Plot Twists Short Stories & Independence Royal Novels

The empire's most beloved princess suddenly fell victim to a mysterious illness, slipping into a deep coma that no physician could cure. In the end, the royal astrologer delivered a chilling prophecy: only the man destined to be her true soulmate could awaken her with a kiss of genuine love. In the first lifetime, my eldest brother, plain-looking and desperate for the enormous reward promised by the crown, volunteered to go to the palace and kiss the princess awake. However, the moment she opened her eyes and saw him, she let out a horrified scream. Calling him a fraud, she ordered the guards to drag him into the royal fountain and drown him alive. "You liar! How could someone who looks like you possibly be my fated one?" In the second lifetime, my second brother listened carefully to the warning left behind by our reborn eldest brother. Determined not to repeat the same mistake, he sought out an underground black-market surgeon and took on the face of the most handsome man in the entire country before going to awaken the princess. This time, everything seemed perfect. The princess fell deeply in love with him, and for an entire year they lived in bliss. However, on the day their child was born, she took one look at the baby and completely lost her mind. In a fit of rage, she ordered my second brother to be beaten to death on the spot. "How dare you deceive me? Die!" By the third lifetime, after witnessing the horrific deaths of both my brothers, I hid silently in the corner, too terrified to say a single word. Unfortunately, the queen had other plans. She ordered her servants to forcefully hold me down and make me kiss the princess awake. I never expected that on the very night of our wedding, the princess would suddenly go mad, rush out of the castle, and accidentally fall into the lake, where she drowned. The queen was furious beyond reason. Believing me responsible for her daughter's death, she ordered my public execution, leaving not even my bones behind. Then came the fourth lifetime. Once again, the Royal Chamberlain arrived at our home with a line of armed guards surrounding the estate. "The astrologer has confirmed it," he declared calmly. "The princess's destined soulmate is one of the three sons of the Lynch family. "You have three days to decide. Whoever succeeds in awakening the princess will marry into the royal family and enjoy limitless wealth, power, and honor." This time, the three of us only exchanged uneasy glances. The fortune and status being offered were enough to tempt anyone in the empire, yet not a single one of us dared take a step forward.

"Stuff some more trash in there. Trash deserves a trash can for a locker." At noon I went to the locker room to change my shoes. I had just come through the door when I saw Venetia and a few other rich girls throwing garbage into my locker. It was packed so full the door would not close. My coat and my shoes were in the actual garbage can. Venetia raised an eyebrow when she saw me come in. "Good. Now you've seen it. You aren't welcome at this school. Trash belongs where it belongs. "I'll give you one more week to leave on your own. Otherwise, I've got other ways to deal with you." I answered coldly, "You don't get to decide who stays at this school." Venetia gave a soft laugh and drew one immaculately manicured finger across my face. "You'll find out soon enough whether what I say counts. "My daddy is the largest shareholder in this school, and every family here donates to it regularly. "Getting you expelled takes one sentence. Understand? Don't test my patience." The girls behind her all wore the same sneer, and they shouldered me hard on their way out. I watched them go and laughed under my breath. Ignorance is a fine thing. They have no idea who I am. And they have no idea that, with a single word, I could not only throw every one of them out of school but also bankrupt the parents they are so proud of.

I was born a Gifted She-Wolf — the only one who could carry an heir of the Ashford royal bloodline. The Alpha King begged me to marry his heir, Hadley. I refused and mated to Hadley's brother — the disgraced former heir who'd been injured in battle. The rumors said he could no longer function as a man. Because in my past life, I'd loved Hadley. We grew up together. I gave him everything. I swallowed bowl after bowl of forbidden tonics. I let blood parasites tear through my veins just to conceive his pup. And when I nearly bled to death giving birth, Hadley threw me to the Rogues. I screamed. I begged him to stop. He just held our pup and laughed. "If you hadn't bewitched my father, he never would've forced me to mate you. My Juno died of heartbreak because of you. You're a Gifted She-Wolf, aren't you? You love breeding so much — then breed for every Rogue in Ashford Territory." The Rogues broke me until I died. Hadley tossed my body at Juno's grave as an offering. My pup was recorded as Juno's child. Then I opened my eyes — back to the moment the Alpha King first begged me to marry Hadley.

I was Alpha King Xavier's personal Omega maid. I took care of his daily needs and tested his meals for poison. My monthly salary was a staggering fifty thousand dollars. That was until a new, young Omega maid was hired at the estate. When she found out about my pay, her eyes widened. "All she does is serve the Alpha his drinks, and she gets fifty thousand a month?" "I heard the King always rewards her with expensive jewelry and custom dresses. She has it so easy!" Early the very next morning, she couldn't wait to run to the Elder Luna and volunteer. "I want to personally serve the great Alpha King." "I only want twenty thousand dollars, and I'll definitely work harder than her." Later, she blocked my path. She couldn't hide her smug arrogance. "The Elder Luna approved my request." "She also thinks you're getting too old for this. In a couple of days, you'll be kicked out of the estate." She fully expected me to sob over losing my job. However, my eyes were red with excitement. Finally... I was finally going to be completely free! Xavier was a violent and unpredictable madman. In the morning, he could be in high spirits and personally place a precious diamond necklace around my neck. By the afternoon, a single wrong word could make him pin me hard to the floor and choke me until I couldn't breathe. There were countless Rogues who wanted to assassinate him. Checking his food and drinks was a deadly job. It could rot my guts at any given moment.

After the drunken emperor took me to bed, I brewed a pot of abortifacient under cover of night. Everyone in the inner palace knew the emperor was utterly devoted to the empress. For a pawn like me, bedded by mistake while he was drunk, giving birth to his child would be signing my own death warrant. But just as I brought the bowl to my lips, a few lines of golden text appeared out of thin air. [Oh no, that's the tyrant's only flesh and blood! And it's triplets!] [That wandering healer's remedy was a setup! The emperor tested the empress's medicine for her, and now he's completely infertile!] I stared at the words "infertile" and "triplets." My hand shook, and half the broth sloshed out of the bowl. The next second, I poured every last drop into the ashes of the brazier. Drink an abortifacient? Not a chance. This was my golden road to becoming the Dowager Empress!