babies
"When..." He growled in my ear, "When we will be getting married, I will be your only king, do you get my point? Only one queen, no misters or mistresses. Just me, just you, and yeah, our babies."
I shivered.
Alyssa Reynolds found herself in a situation, while returning home from work, and she had three choices:
Simply walk away and forget that you ever heard the sound of wailing infants.
Call the police and inform them about the innocent wails.
Follow the sounds of the wails and take the matter in your hands, deciding what to do later.
Being a kindhearted soul and a sucker for babies, she found herself choosing the third option, finding the two little lives.
Two little lives that changed her whole life, her love life included. Her life now revolved around the babies as diapers, vomit and shit seemed to surround her.
Just when she thought that now it's just her and the babies, her whole world flipped over and she found herself living under the same roof as the egotistical, obnoxious and hot-as-hell Terence Powers, the business tycoon who was not going to let the woman fend off for herself and the babies alone.
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
BRUISED LOVE
The safe dorm.
The boring dorm.
What he got instead was Maverick Hale campus menace, underground street fighter, walking bruise factory, and the last person he ever wanted anywhere near his neat piles of textbooks.
Maverick doesn't care that he's broke.
or in arrears with his fees.
Or one wrong move away from getting kicked out.
He’ll graduate out of sheer spite—he refuses to give his estranged, homophobic father the satisfaction of calling him a failure.
He definitely doesn’t care about the determined, overachieving half-Indian nursing major he’s stuck sharing a room with…
Until Bodhi becomes the only thing keeping him in school.
His tutor.
His healer.
His undoing.
And when Maverick stumbles into their dorm one night with a knife wound and Bodhi stitches him up with shaking hands and a breaking heart…
no longer can that be denied.
Opposites weren’t supposed to collide this way.
But they did.
Hard.
Accidentally His: The Billionaire’s Wife in High Society
Five years later, Freya Myers returns to the city with a pair of exceptionally gifted twins, desperately trying to conceal their existence from the world. But when she interviews for an internship, she unexpectedly encounters Declan Castle—the very same man from years ago—as her interviewer. From then on, Declan Castle becomes a persistent, demonic force haunting her!
Five years ago, a single, desperate mistake changed Freya Myers's life forever. Intending to secure a future with the man of her dreams, she ended up in the wrong room, stealing the 'seed' of the wrong man. That man was Declan Castle—the cold, ruthless, and enigmatic CEO of the world-renowned Castle Group.
Now, Freya has returned to the city as a struggling single mother, hiding a pair of genius twins from the world. When she lands an internship at the Castle Group, she hopes to remain invisible. But fate has other plans. Declan Castle, a man who has remained mysteriously untouched by any woman since that fateful night, instantly senses something familiar about the new designer. He has spent years searching for the woman who 'ruined' him, and now that he has found her, he has no intention of letting her go.
Forced into a high-stakes marriage of convenience with the domineering CEO, Freya must navigate the treacherous waters of high society while desperately guarding her children's true identity. Between a scheming stepmother, jealous socialites, and a series of deadly secrets, the walls are closing in.
What started as a game of cat-and-mouse and a quest for revenge soon ignites into a passion that neither can control. In a world where power is everything and betrayal is a way of life, can Freya protect her heart and her children, or will the relentless Mr. Castle claim everything she’s been trying to hide?
What the Heart Wants (Book 1 of the Alpha Faros Series)
Not loving him will cost more.
Derek has one goal: survive high school without drawing too much attention or pissing off his pack’s alpha.
As the youngest son of the alpha, his life is governed by lycan hierarchy, tradition, and politics. With no signs of awakening a lycan spirit, his only value is what he can do for the pack’s image. He knows he’s only ever one misstep away from exile… or worse.
Then, he finds a boy trapped in a locker on orientation day, and everything changes.
Derek shouldn’t want Nikolias. He’s off-limits. A risk Derek can’t afford.
So why does it feel like he’s the only thing worth fighting for?
Nikolias has just lost everything: his parents, his home, and any sense of peace. Sent back to the town his family left years ago to live with his prejudiced and controlling uncle, who wants nothing to do with anything—or anyone—not human, he’s trying to do everything in his power to get out quickly.
But then he meets Derek again, and all of his plans vanish in the soft, yearning flecks of gold in Derek’s green-hazel eyes. He’s drawn to Derek in a way that’s impossible to deny, and he thinks Derek feels the same way, despite the danger their relationship holds for him.
As Moonshadow's politics turn deadly, Derek and Nikolai are caught in the crossfire of a war that had started long before they were born, and their bond becomes a threat and a lifeline that neither can afford to sever.
Because the heart wants what it wants….
And it never asks permission.
TW: Graphic Violence, Suicide Ideation, Suicide Attempt, Child Abuse, Cult-Like Behavior
Game of Destiny
When Finlay finds her, she is living among humans. He is smitten by the stubborn wolf that refuse to acknowledge his existence. She may not be his mate, but he wants her to be a part of his pack, latent wolf or not.
Amie cant resist the Alpha that comes into her life and drags her back into pack life. Not only does she find herself happier than she has been in a long time, her wolf finally comes to her. Finlay isn't her mate, but he becomes her best friend. Together with the other top wolves in the pack, they work to create the best and strongest pack.
