Radiant Rebirth: The Ugly-Duckling Turned Out A Powerful Beauty - Chapter 22: The Counterattack I

Nora is shattered a month before her wedding when she uncovers her fiancé's deceitful affair. As she manages this betrayal, she discovers a deep ploy to hinder her from claiming her rightful inheritance. Devastated but determined, Nora takes a daring step to regain control of her life. Enter Demetri 'The Demon' to those who know him, a formidable man barely known to her, who offers her protection and support in return for a contract marriage to satisfy him. In a twist of fate, Nora marries Demetri to claim her inheritance and fight those who plotted against her. But as she battles her own family and Demetri's many rivals, will she be able to keep from falling for the man known to crush people beneath his booted heel.Excerpt:She had forgotten that the man was intimidating and directly challenged him.Rather than speaking, Demetri rose from his seat and approached her deliberately. Although it was a mere few steps, time seemed to stretch for Nora. When he was almost within touching distance, his hand gently landed on her knee, moving it sideways. His touch moved with a hint of a caress, and he stepped between her open legs. Nora sat there in frozen silence, her eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights.Catching her chin between his fingers, he tilted her face upwards and spoke unhurriedly,“ You are my wife.”She nodded her head slowly in affirmation while his thumb slowly traced her lip. “I have given you time to gather your emotions.”Another nod. Nora's nervousness made her lick her lips, acutely aware of his intense gaze fixed upon them.“Your reason for the marriage was to secure your inheritance and get away from under your mother's thumb.”“Yes...” Nora whispered in confusion. Her confusion was not about his statement but about the bewildering sensations coursing through her. What was happening with her?”It's time for you to fulfil your end of the contract, yes?“ He continued.”Yes,“ Nora whispered breathlessly. Why was she breathless? Had the oxygen level in the house dropped? Was the air suddenly thinning?Abruptly, his hand left her face, and she watched as he drew closer. It was then that Nora comprehended what was unfolding. All those tantalizing, heart-pounding kisses she had read about in novels were about to possibly become her reality.But the anticipated kiss didn't happen. Instead, he paused near her and commanded, ”Kiss me.“

Power comes with a cost... and it was something she was willing to trade her soul for.A few nights before her wedding, Lauren sought a way to break her fourth engagement. Known for her bad reputation as the rebel princess, she was the only lady who had the guts to step foot on the Everston mansion, the house of a notorious warlord, in the middle of the night.She offered him a wicked alliance that the entire kingdom did not see coming: a marriage.A vixen pretending to be a damsel in distress and a man whose crimson eyes screaming for bloodshed. Could something blossom in this treacherous dance of lies and deception?--“Are you upset?”She eyed him sharply. “Should I be honored that I got tricked by you, milord?”He drank the remaining wine in his glass with one gulp and put it on the wooden table.He stepped in front of her. His hand was on the rail on her side while his other hand grabbed her glass and finished her wine before putting it down.The way his Adam's apple moved with his every violent gulp made her feel a tickling heat around her nape.When he brought his attention back to her, he licked his lips to wipe off the trace of wine.“How shall I make it up to you then?” he asked with his deep voice, like a seductive devil asking his victim how she would like to be killed. Dangerous yet… enthralling.

Silas Blackwood wakes up with a machine in his chest – his missing mother's parting gift to help him survive the war with the Fae. This “system” grants him bizarre abilities: neuromancy (magic of the mind), biomancy (magic of the body), and essomancy (magic of souls and essences). Oh, and it fused a leviathan's mana core into his body. Because why not become part sea monster?At Arcanium University, a military boot camp churning out mage knights, Silas finds himself targeted by rich brats who think being born with a silver wand up their ass makes them special. When they leave him for dead, Silas decides it's time to show these spoiled kids what real power looks like.As Silas grows stronger, he discovers he can upgrade himself by absorbing essences from magical beasts and demons. Just when he thinks he's got a handle on things, Silas learns his mother's alive, and now he's got a new mission: a rescue that'll take him and his friends straight into the depths of Hell.

What would you do if you were told you only had five years to live?Aster Mistral, suffering from an incurable congenital “disease” that saps life force out of his every breath, decided to fight with all his might. Waking up into the future, 2,500 years later, he embarks on a quest to find a cure for his ailment!“My target! To find the Panacea on the 1,000th floor of the dungeon!”Together with trustworthy allies, he forges a path of blood and corpses, building his foundation and increasing his level! However, he can’t stay in dungeons all the time, as he has a duty to fulfill.“To raise the human DNA average of the world, the government wants my seeds?!”Follow Aster on his laidback journey of fighting monsters, courting girls, escaping adversaries, and discovering secrets about himself!