Novel & Cerita Reluctant Hero

This just finishes what started. *Absolutely not,* Rhett's strategic mind objected fiercely. *If anyone goes, it should be me. I am the expendable one.* *Neither of you is expendable,* Darius's empathy insisted. *But if we are choosing—I have always known I would not survive this war. Let me go with purpose.* *Stop it,* Marcus demanded. *Stop trying to be heroes. If erasure is necessary, I should go. I was corrupted. I understand darkness. I can contain it better than any of you.*

“No… I’d never hurt someone innocent, believe me, Olivia, every villain has their own stories…” “Look, I can’t sit here and listen to your crap. Every villain has their own story, that’s the excuse y’all use when shedding blood. I’m willing to forfeit the first place and all if it means not having this dinner, excuse me!” I replied as I stood up abruptly and turned only for him to grab my hand.

He bowed in respect. “Hello, my lady. I heard a call. Someone needed a…” he paused for dramatic effect as he plucked an arrow out of the men. “Hero.” She chuckled wryly. “So why didn’t you go get one?” It was very unusual for a woman to be able to resist his charm. His charisma was a well-mastered trait. It rarely failed him, yet this little woman with no adventuring background shrugged it off. It made him want to run his fingers through her silky hair and pull her head back for just a glance at those sparkling depths.

It really stabbed on her heart as he throw his words. " If you are that reluctant to answer me then I won't ask you either. Even though it's not my fault in the first place, still I can't disagree with your resentment after I am the daughter of the sinner." She said. After that she took a short sip from her drinks.

But she's Jules Verne and she's not someone that backs away easily, she refused to be a coward. 'If he wants me to be a night's watch, that's what I'll be,' she said inwardly. When she accepted to be his father's wife, she was ready to take whatever life throws at her. The criticism, the bully, whatever, and it's going to take more than Hero to break her. With her head held high, and a big smile on her face, Jules walked out of Hero's office stunning both him and plumpy. 'What is this woman made of?'

My father was a hero cop, but I was a blemish to his shining resume as I was a delinquent who smoked, drank, and got into fights. Every time I tried to visit him at the precinct, he would slap me and tell me to leave in front of his colleagues. His fatherly love was all meant for Nana Smith, the daughter of his fallen comrade who was a paragon of good character and academic excellence. When Nana was kidnapped, he sent the entire city's officers after the kidnappers. When I was stabbed three times by some thugs and called him for help, he snapped at me, "Quit being a bother. The death of vermin like you is simply good riddance anyway." Even as I suffocated in agony, I lay in a pool of my

"The kitchen girls, the facility girls, the older staff who have been here long enough to remember the last time someone spoke back during a disciplinary proceeding." She paused. "Which apparently no one has." I looked at the wall, my lips parted slightly. "I'm not a hero," I denied. "I just said what was true." "That's what makes it heroic," Seven countered, shrugging lightly. "Most people know what's true. Very few people say it out loud in a courtyard full of guards." I was quiet for a moment. The word sat strangely on me—hero. I thought of it, the words moving somewhere.

Hero. The word echoed in the quiet library. Sabatine stared at the screen as the segment ended. He felt a hot, confusing rush of shame and something else—a fierce, defensive rejection. He was no hero. Heroes didn’t have blood dried so deep in their fingerprints it never fully washed out. Heroes didn’t calculate collateral damage with a cold eye. He had done what was necessary. He had fought for Anton. That was all. He left the library and walked out into the grounds, the crisp autumn air doing little to clear his head. He found Anton near the old stables, overseeing the installation of a new, subtler security system.

“A coward? A disgrace? I just… I don’t want to fight him. Not when no one else is even trying.” Kael leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “Lucas, you’re not a disgrace for not wanting your father back. You’re not a disgrace for not wanting to fight a war nobody else is fighting.” I swallowed hard, my chest aching. Kael went on, quieter this time. “It’s a mind screw, yeah? How do you defeat the bad guy when he’s doing more good than the guy who’s supposed to be the hero?” I sat down beside him, feeling strangely hollow and relieved all at once. “Exactly.”

But Adrian was different, even when he's on drugs, he still didn't want to do it. He wasn’t an easy man to break. But everyone had a weakness, and his is Isla and when what can make him vulnerable, I don't know yet but I will make sure this video does that. I picked up my phone and dialed a number. Victor answered on the first ring. "Is it done?" "Not exactly," I admitted, my fingers tightening around the device. "Adrian is more resistant than we expected." A pause. "That’s a problem. We need leverage, Naomi."