Rabbit

As a wolfless charity case at the Hyde Pack's celebration, my world shattered when Braydon, my supposed protector, publicly announced Katherine Parrish as his Luna, erasing me. Heartbroken, I fled into a terrifying contract marriage with Alpha King Dallas Marshall for protection. Braydon's public assault and threats forced me to reveal my secret marriage, challenging the King. My "protection" felt like a prison. Braydon revealed I was a "key" to power, not a mate, confirming my fears. Enraged by my attempt to take a morning-after pill, Dallas forced me to swallow it, then branded my lips with a furious kiss. His chilling silence hardened my resolve. I immediately drafted an addendum to our contract, setting strict boundaries to reclaim control.

On my wedding day, my father sold me to the Chicago Outfit to pay his debts. I was supposed to marry Alex Moreno, the heir to the city's most powerful crime family. But he couldn't even be bothered to show up. As I stood alone at the altar, humiliated, my best friend delivered the final blow. Alex hadn't just stood me up; he had run off to California with his mistress. The whispers in the cathedral turned me into a joke. I was damaged goods, the rejected bride. His family knew the whole time and let me take the public fall, offering me his cousins as pathetic replacements-a brute who hated me or a coward who couldn't protect me. The humiliation burned away my fear, leaving only cold rage. My life was already over, so I decided to set the whole game on fire myself. The marriage pact only said a Carlson had to marry a Moreno; it never said which one. With nothing left to lose, I looked past the pathetic boys they offered. I chose the one man they never expected. I chose his father, the Don himself.

My marriage to Joshua Caldwell was a prison sentence. I was a Hartman trophy, sold to the powerful family who had destroyed mine. Then I discovered he was cheating. His mistress was pregnant with the child he denied me, and he was stealing my secret song lyrics to build her career. When I confronted him, he called me a spineless liability and threatened to destroy what was left of my family. To make matters worse, a one-night stand with a stranger turned out to be with my husband's brother, Anthony Caldwell-the Don of the city. He knew all of Joshua's secrets and used them to trap me in a twisted game, seeing me as nothing more than an asset. They both thought I was a broken doll they could control. I wrote a song for his mistress, a beautiful execution with a single, impossible note I knew would destroy her voice. She sang it, and now her career is over. Now the Don has summoned me to Chicago, not knowing the woman he thinks is his asset is the one who just burned his brother's world to the ground.

For two years, I was the Alpha's secret wife, a duty he resented. But the positive pregnancy test in my hand was a miracle, a blessing from the Moon Goddess. This baby, our heir, was supposed to be the bridge that finally mended our broken mate bond. That night, he left without a word. I saw on a gossip site that he'd gone to pick up his ex-lover, Isadora. Reaching for him through our bond, I wasn't met with his usual coldness, but with her emotions bleeding through him-triumph and smug possession. The next morning, I went to his office, ready to tell him about our baby, believing our child could fix us. But I stopped when I heard him talking to our Pack Healer about me. The healer said I looked fragile, that he should care for his mate. My husband laughed. "You seem to care for her more than I do," Demetri said, his voice dripping with ice. "Do you want me to give her to you? Take her. She's of no use to me." My world shattered. I wasn't just unloved; I was a thing to be discarded. I looked down at the pregnancy report, the proof of the life inside me, and made a vow. He would never know about our child, and I would sever our bond myself.

My husband, Ethan Vance, made me his trophy wife. My best friend, Susanna Thorne, helped me pick out my wedding dress. Together, they made me a fool. For three years, I was Mrs. Ethan Vance, a decorative silence in his billion-dollar world, living a quiet routine until a forgotten phone charger led me to his office. The low, feminine laugh from behind his door was a gut-punch; inside, I found Ethan and Susanna, my "best friend" and his CMO, tangled on his sofa, his only reaction irritation. My divorce declaration brought immediate scorn and threats. I was fired, my accounts frozen, and publicly smeared as an unstable gold-digger. Even my own family disowned me for my last cent, only for me to be framed for assault and served a restraining order. Broke, injured, and utterly demonized, they believed I was broken, too ashamed to fight. But their audacious betrayal and relentless cruelty only forged a cold, unyielding resolve. Slumped alone, a restraining order in hand, I remembered my hidden journal: a log of Ethan's insider trading secrets. They wanted a monster? I would show them one.

