Imelda Coco

They caught my fiancé with my sister on the night of our engagement party. Tangled in a private wine cellar. My family name was dragged through the mud. We became the laughingstock of the Chicago Outfit. Then came Don Lorenzo Falcone. He proposed in front of all the Families, saving my honor and forging a more powerful alliance. For four years, he put me on a pedestal. But an old injury left him unable to father an heir. This year, through the family’s private doctor, I finally got pregnant. After that, his devotion became absolute. I thought this powerful man was my savior. My only protector. Until I heard him talking to his right-hand man. “Boss, Arabella worships you. How could you do it? You had the doctor switch the vials, made Arabella the surrogate for the Moretti heir. Just 'cause Isabella couldn't handle the pain? The kid’s due in two months. What’s the plan?” He was silent for a moment. When he spoke, his voice was ice. “When the child is born, it goes to Isabella. It's the only thing that guarantees her future with the Morettis.” “And Arabella?” “I’ll tell her the baby didn’t make it.” “She’ll still be Mrs. Falcone. She’ll have everything she could ever want.” So that was it. My great protector. All of it… for another woman. This tainted bloodline? I don’t want it in me. And this sham of a marriage? I’m done.

It was my birthday. I thought he would take me to see the fireworks by the sea, but he showed up with another woman and her child. “Vera has a kid with her, and it’s inconvenient for them. Be a little understanding. She doesn’t know her way around here, and she has a lot of luggage. I’ll just drop them at the hotel.” He said it so casually, as if he were just explaining some trivial, everyday chore. It was that very gentleness of his that made me feel like I was so unreasonable getting angry over it. He helped them into the car. He leaned down to buckle the seatbelt on the child. Then, he turned to me with a smile. “I’ll be right back. Don’t overthink things.” I stood by the roadside and watched them drive away like a picture-perfect little family. As night fell, the sea breeze turned sharp and biting. Still, I waited until a notification of Vera Cannon’s social feed update lit up my screen. He was holding her daughter in his arms. They were watching the fireworks by the beach. It was a surprise I had planned for my own birthday. The comments poured in. [What a perfect match. What a beautiful little family!] Someone asked him why he was not picking me up. He just smiled and said, “Indy is very patient. She won’t be mad.” At that moment, my birthday cake melted into a puddle of frosting. I finally realized that he had not done that to be cruel to me. He was certain that I would always wait for him. However, even the warmest heart grew cold when neglected too many times. The waves crashed against the shore, over and over. With each crash, another shred of my hope washed away. This time, I was not going to wait for him to come back.

The night before I was meant to become Luna to my fated mate, Kaelen, I stumbled across a post: "How to steal an Alpha from his fated mate?" The comments blew up. 【You're trying to break up fated mates? They’re chosen by the Moon Goddess herself! That's a sacred bond, a one-in-a-million blessing!】 The comments were full of outrage, but a user named “Baby Wolf” proudly replied: 【If you’re bold enough and know how to play your cards right, even a bond from the Goddess is just a pretty little lie. My Alpha says his fated mate calms him, but in bed, I'm the one he can't get enough of. He says that woman's a dead fish. He was over her ages ago, lol.】 For some reason, my heart clenched. My mind flashed to Kaelen holding me, his voice a low rumble in my ear, "Baby, your scent is the only thing that soothes my wolf." I told myself it was just a coincidence. Until I saw her next post: "Vacation in the Rockies last month. We ran into some rogues and he got his arm shredded protecting me. My hero. " The scarred arm in her picture… I knew it instantly. I knew every single mark. Kaelen had told me he got it breaking up a pack fight. I'd cried my eyes out for him. So my perfect mate was nothing but a low-down, cheating liar. I wiped my tears, my grief turning to ice, and called his mother—the one woman who'd fought our bond from the start. "Kaelen betrayed me. I'm leaving him."

I've been overlooked by the Lawson family a hundred times over. On birthdays, they only ever get a cake for my sister, Jocelyn Lawson. When I'm sick, I lie alone in a hospital bed while they fuss around her. I tell myself to tough it out and be a good daughter, but no amount of my endurance ever earns me a drop of their favor. On my wedding day, I think I'll finally get my moment to shine, at least for once. But I'm wrong. My parents, my brother, and even my fiance—Felix Wright, the head of a mafia empire—abandon me to attend Jocelyn's graduation ceremony. They leave me standing alone at the altar, enduring the guests' whispers and pitying glances. But Felix just throws me a cold line. "It's just a wedding. We'll make it up another day." It's not the first time. At our engagement party, Jocelyn whimpers about a stomachache, and he rushes her to the hospital without a flicker of hesitation. I'm left to smile through gritted teeth, making excuses to a room full of guests. That's the moment it hits me. To them, I'll always be the spare. So, I walk away. I pack my bags and carry a secret with me—the child growing inside me. This time, I'm done waiting for their scraps of affection. I'm starting a new chapter in my life, for me and my baby.

At the ceremony where my fiancé, Mattew, was to be crowned Alpha of the Riverdale Pack, he publicly rejected our mating bond. He chose Claire, who was already carrying his child. “Claire and her family can help me secure my Alpha title,” he said, without a hint of shame. “And I need her to give me an heir.” As for me? “Just wait a year. The Luna title will still be yours.” Everyone thought I’d just accept it. After all, I’d been hopelessly devoted to him for seven years. But that very night, I left to find my Second Chance Mate. Three years later, I returned to the Riverdale Pack, accompanying my mate—the Alpha King—on his tour of the territories. He had some last-minute business and sent someone else to pick me up. But at the airport, I ran into Mattew. He looked at me with pity. “Done with your little tantrum? Claire’s son needs a nanny. You can come back and be his caretaker.”

