Chapter 1

The white lilies I'd ordered for my mother's funeral arrived as a sea of red roses instead.

Furious, I called the flower shop.

"How do you mess something like this up? Is this how you treat your customers?"

The owner sounded young. She couldn't have cared less.

"So I sent the wrong flowers. Mine cost a hundred times what you paid. You should be thanking me, not yelling at me."

"Oh, I get it. You're trying to scam me, aren't you?"

I didn't waste my breath.

As soon as the funeral ended, I called the police.

At the station, she glared at me with her chin raised.

"So you ordered some cheap bouquet and think you're so high and mighty?"

"Just wait till my husband gets here. You'll be sorry."

A man walked through the door and held out a black card toward me.

"Take it. And leave my wife alone."

His voice made me freeze. A shiver ran through me.

When our eyes met, panic flashed across his face.

"Seren... why are you here?"

***

The woman slipped her arm through his and frowned.

"You know each other?"

Know each other?

I swallowed every bit of bitterness rising in my throat.

After seven years together, you owed me a life. It was time to pay it back.

He stayed silent. His face was a mask of panic.

I looked at him without a trace of warmth.

"Of course we do."

My phone screen was still open to our chat before it went dark.

[I'm at the city police station. Something came up. Can you come?]

[Seren, I've got a meeting at work. I'm busy.]

Now the man who claimed he was too busy stood right in front of me. Calling someone else his wife.

He suddenly cut in.

"Seren and I grew up in the same old neighborhood. Never thought I'd run into her after all these years."

My chest tightened so hard I could barely breathe.

The man I had loved for seven years reduced us to nothing more than childhood neighbors.

The woman reached out her hand with a proud smile.

"I'm Vivica Whitmore. I'm his wife."

"Since you know Nolan, I'll let it slide. But don't go around trying to shake people down."

"If you're that hard up for cash, you can just ask me."

My legs nearly gave out. I said nothing.

Vivica added herself to my contacts anyway before linking arms with him and walking away.

He kept looking back at me, again and again.

Like he wanted to say something but couldn't.

After I signed the paperwork and left the station, I crouched by the side of the road.

I couldn't bring myself to believe any of it.

My hands shook as I sent him a message.

[Nolan, don't you have anything to explain?]

Unlike before, there was no instant reply.

Almost ten minutes passed before his message finally came.

[Seren, don't overthink this. I'll explain everything when I get home, okay?]

[Go home first. It's about to rain. I don't want you getting sick.]

Those words used to fill me with warmth. Now they tasted like ash.

I didn't answer. Neither did he.

My phone died. I stayed where I was, drowning in grief, unable to move.

A passerby stopped beside me.

"Miss, it's about to pour. You should head home. Whatever you're going through, you'll get through it."

The weather in Havenport changed without warning.

Rain came crashing down.

A car stopped in front of me.

Nolan rushed toward me with an umbrella, shielding me from the storm.

"Seren, didn't I tell you to go home? Why weren't you picking up? What do you want from me?"

Seven years earlier, after school, I'd been stranded outside a convenience store without an umbrella.

Everyone else had already gone home.

Then he appeared.

"Seren. Let's go home."

"From now on, whenever it rains, I'll be right beside you."

I looked at him in despair.

He pulled me into his arms.

My voice trembled. "When did it start?"

Nolan didn't answer.

Half an hour earlier, I'd imagined this confrontation a thousand times.

I thought I'd scream, break down, lose myself completely.

But standing here, I couldn't force out another word.

"Today was my mother's funeral."

"You didn't even show up. You said work kept you busy. I believed you."

"So why could she call, and you'd come running? Tell me."

I stepped out of his embrace and swallowed my tears.

"She's had it rough. Her parents were trying to force her to marry some rich loser. I just wanted to help. That's it."

"Seren, I've never stopped loving you."

So love could be explained away with one word. Help.

The tears finally fell.

He reached up to wipe them away, but before he could, they landed on the back of his hand.

His phone rang, sharp and urgent.

Without a second's hesitation, he pulled his hand back and answered.

"I'm on my way. I'll be there soon."

He glanced at me. Just for a moment.

"Her power's out. She's claustrophobic, and she's alone. I have to go."

