

Annie never knew her mother's love. Carole despised her, reserving all her doting affection for Fiona, the daughter of a past romance. Carole believed her marriage to Ben was a drunken mistake, and Annie was simply the regrettable result. Unable to bear the abuse Annie suffered, Ben resolved to take Annie and leave Carole for good. Despite this, on her own birthday, Annie chose to give her mother one final chance.

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.

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."

I was slowly dying from Silverthorn Wolfsbane, and there was only one cure—the Miracle Elixir. But my mate, Leo Ashford, bought it and gave it to my adoptive sister, Jane Smith. He did it because he thought I was faking my illness. I gave up on the treatment and swallowed a potent painkiller instead. It would kill me in three days by shutting down my organs. In those three days, I gave up everything. I handed over the fur manufacturing business I built from the ground up to Jane, and my parents praised me for caring about my sister. I offered to sever our mate bond, and Leo praised me for finally being sensible. When I told my son he could call Jane "mommy", he happily said that his new mommy was the best! I transferred all my savings to Jane, and no one seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary. They were just pleased with my "better behavior". "Viola is finally not so bad." I wondered—would they regret it after I was gone?

My parents once treated me like a princess, buying me a lavish home, braving the rain to get me cake, and filling albums with my smiles before I turned five.After my sister was born, I lowered the air conditioner by just one degree to keep her cool, only for my mother to slap me and lock me in the refrigerator, saying, "Stay in there until you've learned your lesson." They forgot to unlock the lock, but at five years old, I couldn't escape, just as I couldn't escape being forgotten. It was our neighbor who broke down the door to save me. My parents thought I had died, and when they saw me return, they broke down in tears, begging for forgiveness.

My daughter, Bessie Garcia, had very little self-discipline. The only reason she studied at all was that I constantly pushed her. Three months before the SATs, I could not resist sending a question to myself ten years into the future. “Did Bessie get into an Ivy League school? What kind of job does she have now? Please tell me the last three years of hard work were worth it! How far have Meera and I gotten on our trip around the world? Did we have a second child?” A hopeful smile spread across my face. Then, I saw the man on the other side of the screen. His skin was sallow. He was so thin that he was almost unrecognizable. “An Ivy League school? After graduation, she publicly accused you of controlling and emotionally abusing her for more than ten years. The entire internet branded you a sick, controlling father. Meera divorced you and went on to have a child with her first love. As for you… years of staying up late, putting your life on hold, and constantly supervising Bessie’s studies left you with terminal pancreatic cancer. Your daughter and ex-wife have cut you out of their lives completely. You have only one month left to live.” I was stunned. Just then, Bessie’s voice sounded from her room as she talked to someone online. “My dad? He’s a pathetic control freak. His wife doesn’t love him, so he takes it out on me by trying to control my life. The more he forces me to study, the worse I’ll bomb the exams! Watching him lose his mind in rage is the only satisfaction I get. Once the SATs are over, I’m moving out and cutting him out of my life for good!” Tears splashed against the back of my hand. A moment later, I withdrew her from every SATs prep course and sent her a text. [You don’t have to attend those tutoring classes anymore. From now on, I won’t ask anything of you. It’s your life, so you should get to decide how to live it.]

After my parents died, I was unexpectedly adopted by the Alpha and Luna, becoming the only human in werewolf territory. For twenty years, their twin Alpha heirs showered me with affection. Their pursuit and favoritism made everyone madly envious. But when I wanted to choose a mate, both rejected me. Kane said, "I want to focus on expanding our wolf territory first. I don't want to find a mate so early." Liam said, "Humans cannot bear Alpha bloodline." The next day, at my birthday banquet, both simultaneously proposed to the Omega servant's daughter. To make her happy, they forced me to drink "Blood Flame" liquor that humans couldn't possibly handle. I was completely heartbroken. On the day I was discharged from the hospital, I called my adoptive mother. "I'm willing to marry the Vampire King."

Cassie Rivers, the stepdaughter of the Hill family, endured bullying at school due to her inability to speak. Her stepbrother, Dylan Hill, stepped up to protect her, and on that fateful day, she fell in love with him.After graduation, she married the man she loved - Dylan, only to be informed that it was a sham marriage. Enduring both physical and emotional torment, she attempted suicide and lost her memory. However, he finally found...

After their parents passed away, Tonia Hays and her sister Lena lived together. To avoid burdening Lena, Tonia agreed to go on a blind date with Yandel Zane, the grandson of Lady Zane, whom she had unexpectedly saved. When they first met, Yandel thought Tonia was a gold digger. So he hid his identity as the richest man and the Zane Group's CEO, pretended to be poor, and married her immediately. Later, they had many amusing incidents as they got to know each other, and he gradually fell for her. He fiercely defended her at a banquet and dealt with her vicious relatives.They became closer, but due to some misunderstandings, they signed a one-year marriage contract.Because of his love rival and a rich young lady, Yandel's identity nearly got exposed. After many twists and turns, he realized his true feelings and wanted to get Tonia back. She also gradually became dependent on him. Eventually, through misunderstandings and protection, this contractual marriage changed into a real one.

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.