Emperor's Reckoning - Chapter 71: How Can I not be?

He’s her stepbrother, her sin and her biggest mistake waiting to happen.Catherine Brown thought moving in with her mother’s new husband couldn’t be harder until she met the cold, arrogant and sinfully attractive Julian Vaughn, her stepbrother.He hates her, teases her and gets under her skin everyday. He’s everything she should stay away from, off-limits and untouchable.But when his anger turns into something darker and hungrier, when he looks at her like he wants to ruin her innocence, Catherine realizes danger has a new name.And no matter how hard she tries, she can’t stop wanting the one man she’s not supposed to have.When hate turns to desire, who’s really in control?EXCERPT✨“You’ve never had sex before?” Julian asked, disbelief flickering in his eyes.Catherine hesitated, then nodded, staring at the floor instead of him.He bit his lower lip, trying to rein in the thoughts crowding his mind. Goodness, she was too innocent for her own good.“So all you did with your previous boyfriends were just kisses and smooches?”She immediately stood, her cheeks flushed. “There are no boyfriends,” she blurted. “I’ve never even been kissed. Please don’t laugh at me.”Laugh? Hell no. Julian wasn’t laughing. He was fighting the urge to pull her close. Knowing she’d never been touched only made his hunger worse.She didn’t realize he’d moved until his breath brushed her ear, his voice dropping low and dangerous.“Catherine, just say the word and I’ll show you what it means to be touched by a man.”Her heart stuttered in her chest and he could hear every beat.

[Mature Content]Arabella Donovan sacrificed her youth solely for her husband. However, he divorced her because she could not bear children for him, causing her great pain.Bella decided to disappear from his life.Five years later, she returned to the country with her adorable son.Her peaceful life started to get disturbed when her ex-husband chased her back the moment he found out she was giving birth to his son.But now, she wasn't the same Bella she used to be. She is an entirely different person.*****“Boss, she's back!”“Who?” Tristan Sinclair asked while scribbling his signature across stacks of papers.“Your wife—” The assistant hesitated, watching Tristan closely. When he saw Tristan's furrowed brows, he corrected himself. “Sorry, I mean your ex-wife, Ms. Donovan. She's returned with a boy...”Tristan sighed, eyeing the contract before him. After five years of searching, only to find out she's moved on, it feels hurt. But he couldn't avoid it. She deserves happiness with someone else. He'll take this loss. “She deserves a new husband...” Tristan muttered, dismissing his assistant.“Boss, what I meant was the cute little boy. I think he's around four years old—”Tristan snapped. His head up, fixing his sharp gaze on his assistant.“I need you to arrange a DNA test for the kid. And get me her address!”A glimmer appeared in his eyes as a smile slowly spread across his face.

The story begins as our female lead wakes up in a strange room and an unfamiliar body. She realizes that she has travelled back in time and her twenty-two year old spirit is now trapped in the body of a six year old girl. This girl child is the third daughter of Ning Guo’s Prime Minister Li and his seventh wife. Her name is Li Qing Luo and because her mother was originally from an entertainment house, Prime Minister Li and his other six wives treated them badly.

Her first day in that world, the whole family gathers to test the talent of the three daughters. Qing Lei, the eldest, is talented at playing the zither while Qing Fei’s calligraphy is incomparable. Everyone anticipates A’Luo’s failure as she had not exhibited any talent before, but that six year old child recites a famous Tang poem. The entire family is surprised that Qing Luo is able to write such a profound poem and her mother later tells her that Prime Minister Li is so harsh on his daughters because he needs to rely on them marrying well to secure his future. Qing Luo begins to study qin, qi, shu, hua (zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting) but hides her skill because she does not want to be sold in marriage to some prince or court official.

Six years later, A’Luo is now twelve and leaves the estate for the first time to participate at a flower viewing banquet. This is a special banquet because the Five Most Eligible Bachlors of Feng Cheng will be in attendance (there’s actually a more elegant name for them). These young men are: Crown Prince Liu Jian, Fourth Prince Liu Fei, the young An Qing Wang Liu Jue, the son of Prime Minister Gu Gu Tian Xiang, and the top scorer of the Imperial Examinations Cheng Si Yue. A’Luo sneaks off and almost falls into a river, but is saved by a handsome young man. Because he glanced at her bare legs a moment too long, A’Luo calls him a pervert, tries to push him into the river and runs off. The young man only laughs and vows to find her again.

- Description from Novelupdates

[Ding!! Business Empire System Activated]After his business tycoon dad passed away, Kim Suho inherited 1 million dollars as the fifth son, but before he could use it, it was taken by the system.“I have to use the whole amount in a legal business to get double the amount? That's so easy.”Kim Suho was elated to see the system giving him the easiest task ever. He would receive double the money if he used the entire amount in a legal business within just one week.Confident in his plan Kim Suho bought a struggling T-shirt making factory. What he didn't expect was that there were people in the company who had the potential to make it great again from scratch.As he sees the companies under him becoming the world's number one Business Empire, he finds himself regarded as the country's foremost philanthropist and greatest entrepreneur ever, leading environmentalist, permanent president of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, A legendary business tycoon and industry-recognized “greatest boss ever”“Damn, I Don’t Want to Build a Business Empire,” Kim Suho said sadly.Additional Tags:#lightromance#businessmanagement#girlsfallinlovefirst#handsomeprotagonist#richtopoortorich#misunderstanding#no-booba