Hothouse Flower

On the day of my marking ceremony, I don't receive flowers or a mate's embrace. Instead, I receive news that my boyfriend, Liam Hagerty, was caught in a snowstorm and his body was never found. I lose the man I love, and the pup in my belly loses its father. The grief nearly destroys me, but everyone keeps saying, "Aurora, stay strong—at least for the pup." On the day of the funeral, Liam's twin brother, Jasper Hagerty, returns from the border patrol with his mate. Every time I see Jasper's face—the exact same face as Liam's—my heart aches all over again. Then one night, I accidentally overhear a conversation between my mother-in-law—the old Luna—and Jasper. "Liam, you have to go through with this. Your brother died saving you, and your sister-in-law's been through so much. Let her give birth and have something to rely on. Then, you can host your marking ceremony with Aurora." Silence follows. Then "Jasper" speaks. "But what about Aurora? She's carrying my pup..." His mother sighs. "Aurora is strong and considerate. She'll understand." Jasper says in resignation, "Alright, Mom. I'll do as you say." That's when I realize Liam never died. The man I thought was my brother-in-law, Jasper, is just Liam putting on an act. Heartbroken beyond words, I call my older brother, Axel Maddox. "Axel, I want to come home. Liam is already dead, so there's no reason for me to stay here anymore."

Airin, faced with an unexpected pregnancy from a brief en counter with a man named Zidan, navigates the challenges of single motherhood when Zidan disappears upon learnin g about the pregnancy. Determined, Airin decides to raise her child alone while co ntinuing her studies. Despite facing judgment and pressur e at her university for bringing the baby to classes, Fachri, a young lecturer, consistently supports her and even helps care for the baby during lectures. Over time, their bond deepens, and Airin sees Fachri as a w arm and caring figure. Likewise, Fachri admires Airin's intel ligence and independence. As Airin contemplates choosing Fachri as the father figure for her child, Zidan unexpectedly reappears in her life. No w, Airin faces the difficult decision of choosing between Fa chri, who has been a constant support, and Zidan, the biolo gical father of her child.

"I want you to stop being a model so that we can start planning for pregnancy. I want to have a child soon because my mother is pressuring me," Alexander requested of his wife, Cesilia. "I don't want to. My body will change, and I won't be suitable for modeling anymore. If you're in a hurry, I can find you a new wife, how about that?" Cesilia's eyebrows raised. "If you don't want to, persuade your mother or divorce me. Because I'm not ready to have a child in the near future." "It's up to you." Frustrated by Cesilia's unchanging response for six years, Alexander also became disgusted. "Fine, I'll make sure that by next week you have a wife to carry your child, my love!" Cesilia exclaimed before Alexander disappeared from her sight.

The night before the bond ceremony, the moonlight was like silver, sprinkling over the altar of the werewolf tribe. The Moon Goddess chose Jonah's white moonlight, Emma, and assigned her to William, the tyrannical alpha of the werewolf tribe.His blood flows with the power of the ancient wolf king, but also with untamed wildness. Rumor has it that every woman who spends the night with William will be covered in bruises the next day. William’s desire is intertwined with his wolf nature, and the silver bed is his unique symbol. Silver is poison and a test for werewolves. William would let those women lie on the cold silver bed, watching their pain of being eroded by silver and the joy of desire intertwined, making painful moans and confused gasps. This contradictory torture is the catalyst for his wild desire. Jonah knows William's cruelty well, and he can't bear Emma to be the next victim. So, under the protection of the moonlight, he kidnapped Emma one step ahead and completed the marking ceremony with her under the witness of the Moon Goddess. And I, the woman abandoned by Jonah. The vows I made turned to ashes under the moonlight, and my name became a laughingstock in the tribe. In the evening, the setting sun was like blood, and William's figure appeared in front of my tent. His golden pupils flickered in the twilight with the aggression of a beast. His voice was low and threatening: "Since Jonah has robbed my partner, you can be my Luna: how about it?" Luna, the partner of the alpha in the werewolf tribe, symbolizes power and glory, but also means endless bondage and danger. I raised my head, looked directly into his eyes, and a sneer appeared at the corner of my mouth: "Okay."

Late one night, a thread blew up and hit the front page of a famous forum deep in New York’s underworld. The original poster had dug up an old prompt: “Name three words that sum up your youth.” Then an account that’d been dormant for years popped up in the replies. Its avatar was a backlit silhouette of a girl in a white dress, username: Seraphina. That was Seraphina Rossi. The Rossi family heiress, the undisputed it girl of New York’s underworld. She typed: Vibrant. Passionate. And Rico Valentino. All hell broke loose in the thread. The wild Valentino’s heir and the breathtaking Rossi heiress had once loved each other hard, only for it all to end in bitter regret. Nearly everyone in New York’s underworld had watched that heartbreak play out. Including me. I turned my head, staring at the man sleeping beside me. This was the man next to me: the once reckless kid who’d ruled the streets of Queens with his bare fists, now the Don of the Valention family. Poised. Unshakable. And he didn’t love me. I’d always known Rico still kept in touch with Seraphina. That he’d met her in secret, more than once. That’s why he’d refused to make our marriage public. His excuse was always the same: “Keeping your identity off the grid keeps our enemies from targeting you.” But I knew I was the one standing between Rico and the woman he’d never stopped loving. If all three of us were just going to keep hurting like this? I’d rather walk away. Let them have each other. I’d made up my mind. I was divorcing Rico.

