Donald Duck Walk

I was the broke scholarship kid, stuck sharing a room with Sherry, the spoiled heiress. From day one, she was all fake smiles and "let's be besties." She'd take me out for fancy meals. She even introduced me to Kenneth—her rich childhood buddy. It was fine—until Kenneth and I started dating. That's when the claws came out. One day, she "accidentally" dumped hot soup all over herself and claimed I'd done it on purpose. Then she demanded I pay her back. I gave her every cent I had, but it wasn't enough. Next, she accused me of stealing her wallet. The school bought it. I got written up, everyone turned on me, and Kenneth? He dumped me with, "You're just an ugly duckling trying to be a swan." I couldn't fight back. Humiliated, alone, and dragged through online hate, I dropped out. Then I let the river take me. And then—I woke up. Back to the moment Sherry introduced me to Kenneth.

While I was on vacation with my parents, we stood on the deck overlooking the sea when my father suddenly asked, "Mother duck says quack, quack, quack, quack. But?" I was about to reply, "Only four little ducks came back," when he kicked me into the water. "What's taking you so long to finish a song? Are you cognitively arrested or what?" he barked. Cold water filled my lungs like lead as I bobbed in the waves. "Help me, Dad! I can't swim!" My mother told the captain to steer the superyacht away instead. "Then stay in the water a little longer. Self-preservation may finally make you learn to swim. That's what you need. Real grit and adversity to unlock your potential." I flailed my arms and fought to stay afloat, but panic took over. My right leg cramped and refused to move. I could only watch the superyacht fade into the horizon. I drifted for a while before I could catch up with my parents' superyacht. I wished I could tell them how many ducks came back, but they would never hear my voice again.

In the second year of our marriage, my husband cheated on me with his first love and even had the audacity to ask me to step aside. So, I activated the system and made the two lovebirds swap bodies. Now, I couldn't wait to see if the husband burdened with a massive debt in place of his dream girl, and the dream girl waking up to a fortune overnight, could still maintain the “unbreakable love” they claimed to have.

When my husband, Alessandro, brought his widowed sister-in-law, Anna, back to our home in this life, I stopped putting up a fight. I decided to step aside and give them my blessing. Heck, I even made all their intimate moments possible. I handed over my promise necklace, wedding ring, and even the token of a Donna’s authority to Anna. In my previous life, Alessandro’s love and attention had gone to Anna even though he and I had been married for three decades. On my birthday, he was away, keeping her company at a doctor’s appointment. When I lay on my deathbed, he was busy watching the fireworks with her. Even our children resented me for taking Anna’s place. “A Don of the Colombo family can’t even be with the woman he loves. You have trapped Papa in this marriage. Mama, can’t you set Papa free?” By the time I opened my eyes, I was back to the year Alessandro moved Anna in. This time, I would walk away without looking back.

After being reborn, I cut off every line of contact with Maxwell Sutton. He chooses Elmshore University, so I change my application to Stonewick University instead. My goal is to stay far away from him and never cross paths again. When he comes back to the country for holidays and tries to meet up, I fly abroad. I block him on social media and stop replying to his emails. The moment he joins the same company as me, I hand in my resignation. I don't even want to see him from a distance. In my previous life, I was obsessed with him for 20 years, and he betrayed me for 20 years. I was diagnosed with a terminal illness in my 30s. While I took my last breath, Maxwell was busy planning a wedding with his first love. The daughter we raised adjusted his suit like the perfect child, while I died alone in a hospital room. And now, I refuse to live that ridiculous life again.

Luna Astrid had been a faithful and dedicated partner to Alpha Jarvis and the entire Emberclaw pack. She took care of the pack when Jarvis was away. She was happy when she learned that Jarvis would be coming home. She waited, only for him to come back with a lady he claimed was his fated mate. Astrid was torn apart. Yet, Jarvis assured her that bringing another woman to the pack wouldn't change anything between them. A situation occurred, and Astrid was accused of theft. She pleaded innocent, but no one listened. She was subjected to the walk of shame, forced to walk naked in front of the entire pack. With certainty that her world had come to an end, the twisted and dark alpha of the Shadowfen pack took her in. He trained her, and she became one of the best warriors in Veridian. When tragedy struck the Emberclaw pack, Jarvis ran to the Shadowfen pack to ask for help. "How dare you ask for my help after what you let them did to me?" Astrid demanded. "I'm sorry, Astrid. I was lost and following the pack orders. You should come home." Jarvis pleaded on his knees. "I'm sorry to disappoint you. Astrid belongs to me and to the Shadowfen Pack." Soren pulled Astrid to his side, not willing to let her go. Would Astrid go back to her pack, to the man she once loved or stay with the man that had saved her?