Italian Mistress

My best friend, Sabrina Reeves, hates children. She wants a child of her own, but she doesn't want to give birth to her own child. So, she sought me out and asked me to help give birth to a child for her. She even claimed that her child would be my child, and that they'd take care of me when I grew old. I thought she was crazy. Also, I warned her that it was illegal to find a surrogate mother in our country. Out of fury, Sabrina cut off all ties with me and called me a shameless wretch. "It's just giving birth to a child! I can do that too!" But Sabrina started smoking, drinking, and bar-hopping a lot. She could never get pregnant no matter what. After that, her husband brought his mistress and illegitimate child home before kicking Sabrina out. "Even a hen is capable of laying eggs! I've married you for so long, yet you can't even get pregnant! You really are a loser! "I never said anything about you wanting your best friend to give birth to my child! But you can't even get that done! Isn't this all your fault?" Sabrina pinned the blame on me. She slashed my stomach open repeatedly with a blade. Just like that, I died from the sheer pain. When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day Sabrina asks me to help give birth to a child for her.

Leno Dockett and I dated for ten years, and we've also been married for ten years. He's the illegitimate son of an Alpha. At five, he was cast out and forced to grow up in a cave near the silver mines. As an adult, he was poisoned with wolfsbane, and his wolf was nearly been killed. He was banished. I was the one who took him in. I cared for him. I traded one of my pack's most treasured relics to get the best herbs so he could be cured of the wolfsbane. Then, I helped him rebuild his pack from nothing. Everyone in the pack says I bet on the right wolf. Now I'm the Luna. But they don't know that Leno has always loved another she-wolf. For years, I've endured everything—his coldness, his insults, and the other woman's taunts. Still, I refused to break our mate bond. Yesterday, he told me his mistress is pregnant with his heir. And when I once again refused to break our bond, he raised his claws against me in front of our pup. Staring at my pup, who was about to lose his right to inherit, I finally agreed to let go. But on the day we were meant to break the bond, Leno was ambushed. The enemy injected him with wolfsbane that damaged his brain. Now… His memory is stuck 15 years in the past—when he loved me the most.

"The property management fee this month comes to 1,500 dollars. Please make the payment whenever you're free." I notice my husband's phone screen lighting up on the dining table. After glancing at it, I grabbed it immediately. "The management must have gotten it wrong. Our apartment's fee is 28 dollars per month." That's when Liam Moore shoots up to his feet and reaches out to snatch his phone back. "Yeah, they must have gotten it wrong. I'll text the person in charge and explain everything to him." But I've already tapped into the link, which shows me the details of the property that's being charged. It's Cloudridge Villa, and the property deed owner is… Matilda Shaw. The young housekeeper who's currently cooking in the kitchen is also Matilda Shaw. My mind buzzes loudly instantly. While the three of us have to make do with a tiny, rundown replacement housing that's provided by the government, Liam, my own husband, has actually bought a villa for Matilda.

Four months pregnant. I was alone when a rival family came for me.. A searing pain tore through my stomach. I couldn't reach my husband, Don Lorenzo. His phone was off. I woke up in a sterile hospital bed. Three days had passed. And the baby... was gone. That’s when I heard the nurses gossiping. “Heard Don Lorenzo cleared out a block of Fifth Avenue for his mistress three days ago. Had his phone off so they wouldn't be disturbed.” Tears rolled down my cheeks, but my heart was empty. I gave up my career, my whole life, for him. The Don who promised me forever… he shattered that promise just days before our fifth anniversary. Back home, I dug out an old phone and made a call. A number I hadn't touched in five years. "The European tour you mentioned…" I said, my voice hollow. "I'm in. I can be ready in a week."

Silas Jordan drew lots, which resulted in me being chosen as his wife. He hated me for getting his childhood sweetheart killed. Hence, he tortured me to death. But after I died, deep remorse overwhelmed him. After I returned to the past, I first rigged the lottery to help him get together with his childhood lover. However, there were endless new comments on the screen. They were from readers of the novel I was trapped in. [Based on the plot, the male lead will pick the female lead. Then, the male lead’s childhood lover will kill herself. When the female lead gets tortured to death, the male lead starts regretting it. But why would this miserable novel change when the female lead rigged the lottery?] It was because I no longer wished to marry him again.

