Smith Center Gw

Our third anniversary trip to Hawaii was supposed to be a new beginning—just me, Tom, and our son. But then she showed up. Blair. Our single, sexy neighbor with a killer smile and a suitcase full of charm. I thought she was just tagging along. I was wrong. One night, I overheard her hiss, “Why the hell didn’t you just let her die?” That’s when it hit me—Blair wasn’t just having an affair with my husband. She had planned to let me drown in the tsunami. I survived. But I kept quiet. I decided to play dumb—to smile, to act fragile, to stay close—for my son’s sake. I needed to know what they really wanted… and how far they’d go. Then, on my son Noah’s birthday, he made a wish. “I want Aunty Blair to be my new mommy.” The candles flickered. My heart cracked. Had Blair already replaced me?

I'm the most important family he's got now." Bianca held her hand up to the vase as a cruel smirk twisted her lips. "You pale in comparison." **** Evelyn thought she was already living a blissful married life. Her husband, Adrian, was handsome and wealthy, and she was about to become a mother. But all of this was shattered by the arrival of her husband’s sister-in-law. Adrian, usually distant and indifferent to everyone else, showed an unusual level of care for Bianca, beyond the boundaries of family. Evelyn endured countless slights and provocations, until she discovered that Bianca had been two months pregnant, a secret kept from her alone. Determined to leave this broken household, Evelyn made up her mind to walk away. But Adrian behaved unlike himself. Desperate to win Evelyn back, he sought to make amends for the mistakes he had made.

I slaved away for my husband and son. But what did I get in return? Cold shoulders, cutting words, and distance. Then one day, my husband suggested a “fake divorce” so my stepsister could adopt a child. Fine. Fake divorce it is. Except… if it’s just fake, why are the two of them heating up the sheets behind my back? Then, Fake divorce just turned real. My ex-husband thought I’d beg to come back. My stepsister thought I’d envy her for stealing my husband and son. They both thought I’d shatter. Wrong. I’ve got my career, my revenge, and oh—did I mention? I’m dating a drop-dead gorgeous man who actually knows my worth. And suddenly, life tasted sweeter than I ever imagined.

Over the years, Julia had grown accustomed to being her husband Andrew’s substitute wife. Every time he looked at her face, she knew he was really seeing his late first love. But after so many years, her stepsister Charlotte returned to the country and shamelessly tried to take her place. Charlotte cozied up to her husband and won over her son. When her son said he’d rather live with Auntie Charlotte than with his own mother, Julia felt utterly heartbroken. She resolved to get a divorce and never be a substitute wife.

I thought I was finally living my dream—studying at the same school as my childhood boyfriend. But the moment I caught him secretly kissing the campus queen who had always bullied me, my world shattered. He didn’t defend me. He chose her. Heartbroken and humiliated, I walked away. Then at my lowest, when I was cornered and shoved to the ground again, my face smeared with dirt, I saw him—my mate. The queen bee’s perfect fiancé. The future Alpha of the strongest pack. Yet his eyes were cold as he told me, “Keep our mate bond a secret. I will never be with you.” I did what he said. But why did he keep stepping in to protect me? Why did he hold me like he would never let go?

Aura never expected that the injured man she picked up at her doorstep would turn out to be her mate. At the time, she had just caught her fiancé cheating, and in a moment of heartbreak, ended up spending the night with the stranger. But soon after, that man became a wanted fugitive in their pack, only to later be revealed as none other than Atlas, the newly crowned Alpha King . Betrayed by her fiancé, Aura agreed to Atlas’s strange request: to visit his palace once a week. She thought perhaps they would gradually build a sweet and fated love story. But Atlas grew cold. Their weekly meetings revolved around one thing only—sex. What Aura didn’t know was that Atlas carried a curse: The skin hunger.

Dante and I have been married for three years. But he never knew my real name. We’d had countless arguments over the past three years—over the petty details of everyday life. I can no longer tolerate such a ridiculous life like a puppet today. Calliope, that’s what he called me, but it was actually my twin sister’s name. My husband may never know that the woman who married him three years ago was a substitute bride. Three years ago, my sister abandoned us and left before the wedding with her lover. To prevent the anger of the Laurent’s, my family had no choice but to let me marry Dante instead of my sister. My phone rang again and again, I finally picked it up. "Throwing another tantrum, are you? Calliope, tell me what you are capable to do if you can not even be merely a housewife?" I knew Calliope could always get her way through her sweet voice and innocent smiles. She can be an obedient and perfect wife—something I could never manage. "Dante. I’m not joking.” I didn't know if my voice sounded a little sad. "You can’t be serious—" For the first time, I heard a tremor in the man's words. He doesn't love me. He likes to be in control. When he realized that his puppet was losing control, he began to panic. It's time for this farce to end. I clenched my phone and spoke to the man on the other end in the calmest voice of my life. "Dante, let's get a divorce." But what shocked me more than hearing Dante's answer was the person who suddenly appeared in front of me. Calliope, my twin sister, who disappeared for the whole three years. “Are you crazy? Why on earth would you want a divorce? That's Dante Laurent, a billionaire heir, every woman's dream！” “Calliope? Our parents and I all thought you would never show up again. I entered this wrong marriage because of your escape. Dante... he’s not that a husband out of your dreams.” “Seraphina, put away your ridiculous niceness and compassion. I have returned this time to take back what is MINE and my place.” She lifted my hand with a sneer and removed the wedding ring from my finger.

Aurora is Alpha Evander's second chance mate. On the eve of their wedding anniversary, Evander proposes a rejection and divorce to Aurora because his first mate, Nalani, has awakened from a coma. Evander informs her that the rejection ceremony will take place at the next full moon. After being rejected by Evander, Aurora learns that the Lycan Prince is her second chance mate. Following her banishment, she is taken away by the Lycan Prince. Meanwhile, Evander begins to miss Aurora and regrets his decision, starting his quest to win her back.

“Give me the baby! You’re worthless—you don’t deserve to be a mother!” My step-sister had used a prosthetic belly to fake her pregnancy for nine months to force Adam Kastner, the young master of the most powerful Kastner family, into marriage. Now she needed a baby to present to the family to secure the marriage. She was after my child since I was eight-months pregnant. Unlike her fake nine-months belly, mine was real and it even hurt to tie a shoelace while carrying my child in my womb for so many months. My father, blinded by greed, stood by as they injected me with labor-inducing drugs—and even tried to sell me off to a fifty-year-old monster to settle a debt. On that rainy night of desperate escape, I stumbled into a limited-edition luxury car and met David Summer. He was the most dangerous man in the city—and the true mastermind behind that ridiculous marriage scam. To survive, I risked everything to expose my stepsister’s lies, never imagining that gamble would cost me my whole life. After that night, he tossed a contract at me. “Be my wife, and I’ll make sure you and the child live.” I thought it was just a transaction—each of us getting what we needed. But little by little, I found myself falling into his trap of tenderness. Until he trapped me in his arms, lowered his head, and bit my earlobe, his voice hoarse like embers burning low: “Baby… I want another kiss.”

“The most important clause in our marriage contract is that we are not to have children,” my husband stared at me closely, fire burning in his eyes. “This is supposed to be a five-year contract, five year and that’s it,” he continued, “I thought we agreed on that. No children to tie us down, then we part ways.” “I know that, and I completely agree!” Then he took every single condom out of the nightstand. He inspected them carefully, tossing each one aggressively on the bed as he did so. They were all the same. Full of tiny holes. “Then how do you explain that?” he snarled, his voice dripping with accusation.