Michelle

Amelia Miller had built her life with Ethan Hayes over a decade, a foundation as solid as the buildings she designed. Until a phone call shattered it all. He demanded she withdraw her bid for the monumental riverside project, her career's culmination, for Chloe Davies, a socialite he claimed was guiding him to "unlock his full potential." What followed was a nightmare. Ethan publicly declared their love a "test" holding him back, while Chloe flaunted their "power couple" status. He sabotaged Amelia's career with false plagiarism accusations, leading to her suspension. Then, he physically assaulted and imprisoned her in their home, allowing Chloe to mock and torment her. When Amelia, recovering from the assault, returned home, she found the apartment infused with a sickeningly sweet smell. Ethan, with Chloe's smug approval, revealed he had cooked and fed their beloved golden retriever, Sunshine, to Amelia, claiming it was a "cleansing ritual" to sever old attachments. This monstrous act ignited a furious outburst from Amelia, leading to her severe injury. The horror escalated in the hospital when Ethan, completely deluded, ordered doctors to take a skin graft from Amelia's thigh to repair a superficial wound Chloe had self-inflicted. He saw her as "selfish" and "pathetic" for resisting his "mission." Why was he destroying her, piece by piece, under the guise of some twisted self-improvement? Broken and desperate, Amelia, infected and frail, chose to end her agony, plummeting from the Zenith Tower-the very project he had stolen from her. But fate, in a cruel twist, gave her a second chance. She miraculously awoke in a parallel reality, whole but without memory, destined to cross paths with a repentant Ethan, desperate to atone for sins she couldn't recall.

For five years, I was my husband's most prized possession. Not because he loved me, but because I carried the heart of his dead first love, Fallon. On our fifth anniversary, a ghost walked through our front door. Fallon was alive. She laughed and told my husband her "death" was a five-year test of his love. "And the heart inside you?" she sneered, looking at my chest. "Oh, darling. That's not my heart. It must have belonged to some other poor soul." The foundation of my life, the entire reason for my gilded cage, was a lie.

The night before my alliance ceremony to Don Vincenzo Moretti, I discovered that my hands had been destroyed on purpose. I was in our bedroom, the heavy silence of the compound pressing against the windows, when Vince's phone buzzed on the nightstand. He was in the shower. The screen lit up with a message from Gianna Rossi: *"The cream worked perfectly. She'll never authenticate again. The Cartelli elders will have no choice but to accept me. You owe me, Vince. Don't forget what the Rossi family knows about 2011."* I read it four times. Then I took a photograph of the screen with my own phone. When Vince emerged from the bathroom, towel around his waist, I was sitting in the armchair by the window, my bandaged hands folded in my lap, my face arranged into the placid mask I had perfected over five years in this house. "Tired?" he asked, not really looking at me. "Just thinking about tomorrow," I said. My voice was steady. I had learned to make it steady. He nodded, already bored with the conversation, and turned off the light. I lay awake in the darkness beside him, cataloguing everything I knew. The offshore accounts. The FBI agents on the Moretti payroll. The body of the man who'd crossed Vince in 2013, buried under a construction site in Jersey. Five years of secrets, and I had just been given the one piece I was missing: proof that Gianna Rossi and Vincenzo Moretti had conspired to destroy me. I didn't cry. I didn't confront him. I began to plan. The burns on my hands were permanent. The Cartelli pipeline was collapsing. The Moretti family was about to cast me aside like a broken tool. But I had something they didn't know about: a photographic memory for numbers, five years of unrestricted access to Vince's private files, and a patience they had mistaken for weakness. I was the best blood diamond authenticator on the East Coast. But that was never my real talent. My real talent was surviving among predators while they mistook my stillness for submission. Tomorrow, I was supposed to become Carmela Moretti, the don's wife, the silent ornament at the head of the table. Instead, I was going to become the woman who brought down the Moretti empire from the inside. I just needed to stay alive long enough to do it.

