a drink before war

I'm lying here, my body burning from within as the wolfsbane spreads through my veins. Meanwhile, my Alpha mate, Ryan, is giving the antidote I discovered to his childhood sweetheart, Vivian. With what little strength remains, I beg him to spare just a portion of the cure—enough to keep me alive for a few more days while I search for another remedy. Ryan doesn't even glance my way. He snarls, "I can't believe you're faking illness when Vivian is fighting for her life! Control your jealousy before I lose all respect for you!" Under his command, I'm confined to my quarters to "contemplate my sins." In the end, the wolfsbane consumes me completely. When Ryan discovers what he's done, he digs my grave with his own hands, howling with regret that comes too late.

In her first life, set against the backdrop of 1970s, Josie Cole married a dependable, simple man who rose to become a respected cultural official, and she stood faithfully beside him. Her cousin Gracie Hill, meanwhile, married into wealth, watched it crumble, fell into ruin, and in a fit of bitter envy, ended up murdering Josie. Reborn on the very day the marriages were being arranged, Josie watches Gracie steal her original match. Josie ends up with the one everyone wrote off as a spoiled playboy, but she’s lived a whole life already; she knows how to read people. Josie and Sam Jordan agree to a cold, transactional marriage and leave it at that, until they don’t. She helps him rebuild his family’s fallen fortune; he becomes someone worth keeping. This time, Josie wins, not by fighting for what she had before, but by building something better.

I vowed to transfer schools with my childhood friend when he claimed he was being bullied. But the day before we were to finalize the transfer, he backed out. His friend teased him. "Man, you faked being a punching bag just to get rid of Alice Wiley? That's cold. You two have been thick as thieves since forever. Are you really cool with her going to a new school alone?" Shane Page brushed it off. "It's just another high school across town. Not a big deal. I'm tired of her always being up my ass. This works out perfectly." I stood frozen outside the door for a long time. Finally, I turned and walked away. On the transfer form, I crossed out Oatheport High and filled in the international academy my parents had been pushing for. Everyone seemed to forget that Shane and I were never equals.

"I loved him for three years. I gave up my noble identity, hid my cursed bloodline, and endured endless humiliation just to stay by his side. Until the night of his childhood friend Charlotte’s ascension ceremony — when she poisoned my blood wine and triggered my blood nucleus eruption in front of the entire coven. I lay on the cold marble floor, begging for help, my golden blood spilling everywhere… but my fiancé, Ethan Cross, Lord of the Shadowfang Coven, coldly told me to stop acting and toasted to her instead. They laughed. They mocked. They poured silver liquor into my open wounds while I crawled like a dying dog. That night, my father — the feared Patriarch of the ancient Reece Clan — stormed in with his elites and dragged me out of hell. Three months later, I returned as the undisputed Prima Donna of the Eternal Night Theater, more radiant and powerful than ever. Ethan, now broken and regretful, kneels before me, begging for a second chance. "

Julia Miller dies betrayed by her boyfriend, her best friend, and the woman who stole her identity all had a hand in it. In her final moments she learns the truth, that she was switched at birth, her entire life taken before it even started. She comes back furious and binds to the Stealing System, which does exactly what it sounds like. First order of business—every coin in Vivian Lawson’s accounts, gone. Then the system unlocks deeper abilities—steal luck, steal skills, steal the room. From auction houses to hotel lobbies, Julia dismantles her enemies one stolen advantage at a time. The finale lands where it all began. The fake heiress’ mother was the wealthy family’s housekeeper all along, the one who switched two infant girls and walked away. Julia takes back her name, her inheritance, and her life. The people who took from her get exactly what they gave.

Yvette Queen, the hidden heiress of the prestigious Queen family, falls in love with Wendell Lewis, who's from a declining family. Without revealing her true identity, she secretly supports his family while his parents, unaware and looking down on her, push Wendell to marry into the wealthy Lane family. They send Wendell abroad with Sue Lane for further studies. Before leaving, Wendell promises Yvette that he will marry her upon his return. Four years later, however,Wendell comes back and announces his engagement to Sue. Seeing his true colors, Yvette has her family crush both the Lane and Lewis families. The backlash causes Wendell's mother to fall gravely ill. Desperate to secure a hospital director's treatment for her, Wendell seeks out Yvette to reconcile—only to discover she is the legendary Queen heiress. Realizing his mistake, Wendell turns against Sue, and the two betray each other, reaping what they sowed.Meanwhile, Yvette becomes the chairwoman of the Queen Group.

Billionaire Ethan Gibson, determined to break the family's curse of ending without an heir, spent a fortune recruiting ten "candidate mothers" and placed them together on his private island. On the day they arrived, Ethan announced publicly: Whoever delivers his first heir will become the future mistress of the Gibson family. Greed grew faster than desire. Within just a few months, several women announced their pregnancies with great pride. However, they and their unborn children were thrown into the ocean and fed to sharks. The reason was simple: they had been found to be involved with other men. Every night, the screams coming from the harbor kept me awake. I was terrified, because I had also had a single accidental encounter with Ethan, and I was now pregnant. When the day finally came and I saw what I had delivered, everything went dark before my eyes. Those mistresses who were fed to the sharks had at least carried human babies. I had given birth to three tiny puppies.

