

When I went to reissue my mate certificate, the Werewolf Affairs Division told me, "Your mate certificate is a forgery. We have no record of your registration." I stared at the clerk, unable to believe what I was hearing. "But Sam and I registered five years ago. That's impossible. Could you please check again?" The clerk gave me a look before double-checking the files. "We found Alpha Sam's record. But the registered mate… isn't you." My voice trembled. "Then who is Sam's legal mate?" The clerk didn't hesitate. "Lily." I gripped the back of the chair, white-knuckled, just to keep myself upright. Until the clerk had spoken that name, I'd still held on to hope. Maybe it was a clerical error. A mix-up. But of all people, it had to be Lily, Sam's childhood friend. And suddenly, everything started to make sense. In five years of being Sam's mate, he had never marked me. We'd only held a mating ceremony—no certificate, no legal bond. I had given up everything for that ceremony, poured all my hope and love into it, believing I was his, only to find the certificate was fake. The five years I'd thought were mine—our happiness—had all been a lie, crafted and upheld by appearances. If none of it was truly mine, then there's only one thing left for me to do. Leave.

Genius Dr. Liam married into the wealthy Chloe family out of gratitude, becoming a full-time house husband while secretly pouring everything he has into saving their crumbling empire. But Chloe blindly trusts her ex, Zac, believing Liam is only after their fortune—and even trusts Zac's lies over her own husband, putting their daughter Mia in mortal danger. When the truth about Mia's near-death experience finally surfaces, and Liam's hidden identity is revealed, Chloe is left with nothing. Can she win back the husband and daughter she took for granted?