As the princess of the merfolk, I can't go ashore by nature. Yet, I've fallen in love with the werewolf Alpha, Silas Walker, who lives on land. In order to be with Silas, I've struck a bargain with the witch of the deep seas. I've traded in my voice for a pair of legs. For the next century or so, Silas and I remain together as an affectionate couple. On my birthday, I find out that he's actually cheating on me with another Omega named Helena Payne. As he holds Helena in his arms, he whispers sweet nothings into her ear. "Haven't I just satisfied you last night? Oh, you little minx…" Meanwhile, Helena clutches the moonstone that's supposed to be mine. She nestles into Silas' arms as she says, "Will the Luna be angry at me when she finds out that you've given her moonstone to me? "I didn't mean to steal from her, to begin with. It's just that I've been feeling uneasy lately, and I need the moonstone to help calm my nerves…" Silas tightens his grip on her hips. "Hmph! I'm only lending the moonstone to you for a few days! You know how important Annelise is to me! If you dare tell her anything about us, I'll definitely screw you over!" This scene completely breaks my heart. After that, I text my mom right away. "Mom, I want to go home now."

The witch told us my older sister would die at sixteen, and her prophecies had never been wrong. From that moment on, my sister became the most important one in the family. The best venison was saved for her. The rare white fox fur was given to her. Every night, our parents told her bedtime stories. I knew she was pitiful, but I still felt hurt and resentful. Then, on the day she turned sixteen, a sharp pain spread through my chest. Afraid I would cause trouble, my parents locked me in the basement. “Mom, please…” I cried, pounding on the door. “I can feel my wolf spirit getting weaker. Let me out…” However, Mom said without hesitation, “No! Today is an important day for your sister. “She only has one day left. Just bear with it…” When I finally closed my eyes and my soul drifted out of my body, I saw the living room filled with warm candlelight. My parents were holding my sister who was alive and well as they cried. Only then did I realize that the witch’s prophecy had never been wrong. The one meant to die was never my sister.

The golden boy of high society once stopped a plane for me. And I? I once ran away while pregnant, disappearing for three years. We got married. Nine years later, a younger, stunning woman appeared by his side. She was vibrant and fearless, joining him in all his wild adventures. Meanwhile, I had become a stay-at-home mom, spending my days making sure our daughter didn’t eat junk food. My husband said in disappointment, “Elaine, you’re not the woman you used to be.” Even our daughter complained. “Miss Snow is smart, gorgeous, and makes her own money. But you? You just rely on my dad.” The next morning, I grabbed my ID and filed for divorce. They must have forgotten that at twenty-two, I had the guts to jump off a cliff into the ocean just to break free, and at thirty-five, I would still have the strength to start over.

Three days before our engagement, Zach Jefferson called me. “We’ll need to postpone the engagement party by a month. That day is Sienna’s first concert since she returned, and I need to be there. “It’s just a postponement. It’s no big deal.” He had postponed our engagement three times that year. The first time was because Sienna Lynch had been hospitalized with appendicitis. He said he had to take care of her and rushed over. The second time, Sienna said she was feeling down. He was worried she might get depressed and immediately booked a flight to see her. It was the third time. I simply said, “Okay.” After hanging up, I turned to the good-looking and refined man beside me. “Are you interested in marrying me?” Later, during Sienna’s concert, Zach left her without hesitation. With red, teary eyes, he rushed to my engagement ceremony. “Yulia, are you really getting engaged to this man?”

The fearsome Romano family has made an announcement. Whoever among me and my sister, Vivienne Everhart, can give birth to the first grandson of the Romano bloodline shall inherit the Romanos' wealth that's worth tens of billions of dollars. Also, said grandson will be the next Don of the Romano family. In my previous life, Vivienne had married Dominic Romano, a healthy and strong young man of the Romano family. My parents were the one who had arranged for this marriage to happen. I, on the other hand, got married to Julian Romano, a gloomy man who was confined to his wheelchair due to his crippled legs. In less than a year after our marriage, Julian had regained his ability to walk once again. At the same time, I got pregnant with the first grandson of the Romano family. As such, Vivienne got abused by Dominic to the point that she completely lost her marbles. That was how she became the laughingstock of the rich socialites of the upper crust. On the day I was about to go into labor, Vivienne stabbed my belly with a blade. Then, she grabbed me before jumping off a tall building with me in her arms. When I open my eyes again, I see Vivienne snatching away the bouquet made of blue roses that's given to me by Julian. "I want to marry Julian!" "Vivienne, how could you snatch Isabella's bouquet away?" As soon as Vivienne receives the fancy blue rose bouquet, she freezes in place when she hears our father scolding her. After Dad grabs the bouquet from Vivienne's hands, he passes it to me before saying, "Isabella, you have a healthy body. Julian might be handicapped, but at least he's pretty talented when it comes to running his business." Then, he pats Vivienne on the head lovingly. "Vivienne, you're in poor health. Marrying Dominic is your best option." As I stare at the blue rose bouquet in my hands as well as the wedding gown I'm currently wearing, I dig my nails into my palm forcefully. Finally, I realize that I've gotten reborn.