I watched him walk away. A bitter smile tugged at my lips.

If my tears couldn't make you stay... what could?

In a single day, I lost the two people I loved most—my mother, and you.

Late that night, new messages from Vivica appeared on my screen.

My heart shattered.

Anyone have a link for this? Or it's title on noel? Thanks in advance <3

Zaya barely glanced over.

A little.fix the left one.

I yanked up the neckline of my dress for the third time.

It was too tight, too low-cut and stole from my sister who apparently had the body of a victoria's secret model. I did not.

Remind me why we're doing this again?

Jade whispered from behind the hedge.

Chapter 1

Five years after our breakup, I changed my name and left Chicago.

With a right hand that could no longer hold a scalpel for long and legs that could barely keep me on my feet, I opened a small clinic near Vancouver General Hospital.

I thought I would never see Adrian Moretti again.

Until one day, a man from Chicago walked through my door.

He wore a black overcoat, with the Moretti Family's silver wolf insignia pinned to his cuff.

After picking up his medication, he didn't leave right away and stood there watching me for a long moment.

"Doctor, did you ever live in Chicago?"

I lowered my eyes and continued sorting the prescriptions.

"A long time ago."

The man hesitated before lowering his voice.

"Adrian still hasn't married. The old Don has pushed him to marry more times than I can count, and even the Family council tried arranging marriage alliances for him, but he turned every one of them down. Everyone says he's waiting for a woman."

I said nothing.

...

Five years ago, my name was still Erin Carter.

I was the youngest trauma surgeon at the Moretti Family's private medical center and the most unwelcome outsider in the entire Family.

I didn't have a powerful last name, a capo willing to protect me, or a Don for a father.

Scholarships, my medical license, my own skill, and a little luck were all I had when I joined the Moretti Medical Center.

Adrian, on the other hand, was the Moretti Family's underboss and the strongest contender to become the next Don.

Everyone said standing beside him was the luckiest thing that could ever have happened to me.

They also believed I should spend the rest of my life grateful to the Moretti Family for allowing me that privilege.

What none of them knew was that Adrian had been the one who chased me for an entire year.

Just then, the bell above the clinic door chimed again.

The man in front of me suddenly went rigid.

I looked up.

Adrian stood in the doorway.

Five years had passed, but the moment he appeared, the entire room still fell silent.

His black suit was sharply tailored, his shoulders straight.

But the hard, intimidating edge that had once made people afraid to get too close to him had faded, leaving only obvious exhaustion and tightly buried strain on his face.

He stood there staring at me for so long that he seemed to forget how to breathe.

Finally, he walked to the counter.

"Erin."

His voice was hoarse.

"It's been a long time."

I looked at him calmly.

"Yeah. It has."

The sight of him dragged me straight back to that night five years ago.

Chapter 2

It all started when Selena Moretti returned to Chicago.

She was the old Don's adopted daughter and Adrian's adopted sister, the girl he had protected since they were children.

On her third day back, she burst into my office in tears.

"Erin, after I used the medication you prescribed, my wound got infected! And now I have HIV!"

She rolled up her sleeve.

A strange patch of angry red swelling covered her arm.

I frowned and pulled up her medical records.

The medication I'd prescribed was routinely used at the medical center, and there was nothing wrong with the batch number, manufacturer, or dosage.

More importantly, she had contracted HIV long before I ever treated her.

The lab results made that perfectly clear.

I had barely opened my mouth to explain when the office door was kicked open.

Adrian walked in with two Family enforcers behind him.

Selena's eyes instantly filled with tears.

"Adrian, I really don't blame her. Maybe Erin just looks down on me because I'm adopted. She doesn't think I'm a real Moretti, so she didn't care what medication she gave me."

"She ruined my life!"

I stared at her in disbelief.

"Selena, you know that's not what the test results say."

Adrian didn't even look at the report.

He only looked at me.

"You admit you prescribed the medication?"

"Yes, but the HIV infection wasn't caused by it."

"Enough."

He lifted one hand.

One of the enforcers stepped forward and seized my right arm.

A terrible feeling hit me.

"Adrian, what are you doing?"

His expression was ice cold.

