I Didn't Know My Own Strength

Years ago, Elijah’s world shattered the day his husband, Gabe, vanished without a word. They said it was a plane crash. They said there were no survivors. But lies have long wings and now Gabe is back. Alive. Rich. Powerful. And with no memory of the life he shared with Elijah. When Gabe reappears in the arms of another world, Elijah is torn between rage and relief. His husband doesn’t remember the vows, the late-night laughter, or the broken pieces they were trying to heal together. Worse, someone is trying to erase Gabe’s name from his family’s fortune and Elijah might be the only one who can help him uncover the truth. Bound by a fake marriage that once held real love, the two must pretend for the world while battling ghosts of their past. As secrets unravel and the danger grows, so does the pull between them. But this second chance comes with a price and a past neither of them are ready to face. Was Gabe running from something… or someone? And if Elijah helps him remember, will love bring them home or destroy them both? A dark, emotionally raw MM romance about memory, betrayal, and the painful beauty of second chances. .

(Trigger warning: this book has some elements of dark romance with an unhinged ML) "Would you give me your surname or better take mine then? Will you be the lucky man?" I blurted out having no idea of what I was saying. My head was already in the clouds and blinded by his smile. It calmed the storm in my mind. He laughed. Those dark abysses were truly alluring when they sparkled. His fingers grazed my cheeks, wiping off my tears, before cupping them in his callous palms. "If you love my surname so much." A foolish smile graced my lips, oblivious of the fact that he wasn't joking. "You can't back down now, hubby. You just got a wife." I thought I lost everything when I walked away from Sinclair. I never imagined I’d end up as Alaric Von Duvall’s wife. ******* Her life was written in stone. A perfect life one she always dreamt of. Everything Cassandra wanted was within reach until one night revealed the love she'd trusted was a lie. Betrayal and deceit from those she trusted the most made every belief she had crash down. What she didn’t expect was to stumble into a stranger's arms, into his bed and wake up married. Alaric gave her what she thought she wanted; now she can't take it back. One reckless mistake became a wedding vow. Now she’s trapped inside Alaric’s empire of lies. Married to a stranger who knows more than he’s letting on He’s dangerous. He’s charming. And in front of everyone, he claimed her as his . Caught between Sinclair’s obsession, Alaric’s shadowy intentions, and her family’s betrayal, Cassandra doesn’t know if this marriage will be her downfall… or her salvation.

My fated mate, Alpha Ethan, chose another woman over me. Not once. Not twice. But ninety-nine times. He always claimed it was for the pack. He always swore he loved me. He always promised that next time, I would be his priority. Then she showed up at his Alpha ceremony. The outsider, Oliva. In my Luna gown. My Beta saw red and told Oliva to get her ass out of our pack. Ethan abandoned me on the stage—on the night we were to be crowned together—and stormed down to shield Oliva in his arms. For the hundredth time, he ordered me to apologize for the sake of an alliance. As if she was the victim. And just like that... I was done. I drew my silver dagger and sliced it across my palm. "I, Ivana, before the Moon Goddess and the Elders, reject my mate bond with Alpha Ethan." He thought I was throwing a tantrum. He was wrong. I didn't just shatter our bond. I erased him. And that’s when he lost his mind, tossing Oliva aside and begging me to come back.

I was the stand-in who looked most like my husband's first love. He put me through countless plastic surgeries, both major and minor ones, until I became her exact likeness. But then, she came back from the dead. All it took was her saying, "I don't like anyone looking like me," and he sent me right back to the operating table once more. I begged him, telling him that my body couldn't handle it anymore. Alas, he only looked at me with irritation. "Seeing that cheap imitation of her face just disgusts me," he sneered. "No matter how close you come, you'll never be her." In the end, I died on that operating table. Yet, he went mad, trying desperately to recall what I once looked like.

