Pure Imagination Cover

Taking his place on the throne, the King crowned his golden girl his queen. I, on the other hand, was granted two choices—retire from court with a hefty fortune or be his kept mistress in the dark. Choosing neither, I hung myself on the clothesline right outside the laundress quarters. I had been sent back twenty years in time, tasked by the System to conquer four targets. I’d just blown the last target and my final chance to complete the quest. The System notified me that following the death of my flesh, my consciousness would return to the modern world, back to the arms of my family. Just as I closed my eyes, the desperate cries of my name caught my attention.

My childhood friends switched their university of choice behind my back. Going to the capital, they enrolled in an elite university with an exchange student. To them, I was just a tool who could not survive without them. That impression lasted until the opening ceremony of an Ivy League university. As the representative of the new students, I stood at the center of the hall. Meanwhile, the youngest PhD advisor in the entire country watched me as he smiled. Beyond the world of the novel I lived in, the readers’ comments went wild. [Shouldn’t she be crying back at home? Why is she in an Ivy League university?] However, the next part was even crazier. That man actually asked me to be his girlfriend yesterday. He was Professor Samuel Grant, the one who had rejected my four childhood friends from studying under him. When my childhood friends left me behind to chase after that manipulative witch, they never expected me to cast aside my role as someone running after them. I ended up holding a full-ride scholarship and reached heights they could never touch.

There's a common secret kept by everyone in the upper crust. Liliana Coolidge loves me, her husband, to the core, and yet she loves the thrill of sleeping with others behind my back. She pampers her side pieces a lot, but there's one taboo that they must follow no matter what. They must never show up in front of me at all. Everyone knows that I'm the man whom she's loved for a decade and the one she almost died to marry. Liliana has made it clear that if I were dead, she'd definitely follow me to the afterlife without a doubt. But this time, her latest side piece is a rebellious one. He actually shows up before me, thinking that he has Liliana to back him up. He spams my phone with tons of used condom photos, together with Liliana's sleeping visage. "Mr. Rivero, the strawberry ribbed condom overstimulates Ms. Coolidge too much, judging from the way she kept moaning the whole night. Had she used it when she was with you in the past?" Only at that moment do I realize that my wife, who loves me to the moon and back, has chosen to pour all the love she has for me while giving her body to other people. As I stare at the photos, I weep until I don't have any tears left. Then, I draft a divorce agreement and leave my signature there. But when I turn around, I notice a 17-year-old version of Liliana standing behind me with tears streaming down her face.

At our college reunion, I let slip about the three great catches I was dating online. One ran a successful law firm, the other was a researcher at a leading institute, while another was an up-and-coming tech mogul on the Forbes list. My so-called best friend, Cassie Young, paused halfway through her plate of ribs. Giving me the side glance, she voiced her sarcasm. “I feel sorry for your future husband. Of all the women he could have, he had to marry someone with a rich history.” I took a sip of my juice and responded, “Honestly, I’m pretty stressed about the whole thing. They are all amazing. I can’t decide between them. Cassie, does anyone tickle your fancy? You can have one.” As her cutlery clattered on the table, Cassie widened her eyes. “A-Are you for real?”

The woman my husband never got over and I were rushed to the hospital after the same car accident. The hospital's plasma supply was dangerously low. To get her into surgery as quickly as possible, my husband, Maxwell Gallagher, chose to draw my blood. What he did not know was that I had hemophilia. That single decision drained the life from me. My body failed first. My heart followed, quietly and completely. "Once Josie is stable, I'll make it up to you," he said, forcing the promise through clenched resolve. I smiled faintly as I listened. By then, everything inside me was already dead. Just as my existence was about to be erased, the Neural Outcome Determination Engine took my place and returned to my body. I thought Maxwell would never realize the truth. But the moment he looked into "my" eyes, he broke down completely.

