Calmly Antonyms

When my mind-link request had been ignored by my parents for the twentieth time, I went to the Werewolf Council, clutching the report on silver dust corrosion in my hand. “Hello. I’d like to renounce my pack identity—effective immediately.” Ten minutes later, my parents burst in, dragging my adoptive younger sister, Elsa, with them, panic written all over their faces. The door burst open with a bang, and my Beta father charged in like a storm. His fangs bared, claws twitching. “You’re nothing but a spoiled brat craving attention! Stop this pathetic act. You’re an embarrassment to a Beta’s name!” My mother, a forensic specialist for the pack, immediately snatched the report from my hand. After a brief glance, she let out a cold sneer. “You faked this report just to get our attention? You’ve been a liar since you were a pup.” Elsa clung to both of them, tears in her eyes as she sobbed, “I’m sorry, Jenifer. It’s my fault for holding the shifting ritual. But please... don’t lie to our parents just to make them feel guilty!” Blood was still pouring from my nose, but I wiped it away calmly and stood tall before the werewolf councilors once more. “I haven’t had a real family for a long time. Please—remove all my personal records from the pack. I just don’t want my funeral—scheduled for three days from now—to be delayed.”

I had been Joey Jensen's mate for six years when I was kidnapped by rogues while trying to protect him. After finally making my way back to the pack, I discovered he already had another she-wolf, Courtney Ogley, by his side. Worse, he even made my son, whom I had almost died giving birth to, call her "Mom". Heartbroken, I went to the Werewolf Council and demanded an explanation from Joey. Under pressure from the entire pack, Joey reluctantly exiled Courtney. But from that moment on, he blamed me for everything. He said it was my fault he lost his beloved, and that I had robbed our son of his mother. Even my own mother resented me, saying I had torn the family apart. Surrounded by coldness and endless accusations, I slowly slipped into despair. Later, when the pack declined and was overrun, I was captured and sentenced to be beheaded. Just as I prepared to face death calmly, Joey stepped forward and fought the wolves alone. I carried him on my back and escaped, but his injuries were too severe. He was already dying. With his last breath, he said, "Consider my life a repayment to you. If there's another life, please don't stand in the way of my happiness with Courtney." I agreed through tears. But in the end, I was beheaded anyway. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the very day I returned to the pack.

My husband, Adrian Cross, was a high-profile lawyer. We'd been married for seven years. I'd always wanted a child of our own, but he had never touched me because his heart belonged to someone else. Not long ago, I got into a car accident trying to save him. He promised he would grant me any wish. Everyone assumed I would ask him to have a child with me, but I calmly asked for a divorce. Adrian laughed, a cruel, public sneer on his face. "Don't pretend," he mocked. "I've never met anyone as shameless as you. You'd risk your life for me, yet you think you could ever leave me?" My heart, long hardened, turned even colder. He had no idea that I had been given a second chance. … In my previous life, I finally became pregnant with his child. But his obsession, the one he couldn't forget, took her own life. All his rage fell on me. On the day I went into labor, he locked me in the basement and forced me to swallow a massive dose of abortion drugs. As blood gushed from me, he laughed like a madman. "Ella died because of you and that wretched child you're carrying. For the pain she endured, you will pay twice over!" I died from hemorrhaging. And he went on to hold a wedding at the grave of his lost love. But reborn, I returned to the day of the car accident, ready to see their doomed love come to its bitter end.

A new intern at the hospital claimed that she had excellent medical skills. Even without anesthesia, her treatments never caused any pain. The truth was that she had transferred her patients’ pain to me. After she went viral, many patients rushed to the hospital to see her. Some of them even had to bid for a slot to receive surgery from her. However, I was in excruciating pain due to all the surgeries she had carried out. I could no longer work and received complaints from the patients. In the end, the hospital fired me. I gradually discovered that I even experienced some of the side effects of the surgeries she had carried out on her patients. My hair started to fall, and I became as thin as a skeleton. Even walking caused me excruciating pain. I went to the hospital to question her. Everyone thought that I was jealous of her and that I had gone crazy. She calmly put on her surgical gloves as she faced my wrath. “Please don’t make a scene. I’m about to conduct brain surgery on the daughter of the wealthiest man in the city. I don’t have time for your nonsense.” After she entered the operating theater for five minutes, I suddenly suffered from an aneurysm and died on the spot. When I opened my eyes again, I had been transported back to the day when she had gone viral. I took out all my savings and bid for one of her treatment slots. “I’d like to try your painless gastroscopy.”