On the streets of Milan, our nanny, Fiona, livestreamed my son’s limited-edition sneakers. A few days later, she shockingly transformed into my son’s stepmother. I overheard Anthony telling Fiona, “Once Francesca signs the divorce papers, all her assets will be ours.” Anthony was the man I had loved for ten years and had defied my family to marry. I took a step back, pretending to break down in tears, trembling as I told him I would give him anything as long as he didn’t go through with the divorce. What they didn’t know was that I had just dialed the number I hadn’t called in ten years. In a low voice, I said, “Father, the game is over. Your heiress, the principessa, is coming home.”

My Alpha, Ryan Larson, had never once acknowledged me as his mate. On my birthday, I was kidnapped by rogues and poisoned with wolfsbane. I was still carrying Ryan's pup. In agony, I reached out to him through our mind-link. "Fiona had a nightmare. I only came to keep her company. You're pulling tricks again! It's disgusting," he yelled impatiently. My organs felt like they were being shredded apart. At that moment, I finally gave up all hope for him. With the last of my strength, I sent him one final message through our mind-link. "Ryan. Let the Moon Goddess be my witness. You will lose the one you love forever!"

I, Anna Moonhowl, believe I am the happiest woman in the world. I am the first love of my Alpha mate, Lucas Greyhound, and he loves me deeply. He is ruthless and cold to others, but in front of me, he always hides away his claws. He places everything he has—his territory, his life, and his future—into my hands. I have complete faith in him. So even when a young Omega who is pregnant suddenly barges into our marking ceremony, I never doubt his love for me. He rejects her in front of the entire pack, claiming it is nothing more than a loss of control when he was in heat. Fervently, he swears that I am his one true love. Lucas promises, "I will deal with the pup and exile her. We will never see each other again." I believe him despite the fact that he never brings up our marking ceremony again. But five years later, I run into that Omega again. "I didn't expect that he would love me even more after I had his pup. Seven times a night is considered little in our books," she boasts. She then hooks her arm around Lucas as they walk toward the witch's treatment chamber, flaunting their relationship. She reminds the witch, "Lucas says being with that old she-wolf is boring, so please make me as tight as a virgin. Once I give him another pup, he will dissolve his current bond and officially mark me. Then, I will be the Luna…" I stand frozen at the doorway while the rest of her words fade into white noise. The years of complete trust in Lucas deal the most devastating blow to my heart. Without hesitation, I turn and leave. I head straight to the Council of Elders to submit a request to dissolve our mate bond. Lucas, this time I will not believe your lies again. I don't want you anymore.

Seven years after I lost my wolf, I watched my mate, Alpha Glen, get his heart ripped out and his body torn apart. The pack demanded the killer's name. I bit through my tongue and kept my mouth shut. Lena, Glen's childhood friend, hated me with everything she had. Six-year-old Nick cried and asked why I hadn't saved his father. I shoved them all away. Then the pack broke my leg and cast me out. For fifteen years, I drifted. I barely stayed alive in a dead northern town, wolfsbane buried in my bones, one leg ruined, half-crippled, waiting to die like some rogue. The day the door crashed open, Nick was already Alpha. He grabbed my chin, his eyes burning with pure hate. "You hid the murderer. You don't deserve to be my mother. "Take her back to Thanis. Strap her to the Mindfang Rig. I want the truth—even if that machine kills her." I thought that device would kill me. But when the truth was finally ripped into the open, Nick dropped to his knees and broke down, calling me Mother. Lena wanted to die to beg my forgiveness. And the whole pack lost its mind.

After Celine Anderson let her newly-promoted assistant take credit for my billion-dollar project for the ninth time, I handed in my resignation letter. I also refused to show up in the same place as her. Whenever she was interviewed by talk shows as a public figure, I would switch off all the screens in the building. I also got the security guard to stop her from entering even if she brought me a cup of coffee in the middle of a tornado. To see me, she purposely rescheduled three virtual meetings with foreign companies. So, I immediately bought air tickets to leave the country. I blocked her everywhere and formatted the hard disk that contained all of our memories from the past decade. When I was twenty, I studied with her in the university library. When I was twenty-five, I ate the cheapest bread with her when she first started her company. When I was thirty, I finally knew how to let go of things that no longer serve me. On the ninth time I was accused of sleeping my way up, I came across a photo of her and her assistant kissing. Meanwhile, I was sitting at our dining table with food that had turned cold. It turned out that our decade-long relationship had been a joke. However, it was fine. It was not too late to come to my senses.