
When Gold Cages Break
Agatha Christie · Ongoing · 5.9k Words
Introduction
My husband was busy draping his suit jacket over Chloe's shoulders, his precious childhood sweetheart. He didn't even turn around, just let out a cold laugh.
"Oh, Evelyn. Playing the sick father card again? That trick's getting old." His voice was dismissive. "I moved your dad out of that private room to teach you a lesson. Maybe now you'll learn some manners around Chloe."
He was so certain I'd come crawling back like I had for three years, begging him to pay for Dad's treatment. So sure I'd be sobbing apologies by tomorrow morning.
What Arthur didn't know was that three hours ago, they'd wheeled my father's body into the cold hospital morgue.
And the divorce papers in my purse were already signed. I didn't need his money anymore.
Chapter 1
"Arthur, I want a divorce."
My husband was busy draping his suit jacket over Chloe's shoulders, his precious childhood sweetheart. He didn't even turn around, just let out a cold laugh.
"Oh, Evelyn. Playing the sick father card again? That trick's getting old." His voice was dismissive. "I moved your dad out of that private room to teach you a lesson. Maybe now you'll learn some manners around Chloe."
He was so certain I'd come crawling back like I had for three years, begging him to pay for Dad's treatment. So sure I'd be sobbing apologies by tomorrow morning.
What Arthur didn't know was that three hours ago, they'd wheeled my father's body into the cold hospital morgue.
And the divorce papers in my purse were already signed. I didn't need his money anymore.
Evelyn's POV
"Evelyn, get Chloe something hot to drink. She's had too much tonight."
Arthur pushed through the door without even glancing at me. He was too busy supporting the swaying woman behind him, worry written all over his face.
Chloe peeked out, cheeks flushed, acting all apologetic. "Evelyn, I'm so sorry for bothering you this late. Arthur insisted you had hangover soup at home, but really, I could just go back to my apartment..."
"Nonsense. You can't go home alone in this condition." Arthur's voice was gentle, then turned ice-cold when he faced me. "Why are you just sitting there? Didn't you hear me?"
I remained seated on the leather sofa, watching his hand wrapped around Chloe's waist. They looked like newlyweds.
Once, this scene would have torn my heart apart. I would have jumped up with tears in my eyes, rushing to the kitchen to make tea. Anything to avoid making him angry, to keep him paying those astronomical medical bills for my father.
But now? I wanted to laugh.
"Arthur, let's get divorced."
The living room fell dead silent.
Chloe sobered up halfway, eyes wide, clutching Arthur's sleeve. Arthur's face darkened, irritation flashing in those blue eyes.
"Now what?" He strode over, looming over me. "Let me guess—it's about your father? Trying to threaten me with divorce?"
He smirked, loosening his tie. "I'll admit it. I cut off your dad's VIP room yesterday. But that's what you get for embarrassing me at Chloe's birthday party."
So that was it.
Last night, father had suddenly developed breathing difficulties—severe lung infection. The doctor said he needed immediate ICU transfer with the most advanced ventilator, or he wouldn't make it through the night.
"Sorry, Mr. Winston withdrew the cost guarantee," the head nurse had said helplessly. "Without his signature, we can't do anything."
I'd been calling Arthur like crazy. One call, two calls, ten calls... The first ten went to voicemail, the eleventh was hung up on. I left crying voicemails saying Dad was dying, begging him to call back.
But there was no response.
I'd driven to his company and waited downstairs for three hours. Security said Arthur had left in the afternoon—gone to Long Island.
To do what? Throw a birthday party for his beloved Chloe. Champagne towers, fireworks, live band—an over-the-top party.
Afraid my desperate calls would ruin that romantic evening, he'd simply turned off his phone.
"Now you know how to behave in front of her, don't you?" Arthur said smugly, completely unaware that his "lesson" had already ended everything.
"Arthur, I'm not throwing a tantrum." I looked at him calmly, then pulled out documents I'd prepared from the coffee table. "This is the divorce agreement. I've already signed it. I don't want anything—I'll leave with nothing."
Arthur stared at the document title for a second, then laughed mockingly. He didn't even take it.
"Leave with nothing?" he said sarcastically. "Evelyn, you think I'll fall for this little act? Playing hard to get for three years, and now this?"
