The CEO's Billion Dollar Bride - Chapter 26 - Always one step behind

Maria is the only daughter of Jackson, the Alpha of the prestigious Blue Moon Pack in Aberdeen, Scotland. Her mother, the Luna, was revered for her grace and strength. But despite her lineage, Maria's life has been far from perfect.At seventeen, she couldn't shift into her wolf or sense her fated mate, a secret her parents kept hidden out of shame in the pack.By nineteen, still unable to shift, she was forced into an engagement with Bernard, her childhood friend and the future Alpha of their pack, who already had a mate only Maria knows about.Maria and Bernard attended the same college, where their engagement was the talk of the campus, earning Maria both admiration and envy.Yet, behind the smiles, Maria's heart belonged to James Brooklyn, the next Alpha of the Crescent Moon Pack—the sworn rivals of her people.Everything took a darker turn on the night of her engagement to Bernard when her parents were brutally murdered.Will Maria survive the deadly power struggles within her pack, uncover the identity of her true mate, and claim the life she deserves?Or will the curse of the Blue Moon destroy her and everyone she loves after finding out who killed her parents?

When people awaken, their class gets ranked.F means nothing.SS means everything.Nobody talks about SSS ranks, because they aren’t real. Well, they weren’t real until he became one.Lucen Ivara was fine with staying average. Keep his head down, take low-tier jobs, eat something hot once in a while. That was the plan.Then his system came online.It didn’t follow the rules.There were no guides. It seemed limitless. There weren’t any safety rails he could cling into.Just a blank interface and a quiet message floating in front of him.[You are the first.]Now Lucen is crafting spells no one’s seen before, hiding a class that could get him killed, and trying to scrape by in a city where dungeon breaks, guild politics, and hidden power plays are part of daily life.He’s not looking to be a hero.But with power like this, staying invisible might be the hardest thing to do..

[Volume 1: Dante Blackthorn]When Anastasia and her sister Marianne are captured and shipped across the seas by pirates, they become commodities to be sold in a distant land. Marianne is taken as a courtesan, while Anastasia barely escapes a terrible fate by pretending to be mute. She is forced into the lowest ring of servants at the royal palace, where she endures a life of servitude and creates beautiful artwork to mask her pain.Despite years passing, Anastasia has never forgotten her sister's promise to return to their family together. However, with her movement restricted and the guards vigilant, escape seems impossible.When Anastasia comes into contact with the Forsaken Prince, her life spirals out of control and she triggers a Crux of incredible proportions. Now battling her own inner demons while navigating the treacherous politics of the royal court, Anastasia must confront the truth about her sister's fate and make a choice that could alter the course of an entire kingdom.[Volume 2: Emily Blackthorn]Princess Emily's life takes a turbulent turn when she is rejected, leaving her heartbroken and her soul at the brink of corruption. In a desperate bid to save herself, she journeys to the West.Enter the Storm Prince, a charismatic archdemon with striking blue eyes, with a saint-like smile. Emily had hoped she'd seen the last of him, but fate has other plans. As if her soul dying isn’t enough, someone wants to steal it!Caught between the suitors and the haunting nightmares that have plagued her since childhood, Emily begins to see Raylen in a new light. The blue-eyed demon may not be the monster she once thought.

To care for her ailing sweetheart, college student Lu Chenchen gave up her white-collar office job and chose the higher-paying caretaker profession instead. Going around in circles, she ended up at the Mao family’s home.

The Mao family background was complicated. Old Madam Mao was not her son Yanning’s birth mom, but his young aunt. His wife was Old Madam Mao’s first love’s daughter, spoiled and pampered. Despite over ten years of marriage, husband and wife were distant.

To repay Old Madam Mao’s kindness in raising him, and for the sake of his three children, Mao Yanning endured again and again – not just a loveless but outright destructive marriage.

Lu Chenchen walked on eggshells among these people – carefully serving young and old, currying favor with the lady of the house without offending the man of the house, while also worrying about his sweetheart’s illness and missing “his” elders and children back home. Her heart was like a cookie flattened between the pages of life, living a difficult and cautious existence.

However, as the saying goes, “You reap what you sow.” A life that has been polished will eventually shine with a brilliance that ordinary years cannot compare.