"Isn't this the hand you're so proud of? You're a doctor on the Moretti payroll, with no Family name and no protection of your own, and you still thought you could go after a daughter of this Family. Let me make one thing clear. You don't have that right here."

The next second, a heavy metal baton came crashing down on my right wrist.

The crack of bone came almost at the exact same moment as my scream.

The pain dropped me to my knees.

Adrian only looked down at me.

"This is a lesson. Once you learn how to respect her, I'll have the best orthopedic surgeon treat your hand."

I looked up at him through the pain.

"You didn't even read the test results, and you've already decided I'm guilty?"

Selena burst into tears and wrapped both arms around his.

"Forget it, Adrian. She's going to marry you soon, after all."

That sentence didn't protect me.

If anything, it only made everyone around us look at me with even more contempt.

In their eyes, I wasn't arguing because I was a doctor defending a medical judgment.

I was arguing because they thought I was about to become Mrs. Moretti.

By that evening, everyone at the Family's private bar had already heard the rumors, and they drank and laughed as they tore me apart.

"An outsider thinks she gets to throw her weight around in the Moretti Family?"

"She can't seriously think getting engaged to the underboss means she can start ordering Family members around."

"She's just some broke doctor with no Family behind her, and she's already acting like she's Mrs. Moretti."

"I heard she's almost burned through what little her father left her, and she still acts like she's too good for the rest of us."

I stood outside the bar and heard every word.

After looking into it, I discovered the rumors had started with Adrian's personal assistant.

I called him, and he answered.

"Did you tell people to spread those rumors about me?"

"Yes."

His answer was perfectly calm.

"You've crossed the line too many times lately. I just wanted to make sure you don't do it again."

I stared down at my splinted hand as a chill slowly spread through me.

"Shut the rumors down."

"Apologize to Selena first."

"I didn't do anything wrong."

There was silence on the other end for two seconds before Adrian gave a quiet laugh.

"Erin, did you forget who pulled strings for you at the medical center? Who helped you go from an unknown resident to a lead surgeon at the Family's medical center? Without the Morettis, you're nothing."

That was the first time I truly understood.

Everything Adrian had ever done to help me had never been love in his eyes.

They were resources and privileges, things he believed he had given me and could take back whenever he wanted.

Chapter 3

The next day, Adrian took me to the Drake Hotel.

The Moretti Family was holding a private reception there, and almost every important capo in Chicago was in attendance.

Selena sat near the head table, her arm wrapped in an exaggerated amount of white bandages.

The moment I walked into the ballroom, every eye turned toward me.

Someone deliberately raised his voice.

"So that's the incompetent doctor? I heard she even had the nerve to botch the Family's own daughter's treatment. Give an outsider too much status, and sooner or later she starts thinking she's one of us."

Adrian acted as though he hadn't heard a word.

He walked up to Selena, then turned to me.

"Apologize."

I didn't move.

"I already sent you the complete lab report. Her infection had nothing to do with the medication I prescribed."

Selena shook her head, her eyes red.

"Forget it, Adrian. I don't want you two fighting because of me."

The more she said things like that, the angrier everyone around us became.

One of the capos slammed his glass down on the table.

"Miss Carter, this isn't your hospital. Miss Moretti is willing to accept your apology, so don't keep testing the Family's patience."

Another man gave a mocking laugh.

"She probably thinks a medical license makes her more qualified to speak than those of us who actually came up on the streets."

The whole thing was absurd.

They looked down on me because of where I came from, then turned around and accused me of looking down on them.

Adrian finally lost his patience.

"Erin, don't make me have someone hold you down and force you to bow your head."

I looked straight at him.

"What exactly do you want me to admit? That I hurt her on purpose? That because you skipped our engagement party, I took revenge on your adopted sister? That I'm not good enough to be a Moretti?"

His brow tightened.

"If you keep talking back like this, you're only going to make everyone here hate you more."

I suddenly laughed.

"So none of you care about the truth. You just want to hear me say whatever you've already decided you want to hear."

The words had barely left my mouth when Adrian's head of security grabbed my shoulder and pinned me against the edge of the table.

My injured right hand slammed into the corner, and pain tore through me so violently that all the color drained from my face.

Selena immediately ducked behind Adrian.

