Monarch of Evernight - Volume 3 - Chapter 29: Returning to the Battlefield

“No one looks at you. No one touches you. You’re a Whitehall now... And you’re mine.” Roman’s voice was a low, dangerous growl against her neck.She tilted her chin, meeting the predator in his eyes with her own cold fire. “I belong to no one, Roman, certainly not a beast in a jersey. If you want to claim me, you’ll have to do better than your father’s signature on a contract.”She spun her wheelchair to leave, but he was faster. His hand locked around her waist, dragging her back as his palm slammed against the wall beside her head.“Don’t you fucking dare me, Estelle.”—Estelle Rutledge was the Ice Queen of the Rutledge sports dynasty: national treasure, global brand, and the financial backbone of her family’s empire.Until one catastrophic crack on the ice shattered her career… and left her in a wheelchair.In the elite world of the one percent, a broken asset becomes a liability.With the Rutledge legacy collapsing under a mountain of debt, Estelle’s own mother did the unthinkable. She sold her daughter to the highest bidder, trading Estelle’s freedom for a check from Magnus Whitehall, the ruthless billionaire owner of a professional hockey empire.But Magnus didn’t buy Estelle for himself. He bought her to be his son’s leash.Roman Whitehall is the NHL’s most dangerous beast. A volatile heir with a scandal-soaked reputation and a temper that threatens the family’s billions. To the league’s board, he’s a loose cannon. To his father, he’s a problem that needs a wife to clean up his image.The command was simple: “Be the one thing he can’t avoid… or lose your legs.”Now Estelle is legally bound to a man who sees their marriage as a cage, and her as the bars holding him in. Roman believes she’s a fragile burden. Estelle thinks he’s a monster fueled by rage and secrets.But inside the Whitehall mansion, built on power, money, and lies, Estelle discovers a terrifying truth: she is not the first “Ice Queen” Magnus Whitehall has broken.Trapped in dynasty politics and a contract signed in blood, Estelle faces an impossible choice. Will she let the Whitehalls destroy what’s left of her… or join forces with the beast she hates most and burn their empire to the ground?Because even though she hates it, Roman Whitehall may be the only man who can help her stand again.Even if he has to break her first.

“You need a wife.” She said.“What makes you think that you are cut out to be my wife?” Oliver asked. The smug smile on his lips was the only indication that he didn’t find her suggestion offensive.“I am not like any of the other women you’ve been with before, Mr. Morton.” Seductively, she let her fingers draw patterns across his chest.“Ms. Sophia, are you aware that you’re playing a dangerous game?” He asked, capturing her fingers that were busily tickling the five o’clock shadow along his jawline.“I am.” But really, was she? But this was not the time to back out now. To second-guess herself. “But are you brave enough to play my game?” She dared, looking him directly in the eyes.Without giving him time to react, she kissed him.Damn!She knew she should stop. This man was her enemy, but her body wouldn’t let her.She missed this. Being wanted. Being desired. Being... No! Not love.This was not love.Oliver saw her as an object. A beautiful woman to conquer, nothing more.And she should feel the same way.No! She could not fall back into his charms. Armed with this realization, she busily let her other hand wander off until she felt it.The hard, metallic weapon that he put aside. Grabbing it, she immediately placed it on his temple, mimicking his action earlier.Then, she gradually pulled her lips away.“Are you gonna kill me now?” The great Mafia Don asked, but she could not see any trace of fear in his eyes as he stared at her. Only curiosity.“No, as I said, I’m not like the woman you’re used to. I know what I want, and I get it.” She said confidently, while slightly pushing her body harder against his.Damn! Her body still responded the same way to him, just as she remembered it.“And what do you want, Ms. Sophia?” He asked, lifting his hand to cradle her chin gently against his fingers. But he never attempted to remove the gun she had placed threateningly against his temple.The most feared man in the city just sat quietly, watching her.“As I said, marry me?”***Amelia Clarke might have been the curvy, nerdy girl who was constantly bullied and mocked by everyone, but she still won the heart of the Quarterback King. Oliver Lambert.But her happily ever after came to an end too soon.After four years of keeping their love affair a secret, she finally discovered that Oliver was not the man she thought he was.It turned out that he was the heir of the Morton Group and the next Mafia Don. Moreover, he was already engaged to a famous heiress.Now, Oliver’s father, the current Mafia Don, wanted her out of the picture. And he would do anything to finish the job.Leave Oliver, or he would make her and her family’s lives miserable.Give up the custody of her child, or the child would not see the light of day.Amelia tried to seek Oliver’s help, but the misunderstanding between them, plus Maximus manipulations, had already caused irreparable damage to their relationship.Left desperate and with no other option, she tried to run away with her family so she could protect her child. But the accident happened, taking the lives of her parents and unborn child.But was it really an accident?Left with nothing but a broken heart, she moved away.What started with love eventually turned to hate.What was once a promise of forever became a hunger for revenge.For six years, she lived with only one thing on her mind.To make her ex and his family pay.Motivated by vengeance, she returned as a completely different person.Amelia Clarke was dead. The chubby nerd was no more.In her place, Sophia Maddison was born. A supermodel and a promising entrepreneur.Her first agenda. Infiltrate the Morton’s business.Seduce the new Mafia Don. Oliver Morton.Marry him.Then, take everything that mattered to him. His business, his family, and even his child.***[Warning: Mature steamy content, moderate violence, and some inappropriate language]