My father's adopted daughter was only locked in the cramped storage closet for around fifteen minutes, yet he punished me by tying me up and throwing me inside. He even sealed off the ventilation with towels. "As Wendy's older sister, if you can't take care of her, then you should also experience how scared she was," he declared coldly. He knew I was claustrophobic, but my desperate pleas for mercy, my terror, were met with nothing but heartless reprimands. "Let this be a lesson on how to be a good sister." As the last sliver of light disappeared, swallowed by the oppressive darkness, I struggled helplessly. A week passed before my father finally remembered my existence and decided it was time to end my punishment. "Let's hope this week served as a good lesson for you, Jennifer. If this happens again, you will no longer be allowed in this house." He would never know that I had already taken my last breath in that suffocating room. My body had begun to rot in the darkness.

When Julian, the true heir by blood, was finally brought back to the Family, my cold-blooded adoptive parents cast me aside. They sent me to "The Abyss"—a clandestine hellhole where billionaires and mafia bosses paid to hunt, rape, and slaughter human prey.No matter how humiliatingly I begged for mercy, I remained locked in an iron cage, passed around as prey for those bloodthirsty beasts.Days later, a photo of me—covered in whip marks, kneeling like a dog with a chain around my neck—made its way to my beloved fiancée, Vivienne.Standing before the press, the untouchable Mafia Princess sneered, her voice dripping with disgust. "He’s pathetic and utterly filthy. The Valenti family would never align with such trash. I'll be marrying Julian instead."On cue, the Russo family officially disowned me, permanently stripping me of their name.After I was tortured to death, the wedding of the century commenced, broadcast live worldwide to celebrate the alliance between two major mafia families.But right then, my "wedding gift" was delivered.When the box was opened, the entire room went dead silent.

I was reborn, back to the day before my wedding. The first thing I did? I swapped husbands with my sister. Last time around, I married Julian, a mild-mannered tech mogul. He couldn't handle my fiery temper, and I couldn't stand how soft he was. Our marriage crashed and burned in a year. My sister, sweet and timid, was in an arranged marriage with Robin Kane, the Don of New York's biggest crime family. She couldn't handle the brutal, chaotic life. Tormented by Robin's so-called childhood sweetheart, Isabella, she fell into a deep depression and died. So when I came back, I made a decision. I’d be the one to marry the Don. But I never expected that after the wedding, the cold, stoic Don would become a different man. Every night, he’d be on top of me, kissing me like he was obsessed, whispering, "Good girl. I'll make you feel good. Just one more time, baby?"

I was reborn, back to the day before my wedding. The first thing I did? I swapped husbands with my sister. Last time around, I married Julian, a mild-mannered tech mogul. He couldn't handle my fiery temper, and I couldn't stand how soft he was. Our marriage crashed and burned in a year. My sister, sweet and timid, was in an arranged marriage with Robin Kane, the Don of New York's biggest crime family. She couldn't handle the brutal, chaotic life. Tormented by Robin's so-called childhood sweetheart, Isabella, she fell into a deep depression and died. So when I came back, I made a decision. I’d be the one to marry the Don. But I never expected that after the wedding, the cold, stoic Don would become a different man. Every night, he’d be on top of me, kissing me like he was obsessed, whispering, "Good girl. I'll make you feel good. Just one more time, baby?"

For three years, I’d used my family’s connections to bring the company hundreds of millions in revenue. But at the quarterly meeting, the new intern stood before everyone, displaying my attendance and expense reports, and accused me of “unexcused absences” and “squandering company funds.” “These high-end clubs, these restaurants…” she declared, her voice ringing with self-righteousness. “She spends thousands of dollars every time! These are completely unnecessary expenses.” “I strongly advise the CEO to fire her immediately and save the company’s cash flow.” I glanced at Claude, the CEO. My old classmate. He knew exactly how much revenue each of those meetings generated. He also knew that when I wasn't in the office, I was at some bar, negotiating with investors, sometimes drinking until my stomach turned. But he just stared at me coldly. “Caroline, what’s your explanation for the absences and expenses Lia has presented?” I smiled. “I have nothing to explain.” They would all learn, very soon, the consequences of this little stunt.