I have spent ten years fighting against the fake heiress, Cynthia Powell, to secure the Powell family's inheritance. Eventually, we both set our sights on the eldest son of the wealthy Wright family, Robin Wright. In my first life, I secure the marriage, but on the very night the shares are transferred to my name, I die a gruesome death. Blood seeps from my eyes and mouth as I collapse. As I lie there dying, Robin calmly wipes the poisonous powder from his fingertips and smiles at me. "My apologies, Kathy Powell. You have to die for the sake of the woman I truly love." I repeatedly curse Cynthia in my heart. In my second life, I am determined to avoid being murdered by Cynthia and her lover. So, I pass the marriage opportunity over to Cynthia. On their wedding day, I'm relaxing at home with a face mask when the police burst through my door and handcuff me. "Cynthia's car was firebombed on the way to the wedding ceremony, and she was burned to a crisp. We found your fingerprints on the fuel tank. You're under arrest for arson and murder. Please come with us," the police orders. The news shocks me. I'm sentenced to death, all thanks to Robin's manipulation. When I wake up, I'm in my third life. After seeing the Wright family's marriage proposal on the table, Cynthia and I take a step back. A chill runs down both our spines. Robin is a curse. How is it that whoever marries him ends up dead?

He leaned back confidently, the glow from the lights catching his grey eyes. “But if you ever want something simple,” he said, “something that won’t demand feelings or promises. Something free. Fun. Uncomplicated.” I swallowed. “Like what, exactly…” He leaned forward again, eyes never leaving mine. “Like being each other’s fuck partner,” he said calmly… like it was the most natural proposal in the world. *** Raised by a single mother abandoned by love, Annabelle Brown vowed to save sex for marriage. Until the night she caught her boyfriend cheating, and his reason—no relationship can last without sex. Heartbroken and furious, Anna walked into a bar… and into the most outrageous proposal of her life. *** Alessandro Miller wanted nothing complicated. Scarred by a loveless home, he swore off marriage and emotional attachments. All he wanted was simple: sex, no feelings, no future. *** Against everything she believed in, Anna said yes to Alessandro's proposal. Their rules were clear: No emotions, no personal questions, no strings. Until months later, when Anna walked into a conference room and saw him—the same man she'd been sharing her weekends with, now standing at the head of the company board as the CEO. Worse, Alessandro was the heir to a powerful family… and already promised to another woman. Bound by duty, divided by power, yet consumed by desire, neither of them could walk away. He was her partner in sin. Her boss. And the one man she was never supposed to fall for.

"On the table!" He ordered, leaving me fear-stricken as I scurried and positioned myself the way he had instructed earlier. Who was I to disobey the most callous Alpha King? "Part those legs!" He bellowed calmly, yet dangerously, emphasizing on every word. His voice sounded like the voices of many mighty men...authoritative, mysterious, deafening..like a thunder ready to strike. My eyes travelled up to the Moon that hung up in the sky, communicating to it as if telling it to send me a saviour. "There is no one coming to save you, Aurora. I am your new master. Now take off your clothes, I want to see the goods I purchased!" *** Aurora was supposed to be the Alpha's beloved daughter, but fate played a trick on her, making her serve as the pack's slave instead. Someone stole her life. Years went by, the truth got exposed, but when she was about to live her best life and assume her role in the pack, trouble rears its ugly head. Her pack was under attack. Faced with two difficult choices, she would either offer herself as a peace offering to the most cruel Alpha King in exchange for protection for her loved ones, or watch everything she holds dear crumble before her eyes. Desperate to save her loved ones, she offered herself to the king without thinking of the consequences. But the castle of the Alpha King is filled with shocking secrets. What if plans changed and she finds not one, not two, but three Alpha Kings ready to claim her? Would she agree to become their breeder? How long would she be able to resist their charms?