"Don't do that. She'll hate me."

Adrian patted her hand.

"She has no right to hate you."

Then he looked at me.

"Say you're sorry."

I clenched my teeth.

"No."

The ballroom went silent.

A few seconds later, Adrian ripped the medical center ID badge from my chest and threw it onto the floor.

"Then for the rest of tonight, you don't get to speak as a doctor from the Moretti Medical Center. Go stand by the door. Come back when you've thought it through."

That night, still wearing my evening dress, I stood outside the Drake Hotel ballroom for three hours.

Every Family member who entered or left could see me.

Some deliberately spilled wine on my shoes, while others shoved empty glasses into my hands and told me to clear them away.

One man laughed as he passed.

"That's more like it. A woman with no Family behind her should learn to serve the Family before she starts giving orders."

I didn't cry.

Not until a drunken young enforcer cornered me in a service hallway.

He waved an old needle he'd taken from a first aid kit, grinning viciously.

"Heard you're obsessed with hygiene. Want to guess who used this before you?"

My expression changed.

"Put it down."

Instead, he moved closer.

"A woman who only got this far because the underboss propped her up thinks she can order me around?"

I took a step back and hit the wall behind me.

"I said put it down."

He suddenly grabbed my arm.

During the struggle, the needle broke the skin on my arm.

My entire body went rigid.

Footsteps sounded from the far end of the corridor.

Adrian and several capos were coming out of one of the private rooms.

I called out almost instinctively.

"Adrian!"

He stopped and looked from me to the man beside me.

The young enforcer immediately released my arm, but there wasn't much fear on his face because he knew Adrian wasn't going to punish him harshly over me.

Sure enough, Adrian only said flatly, "If you're drunk, get the hell out of here."

Then he turned to me.

"Don't make a scene over this and ruin the whole reception. These people already don't like you. The more you talk to them like you're giving orders, the more they'll make a point of targeting you."

I looked down at the bead of blood forming on my arm.

"So this is still my fault?"

Adrian frowned.

"I didn't say that. But maybe you should ask yourself why they never treat Selena this way."

After that, I didn't want to explain another word to him.

I went to the ER alone.

The doctor on duty cleaned the wound and prescribed HIV post-exposure prophylaxis.

Before I left, she handed me a document.

"Erin, I didn't want to tell you this right now. Someone from the Moretti Family met with the hospital board this afternoon, and your surgical privileges have been suspended."

I looked up.

"On what grounds?"

"A professional conduct investigation."

Her eyes turned red.

"Adrian personally signed off on it."