"If she can't reclaim love within a week… what will become of her?” In a world obsessed with appearances, a fantasy romance thriller unfolds—one that shakes love to its core. After seven years together, she is abandoned by her boyfriend for one cruel reason: she isn’t pretty enough. Consumed by betrayal and rage, she reaches the depths of despair—only to find herself standing in a plastic surgery clinic. That’s when Lucifer appears before her, whispering a tempting offer. “Would you like to be reborn with a new face?” But there’s a catch. If she fails to win back love within seven days, she will be condemned to live forever with a grotesque face. Bound by a devil’s contract, Jung-yun is granted breathtaking beauty. Yet what begins as a simple desire for revenge soon forces her to confront the deepest parts of herself. Between what is seen and unseen, love begins to bloom. What is love? Who am I, really? A chain of endless questions leads into a complex and delicate psychological thriller—where love and revenge collide, both inside and out.

I was reborn, back to the day before my wedding. The first thing I did? I swapped husbands with my sister. Last time around, I married Julian, a mild-mannered tech mogul. He couldn't handle my fiery temper, and I couldn't stand how soft he was. Our marriage crashed and burned in a year. My sister, sweet and timid, was in an arranged marriage with Robin Kane, the Don of New York's biggest crime family. She couldn't handle the brutal, chaotic life. Tormented by Robin's so-called childhood sweetheart, Isabella, she fell into a deep depression and died. So when I came back, I made a decision. I’d be the one to marry the Don. But I never expected that after the wedding, the cold, stoic Don would become a different man. Every night, he’d be on top of me, kissing me like he was obsessed, whispering, "Good girl. I'll make you feel good. Just one more time, baby?"

Willa Grant, a wealthy heiress, is hit by a car three days before her wedding and left paralyzed for life. What she never expects is that her fiance, Ethan Shaw, has betrayed her again and again. To make his illegitimate daughter Yara acceptable to Willa, Ethan deliberately delays Willa's surgery and secretly has her uterus removed. Heartbroken, Willa wakes to the truth. She pretends not to know anything, and while Ethan lets his guard down, she secretly contacts her best friend Sophie and leaves the country for surgery. Afterward, Willa personally witnesses Ethan meeting Jenna at the orphanage, Jenna coming to the Shaw residence to provoke her, Jenna framing her with a staged fall, and Ethan and his family insulting her without mercy. With her heart completely dead, Willa fakes her death in a plane crash and disappears overseas. When Ethan hears the news at the wedding, he breaks down. When they meet again, Ethan can only hide outside her hospital room and watch her rehabilitation from a distance. Crushed by guilt, he decides to let Willa live the rest of her life without him.

"Just because my wolf mom scratched Ava Shaw's favorite dress, Noah Potter called a butcher. He punished her seriously. I found her dying body and screamed at him. ""I told you before—I was raised by wolves. What you did to her is no different from killing my mother!"" Noah stayed cold. He covered Ava's eyes and stared at me. ""You are just a stray kid my stepmom picked up. Stop trying to fool me."" My wolf mom was still bleeding as she dragged herself toward me. I crawled to her and held her tight. ""I stayed here to repay Noah's family for helping the wolf pack. You chased me for miles because you could not let me go. I never thought I would end up hurting you instead."" That night, I held my wolf mom and knelt in front of Aunt Wendy's memorial. ""Aunt Wendy, the Potters' Zoo are everywhere now. They do not need my gift anymore. I should leave.""

Three days before my wedding, Adrian canceled it for the fifty-second time. He came to the Palermo workshop to approve my gown’s crest embroidery, but the moment I stepped out from the fitting curtain, he snatched up his holster and radio. “Torino bastards smashed Bianca’s vineyard, surrounded the estate. Lia’s terrified, so I have to go. The wedding is off.” Once, I would have stopped him and demanded to know who mattered more to him, me or Bianca. This time, I simply let him go. Thirty minutes later, Bianca posted an Instagram Story: [You’re the only shelter for me and my daughter.] The photo showed Adrian holding Bianca close, with Lia in his arms, calling him Dad. They looked like a real family. My parents sighed. “Seraphina, is the wedding in Hawaii off again? We’ve already sent the invitations to every renowned Italian family. What will this do to the Bellini family’s honor?” I shook my head, tapping the backup invite. "The wedding goes on. In three days, I’ll still be a bride. Just not Adrian’s."

I am diagnosed with severe systemic lupus erythematosus, and I only have three days left to live. When my husband rejects my 188th plea for help, I take my test results and enter the hospice care center. "Hello, I'd like to schedule my own cremation process and apply for government aid." Ten minutes later, they arrive. Before I can speak, my lawyer husband, Jasper Horton, coldly slaps me across the face. "You're faking a terminal illness just to steal attention from Janice?" My doctor brother, Casey Carter, snatches the medical report from my hand and scoffs at it. "Lupus? If you're going to fake being sick, at least make it believable. Only one in a million people gets this." I endure the pain in my body, return to the counter, and hand in the application form and my medical records once more. The staff member sees the butterfly-shaped rash on my wrist and sympathizes with me. "I have no family left," I say. "I'm requesting cremation in three days, location doesn't matter. I just don't want my death to burden anyone."