"Anya, a 'wolfless' in a world of powerful werewolves, was invisible, drowning her sorrows and desperately lonely. One drunken text, a desperate cry for attention, accidentally reached the Alpha, pulling her into his terrifying orbit. Now, she's trapped, a pawn in his game, forced to warm his bed while he waits for his true mate, her heart breaking with every stolen moment. As a 'wolfless' in the Blackwood Pack, Anya felt like an outsider, always yearning for a connection. One night, in a drunken haze, a misdirected text meant for her best friend landed in Alpha Declan Blackwood's inbox: ""Send me something hot."" Minutes later, the most powerful, terrifying man in the Pack stood at her door, claiming her with a possessive kiss that ignited a dangerous, unwanted fire. The next morning, his cold indifference shattered her world. Publicly humiliated and instantly fired, Anya became a pariah. Her dying mother's urgent need for a million-dollar heart transplant left her with an impossible choice: accept the Alpha's cold, transactional marriage proposal or watch her mother die. She became his ""placeholder"" wife, a contract, not a partner, all while battling a confusing attraction to the man who treated her as property. Why did he demand her, only to remind her constantly of her worthlessness, especially when everyone knew he waited for his true mate? Her world crumbled when she overheard Declan tell his returning ""true mate,"" Kristin Larsen, that Anya was ""just a substitute."" Despite the crushing betrayal and a strange, unyielding pull, Anya, fueled by her mother's desperate need, vowed to survive this gilded cage and reclaim her life before she lost herself completely."

For three years, I was the perfect, invisible wife. My husband, Jaden, called the songs I poured my soul into "trash," then secretly fed them to his pop-star mistress to make her famous. Then one night, after being drugged at a gala, I woke up in a stranger's bed. It wasn't just the betrayal that shattered me; it was the soul-deep certainty that this powerful, dangerous man was my true fated mate. I fled home in a panic, only to find a message on Jaden's phone confirming my worst fears. His mistress, the woman singing my songs on the radio, was pregnant with the baby he'd always told me I was too weak to carry. The nightmare deepened when I learned the identity of the man from the hotel. He was Carter Mcclain, the ruthless Alpha King-and my husband's older brother. He looked at me with eyes that knew my secret, his cruel smirk promising that my life was now a game for his amusement. Jaden had stolen my music, my dream of a family, and my future, leaving me trapped between his betrayal and his terrifying brother. He thought he had broken me, leaving me with nothing. He forgot he left me with the rage that wrote the songs. And I was about to write their final, brutal verse.

The rain assaulted the glass, mirroring the storm inside me. For three years, I, Vivian Sterling, played the perfect wife to Julian Kensington, draining my life. The antique clock ticked, a reminder of time lost. Then, I found it: a blonde hair on Julian's suit, reeking of Midnight Rose, and a text, ""Candy: You left your cufflinks on my nightstand. I'm already missing you."" My world shattered, revealing his betrayal. This was just the beginning. I exposed Julian's fraud and his family's violent plots, surviving assassination. But their malice stole my past. Then Alexander Vance, my protector, uncovered a terrifying truth: my birth mother was alive, held captive by a shadowy order. My life was a lie, built to shield me from my dangerous bloodline. I found strength and love with Alexander, the man who walked into fire for me. Yet, as I prepared to rescue my mother, a new life stirred within me, a secret threatening to complicate the impending war.

On New Year's Eve, Aria Hart watched Julian Lawson come home with an eighteen-year-old model on his arm. Her fingers tightened around the late-stage stomach cancer diagnosis, while he mocked her without even blinking. "If I'm not marrying her, what, you think I should marry you?" Aria had given him ten full years, only to be repaid with the news that Julian was going to marry someone else. This time, she neither argued nor fought. After calling the hospital and agreeing to go abroad for treatment, she quietly disappeared. She thought it would end cleanly there, but after Aria left, Julian completely lost his mind. He ran from his wedding in front of everyone, put all his work on hold, and searched for her across the world. Eventually, he found information about Aria at the hospital. The nurse frowned. "Are you her family member?" Julian nodded urgently. "I'm her husband!" The nurse shook her head. "That's impossible. She said she has no family member. And she isn't here anymore."

