A Clockwork Orange

The day my son gained the lifetime achievement award in research, I died alone on the street. On stage, he thanked his father, a professor, and his biological mother, who had just returned from abroad. He even thanked the nanny at home. But he left me out, his foster mother who had raised him. My husband, Charles Zimmer, learned about my death. He immediately disassociated himself from me. “We’ve long separated. I’ve got nothing to do with her.” I had worked hard to give them a decent life, but they regarded me as a stain that they could never remove. When I opened my eyes again, I returned to the time of my life when my destiny changed. Holding the college admission letter, Charles smiled at me and said, “Yes, I’m divorced. But we can live in the city together if you marry me. I’ll let you discipline the kid if he makes any mistakes. I won’t complain about you.” During my previous life, he had me fooled by false promises. I naively thought that it would be easy to be a stepmother. I helped him care for his son and worked hard to support the family. In the end, they conspired with each other to drive me out and leave me penniless. It was because Charles’ ex-wife, who had abandoned them when he was poor, wanted to come home and remarry him. Since I had gained a second chance, I planned to dump such an ungrateful husband and son.

My stepson pushes me down from the second floor, all because I accidentally break a bowl. He stands over me, looking down with a cold, emotionless gaze. "You're just a stand-in my grandfather forced on us. Don't even think about replacing my mother!" I stare up at the boy I've raised for eight years, and his indifference cuts deeper than any wound. Blood slowly trickles down from my forehead. Fighting through the pain, I dial a number. "Whatever debt I owed has been paid. It's time for me to leave." Coincidentally, I already have the divorce agreement that his father has signed.

On the seventh year since Winter Lidell's father was diagnosed with a deadly heart disease, he's finally eligible for a suitable heart meant for the transplant procedure. On the night before the surgery, Winter's husband of seven years, Liam Jager, requests that she give the heart to his mistress, Regina Baile. Liam still looks tall and handsome as ever, but the cold and aloof expression on his face is something that Winter has never seen before. "Winnie." His voice is emotionless. "Regina's condition is deteriorating rapidly." Winter feels her heart sinking the moment she hears her nickname being uttered coldly. She takes half a step backward instinctively, feeling a premonition looming over her. "She needs a heart transplant." Liam's gaze is fixed on Winnie, his tone carrying a hint of absolute decisiveness. "Right. Now." Every word feels like a blade made of ice cutting into Winnie's heart, where hope is starting to flare. Winnie's voice quivers violently, her words coming out fragmented and broken. "What… are you talking about, Liam? My dad… My dad has been waiting for this heart for seven years!"

“I, Alpha King Lucian, reject you; Bree Shipman as my mate,” Lucian growled and pinned her to the wall. “After all we did?” Bree broke into tears. “All of that was a mistake, I will never be with a woman like you. You are a slave and a murderer,” he yelled. “I didn’t kill her,” Bree retorted. *** Bree Shipman is a girl who went from being a princess to working as a slave for the alpha king of another pack. She accepted to her fate and continued to live her life until she committed a grievous sin. Bree killed the only family of the Alpha King, she killed his sister. Anyone who kills must be killed, according to the rules of the pack; Bree was sent to be tortured till death. After the she was pronounced dead, something strange happened. Bree woke up again. Bree, who had already been proclaimed as the cursed omega slave was ready to prove to everyone that she wasn’t who they thought she was. Alpha King Lucian who couldn’t get over his sister was also ready to make Bree’s life a living hell till she begs for her own death.

Five rounds of interviews, and I finally landed an offer from Gauthier Corp—earned it fair and square. I told Yvette Klutz, my girlfriend. Dumb move. She reported me behind my back and got me dropped. "Kevin's freaking out about not landing a job, so I gave him this one. Just shoot out a few more résumés. It's only a few days." Right. Kevin Hardwick got the job and a full-on welcome parade. I laughed—dry, dead inside—then called my sister, the CEO. "Haisley, think our company needs a new executive assistant?"

Five years after our breakup, I saw my ex-fiancé, Nico Luciano, showing off his newborn on social media. The next day, he cornered me at a private club and slid a black card across the table. “Lena, Sophia finally had a boy, the heir to the Luciano family. Now I can marry you.” He tried to soften his tone. “Having been widowed to my late brother for five years, she just wanted a child to care for her. I had no choice after the first two were girls. “Thank you for waiting these extra two years. The wedding is set for next Monday, and the invitations are ready.” What he didn’t know was that I was already married. I am now the lawful wife of Vincent Moretti, the don of the North Alumcian Mafia Commission, and a core decision-maker of the Moretti family’s financial empire. Watching Nico’s confident smile, I sent a message to my underboss. “Notify the elders of the five major mafia families. Next Monday, I’m removing the Luciano family from power.” Then I looked up and smiled at him. “Marry me? Save your own career first.”

