Family Story

It was my birthday. I thought he would take me to see the fireworks by the sea, but he showed up with another woman and her child. “Vera has a kid with her, and it’s inconvenient for them. Be a little understanding. She doesn’t know her way around here, and she has a lot of luggage. I’ll just drop them at the hotel.” He said it so casually, as if he were just explaining some trivial, everyday chore. It was that very gentleness of his that made me feel like I was so unreasonable getting angry over it. He helped them into the car. He leaned down to buckle the seatbelt on the child. Then, he turned to me with a smile. “I’ll be right back. Don’t overthink things.” I stood by the roadside and watched them drive away like a picture-perfect little family. As night fell, the sea breeze turned sharp and biting. Still, I waited until a notification of Vera Cannon’s social feed update lit up my screen. He was holding her daughter in his arms. They were watching the fireworks by the beach. It was a surprise I had planned for my own birthday. The comments poured in. [What a perfect match. What a beautiful little family!] Someone asked him why he was not picking me up. He just smiled and said, “Indy is very patient. She won’t be mad.” At that moment, my birthday cake melted into a puddle of frosting. I finally realized that he had not done that to be cruel to me. He was certain that I would always wait for him. However, even the warmest heart grew cold when neglected too many times. The waves crashed against the shore, over and over. With each crash, another shred of my hope washed away. This time, I was not going to wait for him to come back.

After my financial reports were replaced with blank pages, the company was thrown into a legal and financial crisis. As the accountant, I was accused of falsifying records. I was charged, convicted, and sent to prison. Three years later, I was finally released. My CEO husband and our son came to pick me up in person. Just when I was touched by their loyalty, believing they had stood by me through it all, I overheard their conversation. "Dad, Winona wanted that villa in the suburbs, so you used company funds to buy it. But Mom was the one who got blamed for the falsified accounts. She spent three years behind bars, shunned by everyone. Even I got teased by my friends because of her." Hank took our son's hand, his tone grave. "We agreed never to bring this up again. Back then, Winona needed a place to live. I had no choice but to use the company's money, and your mom had to take the fall." That was the moment I realized—my years in prison, the public disgrace, the humiliation… had all been part of a plan. A plan crafted by the very man I trusted with my life.

I was Claire Vitale, the lost daughter they forgot, the bride my lover betrayed—and the dying girl they failed to notice. For five long years, I lived like a stranger in my own home. The Vitale mansion was a beautiful prison, where every kind word hid a lie, every promise was false, and even Lawrence, the man I was supposed to marry, cared more for Vanessa than for me. None of them saw how my body weakened each day, how the pain grew sharper. They were too busy watching their precious Vanessa. Vanessa—the perfect adopted daughter, was the girl my parents loved more than me. She came into our family when I was lost, and when I returned, I found my place already taken—by her. Just as the illness was quietly taking my future. Now she was gone, and they all pointed fingers at me, convinced I was behind her disappearance. The machine they strapped to my head would pull memories straight from my mind. "Where is she?" my father roared. My mother sobbed in the corner. Lawrence, my fiancé, stood silent—his accusing eyes louder than any shout. But I knew the truth would shock them—how Vanessa hurt me, how she faked accidents, how she made sure no one ever believed me. The machine would show them everything. As the machine began its work, I trembled—from fear and exhaustion. After all these years of being unheard, would they finally see?

My fiancé, Charles, was crippled during a pack skirmish. He lost his wolf, leaving him unable to shift. My stepsister, Quinn, who had always despised me, eagerly offered to take my place in the mating ceremony. Her only condition was my grandmother’s antique necklace. Everyone said I was lucky to escape a life with a broken wolf. Only I knew I had dodged a death sentence. In my previous life, I used my healing gift to restore Charles’s wolf and became the celebrated Luna of the Sterling Pack. But Quinn, searching for a moonstone for Charles in the Forbidden Lands, was captured by a rival pack and tortured to death. Charles never marked me. Instead, he locked me away and starved me to death. "If you had just given Quinn the necklace, she wouldn't have been mauled by rogues," he’d snarled. "You can atone for your sins in hell!" Only then did I realize they had already forged a mate bond. The ceremony with me was nothing but a desperate charade. Reborn, I found myself back before the ceremony, just as Charles proposed the same arrangement to Quinn. But they don’t know. The only one who can heal Charles is me, not some cursed moonstone.

