You Were Never Really Here

After the video exposing my sister Issa Acosta’s plot against me was revealed, my parents and my fiancé, Henry Nolan, stood firmly by my side, making me feel loved and safe. I confidently handed over all the evidence to them, trusting them to handle it. However, they told me that after Issa was kicked out of the house, she died in a sudden car accident, and I believed them. That was until five years into my marriage, when I accidentally saw Issa—the woman who was supposed to be dead. She was holding a little boy, clinging tightly to Henry’s hand. "Henry, if it weren’t for you and my parents, I’m afraid Zoe would’ve thrown me in prison. Thankfully, my parents destroyed the evidence and even opened a jewelry design studio for me. To avoid suspicion, you even sacrificed your own marriage. Thank you for everything in the past five years.” "Think of it as me atoning to Zoe on your behalf. As long as you and Bear are happy, that’s enough for me." So, what I thought was a happy family was nothing more than a giant lie—a scheme concocted by my parents and Henry. My parents, my husband, and Issa were the real family, and I? I was just the fool who had been deceived for five long years. Whether it was family or love, none of it was real, and I don’t want any of it anymore.

These young girls are overwhelmed by complicated society, human relations, and accidents. What they faced are not only relationships but also the cruelty of the adult world. There are so many scumbags. Their boyfriends, husbands, and even their fathers may harm them. What should they do to survive? See how these young women will fight back. “I Am a Scorpio” Mark Yeager sent my private photos to his buddy. [Doesn't my girlfriend have a good figure?] The words were followed by two smug-looking emojis. His buddy replied: [I prefer women with flat chests.] I felt disgusted reading the message. Mark shrugged indifferently. "You are all women. Why are you afraid of her seeing your photo?" Yes, his buddy was a woman. I felt like an unreasonable and resentful woman. I had had enough. It was not something a Scorpio like me would do. This time, I did not want to put up with them anymore. “The Kiss of Karma” He blocked me with a fierce look and said, "So... Does what you said about being with me still hold up?" "Of course." I hugged Yorrance Sonic. "I really like you." I heard something falling to the ground with a bang as Yorrance waved to someone behind me. "Mom!" I turned around and saw my husband holding hands with a woman, whom Yorrance called "mom".

Misty Lawrence has an ex-boyfriend whom she can't forget—Zach Sterling. Carter Flanagan has always hoped that he would one day replace Zach's place in Misty's heart. In the eighth year of his and Misty's marriage, he accidentally breaks a bowl that Zach randomly bought. Misty screeches, "Get the hell out of here! I don't want to see you anymore!" That's when Carter realizes he'll never win when it comes to Zach, especially since the latter is dead. This time, he prepares a divorce agreement and leaves after signing it. It's Misty's turn to panic…

Winter thought the worst thing was being replaced with her cousin… until she crashed the company’s luxury retreat, almost drowned, and woke up pretending to have amnesia—right in front of the man who humiliated her. Now she’s stuck playing fake fiancée and sharing a room with a sexy stranger who clearly hates her guts… but can’t stop staring at her lips like he wants to ruin her. With an ex who suddenly cares way too much, her dream career on the line, and revenge heating up faster than the resort’s hot tubs, Winter is about to turn heartbreak into the most unforgettable comeback of the year. But there’s just one twist: her fake fiancé is actually the new billionaire chairman of the company… and he’s falling for her, hard.

At one of the exclusive private casino parties, my eyes landed on a diamond tiara. The catch? It was the prize for a high-stakes blackjack game. Luckily, poker happens to be one of my many sins. A girl named Elara—whom I once pitied enough to introduce to Throne, hoping she’d land a job—has now declared she wants the tiara too. Naïve. Probably thought beginner’s luck was a real thing. I figured, fine. Let the cards decide. If I win, I walk away with the tiara. If I lose, I’ll find another way to soothe my pride. Easy enough. Thorne, my ever-watchful husband, leaned in and murmured, “Go easy on her.” I didn’t. I won. Beat the dealer faster than her and won the tiara. That girl cried at the table. Thorne didn’t look impressed for once. He rather seemed... irritated. I thought it was for Elara’s sake. Turns out, it was for mine. A year later, same party, different stakes. The grand prize? My own sex video. While holding Elara in his arms, my husband said to me, voice almost amusing, “Don’t you like winning prizes? Then go on. Win our sex tape back.”

