The Girl In The Leaves

I've been in a relationship with my older brother's best friend, Alpha Alexander Parker, for seven years. But there's a twist—this relationship is a secretive one. After having too much moonshine to drink one day, Alexander tells me drunkenly, "Willow, Stella is with pup now. If she doesn't have a mate, she'll get exiled out of the pack by the elders. Is it okay if I give her the Luna position for now?" In a calm and docile tone, I reply, "Okay." In my previous life, I didn't agree to Alexander's suggestion. I also insisted on holding the mating ceremony with him. Meanwhile, Stella Lockhart's belly continued to grow as weeks passed. In the end, she couldn't conceal it anymore. The enraged elders eventually cast her out of the pack. After Stella was gone, Alexander no longer came home, nor did he speak a word to me. I knew that he blamed me for everything. Some time later, I died from overwhelming guilt and depression. When I was about to close my eyes, I saw Alexander rushing into my room in alarm. Stella, who was supposed to be cast out of the pack, trailed behind him with a pup in her arms. That was when I finally realized that while Alexander was Stella's savior, he was never the most suitable mate for me. Now that I'm reborn, I don't turn his suggestion down. Instead, I decide to cut off all ties with him so that he and Stella can live happily ever after.

I refused to donate one of my kidneys to my younger sister, Ella. As a result, my parents forced me to marry a wealthy man in Pinetown. People said Johnson kept his distance from everyone else. His first love had never truly left his heart. Everyone waited to watch my miserable ending. Unexpectedly, Johnson actually deeply doted on me. During the three years of our marriage, regardless of the place, he never seemed able to keep his hands off me. Even when I went to the washroom, he followed me and pressed me against the sink. We never took any contraceptive measures. Yet, I never got pregnant. One day, when I thought I was finally expecting, we went to the hospital for a checkup. There, I accidentally overheard his conversation with a doctor. “Johnson, three years ago, you asked me to secretly transplant Amber’s kidney to Ella. Today, you want me to lie to her that she’s naturally sterile. How could you be so cruel to a woman who loves you?” “There’s no other way. Ella’s health is weak. If she can’t bear a child, she’ll suffer in her husband’s family. Only Amber’s kidney is a match for her.” The voice I knew so well sounded so cold that it felt unfamiliar. The love and salvation I had basked in so comfortably turned out to be nothing but a lie. If that was the truth, all that was left for me to do was to leave him.

After a car accident, my memory ended ten years ago, on the night I got down on one knee and proposed to Adrian Halloway. I tore through every app on my phone, desperate to find proof that Adrian was my husband, but in my contacts, there was only one number. My message threads were completely blank. Helpless, I called my best friend, Hannah Price, to ask if my proposal that night had actually worked. She exploded at me like a firecracker, "Juliana Rowe, have you completely lost your mind? Worked? You’ve been trying to divorce the man!" The first thing that flashed through my head when I hung up was, 'Damn, I’m impressive. I actually managed to land the untouchable Adrian Halloway.' The second thing was staring at the handwritten divorce agreement on my nightstand with total confusion. 'Who’s getting divorced? Me? I’m the one who wants this? What the hell is wrong with me?'

On the day of my wedding, the video I had painstakingly prepared was suddenly replaced with intimate photos of my fiancé and my foster sister, Lindsey Remmington. Within minutes, it hit the top of the trending list. Overnight, I, a celebrated actress, became the abandoned bride of a wealthy family and a public laughingstock. Just when I thought I'd reached rock bottom, Connor Presley, the heir of Elluel City's most powerful family and the boy I'd grown up with, returned from abroad. In front of flashing cameras, he knelt with a diamond ring and proposed, silencing every rumor and every sneer. After we married, we appeared inseparable, our affection the picture of perfection. The only flaw was his infertility—his condition made it nearly impossible for me to conceive. For three long years, I underwent countless rounds of IVF. At last, I became pregnant. Connor was overjoyed. To celebrate, he threw an extravagant party in honor of our long-awaited child. But in the middle of the revelry, one of his closest friends, drunk and unguarded, muttered in Russian, "Connor, you've gone too far. Just because Lindsey was afraid pregnancy would ruin her figure, you put the zygote into Rachel's body and let her carry the baby for you two? If she ever finds out the truth, you'll regret it for the rest of your life." Connor's expression didn't waver. "This was Lindsey's only wish. I had to grant it," he replied coolly. "Besides, having a child with Lindsey has always been my dream. Only her child deserves to be the heir of the Presley family. The days ahead are long—I'll make it up to Rachel, eventually." I stood frozen, my body trembling uncontrollably. That night, I made an appointment for an abortion. When Connor stormed into the hospital, raging like a madman, I looked up at him with chilling calm and said, "I understand Russian."

I was just the mate of the Alpha fated mate and the nanny to my child, not his Luna. I dedicated my life to him, but he never loved me—this was all because I was just a wolfless omega. Until his ex returned, everyone, including my mate and even my child, looked down on me. Everyone believed she should be the Luna. I turned and walked out of the house, choosing to live for myself. Three months later, I became the world’s most renowned white wolf healer, appearing on television. Son (shocked): "Dad, is that... my mom on TV?"

Emre had it all. He was rich, powerful and handsome. He was used to winning, in life and in business. He could get any girl he wanted. Anyone but her. The only regret in his life. Sarah. He’d never forgotten her. Even though she’d crushed him when she’d left, he still wanted her. Now a chance encounter had put them both together on his yacht. She might not want anything to do with him but he wasn’t about to let anything get in his way. Not her resistance. Not the past, not any misunderstandings. Not even her boyfriend. She was his girl, wherever she went, whatever she did. He wasn’t going to rest till he got her back, one way or another.