

When Luca Moretti chose the jewelry for our wedding, he still bought two pieces and let my twin sister Bianca choose first. One was a ruby cuff from a Sicilian auction. The other was an off-the-rack black onyx bracelet, the kind sold in every mall jewelry store. For the first time, I reached before Bianca could. I pointed at the ruby cuff. "This time, can I choose first?" Luca set his palm on my head with the easy affection he used to make me behave. "Bianca has always been stubborn about quality. If it's not the best, she won't take it. You don't care about this stuff, Elena. The other piece isn't bad." I didn't answer right away. Something inside my chest went quiet. In my own family, Bianca always got the first slice, the clean seat, and the room with the view. My mother said she needed the best because she carried the Bellini name better. My father called it practical. Marriage worked that way too. The Bellinis and Morettis had promised one daughter to the Moretti heir long before either of us knew what love was. Everyone assumed that daughter would be Bianca. Instead, she made her position crystal clear: she'd rather keep her freedom and her spotless public image than become Mrs. Moretti. So Luca turned to the remaining Bellini daughter. I had known Luca for twenty years, and in his world, I always stood behind Bianca. I looked at the black onyx bracelet on the table and pushed it back. "Bianca can have both. I'm not choosing." I didn't want another leftover choice. Not anymore.

When Luca Moretti chose the jewelry for our wedding, he still bought two pieces and let my twin sister Bianca choose first. One was a ruby cuff from a Sicilian auction. The other was an off-the-rack black onyx bracelet, the kind sold in every mall jewelry store. For the first time, I reached before Bianca could. I pointed at the ruby cuff. "This time, can I choose first?" Luca set his palm on my head with the easy affection he used to make me behave. "Bianca has always been stubborn about quality. If it's not the best, she won't take it. You don't care about this stuff, Elena. The other piece isn't bad." I didn't answer right away. Something inside my chest went quiet. In my own family, Bianca always got the first slice, the clean seat, and the room with the view. My mother said she needed the best because she carried the Bellini name better. My father called it practical. Marriage worked that way too. The Bellinis and Morettis had promised one daughter to the Moretti heir long before either of us knew what love was. Everyone assumed that daughter would be Bianca. Instead, she made her position crystal clear: she'd rather keep her freedom and her spotless public image than become Mrs. Moretti. So Luca turned to the remaining Bellini daughter. I had known Luca for twenty years, and in his world, I always stood behind Bianca. I looked at the black onyx bracelet on the table and pushed it back. "Bianca can have both. I'm not choosing." I didn't want another leftover choice. Not anymore.

My father, the Alpha King, did not want his daughter surrounded by Alphas chasing the throne, so he hid my identity and arranged for me to meet Adrian Vale, the young Alpha of the modest Silver Ridge Pack. Father said Adrian had real ability. Unlike the court Alphas who knew only how to flatter power, Adrian had taken control of his pack young and kept it stable. I wore a Chanel dress, a custom Cartier watch, a Hermès bag, and the moonstone bracelet my mother had left me. It was only a formal meeting, but since Father had arranged it himself, I chose to show respect. Before dinner could begin, Adrian's childhood friend, Molly Veyne, stormed into the private dining room. She called herself a gold-digger detector. Her eyes swept over my dress, my watch, my bracelet, and my bag before she laughed. "Adrian, look at her. She covered herself in luxury brands so you would think she came from noble blood." Adrian apologized and said Molly disliked women who dressed too loudly. I chose not to lose my temper. Then Molly dragged my Hermès bag under her shoe. "A bag worth this much? How could you afford it?" "Tell us, how many Alphas did you fool before you could pay for everything you are wearing?" "You dressed like a princess because you want an Alpha to put a Luna crown on your head." Her malice almost made me laugh. I looked at the moonstone bracelet on my wrist. Even if Silver Ridge sold every business it owned, Molly still might not be able to pay for what she had just touched.

The renowned businesswoman Freya retired and went into seclusion after her company became the largest enterprise in the city and went public. She adopted three children, including Wendy. After the three graduated from college, Freya planned to reveal her true identity to them. However, she suffered an unexpected brain hemorrhage. During her illness, Wendy stood by her side, working hard to save money for medical expenses. After Freya recovered, she helped Wendy solve various challenges.

