1945 Pulitzer Winning

My husband, Henry Luther, never loved me.He's always loved my younger sister instead.I chose to step aside and fulfill their love.But no one believed my sincere sacrifice..."Are you trying to act pitiful again?" Henry stared at me with a hostile look in his eyes.

At our anniversary party, the rose-covered arch suddenly gave way, crashing down in a storm of shattered glass and scattered petals. Raya and I were both knocked to the floor beneath the wreckage. I braced myself on my elbows, a sharp pain twisting deep in my abdomen, and looked up, straight into Asher’s icy stare. “Never thought your jealousy ran so deep. You actually tried to hurt Raya.” His voice was calm, but it sent a chill down my spine. “I didn’t touch her…” I muttered, panic rising as I hurriedly shoved the pregnancy test report beneath the pocket. But his eyes only grew colder. “Taking my indulgence as a license to do whatever you want?” His voice dropped, every word sharp as ice. “Elyssa, maybe it’s time I put you back in line. “Otherwise, you’ll never be worthy to stand by my side as this pack’s Luna.”

On my wedding day, Levi Robbins' "close friend" Gina Fields suddenly fainted. Without hesitation, he dropped everything and rushed to the hospital, leaving me at the altar. My mother, witnessing this humiliating scene from her seat, suffered a heart attack. Yet, none of the guests bothered to help as they were too busy gossiping and laughing at my misfortune. By the time I managed to get her to the hospital, we had missed the critical window for treatment. Just then, Levi finally called, his voice urgent and demanding. "Caitlyn, where are you? Gina's condition is critical, and she needs your bone marrow!" "Levi, we're done," I said firmly, hanging up and walking away. This time, I would not look back.

Eight years ago, a night of drunken recklessness left me carrying Grayson Ulrich's child. But from that moment on, he began to hate both me and our daughter. He never allowed her to call him "Dad." He wouldn't let me step into his study, either. Because inside that study, every inch of space was filled with traces of another woman—Sandra Wright, the ex-fiancée who had once left him for freedom and happiness, who had gone abroad to marry a rich man. She was the one Grayson could never forget. The one he still loved. On our eighth anniversary, Sandra returned. That night, Grayson got drunk for the first time in years. He held our daughter in his arms and wept until his eyes were red. My daughter looked at me, bewildered. "Mom, why is Uncle crying?" I held back my tears and told her softly, "Because he is very happy. The person he loves has finally come back." Then I said, "So, Mommy's taking you away—so we won't disturb him and the woman he loves, okay?"

There was only one week left until my marking ceremony with Alpha Mason Wright. And this time, he was asking to postpone it yet again, all because his puphood sweetheart, Eira Padmore, the she-wolf who once saved his life, had another episode. She was in tears, begging to go to Bhador to see the snow, just like every time before, claiming she wouldn't be able to breathe otherwise. The ceremony had already been pushed back three times. All the wolves of the north had been waiting for us to complete it. But I was done waiting, and so was the pup growing inside me. If Mason refused to mark me, then I'd walk away and build my own future. But what I couldn't understand was... Why was it that the moment I left, Mason went mad searching for me, and suddenly insisted on marking me after all?

On the day of my coming-of-age ceremony, my father’s brother-in-arms pushed photos of his daughters in front of me and told me to choose a fiancee. Without hesitation, I picked the photo of the eldest daughter, Yvonne Shaw. Everyone around me stared in shock. They all knew that I was deeply in love with the second daughter, Natalie Shaw. In my previous life, I had chased after Natalie for ten years before finally marrying her. Through our marriage, she became the heiress of the Shaw family. But three years after we got married, she became pregnant with my brother’s child. Our parents were furious. They forced her to get an abortion and sent my brother away. From then on, Natalie hated me to the core. Every night, she would bring home men who looked like my brother and spend the night with them. The constant torment wore me down, and I eventually fell gravely ill and died a miserable death. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to that night when I had to choose a fiancee. This time, I chose to let them be together. But what I did not expect was that Natalie had been reborn too.

Braving a downpour, I delivered a lavish food order, anticipating the hefty commission and a $100 tip. Laughter suddenly echoed from the villa. Someone started, "He really believes your car crash left you paralyzed? He's hustling deliveries to support you and even pawned his dad's heirloom?" Another said, "What if he discovers you're actually a billionaire heiress, just playing poor? He'd probably break down in tears." Jessica Stark toyed with her wine glass. "Guys like him are wired to serve, especially since he always outshone Mark in our school days. This is his comeuppance." I stood in the relentless rain, a bitter chuckle escaping my lips. Turned out, her two-year charade of paralysis was merely to avenge her childhood sweetheart. Her broken legs, deceased parents, and helpless tears were all meticulously crafted lies. Disillusioned, I dialed my estranged tycoon mother. "You win. I'll go through with the arranged marriage."

When Levi Ezra and I got married, he had solemnly vowed he would love me for a lifetime. Seven years later, he got another woman pregnant — a woman he had so carefully tucked away in a luxurious estate, complete with everything money could buy for a perfect, pampered delivery. By the time I discovered the truth, his mistress's belly was already round and heavy. Her due date was just around the corner. Levi had hesitated — for barely a second — before instinctively shielding her behind him, as though I were some threat. He said, "Nikki, you're terrified of childbirth. Now that this baby is coming, the Ezra family will finally have an heir. You won't have to suffer anymore. We'll still be the same as before. Nothing will change." I clutched the freshly issued pregnancy report in my hand — the one confirming my own child — and let out a laugh so sharp and brittle that it shattered into tears. The day his mistress went into labor, I terminated my pregnancy. I left the divorce papers on his desk, packed my bags, and boarded the first flight to a foreign land.

On the day Nick Grange and I hold our marking ceremony, he hands me a three-year agreement. "Our mate bond is only to solidify the alliance between the Lycus and Lunaria packs," he says. "The one I love is Zora. If you sign this contract, the mate bond will dissolve automatically after three years. When that time comes, I'll let you go." Without hesitation, I sign it. This union is something I made happen because from the moment I met Nick, I fell deeply in love with him. For three years, we live in harmony. Nick treats me well, making me form the mistaken belief that he might love me back too. But that illusion shatters. Nick brings Zora Knott, who has just returned to the Lycus pack, to his birthday banquet. Even without Nick bringing up our agreement, I know it's time for me to leave at that moment. I leave to set him free. But why is he searching for me everywhere after I'm gone?

In the third year of our marriage, my wife’s ex-boyfriend of eight years suddenly posted a picture on social media showing off a multi-million-dollar wedding house. His caption read: “Wow, got myself a huge villa, I’m the master of charming women!” I stared in shock at the picture, which showed my wife swiping her card at a sales office, and left a single comment: "?" A second later, my wife called to scold me. “I was just fulfilling a promise I made to him back when we were dating, buying him a house. Why are you getting mad at him?” “What? Are you really going to be so vicious as to force me to break my word?” That evening, her ex showed off another lavish post, this time flaunting a renovation bill worth hundreds of thousands. I knew it was a gift from my wife to please him. But by then, I no longer cared.