Stray Cat Strut [Stubbing Never - lol] - Chapter Fifty-Four - Phoenix

Some exist with pride, others struggle with pride, some compete with pride, and there are those who fail with pride, but very few can walk away with pride.Congratulations, for as you read these lines, you have witnessed the whole lives of many great basketball players.This pronunciation was embodied when Stephen Curry, after facing defeat in 2021, claimed that no one would want to face them the following season; When Tim Duncan was convinced before the start of the 2014 Finals that they would not mess up; When Kobe Bryant promised at Old Buss's memorial to take the Lakers to the playoffs; When Nowitzki, shedding his label as a soft player, retreated to the locker room in tears at night; When Kevin Garnett let out a skyward howl after holding the championship trophy; When the 2004 Detroit Pistons won and the F4 Lakers lost…Our story begins in an era when pride still mattered.

I’m not a gamer. In fact, I barely touched games—never had the time or interest.I’m a 23-year-old college dropout, part-time construction worker, and full-time avoider of adult responsibilities.That is, until my little sister nagged me into trying a romance simulation game called Echoes of the Crimson Throne.I played it. Liked it more than I expected. I even completed it.And the next thing I knew… I woke up inside the game.Not as the hero.Not even as a love interest.I was now the personal attendant of Alice Draken—the villainess, the Prince’s fiancée, and the iron-fisted Ruler of the North.A woman whose downfall was guaranteed... unless I do something about it.

Before they got married, Laurent already knew that Dave Washington had another woman in his heart, yet she still chose to marry him because Dave had always been the one she loved. She loved Dave, but his heart belonged to another woman. It was said that this woman loved another man, who happened to be Dave's illegitimate half-brother. Laurent believed that having a child would secure their shaky marriage.Until one day, the woman Dave loved finally told him, “Actually, the person I love is you.”Laurent had devoted her youth and energy to this sensational and messy love story, only to helplessly watch it collapse. Heartbroken, she chose to divorce.She thought Dave's infidelity would make her easily give up on the house, car, and property during the divorce, with the only request being custody of their daughter. But to her surprise, Dave insisted that she was unfit to raise their daughter and refused to give her custody.In order to fight for her daughter, she embarked on a long and exhausting legal battle.She said to him, “You're so persistent—aren't you worried your lover is waiting for you anxiously?”Dave smiled and replied, “If you have time to worry about her, you might as well get a new lawyer.”In a fit of rage, she threw a cup of water in his face. “Dave Washington, you're despicable!”Yes, every lawyer she hired was bought off by him with large sums of money. Finally, disheartened, she gave up custody of their daughter and decided to leave the country to heal.But he sent someone to intercept her at the airport...

Elena, who spent her entire life as a cold-blooded female knight to avenge her family, ended up dying without claiming her revenge. When she opened her eyes she found that she went back into the past. By day she was a lady in a dress, and at night she carried a sword to change history and prevent her family’s destruction.