Familiarity Breeds Contempt

What would you do if you saw the man who broke your heart again? Emma fled her village without looking back. After the biggest disappointment of her life, she ended up in New York with thousands of broken dreams and the consequences of her past haunting her. That is why she has no choice but to get out of the problems with her body, becoming a cynical lady-in-waiting who is not afraid to make her way in the upper echelons of New York in order to get what she wants. She never expected that an ordinary night of work would turn out to be the unthinkable: to see the man who broke her heart again being someone completely different from the boy she knew. Luciano is the most desired billionaire of all, CEO of the largest family business in the world and a first-class liar that she must handle with contempt and mockery to avoid falling into his deceptions. A very difficult challenge because after all, he was always her downfall.

“Who would have thought?” I scorned angering Carlos fast. “A mighty wolf like you getting a scum like me for a mate,” Carlos' eyes flashed gold. His Alpha wolf didn't like the challenge. “Is this the part where you reject me, or should I make things easier and do It instead?” I knew rejection was the only fate awaiting me, and I wasn't going to let him think that I am bothered by it. I should be used to the heartaches by now, I thought grimly. “Cam…” he groaned, pinching his nose. “And he knows my name.” I spat venomously. No one in the pack has ever accorded me or my sister the decency of referring to us with our names. We are either termed as half breeds, scums, slaves, or occasionally orphans. Carlos was tongue-tied for a second. He sighed a million times, looking at me helplessly. I didn't like the pity I saw in his eyes. “Go ahead, mighty Alpha, let's get it done with.” I provoked and apparently, it's all he needed. “I, Carlos Stanford, reject you, Cameron Walker, as my mate.” A softly spoken statement, which carried a lot of weight. Though I was only seventeen and couldn't feel the bond yet, I did feel my wolf retreating at the back of my head, howling in pain. Putting on a brave face, I muttered. “Good riddance!” I stepped past him to leave but stopped by the door when I realized I hadn't done what was expected of me. “I Cameron Walker, accept your rejection.” I smiled through the pain, giving a mock bow, and stormed out of the room like my ass was on fire.

For the Richmond business and millionaire life presupposes everything, luxuries, travel and goods have been completely in their hands, the success that their renowned surname has managed to achieve rises among the others, but not everything revolves on the margin of this. For such achievements the Richmond family has condemned Alexander their son to suffer the worst punishment of contempt, rejection and lack of love making this adult an extremely cold man. It is always said that life and even more fate enjoy conspiring against us and that the famous play boy will witness when Ava Vargas crosses his path.

There is a Past and then there is a Present. What should be our choice? To go along with the Past, feeling the familiarity of it or to go along with the Present, wishing for something new and hoping it to be amazing? With Past, we already know what to expect and know that it will not hurt the same if something goes wrong again. With Present, we don’t know what to expect and also feel that it may hurt even more than ever. So, should we let go of the past or ignore the present? With all these confusing and unanswerable questions there are a few people who are ready to tell you their story. This is the story of one among such people who has a tough but again, not so tough choice to take between past and present. Hope whatever choice that person takes will be near to perfect one, or at least far away from worst.

In the three years since I became Zander's mate, I've tried to kill myself ninety-nine times. Kidnapped by a rival pack in my youth, years of torture nearly destroyed me. I clawed my way back to the Crescent Moon Pack, only to find my place had been taken by an adopted daughter, Vivian. My Beta parents doted on her, and my fated mate—the Alpha himself—had eyes only for her. I begged them, told them my kidnapping and my suicide attempts weren't accidents, but all I ever heard was: "Ember, you're delusional. You just wandered off and got lost." "You tried to drown yourself in the river." The people closest to me, and not one of them believed me. Until the ninety-ninth time. Another "suicide." When I woke up three days later, I rubbed my aching head. My eyes were vacant, my own gaze foreign to me. I had forgotten who I was, forgotten the humiliation I'd endured, forgotten the desperate girl who had thrown away her dignity for a scrap of her Alpha's affection. At the pack ceremony, while everyone waited for me to fawn pathetically over Zander, a single tear slid down my cheek for reasons I couldn't comprehend. I wiped it away and, under the shocked stares of the entire pack, announced calmly: "Zander," my voice was steady. "I don't love you anymore. So I, Ember of the Crescent Moon Pack, hereby reject you as my mate." "This little act again?" Zander sneered, his eyes glinting with the same casual contempt they always held for me. But he didn't know. This time, I was leaving him for good. It wasn't until I vanished completely that the ones who'd never believed me were the ones who truly went mad.

