After I had a baby with my ex-mate
I hired a lawyer to end my bond with Ryan, who'd cheated on me. Imagine my shock when that lawyer walked in-it was Matthew, my ex-mate, with whom I share so much painful history. Tensions ran high as we worked on the case, and I had to tell him I'm pregnant. I don't even know who the father is-maybe Ryan, or maybe someone from that blurry, drunken night I can barely remember.
Flashbacks keep hitting me: our breakup was all a misunderstanding. Later, my daughter Lila and Matthew's daughter Sophie ended up at the same preschool. Then Lila got hurt, and I had to admit the truth-Lila is Matthew's child, too. Now he wants to be in her life, but I'm still hurting from how he distrusted me before. I'm planning to move to Meridona to escape it all, but. I don't know if that's the right choice.
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Chapter 4
As I step out of the conference room, I overhear a clerk call Matthew "Pal."
I freeze mid-step.
Glancing around, I take in the law firm's sleek, modern decor-freshly renovated but with a seasoned vibe that screams Matthew.
It fits him perfectly, all polished edges and no-nonsense grit.
When he glances back at me, I can't help but say,
"Congrats, by the way. Pa already? That's fast."
Matthew pushes open the front door, his smile sharp and cold, not reaching his eyes.
"Guess I owe it to the tough lessons you taught me."
His jab stings, a little knife twisting in my chest. Is he saying I broke him so bad he threw himself into his work? That's the vibe, right?
Rain whips in on the wind, speckling my face. I brush a strand of hair aside, keeping my voice light. "If that's how you wanna spin it, I'll take the credit."
I start to walk away, but Matthew's voice stops me. "You ever regret it?"
I halt, turning to face him, my expression cool as stone. "Regret what?"
Regret breaking things off with him? Or forming a bond with Ryan?
At this point, what's the use of regret?
Matthew's gaze is colder.
"I mean, if your mate's cheating hadn't landed you with a pup, this case wouldn't be such a mess."
His sarcasm cuts deep, and embarrassment flares hot in my cheeks.
For a second, I thought he might actually care.
Stupid me.
Five years since we split, and now he's seen the wreckage of my bond with Ryan. Caring? Nah, he's probably just disgusted.
"Equitas Law's got a rep for being top-tier. I trust you won't let me down, Matthew."
With that, I slip through the door he's holding open and head for my car.
By the time I slide inside, my dress is half-soaked, clinging to my skin and sending a chill through me.
My hand drifting to my stomach, staring out at the rain-soaked world.
A month ago, after a blowout fight with Ryan, I hit a bar and got plastered. Woke up in a hotel room, my body aching in ways that told me exactly what happened. Problem is, I don't remember a damn thing about that night. It's a blank, and that scares the hell out of me.
A flash of lightning snaps me back to reality. I start the car and peel out.
The rain's coming down in sheets, blurring the road ahead. Matthew's sharp words keep circling in my head like vultures.
"Weren't you the one who messed up back then? Funny how you didn't walk away with nothing."
"You haven't changed a bit, have you?"
I'm so lost in thought that I don't notice the car in front of me until it's too late.
My car jolts with a crunch, and I slam on the brakes. Grabbing an umbrella, I step out.
"I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention. I'll call my insur-"
My words die when I see the wolf stepping out of the other car.
Ryan, dressed casual, looking younger than he should.
His brows are knitted tight.
"You following me now?"
"Get over yourself. It's just the rain and a slippery road."
He snorts, not buying it.
"Rear-end's on you."
I glance at the young she-wolf in his passenger seat and let out a sharp laugh.
"Whitmore boss stepping out with a college pup. How's that for a headline?"
Ryan's face darkens, his jaw tight.
"We're already breaking the bond, Ella."
I rest a hand on my car door.
"I'm done too, but I'm not walking away without what's mine. Not a single cent less."
"You've been leeching off me for years, and now you want to strip me bare?" he snaps. "You-"
I slam the car door, cutting off his rant.
