Ranker Who Lives Twice - Chapter ss36: Side Story 36 - Star Fragment (2)

“Block him.”“He's technically still my boss.”“Then block him with dignity.”The call ended again.And then started again.I let out a sound somewhere between a growl and a sob, then finally answered with the enthusiasm of a snail crawling through salt.“Yes, Mr. Walton?”“Have you changed your mind yet?”I collapsed onto the towel and gazed at the sky as though it might consume me entirely if I pleaded sweetly enough.“Do you ever take a break?” I asked, shielding my eyes with one hand.“You're avoiding the question.”“Because it's a dumb question.”He exhaled, the sound sharp and irritated even over phone. “It's not a dumb question. It's a business offer.”“It's a weird offer-one that I already said no to.”There was a brief pause, and I could practically hear him clenching his jaw through the speaker.“You are acting unreasonably.”“ Unreasonable?” I sat up. “I'm not the one drafting fake girlfriend contracts like it's a normal Tuesday.”“Isabella-”“Certainly not, Mr. Walton.” I mimicked his tone perfectly. “I told you I'm not doing it. You need to find someone else to play pretend with.”SYNOPSISIsabella Miller thought saying no to her boss’s fake dating offer was the end of the story.But Adrien Walton doesn’t take no—especially not when he’s convinced she’s a gold digger.Suddenly, her student loans are piling up, her father’s vet clinic is on the brink of eviction and her brother is about to be kicked out of college. Coincidence? She thinks not.Adrien Walton is calm, calculating—and he's just pulled every string to corner Isabella into the perfect position.Now she’s stuck choosing between pride and survival.So she agrees to his offer: be his fake girlfriend.No feelings attached. No drama. Just business.Or so she thought.“Conference Room B. Fifteen minutes,” he said, passing by without a glance.The folder he pushed across the table landed with a thud.I opened it. The contract. All of it.---Enemies to lovers? Check.Slow burn? Hmmnyea.Banter so sharp it might file your nails? Yes.Delicious workplace tension? Of course.Tension that could melt steel?Absolutely.Smut?? Wanna find out?Welcome to corporate romance warfare. There’s no escaping this contract.

A world where people awakened abilities called Skills to those who come of age. The protagonist, Awakened with three godly cheat skills, does he uses them and rise to an existence called a hero or becomes a person who only cares about his own life.

My girlfriend is too beautiful.

And, she treats me so nicely.

I didn’t even confess, I was confessed to.

So…

Why me…?

“You hate me,” Lily mouthed through trembling lips.Zayn leaned closer, his voice low and bitter. “No. Hate is too cheap. I want you to feel what I did. Every scream. Every loss.”She didn’t flinch. She was tired of pleading. She just looked at him with eyes full of quiet pain.So why did it feel like his heart was shattering?Lily Brightpaw was born the daughter of an Alpha, but she never lived like one. Mute from childhood and unable to shift, she was treated as a curse by her family. Blamed for her mother’s death and beaten into silence, Lily grew up unloved and unwanted. She believed the Moon Goddess would send her a mate who would rescue her but she was wrong.The night her pack fell, Lily was dragged from a shack and thrown at the feet of her new Alpha, Zayn Knightmoon. He was the man her family enslaved. Now he is the alpha who rules over her and he wants revenge.Zayn lost everything. His father. His mate. His pack. All at the hands of Lily’s family. When he realized Lily is his second chance mate, he rejected her without hesitation and swore to make her suffer. But the more he punished her, the more he saw the truth: Lily was nothing like the monsters who raised her. She’s a victim too and broken… like him.Zayn found himself torn between vengeance and a bond he never asked for. Will Lily’s suffering be enough to quiet the ghosts of his past or will revenge destroy them both?