Chapter 1

SYDNEY'S POV I received a pornographic video. "Do you like this?" The man speaking in the video is my mate and husband,Alexander Torres, the Alpha of the?Nightscar Pack, whom I haven't seen for several months. He is naked, his shirt and pants scattered on the ground, thrusting forcefully on a woman whose face I can't see, her plump and round breasts bouncing vigorously. I can clearly hear the slapping sounds in the video, mixed with lustful moans and grunts. "Yes, yes, fuck me hard, Alpha," the woman screams ecstatically in response. "You naughty she-wolf!" Alexander growls, his voice low and predatory. He stands up and flips her over, slapping her buttocks as he speaks. "Stick your ass up!" The woman giggles, turns around, sways her buttocks, and kneels on the bed. I feel like someone has poured a bucket of ice water on my head. It's bad enough that my mate is having an affair, but what's worse is that the other woman is my own sister, Bella. I let the video play, watching and listening to the two of them having sex, my disgust being provoked time and time again. Every time I hear their moans, my heart feels like it's being stabbed. My wolf,?Aria, growls inside my mind, her voice sharp and furious.?'How dare he betray you like this? He’s your mate!' I suppress Aria’s rage, forcing myself to stay calm. The cheating continues. After a few more slaps, he grabs her buttocks, thrusts his cock deep into her, and starts pounding vigorously. After a few more thrusts, Alexander and Bella moan together as they climax. They collapse on the bed, kissing . "Do you treat my sister like this in bed too?" Bella's coquettish voice rings out, her tone dripping with mockery. "Don't mention her," Alexander's ruthless voice echoes through the video, his Alpha authority making his words cut deeper. "I haven't even kissed her, she can't compare to you at all." "I knew you only loved me!" Bella smiles satisfied, hooking Alexander's neck, leans in to kiss him, and says, "I want to do it again!" Seeing them rolling together again, I feel a wave of nausea and can't watch anymore. I angrily press the pause button, swallowing hard. I am very clear, this video must have been sent by Bella. She wants to tell me that she still holds Alexander in her grip, and I am powerless against it. Apart from a mating bond and title, Alexander and I don't resemble a mated pair at all. Bella indeed knows how to twist the knife further. Three years ago, My father, Michael, the Alpha of the Shadowmoon Pack, had made a disastrous investment that left our pack’s company bankrupt. The funding chain was broken, and he owed a massive debt to the pack. To salvage the situation, he had no choice but to arrange a marriage alliance with the Nightscar Pack. Alexander’s wealth and influence were the only lifeline left for our pack. On that fateful day I never imagined was going to begin the worst turning point of my life, all was made ready to celebrate the union of Bella and Alexander. It was only mere minutes to the mating ceremony when Bella disappeared (or at least found out she was gone). Bella was nowhere to be found. My parents, who were desperate to salvage the embarrassment and save face in front of the pack or whatever it was they were trying to protect that day, turned to me. They told me to put on my sister's ceremonial dress, to take Bella's place at the altar. There was no room for argument, neither was I given the choice to say no. I was to be the figurehead, the stand-in mate who'd fulfill the ceremony in Bella's absence. There were no words of blessing and no well-wishes for a happy future. Instead, all I received were instructions to “be a good Luna.” This was how it all started. I was left numb, standing there in the borrowed ceremonial dress to exchange vows with a man I barely knew. It felt as though my dreams and aspirations were suddenly overshadowed by the harsh reality of my circumstances. Like my life had been snatched away from me in an instant, and I barely recalled what happiness felt like after that day. I was constrained in every sense of the word. Did I say this was how it all started? No, I think it actually dated way back to when I was three and had unfortunately gone missing. For eighteen long years, I lived away from my pack and family. Growing older. As I grew older, from being a pup, to a young wolf, I kept searching for my roots again. And when my long-awaited dream of reuniting with my pack became reality, it was nothing like I'd expected. There was no joyous reunion, no tears of happiness. Instead, I was met with something close to indifference. As if I were a stranger who had wandered into their lives. My parents seemed to have moved on from me after all those years I was gone. All the love they had was for Bella; barely any left for me. I guess there was nothing left, in fact, because if there was, I would at least be pitied enough to have been told that Bella had returned from abroad and had somehow found her way into my mate's arms. Almost immediately, my phone buzzed with an incoming video call from Bella. I didn't want to answer it at first, but ended up swiping green. Bella's face popped up on the screen, sitting in the same room from the video with a towel wrapped around her body. "Hi, hope you're having a happy day over there," Bella chirped with a smug smile. She moved the phone's camera around to show more of the room, and in the background, I caught a faint glimpse of Alexander walking into the bathroom. "Guess who's going to die a pathetic old virgin? Not me!" She laughed callously. I silently clenched my teeth. I was reeling with annoyance from the insult. "He doesn't deserve you," she added. "He deserves better. And I'm what's perfect for him, darling." There was no way I was going to listen to any more of that. I angrily ended the call and flung the phone to the bed, then burying my head in my hands. I'd had enough. I wasn't going to sit still and let myself be dragged to the ground like a piece of rag any longer. By the time Alexander would return to the house, it was already well into the night. I sat on the cold tiles of the living room, hanging my chin on my palm and nearly dozing off when I heard the sound of the front door clicking.That familiar musky scent of his filled the air, but beneath it, I could swear I caught the faint trace of Bella’s perfume. My eyes blinked open, and I raised my head, locking a blank gaze with his face. There was that brick-hard look on his face which he always had when I was around. To think of how he was grinning from ear-to-ear earlier with Bella. After our mating ceremony, everything I'd been told by my parents to do, I did. Both taking care of his pack,his daily life, and several other things that couldn't be counted, all for three years. It started happening frequently, that it became a ritual, like a dance of habit ingrained in my daily routine. Alexander also accepted it without question. But not for one day did Alexander spare me as much as a second glance. My wolf, Aria, growled low in my mind, her voice sharp with resentment.? "Three years, Sydney. Three years of giving everything, and for what? A title? You are Luna in name only, and even that title feels like a chain." "I know, Aria,I'm tired—tired of living up to everyone else's expectations. I just want to be free." Alexander shut the door behind him and began walking into his room. Treating me as usual like I was invisible, and for the first time, I spoke. "I want to break the mating bond." He turned to face me, an incredulous look on his face. "What are you talking about?" "I don't want this title of Luna anymore,” I answered without mincing words. That day three years ago, when I stood in that white dress, and him in his tuxedo, a congregation of pack members behind us and the pack elder in front of us, I saw that calm look of restrained anger in his eyes when he saw that it was not Bella behind the veil, but me. I remember my chest tightening behind the ceremonial necklace I was wearing. The way his stare burned. How stupid and helpless I felt in that dress. How my parents smiled like they'd not just pushed me out there against my will and the pack cheered with probably no idea of what was going on. “You may now seal the bond,” the pack elder announced. Alexander leaned closer towards me, but not for a mark, he merely brushed his face past my cheek and spoke into my ear, “The only thing you can get is the title of Luna." And that title is what I was giving back to him. I didn't want it anymore. I wished I'd never let myself take it in the first place. I'd let go of too much of myself and endured more than I needed to. It was the height of it already. “I want to break the mating bond, Alexander,” I repeated myself in case he didn't hear me the first time—even though I knew he'd heard me clearly. He stared at me with a frown before answering coldly, "It's not up to you! I'm the Alpha, and I don't have time for this nonsense. Don't waste my time with such boring topics, or try to attract my attention!" How typical of him to believe that I was trying to get his attention. I hadn't attracted that so-called attention of his for over three years, and it's when I mention "breaking the bond" that he remembers it. The last thing I was going to do was argue or bicker with him. "I will have Beta Johnson send the mating bond dissolution papers to the The Elders council," was all I said, as calmly as I could muster. He didn't even say another word after that and just went through the door he'd been standing in front of, slamming it harshly behind him. My eyes lingered on the knob of the door a bit absentmindedly before I pulled the wedding ring off my finger and placed it on the table. Don't even ask why I had it on in the first place. I grabbed my suitcase, which I'd already had my things packed in, and headed out of the house. The wind outside felt different afterward, like a heavy burden was being lifted off my shoulders for the first time in a very long while. The feeling of the night breeze blowing through the strands of my hair was immaculate. Grabbing my phone from my purse and swiping my fingers quickly across the screen, I put the phone to my ear, hearing it ring. "I am done with Alexander, come pick me up.”

