Echoterra: Rise of the Verdant King - Chapter 14: The thorn that bites back

Mature content (18+)“How far would you go for love?”Cruel and twisted Atlas Martini had 3 rules.1. Never mix business with pleasure2. Don't ever give second chances3. Never get emotional attached to someone.He has never been tempted to break these rules until he met her.His new secretary, Meredith Rossi.With her big glasses and doe eyes, she was the most innocent and pure woman he has ever met. he couldn't wait to taint her.To ruin, claim and bend her over his desk.She was supposed to be a prey for him to play around with until he found himself addicted to her. Like a drug, he craved an overdose.Now she was his secretary,His AngelHis good girl.A woman with dark secrets, Meredith Rossi didn't think running away from home with her little brother would change her life forever. Her boss was everything she should avoid.Fierce, ruthless, a promised pain and sexy as hell.When he proposition a devilish deal she agreed because life was too short not to live out your dark fantasies. Temptation was the ultimate ruin of man and if she was going down she might as well pick her poison which was him.Now he was her BossHer dominantHer ultimate downfall.Theirs was a love story that questioned how far you would go for love---would you fall in love with a cursed monster?-------------------Excerpt;“You got such a dirty imagination for an Angel.” Atlas grasped her chin in one hand and forced her to meet his gaze.“Touch yourself Angel.” Atlas ordered, his breath tickling her ear.“Let me see what you do when you are alone with your dirty fantasies.”

There once was a boy who was an orphan and suffered abuse from his village residents. The only friend he had was the dummy scarecrow on the field, whom he talked to. One day, a wealthy man brutally beat the boy. The next morning, the wealthy man was found dead, and the scarecrow was covered in blood. Terrified, the villagers were convinced that the scarecrow had come to life to avenge its tormented friend. And it was the last scarecrow ever placed again in the fields, considering it a sign of death. — After scarecrow dolls begin appearing in the streets of Riddleford next to murder victims, the town is thrown into chaos.When the hunt for the mystery scarecrow murderer begins, it is only a matter of time before the famous Frontier Hall Opera House employees are subjected to suspicion, each protecting a secret of their own. But is that all that is going on? Or is there something unseen?

This is the story of Lara, a young woman from modern times, raised with one singular purpose: to exact revenge on the family of the general who destroyed her own.But fate had other plans. On her way to carry out her mission of vengeance, a twist in the plan led to disaster. Lara was struck by a military truck escorting the very general she intended to assassinate.When she awoke, she found herself in an entirely different world—one where her identity and purpose were starkly different from the life she had known and how she had been molded to be.Abducted by human traffickers, she outsmarted them and escaped. Then, she encountered a mysterious martial arts master whose ancient skills far surpassed her own. For two years, she trained with him in the remote mountains. One fateful day, while hunting deep in Mount Ourea, Lara stumbled upon the Prince of Northem, disguised as a commoner. He was gravely injured while pursuing a notorious group of bandits. Lara saved him then vanished without a trace.Haunted by his savior, the Prince of Northem searched for her but to no avail. Duty called, and he rejoined the Northem army, embroiled in a fierce battle against the bandits and soldiers of Estalis in the Alta-Sierra mountain range.Amid the chaos, Lara was mistakenly swept onto the battlefield, disguised as a soldier. The Prince of Northem, intrigued by the disguised warrior, recruited him as his guard.During the battle, fate played another cruel hand. Lara came face to face with General Odin and his two sons—only to discover that General Odin was the spitting image of the general she had been trained to assassinate. Could the man from her world be a descendant of this brave general?Torn between her mission and her newfound reality, Lara faced an impossible question: How could she kill her biological father?Her internal conflict deepened when she uncovered an elaborate plot to frame General Odin and his sons as traitors. The true culprits? His own subordinates and trusted allies.In an ironic twist of fate, Lara found herself becoming the 'protector' of the family that, in modern times, she was supposed to ruin.After the war, Lara returned as a hero, ready to reveal her identity to General Odin, but she learned of another betrayal. Her cousin, Mira—the orchestrator of her abduction—had taken over her identity. Mira lived in her home under the guise of comforting Lara's grief-stricken mother because of the death of her only daughter. Not only that, she also did a lot of scheming and eventually claimed Lara's betrothal to Prince Alaric.With her identity stolen and her mission turned upside down, Lara faced a new challenge: reclaiming her life and honor and protecting her new family.

Wealthy, powerful and handsome; Gu Jingze is the cream of the crop in the entire country. Every guy wants to be him and every girl wants to be with him. His life is perfect… except that he has one tiny secret that keeps him from getting close to any woman—apparent impotency.

That is, until he wakes up in bed with a total stranger one day. The next thing he knows, he is forced to marry this stranger; a feisty and boisterous woman by the name of Lin Che.

Lin Che is an average girl whose only aim is to become a successful actress. Ostracized by her family and forced to become independent, she cooks up a scheme to attain her goal. But her plan fails and she ends up marrying this cold and seemingly heartless Gu Jingze. Not only that, she must now find her place in high society, where jealous women and devious plots lay abound – all while juggling her new career.

Two strangers under one roof: From the outset, they agree to stay out of each other’s lives, but he somehow always manages to appear during her moments of crisis. Slowly and unwittingly, Lin Che begins to find it difficult to imagine a future without him. Will their relationship grow, or is their marriage destined to remain just a contract?

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