Cyberpunk Never Fade Away

The Rossi mafia family followed an ancestral rule. Before marriage, the heir received one chance each year to draw lots. Drawing a fortunate lot meant he could choose his own spouse and avoid an arranged marriage. Dante Rossi drew an unfortunate lot for five consecutive years, and I, who had been dating him for seven years, never managed to marry him. This year marked the sixth year. I overheard his conversation with Marco Valentino, the Underboss. "Mr. Rossi, you drew a fortunate lot again." Dante's voice carried an unprecedented coldness. "Same as always, switch it to an unfortunate lot." Marco hesitated, then tried to persuade him. "Mr. Rossi, you've switched it for five years straight. Aren't you worried Celia will leave? Celia's the most beautiful woman in Nopales. Half the men in the city are chasing her." Dante said with absolute certainty, "She won't. Celia loves me too much. She won't marry anyone else. "Years ago, Livia's father died saving me. His dying wish was for me to stay by her side for five years. After this year ends, I'll give Celia a grand wedding as compensation." My last shred of hope died after I heard those words. Dante probably did not know that the Rossi family had one final ancestral rule. If the heir failed to draw a fortunate lot six times, he would lose the right to choose his own marriage. Moreover, I would soon be marrying someone else.

She felt like she was constantly walking on a tightrope, balancing life and death. The weight of the world was on her shoulders and she was suffocating, unable to escape the constant mistreatment and disrespect she faced every day. Death seemed like her only hope to escape the misery. But fate had different plans for her. When she stumbled upon the Alpha of the most notorious pack, her world flipped upside down. He was the epitome of power, with piercing eyes that seemed to look into her soul. She was caught in a dangerous game, forced to make a choice that could either save her life or seal her fate forever. Will she be able to escape the claws of the Alpha or will she succumb to his wrath?

My mate, Charles, commander of the fire brigade, left me alone in the den with our unborn pup after I refused his request to bring his first love, Lisa, and her pup into our home so he could take care of them. Five days later, Charles reached out—claiming he wanted to ease the tension between us. He asked me to deliver the herbs that help with his insomnia to the fire brigade. On the way there, I was in an accident. I mind-linked him, begging for help, but to my shock, he refused. I believed he was training the new werewolf firemen—but the truth? He was in the infirmary, not for duty, but with Lisa and her pup. After losing my pup, I walked away—shattered, betrayed, and done.

“I paid for an heir, not a wife. Hand over the child and leave.” ​Five years ago, I signed a contract with the devil. Desperate to save my dying grandmother, I agreed to be a surrogate for the ruthless billionaire, Liam Sterling. I broke the one rule: I fell in love with him. ​But the moment I gave birth, he turned into a monster. He took my son, threw a check in my face, and had security drag me out of the hospital. He didn't know the truth—I wasn't just carrying one baby. I was carrying two. ​I raised my daughter in secret, far away from his cruel world. She is my light, my joy, my everything. ​But now, fate has played a cruel joke. Liam has found us. He sees his eyes in her face. He wants to take her, too. But he’s about to learn that the timid girl he threw away is gone. If he wants my daughter, he’ll have to go through me. And this time? I’m ready to start a war.

Emma Harrington never dreamed of stealing her twin sister’s groom. But when Sophia runs away hours before the wedding, Emma is forced to walk down the aisle in her place to save her family from ruin. Alexander Voss, the ruthless billionaire CEO, only agreed to the marriage for a multi-billion-dollar merger. On their wedding night, he discovers he has married the wrong sister. Bound by unbreakable contracts and family pressure, Alexander cannot send Emma away without destroying everything he built. Trapped in a marriage he never wanted, Alexander’s cold fury slowly turns into burning obsession as Emma’s kindness, intelligence, and quiet strength melt the ice around his heart. What began as the wrong bride becomes the only woman he cannot live without.

Eight years ago, she sent the most dangerous man in New York to prison. Eight years later, he sat in a Cadillac parked by the Brooklyn Bridge, a cold smile on his face as he said, “A woman like you deserves to be alone.” No one knew she was sick with Alzheimer’s. It had gotten so bad that she could not even remember the way home. Yet, she remembered his face. She remembered every word he had ever said to her. She even remembered the star named “Christine.” On the first page of her diary, the same sentence was written over and over again. “Vincent Medici is the most important person in this world. No matter who I forget, I must never forget Vincent Medici.” She waited for him for eight years, but in the end, what she got was his indifference, news of his wedding, and him saying to her that someone like her did not deserve to be loved. She didn’t argue. Instead, on the last page of her diary, she quietly wrote, “That’s okay. I’m going to be with my mom now.” Amidst the five thousand streets in New York, he never found her again after that.

Alicia Kenboe, a queen who is away in prison. She drank poison and died, despondent and without hope. However, unknown to her, the deity granted her a second chance at life. She was twelve all over again. And she would live her life differently this time. Six years later, she chooses to become Queen of Ehrlich... "If you want me to withdraw the marriage proposal, I can't." "Marry me for a year and then divorce." And this time, their marriage would be limited to a year. She knew a husband who was different than before... She tried not to love him again, but her heart kept trembling.

My husband has azoospermia. After trying all the options available, I finally conceived. However, my husband is worried my child will hurt his first love's feelings—she had a miscarriage. He tricks me into going for a prenatal checkup. In truth, he conspires with a doctor to induce labor when I'm only five months along. He says, "You must be the one with the problem. Why else is it so hard for us to have children? The baby won't be healthy even if it's born! We can have more children when you're healthier. Julie has just had a miscarriage; I don't want to aggravate her." He doesn't know he has azoospermia. I only managed to conceive this child after trying out IVF countless times and taking countless folk remedies. He will never have a child of his own in this lifetime, and I discover his true colors. I ask for a divorce, and that's when he loses his mind.

It was not until after I married Bennett that I found out he had a clingy little childhood friend who loved to play the victim. On the very first day of our marriage, at dinner, I simply asked Bennett to pass me a bite of food. She immediately exploded. "Holly, you're disgusting! Bennett already used those utensils, and you seriously asked him to serve you food? What, don't you have hands?" I froze, completely blindsided. Before I could even react, Bennett put down his spoon and went straight to her, wrapping her in his arms like she was the one who had been wronged. Then he turned to me and said I should just get my own food from now on. However, honestly, wasn't it normal for a husband to serve his wife a bite? What was so outrageous about that? I barely got a word out before Bennett shut me down in a low, firm voice. "That's final. If Rosie doesn't like it, then we're not doing it. End of discussion."

My daughter Stella was dying—kidneys shot, barely hanging on. She needed a transplant. Fast. But my wife, Kylie—the hospital director—stole the donor kidney meant for Stella and handed it off to her old flame's kid instead. That boy lived. They celebrated. Played happy family while my daughter was bleeding out hope. That same day, I called Kylie. Told her Stella didn't have much time. All she said was, "That ungrateful brat's faking it again? Lying? If she wants to die, let her." Stella didn't make it. Her body gave out in the worst way. And when Kylie finally saw her—really saw her—she broke.