At the absolute summit of her pop-star career, the stage collapsed beneath Catherine's feet, plunging her into a mechanical black hole. When she opened her eyes, she wasn't in a hospital, but a savage, primitive forest. Before a fire-breathing beast could tear her apart, a massive black snake crushed it with a single strike. The terrifying serpent then transformed into Amon, a towering, heavily scarred man with golden slitted eyes, who swore his life to protect her. He brought her to his tribe, but instead of safety, they were met with ravenous hunger and disgust. The tribe's males stared at Catherine's fragile human body like a rare breeding prize, while treating Amon like garbage. "He's a cursed, cold-blooded freak! His rut will tear you to pieces!" The Chief sneered, pointing a thick, accusing finger at Amon. "By tribal law, you must mate with our strongest tiger and bear shifters to give us powerful cubs!" Humiliated, Amon's broad shoulders slumped, his fists trembling in suffocating shame as he prepared to back away. Catherine's heart pounded with fierce, burning anger. When she was about to be eaten, Amon was the only one who bled for her. Where were these arrogant bullies then? Why should she let them treat her savior like a monster? As the tribe's strongest warriors swarmed forward to claim her, Catherine stepped directly in front of Amon's lethal claws. "I don't need any of you," she declared, her voice cutting through the chaos. "I will mate with Amon and take his beast mark today!"

I saved a poisoned, blind man in a dark hotel room, only to be forced by my abusive adoptive family into an arranged marriage the very next day to pay off their massive debts. The ruthless, crippled billionaire I was sold to turned out to be the exact same man I had saved the night before. To protect my grandfather's land, I had to hide my true identity as a top-tier neurosurgeon and hacker. I wore cheap clothes and played the role of a pathetic, stuttering country girl. He was thoroughly disgusted by my fake persona, treating me like trash and ordering me out of his sight. Worse, he was obsessively tearing the city apart to hunt down the "mysterious woman" from that night, holding my lost St. Christopher medal as a deadly bounty. "Find the owner of this medal, whatever it takes." I was trapped in his penthouse, enduring his cruel insults while dodging his paranoid grasp every time he caught a familiar scent on my skin. But the real shock came when I hacked his private servers. His blindness wasn't permanent. His own trusted medical team was deliberately feeding him a false diagnosis to keep him disabled and vulnerable. Why was someone trying to destroy him from the inside? I decided not to run. Instead, I locked my guest room door, booted up my encrypted laptop, and began synthesizing the cure to restore my tyrant husband's vision right under his nose.

Adeline had just endured the agonizing pain of giving birth to her daughter. But when she woke up, the bassinet beside her hospital bed was completely empty. Her husband, Jeremey, stood at the foot of the bed with his female friend, Hayden, tossing divorce and sole custody papers onto her lap. "You're leaving. And she's staying," Jeremey said coldly. He accused Adeline of being a jealous monster, claiming she had poisoned Hayden's tea and permanently destroyed Hayden's chances of ever having children. Using a manipulated security video as blackmail, Jeremey forced Adeline to sign away her parental rights to protect her newborn from being branded the daughter of a convicted felon. Stripped of her assets and her dignity, she was thrown out of the Castillo estate and exiled to a nowhere town, forced to leave her baby in the hands of the very woman who framed her. The despair of having her child stolen by such a vicious lie nearly broke her soul. How could the man she loved be so utterly blind? Three years later, the grand doors of the Castillo ballroom swung open at her daughter's lavish fourth birthday party. Adeline stepped in, wearing a scarlet gown and a mocking smile, backed by the untouchable Garrett family. She was no longer the weak, discarded wife. The war to ruin them and take her daughter back had just begun.

Erich died in a freezing cabin, abandoned by the powerful Hollywood actor who had kept him as an abused, captive pet. But instead of finding peace, his eyes snapped open in a rundown bedroom. He had been reborn into the body of a suicidal stranger. The original owner, who shared his exact name, had swallowed a bottle of pills after being framed for plagiarism and destroyed by cyberbullying. Now, his new family was drowning in medical debt and facing foreclosure. Meanwhile, Erich was still paralyzed by the severe PTSD of his past life, suffocating at the mere memory of his ex's footsteps. Desperate to shed his trauma, he went to a barbershop to cut off the greasy hair hiding his new face. But when the barber removed the cape, a wave of pure, unadulterated terror crashed over Erich. Staring back in the mirror was his exact original face, complete with his signature teardrop mole. He knew if his psychopathic ex saw this face, the man would tear the world apart to drag him back to his personal hell in Malibu. But Erich refused to be a victim again. He grabbed a flyer for a prestigious art competition and looked at his stunned new sister. "I'm going to New York." This time, he wouldn't hide. He was going to use his art to save this broken family and declare war on everyone who had ruined them.