I had been married for three years and never realized that my husband, Erik Hayes, had a mistress he held dear to his heart until I received an anonymous email one day. It contained a video where he and his mistress, Mia Dixon, were making love passionately for the whole night. Afterwards, he said to Mia, "I wish it were you carrying my baby. Just thinking that Doreen is having my baby makes me sick and makes me want to throw up." Later, everything went as he wished, but he lost his mind.

My grandfather sold me to a man named Maverick to settle his gambling debts. I stood on the private platform at Union Station, a human payment waiting to be collected. But he never came. An hour later, his assistant called to say the deal was off. I was told to disappear by morning or face the consequences. My family blamed me for their ruin and threw me out onto the street. Homeless and disowned, I had no choice but to take a low-level job at Prosperity Group, the biggest investment firm in Chicago. I needed to survive. I never understood why he rejected me. I had followed every rule, worn the red dress he demanded, and waited like a lamb for slaughter. Why would he agree to save my family only to destroy us at the last second? On my first day, I was called into the CEO's office. The man behind the desk was Damien Maddox, the city's most ruthless billionaire. He looked at me with a chilling familiarity. He was the man who had bought me. And he was the man who had thrown me away.

Before the engagement ceremony began, Bowen Green was nowhere to be found. He merely left me a message. "Rosie had a heart attack. I must go and stay with her. Let Bowen handle today's wedding ceremony for me. It's just a formality anyway." Dressed in my wedding gown, I stared at the photo of him and Rosie Price embracing tenderly in the hospital. My fingernails dug into my palm. At that moment, I didn't show my anger. The door opened, and Brice stepped in, clad in a black suit. He was tall and imposing, with a suppressed darkness swirling in his eyes. I looked up at him, rumored to be cruel, and suddenly smiled. "Brice, do you dare to marry me?" Brice's eyes deepened, locking onto me like a wolf. "Leyla Yates, you're asking for it."

My husband, Rodger Hayes, was a renowned chief negotiator, famous for his integrity and firmness within the circle. When my son and I were kidnapped, with three hostages at the scene, the kidnappers agreed to release only one. Among the women and the boy, Rodger should have chosen to save the boy first. Yet, I heard him saying in Spanish fluently, "Release the woman in white." His first love, Jolene Chapman, was freed, while my son, Jacob Hayes, died from a gunfire. Later, Rodger explained the situation flatly. "The kidnappers chose to release Jolene." I cradled Jacob's ashes and smiled sadly. Rodger didn't know that I was fluent in Spanish, as I had been a special forces member. His lies crumbled before me. My phone vibrated, and I confirmed the encrypted message. "Falcon returns to base."

To have a child with her husband, who had fertility issues, she agreed to undergo in vitro fertilization. However, she inadvertently discovered that she had been used as a means to have a child by her husband and his mistress. The embryos used in the procedure had been swapped by her husband, replacing them with his sperm and the mistress's egg. Devastated by the betrayal, she decided to go to the hospital to terminate the pregnancy. Yet, the doctor revealed an unexpected twist: due to a nurse's mistake, the child she was carrying was actually hers and that of a stranger. And this stranger turned out to be the mafia leader! Thus began a series of unforeseen complications.

My husband promised me forever, but gave me endless lies. On our anniversary, I found his secrets on social media, exposed by his mistress. He didn't just break my heart; he broke my entire world. Seraphina sat alone in her opulent mansion, preparing their anniversary dinner, feeling the suffocating weight of her cold, hollow marriage. An Instagram post from Tiffany Sloan then brazenly revealed Harrison's hand at a romantic dinner, shattering his flimsy excuses and exposing his blatant infidelity. The betrayal turned Seraphina's despair into cold resolve. He gaslighted her, dismissed her pain, and reminded her she was "nothing." He chose his mistress over her dying brother, caused her to break an ankle, and finally abandoned her on a desolate street corner, stripped of dignity. How could she have sacrificed her entire violin career for a man who so casually discarded her? Under that bridge, her foolish love died, leaving only a fierce desire for reclamation. Shivering and alone, a faded flyer for a violin teacher caught her eye. It was a defiant whisper of her old self, a promise: Seraphina Vanderbilt was gone, and a new Seraphina was finally free.

