Sea Breeze

Mom, Dad, and Jesse—my younger sister—went out to sea on a trip, but they were caught in a tsunami, and all three perished in the accident. I was left all alone—just as I was about to start university—burdened with nothing but a mountain of debt. In the end, everything I had saved for my university tuition, along with the house Mom and Dad had left me, was taken by debt collectors. I was then forced to work in a shady factory, laboring 16 hours a day, sleeping in a shabby ten-person dorm, and surviving on nothing but thin, flavorless broth. I finally cleared the last of the debt when I accidentally discovered that Jesse—who was supposed to be dead—had appeared on television and become a famous dancer. Mom and Dad even gave an interview about her success. It turned out they had taken out a massive loan and faked their deaths to flee to Pravia for Jesse's dance studies, leaving the entire debt for me to deal with just as I was supposed to start university. I went to confront them, demanding the truth, but they threw me out like trash. I was then hit and killed by a speeding truck at the side of the road. "How could Lorraine be such a nuisance, not even having the decency to die far away from our doorstep?" I have been given another chance, reborn on the day they faked their deaths.

Welcome to the Longwu Continent, the stage for five magnificent Empires ruled by high martial and magical talents. In the spotlight, a figure will gain fame and a brilliant scene. On this Continent, resources were abundant for those who mastered the two crucial talents: Mingzhu energy for outstanding martial arts and Nebula energy for mesmerizing spiritual skills. For those who do not possess both talents, their lives seem to be erased and forgotten by the world. Li Wei, a young man from the small town of Shuimiao in the Terra Empire, seemed to be a mere nobody with neither martial nor magical talent. However, he aspires to become a Sage, a half-immortal human. Luck arrived in the form of an unexpected encounter with a legendary creature one night, changing his life forever. Li Wei awoke to find that he possessed extraordinary talents in two things coveted by millions: martial arts and magic. These prodigies were not the result of mere chance but rather the intervention of a supernatural creature sea monster known as Longxu. Now, Li Wei enters the world of Cultivators and Magus on the Longwu Continent, carrying the promise of a secret society that makes him the target of truth-hungry experts. Will Li Wei achieve the dream of becoming a half-immortal as he desires? What is the big secret that makes him the hunted on Longwu Continent? Find out in this epic tale, "The Sage Story of Longwu Continent."

After being reborn, I make up my mind to stop chasing after my childhood crush, Emil McLaren. When he puts up a sign banning my presence at his birthday party, I pack my bags and decide to go to Wanoki Island. When he says my scent makes his house feel nauseating, I quietly move out without complaint. When he says he doesn't want to breathe the same city air as me after our graduation, I leave and never look back. Then he tells me my existence might make his beloved first love uncomfortable. I nod and soon go public with someone else. In this life, I do the opposite of everything I did before. Because in my past life, I got what I wanted—I married Emil. But then his first love jumped off a cliff. He called me her murderer and tormented me. In the end, I jumped into the sea in a state of mental confusion and died. This time, all I want is to live. So, I find myself someone new. However, Emil blocks my path, his eyes bloodshot as he glares at me. "Penelope, I'll forgive this little joke of yours if you come with me right now."

During spring break, my family's housekeeper's son, Ethan Shaw, steals my black card and takes the entire class on a luxury trip to Norkin. He books out an entire fireworks show to impress my girlfriend, Claire Sanders. Then, he treats everyone to first-class tickets for the cruise while basking in the spotlight. But when I discover he's using my card and confront him, he teams up with my girlfriend to twist the story. They accuse me of being jealous of him. Cornered on the deck, I'm about to pull out my phone to prove it when Ethan suddenly shoves me over the railing. I'm left hanging by one desperate hand. His voice is ice-cold. "Lucas is just picking a fight because he's after my money. I can't sleep soundly with him around." On Ethan's signal, his lackey crushes my fingers one by one until my grip fails. I fall into the open sea, ending as food for the fish. When I open my eyes, I find myself back on the day Ethan is booking the fireworks show. Watching him revel in the spotlight, I take out my phone and call the bank to cancel the card. This time, I want to see just how he plays the lavish big shot.

Nathaniel Hemlock was once one of the most feared pirates to ever sail the seas. His endless quest for gold and power claimed many lives but never concerned him since his heart had long hardened. That is until one day that desire took a dark turn. For power and gold he traded not only his own soul but that of his crew. Now he is cursed to sail the seas until the end of time, unless 1000 more souls are given, one a year...all must be children which was one of the only things he would never do. Present day. Lloyd has always scoffed at the legends that bring visitors to his town near the sea, and with the arrival of a movie crew it's gotten worse. Returning home one evening he sees a strange, old fashioned boat docked and curiously decides to board it. A decision he soon regrets. Once onboard he cannot leave. Nathaniel is not best pleased but there is little he can do and decides to use Lloyd as a cabin boy to make himself useful while he continues to search for another way of breaking his curse and freeing his crew. Their lives will soon become more entwined and perhaps Lloyd is the one who can warm the frozen heart.