On the day Luke Smith attended his dear friend's funeral with his child, the media swarmed around me, questioning if I was the child's biological mother.Luke Smith, the high-society sensation, adored by all.For seven years, I was his secret lover, and how he spoiled me was the talk of the town.But eventually, he said, "Hazel, she's just a minor celebrity. What makes her think she can marry into the Smiths?"Indeed, his later wife, hailing from a prestigious lineage, epitomized grace and charm. Her only flaw was her inability to bear children.Facing eager reporters, I smiled, "I hardly know Mr. Smith. With that said, I wish him and his wife a lifetime of happiness and a joyful family."The news quickly went viral online.That very night, Luke Smith, disheveled and troubled, embarked on a long journey to San Anglos with his child.

Keluarga Aristanto punya aturan. Jika ingin menjadi Nyonya Besar berikutnya, orang itu harus membuktikan diri. Menghasilkan keuntungan kurang lebih lima triliun dalam satu tahun. Semua itu harus dilakukan sendiri, tanpa bantuan keluarga. Aku menghabiskan sepuluh tahun mencoba melakukan semuanya demi Vicky. Aku membangun sepuluh perusahaan dari nol. Namun setiap kali, tepat saat aku hampir mencapai garis akhir, selalu terjadi kesalahan. Dan, semuanya ... runtuh. Tahun ini, akhirnya aku berhasil. Aku berlari ke ruang kerjanya, dengan laporan di tangan, jantungku berdebar kencang. Kupikir aku akhirnya menang. Tapi sebaliknya, aku justru mengetahui bahwa seluruh hidupku adalah kebohongan. Vicky menyerahkan seluruh kerajaan bisnisku kepada Andrea, anak haram ayahku. Semua karena Andrea dianggap pernah menyelamatkan nyawa Vicky satu kali, jadi dia ingin menjadikan wanita itu Nyonya Besar yang sebenarnya. Aku pun menyerah padanya. Pada mimpi keluargaku untuk bangkit bersamanya. Lalu, aku menelepon keluarga dari Kota Sirkola. "Lamaran pernikahan itu ...." kataku. "Aku terima."

Ang life trial system na “If You Think You Can Do Better, Prove It” ay sumabog sa eksena na parang isang naglalakbay na circus na nagpapangako ng magagandang bagay. Ang ideya ay plain. “Kung sa tingin mo ang buhay ng ibang tao ay magulo at tingin mo kaya mong mas gawin ito ng maganda, sige at patunayan mo. May reward na naghihintay kung magawa mo.” Bago ko mapagtanto, ang buong pamilya ko na tinuturing akong hanggal sa gitna ng palabas. Nandyan ang ina ko, nangangarap na gawin akong inahin. Ang asawa ko, na naglaan ng mga taon umiiwas sa nararapat na hati ng bigat ng pamilya. At ang anak kong lalaki, naaawa pag nakikita ako. Tinulak nila ako sa “judgement seat” na para bang kontrabida sa isang kwento. Bawat isa sa kanila ay sumumpa, sa pwesto ko, maayos nila ang buhay ko kaysa sa kaya ko. Ang pusta? Well, kung magawa nila ito, ang consciousness ko ay mabubura—mawawala, binura na parang pagkakamali sa chalkboard—at gagawin nilang personal na katulong. Dagdag pa dito, maglalakad sila palayo ng may isang milyong dolyar. Pero kung hindi nila magawa? Kung gayon ako ang siyang makakakuha ng tatlong milyong dolyar. Ngayon iyan ay pustahang kaabang abang, hindi ba?

I bloomed early, my curves more defined than other she-wolves my age. The year I came of age, my Alpha brother, Asher, was terrified I’d be snatched up by some rogue. He asked his best friend—Alpha Caden of the Nightshade Pack—to personally look after me. What my brother didn't know was that the very first time we met, Caden got drunk and took me. He pinned me against the wall, claiming me with a primal urgency. He left his scent all over me, kissing every inch of my skin like he was obsessed. But the next day, he told me that if my brother found out, he would kill him. And so began our four-year secret affair. For four years, I was his personal healer by day and his secret lover by night. Until his first love, an Omega she-wolf, came back. I watched them in a passionate embrace as Caden kissed her with a tenderness he never showed me. As for me? The same mouth that had been tangled with mine just yesterday was now spitting venom. "Aria, don't forget it was you who faked the scent of my fated mate to seduce me four years ago." "Are you going to make a scene and try to force me to marry you again?" In that moment, I finally saw him for who he truly was. I called my brother. "Asher, I'll do it. I'll accept the marriage alliance with the Silvercrest Pack."

The life trial system "If You Think You Can Do Better, Prove It" burst onto the scene like a traveling circus promising wonders. The idea was plain enough: "If you reckon someone's life is a mess, and you think you can do better, go ahead and prove it. There's a reward waiting if you do." Before I knew it, my whole family had me pegged for the fool in the middle of the show. There was my mother, dreaming of turning me into some grand goose; my husband, who'd spent years dodging his rightful share of the family load; and my son, mortified by the very sight of me. They shoved me onto the "judgment seat" like I was the villain of the tale. Every last one of them swore up and down that, given my place, they'd manage my life better than I ever could. The stakes? Well, if they pulled it off, my consciousness would be erased—gone, wiped out like a mistake on a chalkboard—and turned into their personal servant. On top of that, they'd waltz off with a cool million dollars. But if they couldn't? Then I'd be the one raking in three million dollars. Now that's a gamble for the ages, isn't it?