Hellfire Gala

On my way to the interview, my best friend—who had always warned me not to meddle in other people’s business—suddenly rushed toward the crashed luxury car without hesitation. That was when I knew she had been reborn too. In our previous life, she and I were known as the two top aces of the Finance Department. After graduation, we both made it to the final interview at one of the world’s top five hundred companies. On the day of that interview, we encountered a terrible car accident. The company’s president was inside the wreck. I gave up the interview to save him, while my friend ran straight to the interview without looking back. In the end, she got the offer, and I lost my chance at the prestigious firm. Everyone pitied me. However, the president held a grand wedding to repay me. I became the wife of my friend’s boss. I was admired and envied by all. She, on the other hand, struggled under endless performance targets. She got buried by work. At the company’s annual gala, I stood beside the president, dazzling under the lights, while she faded into the crowd—exhausted and invisible. Jealousy drove her mad. She grabbed a knife and stabbed me right there at the gala. When I opened my eyes again, she and I had both returned to the day of the president’s car accident.

Seven years ago, I broke his heart to save his life. I just didn't realize he’d grow up to be the man who owns mine. Ethan Hawke wasn't always the "Ice King of Manhattan." Once, he was just the boy from the wrong side of the tracks who promised me the world. But I left him in the middle of a winter storm, taking a secret with me that changed everything. Now, he’s back. He’s no longer that boy. He’s a billionaire predator with a memory like a steel trap and a heart made of frost. When my father’s debts come due, Ethan is the one holding the check. But the price isn't money. It’s me. The Deal: Move into his penthouse. Wear his ring. Play the happy fiancée until Valentine’s Day. The Catch: He hasn't just been waiting for me. He’s been watching me. As the line between his revenge and his obsession blurs, I realize the "Dirty Secret" isn't the fake engagement. It’s that even after all the pain, his touch is the only thing that makes me feel alive. But when the gala lights go down, I have to decide: Can I love the man who is determined to ruin me? And more importantly... what will he do when he finds out the secret I’ve been keeping for seven years?

I stopped fighting. The moment I came back, I stepped out of the family spotlight on purpose— no arguments, no expectations, no awkward “let’s bond” moments. And somehow… that’s when my parents lost their minds. They made my little sister the heir? I congratulated them and filed my transfer to the Vegas branch the same afternoon. They threw her a massive coming-of-age gala? I smiled, booked a flight, and left before the invitations were printed. They bought her a limited-edition luxury car? I claimed my “old wrist injury” made driving impossible and insisted she take it. I thought they’d be relieved. I thought they’d finally get their perfect family without me messing up the picture. But instead—my cold, distant parents started calling nonstop. Showing up at my door. Pleading with me to come home. Asking what they did wrong. Why now? Why only when I stopped trying? Because in my last life, I spent decades clawing for their love— only to die bitter, resented, and humiliated. Even my grown son told me I was embarrassing. This time, I came back different. I refused to fight for a place in their world again. I refused to compete with my sister. I refused to beg. But the moment I stepped away… the entire family empire began to crack. And now they’re terrified. Not because I left— but because they finally realized what they lost.

BLURB Zara Winterborn believed that marrying Adrian Leighhton was a dream come true and the best thing that had ever happened to her broken childhood. Instead, it tied her to a man whose love hid a dark truth that burned her to ashes. She overhears a phone call on their honeymoon that shatters her whole world. The love of her life is already married. Feeling betrayed and desperate after learning she's pregnant, she makes some unthinkable decisions. She fakes an abortion, fakes a miscarriage, and disappears from her old life. Five years later, she returns as a renowned architect. Not as Zara but Aria Sterling with a secret daughter. Adrian sees her at a gala and his regret transforms into obsession as he hires investigators to dig deeper. He will tear everything down, even his empire and his blood just to win her forgiveness again. But Adrian isn't the only one who becomes obsessed with her. Even Damien, the stranger who helped her disappear to punish her, has his own plans and wants to use Zara as a weapon for revenge. As secrets of stolen embryos, hidden mothers, children, unknown siblings, and bloodlines twisted by lies, come to light, Zara must choose. Does she stick with Damien and destroy Adrian forever or does she forgive Adrian and let him into their lives? She vanished before. Can she disappear again when things get tough?

The end of the world had never been so romantic—for Alisa Vega, at least. In an alternate universe where Earth survives the first apocalypse, humans live side by side with other species in a society where impossible things become possible. And yet, with all that magic and technology, love remains to be the most mysterious and unpredictable thing of all. Alisa Vega is a popular celebrity well-known for her beauty and charisma. Growing up in a loving and privileged environment, she had never wanted for anything in her life—until she meets Jester Lee, the rising star of the Adventurer community. Jester saves her life and steals her heart in the process. She confesses her love, but Jester is having none of it. Apparently, he's too busy saving all three worlds from a second apocalypse to entertain any thoughts on romance. But Alisa is convinced that he is THE ONE for her—and she is not taking no for an answer. Join Alisa and Jester as their stories unfold side by side: from gala appearances, photoshoots, and dodging the paparazzi, to navigating through a mess of man-eating monsters, secret identities, and uncovering conspiracies, all in the name of true love. *Author's Note: Some parts of the story may include scenes of violence and gore, dark (morbid) humor and possible emotional trauma (for the characters). Although the author encourages freedom in reading, this warning is in place for those who may find such topics disturbing. Reading should be fun for everyone, after all. Thank you! ^_^

