Cruelest Joke

We were on our way to celebrate our son’s birthday when we got into a car crash. When I woke up, I looked at my family gathered around my hospital bed and cracked a joke: “Sorry, but who are you guys?” I held back a smile, curious to see how they'd humor their "amnesiac" patient. Would my mother grab my hand in a panic? Would my husband look at me with worry? Would my son rush over, crying and calling me Mom? What I didn't expect was for them to freeze for a moment—and then, almost in unison, let out sighs of relief. My mother was the first to speak, her tone unmistakably lighter, as if a huge weight had been lifted. "If you don’t remember, it’s probably for the best. This is Lindsay—your sister, she’s my daughter. You were adopted." My husband then pointed at me and said to our son, "You should call her Aunt Wendy." Before the shock could even sink in, I watched the child I'd fought so hard to protect turn and throw himself into the arms of Lindsay. "Mom! I played outside all day. I missed you so much!" So that was the truth. My amnesia was exactly what they'd been hoping for. In that case, I didn't need this made-up life anymore.

Eight years into marriage, and Fabian's mom finally gave me and my son her stamp of approval. Invited us to spend Christmas in his hometown. My son—Luca--and I were hyped. We picked out a gift for her and hit the road with Fabian. Right as we pulled into the village, Fabian's old friend called—crying, claiming she'd crashed her car. Fabian panicked. Left me and Luca in some random snowy mountain town and sped off. It was pitch black. Snow dumping down. Then Luca screamed. He'd stepped on a trap and dropped into a pit. Blood everywhere. I called Fabian, totally panicked. He goes, "Stella, Roxana's in a wreck. I need to be with her. Stop making everything a competition." Then he hung up. Blocked me. No time to fall apart. I wiped my face, called an ambulance. Too far out. By the time they got there, Luca was already gone. Cold. Broken. Gone. I held him and screamed until my lungs gave out. Meanwhile, Roxana's posting in the social media. All smiles in Fabian's arms. His face soft. Loving. [Highway jam turned into truth or dare. One word—"accident"—and he came flying. So happy.] I exhaled. Tagged Fabian. [Let's get a divorce.] This joke of a marriage should've ended forever ago.

My deskmate, Sierra Langford, handed me a throat lozenge. I turned around and melted it into the school cafeteria’s "Top Scholar Soup", letting all four thousand students share a taste. Because this time, I’ve been reborn. In my previous life, Sierra had a system that could steal other people’s exam scores. As long as I ate something from her, my grades would automatically transfer to her. She was a rich girl, already set to study abroad. Stealing my college entrance exam score was just a joke to her. On the other hand, I was poor. The exam was my only chance to change my fate. After three mock exams, my scores kept dropping for no reason, and no matter how hard I searched, I couldn’t find out why. In the end, I failed the college entrance exam. Lost and broken, I was hit by a car. After I died, my soul hovered in the air and overheard Sierra laughing with her best friend, Hailey Monroe. "Who would’ve thought Vera Collins could’ve ranked first in the entire city? Well, that title’s mine now! Someone like her deserves to rot in the mud forever." This time, I’m back. So, she liked stealing people’s scores for fun? Then stealing just mine would be too boring. This time, the entire school’s exam scores would be a surprise for her.

I was a mermaid from the deep sea. Out of curiosity and playfulness, I was caught by a fisherman and endured unbearable torment. Just when I was on the brink of death, Trevon Chapman happened to pass by and saved me. So, I gave up my identity as a mermaid princess, left the ocean behind, and followed him into the human world. For five years after our marriage, Trevon granted my every wish and showered me with affection. I truly believed I had found a safe harbor I could depend on for the rest of my life—until fate struck with its cruelest blow. Trevon's childhood sweetheart had fallen gravely ill, and only a mermaid’s tail could save her. I begged him desperately, but he responded with chilling indifference. "You're only losing your legs. Corinne is losing her life. Are you really that heartless? You're just going to watch her die?" "Besides, you can’t return to the sea anymore. That tail means nothing to you now. From now on, I’ll be your legs." After the surgery, I sat in a wheelchair, running my hand over the empty fabric where my legs should have been, and calmly demanded a divorce. Trevon pulled Corinne into his arms, sneering. "You're neither human nor fish now—a monster. Without me, the only road left for you is death." Yet in the end, when I transformed back into a mermaid and leapt into the sea, his cries and desperate sobs echoed across the waves.

I had been Silas Sterling's mate for seven years. We decided to get tattoos of each other's names. This was a Binding Tattoo that represented eternal love in the Moonstone Wolf pack. It had the power to bind mates eternally. When I got the tattoo, I realized the malicious words 'Public Male Amenity' had been tattooed on my chest. It chilled me to the bone. My adopted sister, Greta Pound, was the one who tattooed me. She covered her mouth as she laughed. "Don't you always enjoy attracting the attention of all the male werewolves by dressing so skimpily in the pack, Freya? I'm just helping you to publicize this." Greta was a female werewolf I had saved. Why was she treating me this way when I treated her like my sister? I grabbed her hair angrily, but Silas pushed me violently to the side as he pulled Greta protectively into his arms. He frowned as he berated me unhappily, "Greta was just joking with you. Why are you so mad about it?" I stared at his bare chest where my name should be tattooed. However, the name 'Greta' was there instead. She looked up at me from Silas' arms and smiled innocently yet tauntingly at me. "Silas said our names rhymed, Freya, so I played a joke by tattooing my name on him. You aren't mad about this, are you?"