After five years of marriage, my husband is always absent on my birthday. No gifts, no blessings. He said, "I've given you the money, buy whatever you want." But he started preparing for Fiona's birthday half a month in advance. He said, "She's different, she only has me." As the sole survivor of a unexpected fire, he has been heartbroken for over a decade. Watching Fiona in Moments holding a cake and kissing his face. I slowly commented. 【Just this useless person, I'm giving him to you.】

I spent three years playing the mousy, supportive wife to tech mogul Julian Vanderbilt, fixing his code and hiding my past as an elite special ops captain. Everything shattered at our anniversary gala when I saw my mother's heirloom emerald necklace hanging around the neck of Julian's mistress. When I confronted him, Julian didn't even look up from his drink, telling me to stop being "territorial" because I was too plain to wear such jewelry anyway. The humiliation peaked when he refused to attend my parents' military repatriation the next morning, choosing an investor brunch with his mistress instead. I stood in our penthouse watching him dote on her, realizing I had used my parents' death benefits to build a throne for a man who treated me like disposable trash. I couldn't understand how the man I had quietly saved from a burning yacht years ago could be so blind to the warrior standing right in front of him. He had no idea that the very empire he bragged about was built entirely on my technology and my sacrifice. I didn't argue; I simply went to the safe and pulled out my black beret and my high-level security credentials. As I revoked his admin access and watched his billion-dollar world begin to glitch, I walked out to meet the military honor guard. It was time to remind Julian Vanderbilt exactly who he had married-and exactly how much it was going to cost him to lose me.

For my entire life, I believed my Alpha, Kaelen, was my fated mate. A sacred gift from the Moon Goddess. But on the eve of my eighteenth birthday, he presented another she-wolf, Seraphina, as his chosen Luna, using a borrowed pup in a cruel plot to crush my spirit. When Rogues attacked our pack, a silver chandelier fell towards us. Kaelen lunged past me without a glance, shielding Seraphina with his own body while I was left to be crushed. He never even looked back. Later, after falsely accusing me of hurting her, he dragged my injured body to an ice-cold hydrotherapy pool and shoved me under the water. As I struggled to breathe, he loomed over me, his voice a roar of command. "If you ever touch her again, I will strip you of your name and make you Rogue." Watching the man I loved try to kill me, the last of my hope finally turned to ash. That night, I accepted an offer to join the Silverwood Pack. Then, I walked to the forge and tossed every memento he'd ever given me into the flames, watching the girl who loved him burn away forever.

Andrew Hebert, the man who promised to protect me, stood on a stage and announced his engagement to my tormentor. It wasn't just heartbreak; it was a business deal. He was selling me to a creditor to cover his gambling debts. The applause of the powerful families was a death sentence, each clap sealing my fate as collateral. Andrew had paraded me here just to show everyone I was an asset to be liquidated, while his new fiancée smirked at me from the stage. I was trapped, with no money and no one to turn to. The man I loved was leading me to the slaughter. But as I fled into the library, a voice emerged from the shadows, deep and dangerous. Damien Maddox. The Dark Don. The only man Andrew feared. He offered me a different kind of cage, one with the power to burn Andrew's world to the ground. With nothing left to lose, I looked the devil in the eyes. "Take me with you."

“Drive this woman out!” "Throw this woman into the sea!” When he doesn’t know Debbie Nelson’s true identity, Carlos Hilton cold-shoulders her. “Mr. Hilton, she is your wife,” Carlos’ secretary reminded him. Hearing that, Carlos gives him a cold stare and complained, “why didn’t you tell me earlier?” From then on, Carlos spoils her rotten. Little did everyone expect that they would get a divorce.

In the fifth year of Irene Shaw's marriage to Ethan Hart, he was involved in a car accident and lost his memory. No matter how she tried to prove that they had once loved each other, Ethan still insisted on a divorce. His reasoning was hard to refute. "If I really loved you as much as you claim, how could I forget you?" The childhood sweetheart who had once cut him off without hesitation had now become his sole emotional anchor. He looked at Irene coldly. "Since you know this is a mistake, why not end it cleanly?" The hands that had once refused to let her go now recoiled from even her lightest touch. Disheartened and exhausted, Irene signed her name and pushed him completely out of her life. Not long after, Ethan stopped her in the rain, his eyes red from crying. "Irene, don't leave me. You said I'd never lose you." As the car window slid shut, the arm around her waist tightened instinctively, and someone spoke before she could. "Drive on. Irene said she doesn't know him." She lowered her gaze, feeling a serene detachment, "I really don't know him."