My husband Bruno's goomah was pregnant with their second child. At the family dinner, he caressed his lover Ava's rounded belly. "This one will be a boy, the future heir to the Marino family. As my wife, it is your duty to raise him." This was the second time he had openly acknowledged one of his bastards. I didn't make a scene like I had before. I just calmly lifted my head and looked Bruno straight in the eye. Raucous laughter erupted from the family members around the table. "Remember last time, when she acted like a madwoman? Looks like she's finally learned her place." "The Rossi family's businesses have all been carved up. What can she do besides be an infertile trophy wife? She'll be kicked to the curb sooner or later." Bruno's face was expressionless, allowing them to hurl their insults at me. I fought back the tears burning my eyes and even managed a small smile. "Bruno, let's get a divorce." Bruno looked as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world, his lips curling into a dismissive smirk. "Liliana, if you can come up with the hundred million dollars you owe this family, I'll sign the papers right now. Otherwise, stop making a scene." I didn't argue, and just dialed an encrypted number. "I accept the terms we discussed." A lazy laugh echoed from the other end of the line. "A hundred million? Merely the cost of a port. I can have it for you anytime, my princess."

Fire suddenly breaks out at the hotel where we're hosting our wedding. My fiance, Alan Godwin, doesn't hesitate to pick up Brenda Larkin, my cousin who has already collapsed out of fright, and rush out to safety. Meanwhile, my parents and older brother hurriedly cart away the wedding gift Brenda has made. They don't want her to get sad if the gift is damaged in any way. As for me, I've twisted my ankle, making it inconvenient for me to escape from the hotel. Everyone has already forgotten all about me, so I end up getting severe burns all over my body. When they look at the bandages wrapped around my body, they shoot me disgusted looks. "Why are you such a jinx? How is it possible for a fire to break out at your own wedding? Thanks to you, Brenda has fainted out of shock!" "Well, it's not like you're suited for any public appearances when you look like this, anyway. Brenda's figure is similar to yours. Why don't you let her replace you in the wedding?" I just nod calmly and agree to the suggestion. After that, I sort out the details of getting dispatched overseas for my job with my boss. One month later, I board my flight on the day Brenda is set to wed Alan. I no longer want Alan, who's blind to the truth, and my family, who are nothing but biased toward Brenda. But why is it that they are filled with regret after I leave them?

Lucas Fenrir was the son of the Alpha of the Silvertail Pack, born as the pack's greatest pride. When his Luna and first love, Nara Boris, chose to leave, he married me in a fit of rage—the most unremarkable Omega in the pack. Everyone said I was just a substitute for Nara. They were waiting to see me abandoned, to see me cry, and to see me beg on my knees. Nonetheless, I always smiled and calmly fulfilled Lucas' every demand. I helped him stabilize the pack's morale, stood up for him in public, and even defended him against the rumors that he had rekindled his past romance with Nara. Until one day, I saw him on the streets during the Moon Goddess Festival. He was holding Nara, kissing her deeply. Meanwhile, I simply turned my head away in silence from behind the crowd and pretended I saw nothing. A few months later, I was diagnosed with wolfsbane poisoning that had spread to my nervous system. My condition was beyond saving. I was admitted to the ICU of the pack's hospital, with only a few days left to live. Lucas came when he heard the news. His eyes were bloodshot as he roared and grabbed my dying body. "Why didn't you tell me? Why are you trying to die alone in secret?" I looked at his unhinged expression, my gaze as gentle as it had always been. There was even a faint mocking smile curling at my lips. "Lucas, I've never loved you. "The one I loved… was actually your twin brother—Derrick."