The Day I Thought Forever

“Why does he always look so dirty?” Amara says making a face. I turn and look in the direction she’s facing and my heart beats faster. Leo is walking across the school parking lot to the school entrance. Leo has his down, he is a pair of jeans that are weathered. He paired it with a long white T-shirt and hoodie. I don’t see any dirt on him but maybe Amara has extra-ray vision. Maybe she can see something we don’t. “He doesn’t look dirty” Gea says and giggles. I want to say exactly but I don’t, whenever we talk about boys it always ends up in a fight. And I don’t want to fight today, we have tests today and I need good vibes only.

My parents made Dana and me settle it with rock-paper-scissors. Loser had to marry the Baillieu heir—the so-called "freak." I won. Then flipped the script. "Cool. I'll take Blake. Dana can have the empire." Last time? I was dumb in love with Michael—Dad's adopted golden boy. Chose the company, stayed behind, and handed Dana off to Blake Baillieu. Big mistake. Six months in, Dana was gone—wrecked by that marriage. Right before she croaked, she texted Michael blaming me. Said I lost the game and ditched the deal, dumping Blake on her. Michael? Snapped. Dude went full psycho. Turns out, he and Dana had been sneaking around for years. He dragged me behind the Baillieu estate and forced a dozen intellectually disabled men to assault me. "If it weren't for your cruelty, Dana would still be alive! You'll pay for everything she suffered!" I was over eight months pregnant—almost due. Begged him to stop. Begged for my baby's life. He didn't care. Kept ordering them to take turns. Even when my water broke, he just watched. Both my baby and I died that night. Now? I'm back. And this time, I rewrote the story. Step one: marry Blake.

My husband, Damien, loved me deeply—so deeply it felt like I was his whole world. Everyone said he was the perfect husband. Yet, he betrayed me. Not once, not twice, but three times. The first time was three years ago. His closest friend, Aaron, died saving him. Damien kept it from me and secretly married Aaron’s girlfriend, Vivian—on paper. I was heartbroken and ready to leave him. That night, he sent her abroad and fell to his knees, begging me. “Estelle, Aaron gave his life for me. I must take care of his widow. That marriage certificate is just a promise of security for Vivian. Once I’ve avenged Aaron, I’ll divorce her. The only woman I love is you.” I forgave him. The second time came the following year. At a press conference, Damien publicly introduced Vivian as the Mafia leader’s wife. He pulled me aside to explain. “Vivian is the only daughter of the Young family—the Mafia. Our two families joined forces for one reason only: to get revenge for Aaron. I’ve already made arrangements with her. Once we’ve dealt with our enemies, I’ll divorce her and marry you right away.” Once again, I believed him. Then came the third time. Someone drugged Damien at a banquet, and he spent the night with Vivian. He hid it from me until just two weeks ago, when I caught him at the hospital, sitting beside her during a prenatal checkup. That was when I finally learned the truth. He lowered his head, unable to meet my eyes, and spoke in a low voice. “Estelle, it was an accident. Once she gives birth, I’ll send her away. My parents will raise the child, and I swear—neither of them will ever appear in your life again.” In the name of love, Damien pushed me to compromise again and again. Yet now I know. There’s no future left for us. It’s time for me to walk away.

After ten years together, Aiden, my Alpha, my first and only love, finally promised to hold the mating ceremony with me during the Spring Hunt Festival. I was overjoyed. That night, at the festival party, I downed a few extra glasses of wine. However, Aiden, who had always been so gentle with me, suddenly became someone I didn't recognize. He scolded me, said I was unfit to be the future Luna if I couldn’t even follow the rules, and shoved me out of the car. Drunk and dazed, I was left alone in the dangerous Shadow Forest. Terrified but unwilling to break, I walked through that forest for five hours in the dead of night. When I finally made it back to our home, I heard him in the other room, sending a voice message to Seraphina, his first love. "If you’re willing to come back," he said, his voice soft and warm, "I’ll do anything for you." Seraphina replied, "Even cancel the mating ceremony?" Time stopped. I silently counted to thirteen. Then, I heard his answer: "Yes." Listening to that voice—the one that used to whisper promises to me—I cried. If that was what he truly wanted, then maybe calling off the ceremony was for the best. So, to spare him the choice, I fled. On the day of our mating ceremony, I disappeared. No one expected what came next. The proud, composed Alpha Aiden went mad trying to find me.

Before the marking ceremony, Leon Parker crossed out his name on the Moonlight Tree. Then, he carved his brother Cillian Parker's name next to mine instead. A friend teased him, "Just because you lost a bet to Susie Burton, you're changing the name on the Moonlight Tree to Cillian's? Aren't you afraid Madison Lachlan will find out and lose it on you?" Leon replied lazily, "She nearly died for me once. Changing a name is nothing; she won't mind. I've already ruined her marking ceremony 52 times. What's one more? Besides, Cillian's leg is injured, and he's stuck in a wheelchair. No woman would ever want to be with him. Once Madison finds out, she'll come crawling back to me, and I'll still have the upper hand." I stood by the door, listening to every word of their conversation as my heart gradually turned cold. The Moonlight Tree was sacred to all werewolves. Every mated pair carved their names into it, symbolizing the Moon Goddess's blessing on their bond. Yet, Leon was treating something so sacred like it was a joke. I did not make a scene, just slipping away silently. On the day of the marking ceremony, Leon arrived at the venue to find no one there. He frantically called me. I stood in my white wedding dress, looking at my mate across from me. "My marking ceremony is about to start. Are you here to congratulate me on my big day?"

