Fragile A Christmas Story

My husband, Peter Sullivan, was obsessed with his first love who got kidnapped. When she was found, Nicole Cooper was pregnant with another man's child. While I was due to give birth soon, Peter forced me to sign the divorce agreement. "The doctor said Nicole's womb is fragile," he said. "If she loses this baby, she might never have another. I'll keep supporting you and our kid, but I can only be the father to her child." He once promised me forever. Now it proved to be just a lie. I looked at him and agreed without a fight. In fact, this was my third time living this life. This time, I just wanted to protect my baby and survive.

She died on Christmas Eve—betrayed, hunted, and sacrificed by the mate who promised her forever. But the Moon Goddess isn’t done with Mara Hartwell. Returned to the past with only days before her doomed wedding, Mara is given one impossible path to survival: Make the Alpha who refuses to celebrate Christmas fall in love with her. Alpha Aldrich Valtor is everything danger should look like—cold, feared, marked by a Christmas Eve tragedy that shattered him, and bound to secrets no one dares question. He doesn’t want a mate. He doesn’t believe in fate. And he certainly doesn’t celebrate Christmas. Yet when Mara crosses into his world—bleeding, desperate, and more alluring than she should be—something inside him answers. A contract becomes a lifeline. A stranger becomes a shield. And a forbidden pull neither understands begins to burn between them. But the past is never far behind. Enemies circle. Old debts rise. Shadows whisper of curses, rituals, and a truth that could ruin them both. As Christmas draws near, Mara must decide whether to trust the dangerous Alpha who could save her life… or break her heart worse than destiny ever did. Because this Christmas, survival isn’t guaranteed. Love might be the only thing powerful enough to rewrite fate—and it might also be the price.

I was Don Victor’s secret wife for five years, hidden away like a dirty little secret. He made me a promise. Give him an heir, and he’d show me to the world. I’d be the Donna everyone envied. But there was a catch. A lie. His doctor told me I was barren. Victor held me while I sobbed, kissing my face. "Baby, we can still do IVF. I want a child from you. Only you." So I took the pain. Five years. 999 needles. I was finally pregnant on Christmas Day. I ran to his office to share the news, only to find him buried deep inside another woman. Julia. A Mafia princess from another family. The betrayal hit me. I turned to leave, tears in my eyes, but then I heard a truth I couldn't escape. "Don't you worry, my princess. The baby in Maria's belly? It's ours. Your egg, my sperm. She’s just the perfect vessel." My hand trembled. I backed away, silent. Then I made a call. A lawyer. "I don't care what it costs. I want a divorce from Don Victor."

On Christmas Eve, my uncle, Garrett Wayne, takes a sip from the fancy whiskey I bought. Then, he points at me while grinning. "Well well well… I've been watching you since you were a kid, Flint. You were a bed-wetter when you were a little boy, and now that you're all grown up, you stay cooped in your parents' shop while running that social media account of yours. You don't have any skills at all. "My Ronnie, on the other hand, has an amazing job that will continue paying him and keeping him around no matter how hard times get. Small businesses like your family's will definitely crumble as soon as the tiniest change happens in the global economy!" All of my relatives roar in laughter at Garrett's quip. My cousin, Ronnie Wayne, pretends to be playing on his phone, though his grin has already become ear-splitting. Mom and Dad can only laugh along as well even though deep down they are very uneasy and anxious. I just gaze at Garrett coldly. In six hours, the blizzard apocalypse will descend onto this world. At the same time, a zombie outbreak will occur across the globe. In my previous life, Garrett, who had looked down on my family and me, didn't hesitate to push us into the upcoming zombie horde just to take over my parents' grocery store. In this lifetime, I swear that I will never let him off the hook! I'm about to pick up a plate of food and smash it onto Garrett's head when I hear a mechanical voice chiming in my head. "Ding! You have been bound with the Rage System! You may talk back and retort to others to your liking in exchange for supplies. The more arrogant you sound, the better supplies you'll receive!" As I look at Garrett's insufferable face, I let out a chuckle. "Oh yeah, I'm not skilled at all. But I suddenly remember this funny little thing. Uncle Garrett, you claimed that you had gone on a business trip to Brimstone eight years ago. But the truth is, you got arrested by the vice squad, right? "Does Aunt Cassia know about this?"

