LOGINSYNOPSIS: In the high-stakes world of the Sterling Group, three half-siblings are forced into a ruthless six-month contest to determine who will inherit their father’s billion-dollar empire. Riley Sterling, the youngest and only legitimate child, is determined to prove her worth through integrity and hard work, despite being constantly overshadowed by her siblings. Bella Harington, the manipulative eldest sister, sees the contest as her birthright and is willing to destroy anyone—including Riley—to seize the throne. Meanwhile, Kael Ashford, the brilliant but cynical middle child, plays the game from the shadows, driven by a dark secret regarding his mother’s death. When Bella frames Riley for corporate espionage, shattering her reputation before the contest truly begins, Riley finds an unlikely ally in Kael. They form a fragile alliance to expose Bella’s crimes and uncover the truth about their family’s past. But as they work together in the shadows, their rivalry turns into a forbidden love that complicates their mission. With time running out and their father’s health declining, Riley and Kael must navigate a web of betrayal, blackmail, and family secrets. In a final showdown, they must decide if their love is strong enough to overcome the legacy of hate they were born into, or if the fight for the crown will destroy them all.
View MoreThe Fairy’s Dragon Guardian
Chapter 1: Can’t Be Bothered
It was spring. The flowers in the field bloomed with the spring wind. Birds started to get out of their tree houses and greet the spring sun. Land animals walked out from the woods after a long time of winter and bathed in the spring sun.
The curtain hanging by the window was swaying with the early spring wind. The sunlight passing through the glass window illuminated the figure sleeping by the bed. It was a sunny morning.
On the table beside the bed, the phone rang. The woman on the bed was awaken by her ringtone. Her fingers gingerly reached out for her phone. When she did, her flexible finger slid through the screen and answered the incoming call without looking to see who the caller is. She put it on her ear but remained closing her eyes.
“What do you want?”
Her morning voice was a little hoarse. The caller on the other end of the line cleared his throat before answering.
“I’m at the airport. Come pick me up.”
The woman grunted.
“… Go home by yourself.”
Before the person on the other side could reply, she pushed the off button and went back to sleep. The morning sun was too bright, and it was a good time to resume sleeping.
Holding his luggage in his left hand, Oliver let out a sigh and hailed for a cab. He didn’t expect Crystal to come and pick him up at the airport. But it still annoys him to be refused by the other person.
Looking out by the window, it has been a year since he had gone abroad. Not many things had changed. Maybe, they still stayed the same. There were still the tall buildings, the not-so-clear sky and the continuous traffic of cars and vehicles.
After an hour or so of driving, the taxi arrived at a high-end residential area. After taking his luggage, Oliver walked to the gate and tapped the password on the door of the house.
Nothing changed on the things inside. Except for a cat sleeping in the living room, everything stayed the same.
Oliver pulled his luggage as he walked upstairs to the master bedroom. As he opened the door, Crystal was in front of the vanity mirror and putting on her makeup. She didn’t even bother to look at the person who opened the door and continued what she was doing.
Instead, Crystal shot him a question as soon as Oliver put down his suitcase.
“What made you go back all of a sudden?”
“I miss you.”
“That’s the lamest joke I’ve ever heard from you.”
“You don’t believe me?”
Crystal shot Oliver a disbelieving stare as she raised her eyebrows through the mirror. Oliver chuckled and continued on taking off his down coat. As he did so, he sat on the bed and opened his phone.
Crystal thought that their conversation would end just like that. But just as she was about to stand up from the chair in front of the mirror, a certain someone hugged her from behind.
“Get off me.”
“Hey, that’s not really a nice way to greet your husband after one year of separation.”
“At least you knew that we hadn’t had any contact for a year. Now, get off me.”
“Let’s stay like this for a while.”
“Oliver.”
Crystal sternly called his name and wiggled her body outside of his embrace.
Truth be told, a year had passed without them seeing each other and contacting each other. This was honestly a rather awkward way to greet each other, primarily because they had no affection for each other.
This was an arranged marriage by both their parents. And while they had no problems with marrying each other, Crystal wasn’t all that open to being touchy and clingy with her husband. Especially when they hadn’t seen each other for a whole year.
“There’s food inside the refrigerator. Reheat that if you want to eat.”
Crystal proceeded to put on her heels and went out the door without looking back.
Her heels clicked along the marbled floor of Civil Bureau of Affairs. Today, she is to file a divorce on her marriage with her husband, Oliver. Crystal walked to a middle-aged woman in the desk and handed in the requirements for a divorce. The middle-aged woman looked up at her and shook her head.
“Another one for today. You say, why do you want to divorce your husband? Got a third party?”
“No.”
The woman blinked in understanding, “Ah, he must have been absent most of the time on the duration of your marriage.”
Crystal raised her eyebrows in surprise, “How did you know?”
“Heh, I could tell with just one glance. You didn’t even flinch when you handed me these.”
The woman pointed to the documents as she gave Crystal a form to apply for a divorce. After filling in her name and other fields in the paper, the woman instructed Crystal to take the form back to Oliver and get his signature – evidence that he agrees with the divorce.
As Crystal was walking out of the building, she felt the cool breeze of June. It wasn’t hot or cold – just enough. She didn’t even feel anything about the divorce. It seems like she was even anticipating it.