Aria was once a woman full of dreams. She didn’t know she was married to a nightmare. She wed Elliot—the struggling Alpha of the Crimson Claw, with no vows under the Moon Goddess or celebration. She brought a generous dowry and transformed their pack into the third-strongest in the Federation. But power breeds greed. And love… it was never truly hers. Discarded, framed, and betrayed by the very man she uplifted, Aria walks away from it all. She’s taking control, rewriting her story with every breath. This time, Aria isn’t just surviving. She’s reclaiming her destiny. Excerpt: “From the first moment I saw you, something inside me reacted," Mason muttered. He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. “But you already have a mate—Elliot. That should’ve been the end of it." He stepped forward again. “I don’t know what’s happening to me… or to my wolf. But being near you—it feels like you’re my mate… even if you're not.” His voice cracked slightly. “It just keeps getting stronger every damn day. It’s driving me insane, Aria.” “Mason—” Aria whispered, unsure if she would stop him or beg to keep going. “Your scent is like a drug… your touch, it short-circuits everything. Logic. Control. My own damn rules,” he murmured, leaning his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry, Aria. But I can’t hold it back anymore. If you run, I’ll let you—but make no mistake, I will chase you. Because right now… I have to do this or I'll go crazy!” “I’m not running.” Mason froze, stunned by her answer. “Do you want this? Do you want me?” he asked. “You don’t have to ask for permission…” she whispered. “I want you… all of you.”

EXTRA! ETRA! The notorious Black Widow has struck again! No less than hotshot, playboy, billionaire, Damian Aidan McLaren as her latest prey.” Twenty-two-year-old Samantha Kingsley-Cameron withdrew from society and lived in solitary when her husband passed away. Scorned by the lot due to marrying a man old enough to be her grandfather, Sam decided to live the rest of her life in peace. Or so she had hoped until she received a meeting invitation from the famous shopping mall King. When Damian finally got to meet Samantha, he became instantly drawn to her despite the contempt and disgust he had for her. He will make sure that the enigmatic woman will be the one falling into his web especially when she unconsciously showed her strength. Sparks fly as two complete opposites butted heads. Damian vowed to conquer the woman and he doesn’t give a damn if he will be seducing Sam to his bed and make her fall in love with him to get what he wants. However, he wasn’t prepared discovering Samantha’s long and deepest secret. And, what happens when Samantha gets to unearth his own secrets as well?

Emma had just buried her mother when Mason, her stepfather, surprised her with terrible news: "A man has bought you and is going to make you his wife." Even before she can flee, she receives a severe blow, and when she wakes up hours later, she is in a giant house, marriage certificate in hand. Emma even thinks that the idea of marrying Gregory is better than living next door to Mason and continuing to suffer his abuse. However, Emma can't stand being treated with contempt while her husband only thinks about cheating on her and using her as a bargaining chip. Emma flees the abuse, but when Gregory realizes that his wife is carrying the heir of his dreams, he vows to hunt her to the ends of the earth.

Memories. That is what Amara Brooks lacks. She lost her memories in a tragic accident two years ago. A tragedy she had no idea why had occurred. A human couple discovered her and rushed her to the hospital. She has no recollection of anything other than her name and her wolf. Regardless, she continued to live. However, a mysterious man later appeared in front of her. She couldn't shake the familiarity of his blue eyes, blue eyes that screamed ‘mate'. But she didn't understand why, instead of being relieved that she could finally recognize him, she felt fear and pain. As she figured out the missing puzzle, she was confronted with the whole truth, a painful past, and tragedy—a tragedy in which her memories ended and her undying love for her mate, Alpha Greyson, began.

After I am diagnosed with stomach cancer, I ask for some money to buy medicine. I don't want to be in excruciating pain when I die. My three elder brothers rush into the ICU. Andy Lewis—my eldest brother—slaps me hard across my face. He scolds me for ruining his beloved younger sister, Summer Lewis' coming-of-age party. My second brother, Sherman Lewis, calls me a liar. He accuses me of pretending to be sick to swindle money from them. Jimmy Lewis, who is my third brother, calls me useless. He tells me that I deserve to die. My parents, Kenneth Lewis and Autumn Farrow, don't believe that I'm sick. They pin me with looks of contempt and ridicule. "You still haven't stopped that lying habit of yours even though you're all grown up. You even learned how to blackmail us with your death. "If you want to die, do it sooner. It'll spare us from being disgusted when we're forced to look at you day in and day out." I end up dying on the first day of the New Year. Before I breathe my last breath, I send a message to the family group chat. My entire family goes crazy after reading it.