The Mistress Runs Away

He had lied to me sixty-six times, promising he would let go of his childhood sweetheart. But whenever she needed him, he still ran to her first. I lied to him only once. I slipped the Mate-Bond Dissolution Agreement into the ceremony documents and had him sign it. In my previous life, I stopped him from going to her one last time. Iris died under the claws of border rogues, and Damon hated me until his wolf soul shattered. This time, I chose to let him go. Today was the final day of the public notice period. With three hours left, I packed my bags and booked a private pack flight back to the border. With two hours left, I severed every moon-energy tie between us and burned our only photo. With one hour left, I left him a letter. “This is the tenth year I have loved you, and the first day I leave you.” Later, he chased me to the airport like a madman. But this time, I would not look back.

“What if I could?” Leo angled his head to one side, “Could do what?” “What if I could do it? What if I had the guts?” Her eyes never left his. She wanted to look away, but she also wanted to look tough. She had a bad record in that area already and she knew that averting her eyes wouldn't do her any favors, so she kept her gaze locked with his. Leo knew what he was about to do was crazy, but he was intrigued by this woman. He was honest enough with himself to admit it. She was nothing like the women who usually met. And maybe that was the reason why her offer to work for him intrigued him. He was curious. What would she do for him? How far would she go? It was a terrible thought, but he wasn't a good person, was he?

Seven days before our bonding ceremony, I overheard my mate joking with his friends. He had already moved our bonding from the snowfield altar I chose to the coastside grounds because Lyra liked the sea. But that was not the part that made them fall silent. What shocked them was that he had also prepared a Luna crown for her. One of them laughed nervously. “Changing the bonding site is one thing. Maybe Serena will forgive that. But the Luna crown? That’s different. For a woman, that crown means everything. Aren’t you afraid she’ll leave?” My mate only smiled, calm and certain. “It’s just a crown. Serena won’t care.” “She loves me. When has she ever refused me anything? She’s not going to throw a tantrum over something this small.” And for the first time, I realized he was right about one thing. I had loved him enough to forgive too much. But not anymore. So when the bonding day came and he stood at the coastside grounds calling for me again and again, I only watched the snow fall outside the window and thought: He was right. I did not make a scene. I did not demand an explanation. I just walked away without a word. He thought that meant it was nothing. He would only understand later that a woman who leaves in silence is not giving you another chance—she is leaving you with nothing but regret.

I was at the Blood Registry office to reissue my Blood Covenant Certificate with Lord Ethan when the registrar looked up at me and said, “Your Blood Covenant Certificate is forged.” “There is no record of your bond in the vampire consort system.” I froze. “That’s impossible,” I whispered. “I registered my union with Lord Ethan five years ago. Please check again.” The clerk searched once more. “Lord Ethan’s record is here,” he said calmly. “His lawful consort is Ella.” Ella? The name fell like a blade. Before he said it, I still hoped it was a clerical mistake. But Ella… was his childhood companion. In that moment, everything made sense. In five years, he had never marked me. He had publicly acknowledged me as his Blood Queen, letting the entire Coven believe I stood beside him by right. He had given me titles, a throne at his side, and a crown to wear in front of the world. Titles can be announced. Only the Registry makes it law. The certificate he gave me had been nothing but a beautiful lie. The five years I believed were happiness— were nothing more than a carefully forged illusion. An illusion crafted to keep me obedient, grateful, and blind. If none of it was ever truly mine, if even the title of “Blood Queen” was only a performance, then leaving should be easy.

In the previous timeline, my younger brother was adopted by a wealthy family, while I was taken in by a scrap collector. Ten years later, he was cast out by the elite household, while I had built the most prominent steel company in Kingsport City. Given a second chance, my brother tried to walk the same path I once did. He begged the scrap collector to take him instead. Though what he never understood was that without me, the steel company that was renowned throughout Kingsport City would never have existed.