On my wedding night, while unbuttoning my new husband's shirt, I found a fresh tattoo over his heart. A bold, jagged letter 'C'. It stood for Caren—my best friend, the girl I had raised from the servant's quarters like a sister. Jameson was the Prince of Philadelphia, and our marriage was a blood pact between mafia families. But looking at that ink, I realized he had already signed a different contract with the help. The betrayal didn't stop at infidelity. Weeks later, Caren crashed a family dinner with a "peace offering"—a cake laced with peanuts. She knew I was deathly allergic. As my throat closed up and I clawed at Jameson for the EpiPen in my purse, he didn't move. He stood there and watched me turn blue. For three eternal seconds, he hesitated, weighing the life of his mistress against the life of his wife. He wanted me to die so he wouldn't have to expose her. But I didn't die. I woke up in the hospital with the Dons of both families standing over me, waiting for an explanation. Jameson begged me with his eyes to keep his secret, whispering that he loved me and our unborn heir. I didn't cry. I simply connected my phone to the speaker and played the recording of him mocking me with Caren. Then, I looked at the man who had hesitated to save my life. "There is no heir, Jameson," I said, my voice cold as ice. "I removed it. I will not incubate the legacy of a traitor."

For three years, I poured my soul into Cade, forgiving him 99 times. I was a struggling art student, paying for our shared dreams and caring for his fragile heart. But the 100th time, he let his cruel mistress, Alessandra, try to kill me in an old boathouse. He called it an "accident," his eyes already choosing his ambition over my life. I woke up in the hospital to hear him call me a "disposable stepping stone" and announce his engagement to the woman who had just tried to murder me. The doctor then confirmed the worst: his betrayal had cost me our unborn child. I had been a fool, a victim in their sick game. But as I lay there, broken and bleeding, I realized something. They thought I was a poor, orphaned artist. They had no idea I was Blaire Madden, the sole heiress to a global corporation. And I was finally ready to come home and make them pay.

My husband, Blake Wallace, was a hero who sacrificed his motocross career to save my life. His vow-"I can't lose Ellen Strong once"-was famous across the city, the cornerstone of our marriage. Then a charlatan mystic named Celesta entered our lives. The man I loved was replaced by a monster who worshipped her, forcing me to become her servant in my own home. He stood by as she humiliated my father to death on our marble floor. He forced me to become her living organ bank, having my kidney removed without my consent while I was unconscious. He even let her desecrate my father's grave, pouring his ashes on the ground for her new puppy to lick. The love I had for him died with my father, replaced by a cold, hard resolve. The hero who once saved me was gone, leaving a man who would threaten my father's grave to keep me in line. So when Celesta handed me a plane ticket for a "pilgrimage," I saw my chance. I faked my own death. The world believes Ellen Strong died in a plane crash. Five years later, my billionaire ex-husband, consumed by guilt, finally discovered the truth. He found me.

At eight months pregnant, I thought my husband Derek and I had it all. A perfect home, a loving marriage, and our miracle son on the way. Then, while tidying his office, I found his vasectomy certificate. It was dated a year ago, long before we even started trying. Confused and panicked, I rushed to his office, only to hear laughter from behind the door. It was Derek and his best friend, Edison. "I can't believe she still hasn't figured it out," Edison chuckled. "She walks around with that giant belly, glowing like some kind of saint." My husband's voice, the one that whispered words of love to me every night, was full of contempt. "Patience, my friend. The bigger she gets, the bigger the fall. And the bigger my payout." He said our entire marriage was a cruel game to destroy me, all for his precious adopted sister, Else. They were even running a bet on who the real father was. "So, the bet is still on?" Edison asked. "My money's still on me." My baby was a trophy in their sick contest. The world tilted on its axis. The love I felt, the family I was building—it was all a sham. In that moment, a cold, clear decision formed in the ruins of my heart. I pulled out my phone, my voice surprisingly steady as I called a private clinic. "Hello," I said. "I need to schedule an appointment. For a termination."

