Tragic Synonym

Everyone said I was Domenico Calvetti's most obedient woman. On our first wedding anniversary, he flirted with a pair of twins at the gambling table. He had lipstick smeared all over his shirt. I smiled and wiped it away with a silk handkerchief, but he swatted my hand aside. "Don't kill the mood." In the third year, the star performer from the club he ran showed up at my door with a gun pressed to my temple, demanding to take my place. Without flinching, I disarmed her using the technique he taught me and disposed of the body myself. Behind me, he held his new lover and laughed softly. "Lucia, you always know what to do." In the fifth year, he blew up the library my father left behind just to make his new flame, Marilena Rossetti, smile. That library was my mother's favorite spot when she was alive, and it held the only photographs of our family of three. The explosion made me the laughingstock of the city. People whispered, "Signora Calvetti can't even protect her own memories." Everyone believed I could never leave the Calvetti family or Domenico, but they forgot how this all started. Back then, he rescued me from my adoptive father and fell in love with me at first sight. He knelt and begged to marry me, swearing he would protect me from blood and pain for the rest of my life. For ten years, I held onto those empty words. At our tenth anniversary party, his hundredth mistress arrived. Alice Russo, fresh out of college, held a glass of red wine and poured it down my gown while Domenico watched. "Signora Calvetti, this dress is so old. Given your position, you should be wearing something better." Everyone at the party waited to see my humiliation. Instead, I lowered my eyes and dialed Domenico's father's number. "Father, the ten-year agreement is over. I won't be Signora Calvetti anymore."

In the second year of our marriage, which Brett Mason had secured through relentless means, he brought home his latest conquest—a stunning blonde. As the door swung shut, he ran his fingers through her silky hair, flashing me a smug, triumphant grin. "Wanna join us? You might learn a thing or two about not being such a dead fish." I could still recall how he once adored my hair, claiming that just stroking it would melt away his deepest worries. It turned out any woman could serve that purpose. In that instant, a profound sense of release washed over me. I retrieved the divorce agreement I'd stashed away in a drawer and handed it to him. "Sign it, and I'll make room for her." My days were numbered, and I had no intention of wasting what little time remained entangled in his resentment.

Kylie Cooper was Jonathan Sinclair's lover for three years. After they broke up, she became his executive assistant. Jonathan treated her coldly and mocked her with sarcasm. Kylie said, "You used me as a stand-in before. Now that she's back, please let me go." However, Jonathan was confused. "A stand-in? I've only ever loved you..."

After waking up from a car accident, I realize that I've lost some of my memories. My wife, Samantha Ross, embraces me immediately and says in a choked-up tone, "The doctor said that you've hurt your manhood in the accident. You… might not be able to perform in the bedroom anymore." My father-in-law, Edmund Ross, sighs heavily as well. He tells me that even if I can't get Samantha pregnant anymore, I will always be the only son-in-law who's married into the Ross family. Everyone compliments me on marrying into a wonderful family. After all, Samantha refuses to abandon me, and Edmund completely understands my situation. But I know for a fact that my kidneys aren't busted at all. Also, I already had a son with Samantha a long time ago. The thing is, where on earth is that child now?

When I follow my boyfriend back to his hometown, I accidentally discover the wounds and scars all over his sister's body. Then, an old lady in the village tells me to flee as quickly as I can. This makes me shudder. Before I can process what's happening, I run into my long-lost best friend at my boyfriend's uncle's house. The way my boyfriend looks at me becomes increasingly creepy…

My husband, Clement Norman, promised to make up for our missed honeymoon. It was five years late, but I was still excited. I got ready and really looked forward to it. But right before we boarded the plane, I realized there was someone extra in our group—Clement's childhood friend, Madison Bowen. He explained half-heartedly, "Madison's never been abroad before. I figured we could bring her along." I wasn't thrilled, but when I spoke up, he made it sound like I was being dramatic. "Are you jealous of our relationship because you didn't grow up with a proper family? I see her as a sister. You wouldn't get it—you grew up an orphan." I chose to stay quiet, not wanting to ruin our honeymoon. But we encountered an avalanche halfway through the trip. My leg got stuck deep in the snow, and I couldn't move. And the first thing Clement did was grab Madison's hand and run. He didn't even look back.