She was a world-famous biologist of extraordinary genius, while he was the privileged heir to an elite family, renowned for his unmatched intellect and headline-making achievements. She deliberately pursued him, treating their union as a calculated, high-stakes gamble to bear a child inheriting his brilliant mind and superior genes. With her objective fulfilled, she planned to vanish without a trace, severing every tie. But he met her with a cold, mocking smile. "Leave whenever you like. But the child stays with me." He initially dismissed her as a penniless opportunist-until he learned she was no ordinary woman, but a rare, coveted treasure chased by the world's elite. In reality, she ruled a billion-dollar empire as its mysterious CEO, wielded mysterious healing powers, and stood as an acclaimed global researcher whose work inspired awe. Amid all her hidden layers, he was well aware of one thing-he would never agree to a divorce.

Yelena discovered that she wasn't her parents' biological child. After seeing through their ploy to trade her as a pawn in a business deal, she was sent away to her barren birthplace. There, she stumbled upon her true origins-a lineage of historic opulence. Her real family showered her with love and adoration. In the face of her so-called sister's envy, Yelena conquered every adversity and took her revenge, all while showcasing her talents. She soon caught the attention of the city's most eligible bachelor. He cornered Yelena and pinned her against the wall. "It's time to reveal your true identity, darling."

Due to my family's expectations and obligations, I married Colton in place of my half-sister, Shirley. Eight years later, Shirley, who avoided an arranged marriage, returned to the country, and my husband Colton asked for a divorce. Coincidentally, as my mother was critically ill, I rushed to the hospital, only to unexpectedly collide with my secret admirer. Upon learning about my divorce, he began courting me with genuine determination. After the divorce, I restarted my career and worked diligently to achieve my career goals with newfound support. He offered unwavering support and encouragement, helping me steadily progress. Meanwhile, Colton, who had once insisted on divorcing me, began to regret his decision.

Chloe Davis, a celebrated fashion designer, died tragically at thirty, her body left unclaimed for eighteen hours on a cold city street. The world whispered she deserved it, a jinx who brought down her whole family, while Liam Hayes, the man she loved, maliciously exposed her past. Her soul, a hollow shell of pain and hatred, watched as the cruel judgment rained down, indifferent to a life she no longer felt. "Everyone in the fashion world knows Bethany Miller is Liam Hayes's sweetheart, and her child is the lifeline of the Hayes family. Chloe Davis actually dared to harm that child, wasn't she just asking for death?" "No, I heard that child's death had nothing to do with Chloe Davis at all." "You don't know the inside story. Liam Hayes went completely crazy over this and exposed everything about Chloe Davis being held hostage in Paris five years ago." Why did everyone believe the lies? Why was her suffering celebrated? Then, the impossible happened-she awoke, reborn five years earlier, back in the very hostage situation that began her undoing, still tethered to the man who would sacrifice her again.

As the New Year's dinner concluded and we prepared to leave, Miranda Wells, the manager, blocked my path and forced me to pay the bill. I firmly refused, but Miranda was tough. "I am doing you a favor by asking you to pay the bill! Who in this country would dare to defy anyone from the Harris family? Do you have a death wish?" She sneered, rolling up her sleeves and pointing at me before I spoke. "Do you know who I am? Nikolas Harris, the CEO of the Harris Group, is my husband! I am Mrs. Harris!" I was stunned. I was married to Nikolas, so why was Miranda claiming to be his wife? In the next moment, I called Nikolas at the spot. "Why am I unaware that you have another wife?"

After seven years in a dungeon for a crime I didn't commit, my fated mate, the Alpha who let them drag me away, finally opened my cell door. He announced I would take my place as his Luna, not out of love, but because the law demanded it. But the moment a frantic mind-link came through that his precious Seraphina-my adopted sister, the one who framed me-was having trouble breathing, he abandoned me without a second glance. That night, huddled in a dusty shack, I overheard my own parents' secret conversation. They were planning to have me exiled. Permanently. My return had upset Seraphina, and her "weak heart" couldn't take the shock. I lay there in the darkness, feeling nothing. Not surprise. Not even pain. Just a profound, empty coldness. They were casting me out. Again. But as they plotted my exile, a secret message arrived for me-an offer of escape. A new life in a sanctuary far to the north, where I could leave the Blackmoon Pack behind forever. They thought they were getting rid of me. Little did they know, I was already gone.

