

Leonardo's adoptive sister pulled off a new trick, and this time, it was threatening to slit her wrists. So, like second nature, he handed me the divorce papers. I didn't even read it and let out a self-deprecating laugh. "Leonardo, this is the eighth time. In the entire history of Siciliana, no mafia Don has ever abandoned his partner as frequently as you." He yanked at his tie in frustration, a pleading look surfacing in his eyes. "Bianca, I have to do this. You know Gia's mental state. I can't just leave her to fend for herself, can I? "Move out for a few days first. Don't worry. Once I calm her down, I promise we'll get remarried right away!" I signed in silence. He had already repeated those exact words to me eight times. We finalized the paperwork in family lawyer's office. Pushing up his glasses, the family lawyer, Luca, teased lightly, "When are you guys coming back to sign the ninth marriage contract?" I put away the divorce papers stamped with the Corleone family wax seal and shook my head. "There won't be a next time."

Bryce Davidson married into the Barber family and has never quite stood straight under the weight of it. On New Year's Day, his wife Ginny leaves to collect relatives and asks him to bathe their infant with a towel. Out of some small, stubborn impulse he fills the bathtub instead. The phone rings. He looks away. By the time he looks back, it is too late. In his collapse he hides what happened. He conceals the baby,covers the room, holds himself together through the Barber family's New Year visit. Every attempt by the relatives to see the child Bryce deflects. Ginny watches him, and something in the way he moves begins to pull at her. She can feel the shape of a closed door. She moves toward it.

Ivy Shaw knew from the very beginning that the marriage certificate she and Noah Grant held was fake. But during their five years together, Noah had given her so much tenderness that she mistakenly believed she had finally exchanged sincerity for sincerity. It was not until she woke up once in the middle of a coma that she overheard Noah talking to his private doctor: the strange illness she had suffered every month all these years had been caused by Noah drugging her and drawing her blood, and he had stayed by her side only to use her blood to treat her half-sister, Chloe. Another hospital soon confirmed that prolonged blood loss and medication had caused multiple organ failure, and that she had at most a month left to live. Ivy no longer argued, and no longer waited for Noah to turn back. She relocated her mother’s grave, arranged her own burial plot and funeral, and even designated her father Richard and Noah as her pallbearers. But until the very last day of her life, Noah still chose Chloe again and again, and even ordered someone to destroy Ivy’s mother’s grave. In the end, Ivy died alone at home. Only after receiving the funeral home’s notification did Noah discover that Chloe had never been ill, that Ivy was the girl who had climbed over the wall to comfort him in childhood, and that the coma and blood draws he himself had caused had killed the one who truly loved him.

Claire Hayes had been married to Alexander Warren for three years. Over the course of their marriage, she was kidnapped nineteen times by his enemies, yet she never once doubted that her husband would lay down everything to protect her. After narrowly escaping the nineteenth abduction, she accidentally caught Alexander cheating with Lydia Miller — the very woman who had framed Professor Hayes and driven Claire’s father to his death years earlier.Instead of standing by his wife, Alexander shielded Lydia and forced Claire into a divorce. He also turned a blind eye while Lydia used Mrs. Hayes, Claire’s mother, as a human test subject for experimental drugs. When Claire suffered a miscarriage, Alexander chose to stay by Lydia’s side, who was faking her pregnancy. In the end, he refused to authorize emergency treatment, sealing Mrs. Hayes’s fate with his own indifference.After laying her mother to rest, Claire signed the divorce papers, handed over all evidence of Lydia’s kidnappings, abuse, and assaults to the police, and left for Brighton to start her life over alone.It was only after Claire’s departure that Alexander uncovered the truth: every lie Lydia had told — her fake pregnancy, her fabricated victimhood, and all her false accusations — crumbled apart. He also learned that Claire had once carried his child, but there was no way to redeem her broken trust.Daniel Grant, a former student of Professor Hayes, stayed by Claire’s side throughout her healing journey, helping her rebuild her career. He stood firmly as her protector whenever Alexander tried to harass and pursue her. After surviving a stalking-induced car accident and cutting ties with Alexander for good, Claire finally let go of her painful past and opened her heart to Daniel’s years-long, unwavering love and devotion.
![[ENG DUB] Seven Years and a Closed Door](https://acfs3.goodshort.com/dist/src/assets/images/pc/common/f901131c-default-book-cover.png)
For seven years, Kelsey Dale ran a business empire from the shadows and called herself a housewife. She gave up her name, her position, and eventually her health to prop up a husband who needed her more than he admitted, including nursing him through a near-fatal illness with everything she had. On the day their infant son turns one hundred days old, Gaige Hamilton walks through the door with his mistress and their child, backed by his parents, and offers Kelsey a choice: accept them under her roof and keep managing the household, or leave without her son. Seven years. That is what they thought they were owed.