Today is the Full Moon Ceremony, all members of the Wigner pack, along with the elders, have come to our mansion to celebrate together. But I wasn’t invited, even as Leon’s Luna. I was in the storage room with a report from the midwife in my hand. I was pregnant with three pups. This was supposed to be a surprise for Leon, until I heard Leon talking with his friend Demon just now. Demon asked, “Are you sure you won’t let your Luna join this party?” “My Luna is just a party bomber, she’ll only ruin tonight’s atmosphere.” “I heard Lisa is back. What do you think she’ll do when she finds out you married her twin sister? But I wonder, between the twins, which one do you prefer?” Demon laughed. “Carla is just a substitute for Lisa, you know. She will even die for me. But she’s useless, I’ll leave her soon.” Even the money for his party came out of my pocket. I brought in over $20 million in profits each year with my wolfsbane antidote formula. I was the one kept this company running, and still, I wasn’t even invited to his party. He was thinking about how to get rid of me. I covered my mouth to stop myself from sobbing. I pulled myself together five minutes later and left this party. I could feel that three strong heartbeats in my belly. “My pups, mommy is sorry. I have to leave your father-wolf…” My Luna’s Coronation Ceremony was only 5 days away. By that time, I would have already taken my triplets away and leave him forever.

To everyone else, I'm the wife of Stefano Pace, the man who runs this city's underworld. To others, I am living the kind of luxury every woman in town envies. But what no one knows is that in three days, I'm leaving my husband for good. It started when I took Stefano's car to wash and spotted a black stocking that wasn't mine wedged in the passenger seat cushions. It was balled up and still reeked of sickly sweet perfume. The sight of it was like a knife to the heart. I knew that perfume. It is Isla Torelli's. She's Stefano's underboss, the only woman besides me who's ever taken the passenger seat. My hand trembled as I gripped the stocking, but I kept my cool. I thought back to our wedding seven years ago, when Stefano stood in front of the whole family and vowed, "If I ever betray you, then betray me a hundredfold!" He probably did not think those words would come true.

After dying after a mall explosion I wake in a 7 year old body, wait I what? I become a child?!! OMG Good thing this child face is so exquisite however as soon as I wake up life is so hard. Both parents are missing, chased to death by the so-called relatives, have nothing to eat but I do have a gentle elder brother, an adorable younger brother and a sister-obsess twin brother. "Wife I came back fetching your gold" a certain main coiled his arms my waist "Wife?! Whose wife your calling?! I'm your big bro" A night had pass "Do you know your mistake?" "Yes, hubby I'm sorry" "Who am I?" "Your my younger bro--of my husband. I will beat anyone who dared to refuse to that!"

Chloe, the maid I share a room with, is dead. I watched the head housekeeper and another maid pin her to the floor. I watched them as the housekeeper vomited up a slimy, black web of fungus and forced it down Chloe's throat. I should have screamed. I wanted to. But my selective mutism took over, trapping the sound in my throat. It probably saved my life. The next day, Chloe was alive again. She walked into the young miss’s room to brush her hair, just like always. I was so scared I dropped the water basin I was holding. As I stood there, frozen, the young miss leaned in close, her voice a whisper only I could hear. "You've noticed it too, haven't you? They're not themselves anymore."

I gave my husband everything—my love, my loyalty, and even my health—only to be tossed aside like garbage. The night I handed him the contract that would make him a millionaire, he gave me divorce papers and introduced his new fiancée, the daughter of his company’s director. Just when I thought my world had collapsed, he appeared. Leon Castello. The cold, ruthless billionaire my husband had spent years trying to impress. He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse: “Marry me, and I’ll make your ex regret ever leaving you.” At first, it was just a deal. A marriage on paper. But Leon knew things about me no stranger should. He protected me, cherished me, and whispered my name in his sleep like a long-lost memory. And then I discovered the truth. Leon Castello wasn’t just my husband’s enemy. He had been waiting for me all along.

In my past life, I was the only daughter of the Gambino family in New York. I had power, wealth, respect. But I lost it all because of Lucas, my husband. He brought Isabella, the widow of his fallen brother, into our home without even asking me. I threw a fit, made a scene, and gave everyone exactly the story they wanted: the spoiled Gambino princess had finally gone mad. Lucas filed for divorce soon after. I did not beg him to stay. I was Leo Gambino's daughter. I would rather break my own teeth than plead with a man who had already chosen another woman. But pride did not save me. Soon after, our family fell apart. Enemies moved in, my father was killed, and I ended up starving on the streets of New York. Lucas, however, climbed to the top using our family's influence and became the new don of New York. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Lucas first brought Isabella home.