I hated my husband most in the moment he died for me, swallowed by the flames. Right before he took his last breath, he tore our marriage certificate in half, his eyes burning red. "If there's another life," he said, "I'd rather we never met." My whole body went rigid. Only then did I understand—he blamed me. Ten years ago, his childhood sweetheart and her family had been exiled. She had begged him for help. But that day, he'd gone with me on a trip and missed the chance to save her. And for ten long years, he held that grudge against me. After my husband's death, the world turned on me. Even my in-laws, who had always cared for me, looked at me with pure disgust. "If not for you, Russ wouldn't be dead. We wish you'd never been born!" I couldn't bear it anymore. I ended my life. I never expected that when I opened my eyes again, I would be back on the day Russ Williams came to propose. This time, I would do exactly as he wished. I would give everyone what they wanted.

During the full-moon raid carried out by the Bloodmoon Pack, my squad accidentally strayed into a swamp thick with deadly silver mist. I had prepared for this. I always carried a moonstone that could protect against silver poisoning. But when I opened my leather pouch, all my fingers touched was a wishing doll woven from dried grass. I was about to reach out to the Elder Council through the mind link. That was when my Alpha mate, Jack Fraley, suddenly grabbed my wrist. "Easy, sweetheart. Don't be impulsive. I gave your moonstone to Lily. She's a fragile Omega. She needs protection more than you do." I clenched the straw doll, fury burning so hot that it nearly scorched away my reason. "Are you kidding me? Wearing this junk is no different from standing naked in the silver mist!" He frowned, completely unashamed. "Rowena North, you're my Luna. Protecting Omegas is your responsibility. Stop throwing a tantrum." I let out a cold laugh. "I'm a Luna, not a saint with no boundaries. And that moonstone was my mother's keepsake." After that, I didn't argue with him anymore. I severed our mind link without hesitation. Then, I turned to the Beta beside me and gave a clear order. "Contact the Elder Council immediately. I formally invoke mate bond severance. Effective now, every pack territory and alliance bound to my name is frozen."

After coming back to life, I seek out a witch to erase the fated bond between me and Adrian Westwood. Then, using a magic potion that can transfer fated bonds, I plan to give it to his adopted sister, Hazel Quinn. From that moment on, Adrian will believe she is his one true mate. Before the marking ceremony, I quietly changed the bride's name on the invitations and gave Hazel the exquisite gown I had spent nearly six months having custom-made. After the ceremony, Adrian and Hazel left for the Southlands together. Adrian uses his authority as Alpha to let Hazel take the university spot that was meant for me. He even writes her a letter of recommendation to Eldren University so she can explore the human world. Meanwhile, I walk away and begin my studies at Harvard University, one of the top universities in the world. In my previous life, Adrian and I spent 20 years together. But in the end, he knelt at my feet in front of our descendants, begging me to sever the mate bond so he could be buried next to Hazel after he died. In this life, I decide not to sacrifice my future for anyone else. This time, I'm pursuing my own dreams at the top university, determined to make myself proud and never look back.

On the day the true heiress and I swapped places, my childhood sweetheart, bound to me by a promise made in youth, gripped my hand before our families and declared, "I chose you, not your title." Anna Pedersen, tears brimming in her eyes, enveloped me in a trembling embrace. "Joanne, we'll always be family. I'd never take what's rightfully yours." Everyone assumed I'd turned misfortune into fortune. Though I lost my status as the Pedersen heiress, I gained a steadfast lover and a selfless sister. But three years after fate corrected itself, photos of Calvin Thomas escorting Anna to a prenatal checkup flooded the internet. When I confronted him, he exhaled a plume of smoke and said coolly, "Anna is my true betrothed. This is just setting things right. Why are you so worked up?" He seized my wrist and dragged our engraved engagement ring across the back of my hand, leaving a bloody gash. "This scar will remind you of the twenty years of life you stole. Your life and I belong to their rightful owner."