Fiona Gallagher Shameless

I hadn't seen my mafia husband, Luca Moretti, and our daughter Dora in three whole months. Why? Because his mother, Fiona, said Dora should stay with her "for a while." And Luca? He was "too busy with business," as always. So when Luca finally called and said he was going to pick me up for a family reunion at the villa, I was overjoyed. I thought maybe, just maybe, I'd finally get to hold my little girl again. I spent the whole damn day running around the city, buying her favorite dolls, snacks, a new pink dress, anything I thought would make her smile at me again. But when the car arrived, it wasn't what I imagined. Before I could even say Hi, Dora turned her head, took one look at me… and then wrapped her arms even tighter around Maria, the maid. She buried her face in Maria's neck like I wasn't even there. Like Maria was her mom. I tried to approach her, but Dora straight-up told me she didn't want to ride in the same car as me. And Maria, wearing that fake, polite smile, kept trying to gently talk me into giving Dora "a little more time." I looked over at Luca, hoping he'd step in. Instead, he just looked annoyed, like he couldn't be bothered to lift a finger to help fix things between me and our daughter. Clearly, they didn't want me there. So what was the point of trying to join the ride? I stepped back from the SUV. Then Luca just turned to me and said, "Just wait here. I won't be long." What he'll never understand is… I'm done waiting for him.

Peggy Flannery, the new recruit who's being mentored by my husband, Eugene Shaw, insists on practicing how to carve words onto a patient's heart. It so happens that my mother-in-law has suffered from a sudden heart attack. So, I quickly take her to the hospital so that Eugene, who's also known as a genius surgeon, can save her life. Unbeknownst to me, Eugene is quick to entrust my mother-in-law to Peggy, who has barely joined the hospital for three days, so that she can practice her carving on her. Peggy is very careless with her strength. When she's in the middle of carving something onto my mother-in-law's heart, she accidentally punctures a heart valve, resulting in my mother-in-law's instant death. Once the death happens, Peggy wails to Eugene, "That hag is really frail and delicate! I'm not even done carving my name onto her heart! What should I do now?" Eugene wipes her tears away gently. There's heartbreak in his eyes as he says, "It's fine. No one will be able to bully you with me around." Once Eugene exits the operating theater, he declares that the surgery is a failure and that I should start preparing the funeral matters. Unable to accept reality, I grab him by the shoulders and keep questioning him. "Isn't this just a minimally invasive surgery? How did Mom die just like that? I want to see the surgical footage!" But Eugene responds by slapping me angrily. "Your mom is already old, to begin with! How dare you pin the blame on others when her frail and weak body is the main cause of her death! I haven't even begun to settle the score with you for giving Peggy such a huge fright! "Hurry up and sign the letter of forgiveness! If this incident does affect Peggy in any way, I'll file for a divorce right away!" Needless to say, I'm so furious that I can't even utter a single word after hearing Eugene's shameless words. Does he seriously think that my mother is the one who's dead? I merely chuckle icily in return. "Honestly speaking, you have more right to sign the letter of forgiveness than I do."

My father suffered from serious manic depression. When I was eight, my house was robbed and my mother was killed. I became blind while shielding my father from being stabbed. I became the only solace for my father after that. Anyone who hurt me would suffer my father's wrath. When my classmate made fun of me for being blind, her thermos suddenly exploded a few days later and she was blinded. When the class bully targeted me, he was found lying in an alley the next day. Something had dropped on him from a high building that broke his limbs. Not long after, my father achieved great success in his career. He was known for being a sharp businessman. I continued to be the most important person to him. Whoever dared touch a hair on me was as good as dead. I was lucky that a top medical research center overseas successfully came up with a treatment to restore my eyesight. On the day they removed my bandages, I received my father's wedding invitation. [Rina, I found you a new mother. We'll both dote on you when you come home.] My father told me how gentle and kind my new mother was and how much he looked forward to us meeting each other. I was touched and specially prepared a present for her. However, she instructed her bodyguards to abduct me and bring me to an abandoned factory. "Of all the things to learn in life, how dare a young girl like you learn to seduce another woman's husband? How shameless! How dare you steal something that belonged to my husband's late wife? I'll skin you alive!" My present was flung to the ground and destroyed. She ordered her bodyguards to force themselves on me and broke my bones. She skinned me alive and put plaster all over me to turn me into a statue. She then put me into an exquisite gift box to give to my father as a surprise. "Sweetheart, this is the vixen you've kept hidden from me. I turned her into an angel statue. You can see her every night if you put her in your bedroom. You won't need to sneak out to see her.

