How Do Scandinavians Maintain Such An Easy Life?

The day my parents divorced, the rain wouldn’t stop. Two agreements sat on the table. One meant staying in the old Eastwood District with my gambling-addicted father, Alexander Clark, drowning in debt. The other meant leaving for Silverstrand Coast with my mother, Charlotte Hayes, who was remarrying into wealth. In my last life, my younger brother, Mathias Clark, cried and clung to Mom while I quietly packed my things and chose to stay with Dad. Later, he quit gambling and struck it rich during a redevelopment boom. He poured everything into raising me right. Meanwhile, Mathias was trapped in his stepfather’s house—isolated, controlled, never allowed outside—until depression took his life. But this time, everything changed. Mathias snatched the cigarette from Dad’s hand and hugged him tightly, refusing to let go. "Tyler, I feel bad for Dad. You go enjoy the good life over there. I’ll stay and take care of him for you." Dad froze for a moment, then smiled with relief and patted his shoulder. I said nothing. I simply picked up the train ticket to the coast. What he didn’t know was that… In my last life, the reason Dad was able to quit gambling was because I had a brain tumor. I worked myself to the brink of coughing up blood just to repay his debts. I traded my life… for his redemption.

I was the stingiest rich wife in the city’s high society. I did not spend money on beauty treatments or travel. In fact, I did not even own a single decent outfit or a handbag. Everyone laughed at me. They said I had the fortune of a wealthy family but not the luck to enjoy it. However, what they did not know was that behind closed doors, Arvid Hans, who was famous for his lavish spending, was a hundred times stingier than I was. He piled on gold and jewels to keep up appearances in public. However, with me, he was a miser, refusing to spend a single extra penny. We split every expense down to the last penny. Every meal and every prescription required a receipt and an entry in the ledger. He said this was to help me develop a business mindset. He said that fairness and caution were the keys to a lasting relationship. While other wives were decked out in expensive jewelry, I was dressed simply. He said I was naturally beautiful and did not need such trinkets to enhance my looks. Even our housekeeper was hoarding gold for investment. Yet he kept me from touching a single penny, citing the Hans family’s tradition of being frugal. For three years of marriage, I lived like a devout nun, strictly adhering to the “rules of frugality” he had tailored for me. It was not until Christmas Eve, when I returned a day early from visiting my parents, that I discovered someone else had been living the life of luxury meant for me.

Fed up with her father asking for a marriage before ascending the throne, Kellisa Nilsson ran away from her home and embarked on a journey as a Ladies' maid for one Finnish Princess. Hence, the new persona 'Kelly' was born. Kellisa just wanted to have fun until her father can find her but she managed to capture someone's eyes instead while she was in disguise. Tyler Virtanen, the youngest grandson of House of Virtanen, a powerful family in Finland, has go defend his inheritance and go compete in a Husband Hunt competition since his ruthless grandfather asked him to. Tyler wanted to deny him but when he got there, he found someone that has captured his attention with her allure. Both of them have a secret that they cannot tell but when the truth finally revealed, will Kellisa and Tyler make to the end and have their happy ending? Find out about their story in this heartwarming novel!

Bjorn Gydlin,, the rebellious son of surface trader, Captain Radoon Gydlin endures dreams of places he hasn’t seen, and disasters that haven’t happened. When he visits Below with his father, and runs head-on into physical wonders, unnecessary violence, and prejudice toward surface dwellers, the links between dreams and reality trigger his desire to bring a change to the here and now as well as the future. But, as always, change never comes without a price.

Astrid Olsen was not your typical heiress since her mind was more on the scientific side of things. She did not want to be tied down and when her father claimed that she will be marrying someone that was his business partner's son, Astrid did the only thing that she knew ever since she was a little girl. She pursued higher education and never turn her back on it. She had gained 6 Ph.D. scrolls, so what's one more, right? Well, it all changed when she was short on funds for her research and she had to make a deal with a devil. Even when he was a fair hair specimen with cobalt blue eyes that would sure to make any woman weak in their knees, including Astrid herself. Eliot Park, a brilliant scientist and inventor as well as a notorious billionaire, wanted more than anything to be the best of the best. And he managed to do it until one person was determined to see him fail in the newest pharmaceutical discovery. He knew that he had to do something drastic if he has to maintain at the top. Even sacrifice his bachelor's life to be tie down to the one scientist that will be making a ground breaking discovery to the world. And he did marry her for financial gain in his life. But, the more time Eliot spends his time in the company of Astrid, the more he felt something that he never did before. Was this just lust between them or something more? What will Eliot do when he realized something has shifted between him and his contractual wife? What will Astrid do? Will she run away again like she did before or will she be brave enough to convey her feelings?

The night before our group trip, Raymond Kane tags me in the group chat and tells me to check my flight ticket. When I open the booking, I discover my ticket was refunded three days ago—without anyone telling me. Before I can even type a reply, the messages start pouring in. Madelyn announces, "I bet Ray that you wouldn't check the booking before we left. He got you to look it up yourself. That's cheating!" Raymond shrugs it off. "Doesn't matter. You still lost. She only just found out. Just book another one. We'll just have to sit apart." Their casual banter brings back a familiar ache. It reminds me of the time they bet on how long it would take me to realize my hotel room has been downgraded from a standard double to a shared triple, leaving me to sleep on a folding cot. And before that, they bet on whether I'd notice the art museum on our itinerary had been replaced with an escape room. Whenever I tell them it hurts, they always give the same tired reply. "How were we supposed to know you cared if you never said anything?" But they never ask. I close the booking app and open another one, searching for flights to Isvind. I imagine myself surrounded by the silence of a 5°F night, with the northern lights painting the sky above me. Perhaps a solo trip is exactly what I need.