1945 Pulitzer Winning

My husband, Alex Carter, is a top AI engineer. He one day gets drugged by a new intern at his company, and one night of chaos follows. He calls me the next morning, his voice hoarse from a hangover and filled with unfamiliar panic. "Em, I messed up. But don't worry. I gave her enough money to disappear from this city." After ten years together, I believe it is just a momentary lapse in judgment. Six months later, Alex's company suffers the worst cyber attack in its history, with core data hanging by a thread. I rush back from a fragrance exhibition in Astral, only to witness a scene at the data center entrance that sends me into shock. Alex stands outside the tightly sealed door, his face showing a weariness and guilt I have never seen before. The doctor says that the intern, Brooke Anderson, is three months pregnant and has spent 72 hours with him in the high-radiation server room. Now, she shows signs of miscarriage. Later, Brooke gives birth to twins, a boy and a girl. The entire Carter family is ecstatic. I remove the wedding ring that has accompanied me for ten years, my fingertips turning ice cold. I dial the number saved with only one letter "S" and say, "Mr. Sullivan, I accept the collaboration you proposed last time." A low, soft laugh comes from the other end of the line. "Ms. Emma Shaw, that's a wise decision."

On the day of my wedding, I stood on the stage, while my fiance, Jake Stevens, passionately kissed his assistant, Chloe Xanders, in front of everyone. He held her in his arms and said earnestly, “Chloe, don’t worry. Even though you’re not my bride, you’ll always have a place in my heart.” Chloe, who was overwhelmed with emotion, threw herself into his arms and wept as she said to me, “Lily, Jake and I are deeply in love, but fate just didn’t work out for us in this life. Please take good care of him.” Gossip instantly spread around us. Just as I was feeling helpless, my fiance humiliated me further and called me nothing more than a doormat. Watching the two of them clinging to each other, I could not take it anymore. I canceled the wedding on the spot and left for abroad the same night to join my best friend. The next time I met Jack, I had already moved on with someone new. When he saw me interlocking my fingers with my new love and kissing him passionately, his eyes instantly filled with burning jealousy.

I was the last one to find out that Rowan River was going to be a dad. When I arrived at the hospital, I saw him giving orders to his staff. "Don't let the news of the baby leak out. If Angela finds out, she'll definitely come back and cause a scene." I had liked him for ten years, and a year ago, I confessed my feelings to him. At the time, he said, "Wait until you finish school and come back, then we'll be together." I found it laughable. This time, though, I didn't react like before. I didn't yell at him or ask why he had lied to me. Instead, I boarded a plane and left the country, agreeing to marry the guy who had been pursuing me recently. From that moment on, I no longer loved Rowan.

Before Valentine's Day, I received a message from Caleb Spencer. It was a screenshot of a seven-figure bill for a necklace. It was meant for me, but he bought it for another woman. I didn't cry or make a scene. Instead, I quietly kept cleaning the house. Since we got married, every month brought new gossip about Caleb. Some came from the internet, some from nosy friends, and some even from Caleb himself. By now, I'd become the joke of the whole social circle. But it didn't matter. This life wasn't going to last much longer anyway.

I was an Omega, but my mate was an Alpha. Even though I didn’t have a wolf of my own, I could hear the voice of his. Through his wolf, I learned many of his little secrets. For example, he was secretly preparing a grand bonding ceremony. In three days, he was planning to propose, and I pretended not to know. However, that night, Harry Tarrington brought his childhood sweetheart back home. I was just about to ask what was going on when I heard his wolf growl furiously, “Isn’t the ceremony in three days meant for Lianne? Why is it now for Chloe?” So the ceremony I wasn’t supposed to know about… was never meant for me at all. I kept pretending I didn’t know. Quietly, I gave up my room, my most precious belongings, and even Harris himself. Then, I bought a ticket to the South. Carrying the twins in my belly, I left Fangtooth Pack forever on the very day they held their bonding ceremony.

On the day Luke Smith attended his dear friend's funeral with his child, the media swarmed around me, questioning if I was the child's biological mother.Luke Smith, the high-society sensation, adored by all.For seven years, I was his secret lover, and how he spoiled me was the talk of the town.But eventually, he said, "Hazel, she's just a minor celebrity. What makes her think she can marry into the Smiths?"Indeed, his later wife, hailing from a prestigious lineage, epitomized grace and charm. Her only flaw was her inability to bear children.Facing eager reporters, I smiled, "I hardly know Mr. Smith. With that said, I wish him and his wife a lifetime of happiness and a joyful family."The news quickly went viral online.That very night, Luke Smith, disheveled and troubled, embarked on a long journey to San Anglos with his child.

When I'm six months pregnant, my mate, Rylan Silverclaw, still forces me to fight. He says it's my duty as Luna, yet when the council presents the honor medal, he locks me up. He makes my stepsister accept the glory meant for me. When I finally arrive at the ceremony, I hear Rylan whisper to her, "The medal is just the beginning. Once Thalia gives birth to the heir, the Luna title will be yours too." Later, rogue wolves attack us. My father and Rylan risk their lives to protect my stepsister. I'm the one left behind. I'm buried under rubble with half my ribs shattered. I lost my pup. I hand our dead pup to Rylan and walk away from the pack forever. Now, he regrets everything.

At the New Year's party, my pineapple juice is swapped for beer. To make things worse, I've just taken cephalexin, which shouldn't be mixed with alcohol. After barely surviving the ordeal, I am shocked to see my husband, Harry Grant, defending Sally Lane, who was responsible for the mix-up. "Can we please just let it go? She didn't do it on purpose," Harry pleads. However, I'm not about to forgive Sally, especially given how sketchy her relationship with my husband has always been. But Harry cuts me off with a scowl, "Enough! She's just graduated and doesn't know any better. "What's the point of holding a grudge? Do you really want to ruin her life to feel better?" he asks, clearly trying to protect her. As I watch him stand by her, my heart sinks. "Fine then, go live with her."

I, Elena Rossi, was diagnosed with acute kidney injury a year ago. I need a kidney transplant to survive. My fiance, Dario Ajello, is the Don of the mafia family, and he looks everywhere to find a suitable kidney donor for me. As it turns out, my younger stepsister, Lucia Rossi, is the only person who is eligible to be my kidney donor. However, she refuses to take the five million dollars Dario offers her as compensation. Instead, she makes a ridiculous demand—that Dario pretend to be her boyfriend for an entire month. I am all against it. I would rather die than agree to her conditions in order to receive her kidney. Dario promises me that he won't fulfill her demands, but I soon find out that he still has agreed to be Lucia's boyfriend for a month. After learning the truth, I decide to give up on my treatment and silently make arrangements for my passing. That is because I know that Lucia will never donate her kidney to me, even if Dario fulfills his side of the obligations.

In the third year of our marriage, Adrian Jones made me play a game of truth or dare—and when I lost, he told me to take the place of a nightclub hostess and perform a striptease. "Macie's too timid," he said. "You dance for her." Laughter erupted around us. "Adrian's a real sport—letting us watch his wife put on a show!" "Liliana's got a body to die for. I'm burning up just looking at her." Drenched in humiliation, surrounded by crude stares and filth, I finally cracked. My voice shook. "Adrian… I want a divorce." Before I could say more, a glass of red wine hit me square in the face. Adrian scoffed, "The Shaw family's already bankrupt. Where exactly do you think you'll go without me?" However, this time, I meant it. I was done.