My five-year mission to make Ethan Scott love me ended in failure, leaving my heart empty, my personality sacrificed to a system designed to make me the "perfect wife." My only directive: ensure his happiness. So, when the news broke that his strategist, Sabrina Chavez, was pregnant with his child, I smiled serenely. Ethan, the man I' d spent half a decade trying to win, rushed to Sabrina' s side, leaving me bleeding on the kitchen floor after she staged an attack, blaming me. He didn' t even look at my foot, deeply sliced open by shattered ceramic. He just spat venom, calling me "insane," "pathologically jealous," and carried her away. I drafted divorce papers, convinced this was the ultimate supportive act, the logical step to secure his happiness. Yet, when he saw them, his rage collapsed into a primal panic. "I wanted you obedient, not a heartless robot! Is this your revenge? To show me you never cared?" He saw a stranger, but all I could ask was, "Isn't making you happy my only purpose?" Then, Sabrina had a miscarriage. The doctor said it was an old condition, unrelated to the burn. Ethan' s face wasn' t grief-stricken; it was pure relief. "The problem is solved. We can finally be happy." The system, unable to reconcile his monstrousness with its primary directive, began to short-circuit, and my body began to give out. But as I lay dying, a strange thing happened. Ethan, stripped of his political ambition and reputation, finally loved me. His affection meter, dormant for years, soared. He begged me to stay, promising a new life. But a broken vase, once glued, always shows its cracks. I didn' t want a love built on cracks. With my last breath, I told the system: "Send me to the new world."

For seven years, my life with Marcus, the charismatic tech CEO, was a dazzling performance; our Malibu beach house, the galas, the constant cameras, all painted a picture of the perfect marriage. Then, a small, red lipstick, a brand I recognized as belonging to his ambitious young marketing associate, Chloe, fell from behind a nightstand in our guest casita, turning my world instantly cold. Marcus' s booming laugh when I confronted him, too quick and too smooth, failed to erase the chilling reality that his "inspirations" and "public gestures" were merely a smokescreen for a calculated betrayal aimed at my family's influence and wealth. The carefully constructed facade of my perfect life crumbled, revealing a suffocating lie where my husband saw only an asset to exploit, leaving me caught between bewilderment and a searing sense of injustice. But a forgotten whisper from my father and the ironclad infidelity clause in our prenup suddenly illuminated a path towards freedom, giving me the resolve to gather the undeniable proof and unlock the gilded cage I had unknowingly lived in.

I once believed in love, in forever. I was an architect, building a life, a future, with the woman I adored, Olivia. She was my world, my wife. But then her past, in the form of Julian, her "true love," re-emerged. They framed me for his "death," sending me to prison. Now, years later, Olivia stood over me, her face a mask, while doctors prepared to take my last kidney. It was for Julian. The man I supposedly killed. The man who was very much alive, waiting in the next room for my organ. Her eyes, utterly cold, met mine. She knew this would kill me. This very kidney was the one I' d secretly given her years ago, when she needed it in prison. The irony was a bitter, metallic taste. My life was being stolen, piece by brutal piece, by the woman I loved. Betrayed. Stripped of everything. Murdered on an operating table by the woman who promised me forever. Was this my end? Was this justice? No. This was a lie. A meticulously orchestrated execution. Then, darkness. But just as I thought I was gone, I gasped awake. Back in my penthouse, my bed – exactly three years ago. Julian' s voice, "Olivia! Help me! He pushed me!" echoed from the balcony. The same lie. The same frame-up. But this time… this time, I knew the script. And this time, I wasn't playing the victim. I wasn't dying today. I was just getting started.

The last thing Melissa had expected was that she would travel into the novel, which she just rated the lowest star. She became the miserable character who fell into the heroine’s trap and was driven out of her home. Now that she knew well where this story would go, she had to take destiny under her control. However, she got herself into another trouble. Jasper, the big film star, fell for her when she worked as his assistant.

I woke up to the stench of rust and rotting flesh, no longer a master botanist who commanded life itself, but a D-class exile dumped on a wasteland planet. Memories that weren't mine flooded in. I was framed by my stepsister, betrayed by my fiancé, and banished by my own family to the Ashfall Peninsula to die. The original girl actually starved to death in despair. The moment I opened my eyes, a scavenger tried to smash my skull with a rusty pipe just to eat me. After I killed him to survive, I discovered a harsher truth: in this universe, plant seeds are classified as A-level strategic resources, completely monopolized by the Imperium. But the universe had a sick sense of humor. A mandatory background scan suddenly triggered a galactic broadcast: I, the exiled trash, was a perfect genetic match for the Imperium's top war hero, General Alexander Orr. The family that ruthlessly erased my existence instantly saw me as a golden ticket. My cheating ex-fiancé was dispatched to drag me back, furious that his "property" was matched with someone else. They all thought I was still that weak, naive girl they could manipulate. But as I held the pure, glowing Life Source Crystals I had secretly extracted from the scrap heap, a cold smile crept onto my face. "I didn't come here to die. I came here to build an empire." I turned my back on the galactic broadcast and stepped into the deadly wilderness.