When it's time for the pack games, the event that decides the packs rank for the coming ten year, Amie needs to face her old pack. When she sees the man that rejected her for the first time in ten years, everything she thought she knew is turned around. Amie and Finlay need to adapt to the new reality and find a way forward for their pack. But will the curve ball split them apart?
The Unwritten Princess
My name is Mia, and everything I touch is dying.
The flowers beneath my mother's window turned black overnight. The herbs I gathered at dawn rotted in my hands. When the court wizard finally told me the truth—that someone cursed me, that my presence would kill everyone I love—I realized the prophecy everyone believed was never meant to save the kingdom. It was meant to destroy me.
So I ran. Not to fulfill some destiny, but to survive it.
Now I'm traveling with a hunter who lost his companions to the same curse I carry, chasing fragments of a prophecy the Fae sing differently. An elf took a baby from the palace the night I was born. And somewhere between the lies I've been told and the truth I'm hunting, I'm starting to suspect: What if I'm not the princess from the prophecy at all?
Timeless Us
The world she knew is gone.
Her husband, Nathan, is no longer the young man she left behind—he’s successful, respected, and living with a new family.
But when the woman who disappeared twenty-three years ago suddenly returns…
can love survive the years that were lost?
Underwater: The Silent Luna
It sounded like fate. Like rescue. Like the moment the universe finally chose her.
Even with the suspicion clinging to the proposal, Meadow let herself believe it. She stepped into the marriage blindly, hoping love would fill the quiet spaces of her mute, colourless life.
But the truth comes fast, and cruel.
The Alpha never asked for her. Never wanted her. Luna Amber arranged everything without his consent, driven by selfish motives Meadow couldn’t see until it was too late. What should have been tender and sacred becomes a cage, and Meadow is trapped in a nightmare she can’t wake from.
The Contract Wife: Marriage Of Malice
He didn't finish. He didn't need to.
I didn't tell him to stop.
Instead, my fingers curled into his shirt, clutching the fabric as though it was my only anchor. Something in him snapped—something he had been holding back for too long. His mouth found mine in a kiss that wasn't tender, but hungry, desperate.
I gasped into him, his hand sliding up to cup my jaw, holding me as if afraid I might vanish.
"You drive me insane," he breathed against my mouth, his lips trailing to my throat. "I can't lose you, Ella. Not you."
My head fell back, a soft sound escaping me as his fingers memorized my waist. My anger melted beneath his desperation.
"James..." I whispered, more plea than protest.
His hand caught mine, fingers threading together tightly. "I'll bring him back. I swear it. Just... don't turn away from me. Please."
The word please—low, ragged, almost broken—undid me more than anything else could have.
Ella never imagined she would marry the man she had secretly loved for years in such a way.
When her brother Theo faced twenty-five years in prison for massive embezzlement, the ruthless business tycoon James Lancaster offered her a deal: marry him in exchange for her brother's freedom.
This wasn't a fairy tale proposal, but a carefully orchestrated revenge. Because in James's heart, Ella was the culprit who had killed his sister Cecilia. He wanted her to pay the price—to atone with a lifetime of suffering.
Ruined : You will always be mine.
“Fuckkk”, I couldn’t help but scream.
“You need to learn to be obedient” he said as he kept thrusting into me. When I felt his hands on my clit my body shook.
“Asher please, it’s too much”.
“No. if I really wanted to punish you, I would give you all of me”, he said against my ears and my entire body froze. Suddenly he moved and I was standing again. This man was insane.
I felt him behind me. “Ten Lashes for your disobedience”, he said
“Asher please”,
“No”. His voice was cold and void of any emotion.
Asher was what I wanted , what I truly craved until it was too late. An orphan should never fall in love with someone out of their reach. I thought loving him was the right thing to do until he revealed his true identity and Ruined me. I was ruined for everyone one else . I could still feel his touch, it was as if it was etched into my skin. I tired to avoid him but fate wouldn't let it happen.
The Sterling's were the most powerful in Havenwood and Dorian Sterling was off limits.
As an orphan finding out you still have people looking for you is hard to take but when it turns out to be people of wealth and standing I took the other road and ran, but running led me right back to the place I was avoiding and the person I was avoiding.
Asher and Dorling Sterling one and the same. When his first love shows up and along with everyone that has set out to ruin me, I prayed that he could protect me.
Cursed Beauty and her Three Alpha Mates
Cast out by her pack for being wolfless and plagued by uncontrollable heat, Maya has spent her life surviving humiliation in silence.
Fate drags her into the path of Kael Draven, the ruthless Lycan King who claims her… only to reject her.
But Kael is not the only Alpha bound to her.
Finn, her childhood best friend and the rising Alpha, loves her with a devotion so fierce, he spends four years locked away in the most ruthless dungeon only to keep her safe.
Xander, a rogue wolf who can make even Alphas bow to his will, has waited centuries for her to be reborn, and he has no intention of losing her again.
Three Alphas.
Three claims.
One cursed destiny.
They called her wolfless. They thought she was weak. But she is done hiding, and this time, she's rewriting the rules.












