Social Chameleon

In order to take care of my father, who got hurt from a fall, I gave up on my chance to get promoted and even took a week's leave. On the day he gets discharged from the hospital, my dad hands me a mysterious envelope with a wide smile on his face. "Thank you for your trouble over the past few days, Luther. This is a little token of appreciation from me. You can buy yourself a nice pack of smokes." I rub my hands together, feeling warmth surging into my heart. But when I open the envelope, all I see is seven dollars. Still, I comfort myself in thinking that the sum isn't important at all. It's the thought that counts, after all. But the next day, I come across a social media post of my younger brother, Felix Grayson, who never showed his face around the hospital during Dad's hospitalization. It features a photo collage of a luxurious villa, with a photo of the purchasing contract smack dab in the middle of collage. The caption writes, "I bought the top-tier riverside villa for seven million dollars! Thank you so much for your support, Dad!"

Late one night, I was scrolling through social media and stumbled upon a trending post. "Does your husband ever say you're obsessed with your brother?" One comment sat at the top with thousands of likes. The profile picture showed a cartoon girl covering her mouth, laughing. "Oh, I can answer this one! My husband used to say that too, but here's the thing: he's actually the son I had when I was 19!" Every word oozed with smug satisfaction. Some commenters tore into her, calling her manipulative and her husband a total sucker. She only got bolder. She posted a screenshot of a bank transfer with the details blurred out, right next to a photo of limited-edition sneakers. "All my son had to say was he liked them, and my husband caved! Then he gave him extra cash for a fancy dinner!” "A guy like this? If I don't milk him, who will?" I stared at the sneakers and the transfer amount. They matched exactly what I had bought for my "brother-in-law" that afternoon and the money I had just sent him. Down to the last cent. Ice shot through my veins. That sucker she was bragging about? That was me.

On Valentine's Day, I wait for my wife, Nancy Curtis, to get off work after preparing a candlelit dinner for our date. But she only texts me at 9:00 pm. "I have something going on at the company. There's no need to wait for me." Soon, I see a Facebook post made by Nancy's secretary, Derek Jones. "I'm on a business trip with my female boss on Valentine's Day. The thing is, the hotel's fully booked. Oops, this is getting awkward…" The photo in the post features a feminine silhouette standing in front of a floor-to-ceiling window while draped in a bathrobe. Everyone in the comment section compliments Derek for being lucky, seeing as the boss of his has a smoking hot figure and is extremely charming. Derek merely replies with a cheeky emoji. So, it turns out that Nancy's "business" is having fun with her own secretary, eh? I take a screenshot of Derek's post before uploading it to my own social media feed. I even include a smiley as a caption. Immediately, Nancy calls me on the phone and starts berating me. "Derek was just cracking a joke! Why are you being so petty, huh? And here I thought you were mature!" I end the call immediately before texting her, "Let's get a divorce."

Everyone in the Rossi family knows that their Don, Giovanni Rossi, loves me, Rebecca Costa, more than anyone else. Ever since we got together, he has stopped attending any social events that involve other women. We promised to marry once he returns from negotiating a dangerous arms deal in Aelfana. He was supposed to come back a week before the wedding, but instead, he returned on the eve of the wedding with Rosa Bianchi, his stepsister, in his arms. Rosa was unconscious, and traces of intimacy were visible on her skin. Giovanni kneeled before me, his expression remorseful. "Rebecca… I was drugged. I never meant to betray you. When Rosa threw herself at me, I thought she was you." And I believed him. At least, I did until I overheard a conversation in the changing room backstage at our wedding. One of his men asks, in disbelief, "Did you really mistake her for Rebecca?" "I did for the first night. But for the rest of the week… well, a man ought to have his bit of freedom before getting married." My fingers clench around my phone. In my inbox sits an unopened message—a marriage invitation from Angelo Calavaro, the most enigmatic Don in southern Ilya's underworld. I know what I have to do.

What if the one who broke you… was destined to love you? “Appearances are deceptive. So are fates.” Eighteen-year-old Ryder Stone is no ordinary were-vamp—he’s the dangerously powerful, heartbreakingly handsome Alpha heir of the renowned Stone sextuplets. But when Ryder insists on blending in by attending a human university far from home, he and his best friend Chester are forced to mask their true forms with suppressants… leaving them mocked, humiliated, and branded as outcasts by their classmates. At the bottom of the social ladder, bullied and bruised, Ryder's world is shattered—until fate deals its cruelest card yet. His fated mate? The ruthless Alpha of the Dark Moon Pack. The very girl who made his life a living nightmare. Can she see past the disguise and the damage to the soul that hides beneath? Can a bully truly become a lover? But just as Ryder’s heart begins to war with his pride, darkness creeps closer. The return of Zang, a warlord wielding forbidden dark magic, threatens to engulf every pack in blood and ruin. Can Ryder embrace his destiny and unleash the storm within before everything—and everyone—he loves is lost? When love is written in the stars, even hatred can't unwrite it. But will she love him… once she knows who he truly is?

