"Is this what you wanted?" He sneers, eyes cold and unforgiving. It was as if I was looking into the eyes of a stranger. He looks down on me due to his tall stature. "To be the 'pathetic' whiny burden you have always been?" I flinch at his words. No, this cannot be, this cannot be happening. This is not my Nate, my Nathaniel. I struggle to maintain my composure. My breath came in shallow, ragged gasps, each one a painful reminder of the betrayal that had brought me to this breaking point.Ā ********* At just five years old, she was abducted and replaced to protect her family's reputation, as it would have been scandalous for her influential father to have a kidnapped child. Returning home, she felt like a stranger in a place where her parents had long forgotten their love for her. Nate her husband, was her knight in shining armor... or so she thought. Betrayed and left to die by the people she trusted. What happens when life gives her and her unborn child a second chance?
"How could you do this to me?" I whispered, my voice barely audible over the roar of the stormy rain outside. The cold, metallic taste of betrayal placed at the tip of my tongue. My words felt hollow, swallowed by the endless void of silence that hung between us. I searched his eyes, hoping for a glimpse of the man I once knew, but all I found was emptiness.
"WHY???" This time I scream at the top of my lungs, my heart beating frantically against my ribcage. His silence was infuriating me. "Answer me, Nate," I demanded, my voice cracking under the weight of my anguish. I could feel the desperation clawing at my throat, threatening to choke me if he didn't speak.
He clutches the champagne flute in his right hand, swirling it lazily as he takes sips without a care in the world. The arrogance in his posture made my skin crawl. Meanwhile, I'm left ranting like a madwoman. But indeed, I am mad... I am a woman in love, madly in love, and it's driving me to the edge.
"Say something!" I plead, taking a shaky step toward him. My voice is barely above a whisper, but it carries the weight of my shattered heart. "Nate, please... say something."
His lips curl into a smirk, as if my suffering was a source of entertainment for him. "And what exactly do you want me to say?" he finally speaks, his tone dripping with disdain. "That I'm sorry? That I made a mistake?"
"You bitch!" I charge towards Claire, my fury urging me forward, but that's when I finally gain a reaction from him. He stands up abruptly, grabbing my hand in a vice-like grip.
He twists it painfully and hisses, "Don't you dare." His voice is low, almost a growl, sending chills down my spine.
"Oh, Wow!" I scoff in disbelief. "Don't I dare what, Nathaniel?" I sneer back, my voice laced with bitterness. "Protect myself? Fight for what's mine?" I try to pull my hand free, but his grip tightens, sending a sharp pain up my arm.
"Is this what you wanted?" He sneers, eyes cold and unforgiving. It was as if I was looking into the eyes of a stranger. He looks down on me due to his tall statue. "To be the 'pathetic' whiny burden you have always been?"
I flinch at his words. No, this cannot be, this cannot be happening. This is not my Nate, my Nathaniel. I struggle to maintain my composure. My breath came in shallow, ragged gasps, each one a painful reminder of the betrayal that had brought me to this breaking point.
Beside him, Claire's laughter was a harsh, mocking sound that cut through the room like shards of glass. "Oh, look at you still playing the victim. You were always so weak, so useless."
With my mouth agape, I couldn't believe what was unfolding right before my eyes. My Nate doing nothing to defend me, the woman he claims he loves. Am I in a simulation, or was this a sick prank?
"I always knew something was off," I choke, my voice trembling. "The way you stopped asking about my day, the way you stopped looking at me like I was the only girl that mattered in the world, The way you snapped at me for the smallest things. I thought... I thought it was stress."
I inhaled as much as I could. "...The day I stopped feeling loved by you. I should've known. I thought maybe I was being too sensitive. But never, never did I imagine... I would live to see the day you would stop loving me."
Claire narrows her eyes at me. "You were always an outsider, pretending to be something you're not. We never wanted you here, don't you get it through your thick, shallow skull? YOU ARE NOTHING." Her words were like venom, seeping into my veins, poisoning every memory I had of the life I thought we shared.
I laughed out loud like a maniac, "Can you listen to her, Nate? Where are the cameras?... , yeah you got me, cut!!" I am delusional enough to believe this was a prank. I scan the room desperately, searching for any sign of this being a joke, but there's nothing. Just their cold, unsympathetic stares.
Instead, he steps closer, his breath warm against my face. "You were a burden from the start. Annoying, whiny, and always in the way. You think you're special, but you are just a poor imitation of what I truly wanted."
I always had a gut feeling that something was wrong. The way he grew distant, barely acknowledging my presence. The coldness in his eyes whenever I tried to reach out, the annoyance in his voice when I spoke. I had suspected an affair, but never in my darkest fears had I imagined it would be my own sister. They say, never undermine a woman's intuitions, and that is exactly what I did. I doubted myself.