Being the best is a requirement for me. When it comes to this, I am the best. Unlike others, I can move quickly. As for me, I'm quite robust. I have a high IQ. Many professional teams are interested in signing me because I am the starting goalkeeper for my high school's soccer squad. My teammates will follow my every order as long as I am captain. Girls urge me to add them to my list of s*x partners. To avoid my father's anger, I just need to make it to the professional league and play for the best team in the world. I am Williams Phanuel, and I have made sure that everything in existence is centered on me. I've got my eye on the new girl in class; it'll only be a matter of time until she succumbs to my charms. This one is more obstinate than others; she won't even give me her name. She has a sharp mind, too. Perhaps too witty for his own good. I simply cannot admit her. No one will get past me. Despite my lack of concern, I must admit that she is distracting me from my objective. Your father will not approve of that. Do I need to reiterate how much I adore the works of William Shakespeare? I'm aware of that. To put it simply, I am a paradox in human form. There are "some born great," "some who make great," and "those who have greatness thrust upon them," as Shakespeare put it. I managed to acquire all three! No one can ever hope to measure up to that.

Before my wedding, my future sister-in-law diagnoses me with cervical erosion. She insists it's because of my promiscuity. My boyfriend arranges for my sister-in-law to operate on me without my permission. After the surgery, I find that my womb is missing. I'm furious, and I want to know what's happened. However, my boyfriend berates me. "It's perfectly normal for Kate to make a mistake since it was her first surgery. You're her sister-in-law—stop making a big deal out of a small thing!" I refuse to settle the matter privately and call the cops. That's when my boyfriend secretly murders me via poisoning for the sake of his sister's future. When I open my eyes again, I find that I've been taken back to before the surgery.

My younger brother had opened a high-end beauty salon, so I took my mother there for a facial. We picked the most expensive package, but the moment the mask was applied, Mom's face began to burn. When we peeled it off, her entire face was covered in rashes. I called for the director, but she looked impatient. "Oh, that's just a normal detox reaction." I was stunned. "Her face is practically ruined! What products are you even using?" "Ruined?" She flared up like someone had stepped on her tail. "Your mom's skin is just too bad to handle premium nutrients! Once our products are opened, they're non-refundable—got it?" I pointed to the brochure. "It says right here—'gentle and non-irritating, full refund if any adverse reaction occurs.' Is this how Stellan Fallow taught you to run a business?" She crossed her arms and lifted her chin high. "I am the boss! You and your mother look broke as hell—clearly here to mooch a free treatment. Now that it didn't work, you're trying to scam us for money? "Let me tell you something—this set costs 38 thousand, and with my emotional damages and lost wages, that's a total of 100 thousand. If you don't pay up today, I'll have the police take you both in!" A hundred thousand for a product that ruined someone's face? It was no wonder Stellan suddenly wanted to open a salon—it turned out he and his girlfriend were running a scam together! I was about to call Stellan, but before I could, she hit the video dial first. "Bubby, get over here—two broke idiots tried to freeload a treatment and now they're trying to shake us down for money!"

To the world, I was Mrs. Ward—the untouchable queen beside the mafia king of New York, Elias Ward. But I knew my husband never loved me. His heart had always belonged to Harper Dinah. His nephew’s wife. And after that nephew conveniently died, Elias brought her into our mansion, “I just want to take better care of her,” he’d said. And his version of “care” was where he’d throw a man out of a party for daring to flirt with Harper and got her pregnant. Elias likes to praise me in public like I was the perfect wife to him. And I was. I helped build his empire. I was the one who smiled and played nice. I made his casino shine while he hid Harper away like she was something sacred. Because of all that praising, one of his enemies set his sights on me. They took me. Sent Elias a message soaked in blood and threats: Back off. Leave New York. Or your pretty wife dies. Of course, Elias didn’t choose to back off.. “Just wait,” he said over the phone, “They won’t hurt you, Noa. You’re leverage. Just hold on until Harper gives birth. Then I’ll come for you.” Eight months of being held in a filthy hole, starved, beaten, degraded. The gang leader raped me over and over again. And still, Elias never came. Finally, I escaped when they were all drunk. Went home, only find my twins sleeping in the maid’s room, eating scraps while Elias was too busy hosting a party for his newborn. I didn’t confront him, just packed my babies and disappear.

Sabrina didn't even see it coming. In her defense, she didn’t mean to fall for him. It just happened. She and Ivan Golovin weren't supposed to exist but he was everything she wanted. But he's forbidden. He was her mother's best friend. And falling in love with him would cost her everything. She falls for the man not knowing he's the monster who wants to kill her.