Born as an Omega, Riley was treated with little respect by the pack and worked like a slave to survive. Like a joke made by the Moon Goddess, she was fated to be the mate of the young Alpha, thereby becoming the pack’s Luna. Riley has been the perfect Luna for the Green Creek Pack, dedicating herself wholeheartedly to everyone’s well-being. Everyone except herself. Jude promised to love her as if they were fated mates, because he understood her, appreciated her, and cherished her. However, after a few years of separation, Jude returned with another woman, Ruth, claiming she was his fated mate. He insisted that Ruth wouldn’t affect their relationship, but that was the beginning of Riley’s nightmare. Though she had been fated to be his mate, Jude never considered Riley a proper Luna for the pack, or accepted her as his mate. He used her, exploited her, and gave her the false hope of a better life. What awaited her was a shattered heart and twisted truths to be silenced till the day she died. An evil trap closed in on her like a wild beast, ready to devour her alive. Heartbroken and torn, how will she escape the claws of these shameless people and rise from the ashes like a phoenix? How will she make them regret losing her and ensure they face the consequences they deserve? Will it eventually be her betraying husband who redeems himself and wins her back, or will she find another man who truly deserves her trust and love?

During an ambush, I risked everything to save Matthew, but in doing so, I lost the ability to stand—my legs were permanently damaged. Matthew was devastated. Holding me close, he swore he would love me forever and never betray me. Overwhelmed with emotion, I agreed to marry him. In secret, I sought medical treatment, and after a long, gruelling journey, the day finally came when the doctor told me I could walk again. Overjoyed, I rushed home, eager to share the incredible news with him. However, the moment I pushed open the door, my world collapsed. Matthew was fooling around with his female assistant—right there in our home. On our bed. Wrapped in each other's arms, they kissed passionately, completely lost in the moment. As things heated up, the woman gazed at him and murmured, "Matt, why don't you just leave that cripple? She can't satisfy you at all." "Don't you love the thrill of sneaking around? It wouldn't be nearly as exciting if I left her." A wave of icy rage surged through me. So that was what our marriage meant to him—nothing more than a twisted game, a joke between him and his mistress. Drained and heartbroken, I turned and walked out. That night, I booked a flight back to my hometown. I was done with this city. Let Matthew live with his regret.

On New Year’s Eve, a poolside party was held at the hospital. There, my fiancee Valerie Charlton’s medical prodigy junior colleague, Cyrus Zeigler, drew the wildcard in a party game. His task was to select a woman from the attendees and enact an explicit scene in front of everyone. He scanned the crowd, and his gaze landed on Valerie. “Valerie, you’re about to get married. I know I can’t have you. So let me have this one time. Okay?” Valerie’s eyes welled up, and she was about to nod. I scoffed and tossed the unsigned medical equipment purchase contract onto the table. “You’d better think carefully. Either he gets lost, or your family’s hospital shuts down for good. Your choice.” Cyrus glared at me angrily when he saw that Valerie was torn with indecision. “Is it that Mr. Everest can’t take a joke? He’s already controlling everything you do before the wedding. After you get married, he’ll probably keep you in a cage.” Valerie calmed down. Then, she turned to me and said scornfully, “You are a grown man. Have some grace. What era are we living in? Do you have to flaunt your masculinity all the time?” I watched calmly as they walked toward the pool. Then, I turned and made a phone call. “Since she doesn’t care about this marriage, she can watch the Charlton family crumble.”

"Hey, new girl! Stop hovering like a shadow and grab a seat. You look like you haven’t eaten in days," the head chef called out, her voice sharp but oddly welcoming. I froze. I knew her. She was the type who ignored me—neither cruel nor kind, just indifferent. It was better than the others who thrived on my misery. But this… this unexpected invitation caught me off guard. “Thomas, move over!” she snapped. “The girl looks like she’s been dragged through hell. Let her sit.” I cautiously stepped forward, unsure of this newfound warmth. “She doesn’t talk much, huh? Let me tell you something, sweetheart,” Henry chimed in, his voice dripping with mockery. “There’s no room for shy here. Speak up or get swallowed whole. Now, what’s your name?” “Aurora,” I said smoothly, burying the girl I used to be beneath the lie. --- Amelia was the pack’s favorite target—a punching bag for their frustrations and a scapegoat for their failures. But the cruelest betrayal came on her eighteenth birthday when the Alpha—her mate—rejected her in front of the pack. Mocked, humiliated, and abandoned, Amelia reached her breaking point. She vanished without a trace. Years later, she’s back, but not as the broken girl they remember. She’s Aurora now—sharp, fearless, and burning with a thirst for vengeance. She’s trained, planned, and uncovered the dark truths that fueled their hatred. And now, she’s ready to make them pay.

Born to power but raised in pain, Crystal’s life is anything but ordinary. Once the daughter of a powerful Alpha and Luna, she is reduced to a broken omega after a betrayal that steals her parents and her status. Trapped in a pack that despises her, she endures endless abuse until fate reveals its cruelest twist: her destined mate is the very man who helps destroy her. But destiny is not done with her yet. After a desperate escape that ends in death, Crystal awakens to something impossible. Chosen by the Moon Goddess and bound to an ancient prophecy, she rises reborn as a hybrid of wolf and witch, carrying a power the world has never seen. No longer willing to be controlled, she breaks her bond with her cruel mate and begins a journey to reclaim herself. Far away, Alpha Kenneth, a feared and powerful alpha that is hardened by the loss of his parents to vampires, feels the awakening of a force that changes everything. When their paths collide, the bond between them ignites, fierce and undeniable. But trust is not easily given, and Crystal must decide whether to embrace the connection or stand alone. As hidden truths unravel and enemies close in, Crystal discovers the depth of the betrayal that shatters her past and the role she must play in a war that will determine the fate of both werewolves and vampires. To fulfill the prophecy, she must rise beyond fear, claim her power, and stand beside the one man who could either be her greatest strength or her greatest risk. Because this time, she is not the omega they broke. She is the fire they cannot extinguish.