"Stay away from the room at the extreme end of the east wing... Be quiet as much as possible.... Leave at once when the second hand struck 5pm, not a second late!" Those were the three grand rules that she received. Allicia will never have expected her life to face a total turn around after she accepted to work as a caregiver in the house of a man that she never even met before. She had no idea what this unknown person she worked for was called, she had never seen him, not once had he shown his face. He was always hidden in a room in the mansion. Allicia had never been a disobedient girl all her life and she followed the rules while working diligently in the mansion. The only thing she did in the lonely mansion was sit by the window and sing with the birds. Her life went on smoothly and peacefully until an unfortunate stormy evening... It was a painful experience for her, one that she never wished to recall ever again. Not until she met him...

"I will divorce you as you want, but only on one condition." "We'll have to be a real couple for one month. If you can do this, then I'll divorce you afterward. Do we have a deal?" ******** Bella makes a deal with her cruel billionaire husband to sign his divorce papers if he can be an idle husband for a month. She had learned she was going to die in a month and needed her last days to be appealing. When the final day approaches, an eager Phill throws a party with his girlfriend, Isabel, to celebrate his freedom, inviting Bella to attend. But instead of her, he gets a shocking letter from her last day, sending him on his heels to find her. But it was too late. Six years later, Phill gets a picture from his bodyguard showing Bella with a son at an airport. "Sir, she's alive! And she has a son that looks almost like you." "I said stop her from leaving! I won't forgive you if she leaves. I am going there now!"

Before being sold to a 60-year-old man by her parents, Rosalynn Carter quickly made a daring move – selling her virginity to a handsome man to save herself. However, she never expected that the one-night stand would be an ironic twist of fate, dragging her from one hell to another! "I will never love you!" Rosalynn cried, repeatedly punching the chest of the man who held her tightly. The bottom of her eyes were filled with helplessness and fatigue, but he was always the one who could easily bury her in the depths of despair. He traced his lips gently along her delicate face, whispering into her ear with a voice reminiscent of a demon's. "Not loving will turn into love! You have no other choice because your body, your heart, and even your soul—all were bought by me!" He always emphasized that love couldn't exist in their relationship, why was he now forcing her to love him? Was winning the heart of a demon her misfortune or her sin?

Rogues took me while I was protecting my mate, Alpha Arthur. I came back three years later, only to find Arthur mated to my sister, Calista. My son, Leo, didn't recognize me. He only saw Calista as his real mother. Broken, I forced Arthur to banish Calista with the Elders' support, using my past contributions as leverage. But she died in a weak, outlying pack. Poisoned. After her death, Leo hated me for it. Arthur never blamed me, though. He just kept telling me everything would be okay. But when our pack was attacked again, he threw me to our enemies without hesitation. Left me to die. As I lay dying, I heard him snarl through gritted teeth. "If you hadn't come back, Calista would have been my mate for life!" My heart turned to ash. Then, I opened my eyes. I was back. Back to the day I returned after being gone for three years. This time, I looked at Arthur shielding Calista, with Leo clinging to her. "I sever our mate bond. From this day on, I am done with all of you."

In our five years of marriage, I had given in to my husband, John, for a grand total of three times. The first time was during my pregnancy. He had taken his ex-girlfriend Stacy, who had once taken three bullets for him, back home and cared for her. When I became angry, he immediately sent her away once she recovered. The second time was after childbirth, when I was ready to return to work. To repay a favor, he gave the position I had worked years for to Stacy. He said it was so I could rest well. I looked at my son, who needed me, and I conceded. The third time was during our son’s birthday. In front of the entire company, he had announced that Stacy was his wife, all so she could establish herself in the company. I gave him two choices: divorce or send her away. Without hesitation, he chose the latter and immediately sent her abroad. The fourth time was when my father suddenly had a heart attack and urgently needed surgery. He disappeared again. I searched everywhere for him to cover the hospital expenses, and I finally discovered that he had gone to the airport to pick up a pregnant Stacy, who was returning to the country. Because of that, my father missed the best chance for treatment and died. I was done giving in. I disguised the divorce agreement as our son’s medical bill and tricked him into signing it. No compensation or apology would matter. I did not wish to have him near my son or myself again.