Lillian woke in a werecreature universe as a total loser. Good news was that women ruled here and could take multiple mates, yet she still ended up as the one everyone looked down on. Compared to her talented sister at every turn, she watched her first match get stolen and her next four mates reject her without mercy. The first mate was the King of Succubine himself. On their very first meeting, he warned Lillian that he was only staying long enough to recover from his injuries-and that there could never be anything between them. The second mate was a merman. He took one look at her and said he had no interest in a loser like her, tossing her some cash so she could break off their bond herself. The third mate was the progenitor vampire-over a thousand years old. He admitted to admiring her sister instead and made it clear he had no interest in a layabout like Lillian. Lillian cut every bond and chose her own path instead. But as she rose higher and higher, those same men returned, full of regret and begging her to look at them again. The fourth mate was a werewolf Lillian had rescued from an underground fighting ring. She thought he might actually stay-until he revealed himself as royalty. And of course, he wanted to break their bond for more power.

After dying from overwork, Rena woke in a werecreature world as its weakest female. Instead of accepting a pampered life, she chose battle and bonded with the Enchantress System, which rewarded her for winning males' favor. Soon, she was matched with five elite males: a stoic commander, a gentle healer, a cunning tycoon, an aloof scientist, and an underworld king. But while others chased romance, Rena built an empire and rose from F-rank weakling to SSS-rank war goddess. Then the males she was meant to charm started chasing her instead. "So, what are we to you?" they asked eagerly. Rena shrugged. "Just friends, babes."

I knelt on the cold stone of the Dragon God Altar, waiting to marry Lord Harper Carney. It was my only chance to escape the gilded cage of my family. But when Harper finally arrived, he wasn't alone. His arm was wrapped tightly around my cousin, Hettie. Right in front of the entire court, he coldly announced that our marriage was a mistake. Hettie leaned into his embrace, wearing a triumphant smile while playing the innocent victim. The assembled nobles openly jeered at me. They mocked my greatest failing—that I was a worthless "Dragonless" born without the inner fire. My own father was furious, not at them, but at me. He demanded I go to Hettie's estate and beg for her forgiveness. When I refused, he threatened to cut off all my funds and revoke my only job at the Royal Scribes' Office. I was publicly abandoned, stripped of my dignity, and left with absolutely nothing. I didn't cry, and I didn't scream. Why should I be the one to apologize when they were the ones who betrayed me? For years, I had endured their abuse, treated like a pawn to be sacrificed at will. But looking at their smug faces, my despair turned into cold resolve. I took off my betrothal coronet and dropped it at Harper's feet, publicly nullifying the contract myself. I thought I would have to face the ruin alone, until a mysterious, powerful man with burning golden eyes stepped out of the shadows. "Marry me," he said. "I will be your shield, and we will crush them together."

"Do you take me for an escort? Or a casual pheromone dispenser?" Quinn Sterling had made the biggest mistake of her life. Climbing into the wrong car was bad enough. Tearing open the bespoke shirt of her ice-cold CEO and triggering his untamed Alpha rut was catastrophic. She thought Winston would demand a non-disclosure agreement. Instead, Manhattan's most terrifying luxury titan handed her a marriage proposal. "Kensington family honor dictates that I do not abandon a mate carrying my scent. I will take full responsibility for you." As an illegitimate daughter battling a betrayal from a two-timing fiancé, Quinn has no desire to play Cinderella in the billionaire's high-society world. She rejects him, draws the line, and dives back into her designs. But Winston Kensington doesn't take 'no' for an answer. When her ex comes crawling back, and corporate rivals circle in the dark, the ruthless CEO steps out of the shadows. "Touch her," Winston growls, his icy aura suffocating the entire room, "and you answer to me."