And now that I was faced with the truth of their deception, it felt like a suffocating blanket thrown over me. I was nothing more than a pawn in their twisted game, discarded when I no longer served a purpose.
"Get out!" Claire spits, her voice dripping with hatred. "You're nothing, Just a shadow that doesn't belong here."
.
āYouāre getting married nowā he declared, his voice devoid of any warmth. In a world where fate can be cruel, Amber, The wolfless girl, who never had the chance to hear the howling of her wolf, is living a life filled with unanswered questions, especially about her father's identity. She is sold to the cruelest Alpha king of all time by her stepfather, forced to accept her fate. Is the Alpha truly as ruthless as the rumors suggest, or is there more to him than meets the eye? Is he a broken soul, hiding behind a tough exterior? What will happen when she is learns she is supposed to breed an heir for the Alpha? Will she be able to find a way to become a better version of herself, and will love ultimately conquer all? Moreover, what happens when the Alpha is her mate, but he fails to recognize her true worth?
Jennifer Bennett, the rightful heiress to the Bennett legacy, fought hard for her family's recognition, only to be eclipsed by an impostor. Faced with false accusations, bullying, and public humiliation, Jennifer eventually gave up trying to win their approval. Vowing to rise above the injustice, she became the bane of those who wronged her. The Bennett family's efforts to break her only fueled her success, leading her to heights her rivals could only dream of. Someone asked, "Do you feel let down by your parents?" With a calm smile, Jennifer said, "It doesn't matter. In the end, power prevails."
Life was perfect until she met her boyfriend's big brother. There was a forbidden law in the Night Shade Pack that if the head Alpha rejected his mate, he would be stripped of his position. Sophia's life would get connected with the law. She was an Omega who was dating the head Alpha's younger brother. Bryan Morrison, the head Alpha, was not only a cold-blooded man but also a charming business tycoon. His name was enough to cause other packs to tremble. He was known as a ruthless man. What if, by some twist of destiny, Sophia's path were to intertwine with his?
To the public, she was the CEO's executive secretary. Behind closed doors, she was the wife he never officially acknowledged. Jenessa was elated when she learned that she was pregnant. But that joy was replaced with dread as her husband, Ryan, showered his affections on his first love. With a heavy heart, she chose to set him free and leave. When they met again, Ryan's attention was caught by Jenessa's protruding belly. "Whose child are you carrying?!" he demanded. But she only scoffed. "It's none of your business, my dear ex-husband!"
There was only one man in Raegan's heart, and it was Mitchel. In the second year of her marriage to him, she got pregnant. Raegan's joy knew no bounds. But before she could break the news to her husband, he served her divorce papers because he wanted to marry his first love. After an accident, Raegan lay in the pool of her own blood and called out to Mitchel for help. Unfortunately, he left with his first love in his arms. Raegan escaped death by the whiskers. Afterward, she decided to get her life back on track. Her name was everywhere years later. Mitchel became very uncomfortable. For some reason, he began to miss her. His heart ached when he saw her all smiles with another man. He crashed her wedding and fell to his knees while she was at the altar. With bloodshot eyes, he queried, "I thought you said your love for me is unbreakable? How come you are getting married to someone else? Come back to me!"
My family was on the poverty line and had no way to support me in college. I had to work part-time every day just to make ends meet and afford to get into the university. That was when I met herāthe pretty girl in my class that every boy dreamt of asking out. I was well aware she was out of my league. Nevertheless, I mustered all my courage and bravely told her that I had fallen for her. To my surprise, she agreed to be my girlfriend. With the sweetest smile I had ever seen, she told me that she wanted my first gift for her to be the latest and top-of-the-line iPhone. I worked like a dog and even did my classmatesā laundry to save up. My hard work eventually paid off after a month. I finally got to buy what she wanted. But as I was wrapping my gift, I saw her in the dressing room, making out with the captain of the basketball team. She then heartlessly made fun of my inadequacy and made a fool out of me. To make things worse, the guy whom she cheated on me with even punched me in the face. Desperation washed over me, but there was nothing I could do but lie on the floor as they trampled on my feelings. But then, my father called me out of the blue, and my life turned upside down. It turned out that I was a billionaire's son.
Katie was forced to marry Dillan, a notorious ruffian. Her younger sister mocked her, "You're just an adopted daughter. Count your blessings for marrying him!" The world anticipated Katie's tribulations, but her married life unfurled with unexpected serenity. She even snagged a lavish mansion in a raffle! Katie jumped into Dillan's arms, credited him as her lucky charm. "No, Katie, it's you who brings me all this luck," Dillan replied. Then, one fateful day, Dillan's childhood friend came to her. "You're not worthy of him. Take this 50 million and leave him!" Katie finally grasped Dillan's true statureāthe wealthiest man on the planet. That night, trembling with trepidation, she broached the subject of divorce with Dillan. However, with a domineering embrace, he told her, "I'd give you everything I have. Divorce is off the table!"