Finding light in the darkest places—through love - Chapter 32 – The Weight of Expectations

~•No Escape•~“Are you running away from me, my sweet girl” spoke a voice in the hallway that made her stop in her tracks. The hallway had turned dark with only the wall lamps that burned brightly casting the shadow of the man on the floor as he slowly emerged from the other end.“What are you doing here, your majesty,” She said and bowed immediately as she saw him approach her with slow but steady steps.“You haven't answered me, sweet” The man said with a sweet smile that made her wary and he heard the way her heart skipped a beat. He stood before her and used his index finger to raise her chin. He tilted his head as he gazed into her green eyes that looked back at him with fear.He took a step forward closing the distance between them and his eyes narrowed when she took a step back, but that didn't stop him from cornering her.“Did you think you can escape from me?” He continued to question and she didn't miss the mockery behind his words.“I…I” she felt her words tied to her tongue because of the man's daunting aura. She felt him trace her forehead with his finger down to her jaw. He continued moving his hand down to her neck and to the top of her swell and her thudding heart hitched when his hand continued to stay there.“Did you think you can escape from me?” He bent towards her as he spoke. His breath fell on her neck which sent a jolt that traveled down her body.“I told you, you're tied to me and me to you”_______________________Perdita Kartar was a winsome yet strange young lady. She had an appealing beauty with her green eyes that invoked and impelled anyone who gazed into them.She had fooled her villagers so she could live and protect herself and her remaining family from the night creatures and also humans.But what was bizarre of all, was that Perdita had a secret she shared with no one.She had lived in the village since she was little, and over the years, she had been discreet with each move she made. Unfortunately, things didn't go as she planned.Despite her cautious decorum and fight to stay out of sight, a pair of glacial red eyes falls on her, which followed and refused to leave her out of sight.

Lin Wan transmigrated into a book and became the stepmother of the male lead. Her husband was an undisputed big shot in commerce and was cold, decisive, and ruthless. Her stepsons were each more eccentric and difficult than the other… until they took part in a variety show as a family. Five families were competing, each of which was perfectly harmonious…

Except for Lin Wan’s family. Naturally, they were the control group once the variety show aired. Every other family would have scenes of the parents cooking and the children helping adorably, a picturesque sight of family harmony. On the other hand, Lin Wan and her three stepsons ignored each other as they had crackers and ham for their dinners amidst an eerie silence. At night, while the other families went out happily stargazing and moon-watching, Lin Wan and her stepsons told each other horror stories, leaving the viewers petrified! Netizens were flaming as they watched, but they soon noticed that the control group was changing…

Even though the eldest son insisted that he disliked his stepmother, he sneaked off to buy her a scarf! The second son declared his favorite person was his father but voted for his stepmother instead! The third son was also caught putting his stepmother’s favorite candy below her pillow! The netizens were shocked, but it’s true: the tsundere stepsons were extraordinarily close with their stepmother!

Ye Zhi not only inherited the shabby house, but also the marriage agreement with a man. The man who met his true love disliked his fiancee in all ways and asked for divorce.

In order to express their guilt, the man’s family decided to make up for Ye Zhi. But she didn’t want a dime (single cent), so she left.

Next second, Ye Zhi was picked up by Rolls Royce.

Gu Ren, the son of the richest man, had a tough life and couldn’t live past 30 years. Only Ye Zhi, born on the cloudy day of the lunar year, could make him survive.

Ye Zhi and Gu Ren got married. Gu Ren gave her a bank card. All she has to do is——

Spend money for him! Squander his fortune!

Ye Zhi bought a Lamborghini for Gu Ren, but he had an accident as soon as he drove the car.

As soon as she bought some Hermes platinum bags for herself, Gu Ren signed a more than one billion worth of deal.

It turned out that the money could only be spent on herself. More she loses, the more prosperous Gu Ren became.

Since then, her life had changed completely. Her villa grandest in the Forbidden City .

The man thought that Ye Zhi, who had been divorced, must have suffered a lot. Until one day, he saw his former fiancee walking in the street, followed by a Rolls Royce.

Wait! Who is the man next to her?

This man is a super rich man hundreds of times richer than his family!

- Description from Novelupdates

[Warning: Mature Content 18+, Harem, No NTR!]He was only ten years old when his world turned to ash. Hidden behind a door, shivering with helplessness and fear, the boy peered through the keyhole and watched his parents die. He never knew who killed them. He never even saw the faces of those who took everything from him.The terror was too much for a ten-year old boy. His mind shattered, erasing that night from his memory. And then everything was blank, darkness in front of his eyes as he lost consciousness.When his eyes opened again, a man stood before him, a stranger with a gentle smile and eyes filled with something strange… pity? Or something else?“What happened here boy?”“Happened where?”“You don’t remember, do you?”“Remember what…? Where is father? My Mother?”“I guess this is for the best.”“Good boy. Your father was my dearest friend… and now, you are my responsibility. From now on, you will be my son.”“You have no one left, boy… but I can make sure no one ever takes anything from you again.” The man said gently.And then that man forged him into something inhuman. A weapon honed to perfection, a shadow lurking in the underworld. The mere whisper of his name - Draugr, A ghost that never truly dies, sent grown men into cold sweats, their legs trembling beneath them.The boy soon outgrew his master and carved his own legend in blood. But all this while he never stopped searching—for the ones who killed his parents, for the truth, for revenge.And finally, after fifteen years of silence, he was close. The last clue he needed was just within his grasp.It was so close, yet just an inch out of his grasp. He was ambushed, a trap he never saw coming.Wounded, bleeding out, fighting for his life against an army of men and women eyeing to claim his life, he should have died. But fate had something else stored for him.Barely holding onto life, he stumbled into a girl—fragile-looking, yet completely unafraid of the monster before her. She didn’t run. She didn’t scream. Instead, she smiled.She saved him. Took him to a hospital. And as he lay unconscious, she made her plans.But when he woke up… He had lost everything, He remembered nothing.Not just the truth of his parents' murder. Not just the years of searching. Not just the enemies and allies he'd made along the way. Not even his own name.Twenty-five years of his life—wiped clean.Now, in a world that fears his very name, with ghosts of a past he can no longer remember hunting him in the shadows—he must decide: Is he still the Draugr they all fear? Or is he just a man searching for the pieces of himself?And who is the girl who stole his fate and bound it to hers?