The Unwanted Wife's Secret Billionaire Identity

Catalina woke up in the hospital with broken ribs after a horrific car crash, her only thought being her husband, Broderick, who had been paralyzed in a wheelchair for two years. Dragging her battered body to the adjacent VIP suite to check on him, she peeked through the door and saw her paralyzed husband standing perfectly straight, passionately kissing his ex-girlfriend. Broderick chuckled, bragging about faking his paralysis for two years just to secure his trust fund, mocking Catalina as a clueless, free nurse who fetched his water like a trained monkey. When Catalina refused to give up her own hospital bed for his mistress's fake migraine, Broderick flew into a violent rage, publicly humiliated her, and ruthlessly cut off all her credit cards to stop her medical treatments. "Since you are so independent, you can figure out how to pay for this room yourself. Let her rot here." Watching the mistress flaunt the Cartier diamond bracelet Catalina had bought with her own money, Catalina's heart didn't break, it turned into solid ice. She could not understand how she had sacrificed two years of her life serving a monster who treated her like disposable garbage. Discharging herself against medical advice, Catalina grabbed her crutch and headed straight for the lavish party Broderick was throwing at their estate, ready to expose his miraculous recovery to the world and burn his entire empire to the ground.

My wedding day was supposed to be the merger of two dynasties, the day I was handed over on the steps of City Hall like a lamb to the slaughter. Instead of a ring, my fiancé tore our marriage contract to shreds in front of the world's press. He screamed that my family was a "cesspool of lies" and that I was "damaged goods" he refused to accept. The cameras swarmed me, their questions like daggers. Was I mentally unstable? Did I know about the family's secret debts? Had my father disinherited me? I played the part of the broken doll perfectly, my shoulders shaking as I shrank into my white dress. Everyone saw a victim, a poor little rich girl publicly shamed and discarded. They thought my father's cruel world had finally crushed me. They had no idea I wrote the script. As the limo pulled away from the chaos, my driver caught my reflection in the mirror. The trembling bride was gone. In her place was a woman whose eyes held something he couldn't name. It looked almost like satisfaction. And my performance was just the opening act.

I am an orphan taken in by the pack, and the powerful Alpha, Ryker, is my guardian. He is also my secret fated mate. But next week, he is marrying another woman for a political alliance. While I was forced to help his fiancé pick out her wedding gown, Ryker cornered me in a fitting room and aggressively marked my neck, claiming me as his own. When his fiancé almost caught us, his eyes turned cold. He shoved an unlimited black credit card into my hand, telling her it was just "charity" for his dead Beta's daughter. Then, they drove away together, leaving me to take a grimy public bus back alone. Back at the dorm, my roommate saw the unmistakable, possessive bite marks of an Alpha on my collarbone. Knowing my reputation was about to be ruined, I fled to a remote campus building to hide from them all. But my adoptive mother's maid suddenly appeared at my door. She didn't come to comfort me. Instead, she delivered a chilling warning. "Do not repeat the terrible mistakes of your family and the Blackwoods regarding the wrong kind of attachments." I froze, my blood running cold as I realized I was under constant surveillance. I thought Ryker's toxic obsession was my biggest nightmare. But what exactly happened between our families in the past, and why did everyone want me trapped in this beautifully decorated prison?

Before I died, I used my life's work in robotics to build a bionic replica of myself for my husband. She had my exact face and body, but none of my temper. She never threw tantrums, never picked fights, and never raised her voice. Yet my husband, Ethan, had no idea she was actually a machine. He despised "my" newly submissive and obedient attitude. To provoke me, he constantly brought women home, desperately trying to drive me mad with jealousy. But he never succeeded. Until one day, his first love—the one who had once walked out on him—threw a cup of scalding coffee right in "my" face. To Ethan's astonishment, not only did I not scream in pain, but my skin didn't even turn red. He finally realized that I was already dead.

My father, the Alpha Supreme, sealed my powers and sent me to the Turner Pack as a test. He wanted to see if my Fated Mate, Ignatz, would love the girl, not the Royal title. Ignatz failed. For five years, I was his slave, the "No-Wolf" he kept around to clean up after his mistress. When I discovered I was pregnant with his child, I thought he might finally show mercy. Instead, he looked at me with pure disgust. "I will not have a weak, wolfless bastard tainting my bloodline," he roared. "Get rid of it." I begged. I screamed. But his mother and mistress watched with glee as the doctor scraped my womb clean, killing the only thing I had left. Hours later, bleeding and hollowed out, I was dragged onto the floor of the pack's banquet hall. Ignatz stood on the stage, holding his mistress's hand. "I, Ignatz Turner, reject you, Genevieve, as my mate," he announced, treating me like garbage to be discarded. He thought he was breaking a weak human. He didn't realize he was unlocking a monster. The pain of the rejection didn't kill me; it shattered the seal on my powers. The scent of ozone and Royal Lilies exploded through the room, bringing every wolf to their knees. My bones cracked, reshuffling into the massive form of the legendary White Wolf. As my father’s Royal Guards blew the doors off their hinges, I looked down at Ignatz, who was now trembling in the dirt. "I accept your rejection," I growled. Now, the hunt begins.

For eight years, I gave up my family fortune and my hearing to help my boyfriend, Emiliano Reed, become a rock star. I was his muse, his guardian angel, the silent partner in his success. Then, a miracle happened: my hearing returned. Just in time to catch him with a college student, and hear him call me a "burden" and a "charity case." The betrayal didn't end there. When his new girl wrecked the vintage car my late father gave me, I confronted her at the police station. Emiliano rushed in, not to defend me, but to protect her. He shoved me so hard I hit the floor, and the world went silent again. My hearing was gone, for a second time, because of him. "Are you deaf?" he roared at me, furious that I wouldn't just forgive him. "I gave you everything! It was exhausting, suffocating!" I looked at the man I had sacrificed everything for, the man who had just destroyed me all over again. He had no idea I'd heard every single, hateful word. "No, Emiliano," I said, my voice clear and steady. "The question is, are you deaf? Or are you just a coward?"