There Comes A Time When Silence Is Betrayal

After my ex-husband, Lucaro Ricci, has died, he turns into a ghost. Since then, he has stayed by my side as a shadow. Three years later, I walk into the church, hand-in-hand with Carlo Altieri, the oldest son of Lucaro's arch-nemesis. Everyone in the city chews me out for betraying Lucaro. Even Lucaro curses me out for being a scumbag. But I'm the only one who knows the actual reason. I've already made a wish to God in the church that I'll sacrifice my life in exchange for Lucaro's second chance in life.

Two days before my wedding, I was sorting through some old belongings when I suddenly remembered the time capsules Ethan Shaw and I buried ten years ago. His expression froze the moment he heard it. He tried to talk me out of going. “It’s been so long. Someone must’ve dug them up already.” I didn’t think much of it and went back to our old school on my own. But at the spot where we buried it, I unearthed five metal boxes of different sizes. Two of them were the ones Ethan and I buried a decade ago, now rusted all over. The other three didn’t belong there—one was just as rusty, while the remaining two looked brand-new. The old box had Rose Quinn’s name carved on it. On top were the words: “My secret crush was a war of myself. Ethan, I wish you happiness.” I remembered her then—an unremarkable girl who used to sit behind us. And the two new boxes were engraved with the names Ethan Shaw and Rose Quinn. The date marked on them was today. On Ethan’s box, it read: “My greatest regret in life is that I can’t give you a wedding.” On Rose’s box, it read: “My greatest regret in life is that I can’t openly wish you a happy wedding day.”

I wheel myself into the birthday celebration that Wales Price has thrown for me. The atmosphere is originally lively, but a brief silence descends when everyone sees me. The guests are there for different purposes, but celebrating my birthday is not one of them. "Is that Mr. Price's crippled fiancée, Joey Hertza?" "Yeah, but the one he really loves is Anna Giovanni. I saw them kissing in a corner earlier." They use their wine glasses to block their mouths as they speak loudly. They think I'm still the crippled deaf I used to be. They don't know that I regained my hearing last week. I can hear every mocking comment they make. Meanwhile, Wales stands there and allows it to happen. He doesn't stop the guests from talking about me. He seems to have forgotten that I only ended up like this while protecting him. I shoved him away when the accident happened and got trapped underneath the car myself. When I was rescued, Wales swore to stay with me and care for me for life. It's only been three short years since then, but he's already changed. I receive a message on my phone. "Ms. Hertza, the lifelike corpse that you've ordered is now complete. Reply to this message with your confirmation, and your death-faking service will be immediately effective. We will send the corpse to your and Mr. Price's wedding in five days." I don't even hesitate as I reply with my confirmation. Enjoy your wedding, Wales.

At the banquet hall, I refuse to let my adopted twin pups eat the walnut cake. Ivana Lamont—the childhood sweetheart of my mate, Luther Hardwick—chokes up dramatically. She cries accusingly, "Yara, they may not be yours biologically, but you can't abuse them! Why won't you even let them have a slice of cake?" I'm just about to explain that the twins are allergic to nuts, but they point at me and complain in aggrieved voices. "Mommy often doesn't give us food. We never have enough to eat!" With that, I'm unceremoniously driven out of the banquet hall by the host. When I go to look for my mate to talk about it, I accidentally overhear his conversation with a friend. "Alpha Luther, it's been eight years. Are you still not going to mark Yara?" "There's no rush. I'll wait until the kids are a little older. We love each other very much, so it's fine even if I don't mark her." His friend responds disapprovingly, "You've been hiding from her that the twins are actually your and Ivana's pups. Aren't you afraid she may leave in anger if she finds out?" Luther shakes his head and replies with certainty, "She won't. Yara is an orphan, so she has no family. If she leaves me, where else can she go?" The ugly truth causes me to freeze on the spot. It turns out the pups I've loved for eight years were born to my mate and another she-wolf. What I thought was a happy life is nothing but a cold, heartless deception! I touch my belly, thinking of the pup I just conceived. My tears fall like a relentless downpour. In the shadows, I say inaudibly, "You're wrong, Luther. In fact, I found my birth parents three days ago. I just haven't had the chance to tell you. But it doesn't matter now because you don't need to know about that anymore." I have Luther sign the mate bond dissolution agreement before finalizing my withdrawal from the Sharp Teeth pack. Two days later, I give both my mate and the pups to Ivana. With the pup that Luther has never known or laid his eyes on, I disappear from his world forever.

