No Longer Nct

My body was drenched from the intense downpour, which also made the path and steps away from the sore spot damp. There was no umbrella to offer me some shade, so I was left cold and drenched in the bad weather. I follow the road barefoot, following its path to wherever it leads. My face was chilly and damp, and there were hot tears in it. It seems as though the sky eradicates my pain and hiding from everyone just how miserable and down I am at the moment. "How long would you walk? How many times do you have to cry just to laugh again?" We're strolling along this lengthy road in the pouring rain, he said as he followed me. He stopped in front of me, causing me to tumble as well. When I stared into his azure eyes, tranquility was all I saw. His warm smile gave me hope, all the while I was staring at it. "Your life's challenges would bring you storm clouds and torrential rain, but what would come next was your hope. It doesn't imply that fate wasn't on your side or that you are finished. A sunshine that might offer your life meaning. That way, destiny won't ever work against you again!" He seems sincere, but I'm not sure If I will believe in him. He turned away from me, which made me anxious. I tried to call his name, but he never answered. Nevertheless, it appears that he will also leave just like the others, leaving far from me, just like everyone else. "Seah, be that sunshine! ...In order to discover love, you must first learn how to love yourself." He spoke and then disappeared. Where should I start and when should I stop? I'm really confused and scared.

He is the unchallenged Alpha of the Shadow pack. He crushes my hand, lets his true love drive me to the brink, and forces me to lick wolfsbane from my wounds in the punishment chamber, turning me into the pack's laughingstock. I am the Lunar pack's pawn in a political bonding. After enduring three years of humiliation and clutching enemy intelligence, I overturn his throne during the Moon Ceremony, making him watch helplessly as his beloved betrays him and his pack descends into chaos. Later, he backs down. He abdicates as Alpha and gets down on his knees at the pack's border every day, his voice hoarse from shouting, "I was wrong." I hold a blood-stained dagger, my gaze icy as I say, "Your regret is deadlier than wolfsbane and worth even less than my life." Our bonding is a calculated trap, and revenge is the move I am determined to play. Winning him back no longer matters. This time, I am not turning back. I want nothing but his endless remorse and the chance to break my chains and begin a new life.

In my third year of marriage, Victor Lyon, the most prominent man in Sagedale's elite circle as well as my husband, goes viral on the Internet once again. This time, it's because he has decided to throw a grand wedding to be with Carol Braun, the low-income student he has been sponsoring. I don't kick up a fuss, nor do I throw a tantrum. In fact, I even have someone send them my wishes. Because of that, the rich wives of Sagedale's elite circle view me as a complete joke. After the wedding, Victor explains to me, "Carol's grandpa is very ill. His death wish is to see her marry a good man. I was just acting with her the whole time, Lilian. Don't take it to heart." I just smile and nod. "Yeah, I believe you." In my previous life, I had demanded explanations from Victor hysterically. But in return, he screwed over my parents' company to the point that they were forced to jump off a building by debtors. I got my legs broken before I got thrown into a mental asylum that tortured me endlessly. Thank goodness God took pity on me, for He gave me another chance in life. This time, I no longer want Victor's love. I just want his wealth. When he's busy going on a honeymoon with Carol, I secretly have his assets transferred under my name. When Victor's attending prenatal checkups with Carol, I trick him into signing a share-transfer agreement. Whenever he betrays me, I'll take some of his assets away. Once Victor betrays me three more times, he won't have anything under his name.

In our village, once the girls turn 16, they must begin fasting and take a secret formula to produce bloodstones. My mother says this is the necessary path for a girl to become a rabbit-woman. It is also the most important thing in her life. On the day my sister turns 16, a rabbit tail grows from her tailbone. She no longer has to work in the fields. She only needs to lie in her room each day and take the formula. From that very night on, I see one man after another—sometimes several at once—enter her room. Before long, the sounds of heavy breathing begin to come from inside...

I'm Alpha Felix Axeford's most loyal warrior as well as the mate he has stubbornly chosen, even if it means defying the Moon Goddess' will. Five years ago, he had personally cast out Portia Smith, his fated mate. He even went as far as to break one of her legs. At that time, he had told me, "I don't trust the Moon Goddess at all, Selena. You're the only one I trust." But five years later, when Felix saw Portia, who's limping with one bad leg, at the border, he breaks down in tears on the spot. He whisks Portia back to the pack and arranges for her to stay in the master suite. As Felix looks at me, he says, "You're a warrior, Selena, which means you're very strong. But Portia only has me to rely on." In order to make amends to Portia, Felix starts stripping me of everything I have. I end up losing my title, my pride, as well as the unborn pup in my womb. When Portia and I get poisoned at the same time, I can only watch as Felix chooses to let Portia take the only antidote. It's then I finally understand that Felix, the Alpha who once had zero trust in fate, still yields to it in the end. "This time, I'm the one who no longer wants to be with you, Felix."