My mate, Alpha Alex, had a wolf cursed at birth by a witch—unable to catch the scent of any she-wolf, doomed never to find his true mate. He spent five long years searching for her, only to be met with nothing but disappointment. In the end, broken and exhausted, he gave up. That was when he claimed me. On the night of our bonding, he told me the truth. "Fiona," he said quietly, "I had no choice. If the pack knew their Alpha couldn't even find his true mate, I'd become a disgrace in their eyes. So I chose you. You are my selected mate—but I swear, no one will ever take your title. You are my Luna. Even if I one day find my true mate… that will never change." But then he added, his voice distant and heavy: "Even though I'm cursed… I must still try to find her. I need to search every corner of the pack." From that night onward, she-wolves began appearing at our den one after another—every day, without fail. Some were shy, some bold. Some came bearing gifts, others with longing in their eyes. But all of them came for one reason: to see if they were his mate. And I? I could only watch in silence—his Luna in name, but never truly in heart. Because I knew there was nothing I could do to change his behavior. I had lost count of how many times I cried and begged him to stop—but still, every night, he brought different young she-wolves into our den. I once thought he'd eventually grow tired of it, that he would stop one day. Until he brought home three young she-wolves from the werewolf club. He paid far more than other alphas for their first night. Why? Because a witch told him that only sharing a night with more than two virgin she-wolves from the same bloodline could awaken his wolf's dormant sense—and help him find his true mate. I let out a bitter smile because what he didn't know was— The true mate he had searched for all these years… was me. But I would never return to him again. And by the time he finally found out the truth— It was already too late.

When my best friend and I realized we had been reborn and traveled back several decades, we locked eyes, collapsed into each other's arms, and sobbed, shouting that we wanted to break off our engagements. The entire neighborhood whispered that we had lost our minds. But only we knew the truth. In our past lives, this was the day everything was sealed: she married a battalion commander, Ned Stark, and I became the wife of a high school teacher, Robbie Stark. My husband betrayed me. For the sake of that pretentious whore, Scarlett Wheaton, he stole my university admission letter and let her take my place on campus. The world mocked me as a failure, and Robbie stood by in silence. After we married, every time he touched me, he would immediately write another love letter to Scarlett—atoning for his supposed guilt. "Scarlett, even if I can't be with you in this life, my soul will always belong to you alone." Even my own child despised me, calling me an ignorant village woman, urging me again and again to divorce so that his father could be with his "true love," Scarlett. And my best friend, Rachel Croft—born the daughter of a factory director—was tricked by her husband, Ned, under the pretense of buying a house. He drained her savings and her wages for twenty long years. It wasn't until she fell gravely ill and went to sell the house that she discovered the deed he had given her was a forgery. The real house—the one paid in full—was in Scarlett's name. One of Scarlett's dresses cost more than my friend's entire monthly salary. When Rachel begged to reclaim what rightfully belonged to her, she was met only with contempt from Ned and her child. "All you ever care about is money. You're nothing like Scarlett, who isn't materialistic at all. Your illness is retribution," Ned had said. "Exactly. Only someone as noble and kind as Scarlett deserves to be my mother!" her child had said. Rachel and I both spent our lives working ourselves to the bone, only to end with nothing—dying bitter and broken from the injustice. But this time, fate has given us another chance. I will go to university. Rachel will become a wealthy woman. This time, without us paving the way, those shameless men and that wretched woman think they can still live happily ever after? Dream on.

