once upon a time near me

Three days before my marking ceremony, someone set fire to the bridal shop while I was inside trying on my ceremonial dress. Alpha Marcus threw the arsonist into the pack prison, sentencing them to the harshest punishment our laws allowed. I lay in the hospital bed, my body covered in third-degree burns, refusing to wake fully as the reality of my disfigurement sank in. In my semi-conscious state, I heard Marcus speaking with the pack's healing witch. "Alpha, we can still heal her completely with the ancient magic. If we wait any longer, Sarah will bear these scars for life! You just want Miss Rachel to be your Luna at the marking ceremony. This is cruel beyond measure!" "Let her keep the scars. I'll provide for her for the rest of her life, but if she's healed, she'll definitely cause trouble at the marking ceremony." "I promised Rachel that her pup would be welcomed into the pack with full honors. Only when Sarah is completely disfigured will she be grateful enough to raise Rachel's child as her own. The scars are necessary - at least this way, she won't dare mistreat the pup." In the corner of the room, where no one was watching, a tear slid down my burned cheek. So this was the truth. The marking ceremony I'd dreamed of was nothing but a lie. The mate bond I longed for would be my death sentence. If that's how it had to be, I would give him what he wanted.

For three hundred years, the cultivator Sean Yale single-handedly guarded the pass, keeping the demon invasion at bay and ensuring peace for Aureate. But his long vigil bred only complacency and distrust. Accused of fabricating the demon threat, he was cast out by the very nation he protected. Without him, the demons descended, throwing the realm into chaos. As Aureate faced its doom, Sean moved on, aiding other lands against the onslaught, his legendary might now sought by all who once doubted him. In the end, it was he who pushed the demons back to the wastelands and restored peace, leaving those who betrayed him to face the consequences of their folly.

On the eve of her engagement, Cindy escapes her cheating fiancé and materialistic family. By chance, she ends up pregnant with the babies of Mr.Foster, the wealthiest man in Bloom City. When he acquires the hotel where she works, he relentlessly pursues her. Despite his advances, Cindy is determined to prove her worth through hard work. Over time, she starts to soften to his persistence and, in the end, not only establishes herself at the hotel but also finds her true love.

At the five-year wedding anniversary celebration of Scott and Joyce, Joyce's half-sister, Tina, suddenly appeared, demanding Joyce return Scott to her. Tina deliberately pushed Joyce, causing her to miscarry. Instead of helping Joyce, Scott chose to leave with Tina, plunging Joyce into despair. She decided to divorce Scott and attempted to take her own life by jumping into the sea. After Joyce vanished, Scott initially believed it was all an act, but he gradually discovered the misunderstandings and Tina's schemes, realizing that the woman who loved him the most was gone forever.

Due to an arranged engagement, Marie Hodge marries a scumbag, Sean Logan, in her previous life. Sean steals her university acceptance and gives it to his mistress, Brittany. For fifty years of marriage, Sean secretly takes half his salary to support Brittany while Marie works herself to death managing the household for family and husband. Neighbors call her a virtuous wife, but when his first love dies, Sean doesn’t hesitate to follow her in death, leaving a will to be buried with his Brittany and giving his property to Brittany’s daughter Kimberly. Getting another chance, Marie secretly intercepts the acceptance letter. With the wedding approaching, Marie only prepares for university enrollment, waiting for the wedding day to stand up the groom, kick Sean to the curb, and welcome her new life.

Gabriel’s wedding is interrupted when mafia heir Sebastian, fleeing assassins, hides in his hotel room closet. With their reunion stirring old feelings, and faced with betrayal from his bride-to-be, Gabriel impulsively marries Sebastian to secure his inheritance. But as dark family secrets unfold, their future together becomes uncertain...# gay # boy's love

Paul Smith, CEO of Horizon Group, had it all—until his own adopted children and former college friend Lewis stabbed him in the back.Forced into bankruptcy, he watched his empire crumble while grappling with his mother's failing health and furious employees demanding back pay. Just when all seemed lost, Dylan Walker stepped in, offering him a lifeline at his own firm.At the Tech Chip Competition, Paul staged a stunning comeback,leading his team to victory and landing a game-changing deal. Meanwhile,justice caught up with Lewis and his co-conspirators—their schemes finally earning them a one-way ticket to prison.