My mate is Ryder Blackwood, Alpha of the pack. As the approaching bonding ceremony, he tells me that his "savior", Isabelle Morrison, is dying. She took a silver dagger meant for him three years ago. Now she is terminal, and her days are numbered. Her last wish, he says, is to leave behind a pup bearing the strongest Alpha blood. I tremble. "What about me? I'm your only mate." His voice is cold, emptied of feeling. "Don't worry. I'll always be your mate." Two days later, I receive the pregnancy test results. Isabelle is five weeks along. Turns out there was never a choice. All I get is a belated notice. What he doesn't know is that I'm the one who took the silver dagger meant for him three years ago. The healer tells me I have, at most, a month to live. I neither weep nor protest. I cancel the bonding ceremony I've dreamed of and quietly book a flight out. It leaves on the very day of the ceremony. Ryder stands at the venue of the canceled ceremony when my message reaches him. It's my unwavering rejection of him as my mate. That's when he finally breaks. For the first time, the Alpha who controls everything tastes a fear that tears the soul. He searches for me frantically, only to find every trace of me erased from his world.

Victoria Lewis was twenty-one years old, kind-heated, smart, and beautiful, her father and her late mother promised her that they will never interfere in her love life. However, when Victoria found her father trying to commit suicide, she agreed to an arranged marriage to James Johnson to save her father’s company from bankruptcy. James Johnson’s father Emmanuel Johnson arranged this marriage because he didn’t want his son to marry Serene Logan since she was not compatible with his son James Johnson. However, James Johnson was head over heels in love with Serene Logan, he threatened his parents that he would kill himself should they separate him from Serene Logan. Would James agree to the arranged marriage to Victoria Lewis? Will they be happily ever after?

When I was 14, I ran away from home and met Rosalie Burke, the real Burke heiress who had been living on the outside. After her family finally brought her home, I was the one who helped her turn their business into a success. I spent ten years at her side, and on the day they named her heir to Burke Group, she shoved me into the sea. "My fiance is the next heir to Swain Group. You have no power or influence. You're beneath me now." I blink awake, and suddenly I'm back at the moment Rosalie returns to her family. I watch her shamelessly flirt with my enemy's son, then turn on my heel and head back to my own family. I'm not helping her in this life. This time, I'm going to watch her fall off that pedestal.

I have been bound to Ryan Hardin for nine years. He is pureblood, the Alpha of Silverfang Pack. And I… I was chosen as nothing more than a “temporary Luna,” a political pawn to steady the pack’s power. In those nine years, he betrayed me countless times. The first time, on my birthday, he announced that the celebration belonged to another she-wolf he had just met. The second time, I brewed medicine for his injuries, only to be accused by the Elders of bewitching the Alpha. He didn’t defend me—instead, he ordered me to be whipped in front of the entire pack. The third time, I was three months pregnant. He stood there, watching as his childhood sweetheart pushed me down the stone steps. I lost our pup that day. Nine years. Three thousand two hundred nights. I endured his indifference, his humiliation, his contempt. Last night, at the Silverfang Pack’s full-moon feast, he openly entwined his hand with a young Omega’s while I sat abandoned at the far end of the Alpha’s table. Every gaze cut into me—wolves whispering, mocking, savoring the spectacle. It was his 200th betrayal. When the feast ended, Ryan didn’t even look at me. His words were sharper than fangs: “Don’t forget, your Luna title is only temporary.” At dawn, he descended the Alpha’s staircase, his voice cold and commanding as if I were a servant: “Prepare the council’s tea. Now.” I met his gaze without flinching, my voice steady, stripped of all submission. “I’m sorry, Alpha. That is no longer my duty.” He seems to forget—we were never bound by a mark. Ours was an agreement, nothing more. And today marks the third-to-last day before that agreement ends. I gathered the Luna emblem, the wedding ring, and our only wedding photo—and burned them all. In three days, I’ll leave this pack. I will return to the secluded Herbal Academy, reclaim my research. And this time, when I walk away, I will never return.

One month before my wedding to my boyfriend, he announced he wanted to have a child with his "first love." I refused, but he brought it up every single day. Two weeks before the ceremony, I received a prenatal checkup report. That’s when I discovered his so-called "first love" was already nearly a month pregnant. It turned out he’d never intended to seek my consent at all. In that moment, years of affection evaporated like smoke. So, I canceled the wedding, destroyed every trace of our memories, and on what should have been our wedding day, I walked into a closed-off research lab. From then on, he meant nothing to me.