He moved closer menacingly. "What will you use to pay your dad's thousands of dollars in daily treatment costs without me? That abandoned medical research of yours? Don't be naive."
Arthur was certain I couldn't leave him. In his eyes, I was just a woman who'd latched onto him for money. He controlled my financial lifeline, so he could trample my dignity, bring his childhood sweetheart home, and threaten me with my father's life to make me "behave."
"Arthur, don't be so harsh with Evelyn." Chloe stepped forward at just the right moment, gently tugging his arm.
She smiled at me. "Arthur's just upset. If you apologize, he'll put your father back in the VIP room. He's so sick—you can't risk your father's life over pride."
Looking at Chloe's fake smile, it made me sick.
"Cut the act, Chloe. It's just us here. You don't need to pretend to be nice."
"Don't you DARE talk to Chloe like that!" Arthur exploded, slapping the agreement from my hands. White papers scattered across the floor. "This is RIDICULOUS! Since you're so proud, then GET OUT! Let's see how long you last without the Winston family!"
He thought those words would make me break down and beg as usual.
But I simply bent down calmly to collect the papers, then dragged out a black suitcase from behind the sofa. Inside were only a few old clothes and documents—not a single Winston family luxury item.
"As you wish."
I pulled my suitcase toward the door.
"EVELYN!" Arthur roared behind me. "You walk out that door, don't expect me to care about your father's life or death! I mean what I say!"
My steps paused for just an instant.
I didn't turn around, only answered silently in my heart:
I don't need you to, Arthur.
Three hours ago, I already pulled the white sheet over his face myself.
There's nothing left in this world you can threaten me with.
Last Chapters
You Might Like 😍
Protectors Of Her Warrior's Heart
Rescued by men who call themselves Protectors—warriors from another realm who embody the legends of angels and vampires—she is thrust into a world she never knew existed. For the first time, she experiences freedom, safety, and the possibility of a future.
But freedom comes with a price.
Tali is forced to face the father she believed abandoned her and a powerful council determined to use her for their own ends. Stranger still are the abilities awakening within her—powers no one understands, yet everyone seems desperate to control.
As she learns to trust, she chooses the mates destined to stand beside her. In their arms she finds love, devotion, and a family worth fighting for. But not everyone wants their bond to survive.
When the council betrays the Protectors and attempts to steal her newborn son, it ignites a war that will shake every realm.
Now Tali stands at the center of a conflict far greater than herself. The answers to ancient mysteries, the fate of her child, and the future of countless worlds all rest on her shoulders.
Surrounded by mates who love her fiercely and refuse to leave her side, Tali will battle enemies old and new, forge powerful alliances, and discover just how strong she truly is.
Because this war won't be won for her.
It will be won with her.
And together, they will fight for their future, their family, and a love worth crossing realms to protect.
Mated to Her Alpha Instructor
Weeks later, our new Alpha combat instructor walks in. Regis. The guy from the woods. His eyes lock on mine, and I know he recognizes me. Then the secret I've been hiding hits me like a punch: I'm pregnant.
He has an offer that binds us tighter than ever. Protection… or a cage? Whispers turn ugly, darkness closes in. Why am I the one without a wolf? Is he my salvation… or will he drag me to ruin?
Avery and the Cursed Alpha
Then a mysterious billionaire offers her a deal that sounds too good to be true.
Alexander Ravenswood is powerful, wealthy, and feared throughout Tenebrous City. Behind his perfect public image lies a deadly secret. He is the Alpha of the Nocturne Pack, cursed by an ancient bloodline that is slowly driving him toward madness and death. His only hope lies in finding the legendary Aethon Orb—or the prophesied mate destined to save him.
When Alex discovers that Avery can draw symbols connected to the long-lost artifact, he offers her a contract she cannot refuse: become his fake fiancée for six months in exchange for enough money to erase her debts and save her home.
What begins as a business arrangement quickly becomes something far more dangerous.
As they search for the missing Orb, Avery is drawn into a hidden world of werewolves, ancient prophecies, and deadly pack rivalries. Powerful enemies want Alex's throne. A jealous Alpha heiress wants Avery gone. And a ruthless rival Alpha will stop at nothing to claim the Orb for himself.
But the greatest secret of all may be Avery herself.
Because the closer she gets to Alex, the more impossible truths begin to surface about her past, her strange abilities, and the destiny that has been waiting for her all along.
