Introduction

My husband, Harrison Phelps, was the FBI's golden boy, the hero negotiator who never lost his cool. To the world, we were the perfect couple. Then a bank robbery went wrong. The desperate kidnapper grabbed two women as human shields: me, and Harrison's colleague, Brooke. He gave my husband a choice: save one. Through the megaphone, my husband's voice boomed, clear and decisive for the whole world to hear. "Let Brooke Shelton go! She is a national asset!" He rushed to embrace her, shielding her with his body, never once looking back at me. The kidnapper, enraged, turned his gun on me. I saw the flash before the world went black. I woke up in the hospital and the first thing I did was call a lawyer. I wanted a divorce. But he returned from retrieving our marriage certificate with a strange look on his face. "There's a problem, Mrs. Phelps," he said, sliding the document across the table. "According to official records, this was never filed. Legally, you were never married." Six years. Our home, our friends, our life-all built on a lie. It was all for her. He built a perfect, fake life with me just so he could wait for Brooke to come back.

On our wedding anniversary, I had a sudden urge to make a memory video using my husband's old phone. After turning it on, the phone's notes app popped up automatically, with the latest entry titled "Baby Diary." "Today marks one month since our little girl arrived. Mommy's morning sickness seems worse. It breaks my heart. Daddy got you lots of cute dresses to wear when you're here." The note was signed by my husband, James Vance. But I wasn't pregnant. I called James at work. "What's with the notes on your old phone?" His breath caught on the other end, then he chuckled lightly. "Oh, that? It's just a buddy of mine. His wife's pregnant, and he had nowhere to write it down, so he used my phone." I laughed and said okay. After hanging up, I opened the phone's photo album, went to "Recently Deleted," and recovered a deleted ultrasound image. Holding the ultrasound with the name "Amelia Harper" on it, I smiled and dialed my mother-in-law, Margaret.

On Valentine's Day, I was diagnosed with advanced stomach cancer, with less than a month left to live. As I was engulfed in confusion and panic, Sebastian Nash knelt before me with a pained expression, saying, "I'm sorry, Betsy. I've fallen in love with another woman." He then promised me seriously, "I haven't cheated on you. What I share with her is a deep emotional bond. We won't have sex, and my feelings and commitment to you remain unchanged. I will continue to fulfill my duties as your husband." Clutching the diagnosis report tightly, I managed to force out a few words, "Okay. I will let you be together." Sebastian was both surprised and worried as he embraced me, saying, "Betsy, don't leave me. I love her, but I love you more. Please don't be angry or make trouble with me." I gave a bitter smile, "I won't." As a dying person, there was nothing worth crying or fussing over.

Everyone in the city of Westrington knew that Claire Harrington, the youngest daughter the Harringtons found and brought back years ago, was the fiercest woman in town. Her husband, Gavin Fulton, wasn't just the only heir to Fulton Group-he was also the most sought-after surgeon in the entire city. They pampered Claire, let her run wild, and gave her everything she ever wanted. Her older brother, Graham Harrington, had her back at the company. He once swore publicly that the company would always belong to Claire, and he was just the one making money for her. The only one who ever encouraged her to step out of her comfort zone was Nina Harrington, the "wrong heiress" raised in Claire's place. Nina told her to be independent, to stop relying on others. Claire laughed it off, thinking Nina was just overthinking everything. Until the news hit-Nina had been stabbed in the Harrington Group underground garage. Claire rushed to call the one person she trusted most-Gavin. But the reply from the hospital shattered her. Gavin was in surgery... saving the man who'd attacked Nina. Even her brother Graham redirected all available medical staff to ensure the attacker survived. Claire screamed. She begged. She dropped to her knees, pleading with them to save her sister. But Graham simply ordered someone to restrain her. "Claire, calm down, would you? She's not even your real sister. Even if you lose her, you still have a husband and a brother who love you. But Marissa... she's different. And that man we're saving, he raised Marissa for over twenty years!"

My husband was a world-renowned top animal trainer, running a famous exotic zoo. Even the fiercest beasts were as docile as cats in his presence. But on the day he took our son Jeffry to visit the zoo, the lion, which was his favorite, suddenly broke out of its cage and swallowed our boy whole. In the morgue, I held my son's mutilated body and cried until I fainted, while he rushed back to the zoo overnight to soothe the frightened lion. "Bethany, the little lion is usually so well-behaved. This was just an accident. Everyone has their own destiny. I am also very sad, but the past is gone. We must look forward." It wasn't until I saw on the surveillance that he was comforting the new female manager, whispering, "Cathleen, I'm not blaming you for not reporting the broken cage on time. Everyone in the zoo faces risks of injury; Jeffry just had bad luck." In that moment, I felt the blood in my veins freeze. It turned out that the person who caused our son's death was the father he admired the most. I turned off the surveillance and donated his prized little lion to the national zoo for free. Then, I sent my son's photo to my connections in the underground network, "Make them face the consequences."

In my fifth year as his Luna, I remained a virgin. Yet after my sister, married for three years without a child, was sent back to the tribe, Phillip Elliott suddenly suggested having a pup. My wolf always sensed his coldness. After deep thought, I decided to have a serious talk with him, but I overheard him speaking with his Beta. "Rosalyn injured herself saving me and can never bear pups. To secure her place as Luna in that tribe, we need an heir. I can't watch her suffer. Kaitlin's womb is better suited to carry the Alpha's bloodline. Once she bears a pup for Rosalyn, I'll compensate her for life and make her the true Luna, giving her my heir." So, I was just a womb to him. My chest felt ripped apart. Fine, I'd let them have their way. I returned to my foster parents, cutting all ties with Phillip. But why did the man who never loved me beg like a madman for my return?