Novel & Cerita Things Aren't Always What They Seem

At the auction, my Alpha mate, Antoine Swanson, dumps 30 million dollars into a wolf fang necklace that's embedded with rubies so that he can give it to his puphood sweetheart, Kailyn Greene, as a pregnancy gift. Then, he makes an announcement to all the wolves in the pack. "Four years ago, my Luna, Irene Welch, betrayed me by stealing all of my money and escaping with it during my darkest, lowest moment. Kailyn was the one who had stayed by my side the whole time and helped me make my comeback. "Today, I'm willing to repay her love for me a thousandfold." That's right. I've disappeared from the pack four years ago. Everyone thinks that I've betrayed the pack and left with the money I've stolen, including my own mate. I've become the stain of the pack. My parents spit on my name, whereas my mate hates my guts. Even my older brother, Jason Welch, who used to dote on me the most, has announced that he has severed all ties with me. Insults and demands hurled at me have never stopped since my disappearance. That is, until the council makes a huge breakthrough in a major crime case one day. Jason, who's the chief warrior of the pack, finally discovers that the headless female corpse that has gone through the worst death… belongs to me.

In the hunting ground, my mate, Liam Graham, abandons me while I am pregnant and severely injured from a beast attack. He rushes off carrying Beta Eva Monroe, who only has a scratch on her palm. I cry out for him to stay, but he says Eva needs medical attention more than I do. As blood pours between my legs, I anxiously swallow the prenatal pills Liam gave me. But in the next second, my child is gone forever. It turns out the pills are not meant to protect my baby but a slow-acting poison that kills it. At that moment, Eva proudly sends me a message. "Being his Beta means I get the Alpha's care anytime I want." Feeling my body grow weaker from the miscarriage, I glance one last time at the baby, who has become a pool of blood. At that moment, I want nothing more. At night, I reach out to my father through a mind link. "Dad, I agree to become the heir of the Howl of the Moon Pack."

My adopted daughter, Phoebe Marsh, possessed an evil ability. Whenever she got hurt, the pain would also be inflicted directly on my biological daughter, Maisie Shaw. She deliberately hurt herself, covering her body with wounds and bruises. Then, she would turn around with cold eyes, watching Maisie writhe on the floor in agony until she passed out from the pain. With no medical solution available, I broke down and held Maisie close, begging my husband, Brandon Shaw, to send Phoebe away. However, he would erupt in fury. "It's obviously Maisie who's been faking illness for attention, and you're making up this ridiculous story to get rid of Phoebe. She's just a fragile, helpless child. How can you be so vicious?" After that, Phoebe escalated her self-harm even more viciously. Meanwhile, Maisie spent every day curled up in the corner of her bed, refusing to let anyone touch her. On Maisie's birthday, Phoebe threw herself from the fifth floor. Just as Maisie was blowing out her candles and making a wish, she suddenly began bleeding from all her facial orifices, and she died instantly. Yet, Phoebe only suffered minor scrapes. I died from overwhelming grief shortly after. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to Phoebe's first day in our home. Maisie was playing with her Legos when she suddenly clutched her ankle and started crying. This time, I grabbed the broom from behind the door and swung it toward Maisie, shouting, "I'll beat you up for faking illness and seeking attention!"

When my wife, Katherine Johnson, and her childhood sweetheart, Zack Wilson, were on an overseas vacation, they somehow went missing. All they left for me was a newborn baby born of their affair. 20 years later, I make a post about my son, Wade, passing the exam and joining the police force. Unexpectedly, Katherine and Zack return to the country and decide to sue me. At the prosecutor's stand, Zack sports a slicked-back hairstyle and can be seen wearing a smart-looking suit. The things he says, however, are very rude. "Many years ago, Katherine and I got married after she got a divorce. She then gave birth to a son for me. Harry, who was jealous of our happiness, stole Wade from us! "We've been looking for Wade over the past 20 years, and yet Harry refuses to return him to us! As Wade's biological parents, we have the right to demand him back!" Katherine glares at me angrily as well. "Harry, did you steal Wade simply because you're infertile?" The court hearing is streamed live on various platforms. The viewers are enraged, to say the least. They begin bashing me in the comment section. "To think that he actually stole someone else's kid just because he doesn't have any kids of his own!" "He's the reason that kid was separated from his actual family! What a disgusting, vile man! He must return the custody to the kid's biological parents!" But when Wade does get summoned to the court, everyone is left shell-shocked.