The champagne was flat, much like the expression on Julian’s face. "It’s not that I don’t love you, Elara," he said, adjusting his $5,000 suit jacket. "It’s just that you’ve become... predictable. I need a woman who challenges the world, not someone who waits for me to come home and tell her what color the sky is." Elara felt the sting of the words more than the cold wind on the balcony. For six years, she had been Julian’s shadow. She had curated his life, managed his moods, and dimmed her own light so he could shine brighter. And now, on the night of his company’s gala, he was discarding her like an outdated software update. "Predictable?" she whispered, her voice cracking. "Go home, Elara. I’ve already had your things moved to the guest house. We can talk about a settlement in the morning." She didn't wait for the morning. She didn't wait for the "settlement." She walked out into the rain, her silk dress clinging to her skin like a second, cold layer of grief. It wasn't until three days later, sitting in a dingy motel with nothing but a suitcase and a bruised soul, that the notification popped up on her phone. ARE YOU READY TO LIVE FOR YOURSELF? ENTER THE SURVIVAL GAME. WIN YOUR FREEDOM. Elara stared at the golden icon on the screen. It felt like a trap. Or maybe, it was the only way out.

Reborn as the long-lost Rogers heir, missing for fifteen years, I avoided every chance to bond with my two brothers in this family. When they tossed me Vivi’s discarded, ill-fitting gown for the family gala, I smiled and put it on. When they sent Vivi to get an elite education while ordering me to scrub the utility room, I picked up the mop without a word. When they let Vivi chase love and dumped her rejected suitor on me, I didn’t fight. I accepted her leftovers with a calm nod. This was all because in my past life, I had spent my entire life desperate for my brothers' approval, only to end up despised by everyone for it. When I died in the crossfire of a gangland shootout, my own son pushed my body away in disgust. "Mom, did you really waste your whole life on such a petty fight with Aunt Vivi? Dying for the family would have been a more dignified end. At least then you wouldn't have disgraced our name." I left this world filled with resentment, only to open my eyes and find myself back at the moment I first set foot in the Rogers estate. This time, I'm done fighting. The power, the name, the honor. I'm letting them have it all. I’ve already been accepted into a closed-door medical project. Soon they will never see me again.

Le jour où mon père et son ex sont apparus à un gala et sont devenus un sujet brûlant sur les réseaux, tout le monde se moquait de ma mère. Elle avait sacrifié une brillante carrière pour entrer dans une famille puissante, mais après trente ans, elle n'avait ni statut ni reconnaissance. Elle n'avait même pas le courage de reprocher quoi que ce soit à la maîtresse. Après une crise de larmes, ma mère m'a regardée, épuisée. « C'est lui qui m'a trahie en premier, alors je ne veux plus de lui. » « Rosalie, tu veux partir avec moi ? » C'est à ce moment-là que j'ai reçu un message de mon copain, avec qui j'étais depuis sept ans. « Rosalie, ce n'est qu'un papier à signer. Tu peux rester ma copine, non ? » Je suis restée silencieuse quelques secondes, puis j'ai hoché la tête. Alors, le jour même de leur mariage, ma mère et moi avons disparu dans l'incendie de la villa.

In my previous life, my brother Elliot Quinn's close female friend, Ava Sutton, told him she wanted to camp on the mountaintop and watch the stars. Wanting privacy, he took all the bodyguards from home with him. Unexpectedly, the rival whom Elliot had once humiliated took the opportunity to break into the house seeking revenge. My pregnant sister-in-law fought to protect me with everything she had, while my three-year-old nephew got hurt badly trying to save me. I called Elliot over and over, begging him to come home. Knowing that the situation at home was urgent, he had no choice but to leave Ava Sutton behind and rush back. Elliot's rival was captured, but from the mountaintop came terrible news. Ava had vanished after sending her last message. "I know your sister and wife have been waiting for me to die. Well, they got what they wanted." Elliot coldly deleted the message and told me not to overthink it. Afterward, Dad punished him, and he lost control of the family business. But after the corporate gala, while I was in the backyard, Elliot killed me mercilessly. His face was cold and cruel as he said, "You're the one who made me come back. That's why Ava died. Go and make amends to her!" When I open my eyes again, the front gate of the villa echoes with the voice of Elliot's rival.

Ten years ago, Elara’s only refuge from Kaelan Vanderbilt’s cruel torment was her sketchbook. Now, she wears his brother’s engagement ring, poised to claim the loving family and safe life she’s always craved. Her past is a locked box, and gentle Liam Vanderbilt is the key to her future. But for Kaelan, the past is a weapon. The moment his brother introduces his fiancée, the quiet, artistic girl he once broke becomes an all-consuming obsession. He sees the fear in her eyes and replaces it with a dangerous, simmering desire. He will sabotage his brother, risk the family empire, and tear her perfect world apart to make her his. Elara is trapped between the man who represents everything she needs and the man who embodies the darkness she’s always feared… and secretly craves. As Kaelan’s campaign of seduction and psychological warfare escalates, he forces her to confront a terrifying truth: was she ever truly hiding from him, or was she waiting for him to find her again? The gala is the pinnacle of her new life, a celebration of her future with Liam. But as Kaelan’s hand settles on the small of her back, his lips brush her ear, and he whispers the same taunt that haunted her high school halls, the line between hatred and obsession shatters. “Run along, little mouse,” he murmurs, his voice a dark promise. “I’ve always loved the chase.”