So Called Life

My heiress wife's childhood sweetheart has just announced his engagement to someone else today. For some reason, she seems heartbroken. As her husband, my mind turns into a mess when I hear the news. Everyone in our social circle knows that my wife's family is incredibly wealthy. When she buys luxury goods, she basically buys out the whole store. But today, she coops herself up at home and doesn't go out. Worse yet, she doesn't give me the money for this month's living expenses. I'm seriously losing sleep over this. "Honey, please accept reality and move on. Is there anyone who hasn't been a fool for love?" The second I hit send, my heiress wife bursts out of the bedroom, where she was holed up. "Tell me for whom you were a fool. For whom did you humble yourself?"

The moment I discover I'm pregnant, Courtney Smith, the leukemia patient I saved three years ago, turns up on my doorstep once again. She claims that her leukemia has relapsed again, so she wants me to abort my baby in order to save her life again. But I'm pregnant with my deceased police husband's baby. So, I tell her that I can only donate my bone marrow to her once I've given birth to my baby. After hearing my answer, not only do Courtney and her family not feel any gratitude toward me, but they also berate me for not helping them out till the end. "You can still have another baby once you lose this one! But if your pregnancy affects my illness in any way, will you be able to take responsibility over this?" Then, the Smiths abduct me to a shady hospital, where they forcibly put me through an abortion and remove my bone marrow. While their operation is a success, my baby and I end up dying on the surgical table. As they gaze at our corpses, the Smiths' faces are plastered with icy expressions. "Don't blame us for what we did. If you were the one with leukemia, we'd still make Court donate her bone marrow to you. One's life is determined by fate. If you can't survive, that just means you're fated to die." When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the timeframe three days before Courtney finds out about her leukemia relapse.

My younger sister and I unlocked our systems on the same day? The setting? The nation decades ago. She went for the learning system and married an intellectual. I had no choice but to go with the useless storage space system. Then, I was forced to marry a thug. A very rude and crass one at that. Thanks to the storage space system, I got through a famine and became the village's richest person. My sister's learning system was useless, and she almost died of starvation. Driven by jealousy, my sister seduced my husband and slept with him. To get my wealth, they came up with a plan and pushed me down a cliff. When I came to, I realized we'd returned to the day we awakened our systems. My sister shoved me away and picked the useless storage space system. "Move, you bitch! Now I have your system! I'll survive the famine and get rich! You'll live in my shadow forever, as you should!" She was so smug. She was gloating. I took the learning system and smiled to myself. Unbeknownst to my sister, I got rich during the famine, not because of the system, and my dream was to score high on the exam and get into a good college. My sister managed to mess up her life even when she had the better system. Now she took the useless one. I could practically see the misery waving at her down the path.

Cassandra Lane thought she'd found her forever until she caught her boyfriend in the arms of a high-ranking she-wolf, mocking everything they once shared. Used. Humiliated. Betrayed. But she doesn’t cry. She plots. And her plan? Seduce the one man her ex fears, Darius Thorn. The cold, dominant, and untouchable Alpha of a mysterious werewolf pack. Her ex’s powerful uncle. He’s older. Dangerous. Ruthless. The kind of man who could ruin her or worship her. What starts as revenge quickly unravels when Darius touches her. The moment her skin brushes his, something ancient awakens. Something terrifyingly binding.

For three years, I’d used my family’s connections to bring the company hundreds of millions in revenue. But at the quarterly meeting, the new intern stood before everyone, displaying my attendance and expense reports, and accused me of “unexcused absences” and “squandering company funds.” “These high-end clubs, these restaurants…” she declared, her voice ringing with self-righteousness. “She spends thousands of dollars every time! These are completely unnecessary expenses.” “I strongly advise the CEO to fire her immediately and save the company’s cash flow.” I glanced at Claude, the CEO. My old classmate. He knew exactly how much revenue each of those meetings generated. He also knew that when I wasn't in the office, I was at some bar, negotiating with investors, sometimes drinking until my stomach turned. But he just stared at me coldly. “Caroline, what’s your explanation for the absences and expenses Lia has presented?” I smiled. “I have nothing to explain.” They would all learn, very soon, the consequences of this little stunt.

Felix and I had been inseparable for ten years, and everyone thought we would end up married. When he got into fights at school, I took the blame and got expelled in his place. When he slept with countless women, I delivered birth control pills and breakup money in his place. I had always played the part of the shameless doormat, and everyone believed I loved him more than life itself. But the moment he took over as the heir to his family's fortune, he dumped me. He looked at me with scorn and disdain. "Kathy, maybe once upon a time we were in love, but it's been too long. You're dull, and you've drained away every ounce of my affection. I don't want to spend the rest of my life with you, so get out of my sight. I'm going to marry someone I truly love." Everyone was waiting to watch me fall apart. But when I saw the hospital's proof that my mother had been cured, and the extra hundred million dollars in my bank account, I genuinely smiled. "Fine. I'll leave," I said. The truth was, I had stayed with a player like him only because of a business deal. Now that I had the money, it was time for me to walk away.