At the Mafia Alliance Academy, reputation is the only currency—and mine was bankrupt in a single morning. One planted file, one flawless performance, and a few crocodile tears from Elena Rossi, the “fragile” scholarship student, were all it took. Overnight, I fell from the heights of the elite to a pariah branded a cruel bully. The ultimate betrayal? My fiancé, Luca Valenti—the future Don who once swore to be my blade—stood by her side, looking at me with nothing but cold contempt. They called me cruel. Entitled. A rich girl bullying someone who had nothing. What they didn’t know was that I could hear the venom dripping from Elena’s mind. While she played the victim, her thoughts laughed—mocking the Academy’s stupidity, sneering at how easily she had Luca wrapped around her finger. I stayed silent… until the Truth System awakened. Now I can broadcast her twisted thoughts to anyone I choose. And without hesitation, I linked her mind to Luca’s. So while Elena clings to his arm, crying about her “shattered dreams,” Luca hears everything— her plans to destroy his family, her contempt for his protection, and her disgust at being touched by him. The girl he chose is already tearing his world apart.

I had been engaged to Atlas Payne, a powerful CEO, for five years. This was the 21st time he had canceled our wedding ceremony. The first time, his secretary, Jasmine Scott, sprained her ankle. He left me by the roadside and rushed to the hospital. The second time, Jasmine cried and made a scene on the eve of our wedding, so he left me alone on the red carpet. The Payne family was powerful, while I was merely the daughter of a housekeeper. Therefore, everyone advised me to just deal with his mood swings. Every time Atlas left me behind, he would solemnly apologize and promise me that the next wedding attempt would definitely go smoothly. I kept believing him. Even though I was not the family's legitimate mistress, I still handled all the family affairs for him. I waited and waited, but the wedding ceremony never came. All I received was news that Jasmine was pregnant. This time, I had no reason to convince myself to stay. "I will never let you leave my side. If you ever disappear, I’ll make sure to use my family's influence to find you." The sweet words he once said to me were now a cage that trapped me. On Christmas Day, I prepared to leave him for good. I started a fire at home. Even the most powerful family would not be able to find someone who was supposedly dead. Years later, I unexpectedly came across Atlas kneeling at my ‘grave’. He was always so stern, but now, he was crying and begging me to come home and see him again.

They tried to take everything from her: her sanity, her pride, and her daughter. Cast out into a storm by her own husband, Avery Reed was branded a disgrace simply for giving birth to a daughter. Her enemies called her unstable and labeled her child a failure, and for a moment, she almost believed them. Until he arrived. Ashton Knight wasn't just a man from her past; he was a billionaire who could buy and burn his enemies' worlds to the ground. He offered her protection within his fortress of luxury, promising to turn her tears into ammunition and her wounds into strength. Her enemies thought they were fighting a broken woman, but they had no idea that behind her now stood a king, ready to burn their entire dynasty to ash. As she takes refuge in his dangerous embrace, Avery must wonder... does she only want justice, or does she want his heart as well?

James, my promised soulmate, shattered his vow of eternal loyalty on my eighteenth birthday. He forged a bond with another, the High Elder's daughter, a union that secured his ascension to Alpha. Yet, he craved more, demanding I become his mistress, his threats aimed at my mother's fragile health. Then, fate, in its cruel irony, thrust me into the path of Michael, the formidable Alpha King. Our encounter was a night of raw passion, a moment that felt destined. When my mother's illness worsened and I and I desperately needed funds for her treatment, I sought him out. I found myself driven to him. Stripped of all pride, I knelt before him, pleading. "Please, Alpha King, help me..."

During a company team-building event, I collapse from a seafood allergy. Yet my fiance, Frederick Scott, rushes Beatrice Sutton, who only twisted her ankle, to the hospital. I come close to dying because I don't get treatment in time. Later, Frederick explains, "Beatrice is my best friend's sister. He's seriously ill now, and I promised him I'd take care of his sister. I swear I'll keep my distance from her from now on." This isn't the first time I've heard an excuse like that. On our fifth anniversary, Beatrice accidentally deleted a work file and burst into tears out of worry. When Frederick heard about it, he left me stranded on a mountain and drove back to the office himself. I spent a whole day and night walking home through the rain. On Christmas, Beatrice's house lost power. Frederick was worried that she might be scared of being alone, and he rushed over to her place without even telling me, leaving me out in the snow waiting for him until dawn. These kinds of things have happened countless times. Afterward, he always brushes them off with the same excuse. I've long since lost all faith in him and no longer believe a single word he says. I pick up my phone and call the company that keeps reaching out to me. "I've decided to accept your offer from last time. I'll bring the core technology with me."

"Is this the life-like doll Paige got me as a Christmas present? Wow, it looks just like that beautiful best friend of hers…" My best friend's father mistakes me for the Christmas present she has prepared for him. Things start to heat up in the room. The man eagerly spreads my legs, ready to experience the scalp-crawling pleasure I can bring to him.