Sweet Hatred - Chapter 8: Special Treatment

Nine soul pets, nine fetters.

A hall of robbery souls, a bizarre adventure.

I looked down at them and they called me by my name.

I look up to the sky and write my legend.

“My name is Xia Lin, and I am the Lord of the Soul of Myriad Tribulations!”

- Description from novelbuddy

When Linger was looking for a job, he applied for a bartender at a bar, but the guests who came here seemed strange.

What can a female warrior wearing very little, an armor that can’t even protect her eyesight, protect against?

How did the calamity mage who owed a hundred luck points survive until now?

Melancholic and lonely Skeletor, Skeleton? drink wine? Please don’t waste it!

The devil who likes the hero, since he is the devil, please do your job well, OK?

…

Well, he was getting used to these strange guests.

(Unknown Uncomfortable Sky: “Presenting Fine Wine for a Wonderful Different World”, “Sword and Magic and Beautiful Girls”, “Wine of Beautiful Girls”, “God-level Bartender of the Other World”, “I’m Really Not the God of Dionysus”)

- Description from novelbuddy

“You will suffice.”Raizen heard those words the night something chose him to survive.He doesn't know what whispered inside his head. He doesn't know why. But ever since that night, his life hasn't been entirely his own. Something marked him.Now he walks a beautiful world built on even prettier lies, where Eon turns desperation into miracles, Luminite weapons twist the laws of what's possible and what's not, and where humanity has been fighting creatures of shadow - Nyxes - for as long as anyone can remember. Though sometimes, the cruelest of enemies aren't made of darkness at all...But Raizen is starting to realize: the monsters aren't the only things hunting him.Something primordial is watching. Waiting. Pulling strings he can't see.If he wants to survive, he needs to get stronger.If he wants answers, he must become someone even the nightmares fear....But to win?He may have to end anything in his path - and pray he doesn't give the whisper exactly what it wanted all along.

“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.