My boyfriend Ethan and I broke up a year ago, but I'm still the one he calls in a crisis. I'm his rock, the foundation of the company we built together. After closing a seven-figure deal for him, the celebration landed me in the ER with alcohol poisoning. That's where I overheard him on the phone, telling our finance manager to give the credit, the title, and the public glory for my project to his secretary, Olivia. He said I'd get a bonus check, as if that could pay for my life's work. He then dismissed my past sacrifices, even calling the miscarriage of our child a "blessing in disguise" because a baby would have been a "complication." That night, at a gala, he proposed in a public trap. As he was on one knee, a screen behind us played faked photos painting me as a corporate spy. Then, Olivia "accidentally" spilled a glass of mango juice on me. I have a deathly allergy to mangoes. As I gasped for air, Ethan looked from my very real medical emergency to Olivia, who had chosen that moment to swoon dramatically into his arms. He hesitated. He actually hesitated, choosing to comfort her as I was dying. But a different man saved me. Liam Sterling, Ethan's biggest rival, administered an EpiPen and led me out of the chaos. That night, I sent him a message: "I hold the key to the Henderson project. Every contact, every piece of data. Ethan is about to make a fatal error. Are you interested in a strategic partnership?"

The acrid smell of smoke still clung to Evelyn in the ambulance, her lungs raw from the penthouse fire. She was alive, but the world around her felt utterly destroyed, a feeling deepened by the small TV flickering to life. On it, her husband, Julian Vance, thousands of miles away, publicly comforted his mistress, Serena Holloway, shielding her from paparazzi after *her* "panic attack." Julian's phone went straight to voicemail. Alone in the hospital with second-degree burns, Evelyn watched news replays, her heart rate spiking. He protected Serena from camera flashes while Evelyn burned. When he finally called, he demanded she handle insurance, dismissing the fire; Serena's voice faintly heard. The shallow family ties and pretense of marriage evaporated. A searing injustice and cold anger replaced pain; Evelyn knew Julian had chosen to let her burn. "Evelyn Vance died in that fire," she declared, ripping out her IV. Armed with a secret fortune as "The Architect," Hollywood's top ghostwriter, she walked out. She would divorce Julian, reclaim her name, and finally step into the spotlight as an actress.

Sienna Sullivan entered the penthouse not as a bride, but as a business transaction to pay off her family's debts. Manhattan's most ruthless billionaire, Julian Vanderbilt, expected a submissive wife, but he purchased a woman who was secretly a global fashion icon and a lethal operative. When he finally tried to lock her in a gilded cage to "protect" her, Sienna didn't just walk away-she jumped from his moving Rolls-Royce to reclaim her own crown. The arrangement was a psychological prison. Julian paraded fake heroines in her face, never realizing Sienna was the "Ghost," the soldier who had already saved his life in a war zone years ago. While she bled in the shadows to keep his empire from crumbling, he dismissed her as a mousy tutor. The humiliation was absolute as her family mocked her as a "charity case" and Julian treated her like a fragile doll. He ignored the warrior who was the true power behind his throne, choosing to prioritize his own secrets over her safety. She realized Julian didn't want a partner; he wanted a possession to hide in a vault. The discovery that he would never trust the woman beneath the mask was the final betrayal. He only loved the version of her he could control. Sienna finally chose to burn the bridge. After neutralizing an assassin in a designer gown, she tossed her wedding ring into a puddle and vanished into the night. She wasn't running from the fire; she was going back to the desert to finish the war. The Queen has left the board, and the King is coming for blood.

I arrived at the Blackwood Pack House as the bride in an arranged marriage, a political pawn meant to secure an alliance with their Alpha, Grayson Wilder. His family treated me like trash from the moment I walked in. His sister then deliberately sent me to the wrong room-the Alpha's private chambers. When Grayson found me in his bed, he didn't ask questions. He shoved me to the floor, his eyes glowing with rage as he accused me of being a social climber trying to trap him. His mother and sister watched from the doorway, their faces alight with triumph, ready to see me torn apart. They had no idea I was there to save them, a secret deal made with the elders to prevent their pack from collapsing. I was the one with the power, hiding my true identity for their sake, yet they treated me like a stray dog who had wandered into their pristine home. But when he truly looked at me, his rage faltered, replaced by shocked recognition. He saw a ghost from a past he couldn't remember. And I knew this war wasn't just for my survival, but for a truth he was terrified to face.