As the quality control supervisor of an import company, I need to finish up the storage of the final batch of king crabs before the holiday. Just after entering the subzero freezer, the door is immediately locked shut. The alarm system also fails. When I realize I'm starting to lose body heat, I immediately take out the hand warmers from the emergency kit. However, the moment I apply them, a chilling sensation makes me instantly realize something is wrong. I scream from the cold, and the walkie-talkie transmits the boisterous laughter of my fiance, Martin Clay. "We're live-streaming the challenge of locking the company's 'Ice Queen' in the freezer. Let's see how long she lasts!" The flirty voice of his female colleague, Lilian Saunders, also comes through, "Sierra, smile for the folks in the live stream! The number one donor wants to see it!" I instantly understand that they're live-streaming a prank on me. Not only do they lock me in the freezer, but they've also replaced my life-saving hand warmers with cooling patches meant for fevers! I grit my teeth, trying hard to stay calm as I call out to them for help. "The spare… spare hand warmers… Give them to me!" My fiance's voice rings out from the walkie-talkie, sounding unconcerned, "Oops! Lily gets cold easily, and it's her time of the month. The spares are all being used to keep her belly warm! "You're so healthy that you can just jump around a little and you'll warm up! You might even get some tips from the number one donor!" I stop arguing with them. With frozen hands, I pull out the signal flare gun and aim it at the most valuable and mysterious cargo in the freezer—a tube of frozen sperm worth 200 million dollars.

Tony Gambino never forgave me. His childhood sweetheart died saving my life, and for seven years, his hatred was a constant, silent burn. I fasted. I prayed. I begged for absolution. He met my penance with a cold sneer. "I'll only forgive you when you're dead." The words were a knife to the heart. So why, when we were both poisoned, did he shove the only antidote down my throat? As the poison claimed him, blood trickling from his lips, he choked out his last words, "Scarlett... in our next life, let's never meet." Later, I tried to visit his grave. His sworn brother and Consigliere, Richard Bruno, blocked my path. He pressed a gun to my forehead. "I don't know how you have the nerve to show your face here, Scarlett. He'd be alive if he hadn't saved you. "I should never have let him give up Elma for you. You're a curse. Everyone who gets close to you gets destroyed." Their eyes were unanimous in their blame. And they were right. So I watched his gravesite from a distance, my own guilt a heavier stone than any marker. Not long after, I was killed in a gang crossfire. When I opened my eyes, I was seven years in the past. This time, I made a different choice: I let Tony go—so that everyone might live.

"Gabriella, are you really going to fly abroad and leave Owen behind?" In the quiet cafe, Gabriella Candola puts down the spoon in her hand. She then looks at Anne Lockwood, her best friend, sitting across from her at the table, who wears a flabbergasted expression. In a casual tone, she replies, "We're already divorced." "Divorced?" Anne never expects to hear such shocking news coming from Gabriella's lips. As soon as the shock passes, she begins lamenting about the injustice on Gabriella's behalf. "And Owen actually agreed to the divorce? You treated him so well over the past three years! Even if his heart were made of ice, it'd have melted by now, right? Does he really not have any feelings for you?" Gabriella just smiles in return, a glint appearing in her eyes.

After a full week of night shifts, I make a fatal mistake—injecting my son, Ricky Lambert, with phenobarbital, mistaking it for an antibiotic. The injection stops his breathing instantly, and the hospital soon declares him brain-dead. My husband, Terence Lambert, completely falls apart when he hears the news. The only thing that calms him is holding his nephew, Ryan Lambert, who looks so much like Ricky. So, I give up my transfer to Harborstone to Wendy Larson, my brother-in-law's wife. I even agree to adopt her son. Because of that mistake, I work hard and endure Terence's coldness day after day without a word of complaint. Ten years later, when Wendy returns home a success, that's when I accidentally overhear her speaking with Terence. "Back then, to help me get residency at Harborstone, you swapped the medicine and killed your own son. Do you really not regret it?" Terence sneers. "Of course not. I promised I'd help you rise above the rest. And I know Rosalie too well. If she knows there is a chance to go back to Harborstone, she'll fight you for it to the bitter end. "I have to use Ricky's death to trap her for good. It also gives me the perfect excuse to make her raise our son, so you can focus on your career without any burden." I can't believe what I'm hearing. I run out the door and accidentally fall into a raging river. When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the very day the hospital declares Ricky dead.