But his disgusted glare cuts through the rain, slicing into me.
Watching his taillights fade into the storm, I feel a knot in my chest.
I let out a bitter laugh.
The only two wolves I've ever been bound to-both of them look at me with the same damn loathing.
The rain pounds the car like a tidal wave, roaring in my ears.
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8.7
My husband of three years, tech mogul Harrison Lang, has severe face blindness. So I became a brand, not a wife, wearing only blue and Chanel No. 5 so he could recognize me.
But at a party in Cannes, I watched him walk through a crowd of hundreds and embrace his mistress, Kassie, with a look of pure joy. He saw her instantly.
Later that night, I was mistakenly arrested. I screamed his name for help.
He looked right at me and told the police, "I don't know her."
He left me to rot in a French jail cell, claiming he didn't recognize me without my "uniform."
But how could he see her in a gold dress, yet not his own wife being dragged away? It wasn't his illness; it was his heart. It had learned her face, but never bothered with mine.
Now, years later, he' s had me arrested again at my own art show. But as the cuffs click shut, an old fire captain steps forward. "I was at the wildfire that caused his condition," he tells the police, looking at Harrison. "And I know the girl who saved his life."
Then, he points directly at me-at the star-shaped scar on my wrist.
8.5
Delphine Yenla has learned one thing the hard way; love doesn't just hurt, it breaks you in ways you don't recover from. So she stopped believing in it. She chose independence, control, and a life where no one could get close enough to hurt her again.
And for a while, it worked.
Until Wilson Dan walked into her world.
Cold, composed, and impossible to read, Wilson is the kind of man who never loses control. He does not get involved. He does not make mistakes. And he never lets anyone get close enough to matter.
But she doesn't realize... Wilson is not the kind of man you resist twice.
People don't challenge him.
Delphine does.
From their very first encounter, something shifts. The tension between them is immediate, sharp, unsettling, impossible to ignore. And from the moment he notices her, walking away stops being a choice. Every conversation feels like a quiet battle. Every glance lingers longer than it should. And the more they try to stay in control, the more everything begins to slip.
But this is not just about attraction.
There are things Wilson isn't saying.
Things Delphine is starting to notice.
And people around them who are already watching... and waiting.
What began as resistance quickly became something she cannot control.
Because this is not just about feelings.
It is about power. It is about position.
And Delphine may already be standing somewhere she doesn't understand,
somewhere she cannot simply walk away from.
Is she getting closer to Wilson...
or already too deep to step out?
When control finally breaks, one truth becomes impossible to ignore:
Some hearts don't just fall in love.
They fall into something they may not survive.
7.5
For three years, I was the perfect Mafia wife. I ensured my husband Jared's suits were impeccable and his public image flawless. I even sat at tables with Russian killers and calmly translated the order to execute a man who betrayed our Family. My value was my composure and my loyalty.
The moment an internal memo praised Jared for his 'heroism' during the Mayland Warehouse Massacre, I knew our marriage was over. Because I was the one he'd left to die.
The memo was a masterpiece of fiction, claiming he made a split-second decision to protect the Family's "most valuable asset." That asset wasn't me, his wife, who was calmly negotiating with cartel members for our lives. It was Bianca, his fragile mistress, who was crying on the phone in a sector he was ordered to stay out of.
When I packed my bags and left, he had the audacity to call me hysterical. "You're my wife," he scoffed.
"Was I your wife at Mayland, Jared?" I asked. "Did you think of your wife for even a second while you were running to save your weak little woman?"
He was a coward who had ignored a direct order from a Don, and the Family was calling him a hero for it. But I had the proof: a thirty-second recording of his profound dishonor.
I wasn't just seeking an annulment. I was petitioning the Commission, and I was going to use that recording to burn his world to the ground.
8.7
My little brother's heart monitor was screaming its final warning. I called my husband, Dante Volkov, the ruthless underworld king whose life I'd saved years ago. He had promised to send his elite medical team.
