Bittersweet

One immigration application ended my marriage— and erased me from my husband’s world forever. I was Arabella Ashford— the wife of the man everyone wanted to marry. An Italian mafia heir—Born into power, wealth, and fear. A bloodline successor watched by international law enforcement, forbidden to cross borders, permanently barred from U.S. territory. They said he adored me— built me a private estate so I’d never hear the city, sent me flowers for no reason, just to make me smile, remembered every little thing I liked, every habit and quirk, No one saw the truth. And while the world called him perfect— he was putting another woman in my place, and another life in her womb. So I made my choice. I filed for permanent residency overseas. With that one signature, I erased myself from his world. From that moment on, he would never find me again. This was the price of his betrayal. He didn’t realize I was losing him that day. When he discovered the woman he betrayed was already beyond his reach. That was when he lost everything. He gave up his position. Walked away from his inheritance. Turned his back on a throne men would kill for— all to cross an ocean he was never allowed to enter.

This is my second month trying to win over Lucian Moonshadow, the Alpha. Lucian smiled softly as he said, "Do you really think I would want an inferior Omega?" Later on, he was furious to find me with another wolf. "Didn't you say you wanted to be my Luna? You're nothing but a hustler, aren't you?" I chuckled angrily. "I'll be the Luna of whoever spends the night with me." Lucian uncovered the Alpha from another pack in bed and sent him away. "Leave right now. Ilyra belongs to me."

When news of Tanya Nice's pregnancy is exposed, she's lying next to Luciano Ascrofi, the new Don of the Ascrofi family. Since the ex-Don has already passed away, the paparazzi decide to make Tanya's pregnancy the next biggest scandal. They keep publishing all the romantic scandals related to her while making speculations about whose baby she will eventually give birth to. But Luciano doesn't seem to mind at all. His hand is placed over Tanya's flat belly so that he could feel the tiny life growing within her womb. It's then Tanya rolls on her side to nuzzle into Luciano's chest. Both of them are stuck in an intimate position, as though they are a couple who are madly in love with each other. But Tanya's gaze remains calm. Her voice is tender as always. "Will you kill this baby?" Luciano merely chuckles softly in return. Then, he presses a kiss on her forehead. "Don't overthink it, my darling stepmother."

My boyfriend did not like my big chest. He gave me five hundred thousand dollars to go for a breast reduction surgery. At the same time, a mystery man suddenly transferred me five million dollars with a note telling me not to listen to my boyfriend. I gripped my phone tightly and secretly replied to my boyfriend’s best friend’s text message. [If you want me to listen to you, money is not enough.] He immediately texted back. [What are you saying? I don’t understand.] I replied. [Forget about it. I’m heading to the hospital now.] As expected, he got anxious. [What else do you want?] [Do you have 7 inches?] [I have 10 inches.] [I won’t believe you until I see it for myself.] After that, he proved it to me through his actions.

In the Beast World, elven bloodlines can produce stronger half-breed offspring. After the Great War of the Ancient Races, elves began to classify themselves by the integrity of their wings. Substandard elves could purchase and tame werewolves to serve as their lifelong guards and companions. Before my parents passed away, they ordered a werewolf named Nolan to protect me—and, incidentally, to produce offspring. But that werewolf, who was exceptional in every way, despised me intensely. He would often berate me: “A deformed, worthless elf like you should just disappear. You’re not fit to be my mate!” After he smashed every item in the house yet again, I fled the house in a panic. By chance, I stumbled into an abandoned shelter, where a massive gray wolf’s paw reached out from the shadows and gripped my shoulder. The werewolf’s deep, golden eyes gestured for me to look at the sign standing nearby: ‘Defective Models: Trade -In Welcome.’ Tears welled in his eyes as a low, choked sob escaped his throat: “Master… take me home.” He was right. It was time to replace the one at home with a new one. But when I told Nolan to move out of my house, he braced his paws against the doorframe, his eyes red-rimmed: “You’re abandoning me just for that wild wolf?”

On the night of my wedding, my best friend's younger brother wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked me, “It’s a little big. Can you handle it?” I stared at his perfectly defined abs, my mind going completely blank. “What?” He repeated, “Can you handle it?” My voice jumped an octave from my panic. “Aren't we supposed to take things slow? Isn’t this way too fast?” That night, the sound-activated lights in the house flickered on and off until dawn. Meanwhile, my ex-husband was squatting downstairs. His eyes were swollen red from crying, but I did not even spare him a thought. Back then, when I agreed to let him proceed with a fake wedding with his childhood sweetheart, Miles Carter thought our cold war was over. When he explained things to me, he said, “Vivian and I will only be married on paper. The ceremony is just to satisfy my mom. I swear, when this is over, we’ll live as a real couple.” I remained silent. I just stared at the countdown on my phone, counting the days until I could finally leave. He did not know that the moment he tricked me into signing the divorce papers, our marriage had already ceased to exist.