I was the firm’s star. The one they called for the impossible cases. My latest miracle? The “Titan Project” patent case. I made the firm a billion dollars. My cut was supposed to be a two-million-dollar bonus. But today, a fresh-faced intern waltzed off with it. I thought payroll had made a mistake and stormed straight into the senior partner's office. “Preston. My two-million-dollar bonus. Tell me there’s been a mistake.” Preston didn’t even bother to look up. “Victoria, I’ve looked into it. We won this case because of Chloe’s client management.” “She was schmoozing clients. Late-night golf games. Weekend yacht parties. While you were what, exactly?” “You never showed your face outside the courtroom. Teamwork is everything.” I almost laughed. It was absurd. “She’s a rookie who can’t even recite the rules of discovery.” “Enough!” Preston cut me off. “The firm doesn’t make mistakes. I see what everyone contributes.” “If you're not happy, you can prove your worth somewhere else.” He tossed a severance agreement on the desk. My heart went cold. I signed it on the spot. Before I left, I got the last word. “Preston, next time the firm has a real fight on its hands, you’d better call your social butterfly, Chloe. Don’t bother me.” He blew a perfect smoke ring, smirking right through it. Unfazed. Soon later, my phone blew up. It was him. Begging me to come back and save his ass.

Three days after my father’s death, I was home, planning his funeral. A woman and a group of bodyguards stormed in. She shoved me, hard. "Who the hell do you think you are?" she screamed. "Get out of my house! Now!" I froze, stunned. A new housekeeper? Maybe my brother Liam hired her. I kept my voice calm. "This house is mine. Liam knows that. If you have a problem, take it up with him." Her face twisted into a mask of rage. Then she slapped me. "Yours?" She scoffed, looking me up and down with disgust. "This is my boyfriend Liam's house. And you look like you don't belong here. I don't know if you're the new maid or the cook, but I don't care. Get the hell out. Now." My blood ran cold. I pulled out my phone and texted my assistant. [Tell Liam to get home and handle his girlfriend. Now. Or he won't see a dime of the family money.]

In her first life, Elara Silas was a biological insurance policy a spare part for her sickly brother and a shadow to her saintly twin sister, Elena. Her existence ended on a cold operating table, her heart harvested while her husband, John Grant, watched with chilling indifference. But death was only a detour. Waking up three years in the past, Elara is no longer the obedient dog begging for scraps of affection. Armed with the memories of her family’s ultimate betrayal, she prepares to dismantle the Silas empire from the inside out. Her first move? Rejecting her father’s control to sign a secret contract with his greatest rival: the enigmatic and breathtakingly handsome Orion. Expectations shatter when she meets him. Orion isn't just a powerful jeweler; he is a man haunted by the same ghost. In a world-altering revelation, he confesses the truth: he wasn't a bystander in the first life—he was the man behind the glass, murdered by Elara’s father while trying to save her. Now, two souls who died in the same tragedy are united by a lethal alliance. As Elara returns to the Silas mansion to play the role of the repentant daughter, she finds herself trapped in the same deadly games—including Elena’s blood-soaked frame-ups and her mother’s toxic healing schemes. But this time, Elara isn't alone. With Orion’s shadow looming over the Silas household and a black opal ring hiding a shared secret, the hunt has begun.

Twelve years as the perfect adopted daughter... All was erased the moment the Vaughn family’s real daughter returned. Overnight, Elara Vaughn became a thief in their eyes. Everything she had was suddenly someone else’s. Love turned to hatred, and home turned into a cage. To atone for a life she never stole, Elara was forced into a marriage that destroyed her... Humiliated, broken, and discarded until death finally claimed her. But fate gives her a second chance. Reborn one day before the wedding, Elara woke up with every memory of her past life intact, and a heart that refuses to break again... VENGEANCE! This time, she will pretend to submit. This time, she will control every move. And this time, she reaches out to the one man she rejected in her past life... the only person who once offered her salvation and love... Lucien Hale, the most powerful and ruthless man in the country. As secrets unravel and the Vaughn family’s hypocrisy is exposed, Elara learns that revenge doesn’t only require truth, but it also requires cruelty. They wanted a sacrifice... Instead, they created a monster, who will bring their downfall.

