This Was Our Pact

I made a deal with the Devil. My soul, in exchange for seven days on earth after I died. The eleventh hour after my death happened to fall on our third wedding anniversary. The moment I walked through the door, he had just come home from another woman's place. He had an anniversary gift waiting for me. A set of sapphires. But the card tucked beside them bore another woman's name. I spotted a pale lavender hair tie in his hand. Once, I would have fought him over a hair tie like that, all the way from the front hall to the study. This time, I said nothing. It was him who froze instead, staring at me like I was a stranger. "You didn't used to be like this. I almost miss the way you used to fall apart over everything." He was right. The old me would have thrown a fit over something as small as him forgetting to cut my steak. But ever since the miscarriage, my heart had been dying by slow degrees. When I found out I was pregnant, I was overjoyed. I wanted him to be the first to know. But I couldn't reach him, no matter how many times I called. I lost the baby. I hemorrhaged. That very afternoon, while I lay on the operating table, a photo of him and that woman hit the entertainment headlines. He never even knew I had carried a child. Now there was only one last thing I wanted from him. To drive me up to the northern coast, and bury me with his own hands. But when he realized I had truly vanished from this world, he came undone.

“Sign it.” Axton’s calm voice echoed in the room. The kind of calm that made silence deafening. He pushed the divorce papers across the polished desk, his expression cold and composed. The pen rolled until it stopped in front of her hand. Isla’s fingers trembled slightly as she picked it up. The golden ring on her finger glinted under the office light, a cruel reminder of everything that was about to end. Three years of marriage, three years of smiles and unspoken tenderness, now reduced to a signature line. They had never married for love, binded by a contract signed for convenience, destined to expire the moment it no longer served its purpose. And yet somewhere along the way, Isla had forgotten it was only temporary.

The night I confessed my love to my girlfriend, she wept so hard she could barely breathe. She said she had seen the future, and she wanted to make a promise with me. I asked her why. She only shook her head and said, "I don't remember… all I know is that in the future I regret something terribly. Frank, no matter what happens, you must give me three chances. Will you?" I was deeply in love with Agnes Grey, so I agreed without hesitation. But later, it was as if she had forgotten all about that night—forgotten it when she clung so intimately to her male assistant. Only then did I understand why she'd made me promise that all those years ago. Because the moment I signed my name on the divorce papers, I heard a familiar voice. It was Agnes at nineteen. Through her sobs, she pleaded, "Frank… you promised me, didn't you? You said you'd give me three chances."

“Marry him or forget that you were ever part of this family” “So I’m just a pawn now?” “No zara,you are the price we pay for peace “ Zara Tunde had one dream: to model for the world’s biggest fashion houses and one day walk the runway in Paris. She was ready to chase that dream—until her father shattered everything with a single demand: marry Regan Kareem, the son of a man she despised, or lose everything, including her family. But Zara wasn’t going down without a fight. On one condition, she agreed: the marriage would last only one year. If love didn’t happen by the end of the year, they would walk away. No strings, no regrets. Regan Kareem, the enigmatic son of the powerful Chief Kareem, wasn’t looking for love either. He had his secrets—some dark, some dangerous. He saw the marriage as a means to an end, a way to fulfill family expectations and cover truths that could destroy his father’s empire. What started as cold tolerance slowly ignited into something neither expected. Beneath the mansion walls, deals were made, lies unraveled, and eyes watched from the shadows. When Zara begins to uncover a past linked to her own pain—the disappearance of her baby sister years ago—everything she thought she knew crumbles. In a world where loyalty is tested and betrayal hides behind perfect smiles, Zara must decide what matters more—revenge or love.u Because in this vow, someone’s not making it out unscathed.

“You mean nothing to me,” Andrew declared, his voice icy and final. My heart shattered with every word he uttered. My vision blurred with tears as our beautiful memories flooded my mind. We were in love, we were inseparable. So how did I become nothing to my husband? “Why…why would you say that?” I whispered, my lips trembling from the weight of disbelief. “You shameless cheat! I was bedridden, and you seized the chance to be with another man!” He snapped, his hand tightening around Anna's waist. My eyes darted to Anna, my best friend, “What did you tell him?” I asked, hoping this was all some misunderstanding. She smirked, “The truth.” “You were supposed to help me take care of him. I was going to tell him how I got the money for his treatment. Why would you lie?” I questioned as the feeling of betrayal stung. “Oh please,” she scoffed. “You expect him to believe someone paid you three hundred thousand dollars just to pretend to be their wife? You slept with him, Georgia. That’s cheating.” I staggered back, clutching my head as her words echoed through my mind like chaotic music on repeat. My mouth opened but no words came out. How do you explain a contract marriage to save your dying husband? I sobbed softly as the feeling of betrayal burned the shattered pieces of my heart. It stung deeper than I imagined possible. This wasn't from a stranger. It was from the two people I loved the most. Now, I've got nothing left to lose. And I'll make sure I get revenge for this. No one will be spared!

I had lost count of how many times Aaron and I had dissolved our mate bond. He always said it was temporary. Vivian was the only she-wolf from Blackridge Pack who had made it into Hollywood. Her father had died saving Aaron during a rogue ambush. From then on, Aaron treated Vivian like a debt he could never repay, and I became the easiest thing to sacrifice for that debt. Whenever Vivian returned, Aaron took me to the Bonding Hall and dissolved our bond. Whenever she left, he came back and let the elders write our names into the bond ledger again. In Blackridge Pack, Aaron could take me to the Bonding Hall, dissolve our sanctioned bond, and come back for me when Vivian no longer needed him. At first, I cried and begged. Later, I learned to pack quietly, sign quietly, and hand back the Luna position along with whatever tenderness he had left for me. But this time, when Aaron waited at the Bonding Hall to renew our mate bond, I never came.