After receiving a prenatal injection, I received an anonymous video on my phone. In the video, a man sang nursery rhymes with a little boy wearing a birthday hat. He dabbed a bit of cream on his finger and smiled as he smeared it on a woman's nose. Then he bent down to kiss it away. My phone slipped from my hand to the floor, and I trembled all over uncontrollably. The scar on the inside of the man's wrist was an old one, left from the time he saved me. Around his neck hung the pendant I had fetched for him from a famous church to ensure his safety. When I returned home, the expansive riverside apartment felt empty. The housekeeper brought some herbal soup meant to stabilize my pregnancy. She sighed and placed it on the table. "Mr. Stewart has a social engagement this evening and won't be home for dinner." It was the tenth night he had used this excuse not to come home. I removed the diamond ring that symbolized our love and called the lawyer. I didn't want to wait any longer. My husband, Bruce Stewart, had given his tenderness to another woman and was not worth my love.

Working during summer vacation, a strange customer threw hot milk tea at me and even damaged the machines in the store. The milk tea shop sided with the customer and even took all of my wages to compensate for the damages. When I went to argue about it, I was crushed into minced meat by a large truck on the way. Opening my eyes again, I found myself back at the moment when the customer threw milk tea at me.

On the night of their fifth wedding anniversary, Jolie Knight cooked an entire dinner herself. But it wasn't until nearly ten o'clock that Kaden Knight finally came home-and the first thing he did was head straight for the shower. The food on the table had already gone cold. Jolie dumped everything into the trash without hesitation. When she picked up the jacket Kaden had tossed onto the couch, planning to throw it in the wash, her fingers pulled out a lace T-back thong from the pocket. It wasn't the first time she had received that girl's little provocations. Including this one, it was the ninety-ninth. The bathroom door swung open, and Kaden stepped out. He was shirtless, with a white towel loosely hanging around his waist. He glanced at the pink lace thong in her hand and barely reacted, only lifting a lazy eyebrow. "Larry can be childish. You don't need to get worked up over her," he said. Jolie's eyes traveled over the face she used to adore-still handsome, still familiar. How had things fallen apart in less than five years? But it didn't matter; she had promised herself that after forgiving him 99 times, she would divorce him. The 99th time had arrived, and their marriage was over. "I've decided to join the three-year closed research project you mentioned last time."

Eleanor Vance had spent a lifetime trying to earn her family's love, offering them her heart, her talent, and her quiet devotion. But on Cassandra's birthday, her peace offering was met with a vicious lie and a stinging slap across the face. In that single, shattering moment, Eleanor realized she had been buying tickets to a bus that would never come, and something inside her snapped. Her adopted sister, Cassandra, always commanded their parents' adoration, leaving Eleanor a perpetual shadow. So when Cassandra theatrically dropped Eleanor's painstakingly restored emerald brooch, blaming her, Eleanor's mother, Vivian, lashed out with a stinging slap. Her father, Robert, coldly demanded an apology, choosing a manipulator's tears over his own daughter's truth. The familiar ache in Eleanor's chest confirmed their twisted love was not for her. A quiet, terrifying resolve settled within her. She knelt, not in humility, but with chilling purpose, tossed the emerald brooch into the roaring fireplace. ""You don't deserve it,"" she stated, devoid of warmth. Later, from a hidden compartment, she pulled out a sleek, black burner phone. ""It's time,"" Eleanor whispered. ""Initiate Phase One. Prepare the assets.""

