Stigma Effect - Chapter 61

Sophia Alcott, the daughter of Earl Alcott, lives a lonely life as a maligned and infamous shut in, with nothing to do but to work on her skills as a budding apothecary in the dusty storeroom she’s forced to call home.That is until she suddenly wakes up one day and finds herself in the body of an even more infamous villainess (one who actually earned her reputation) locked up in a tower.Although the only clue she has about how this happened is a cryptic note, instead of despairing about her new situation, she’s in awe at just how luxurious the treatment she’s receiving in this ‘prison’ is compared to how she had to live before.Meanwhile, back at Earl Alcott’s mansion, all hell is about to break loose.That’s because…

Elara’s first life crashed hard. Cruel tricks ruined her name, broke her dreams, and turned the whole entertainment world against her. Friends betrayed her. Lovers sold her out. Everyone she trusted stabbed her in the back. The pain piled up until she felt trapped with no way out. One night, she couldn’t take it anymore. She walked to the river and ended it all in the cold, quiet water.Later, proof came out. Messages. Recordings. Everything showed she had been framed. People posted apologies online. But it was too late. She was already gone.The universe, though, clearly has a twisted sense of humor.Because somehow, Elara came back. She woke up in her own past, every awful memory still sharp in her head. Right then she made a promise she would never break: protect her gentle grandfather no matter what, and never let anyone push her to that dark place again.This time she steps into the entertainment world with her head high. She trains harder, sings better, fights smarter. The same people who once crushed her? Now they get to feel the pressure.Love? Not happening. Her heart is locked tight. But why is it that as she rises and shines brighter, handsome, powerful men start circling her—guys who never even glanced at her in her previous life were now hovering around her.The actor smiled at her during a press interview, leaned closer, and said softly, “We should have dinner sometime.”The footballer sent flowers so big they blocked her room door.The surgeon she met at a charity event checked her pulse and then forgot to let go of her wrist.The singer she collaborated with kept calling her name during rehearsals, as if the mic could not hear him well enough.Elara stared at the ceiling that night and sighed.She only wanted to sing. Why did everyone look like they wanted to adopt her, date her, or both?But the worst one came after the concert.The lights had just gone off. Her ears were still ringing. Sweat clung to her neck. She had barely stepped backstage when a shadow blocked her path.She looked up.The CEO of the greatest company in Aurelia stood there. The same man who once said her voice was “not worth investing in.” The same man who did not even know her name before rebirth.Now he held her wrist lightly, but firmly.“Let’s talk,” he said.Elara blinked. “About… sponsorship?”“No,” he replied calmly. “About marriage.”Her brain froze.“…What?”“I will give you everything,” he continued, as if asking for a glass of water. “Resources. Protection. Freedom to sing. Become my wife.”Elara stared at him, her mouth open, her thoughts running in circles.This was not how it was supposed to be.Why was the world now skipping steps?NB:This story takes place in a fictional world. Aurelia is a country. Solmere, Veston, and Starfall City are the three capital cities of Aurelia. Other cities, such as Lorien and Crelou, are smaller cities.

People in the World of Naruto: Drinking Makes You Stronger
 Author: Half a Piece of OrangeYouyu, a man who found himself transported into the Naruto world, awakened a rather unusual system:The more he drinks, the stronger he becomes!• Raikage: “What?! I have the strongest defense—wait, why did Youyu just slice through me while drinking?!”• Hiruzen Sarutobi: “That guy’s a monster. I’ve never seen him train, only drink... yet he still cut me down in an instant.”• Madara Uchiha: “Dancing? Tch. That drunk bastard swayed his way over and chopped me up!”• Obito Uchiha: “Damn it! Even space-time jutsu can’t stop that drunk maniac!”Youyu: “My hobbies? Drinking... and cutting people down.”

They say seven is the number of perfection.For Luna Seraphine, it was the number that ended her silence.Six times, she tore the divorce papers apart, choosing love over pride, endurance over dignity, surrendering to the cruel demands of the mate who never cherished her. The seventh time, she signed her name without trembling.Alpha Ravyn panicked.His mistress, Daisy, the daughter of Seraphine’s former nanny, laughed it off. She’s only throwing a tantrum, they said. She’ll crawl back.They were wrong.The truth shattered what little remained of her heart: the child she had loved and raised for six years was never hers. That revelation became her breaking point and her rebirth. This time, Luna Seraphine walked away without looking back.As her power rose, so did Ravyn’s regret.The Alpha who once discarded her now slept outside her door, desperate for a single glance. But the woman who opened that door was no longer the Luna he broke. Cold. Untouchable. Unforgiving. Ravyn fell to his knees, begging for her hand, only to realize he was no longer the only one.Men of influence and power now competed for her attention.Because Luna Seraphine was no longer just a Luna.She was a world-renowned business mogul.A shadowed philanthropist.The most sought-after surgeon of her time, and a cyber genius.This time, she is not surviving the story written for her.She is rewriting it.And only she decides how it ends.