r/asknovelbox

Today is October 14th, my birthday. I returned to New York after months away, dragging my suitcase through the biting wind, but the VIP pickup zone where my husband’s Maybach usually idled was empty.

When I finally let myself into our Upper East Side penthouse, I didn’t find a cake or a “welcome home” banner. Instead, I found my husband, Caden, kneeling on the floor, helping our five-year-old daughter wrap a massive gift for my half-sister, Adalynn.

Caden didn’t even look up when I walked in; he was too busy laughing with the girl who had already stolen my father’s legacy and was now moving in on my family. “Auntie Addie is a million times better than Mommy,” my daughter Elara chirped, clutching a plush toy Caden had once forbidden me from buying for her.

“Mommy is mean,” she whispered loudly, while Caden just smirked, calling me a “drill sergeant” before whisking her off to Adalynn’s party without a second glance.

Later that night, I saw a video Adalynn posted online where my husband and child laughed while mocking my “sensitive” nature, treating me like an inconvenient ghost in my own home.

I had spent five years researching nutrition for Elara’s health and managing every detail of Caden’s empire, only to be discarded the moment I wasn’t in the room.

I was waiting at the Registry Hall to formalize my mate bond with Gabe, my childhood sweetheart and the Alpha of our pack.

He was thirty-two minutes late.

When I finally found him in a private VIP lounge, his hands were buried in my cousin’s hair, their lips locked together.

Hailee was supposed to be my maid of honor.

Instead of apologizing, Gabe looked me dead in the eye and used his Alpha authority to publicly reject me.

The severing of our ten-year bond tore my soul apart, but the nightmare didn’t stop there.

My grandfather immediately called, demanding I clean up a mess Hailee had made.

When I refused, he disowned me on the spot, froze every single one of my bank accounts, and stripped me of my family name.

Everyone knew Kristine loved Colton. Still, his heart clung to a woman overseas-someone he spent most days with, now pregnant with his baby-and Kristine still asked him to marry her.

On their registration day, however, he never came; his “true love” had flown back.

Seven years of loyalty later, Kristine walked away, blocked him, and left his city.

Colton didn’t blink-until he saw her at the courthouse, arm-in-arm with another man, and the proud CEO went pale. He went after her, desperation overtaking him.

“I’m sorry. Please give me another chance.”

She snapped, “Could you stop? I’m already married.”

“Let’s get a divorce. She’s pregnant, and she deserves a place in my life.”

He once swore to protect Claire forever, but the moment his first love returned, that promise evaporated. For three years, Claire dimmed her own light, playing the part of the perfect, submissive wife.

But when he handed her the divorce papers to make room for his pregnant mistress, Claire stopped hiding.

The woman he had dismissed as ordinary was actually a legendary healer, a racing prodigy, and a genius designer. Stripped of her wedding ring, Claire reclaimed her crown—and left him in the dust.