Stay Foolish

On the road, I met a woman unlike anyone I had ever seen before. Her name was Janet Smith. She seemed slow and almost childlike, yet she had been wandering alone for two years without ever going home. Even with one leg crippled, she had forced herself to climb the Highveil Mountains. This time, however, she was caught in a blizzard. Injured and stranded, she could no longer make her way down. As her vision blurred and her strength slipped away, tears covered her face. She placed a pair of small handmade clay dolls in my hands. "I'm probably going to die here," she murmured. "Please give these to my adoptive brother, Chester Graham." She was clearly at death's door, yet her smile was soft and unexpectedly serene. "Tell him I've seen enough of the world. I don't love him anymore. And tell him he doesn't need to worry. I'm not so foolish now. I won't cause trouble for anyone again." Chester? At the sound of his name, I stood rooted to the spot. In Riverton City, everyone who worked at the harbor knew him, the so-called Ship King. Right before I left for the mountains, news of his engagement had been everywhere.

George Milton took me eight times in a single night. By the ninth, his hand gripped my waist, his voice rough with satisfaction as he rasped, "Baby, I want you to use that innocent-but-sexy look you've got to go seduce Jordan." My entire body went rigid. Then I found out—George's first love, Sarah Byrnes, had been ditched by Jordan Baker, leaving her heartbroken. He wanted me to take revenge for her, to make Jordan taste the agony of being abandoned by the one he loved. After my family had gone bankrupt, I was delivered straight to George's bed. Naively, I believed he treated me differently. After all, I had been the woman at his side the longest. But he only sneered. "The reason I keep you is because you look like Sarah. She's hurting. Now it's your turn to do your part. With reddened eyes, I agreed, swallowing every foolish hope I should never have harbored. Soon, I captured the aloof and untouchable Jordan's heart. And for the first time, George lost control. He wept as he begged, "Catelyn, I regret it. Come back to me, please?"

“The agreement won’t be valid unless your husband signs it, ma’am.” The lawyer shot me a dismissive glance as I signed my name. “I know you’d like to use this as a way to flirt with your husband. After all, you can’t possibly be foolish enough to walk away from billions with nothing.” I gave him a faint smile, tucked the papers away, and sent a message to my husband’s most trusted secretary, Jolene. Even now, no one has realized that I had been reborn. My hand drifted to my still-flat stomach. The warmth and anticipation in my eyes were gone, replaced by cold resolve. I had to make sure my child and I “die” together, in front of everyone. In my previous life, everyone envied me for marrying Leo, the head of the Kosa mafia family. I thought I was the happiest woman in the city. Anything my gaze lingered on for more than three seconds, he would have someone deliver to me immediately. It was just because he thought it would make me happy. In this life, all I wanted was to end my marriage to Leo as quickly as possible!

Maddox: It started out innocent and sweet. The kind of love story where the good guy might finally win the girl. But that all went to shit when I gave into the thought that she might actually want me back. My foolish naivety is what broke me and another’s betrayal is what damned me. Love turned to anger and anger morphed into obsession and now…Well now I am powerful enough to twist fate to make her mine. Lies and deceit plague our once pure friendship as I take and take, stopping at nothing to get what I want. And what I want is her. Lana: This isn’t how this was supposed to go. I was supposed to choose one of my best friends to be my mate after they came back from Alpha training. Except that only one of them came back. The other exiled, left for dead and abandoned to the wild. That was just the first of many pitfalls that led to all my freedom and choices being stripped from me. By the time I discovered who the problem was I was already caught in his dark web and now I fear he won't ever let me go. I am trapped by a mate bond that was forced on me. But I'll be damned if I submit just because I’m his Luna.

My mate, Jasper Morrison, says coldly, "Elena, I'm breaking our mate bond." We stand on the open ground at the edge of the Silvermoon pack's territory. The full moon hangs high overhead, and this should be the sweetest moment for fated mates. We've loved each other for ten years. And now, he's about to break the bond Moon Goddess has given us. "Why?" I ask in a shaky voice. "You're an orphaned wolf," he says, turning his face away. "You don't have the bloodline to match me. The pack Elders have already approved this." A tearing pain rips through my chest. Having the mate bond stripped from me feels like my soul is being torn apart. I collapse to my knees, gasping for air. "Serena's father is one of the strongest Alphas in the North," Jasper says, looking down at me without a trace of guilt. "She'll help me rise as the strongest Beta in the Silvermoon pack's history." "You said…" I clench my teeth, fighting the pain. "You said you'd spend your life with me." "I was young and foolish," Jasper replies, already turning away. "The bonding ceremony is in three days. I suggest you don't cause trouble." Moonlight glints off his retreating form. I watch him walk away, my fingers clutching the moonstone bracelet my mother left me. It's my only keepsake. A message from an unknown number appears. "Elena, this is Damon, your older brother. I've been looking for you for 20 years." "I've attached a black card with unlimited credit. The resources of the entire Blackwood pack are at your disposal. No matter what you're facing, I've got you." I stare at the screen. The Blackwood pack? The top wolf pack in North Anthica? Another message soon pops up. "I'll come get you in three days. Wait for me." My finger hovers over the delete button. It has to be a scam. I'm just an orphaned wolf. How could I possibly have a brother from the Blackwood pack? Just then, a voice message from Jasper arrives. "Elena, for old times' sake, I'll arrange a place for you in one of the pack's spare houses when the ceremony ends. You can stay as part of the pack. I'll take care of you." He wants me to watch him bond with another she-wolf and thank him for keeping me in the pack. I delete Jasper's contact, then rename the unknown number in my phone to "Damon". My fingers tremble as I type a single word. "Okay."