With a curse threatening Alex's life, enemies closing in from every side, and a forbidden bond growing stronger by the day, Avery must decide whether to walk away from the dangerous Alpha who needs her—or risk everything for a love written by fate itself.
In a city where secrets kill and destiny cannot be escaped, can a fake engagement become a love powerful enough to change the future?
Reborn To Rule: I Will Seize The Throne!
He paused, his gaze never leaving mine.
"And I don't share what's mine."
☆
I died on my son's death anniversary, betrayed by the man I'd devoted my entire life to, and the woman who stood by, smiling as I took my last breath… was my very own sister.
When I opened my eyes again, I was five years in the past—before the betrayal, before my death and before the beginning of it all.
This time, I refused to marry the man who destroyed me.
Instead, I walked straight into the arms of the only man the entire Empire feared—Crown Prince Alpha Rhaedon Ashkaar.
Rhaedon was everything Lucien wasn't.
Dangerous. Competent. Powerful.
And the perfect weapon for my revenge.
He wanted the throne. I wanted vengeance.
It should have been the perfect alliance, but revenge was never that simple.
With every step I took toward my revenge, another secret from my first life came to light. The deeper I dug, the more I realized I wasn't the only one playing this game.
And by the time I uncovered the truth...
Walking away from Rhaedon Ashkaar was no longer an option.
After the Affair: Falling into a Billionaire's Arms
I’d appreciate all your support, thank you so much!
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."
To protect what’s mine
A Queen Among Tides (Book 5 in the Gods' Saga)
Shocked to find he's been bound in more ways than one to Sebastian, the future King to the Kingdom of Atlesper, Lemuel resists Sebastian's advances at every turn, believing this may be one pairing Goddess Zarseti got wrong.
Lemuel will have to face his past in hopes of starting a new future, but an overly flirtatious King is the least of his worries when he learns Sebastian's parents are convinced that a conniving usurper disguised as a curvy blonde, is the future king's true soulmate.
A Queen Among Tides is the 5th book in the Queen Among Series/The Gods' Saga. This is an interconnected series. To see how it ends, I recommend reading the full series.
Books in the series order:
A Queen Among Alphas - Book 1
Bite-Size Luna - A Queen Among Alphas Prequel (available under book 1)
A Queen Among Snakes - Book 2
A Queen Among Blood - Book 3
A Queen Among Darkness - Book 4
Whole Again - A Queen Among Alpha's spin-off (available under book 1)
A Queen Among Tides - Book 5
Valor, Virtue, and Verve - Tides Prequel Spin-off (will be available under book 5)
A Queen Among Gods - Book 6
Runaway Empress - A Queen Among Snakes Prequel (will be available under book 2)
A Queen Among Tempests - Book 7
Dark Vocation - Darkness spin-off (will be available under book 4)
A Court of Arcane Souls Anthology (side character short stories exclusive to Ream)
Royal Shadow Series (Next Gen Coming Soon)
The Family Books 1-3 (A Mafia romance)
The saint to my sinner. with her innocent eyes and devilish curves.
A Madonna that was meant to be admired but never touched.
Until someone took that innocence from her.
She left.
The darkness in my heart was finally complete.
I avenged her, I killed for her, but she never came back.
Until I saw her again. An angel dancing around a pole for money.
She didn’t know I owned that club. She didn’t know I was watching.
This time I won’t let her escape.
I will make her back into the girl I knew.
Whether she likes it or not.
2/ Judge and Jury- I can’t stop watching her.
I’m not even sure I want to.
Taylor Lawson, blonde, beautiful, and totally oblivious to how much dangers she’s in.
She’s also the one juror in my upcoming murder trial that hasn’t been bought.
The one who can put me behind bars for a very long time.
I know I should execute her.
After all that’s what I do.
I am the Judge.
I eliminate threats to The Family.
And Taylor is a threat.
But I don’t want to kill her.
Possessing her, making her love me seems like a much better plan for this particular Juror.
3/ Rags and Ritches-
The Spy Who Left
"I still can't believe she actually did it. Aria Hart, filing for divorce. Who saw that coming?"
"How long do we think it'll take before she comes crawling back?" Another voice joins the conversation.
"Three days," Victoria declares. "Five at most. She has no money, no skills, no family. Where's she going to go?"