‘Did I… die?!’***Year 2026, June 1st, the revolutionary video game, Warstar made its debut.Perfectly coded with revolutionary graphics, a perfect RPG setting, and a rich world where players could choose from 5 main classes, either of a Blademaster, Mage, Mechanic, Combat Mage, and Psychics, it took the world by storm.The rise of God-level players made the game’s popularity even more explosive, turning it into full-time jobs for pro players.Noah Harrington was a God-level player, the player who received the exalted nickname as the Godfather of Warstar. But even God-level players get old.Noah was not just your avid gamer, he was one who reveled in the competitive spirit of the game, the stakes, and most importantly, the euphoria of winning an elite end-to-end game.He was a warrior, a warmonger, but he was getting slowed down by age and so he was chosen by a mysterious power to be transported inside the game.When an expert pro player of a revolutionary video game suddenly finds himself reincarnated inside the game with unprecedented SSS-Ranked unique skills, what does he do?----(Congratulations young warmonger! You have completed the requirements to become a true Warstar!)(You will be transported inside the game in 5 seconds!)(00:00:05)(00:00:04)----Noah’s life and career was suddenly turned upside down but he embraced it. ‘This is an opportunity, and I’ll take it!’‘I’ll be King again!’Watch Noah blaze a record-breaking path to the peak of Warstar with his new reincarnated avatar, Lord Doom.

‘Lil Schweiz’, a famous pirate in the southern seas.

While on a smooth voyage, shocking news fell upon her.

“The Admiral is coming.”

Despite the hot weather, chills ran down her spine. Lil took her eyes off her hands and looked up at Alain, the boatswain.

Not that she didn’t hear him, but she wanted to check again.

“Who?”

“The Admiral of the Peninsula! That madman! Admiral Retiro!”

That infamous admiral, known for skinning the heads of pirates he captured and throwing their limbs as food for the cannibal fish, the one with an eccentric and bizarre reputation will come to the South.

“It will be for the best to not cross his path. We should get out of here before he arrives!”

But there’s one thing that Lil doesn’t know…

[I, Lil, are notifying you, Ed, that you’ve been punished respectfully according to the Sesbron etiquette.] …It’s a setup!

“I’m glad I have a role in this interesting play.”

He briefly looked up at the sunlight passing through the huge veil. The sky above his head soon became covered in several ivory lights.

“It’s a good one, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

A marine romance fantasy between a pirate captain and the admiral!

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‘Forbidden romance on the high seas!

It was all smooth sailing for Lil Schweiz, a famous pirate captain, until some shocking news almost threw her overboard. The notorious Admiral Retiro, known for scalping and feeding his pirate captives to flesh-eating fish, is on his way… And he’s coming for one thing only.’