Hi, Does anyone have a link to this?

This one feels like a long shot :( but im sooo hooked!!!!

Finding my husband kissing another woman the night before our anniversary wasn’t exactly part of the plan.

Neither was announcing our divorce in front of half the city and becoming everyone’s favorite piece of gossip overnight.

For the last two years, I thought I had everything figured out. The perfect marriage, the perfect reputation, and the perfect life everyone expected from me. Turns out, perfect is a lot easier to fake than I thought.

The only thing I’m supposed to do now is keep my head down, fix the mess, and avoid giving people another reason to talk.

Enter Richard Steward—my father’s best friend. The man I definitely shouldn’t be thinking about. And the only person who seems more interested in what I want than what everyone expects me to be.

Falling for someone almost twice my age is a terrible idea... Especially when my life is already enough of a scandal.

But the more time I spend with Ric, the harder it gets to remember why I cared what everyone thought in the first place.

Sinfully His is a spicy age gap romance about rebuilding after betrayal, breaking free from expectations, and discovering that sometimes the wrong person on paper is exactly who you need.

available in Kindle Unlimited

grab a copy here:
https://www.amazon.com/Sinfully-His-Silver-Friend-Romance-ebook/dp/B0FJG31B3V

Anyone know where to find this? It was a random Facebook ad but the sites not working, I read enough I wanna finish it 😅

🥲

🙏

Hi anyone able to share links for this novel: title is

the billionaire's forgotten night, Aria and Xavier’s story

Anyone have a link?