A Lifetime To Settle The Score Novels & Stories

“Yeah. It is.” But I knew better. This fight was over, but the scars it left behind wouldn’t fade overnight. We had won. But now, we had to figure out how to live with everything that came after. Behind me, Ethan exhaled sharply. “Well. That was satisfying.” I ignored him, my focus solely on the girl in my arms. “We’re done with this life,” I told her, voice steady. “For good.” She swallowed hard, nodding. “For good.”

I barked at my loyal stooge, Alexander, who had been with me for each lifetime. "Master, you know the rules. I cannot interfere until after she has found you herself. You should be used to it by now.” Alexander said and scurried away from me because he knew what would come next. I growled loudly. This was my final year and for every lifetime, I have messed up our reunion. It was almost like I could never get her to love me again, no matter how hard I tried.

Our love story began on the road, and so it seems it does end on the same road. Years passed by, just like every living creature in this world that wasn't cursed by the Blood Rose, he died. I looked for his body after he died. But, it seems he was burned into ashes. I wasn’t able to keep our promises—that we will be buried next to each other. How am I going to be buried when I was the one buried into regret, to frustration? I am now immortal and perhaps the only thing that could bury me six feet below the ground is when I find a way to terminate my lifetime contract to the Blood Rose.

Softly, he muttered, “Vee?” “A debt owed in this lifetime must be paid in this lifetime,” she answered abruptly, “I’m not inclined to drag it out to the next.” He stared at Vivian for a good while before mustering his reply, “Fine. I’ll atone the sins I’ve committed against you in this lifetime. I devote the rest of my life to pay back my debt, but only if you give me a chance, Vee. The chance to right all of my wrongs.”

"What is the settlement? There is always a settlement." ​The Auditor looked at her, and for a fraction of a second, a spark of something human—perhaps a remnant of a reader who had once loved her—flickered in his eyes. ​"The debt must be paid in Conclusion," the Auditor said. "A story that never ends is a drain that never closes. To save the boy, to let Kael live out his remaining real years in peace, and to prevent the collapse of the 2026 infrastructure, you must provide a Definitive Finale."

"Ruby had a relapse. I stayed with her at the hospital. You know she's an orphan. She doesn't really have anyone else to turn to. I'm sorry I kept you waiting." He stepped toward me and reached out, trying to pull me into his arms. But I stood up and took a step back, just in time to slip out of his reach. "I'll go heat up your dinner," I said softly. Caleb nodded, a little ashamed. "Thanks, Zoe. I promise I'll make it up to you in a week." I lowered my head and said nothing. "Make it up to me? There's no 'future' for us anymore. I've only got 48 hours left to live," I thought.

“You don’t have to decide right now. Just think about it. This could be your chance to settle the score and build a better life for yourself.” She looked at me, her expression a mix of doubt and anger. I could see the conflict in her eyes, the temptation warring with her sense of right and wrong. “Just keep this between us,” I added. “No one needs to know. Take your time to decide, but don’t wait too long.” She nodded slowly, still looking unsure, and I knew I’d planted the seed. As she walked away, I allowed myself a small, triumphant smile. The plan was in motion, and soon enough, Akira would get what she deserved in no time.

She'd played that card for three years and never once lost the hand. But this time, Cain looked down at the hand clutching his sleeve. He looked a long time. Then he lifted his own hand and, gently but with absolute finality, peeled her fingers off his sleeve one by one. “That blade. The life-debt. I'll remember it,” he said, his voice cold to the bone. “You want comfort, land, a lifetime free of want, I'll give you all of it. A life-debt is a life-debt.”

The day Guglielmo Raimondi takes over as the Don, I receive a final notice from the hospital because I can no longer afford my dialysis treatments. On the TV, Guglielmo sits at the head of a long table in a black suit. He is giving an interview on a live broadcast. The host asks, "Don Raimondi, if you could say one thing to the person you regret losing most in the past, what would you say?" Guglielmo hesitates for a moment before picking up his phone and making a call. My phone starts vibrating on the hospital bed. I hear him ask, "You left me because you thought I was broke. Do you regret it now?" I look at the enormous bill for my kidney transplant. The fees show a string of zeros I

The first time my Alpha mate chose his childhood sweetheart over me, I forgave him. After all, Dylan saved my life seven times. Seven lives saved. Seven chances given. That was the deal I made with myself. Then Dylan skipped our Mate Anniversary to celebrate her birthday. He gave her the moonstone ring I’d carved for him with my own hands, saying she needed it for protection. And when rogues attacked us both, he stepped right past me as I lay wounded and carried her to safety first. I never fought him over any of it. Each time he chose her, I silently crossed off one of the lives I owed him. The pack thought I loved my Alpha so desperately that I would forgive him no matter how many times he