"I'm handling an emergency," he snapped, then hung up. An hour later, my brother was dead.
I found out what Dante's "emergency" was from his mistress's social media. He had sent his team of world-class surgeons to deliver her cat's kittens. My brother died for a litter of cats.
When Dante finally called, he didn't even apologize. I could hear her voice in the background, asking him to come back to bed. He even forgot my brother was dead, offering to buy him a new toy to replace the one his mistress deliberately crushed.
This was the man who had promised to protect me, to make my high school tormentors pay. Now, he was holding that very tormentor, Seraphina, in his arms. Then came the final blow: a call from the clerk's office revealed our seven-year marriage was a sham. The certificate was a forgery.
I was never his wife. I was just a possession he was tired of. After he left me to die in a car crash for Seraphina, I made one call. I texted a rival mob heir I hadn't spoken to in years: "I need to disappear. I'm calling it in."
8.6
Leland, the world's most eligible bachelor and powerful President, was rumored to be in love-with Valerie, the nation's favorite punchline.
Once rejected by his nephew and scorned for her looks, Valerie faced public outrage for "leeching" off Leland's status and entering government circles.
Elite society mocked, rivals sneered.
But the tables turned: the mafia king was spotted carrying her bags, scientists begged for her help, and Valerie saved the nation.
As chaos erupted, Leland posted on the presidential account.
"My wife wants to dump me-how do I win her back? Urgent advice needed!"
8.7
"You're leaving," Lorenzo said softly.
Ivy straightened her spine and raised her chin. "I am. I'm getting out of this place even if it means climbing over the front gates. I can't stay here anymore. I'm leaving!"
"You can't," Lorenzo said flatly. "Not now."
"Watch me," Ivy hissed, brushing past him.
Lorenzo stepped in her way and grabbed her by the arms-not roughly, but firmly.
"I mean it, Ivy. You can't leave," he said tightly.
She struggled against his grip, her bag falling to the floor with a thud.
"Let me go, Lorenzo! I don't belong here. This place is insane. Your family is insane!"
"You belong to me," he said sharply, eyes burning into hers. "And it's my job to protect what's mine."
"I don't want to be yours," Ivy cried. "I want to be free! I want to live!"
Something shifted in Lorenzo's face. He looked at her then, not as an obligation, not as a pawn, but as a person. A frightened, strong, beautiful woman who had been caught in a storm she never asked for. And something in him cracked.
Lorenzo reached down and cupped her face with both hands. Ivy flinched at first but didn't pull away. His thumbs wiped away the tears rolling down her cheeks.
"I never wanted to hurt you," he said quietly.
Her lower lip trembled. "Then let me go..."
"I can't," he whispered.
And then, without thinking, he leaned in and kissed her.
***************
Ivy Wesley believed that marrying a wealthy stranger would be her golden escape from a life of struggle. Lorenzo Martinelli was supposed to be her way out: her fresh start, her answer to every prayer whispered in the dark.
But the moment the mansion doors shut behind her, Ivy understood the truth. She hadn't stepped into a fairy tale. She had walked straight into the lion's den.
The whispers about the Martinelli family's ties to the Mafia aren't just rumors; they're real, and now Ivy is bound to them by a ring on her finger and secrets she can never unlearn. There is no undoing this choice. No clean exit. Not after what she's seen. Not after what she knows.
Surrounded by dangerous alliances, ruthless power plays, and truths sharp enough to draw blood, Ivy finds herself caught in a world where trust is a luxury and loyalty can be lethal. Yet in the middle of the chaos, something even more unexpected takes root: a love she never planned for, never prepared for, and may not survive.
Now Ivy faces an impossible choice: run while she still can, or stand her ground beside the man who could destroy her as easily as he protects her. In a world where betrayal lurks behind every polished smile and devotion can cost a life, can their love endure... or will it be the very thing that brings everything crashing down?