"I'll cut to the chase. I'm the villainess in this story." Everyone in this wealthy, elite family adored my poor, fragile adopted sister. My older brother Damien would snap, "Don't scare Bella. Her weak heart can't take it." My other brother, Magnus, would add, "Lend Bella your nightgown, all right? It's wasted on you." Even my fiancé said, "This is nothing more than a marriage of convenience. My true love has always been Bella." In my last life, I humbled myself endlessly to please them. What did I receive in return? They sent me to a mental asylum and I died in agony. Then I came back to life on the day of my engagement party. A voice echoed in my mind and made its announcement. [The Madness Reward System has chosen you, Marceline Blanc. Any unhinged behavior will earn rewards worth hundreds of millions of dollars.] I grinned and sent the pompous, ten-tier cake crashing to the floor. "I'm done with this shitty family. Goodbye, you miserable bastards."

After the great war between humans and beasts, both sides agreed to let the half-beasts govern the world. Every hundred years, a union between humans and beasts would be arranged. The first half-beast child of the generation would be the next ruler of the Human-Beast Alliance. In my past life, I chose to marry the eldest son of the wolf clan, renowned for his unwavering devotion. I was the first to bear him a child—a rare half-beast white wolf. Our son was named the next ruler of the Human-Beast Alliance, and my husband, by extension, rose to immense power. My younger sister, who had chosen to marry into the fox clan out of vain admiration for their beauty, was not so fortunate. The fox clan's heir, a notorious philanderer, eventually contracted a disease and lost his ability to father children. Jealous and resentful, my sister set a fire that burned both me and my young white wolf son alive. When I opened my eyes again, it was the very day of the human-beast mating ceremony. This time, my sister was quicker—she climbed into the wolf clan heir Jacob's bed before I had the chance. I knew then: she had been reborn too. But what she didn't know… was that Jacob's nature was cruel and violent. He worshiped bloodshed, not love. And he was anything but a worthy mate.

After the fire, my younger brother, Ethan Harper, and I have become comatose. Our own parents choose to deliver us to the rebirth trial. If we pass the trial, we'll regain consciousness and be granted a brand new life. The sensory caps are attached to our heads and soon connected to our brainwaves. Ethan chokes out, "Since Mom and Dad loves you so much, you'll definitely receive their votes, Emma." I turn to look at the judge instead. "After I'm reborn, can I request a new pair of parents? It's fine if the answer is no. My parents will still die, anyway."

To complete my mission of winning over the tragic second male lead, Charles Sawyer, I exchange all my system points to help him rise and become the richest man in Broxia. All that is left is for him to propose to me, and the mission will be complete. When the innocent-looking female lead, Natalia Leigh, causes the company to lose tens of millions of dollars due to a mistake, I simply fire her according to company rules. Unexpectedly, this causes Charles to lose his temper at me in public. Right in front of the entire company, he rebukes me, "Melissa McBride! Stop using work as an excuse to vent at Natalia just because you're jealous! I've seen through your little scheme to win me over!" To punish me for supposedly bullying Natalia, he bids aggressively and wins a priceless piece of jewelry at an astronomical price a few days later at a charity auction. Not only does he personally present it to Natalia, but he even drops to one knee and proposes to her in front of all the guests. When he looks at me, he says mockingly, "Melissa, as long as I refuse, your mission is destined to fail." He is convinced that he has absolute control over me. But he does not know that once the mission fails, my system activates a return function. When that happens, every advantage I once gave him will be returned to me with a single command.

As I fought a stray dog for a loaf of moldy bread, distinguished guests arrived at the orphanage. They'd come to find the long-lost heir of a wealthy family. After confirming their choice, they donated $100 million to the orphanage and handed out chocolates to every child. My mouth watered as I reached for a box, but glowing messages flashed before my eyes. [Lawrence, show your locket! They're here to bring you home!] [Don't let that impostor steal your birthright. It's yours!] They revealed the truth: the elegant couple were my biological parents, and the poised girl beside them was my fiancée. Yet I clutched my chocolate and ran, aware of their true purpose: they'd come here just for the fake heir. Even if I revealed my locket, they'd not pay me any attention.