A blizzard erupted without warning, and the glacial mountains began to collapse. My instinct screamed at me to shift and run, to let my Inner Wolf take over and flee—but it was too late. The storm swept in, laced with a strange silver dust that hung heavy in the air. It was like an invisible chain, binding me tightly, locking away my wolf. Worse still, my strength was nearly gone. As captain of the Silvermoon Patrol, I had been out on the tundra all night. Hours ago, I had fought off a vicious ambush by Rogues, and my body still bore the wounds—deep, bleeding, and far from healed. I could feel it: my wolf energy had been pushed past its limit. Maxin, my Inner Wolf, was silent now, his strength depleted and unresponsive. My limbs were going numb, my body sinking into the snow as the roar of the wind drowned everything else out. But I wasn’t afraid. Because I knew he would come. My boyfriend—the head of the tribe's Search and Rescue Unit—had never failed a mission. I believed with all my heart that he would find me. And yet… he didn’t come himself. He sent a rookie instead, while he went after Daisy, whom he believed had been caught in an avalanche. But Daisy hadn’t been in danger at all. She merely wanted a dramatic way to confess her love to him. Three days later, Xander finally found me, buried deep beneath the frozen layers. He froze at the sight—my body, encased in ice, unmoving. He couldn’t believe it: the fierce, relentless warrior he knew, dead beneath the snow. He reached out to touch me… but the ice cracked. And before he could react, my body slipped into the depths of the glacier, vanishing into the abyss.

The day I found out I was pregnant, they threw me in the cold room. Ninety-nine calls later, Sandro Vaitti finally picked up. "The Family made that call," he said. "It was Genny's birthday. She got a fever because of you. This is your punishment. Just wait—once you're out, I'll marry you." Sandro's favorite line? 'Just wait.' His mafia family hated me. He swore once he gave them their precious heir, he'd cut ties and choose me. I bought it. Waited two years. Waited while he hooked up with Helga Cicili and had a kid—Genny. Then came the kicker: A daughter can't carry the Family name. He had to have a son with Helga. And yeah, I believed him. Again. Waited another year—until Helga got pregnant with his golden boy. I thought, 'Finally. Done waiting.' Then plot twist—I was pregnant too. Day before the wedding. Felt like fate. Didn't even get to tell him. They locked me up. Cold room. I curled up, shaking, barely breathing. When the door creaked open, I knew— I was done. Done waiting. Done begging. I'd leave. And I'd take my baby with me.

I am the white wolf princess of the Coyote Pack. By the Moon Goddess’s decree, Barry was meant to be my fated mate. But during the peace negotiations, he gave me away—to Bayport’s crippled warrior, Colin—as a “hostage bride.” Barry smiled carelessly, his voice cruelly tender. “Emily, let me complete the bond with Evelyn first. This is just a deal. You are still my true Luna.” My nails bit into my palms, pain hollowing out my chest. Evelyn was nothing but a low-blood she-wolf he had rescued from the border. Yet for her, he used a truce marriage alliance to force me into surrender. Later, when I sought him out, I found him tending Evelyn’s wounds, wrapping her with gentle hands. He looked up, his tone light as if it cost him nothing. “If you let Evelyn be my mate alongside you, and divide half of your inheritance for her, I will withdraw the marriage alliance order.” I took off the bone pendant he once risked his life to give me and held it out to him. But he let it slip from his hand, shattering it against the floor. “If you don’t want it,” he said coldly, “then throw it away.” On the eve of the wedding alliance, Evelyn fell to her knees before the pack, sobbing as she accused me of hiding the Alpha’s Contract Stone—to help Colin breach our borders. The crowd erupted in whispers. Barry admitted it was he who had gifted me the stone, yet still turned on me, demanding: “If I ask for it back, will you return it?” At that moment, I finally let every hope die.

I always thought if I just held on a little longer, I could still keep this family together. But my mate Ethan and my brother William poured all their favoritism onto Ava and her mother, and left me nothing but coldness and humiliation. They could even look me in the eye and say, “She’s your sister too,” like that was enough to make me bless them. That night, I did something so insane it bordered on self-destruction: I dragged my suitcase out the door and let the house that held all my memories get swallowed by flames. The news exploded, our villa became ruins. The security footage showed “no one leaves,” and the police made a preliminary judgment that the person inside was “highly likely deceased.” Ethan didn’t believe it. Not until he and William were handed that bag of belongings at the police station, a diamond, a Blood Moonstone, the things I treasured most, did they finally understand: I wasn’t throwing a tantrum. I was really, truly done with them. Too bad. It was already too late.