Just as she was heading for her car in the parking area, her phone vibrated. She took it out to see who it was.
[Cody: Hey sis~]
Crystal rolled her eyes when she saw the sender and was about to close her phone when another message popped up from the same person.
[Cody: Do you want me to accompany you tonight? Your husband is having a blast.
<Attached a picture>]
When she tapped in to zoom the picture, Crystal saw the clear side view of Oliver talking with a very beautiful woman.
‘Snow Ivory?’
[Cody: Hey, answer me. I’m bored by myself]
[Crystal: Can’t be bothered.]
With that, Crystal promptly closed her phone and drove back to their house.
The picture Cody sent, her older brother, wasn’t the only one – because Snow Ivory was only the renowned model of SKY Empire. And her husband, Oliver Chent, is having a scandal with her on the day he returned to the country.
One year later.The spring rains came early to the highlands, washing away the last traces of winter and turning the hillsides a brilliant, impossible green. The orchard at Pedro's Grove had never looked more alive—rows of apple trees heavy with blossoms, their branches swaying in the warm breeze, their petals falling like snow on the path below.Riley stood at the edge of the orchard, her hand resting on the small swell of her belly. Seven months pregnant, she moved more slowly now, but no less determined. Beside her, Kyle held a wooden stake, ready to mark the newest row of saplings."You should be resting," he said, not for the first time."I should be planting." She smiled at him, that familiar stubborn tilt to her chin. "The trees don't wait, and neither do I."Mateo ran past them, shouting something about frogs in the creek, his drone buzzing overhead. He had grown taller over the winter, his voice beginning to deepen, but his joy remained unchanged. Rosa followed at a slower pa
The guest house was quiet when they finally crossed the threshold, the reception fading behind them like a dream. Kyle closed the door, and the world outside—the valley, the orchard, the waiting storm—seemed to fall away. There was only this room, lit by a single oil lamp, and the woman standing before him in her mother's wedding dress.Riley turned to face him, her cheeks flushed from the cold and the wine and the joy of the evening. The silver earrings caught the lamplight, and the brooch above her heart glittered like a promise."We're married," she said, as if testing the words for the first time."We're married." Kyle stepped closer, his hands finding hers. "How does it feel?"She considered the question. "Like the beginning of something. Not the end."He smiled, lifting her hands to his lips and kissing each knuckle. "That's exactly what it is."---They undressed each other slowly, without hurry, as if they had all the time in the world. Kyle unfastened the brooch first, settin
the morning light had barely touched the hills when Rosa began her quiet work in the community center kitchen. She had slept little, too filled with the joy and nervous energy of the day ahead. Around her, pots simmered and bread rose, and the smell of honey and cinnamon filled the air like a blessing.Mateo found her there at dawn, still in his pajamas, his hair sticking up in wild tufts."Is it time yet?" he asked."Not yet, little one." Rosa wiped her hands on her apron and knelt to his level. "But soon. Very soon.""Will Tata be watching?"Rosa's heart clenched. She thought of Pedro—of his laugh, his stubbornness, the way he had loved this valley and everyone in it. "I believe he will," she said. "I believe he's been watching all along."---Riley woke alone in the guest house, as tradition demanded. The bed felt too big without Kyle, too cold. She stretched her arms above her head and looked at the ring on her finger—the silver vines, the green stone, the promise it held. Today,
Riley walked toward him across the frost-covered grass, her half-braided hair falling over her shoulder, her breath misting in the cold morning air. She looked confused, maybe a little worried, and Kyle felt his heart swell with love for her—for this woman who had faced down killers and corporations and her own fears, who was standing in an orchard in her boots and coat with her hair unfinished because he had said it was urgent.“Kyle, what’s going on?” she asked, stopping a few feet away. “Rosa is going to kill me. My hair looks like a bird’s nest.”“You look beautiful,” he said. “You always look beautiful.”She frowned. “You’re being weird. Are you okay?”He laughed, a nervous sound that echoed off the bare branches of the oak. “I’m not okay. I’m terrified. I’ve negotiated billion-dollar deals, faced down hostile takeovers, stood in front of crowds of thousands. And none of that was as scary as this.”“As what?”Kyle took a deep breath. Then he dropped to one knee.Riley’s eyes went
The invitation arrived on a Tuesday, embossed on heavy cream paper that felt like it belonged to a different world entirely. Riley turned it over in her hands, reading the elegant script for the third time.The Global Innovation Forum requests the pleasure of your presence at its annual summit on s
The news of Vance Legacy's campaign reached Green City's headquarters like a storm gathering on the horizon. Riley spent the week following the harvest festival in back-to-back meetings, her phone buzzing constantly with updates from their international partners. The group had launched a coordinate
The morning sun streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Riley’s restored office at Sterling Tower. The space looked different now—gone were the expensive trinkets and designer furniture she’d once filled it with, replaced by blueprints, construction photos, and a large map of Manila’s flo
The neon lights of San leonard red-light district flickered against the rain-slicked streets. Riley huddled in the passenger seat of Liam’s beat-up sedan, her designer coat looking wildly out of place among the street vendors and late-night crowds. “Are you sure about this?” she asked, watching a






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