My mother-in-law has gotten kidnapped, and yet my husband, Josiah Broadway, decides to celebrate the success of his childhood sweetheart, Vivian Spencer's performance with her. The kidnapper has requested a ten-million-dollar ransom. If he doesn't receive the money in his bank account in an hour, he'll kill the hostage immediately. But my calls to Josiah's phone never go through. When there's only one minute left on the timer, Josiah calls me back calmly. "Since that hag is already that old, she might as well die. I'm not wasting my money on her." Just like that, my mother-in-law is thrown into the sea by the furious kidnapper. The search-and-rescue team has to resort to using long hooks in order to fish her corpse out of the sea. As soon as the body is delivered to the crematorium, Josiah sends me a voice message excitedly. "Have your mom's corpse sent to the studio! Vivian's performance needs a corpse anyway! Using a real corpse will make the whole performance seem more realistic!" I'm pissed off, to say the least. So, that bastard thinks that my mom is the one who died, huh? After that, I have my mother-in-law's corpse, which is completely disfigured from all the fishing and hooking, sent to the studio without any hesitation.

She married him to end a family feud. He never loved her or so she thought. Jane endured a cold, empty marriage to billionaire Logan Anderson, holding onto the hope that one day he might feel something real. But the moment she discovered she was pregnant, she also caught him cheating. Heartbroken, she asked for a divorce without telling him about the babies growing inside her. That same night, she was kidnapped, tortured, and thrown into the sea, left for dead. The men claimed Logan sent them. And Jane believed it. Six years later, she’s back. Not as a broken wife, but as a powerful woman with six brilliant children and a single mission: revenge. She’ll make Logan pay. She’ll break his empire. And she’ll do it with a smile. But what happens when the lies begin to crack? What happens when she discovers the truth That Logan had fallen for her long before she left And that someone close, someone trusted, orchestrated it all? Now Jane’s daughter is sick and the only bone marrow match is Logan. What if he wasn’t the enemy after all? And what if the only man who can save her child is the one she swore to destroy?

Kai Tanaka is Seattle’s best rescue swimmer, the man they send into black water when the storm decides to take a life. He’s built for cold, built for chaos, built to bring people back. Until one rescue goes wrong. A body disappears. The footage goes missing. And Kai becomes the quiet scapegoat the Coast Guard can sacrifice to keep the institution clean. Suspended and watched, he’s barely holding on when Luca Reyes drags his name into the light. Luca is a true-crime podcaster chasing the truth behind that same night, because his younger brother was on the boat that never came home. Luca thinks Kai is hiding something. Kai thinks Luca is feeding off tragedy. Their first meeting is sharp and ugly. Then Luca is nearly killed for asking the right questions. Kai pulls him from the wreckage and realizes this isn’t internet noise. Someone is laundering bodies through the sea, and they’re using Kai as the fall guy. The only way to keep Luca alive is to disappear with him to an off-grid cabin on the San Juan Islands, where the wind never stops and secrets sound louder. Forced proximity turns into hunger. Suspicion turns into heat. And the closer they get to the truth, the more they realize the storm isn’t the worst thing chasing them.

“Look at the mirror, and tell me to whom you belong, Violette.” Noah cupped me in between my thighs harshly, making my breath haywire. “Answer me!” His tone dropped even low, followed by his dangerous growl. “Y..you,” I answered in a strangled whisper and gasped when he slipped two fingers inside me in a swift motion. “Again. To whom you belong, my dear?” He asked again, pumping his fingers in and out on my wet and slickly sex. “You, Noah.” “Good. Remember that before you let someone lay their hand on you. Now, open your legs wider for me.” *** Violette Daley never knew that her life would turn upside down after her brave attempt to escape to the Lycan's land. She only planned to stay for a day or two and then slip away to the human's land. But her plan was ruined after accidentally freeing a dangerous Lycan— Noah, in the cave. What started as a mere promise between the beast and her for her safety suddenly took a twisted turn. Now, she was to follow him, and worse, he claimed her as his mate. Before she knew it. Violette was already trapped in the sea of beasts, and Noah was the only one she could depend on to survive.

One night before our engagement, Darren Finch insisted on throwing a singles party aboard a cruise ship. He made it clear I wasn't invited. But in the middle of the night, I got a call saying he'd fallen overboard. Panic overtook me. Feverish and disoriented, I stumbled to the deck and dove into the sea without a second thought. The night waters were icy, sapping the strength from my limbs. As I was pulled back onto the deck, shivering and soaked, I heard laughter ring out from the crowd. Carrie Specter, Darren's childhood sweetheart, stood above me. She gave a soft, lilting laugh. "Seeing how far you're willing to go for Darren... I can finally hand him over to you without worry." At that, Darren wrapped an arm smugly around her waist. "Carrie, you really do know me best." "I told you," she beamed, "Paula would pass your test." I let out a cold laugh, slipped the engagement ring from my finger, and flung it at his face. "No, thanks. I wish you two eternal bliss. Just don't ever drag me into your drama again."