Before my boyfriend, August Cadwell, marked me, we went to register our mate bond at the Pack Affairs Department. Without a word of explanation, he unexpectedly had someone throw me out of the office. Then he walked in with his childhood sweetheart. He didn’t even blink when he saw me sitting there on the ground, shaking with disbelief. "Hailey's pup needs to be part of the Aurelis pack. The best and quickest method is for her to register a mate bond with a werewolf from the Aurelis pack. As soon as we sever the mate bond, I'll form a mate bond with you." Everyone assumed the lovesick version of me would wait just one more month for him. After all, I'd already waited seven long years. But that night, I did something unexpected too. I accepted my parents' arranged mate bond and quietly left for the Lymerian pack, disappearing from his life entirely. Three years later, I returned to my original pack to visit my family. My mate, Ryder Weyland, was now the lycan chairman. Because of an urgent council meeting, he arranged for someone to collect me from the airport. I never imagined that “someone” would be August. The moment he spotted me, his eyes immediately landed on the sparkling bracelet on my wrist. "Isn't this a knockoff of the bracelet Ryder Weyland, the lycan chairman, spent two million dollars on for his mate? Didn't expect you to turn this vain after just a few years. "You've caused enough chaos, haven't you? It's time to return. Hailey's pup is now of school age. You can take on the responsibility of pick-ups and drop-offs." I gently ran my fingers over the bracelet on my wrist. Little did he know that this was the cheapest one Ryder had ever given me.

In the Corvona underworld, there is one unspoken rule. When a Don keeps a new woman by his side for three consecutive months, the Donna must personally remove the signet ring symbolizing her power and place it on the new woman's finger before the entire family. When my husband, Luca, the Don of the Bellini family, announced he would take Mia alone on a three-month business trip, the entire Corvona underworld waited for me to have a meltdown. I had been with Luca Bellini for seven years. I followed him everywhere, refusing to leave his side. I would even wake up in the middle of the night to touch him, needing to know he was there to feel secure. They were all aware of my clinginess and were betting I would never let go. But when Mia extended her hand to me, her voice dripping with saccharine, I didn't shed a single tear. I calmly removed the signet ring engraved with the family crest and slid it onto her ring finger. Luca, lounging in the leather chair at the head of the table, swirled the whiskey in his glass, satisfaction gleaming in his cold blue eyes. "Elara, you've finally learned your place." I lowered my gaze to my bare finger, saying nothing in return. What Luca didn't know was that a month ago, I had recovered all seven years of my lost memories. I wasn't some street orphan at all, but the long-lost Principessa of the Rossi family, the most powerful of the Old World families. In three days, my brother's armed convoy would roll into Corvona to take me home.

Dean Brady is the disgraced young heir of Clearview Antiques antique house, scraping along the bottom, until a piece of ancestral jade awakens inside him and grants him the Divine Appraisal Eye, the ability to see the true nature and worth of anything. Armed with this sight, he begins hunting treasure at flea markets and street stalls, striking finds that make him impossible to ignore. Rayne Drake, heiress of Shedo City's prestigious auction house Winter Pavilion, spots him and brings him in as chief appraiser. Wealth and reputation accumulate quickly, drawing the envy and scheming of rival house Cloudmist Gallery and its cunning beauty Bayleigh Barrett.Meanwhile, Winter Pavilion's chief auctioneer Iliana Roman and head of security Lexie Drake find themselves increasingly captivated, not by the eye, but by the man behind it.

Margaret had grown up within the royal court, betrothed by her father to Gareth, the son of a duke. One day, she went out to pick out jewelry intended to wear for her upcoming date with Gareth, only to find the premium set she had pre-ordered seized by Ella, Gareth’s secret mistress. Ella even publicly humiliated her, sneering that she was an old maid no man would ever marry.When Margaret stated she was Gareth’s official fiancée, Gareth refused to stand up for her. Instead, he indulged Ella as she snatched the jewelry and slashed Margaret’s cheek. Having reached her breaking point, Margaret asserted her authority as a royal princess and broke off the engagement firmly. It was only then that Gareth realized what formidable power he had offended. He fell into bitter conflict with his lover Ella, and the entire Norton family was ruined because of his reckless deeds.

Margaret had grown up within the royal court, betrothed by her father to Gareth, the son of a duke. One day, she went out to pick out jewelry intended to wear for her upcoming date with Gareth, only to find the premium set she had pre-ordered seized by Ella, Gareth’s secret mistress. Ella even publicly humiliated her, sneering that she was an old maid no man would ever marry.When Margaret stated she was Gareth’s official fiancée, Gareth refused to stand up for her. Instead, he indulged Ella as she snatched the jewelry and slashed Margaret’s cheek. Having reached her breaking point, Margaret asserted her authority as a royal princess and broke off the engagement firmly. It was only then that Gareth realized what formidable power he had offended. He fell into bitter conflict with his lover Ella, and the entire Norton family was ruined because of his reckless deeds.

Cayden Freeman, the Celestial Sovereign of Azra, married Juliette Frost while concealing his identity and secretly supported the Frost family for three years. After intervening to save Alessia Walsh, the second daughter of the Walsh family, from trouble, he earned the enmity of Odin Wells, the Wells heir, and was simultaneously thrown out by Juliette. At an investment banquet, when Cayden faced false accusations and public anger, Alessia appeared and skillfully diffused the situation, marking the beginning of their relationship.