After a wild, drunken class reunion, I woke up next to a male model. I had no clue what I was doing since it was my first time in this kind of situation. I called my best friend for help on what to do, and while the male model was still out cold, I left my wallet and bolted. When I got home, my best friend dragged me over to show me a picture of her new boyfriend. My jaw dropped. The guy in the photo was the spitting image of the man I had just left.

At the Luna Ceremony, my mate—Alpha Ares Grant—appears at the altar with his lover in his arms. He disdainfully throws the Snow Wolf hide, which has been enshrined on the altar, onto the muddy ground. It's something my mother left for me before she died, and it's also a sacred relic passed down through generations of the Moonriver pack. Legend says that if one's mate personally drapes this wolf hide over their shoulders, they will live in harmony and be granted a blessed future. For three years, this is the moment I had been waiting for. The next moment, he turns and places the Luna's Crown on Arthene Smith's head. "I swear on the Moon Goddess that Estella is impure, disloyal, and a fraud. I refuse to accept such a filthy she-wolf as my mate. From now on, my Luna is the pure Arthene, and nothing else," he says. I stare at the scene before me in disbelief and sorrow. "Ares, I'm your fated mate, your one and only Luna—" A heavy slap lands fiercely on my face. Ares strikes me down from the altar. The moment I tumble down the steps, I hear his cold, bone-chilling voice say, "You think a whore like you is worthy of being the Luna?"

Saphira is a beautiful woman with long, light blonde hair and blue-gray eyes, only 25 years old. She is simple and shy, but she is strong and decisive when it comes to work. A harassment situation at her company leads her to move from a small town in Texas to New York. She takes her little savings and CV and tries to get a job. Christopher is the CEO of a large advertising company. When Saphira starts working for him, he maintains his professionalism and detachment, but he can't help but appreciate the girl's beauty. He is always jumping from woman to woman, and his playboy fame is well known, so when he confesses his interest in her on a business trip, Saphira doesn't take him seriously and sets the professional barrier between them very high. Her coldness towards him stirs up the feeling that is born in his chest even more, but Saphira doesn't allow any approach, despite Christopher sometimes seeing in her eyes that the feeling is reciprocal. What would he have to do to conquer the girl who looked like "the girl next door" he's been looking for all his life? And why doesn't Saphira want to give him a chance? What dark secret keeps her away?

Sierra Ryans has a rough past but has worked very hard to over come it. She has been a cop with the Klamath Police Department for quite a few years now with her partner and best friend Mack Stone. She is currently investigating a sadistic serial killer dubbed The God of Torture, who just so happens to have his sights set on he head strong Detective. Xavier Collans has been watching over Sierra for almost her entire life. He knew a secret of hers the she didn't even know. He figured that it was already going to be hard to protect her as she is a Detective but now with the added threat from The God of Torture, he would have to enlist the help of an old friend. His feelings for Sierra were making it harder for him to be her guardian and he knew that it was only a matter of time before he would succumb to them. He just hoped it would be clear headed in time to save her life!

In my fifth year with the fallen heir, Connor Garrett, I make 99 wishes for him. As a result, I age and turn into an old woman. He, on the other hand, rises to become the richest man. However, he immediately turns around and proposes to his first love, Nadine Zeigler. He says to her, "Nadie, you have no idea how much I went through to marry you." Nadine toys with a diamond ring worth billions and asks, "What about that follower of yours who grants wishes?" Connor gives a carefree scoff. "She's just a tool who traded her youth for my fortune. Does she really think I will marry an old woman?" I stand in the shadows and silently make my final wish. Without my help, I would like to see how he will rise again this time.

After five years of fruitless and loveless marriage to Lucien Albrecht, a business tycoon in Seattle, Ariadne was finally at her wits end. Her husband proposed a divorce on the night of their fifth anniversary, never knowing how much she had forsaken for his love. With a broken heart, Ariadne severed all ties with him for good, going back to her previous identity…. the Heiress of Grey Enterprise. However, never in a thousand years had she thought, when she decided back to be Alexandra Grey, Lucien turned to be the one who wanted Ariadne Albrecht back. Torn between the constant power struggle at the company and her ex husband’s watchful gaze, could the young CEO finally gain her set goal? *** “Vying for the position of Mrs. Albrecht?" Alexandra couldn’t suppress the chuckle that escaped her lips. "I’d much rather build my own empire than be some man’s trophy wife.”