Mary An Awakening Of Terror

On our wedding night, my wife demanded that I wear a blindfold. She said her body was meant only for her true love. The words hit me like a bucket of ice water, and I snapped, "Are you my wife or his?" She shot back even louder, defiance blazing in her eyes. "I married you. Does that mean I have to show you my body? Coercion is still coercion, even in marriage. My body is only for Matt to see because you simply don't deserve it." Later, she said she wanted to truly be my wife. I found myself thinking she wasn't worthy anymore.

I had been dating Andy Lawson for five years. He had gone bankrupt, and during the worst of it, we had to sleep in parks and scavenge leftovers for food. After a hundred days of that life, I was just going to the blackmarket to sell some blood for money when someone sent me a video. [Surprise.] It was a livestream site, set up for rich kids to prank the common folk—and a video of me was pinned to the top. My finger trembling, I tapped on it and saw myself hidden in a corner of a park, munching on leftovers to nourish my frail body. On the split video, Andy was reclining against the armchair of a five-star hotel and savoring his gourmet menu. "Oh, this is amazing! All Andy has to do is say that he's sick, and she's selling her blood for him!" "On the sixteenth prank, she fell into the ocean… And on the fifteenth, she was sent flying in a car crash! Why is she so hard to kill?" "Well, Andy already made it clear that if she survives until the end, he will marry her and swear off women!" "One month to go! Will she die from the pranks, or marry into the Lawson family with pomp and circumstance?" "I'm betting fifty mil that she dies tragically! Hahaha!"

My mate Mason not only inherited the Alpha position of the tribe, but also his stepmother Olivia. Mason always explained to me after being intimate with her: “Evelyn, don’t mind it. I had no choice.” “You’re the only one I truly love. Once Olivia gets pregnant and gives birth, I’ll hold the marking ceremony with you.” He said it was the condition set by the Alpha King for him to inherit the Phantom Pack Alpha title. In one year, Mason spent at least three hundred days with Olivia. When Olivia finally got pregnant, I thought I could finally stand by his side as his mate. That’s when I realized—Mason had given both his love and his body to Olivia. I completely gave up and turned to my seven-year-old daughter: “Baby, do you want to leave with Mommy?” “Yes, I want to stay with Mommy,” she said. Mason didn’t know, what I wanted was never the Luna title. All I wanted was wholehearted love. If you can’t give it to me, then I’ll leave.

The day my husband, Eric Johnson, brought his foster sister home from overseas, he gave her our master bedroom. "Yvonne just lost her husband. She's heartbroken, so I want her to feel comfortable," he said. I nodded obediently. "Okay." The next day was my birthday. Yvonne said she was feeling down and wanted her brother, Eric, to go stargazing with her. Eric turned to me and said, "She really needs me right now. I'll celebrate your birthday with you later." Still, I smiled and nodded. "Okay." Ten years of marriage and I was ready to walk away from it all… Because I have lived this life once already. In my previous life, I made the mistake of asking Eric to stay with me on my birthday. I did not let him go stargazing with Yvonne. She ended up falling into the water in her sorrow and was rushed to the hospital. After that, Eric shoved my head into a bathtub and held me there until I drowned. In this second life, when Eric handed me the divorce papers and said, "I’m only marrying Yvonne to help her revoke her foreign citizenship and restore her citizenship here. Once it's done, we'll remarry." I did not hesitate. I signed my name without a second thought. By the time he came looking for me again, I was already sitting on his archenemy's lap, smiling like a flower in full bloom.

I'd been married to Joshua Merck for five years, but we still didn't have kids. To stay healthy, I took those pricey custom vitamins he ordered from overseas—never missed a dose. Then my cousin came back from studying abroad, took one look at the bottle, and was like, "That brand doesn't even make custom vitamins." I sent them to the hospital for testing. The lab report hit me like a truck—birth control pills. Powerful ones. Suddenly, all those mornings with Joshua hovering over me, acting so concerned while I took my "vitamins," made sense. The whole thing had been a lie. Five years of lies. Just as I was gearing up to confront him, my phone buzzed—a group chat notification. Shirley Hoare had tagged Joshua. [Honey, I had a prenatal checkup today, and the doctor said I'm carrying twins! Your family's about to get two grandchildren at once—excited?] My heart turned to ash. Everything clicked. Fine. We were done. I pulled out my phone and replied to my childhood sweetheart's message from three days ago: [After watching the northern lights, I still wanted to see penguins in Antarctica.]