After six years of dating, Selena Yane is about to marry Zachary Xenakis. However, her long-lost younger sister is found and brought back to the family. While Selena tries her best to make it up to Lucine Yane, Lucine doesn't appreciate her efforts. Not only does Lucine accuse Selena of being jealous and stealing their parents' love, but she even sets her sights on Zachary. With everyone standing against Selena, even Zachary advises her, "Lucine's about to marry into the Chiton family soon. It's only right that we make it up to her as best as we can." Hence, he even takes a family photo with Lucine and buys a necklace for her—the limited-edition necklace that should have been Selena's. He then abandons Selena on a deserted road, where she nearly becomes food for the wild animals. Even so, Zachary still feels like he owes it to Lucine. It isn't till the day of the wedding that Zachary finally learns it isn't Lucine marrying into the Chiton family. It's Selena. He tries desperately to stop the wedding convoy, but Selena doesn't even look back once.

My fated Alpha wanted to indulge his mistress Vivian as Luna for a while. So he pretended he'd lost our connection and wouldn't even admit I was his Luna. Walking past the study, I heard Vivian's sickly sweet voice: "Darling, if I'm acting Luna, can you mark me every night too? But... won't Sophia get suspicious? I mean, you two have been mates for five years." "What's she going to do? She can't leave the pack, and she definitely can't leave me," Ethan scoffed. "Sophia? That idiot. I told her I lost the connection, and she actually believed we didn't have a bond anymore. Even if she found out the truth, she'd just quietly hand over the Luna title and go back to being a healer. The only Luna in my heart is you, sweetheart." I stopped in my tracks. I didn't call him out. A sharp pain shot through me as our mate bond weakened. I turned and left. Let them think their little plan was perfect. They'd find out soon enough what a big surprise this "idiot" had in store for them.

I was ditched by my father, Alpha of Northcrest Pack. Dumped in the borderlands for a whole decade. "Danae's still young. Once she hits eighteen, we'll bring you back. She's always been insecure 'cause she's adopted. When she's stronger, we'll come for you." Yeah, right. I didn't even look at that delusional she-wolf. Just kept watering my orchard. Even my so-called brother backed Danae. "Danae's the sister I grew up with. Disrespect her when you return, and we're done." Their voices? Just white noise. I shut it down cold. "Wrong wolf. I don't know you." They had the nerve to call themselves family. Joke's on them—I've had real parents for the last eight years.

The day my biological family comes to take me home, a car accident occurs. My parents and the fake son who had been living my life all die, but my sister, Kayla Bennett, survives. She despises me completely after that and blames the company's bankruptcy on me too. Desperate to make amends, I work over ten jobs a day, giving her every cent I earn so she can buy back the villa that has all our family memories. The day I finally save enough money, I discover my supposedly dead parents inside that same villa, celebrating Dylan Bennett's birthday. My usually cold sister is laughing warmly with them. As they bring out the cake, Mom mentions me. "Today's Nathan's birthday too. We've been punishing him for eight years now. Maybe we should bring him home?" Kayla cuts her off immediately. "We agreed on ten years to make sure he never suggests sending Dylan away again. Not one year less!" I clutch my medical report and laugh through my tears. But Kayla, I'm dying.

I was the real heiress in a case of a mistaken identity. Three months after my return, the imposter heiress disappeared.   My brother, Caleb Carter, accused me of jealousy, believing I had driven the fake heiress away. The disappointed look on my parents’ faces revealed their true thoughts.   I was confined in the basement, subjected to daily torture.   Even after my death, my family donated my brain to a research institution.   Later, I watched from heaven as my family broke down upon watching my memories.

When my appendix bursts, my parents, my brother, and even my fiancé are all too busy celebrating my sister's birthday. I'm outside the operating room, frantically calling every family member I can think of to sign the consent form, but every call is either ignored or hung up on. After hanging up on me, my fiancé, Joel Graham, texts back. "Sophie, stop being dramatic. It's Yvette's 18th birthday today. Whatever it is can wait until after the party." I quietly set my phone down and sign the consent form myself. It's the ninety-ninth time they've chosen Yvette Norton, my sister, over me. This time, I choose not to care. I'll stop letting their favoritism hurt me. Instead, I'll do everything they ask of me without complaint. They'll all think I've finally learned to be obedient, and they'll never realize that I'm preparing to leave them for good.