Everyone in our social circle knew that my fiancée, Hazel Mullins, had a skin hunger condition toward me. Only touching me brought her excitement and satisfaction. But the self-proclaimed heartthrob and heir to the Newman family refused to believe it. He boldly declared that he would win her over within a month. After bombarding her with seductive photos for an entire month, Hazel finally reached her breaking point and auctioned them off. With his reputation ruined, Rory Newman was disowned by his family. In a fit of rage, he jumped off a bridge in an apparent suicide attempt. Hazel lost her mind and leaped after him. I became the biggest laughingstock in the circle. That was until I went skiing in the Alps and accidentally bumped into Hazel helping Rory select ski gear. She explained with a composed expression, "Rory's dealing with some serious emotional trauma. The doctor suggested more outdoor activities. Just please, don't throw another tantrum." I felt bewildered. I wasn't even involved with them anymore. Why would I get upset? Then it hit me that she was unaware of one fact. I had already married someone else on the same day she jumped into the water after Rory in that dramatic display of devotion. I was simply there for my honeymoon, with a bit of skiing on the side.

The day my mother brought her childhood sweetheart back to the villa, my father—who had already quit smoking—stood on the balcony and smoked through the entire night. Back then, his colleagues at the research institute all envied him for having a wife who was a CEO. They said he should have stayed home and enjoyed life—why work so hard outside when all he needed to do was keep a firm grip on the household finances? But my father never agreed. "Those things are all external," he would say. "As long as the feelings are still there, we'll be fine whether we're rich or poor. And if one day she no longer loves me, I'll leave with nothing and walk away alone." He never expected his words to become prophecy. My mother truly did stop loving him. Later, when she appeared before the media, arm in arm with that man, my father didn't look back. He boarded a flight overseas and disappeared from our lives. And as I stared at the photo in my social feed—my fiancée's hand entwined with someone else's—I knew it was time for me to leave too, just like my father had.

On my wedding night, I was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance after a tampered condom left me in excruciating pain. The surgery took over twenty-four hours, and the story spread like wildfire. My husband, Alexander, let it be known that anyone who managed to photograph me in my post-surgery state would be rewarded with ten million dollars. Overnight, I went from being a billionaire's new wife to the laughingstock of every elite circle in New York. The next day, Alexander's childhood sweetheart Dahlia showed up at my door. That was when I learned the truth: she'd coated the condom with industrial-strength adhesive as part of what she called a "social experiment." She didn't show a shred of remorse. Her tone was flippant and cruel: "It was just an experiment. I mean, how was I supposed to know you'd react like that? Besides, we both know you were never good enough for Alexander. So drop the act." Alexander stood beside her, his gaze cold and dismissive: "If it weren't for the marriage contract, no one would've touched you. You know that, right?" What he didn't know was that the woman he was calling a slut had saved his life more times than he could count.

Ten years of devotion. Two years of a hollow marriage. One night to break it all. Lanka Monroe was a stray, a broken pup rescued from the dirt and raised within the cold, prestigious walls of the Wolfe Crest Estate. For a decade, he worshipped the man who saved him—Andrew Wolfe, the lethal, untouchable Alpha of the North. But the hero of Lanka’s youth became the tyrant of his adulthood. To the pack, Lanka is the seductive social climber who drugged the Alpha to secure a mating bond. To Andrew, Lanka is a stain on his reputation, a burden to be endured until his "true" match returns. When Andrew’s old flame, Serena, reappears to reclaim her throne, the fragile peace shatters. Lanka is tired of being the ghost in the hallways. He’s ready to tear the ancestral earrings from his flesh and walk out of the estate with his pride intact. But as he hands over the divorce papers, a dark secret in the Wolfe bloodline comes to light. Andrew doesn’t just want a mate anymore—he needs a donor. And suddenly, the Alpha who wouldn't touch Lanka is the one pinning him to the bed, demanding the very pup he once forbade. In a world of ancient pack laws and silver-tongued lies, Lanka must decide: Will he remain a sacrificial lamb for the Wolfe family, or will he let the bond burn to ashes to find his own freedom?

Desde pequeños, Gabriel Fuentes y Julieta Ramírez nunca se habían llevado bien. Sin embargo, el destino tenía otros planes: en su círculo social, ya solo quedaban ellos dos como candidatos «adecuados» para un matrimonio por conveniencia. Gabriel juró que preferiría morirse antes que casarse con Julieta, mientras que ella, con una sonrisa irónica, respondía: —Entonces ya está decidido. Me casaré contigo. Apúrate y muérete. El día de la boda, Gabriel soltó decenas de gallinas en plena ceremonia para humillarla. Julieta, impasible, alzó una y dijo en voz alta: —Saluda, esposo mío. Y fue en ese momento que a Gabriel se le acabaron las ganas de burlarse. La mujer que él menos quería, era justo la que más empeño tenía en casarse con él. —Te vas a arrepentir —le dijo con desprecio. Tres años después, Julieta vio a Gabriel siéndole infiel por novena vez. Y recién entonces entendió... A qué se refería él con la frase «te vas a arrepentir».