On the eve of the SATs, Sasha Lane’s diary got leaked. Every private thought she had ever hidden about her uncle, Gabriel Quinn, was dragged into the open. Humiliated. Picked apart in public. She was forced to give up the exam. Sent overseas like an exile. After that, she was branded shameless, trashy, and completely out of line. Those accusations followed her everywhere. Years passed. No matter how hard she worked, she could never shake the weight of that judgment. Even after getting into a top global university. Even after becoming a rising star in pharmaceutical research. In the end, they still pushed her toward a stable civil service job, like none of her accomplishments meant a thing. Then came the scandal. A rumor about an illegitimate child exploded overnight. For the sake of his reputation and future, Gabriel forced her into a marriage with the most powerful heir in the city, Sebastian York. Gabriel told her, “Sebastian isn’t interested in you. He only agreed to a fake marriage to deal with his family. Once things calm down, you’ll divorce.” That was the moment her heart finally went cold. She didn’t owe him anything anymore. At City Hall, Sebastian York, a man infamous for his ruthless reputation, handed Sasha his medical report. “Everything checks out. No problem consummating the marriage.” Sasha looked him over, then shrugged. “Fine. You’re this good-looking. I’m not exactly losing out.” Sasha thought Sebastian wasn’t interested in her. She was wrong. After they got married, all it took was one extra look, and something in him snapped. He treated her like his wife in public. In private, he was anything but restrained. Every touch was slow, deliberate, and dangerously tempting. He knew exactly how to get under her skin. Knew exactly how to pull her in. Before she realized what was happening, she was already in too deep. Later, Sasha posted her pregnancy update on social media. Gabriel dropped his speech mid-event and walked out without a word. He drove through a storm just to find her. Soaked to the bone, he blurted out, his voice shaking. “Sasha… divorce him. Come home with me.” Back when she loved him, he didn’t care. Now that he finally wanted her, she had nothing left to give. On the other side of a closed door, Sebastian had her pinned against him, his hand locked around her waist as he kissed her until she could barely breathe. His palm slid over her stomach, his voice low and rough, coaxing. “Be good. Let him hear you.” She was the woman he had fought to claim. And anyone who thought they could take her away? Dream on!

Je n'avais pas vu mon mari mafieux, Lucien Moreau, ni notre fille Théa depuis trois longs mois. Pourquoi ? Parce que sa mère, Fiona, avait décrété que Théa devait rester « un petit moment » chez elle. Et Lucien ? Comme toujours, il est « trop occupé par les affaires ». Alors quand Lucien a enfin appelé pour me dire qu'il venait me chercher pour une réunion de famille à la villa, j'étais folle de joie. J'ai cru que, peut-être, juste peut-être, j'allais enfin pouvoir serrer ma petite fille dans mes bras. J'ai passé la foutue journée à courir dans la ville, achetant ses poupées préférées, des friandises, une nouvelle robe rose, tout ce qui, selon moi, pourrait lui redonner le sourire quand elle me verrait. Mais quand la voiture est arrivée, rien ne s'est passé comme je l'avais imaginé. Avant même que je puisse dire bonjour, Théa a détourné la tête, m'a jeté un simple regard… et a resserré encore plus fort ses bras autour de Maria, la domestique. Elle a enfoui son visage dans son cou comme si je n'existais pas là. Comme si Maria était sa mère. J'ai essayé de m'approcher d'elle, mais Théa m'a carrément dit qu'elle ne voulait pas monter dans la même voiture que moi. Et Maria, avec son sourire poli mais faux, n'arrêtait pas de me répéter doucement qu'il fallait laisser un peu plus de temps à Théa. J'ai levé les yeux vers Lucien, espérant qu'il dise quelque chose. Au lieu de ça, il avait l'air agacé, comme si tout ça l'ennuyait trop pour lever le petit doigt et arranger les choses entre sa fille et moi. Clairement, ils ne voulaient pas de moi. Alors, à quoi bon insister pour monter ? Je me suis reculée de la voiture. Et Lucien s'est contenté de se tourner vers moi pour dire : « Attends ici. J'en ai pas pour longtemps. » Ce qu'il ne comprendra jamais, c'est que… moi, j'en ai fini d'attendre après lui.