When Aria Chen divorced billionaire Leon Hart, New York's elite sneered, betting she'd crawl back within days. She never did.
Three years later, the world is rocked when Dr. Aria Vale, CEO of a revolutionary cybersecurity empire, steps into the spotlight. The mysterious genius who built a billion-dollar company from nothing is none other than Leon's discarded wife, the woman everyone thought was just a pretty ornament.
Now, every powerful man wants the queen Leon threw away a renowned scientist seeking partnership, a financial titan proposing an empire, and an actor offering devotion. Each sees the brilliance Leon ignored.
Then Leon discovers the truth: Aria's sacrifices, her secret double life, and the daughter she's been raising without him. For the first time, the man who once took her for granted must fight for her love. But can he compete with men who valued her from the beginning?
A story of love, betrayal, and power where the king must kneel before the queen who never needed saving.
Alpha Under Love Spell
Thorin pushed her on the bed and pinned her with his body. He growled near her face, “Liar!”
“No! No! I am not lying!”
“Then explain this!” Thorin whipped the screen of his phone near her eyes. Maeve looked at the screen, and her eyes widened with shock. It was a DNA report. It clearly said that Valeska was Maeve and Thorin’s daughter. “You have been lying to me for months now. Why did you hide that she is my daughter? Why did you start hating me? Did you never love me?”
“What should I have done? Let you kill my daughter!” snapped Maeve.
“What? Kill? What the hell are you talking about?” shouted Thorin.
After a passionate night with the Alpha Heir Thorin Blackridge, Maeve Arrendale, a human, found herself pregnant. She knew she had left her contact details for Thorin to find her, but he never came. Desperately, she went to tell him everything and ask him to take responsibility. But what came at her was humiliation and the devilish serial killer, Ozul.
She had no idea how she escaped her certain but she thanked every god and ran far away from Thorin and his world. She raised her child on her own. She herself had a difficult life and didn’t want her daughter to suffer. So she did everything in her power to give Valeska a good life.
Her life was turned upside down when Thorin came to her office as her boss. His fated mate, Vespera clinging to his arms. Now, Thorin hated her for vanishing from his life, and Maeve hated him for sending a serial killer to kill her.
Will Thorin accept his daughter? Will Maeve forgive him for attempting to kill her? If not Thorin, then who sent a serial killer to kill Maeve? An ancient magic, a prophecy, a powerful child is going to change everything in everyone’s life. Is everyone ready?
Rise of the Banished She-Wolf
That roar stole my eighteenth birthday and shattered my world. My first shift should have been glory—blood turned blessing into shame. By dawn they'd branded me "cursed": cast out by my pack, abandoned by family, stripped of my nature. My father didn't defend me—he sent me to a forsaken island where wolfless outcasts were forged into weapons, forced to kill each other until only one could leave.
On that island I learned the darkest edges of humanity and how to bury terror in bone. Countless times I wanted to surrender—dive into the waves and never surface—but the accusing faces that haunted my dreams pushed me back toward something colder than survival: revenge. I escaped, and for three years I hid among humans, collecting secrets, learning to move like a shadow, sharpening patience into precision—becoming a blade.
Then, under a full moon, I touched a bleeding stranger—and my wolf returned with a violence that made me whole. Who was he? Why could he wake what I'd thought dead?
One thing I know: now is the time.
I have waited three years for this. I will make everyone who destroyed me pay—and take back everything that was stolen from me.
Let Them Kneel
Cast out by her pack. Forgotten by the Lycans.
She lived among humans—quiet, invisible, tucked away in a town no one looked at twice.
But when her first heat comes without warning, everything changes.
Her body ignites. Her instincts scream. And something primal stirs beneath her skin—
summoning a big, bad Alpha who knows exactly how to quench her fire.
When he claims her, it’s ecstasy and ruin.
For the first time, she believes she’s been accepted.
Seen.
Chosen.
Until he leaves her the next morning—
like a secret never to be spoken.
But Kaelani is not what they thought.
Not wolfless. Not weak.
There is something ancient inside her. Something powerful. And it’s waking.
And when it does—
they’ll all remember the girl they tried to erase.
Especially him.
She’ll be the dream he keeps chasing… the one thing that ever made him feel alive.
Because secrets never stay buried.
And neither do dreams.