Three years ago, during a critical moment of a business negotiation, the proprietary data I personally compiled ended up becoming the weapon that secured the victory for my business rival. I was taken away on the charges of leaking corporate secrets—and my girlfriend, Kelly Stone, smugly flashes the proprietary data at me, mocking me for my foolishness. After being given a five-year prison sentence, I suffered endless torture behind bars and died from the internal injuries. However, I got to witness everything that happened following my death. Whitney Evans, a college senior of mine who had a thing for me, did everything in her power to clear my name. She sold her company and pursued every avenue she could. In the end, after losing everything, she cried herself unconscious at my grave. Then, suddenly, my eyes opened again. I saw Kelly sneaking a USB drive into her handbag before turning to leave. I grabbed the USB drive from her and looked her in the eye, warning, "What you're doing is against the law, Kelly. I advise you to watch yourself from now on. Also, it's over between us. Don't even set foot inside my office again." Immediately, I went looking for Whitney. Three years have passed since then. In that time, I've managed to secure success in both career and love. It won't be long before I complete the acquisition of my company's business rival, Havenshire Group. Yet, the night before the official signing, I drink a glass of milk that Whitney gives me. My body swiftly goes weak, and I collapse on the couch. When I regain consciousness, I find myself lying on the floor with my hands and feet bound in metal chains. I can hear Kelly's and Whitney's voices ringing loud and clear. "No one will be able to see that you forged Caleb's signature for the share transfer agreement with Sam as the recipient, right?" "We'll just keep Caleb locked up here, so who's going to know that the signature is forged? His company has been expanding too quickly. We can't let him ruin Sam. It's all your fault, anyway, Kelly. I wouldn't have had to waste all those years on Caleb if you'd just stolen the data back then!" Taking in my restraints, I let out a self-deprecating smile. All along, I believed that Whitney and I loved each other. Turns out I've just been deluded this whole time. If Kelly and Whitney care about Samuel Gibson that much, they'd better spend every moment of their lives guarding him from now on. I'm going to do everything in my power to destroy him!

The Clan Healer told me that without the vial of Progenitor's Blood, the Blood Blight afflicting me meant I had only seventy-two hours to live. But my husband, Miles, the new Duke of our world, gave the only vial of the precious cure to my adopted sister, Vivienne, the woman I had turned three years ago. "She's in agony from the rejection, Isolde. It's a pain you can't possibly understand." His tone was self-righteous, devoid of any concern for the patch of skin on my collarbone already turning to stone. I nodded, watching as the life-saving, dark red liquid slid down another woman's throat. I accomplished a great deal in the time I had left. As I signed the documents, the lawyer's hand trembled. "Are you certain you want to transfer everything, Your Grace? The territorial rights of a thousand-year-old clan..." I didn't hesitate. "Yes. To Vivienne." My adopted daughter, Lily, the girl I had risked everything to save, who was now forever frozen at the age of eight, cowered in Vivienne's arms, pointing at me and screaming, "Aunt Vivienne is my real mommy! You're the witch who turned us into monsters!" I offered no defense. "Yes, that's right. Be a good girl and listen to your new mother now." The Progenitor's Ring, the symbol of the clan's supreme authority, now rested on Vivienne's hand. "Oh, sister, you're too kind," she sobbed, her sobs a practiced performance. "I'll be sure to protect the family in your stead." I nodded. "You'll run things better than I ever did." I even signed away my control over the Elder Council, a council sustained by my own blood. For the first time in a century, a shadow of complex emotion crossed Miles's face. He stared at me,"Isolde, stop fighting. It's better this way. You need to rest." Yes. On my deathbed, I had finally become the perfect, submissive Isolde they always wanted. An Isolde who was about to turn to dust. The seventy-two-hour countdown had begun. I wondered, when I finally turned to ash,