My world crumbled the day I held my death sentence in my hands. My husband, Sebastian, thought I was strong, a socialite wife who had "everything." He didn't know my body was already betraying me, just like he was. At twenty-five, I was Catherine Vanderbilt, wife to a Manhattan titan, but my body was quietly giving up. A doctor's report confirmed it: critical kidney failure, a terrifying secret whispering through my veins. My marriage, a fragile dance of silence, felt like it was balanced on a knife's edge. When I tried to talk about starting a family, Sebastian dismissed me as greedy, comparing me to his "fragile" ex-girlfriend, Serena. Then, on our anniversary, a panicked call from Serena sent him rushing out, leaving me alone with my pain and the terrifying truth of my failing health. He didn't come home, returning only to give me a diamond bracelet – a golden shackle. He made me sign an NDA, legally binding me to silence as he hired Serena, bringing her into our company. I found them in his office, Serena wearing an identical bracelet, openly flaunting our shared humiliation. During an elevator breakdown, he comforted her panic attack, ignoring my own terror. Later, Serena "accidentally" scalded my hand, and Sebastian rushed to her side, leaving me burned, invisible, and alone. I was dying, yet he saw me as strong, while his ex, whose life he'd "broken," received all his care. How could he be so blind? How could I be so utterly dispensable? After a fleeting night of intimacy, Serena's feigned suicide threat lured him away again. The next morning, my world crashed completely: my entire fashion collection, my soul's work, was stolen and leaked by Serena, using Sebastian's company cloud. As the betrayal hit, a sharp pain tore through my back, blood trickled from my nose, and I collapsed, utterly broken, while my stolen designs blazed across the screens.

Everyone in Kaelton envied me for the three elite young people my parents adopted, who treated me like a queen. Rodger Burton spent millions to light up the city with fireworks for the whole night to celebrate my birthday. Larry Burton planted roses throughout the estate to make me happy. Ethan Burton crafted a unique ring just for me with his rib to prove his sincerity. I was overjoyed, believing myself to be the happiest woman in the world. But when I accidentally ate a cake containing peanuts and nearly went into shock, I overheard the three guys whispering to Cailey Kirk, the daughter of the servant, Vida Kirk, in the hospital corridor. "Don't be afraid. She is merely allergic and went into shock. It is just a lesson for her." "Isn't she allergic to peanuts? We doubled the amount in the cake to punish her so that she would never have the guts to show off in front of you again." "Relax. She won't die. We just wanted to teach her a lesson for upsetting you." I stood in the shadows, and my heart turned cold. I nearly lost my life, but it was just the three guys' cruel joke to win Cailey over. Looking at the emergency medication Jayden Price had sent to my bedside, I wiped my tears and called my father, Huxley Burton. "I'll marry Jayden, despite his scars."

After her eleventh miscarriage, Clara Fulton became pregnant again. To protect the pregnancy, she lay in a hospital bed day after day, enduring injection after injection, waiting for the special drug meant to save her child. Then she discovered the truth. Her husband of eight years, Ethan Grayson, had already given that one dose of the special drug to his newly pregnant mistress. Clara wiped the tears from her face and made a ruthless decision, ending the pregnancy she had fought so desperately to keep. She no longer wanted a man who wavered between women. But anyone who betrayed sincerity would have to pay a price. She took out a phone she had never once used and dialed the only number saved on it. "You wanted me to acknowledge you as my father, didn't you? Come pick me up in a week. I'll take your seat." She had no idea that after she left, Ethan would kneel before every god he could think of, praying for nothing but her return.

Natalie Harrington never expected that less than a year after remarrying, Adrian Brown would cheat on her again. As the design director of Brown Group, she had worked late into the night once again. When she returned home, she saw the servants standing in a row at the foot of the stairs, blocking the way. The moment they spotted her, their faces turned deathly ashen. "Mrs. Brown... why are you back? Didn't Mr. Brown say you'd be working through the night and wouldn't be coming home? I... I'll go upstairs and ask him to come down." As the servant turned and went upstairs, Natalie heard the sounds coming from above. "Ah... that feels so good! Adrian, slow down, I can't take it..." "Go on. Louder. Natalie isn't home anyway. You can scream all you want." "You're so bad... ah!" Seeing Natalie's expressionless face, the servant asked nervously, "Mrs. Brown, I'll go tell Mr. Brown right away that you're back." "No need." Natalie turned and walked toward the dining room, her voice calm. "I'm hungry. Prepare a late-night meal for me." The servants were utterly shocked, not expecting her to remain so composed, unaware that she had already decided to divorce.

In the third year after my heart failure diagnosis, I, Aria Green, watched my Alpha, Luke Perry, generously give away my heart source to his mistress's father. Layla Vale, the mistress, flaunted how perfectly they fit together in bed, how well-behaved their pups were. My heart shattered. Since Luke had betrayed me, I would no longer accept him as my mate. But the heart source that belonged to me, I would take it back. I dialed a communication code that had been sealed away for five years. "I'll return to the Green Pack for the surgery. Come pick me up in a week." But when I truly left, Luke was the one who regretted it.