Vivian, the bankrupt heiress, walks in on her fiancé and her best friend plotting to pull her father's ventilator plug at their engagement party. While fleeing, she falls into the arms of her fiancé's uncle—Alistair, the "Tyrant of Wall Street." He offers to save her father in exchange for a binding marriage contract. Vivian fights back: she gets her fiancé drunk and ruins his reputation, and sends her best friend to prison. But she mistakenly believes Alistair is the one who killed her mother, and teams up with foreign investors to short his conglomerate. When the truth comes to light—he is the boy who saved her from a fire ten years ago, his back bearing burns that never healed—the two powerhouses join forces. She takes control of the financial empire in the open, while he secretly deploys phantom funds to counterattack. The scumbag fiancé goes bankrupt, the best friend descends into madness, and the mastermind behind it all is left without access to medical care. At the pinnacle of their victory, he kneels and fastens a necklace around her ankle: "I am willing to be your prisoner." She lifts his chin with a smile: "We have been each other's captives all along."

Everyone knows Colin Dunn and I are trapped in a loveless marriage. We don’t love each other.On the night of our fifth wedding anniversary, I am attacked in my own home.Desperate, I call him for help—only to hear the line go dead. For the sake of his first love, he hangs up… and abandons me.

Bruce Litt, the head of Axio Builders, hides his identity to let his son Sam Litt gain real-world experience, working as a humble melon seller at a construction site. Arrogant Owen Zeller, son of Bruce's subordinate Frank Zeller, steals Sam's girlfriend and bullies him. Bruce reveals his true identity, but Owen still defies him—until his father arrives.

Phoebe, heiress of Caelon's wealthiest family, teaches in a mountain village. During a patriotic lesson, a video of the Jovian invasion terrifies Vivian Smith—her father's fiancée—and her son, born to a Jovian spy. Seeing him cry, Vivian, blinded by anger and guilt, humiliates Phoebe. Only when she realizes that Phoebe is Alfred Green's daughter does regret hit.

Legendary diplomat Wanda Jason once left the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for love, only to be rejected by her husband, Marshal Liam Joy, and their son Felix. Resolute, she divorced him and returned to diplomacy under the name Wan,stunning the world once more. When Liam realized his mistake, it was too late. Yasmin Zeal,desperate to marry Liam, exploited her brother's life-saving debt and drove a wedge between Liam and Wanda, until her true identity as a traitor's sister was exposed. Regretfully, Liam went to war and died in battle, leaving a final confession: "My only wish was to grow old with you." Wanda, with her son and adopted daughter,took up a new mission—walking toward a new dawn.

James was imprisoned after being falsely accused of causing his grandfather's coma. Upon his release, he found his family cold and indifferent—they even pressured him to sacrifice his own leg for Jasper. Overwhelmed by despair, he resolved to cut all ties with the Lynn family. But a twist of fate led him to Zoey. With her unwavering support, James not only cleared his name but also made sure the true culprit, Jasper, was brought to justice.

I have a secret: I can see live comments! After scrolling past a video of a muscular man, my husband kicks me out of the car on the highway. The comments say "He's jealous! He totally loves you!" and "He just has that cold CEO syndrome". But when I'm badly injured in an accident, he allows his first love to spill hot soup at me,push me down the stairs, destroy my belongings,and be intimate with him countless times, and the comments are still celebrating. "Aloof now, chase later!" What they don't know is that from the first moment my heart turned cold, I've been calmly planning my escape. I hand him divorce papers and disappear completely, then remarry someone far above his station. No matter how he weeps in regret, I never look back.

Yale Lopez thought Vivian Harris was the one to vote for him when he ran for P.E. rep. and became her devoted lover. Later, he caught Vivian cheating and learned it was Qara Baker who voted for him! Luckily, he had a time travel back to his high school days. How would he make everything right then?

In her previous life, Selene Solomon trusted the wrong people and was betrayed by her husband Matteo Wooten and his mistress Cassidy Berg, leading to tragedy for herself and her family as the entire Solomon clan was destroyed. Now, gifted with time's second dance, Selene carries deep hatred and determination, vowing to avenge herself and her family from her past life.

In a world ruled by magic cards, I awakened the Godlike Gacha System! While desperate cardcasters gamble their wealth, their destiny, and even their lives for a pitiful 0.001% shot at a Legendary... My pulls always go: "One More!"

The U.S. nuclear medical professor Charlie Clare quits his career for family, but is abandoned as his wife and daughter favor his love rival Isaac. After suffering his family’s ignorance, he decides to leave for the Unicorn Project, which he designed for healing his daughter’s neuro-skel birthmark as his life work. But unaware that Charlie’s burning his life for them, his wife and daughter deepen the rift with Charlie upon reunion and eventually destroy everything Charlie left for them with their own hands before realizing their errors, only to find it too late.