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.

Lily Arnold saved Tim Nell from a car accident and married into his wealthy family. However, during their four-year marriage, she was met with nothing but indifference. Tim's heart belonged solely to his childhood sweetheart, Sara Buck, leaving no room for Lily's devotion. Empowered by Tim's favoritism, Sara repeatedly schemed against Lily, but Tim always took Sara's side. To cure Sara's nightmares, Tim sacrificed Lily's unborn child. Completely heartbroken, Lily signed the divorce agreement and fled abroad to pursue her artistic dream. Only after she left did Tim realize he had long fallen in love with the wife who had silently given him everything.

"The night before our group trip, Raymond Kane tags me in the group chat and tells me to check my flight ticket. When I open the booking, I discover my ticket was refunded three days ago—without anyone telling me. Before I can even type a reply, the messages start pouring in. Madelyn announces, ""I bet Ray that you wouldn't check the booking before we left. He got you to look it up yourself. That's cheating!"" Raymond shrugs it off. ""Doesn't matter. You still lost. She only just found out. Just book another one. We'll just have to sit apart."" Their casual banter brings back a familiar ache. It reminds me of the time they bet on how long it would take me to realize my hotel room has been downgraded from a standard double to a shared triple, leaving me to sleep on a folding cot. And before that, they bet on whether I'd notice the art museum on our itinerary had been replaced with an escape room. Whenever I tell them it hurts, they always give the same tired reply. ""How were we supposed to know you cared if you never said anything?"" But they never ask. I close the booking app and open another one, searching for flights to Isvind. I imagine myself surrounded by the silence of a 5°F night, with the northern lights painting the sky above me. Perhaps a solo trip is exactly what I need. "

The night before our group trip, Raymond Kane tags me in the group chat and tells me to check my flight ticket. When I open the booking, I discover my ticket was refunded three days ago—without anyone telling me. Before I can even type a reply, the messages start pouring in. Madelyn announces, "I bet Ray that you wouldn't check the booking before we left. He got you to look it up yourself. That's cheating!" Raymond shrugs it off. "Doesn't matter. You still lost. She only just found out. Just book another one. We'll just have to sit apart." Their casual banter brings back a familiar ache. It reminds me of the time they bet on how long it would take me to realize my hotel room has been downgraded from a standard double to a shared triple, leaving me to sleep on a folding cot. And before that, they bet on whether I'd notice the art museum on our itinerary had been replaced with an escape room. Whenever I tell them it hurts, they always give the same tired reply. "How were we supposed to know you cared if you never said anything?" But they never ask. I close the booking app and open another one, searching for flights to Isvind. I imagine myself surrounded by the silence of a 5°F night, with the northern lights painting the sky above me. Perhaps a solo trip is exactly what I need.

Six months ago, I was accidentally poisoned by wolfsbane. The poison is deadly, and my days are numbered. My body gradually weakens. Today, my wolf is completely gone, and I have three days left to live. On the last day before I draw my final breath, I agree to donate my kidney to my sister. Thrilled, my mate swears that he'll make it up to me someday. My sister is being swamped with insults on the college forum after she was caught plagiarizing my Belladonna thesis. But I come forward and claim that I'm the one who plagiarized it. Mom and Dad are pleased, saying I've finally become mature. At last, I've become the perfect mate and daughter in their eyes. But why are they crying after my body has turned cold and lifeless?