I was performing the hundredth "restoration" surgery on my mafia husband's latest mistress when I finally decided to leave him. For five years, I, Isabella Rossi, have lived a double life: the respected wife of a powerful Don, and the personal physician tasked with "purifying" the women he discards. Vincent's twisted religious conviction is his law: only a wife untouched by any other man can bear his legitimate heir. I was that pure wife, yet he treated me as his most unclean possession. My love for him died a slow death. A thousand empty nights. It was killed by the cold steel of my own operating table. By the sounds of other women boasting about his touch. The five-year prenuptial agreement that bound me to this hell was set to expire at midnight. I had already called my grandfather, the only man Vincent truly fears. My escape was hours away. By the time he realized his mistake, it was too late.

Choices, life if full of them and each one offers several paths to walk down. Mary knows all about choices. It was because of a string of them she went from living a happy life with her parents to end up an orphan working in the castle kitchen. Mary is now working hard while praying she wouldn't be kicked out on the street. The man she loves, her best friend, doesn't see her but is courting another woman who does her best to make Mary feel worthless. To top everything off, the sickness is back in the city which means Mary's only refuge is gone. She is trapped and she feels like a trapped animal. That is when Lady Tariana comes back into Mary's life. She was the one that saved Mary when she was a child. Now she is back and she offers Mary new choices, travel back with Lady Tariana to her home. It's just one choice, but with each of the choices comes a myriad of new choices and consequences. Can she leave her love behind? Would she managed to survive in a new world? And what about magic? Does it really exist? Time is running out and she needs to make her decision or the world will make it for her.

Blurb: One Night Stand “Kau sungguh bajingan, Victor!” Desis Mary, menatap pria bernama Victor itu dengan mata yang dipenuhi air mata. “Kau memperkosaku! Kau merenggut sesuatu yang bukan milikmu, keparat! Aku benci padamu!” Bibirnya bergetar saat melontarkan kalimat tersebut, sementara tangannya erat menahan selimut untuk menutupi tubuhnya yang polos, tanpa sehelai benang pun. *** Mary Popiens adalah seorang bartender di sebuah klub malam ternama di kota London. Malam itu, klub dipenuhi pengunjung, membuat para pelayan tampak sibuk. Dalam keadaan tersebut, Mary diminta tolong oleh sang manajer untuk mengantarkan minuman ke kamar VVIP. Di sanalah kehancuran hidup Mary dimulai. Alih-alih mengantar minuman lalu keluar, Mary justru terjebak bersama pria yang merupakan tangan kanan Bos Mafia di dalam kamar tersebut, yang tengah mabuk. Mary dipaksa sedemikian rupa, sehingga keduanya terjerumus dalam momen panas. Langkahnya yang lemah berayun pergi, diiringi isak tangis yang pilu. Baginya, perbuatan bejat Victor Marson semalaman adalah hal paling buruk dan memilukan yang pernah dialaminya sepanjang hidup. *** Kini, Victor, pria yang merupakan tangan kanan Bos Mafia itu, tak akan pernah melepaskan Mary, meskipun dia tahu Mary telah memiliki seorang kekasih—yang tak lain adalah keponakan dari Tuannya. Terlepas dari konsekuensi, Victor bersikeras untuk membawa Mary pergi, memisahkannya dari sang kekasih, tanpa peduli betapa Mary membencinya. Setelah disekap dan tinggal bersama Victor, akankah Mary menyerah untuk melupakan sang kekasih dan beralih mencintai Victor? Atau mungkin… dia akan berusaha pergi untuk selamanya, meninggalkan semuanya di belakang? ***

I was getting a spa treatment at a beauty salon when Phoebe called. "I just saw Derrick buying jewelry for a woman at the mall." "Got it." "Aren't you going to catch him in the act?" "No need." I gave birth three months ago. After the spa, I needed to hit the gym, and by five, I had to pick up William. I had no time for this nonsense.

For seven years, I had been the secret of Enzo Gallo, the new Don of the Gallo family. When I went to register our son Lucas's birth, I discovered Enzo had already married his sister-in-law, Camilla, and claimed her child as his own. Her child became the heir to the family, with all the privileges that entailed. My child became a shameful bastard. Years ago, after Enzo's brother died, the family elders gave Enzo one condition to become Don: he had to have an heir with his sister-in-law to secure the Gallo bloodline. That night, Enzo held me close and swore I was his only true wife. He promised that once Camilla gave birth, he would give me the wedding I deserved. But he missed Lucas's birthday the day Camilla went into labor. Instead of the wedding he promised me, all I got was the news of his marriage to his sister-in-law. My son gently wiped away my tears with his small hand: "Mamma, don't be sad. I changed my birthday wish. I don't want a Papa anymore." "I don't care about being an heir. Having you is enough." I pulled Lucas into my arms, swallowing the bitterness that rose in my throat. "Who says you aren't an heir? Baby, Mamma is taking you home. To our family." What Enzo doesn't know is that I am the only daughter of the most powerful Mafia family in Sicily. I never cared about being the Donna of the Gallo family.