What Is No Other Choice: An Autobiography About?

“I don’t want you. I hate you.” Those words from her only son slice deeper than any blade. Sarah returns from the hospital expecting love, only to find her place at the family table stolen. Her husband, James, stands arm in arm with Tiana — his late brother’s widow, while her son clings to the other woman’s waist, rejecting his own mother. The betrayal does not end there. After a confrontation with Tiana, she woke up in an abandoned building, her hands tied, and mouth taped. Beside her was Tiana too. Tied. James stood, his confused gaze darting from Tiana to Sarah. And then came the baritone voice from one of the kidnappers: “One life. One choice. You can only save one. Choose!” Sarah turned, seeing how Tiana was communicating with the kidnappers with her eyes. She struggled to let James see the truth; that this was all a setup. But she couldn’t. Her mouth was tapped. But then, like a match striking steel, James’ voice came brittle and final. “Tiana.” He chose his ex over his own wife. Over the mother of his child. Sarah was abandoned in the warehouse. Immediately they left, the warehouse exploded, covered in flames. And Sarah’s screams and cries inside, filled the night. Did Sarah survive the fire outbreak? If she did, can they stand her revenge when she finally returns?

What begins as a seemingly ordinary love story evolves into a journey of love, betrayal, resilience, and self-discovery. For years, Lela believed she was living the life she had always wanted—a loving marriage, a family, and a future built on trust. But behind the scenes, financial struggles, hidden truths, and years of deception slowly began to unravel the foundation of everything she thought she knew. As cracks in her marriage deepen, Lela is forced to confront painful realities about the man she loves and the life they built together. Looking back, she traces her journey from the unexpected first date that changed her life, through the highs of building a family, the challenges of marriage, and the devastating revelations that would ultimately test her strength and character. When long-buried secrets come to light and years of sacrifices seem overshadowed by betrayal, Lela finds herself at a crossroads. Faced with heartbreak, uncertainty, and the responsibility of protecting her children, she must learn to rebuild not only her future but also her sense of self-worth. Told with honesty, humor, and raw emotion, this memoir explores the complexities of love, the warning signs we often ignore, and the courage it takes to start over when the life you've known begins to fall apart. At its heart, this is a story about survival, forgiveness, and discovering that even after life's greatest disappointments, it is possible to find strength, purpose, and hope again.

The day my parents divorced, the rain wouldn’t stop. Two agreements sat on the table. One meant staying in the old Eastwood District with my gambling-addicted father, Alexander Clark, drowning in debt. The other meant leaving for Silverstrand Coast with my mother, Charlotte Hayes, who was remarrying into wealth. In my last life, my younger brother, Mathias Clark, cried and clung to Mom while I quietly packed my things and chose to stay with Dad. Later, he quit gambling and struck it rich during a redevelopment boom. He poured everything into raising me right. Meanwhile, Mathias was trapped in his stepfather’s house—isolated, controlled, never allowed outside—until depression took his life. But this time, everything changed. Mathias snatched the cigarette from Dad’s hand and hugged him tightly, refusing to let go. "Tyler, I feel bad for Dad. You go enjoy the good life over there. I’ll stay and take care of him for you." Dad froze for a moment, then smiled with relief and patted his shoulder. I said nothing. I simply picked up the train ticket to the coast. What he didn’t know was that… In my last life, the reason Dad was able to quit gambling was because I had a brain tumor. I worked myself to the brink of coughing up blood just to repay his debts. I traded my life… for his redemption.

Right after the SAT results dropped, the admissions representatives from Blackridge University practically fought over me so fiercely it felt like they'd set the whole room on fire. They made an outrageous offer just to win me over, claiming that I could bring one friend along with full admission. As the clock reset, I chose no one this time around because I'd already lived through it once. In my last life, I didn't hesitate to pick my childhood best friend, Shawn Hooper. I gave him a ticket into a world he could never hope to reach without my help. And what did I get for it? A look of pure disgust. "You're pathetic," he sneered. "It's laughable that you'd dare use something like this to drive a wedge between Madison and me." Madison Cole was our class president. She was the golden girl and everyone's favorite girl. She couldn't handle losing both the guy she loved and the future she thought was hers. So, she jumped from the roof of a building. Shawn found her final message and lost his mind. He told me the class was having one last bonfire party just outside town. It was a lie. He took me there to torture me before leaving me to die. Our entire class covered for him. Every last one of them told the police I'd slipped near the ravine and fallen by accident. … A week after my death, my parents died in a supposed highway pileup. My soul never moved on, and that was how I discovered the truth—Shawn had orchestrated everything. When I reopened my eyes, I quickly realized I was back on the day when Blackridge University fought to recruit me. I wouldn't choose anyone this time. No, the only one I would choose was myself.

She did the unthinkable for love and paid for it with eight years of silence. Evelyn married Anthony knowing his heart belonged to someone else. She told herself it was enough to be near him, to be his wife in name and raise their son. Meanwhile she forgot that love without being loved back is a slow kind of poison, and Evelyn has finally run out of time to pretend. The divorce papers are signed. The chapter is closed. Anthony spent eight years blaming Evelyn for the life he never wanted. He lost Sylvia, the woman who owned every corner of his heart, because of a single night he cannot take back. Now, with the ink barely dry on their divorce, Sylvia is back in the city, and Evelyn is suddenly a stranger wearing a cold, unreadable face he has never seen before. When Anthony reaches for the past he lost, a gunshot rings out at a memorial gathering, and a secret buried eight years ago begins to claw its way to the surface. A secret so ugly such that it will force every single person in this story to question what they thought they knew. Who really destroyed this family? Who has been lying from the very beginning? And when the truth finally breaks open, will Anthony choose the woman his heart never forgot, or the woman he never truly saw? Shattered by Choice is a gripping tale of betrayal, buried love, second chances, and the dangerous cost of choosing wrong. A story about the lie we call sacrifice, the truth we call love, and the day the two collide.

My mom is a woman who takes frugality very, very seriously. When I suffer from a high fever, she feeds me moldy chicken noodle soup. In fact, I can only wear my older sister's hand-me-downs since I was a little girl. After working hard for so long, I finally qualify for the final interview of a top-500 company. I keep telling my mom repeatedly to not cause any trouble for me. Alas, my monitor winks out when I've reached the most critical point of my interview. At the same time, the router has lost access to the internet. I rush out of my room hurriedly, only to see my mom flipping off the main switch in the darkness. "Why did you leave the lights on at night? Imagine how much money you'll have to pay! I've already calculated everything for you. If we turn off the lights, we get to save a few pennies per night!" Thanks to those pennies, I end up losing my job that can guarantee an annual salary of a million dollars. Later on, my older sister, Andrea Fletcher, is diagnosed with a kidney disease. In order to latch onto Andrea's rich husband, Kirk Herrera, my mom forces me to work overtime at a shady factory just to gather enough money for Andrea's medical bills. Even when I'm about to die, my older brother, Anthony Fletcher, and my dad keep blaming me. "You can't even get hired at a proper factory! You really are useless, Alice! Your mom went through all those frugal nonsense just to raise you for nothing!" When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day I'm about to attend the online interview. I just chuckle coldly as I look at Andrea, who has just found out about her kidney disease and is waiting for me to earn enough money for her kidney transplant. Then, I toss her expensive, specialized medication into the trash can. "What use is there for you to take the medicine, Andrea? What a waste! Mom already stated many times that being frugal is the way of life! "You should drink more water instead. Once your rich husband finds out how good you are at saving money, he'll definitely compliment us for knowing how to balance our finances!"