In the final days before the world collapsed, Ivy Brooks died... betrayed by the very people she trusted most. She had fought, struggled, and sacrificed everything just to survive the apocalypse only to be pushed into death along with her three daughters at the very end by her own husband. With her last breath, Ivy made a vow. If she could turn back time...she would never be weak again and of course protect her daughters. This time, she would stand at the top. When Ivy opened her eyes, she found herself back in time with her still rounded belly of her third baby.... Twenty days before the apocalypse. Armed with memories of the future and a mysterious system in her mind, Ivy moved without hesitation. She hoarded supplies, secured weapons, and took control of every resource she could get her hands on. While others laughed, doubted, and wasted time... Ivy was building her empire along with her daughters. In this life, she would not be prey but will be an hunter. With danger closing in and only twenty days to prepare, Ivy must outplay enemies both old and new, uncover the truth behind the system, and carve out her own kingdom in a collapsing world. Because this time...she wasn't just going to survive the apocalypse. She was going to rule it along with a man, a love interest from the past before her marriage collapse. He provided everything Ivy needed. Money especially in change of a marriage with her and when the apocalypse started too....he ruled it with her as well as her daughters.

My engagement to Kile, the heir of House Golden, was witnessed by the Duke himself. I thought my days as a helpless orphan were over. But right before our wedding, he coldly informed me that my status was being revoked. I was to enter his family as a lesser consort. The title of primary wife was being given to his lover, Journey. She hid behind Kile, wearing a spotless white dress and trembling like a fragile lotus. "Cassie, please don't blame him, I can live without a title," she cried, playing the perfect victim. Kile shielded her, glaring at me with pure disgust, shouting that I was being completely unreasonable. The next day, the entire Elder Council cornered me in their grand hall. They told me that as a "Dragonless" nobody, I should be immensely grateful for any scrap they threw my way. They all stared at me, waiting for me to swallow my pride and accept a lifetime of humiliation. They thought I was entirely broken. They thought I had no backing and no choice but to bow down to their cruelty. Instead, I looked straight at the Chief Elder and smiled. "I refuse to be a lesser consort," I announced clearly, watching Kile's smug expression freeze. "But to preserve our families' dignity, I will fulfill the contract." I looked right into Kile's shocked eyes. "I will marry your dead older brother, Lord Ayden."

Elyse, a fierce warrior from a post-apocalyptic world, awakened as a wererabbit in an interstellar world where her engagement was canceled and an entire pack wanted her dead. A mysterious system offered one way out: win over a ruthless serpent commander, an arrogant merman warlord, and a cunning werefox leader. She expected protection, not three possessive mates willing to defy the universe for her! Elyse insisted she could never have children, but the commander begged only for her love, while the merman threatened a planet for her sake. Then unexpectedly, her belly began to grow. "System, didn't you say I was infertile?!"

She died in the apocalypse-betrayed, abandoned, and torn apart by the infected. Then she woke up. Two months before the end of the world. Twenty-two years old again. And on her wrist, a wooden bracelet that her mother had left behind. The bracelet came with a system. A system that eats gold. With enough gold, she can unlock infinite storage for food, water, weapons-anything she needs to survive. The super-hurricane, the floods, the insect plagues, the volcanic winter, the scorching heat... she knows exactly what's coming. While the world sleeps, Joanna shops. She drains her aunt's bank account, maxes out every loan she can find, and buys out half the city. The apocalypse is coming. She'll be ready. But when the chaos begins, the wolves come crawling back-relatives who sold her, friends who betrayed her, a father who abandoned her. They want her food. Her water. Her mercy. Joanna has a different plan. "Why don't you decide who dies first?"

On my wedding day, I caught my fiancé in my stepsister's arms. She was pregnant with his child. And instead of begging for forgiveness, Damian Harrison laughed in my face. He admitted he had always planned to marry me, dump me in some forgotten country estate, and keep my stepsister as the woman he truly loved. So I burned my wedding veil in front of the entire Harrison family and walked away. That should have been the end of it. Instead, Damian's mother sent armed men after me. Why? Because I was a Dragonless nobody from the borderlands, and in her eyes, humiliating a Harrison was a crime worse than her son's betrayal. I had no dragon blood. No powerful family willing to protect me. Not even my own father would risk offending the Harrisons for my sake. If I wanted to survive, I needed someone they feared more than they hated me. So I returned to the Harrison estate and made an outrageous demand. I would marry Damian's uncle. Gideon Harrison-the legendary Dragon Lord, the kingdom's greatest war hero... and a man everyone believed was dead. Perfect. As his widow, I would outrank the man who betrayed me, become his aunt by marriage, and gain enough power to make every Harrison who humiliated me regret it. I signed the marriage pact without hesitation. Then a knight burst into the ancestral hall with impossible news. Gideon Harrison was alive. My dead husband wasn't dead. He was being brought home.