Beth Dutton Face Scars

My girlfriend and I were reborn, returning to the cramped basement apartment we rented right after graduation. We silently walked out the door together, neither of us mentioning staying together. She went abroad with her childhood sweetheart to further her studies while I stayed behind, grinding away at my company. Seven years later, she became a rising young designer with a bright future and a happy family. I was still grinding away at the same company. When we met again, she clung to her childhood sweetheart's arm, looking down at my slightly disheveled state with a mocking smile. "Long time no see. How did you end up looking like a beggar?" I ignored her. However, later, when the powerful, world-renowned CEO of a top design firm clung to my arm, acting sweetly, her face twisted with panic. "Alex Prescott! How can you be so close with another woman?!"

He rejected her in front of the entire kingdom. He crowned her rival queen. Then, he offered her as a sacrifice… to his father. Esmeralda had it all—or so she thought. The future queen. The beloved mate. A father who raised her with honor. But in a single night, everything crumbled. Thorne, the man who once kissed her scars and promised her forever, humiliated her before the entire werewolf court and handed her over as a traitor. Betrayed. Rejected. And pregnant. Marked as a disgrace, Esmeralda escapes into the wild lands with nothing but a heartbeat growing inside her and the ghosts of a love that was never real. But the wilderness holds its own secrets, including a pack of dangerous rogues and a cold, powerful Alpha who wants nothing to do with her. He saved her once. He regrets it already. Now Esmeralda must fight to protect her unborn child, survive a pack that sees her as a threat—and face the one man whose hatred burns as deeply as his stare. But what if the real enemy is the king she once loved? And what if fate still has a crown for her… just not the one she expected?

Not long after getting married to my husband, he says he wants to teach me how to scuba dive. My leg cramps when I'm practicing alone in the deep sea. However, my husband, a swimming instructor, chooses to save his unattainable love—she's jumped into the sea to commit suicide. I don't ask him for help. Instead, I allow myself to slowly sink. In my past life, I stopped my husband from leaving. He saved me with gnashed teeth and allowed his first love, Millie Quirke, to drown. By the time he went to save her, she'd already disappeared in the water. He comforted me and told me it was okay, that he was glad he'd saved me. However, one night, he brought me back to the seaside. Just as I let my guard down, he grabbed my neck and plunged my face into the water. Then, he dragged me out before I could suffocate. "You were just cramping—it would've passed! But Millie got dragged away by the current because of you! You can remain in the ocean with her!" When I open my eyes again, I'm back to the day I was scuba diving.

Two years of marriage. Two years of trust. Two years of secrets I never knew existed. I thought I was coming home to the man I married—surprising Nathan after my work trip ended early. Instead, I stood frozen in the doorway of our bedroom, watching my husband tangled in the sheets with someone I never expected. Someone whose face I only caught a glimpse of before she bolted—running out the back like a ghost escaping the scene of a crime. But I know that face. I’ve seen it every day of my life. Felt its presence in my laughter, my tears, my memories. That night shattered everything. The perfect husband. The perfect life. All of it was a carefully crafted illusion built on lies. Now, nothing is what it seems—and I have no idea where this road will take me.

Reina Carlo was forged by the Stingers, a shadowy organization that raised her to be a weapon. Her memories of a family—a mother’s face or a father’s embrace—were long lost, replaced by the harsh discipline and ruthless training of her surrogate family. To her, the Stingers were everything, until betrayal shattered the fragile foundation of her loyalty. Now, Reina walks the streets as the hunter, her mission deeply personal. A man who dared to strip away her last shred of innocence must face the consequences. Her scars are tools, her training a guide, and by sunrise, her vengeance will be complete. But each kill leaves a stain on her soul, no matter how she rationalizes it. She tells herself the trade is fair: she removes monsters, and the world lets her survive another day. Redemption and forgiveness don’t belong in her world—they are luxuries for those unbroken by life. Yet the nightmares persist, whispering of a stolen past and a family that might still exist. Did they abandon her, or did they think her lost? These thoughts claw at her resolve, forcing her to confront a truth she can’t bury: forgetting isn’t the same as letting go. Her pact with Marco Alessandro—a powerful, calculating man—only adds to her turmoil. Their marriage of convenience grants her the resources to find her family and avenge her past. But Marco’s unrelenting gaze and quiet intensity break through her defenses, challenging the walls she’s built. As vengeance, love, and identity collide, Reina faces a choice: cling to the darkness she knows or risk everything for a future she can’t predict. In this world of shadows and betrayal, Reina Carlo fights not just to survive—but to discover who she truly is.

After my sister's appendectomy left her without both kidneys, I took a scalpel and held an entire hospital hostage. I locked twelve doctors and three patients in the morgue, announcing to the world they'd all been infected with HIV. With only three hours until the treatment window closed, the doctors, trembling and begging, swore that they knew nothing. I started a live stream, flashing a blood-stained scalpel. "You have three hours to find my sister's kidneys." I didn't care if they were already inside someone else.

While visiting a property development with my fiancé to buy our first home, I ran into a two-faced real estate agent.   She showered my fiancé with compliments, praising him for being young and successful enough to afford a Rolls-Royce.   Then, she suggested I was a fake socialite with a knockoff designer bag, implying that I was just using my charms to snag a free house.   When she found out the property was meant to be a marital home, her voice grew loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.   “I just think the sugar daddy who bought you those two properties last time treated you pretty well!” “Oh, wait. Miss Gwen, don’t you have several sugar daddies? Do they all know about each other?”   I chuckled. What she didn’t know was that my “sugar daddies” were my godfathers and I really was a socialite.   The kicker, though, was that my so-called wealthy fiancé wasn’t rich at all. In fact, he was just a scholarship student I had been financially supporting!

I was diagnosed with stomach cancer, so I went online to hire an undertaker in the hopes that he would collect my body. That way, I could die and be buried. I would like to finally be at peace, even if it meant that I could only achieve it after death. I packed up my bags and left home in search of a place to die, only to receive a message from my undertaker. [Sorry, something came up. I can’t come now.] …Excuse me? I’m already half-dead, and you’re blowing me off?

I died not knowing Rowan had fallen for another. So, I made a deal with the witch, exchanging my wolf heart for seven days of life. Seven years ago, during a territorial conflict between wolf tribes, I lost my sight while saving Rowan. My deal with the witch not only gave me seven days but also restored my vision. Overjoyed, I rushed to Rowan’s home under the moonlight. I was eager to share my miracle with him, even if I had only seven days left.  However, he was in the arms of another woman. Rowan’s cruel words echoed in my mind: "You know how to please me so much better than that blind princess ever did." "I’ve had enough of her lifeless eyes. Every time I look at her, I feel like I’m shackled by chains of duty and morality. I can’t breathe around her!" His harsh words and the sounds of their intimacy crushed the last of my hope. I was going to die soon, and with the short life I had traded the wolf heart of a Moonshadow Wolf Tribe Princess for, I had only lived long enough to witness Rowan’s betrayal.

My husband and I spend 50 loving years together. On the day of our golden wedding anniversary, someone pushes me down a flight of stairs. As I drift in and out of consciousness, I miraculously regain my hearing. I lost it in the process of saving my husband when we were younger. I hear my husband say to my son, "You shouldn't have dirtied your hands." "How long more are you going to put up with her, Dad? Calista doesn't have much longer to wait." My husband sighs heavily. After a moment, I feel someone remove my oxygen tube. I descend into boundless darkness. When I open my eyes again, I've been taken back to the 80s—before I married my husband. The only difference is that I can hear this time.