“I will never accept you as my mate, all I want is for you to keep warming my bed,” Alpha Ashier grabbed Blair’s hand and pinned her to the bed. “I don’t want to keep warming your bed, I don’t want to do this. Let me go,” she screamed. “You have nowhere to go, I own you, and your body belongs to me,” he yelled and bit her neck. *** Blair, a young human girl never knew that another world existed until she stumbled into one by accident, the werewolf world. However, her newfound knowledge comes with a price, as she is quickly captured and enslaved by the ruthless alpha king who has vowed to make all humans suffer. Alpha Ashier, a brave, strong and ruthless king was nothing but a weakling who was dying to himself. After being involved in a war between the werewolves and the witches, Ashier was stabbed with the arrow of death which made a deep cut on his back and was seeping out his energy. He had searched for different ways to cure himself, but there was only one way; dying peacefully rather than dying in pain. With Blair coming into his kingdom that was prohibited for humans, he found something odd about her. Something which could be the solution to his curse. And he was ready to do whatever it takes, even if it means sacrificing Blair for the cure.

The online game Doomsday swept across the globe, bleeding into reality and shattering the world's order. In his previous life, Cole Morrow devoted everything to elevating his fiancée, Sera Kane, to the peak of glory. But on their engagement day, she tore out his heart with her own hands—and gave it to her male best friend. Reborn, Cole made a new choice: this time, he would climb the throne alone. Just before the game shut down its top-up entrance, he poured all his money into unlocking the legendary class—God of Wealth. Starting with hiring a god-tier NPC to steal a divine dragon egg, Cole blazed a trail of unstoppable triumph. When the apocalypse arrived—swarms of horrors descending from all directions—he stood clad in forbidden artifacts, surrounded by countless mythical beasts. With a snap of his fingers, billions of aberrations turned to ash. The NPCs started making their own choices. God-tier NPC: "Your Excellency, your noble character—and your gold—have convinced me. This NPC pledges permanent loyalty." Emperor of the Empire: "When money speaks, even truth falls silent. You should take the throne." Ancient Races: "The gods abandoned us, but he rebuilt our homeland. From now on, the God of Wealth is our one true faith." Players: "Holy crap. We just left the beginner village, and this guy's already one-shotting a level-100 boss? What's even the point of playing?!" Sera: "I regret everything... I don't want to die. Cole, please... can you love me again?"

At the airport, I ran straight into Zach Martin, the man who had left me at the altar two years ago to accompany his foster sister to Apania to watch elephants. I had on sunglasses, yet he recognized me instantly in the crowd. “Tina, I’m back to marry you.” I paused for a moment. There was a flicker of doubt in my eyes. “You’re…” He gave me a helpless smile. “Hey, come on. Don’t be mad. I didn’t mean to disappear like that. After taking Yvette to see the elephants, she wanted to stick around and document everything. She’s my only sister. I had to spoil her a little. “After two years of working on the project and finishing the shoot, I rushed straight back to fulfill our engagement!” Only then did it dawn on me that this dark, scrawny man, flashing a mouthful of white teeth, was actually my former fiancé! Wait. Did nobody tell him that on the very day he ran away, I married his uncle instead?

I was holding my wife as we slept when her phone suddenly gave a special alert tone. “Rachel, my whole body hurts. Please help me…” The message was from Daniel. He sounded entitled, and he even attached a photo of his abs. My wife pushed me away at once. “Wait for me. I will head over right away.” I could not hold back my anger. “Where are you going? It’s the middle of the night, and you are going to see him? He’s your brother-in-law. Can’t you keep a bit of distance? “Your sister has been dead for half a year. Do you have to take care of him like this forever?” Rachel suddenly raised her hand and slapped me. “Sam, he has post-traumatic stress disorder. You already know that. I am his psychologist, so what is wrong with helping him? Why are your thoughts so filthy? “Forget it. I can’t talk sense into someone like you. Stay home and reflect on yourself.” After saying that, she did not look at me again. We had been married for five years. Every time we argued, she would walk away and give me the cold shoulder. She knew how much I loved her, so she hurt me without restraint. She was certain that I would ultimately give in and try to make peace. However, this time, I did not try to salvage the situation anymore. My heart was dead. I did not want her anymore.