When I was reborn, Horace was pressing me down on the bed. His phone rang with a piercing ringtone, interrupting him from undressing me. After seeing the caller ID, the desire in his eyes instantly disappeared. Throwing a random bath towel on my body, he said, "Leave. My new girlfriend doesn't like it when I smell like someone else." Without another word, I got dressed and left without any complaint. In my past life, I wasn't willing to leave, and clung onto him, throwing away all my dignity, and I even became crippled after saving him during a car accident. As I wished, I became his wife, only because he said, "Let's have a baby. Then, even if I was no longer around, our child would be able to take care of you." I endured several life-threatening medical crises during my pregnancy, but then I overheard him talking to Vivian, "Vivi, you'll be saved once the kid is born." "But that's you and Rose's child, isn't it? Wouldn't she get mad if she knew?" Horace's voice was ice-cold. "I only let her live because she could still give birth. Did she think that I'd fall for a cripple?" In my anger, I pulled out my oxygen tube, and both I and my baby died. Now that I was reborn, I would never walk the same path once more.

For six years, I took bullets for him and erased every sharp edge of myself. Because of the way he protected me, outsiders all believed I was the woman closest to his heart. However, when I asked for just one sincere “I love you”, he laughed and refused. “Mafia marriages aren’t about feelings. Know your place.” Then he said, “If Sophia doesn’t like it, don’t even bother.” When the bomb countdown hit thirty seconds, my don husband shoved me aside without hesitation and ran out holding Sophia in his arms. Only then did I understand that after six years of entanglement, I wasn't even worth a single hair of his sister. I slammed the divorce papers into his face. “I’m going to personally send you and your precious sister straight to hell!”

My husband lies to me about working late on Christmas Day. I know he wants to give me a surprise—I saw a jewelry set worth millions of dollars in his pocket. However, all I receive is the news of him pretending to be Santa Claus as he delivers a gift to his female secretary. She flaunts it on social media. "You're the most precious Christmas gift I've gotten." My husband changes the background photo on his social media to a photo of them together. I smile and like the post. Later, the secretary comes to me and smugly says she's pregnant. Meanwhile, I pull out a diagnosis report verifying that my husband is sterile. "Checkmate!" She visibly panics.

After the Ig publication S.H.I.T Journal goes viral, I search its website out of curiosity. The satirical journal bills itself as a home for all things academic garbage. The moment I open the site, the top trending article catches my attention. It reads, "A Research on How to Deceive a Gullible Foster Mother With Face Blindness and Trick Her into Raising Me as Her Biological Daughter for Twelve Years". "Keywords: deception, face blindness, self-delusion, false family bonds" I freeze and click into the full article with trembling fingers. The more I read, the more terrified I become. "1.1 Definition of face blindness and how to swap daughters to deceive the foster mother" "2.1 Practical uses and drawbacks of the foster mother" "3.1 How to profit by exploiting the foster mother through her face blindness" The content sends a chill through my entire body. The comment section is already in chaos. "Does this mean the author is actually the daughter of the mistress, and her father swapped her to be raised by his wife for twelve years?" "That's not all. Didn't you read 2.1? The wife had her own daughter, and the husband deliberately handed her over to traffickers!" "What the hell… In 3.1, it even says that because the wife has face blindness and can't tell people apart, the author makes deals with single fathers of classmates and sends the wife to…" At that point, my phone slips from my hand and crashes to the ground. The screen shatters instantly. I have severe face blindness, and I have a daughter who was kidnapped and only found again after three years.

As the Mafia principessa, my dad banned men from my life growing up for my protection. However, when I turned twenty, my mom suddenly started arranging blind dates for me. “Please. Just go meet him.” “Mom, I’m only twenty. Am I supposed to get married already?” I didn’t understand her urgency. “I know, I know, but—” After hesitating for a long time, I finally said what was really bothering me. “The guy you introduced is almost fifty. He’s old enough to be my dad!” There was a pause on the other end of the line. Then my mom spoke carefully. “Well, actually… it’s possible he really is your father. I was young and foolish back then. More daddies, more options, right?” My silence must have been deafening because she hurried to backtrack. “Okay, okay. He is a little older, but he’s seriously handsome! A daddy among daddies. Incubus‑level hot!”