The night my parents died, I was found amongst the ashes of our home. My eyes glowed red, and my hair had been altered to a flaming hue to match. My pack ostracised me, deeming me responsible for the death of my beloved parents. For years, I have been treated like a slave and was underfed, bullied, and abused. The son of the Alpha, Jordan, and my cousin Ruth were the worst offenders. Yet, I endured as I planned my escape. When I turn nineteen, I am out of here. Or so I thought. One night, out of the blue, Jordan kisses me, everything changes, and I find myself falling in love with the one who was my tormentor. So naive, so foolish, just when I think I will have a happy ending, reality slaps me in the face. The same night I find myself in the arms of my mate, Jordan, I find myself rejected for a nightmare of a betrayal I had no hope in preventing. As punishment, I was shunned in the worst possible way and turned rouge. As the cold seeps in, I dream of a white wolf—my white wolf. He has always appeared in my mind when I most needed him, his presence always comforting me. Is this the end of my story? I have lost hope and the will to live.

My parents were renowned educators, celebrated as top-tier teachers who mentored countless high achievers. Yet, I was the black sheep of the family, consistently bringing home failing grades. After yet another gentle reminder from my homeroom teacher, my mom erupted in frustration. "How could I have given birth to such a foolish child? You only exist to torture me!" She disappeared for three days. When she returned, she brought a girl with her. "From today on, Cora is my real daughter. You are forbidden to call us Mom or Dad ever again. Get out. Only when you can pass your exams will you be worthy of being my daughter!" Our next encounter was at the hospital, during the school staff's annual physical check. The dean spotted me, speaking. "Renee, isn't this your daughter? Sherry works here now! That means Cora's illness can be treated. Ask her to introduce you to the new director!" My mother's gaze landed on my white coat and shifted from shock to irritation. "She changed jobs and didn't even bother to tell me?" I discreetly covered the badge pinned to my chest, trying to conceal my status. I was now Evie Coffey, the director of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

He said he loved me. He said I was everything. Then he stood at that altar, slid a ring onto another woman's finger, and walked out of my life like I was nothing, like our baby growing inside me was nothing. I was poor, powerless, and foolish enough to believe that love could beat a family like his. It couldn't. He let them win, and I paid for it in ways he'll never know. So I disappeared. I buried the girl who cried over Sebastian Hale and built something harder in her place. I raised my daughter, I built my life, and I told myself the only reason I'd ever say his name again was if I was making him hurt the way he made me hurt. Now I'm back, and Sebastian looks at me like he's seen a ghost, like he's been waiting, like he's “sorry”. But, sorry doesn't give me back what I lost. Sorry doesn't undo the years I spent alone, piecing myself together in the dark. He has his regrets. I have mine too. Mine just look a lot more like revenge.

Even before marriage, Silvia knew Ryan had eyes for someone else; she insisted on marrying him regardless as she had eyes for him.One day, the man’s past lover returned. Despite that, Silvia thought their child was enough to maintain the marriage. How foolish she was! Their marriage couldn’t withstand the intense love story that her husband and his past lover once had.And so, Silvia chose to file for divorce. For years, she had loved the man, sacrificing her youth and her entire being for his sake. To think she even gave birth to his child! This time, she refused to lose the last bit of her dignity.After divorcing, Silvia didn’t pay much attention to Ryan, as they would argue every single time they met. The man was always quite frustrated with her, and protested against her cruelty towards him. She merely smiled coldly and said, “Ryan Pierce, why do you expect me to maintain a bright personality right after my divorce? You should be glad I haven't gone insane.”Despite everything, Ryan somehow found himself falling for her even more; so much so that he wished to win her heart back.

Isn’t it funny how love works? I have always loved Dreston, and he has always been the one for me—my first love. As a child, I loved him, as a teenager, nothing changed. And now, even as his wife, I still couldn’t love him any less. But he only ever loved Tina—my teenage best friend. She came into our lives and didn’t just take him away from me. She took my happiness, my laughter, and even the girl I used to be. I still remember her words to me: “You knew he was mine, yet you married him.” She made me feel like I was the villain. Maybe I was foolish to believe that love alone would bring him back to me. But nothing changed. He would always love her. I finally gave up the day I signed the divorce papers. I learned to let go, to move on, and to start fresh. And just when I had finally decided to start my life again—just when the universe rewarded me with a man who loved me unconditionally… Dreston came running back. Now he wants a second chance.