Time Trial Mondstadt

During the annual awards gala, I stepped out to use the restroom. When I came back, my year-end bonus was gone, canceled for allegedly assaulting a new coworker, Elan Crowe. In my first life, I desperately tried to prove my innocence by showing my fitness tracker’s movement data, proving I had been in the bathroom. Calder Roane, the department head, flew into a rage. "Everyone in the department saw you hit him. And you still want to deny it?" I struggled and explained frantically, but in the chaos, I accidentally fell down the stairs and died on the spot. In my second life, I took medical leave and skipped the gala entirely. I never expected that just past noon, the police would surround my home. "Lyra Vale, you’re suspected of intentional homicide. You need to come with us." Elan’s enraged family had then rushed forward and stabbed me repeatedly. I died again. In my third life, I ran to the city plaza, started a livestream, and rapped on camera, turning every viewer into my alibi. That night, the police still came. "The evidence is conclusive. Please come with us." At the station, they pulled up surveillance footage. It clearly showed me sneaking into the gala hall, arguing with Elan, then picking up a knife and stabbing him straight in the back. I was completely stunned. Three days later, I took a bullet. After endless rebirths, I finally laughed in anger. This time, I stormed straight into the gala hall, pressed a knife across Elan's throat, and said, "This is a kidnapping."

Everything started when the oh-so-hot macho entertainer danced in front of the beautifully sizzling Tamara Davis on the night of her best friend's bridal shower. She wasn't the bride, but the man was intent on pleasing her all night! The next thing she knew, the supposed just-for-fun night out with her friends turned out to be a night of the blazing fire she shared with this sexy male stripper when the two of them ended up on the bed, and they brought each other to their own kind of paradise. Tamara thought that whatever was left on that night would remain that night. She was wrong, though. Fate intervened, rekindling their flame when they unexpectedly met again one sunny day. And she discovered that the man she had sex with was about to become her new boss!

We were supposed to be in love for eternity. But my vampire fiancé, Caius, has stood me up at our blood-bonding ceremony thirty-three times. The first time, the girl he’d sired, Evangeline, lost control during a hunt. He raced to her side, leaving me alone in the church under the blood moon. The second time, he vanished mid-ceremony because Evangeline was being bullied by another clan. He left me to face the elders’ mockery alone. After that, his little fledgling always had some fresh disaster for him to avert. And he always had an excuse: “I sired her. She’s like a child to me.” Then I saw the fresh bite marks on their necks. They had shared blood—the ultimate intimacy between mates. My heart turned to ash. It was time to burn our betrothal to the ground. The day I finally disappeared, he went mad, tearing our world apart to find me.

Elena Bennett, the illegitimate daughter of the Bennetts, was never supposed to matter. The unwanted daughter of a powerful family, hidden away like a dirty secret. But one night—one reckless, alcohol-soaked night—changed everything. Elias Vanguard, billionaire bad boy, notorious womanizer, and a man with enough family drama to sink an empire. Their drunken encounter becomes front-page news, and suddenly, they’re both drowning in a scandal neither of them wants. His solution? A fake marriage to clean up his reputation. Her motivation? The chance to finally claw her way out of the shadows and show everyone who they messed with. But playing house with a man who treats her like dirt wasn't part of the fantasy. Elias brings home his mistresses like it’s nothing, and with every insult, Elena’s heart cracks a little more. Until one day, he shoves divorce papers at her—because his precious mistress is supposedly pregnant. Elena signs the papers, disappears, and rebuilds herself from the ashes. Five years later, she’s a tech powerhouse, running the biggest company in the States, raising her son alone. Meanwhile, Elias is down on his luck, crippled from an accident, and abandoned by everyone he thought he could trust. When fate brings their worlds crashing together again, Elias isn’t the man he used to be. And Elena? Well, she’s the woman he should’ve never let go. But with betrayal, heartbreak, and an empire of her own to protect, forgiveness isn’t on her list of priorities. He wants her back. But this time, Elena's playing by her own rules.

I got into an elite college with my boyfriend, Philip Jewitt—and tossed my acceptance letter in the trash. His mom was dying. He stood in front of me, eyes red. "Stella, she doesn't have time... If she finds out I dropped out to pay for her treatment, it'll destroy her. Please. Help me. I swear I'll treat you right for the rest of my life." Philip got four perfect years on campus. I scraped by, working three jobs. I paid his tuition. Covered his mom's bills. After graduation, he needed startup money. I convinced my parents to mortgage our house. When his company went public, he proposed in front of everyone. I thought all those years finally meant something. But then he heard his one-sided love, Winnie Schell, died in a car crash. He got drunk and shoved me to the floor. "Why wasn't it you? If I didn't feel guilty about you, I would've married her." I clutched my stomach, pregnant, begging through tears. He sneered. "You owe Winnie everything. You really think you deserve my kid?" Then he kicked me—hard—right in the stomach. Pain ripped through me. Blood pooled between my legs. My vision went dark. When I opened my eyes again, I was back—one hour before the college application deadline.

On Christmas, the company handed out bonus envelopes, and I drew a 24-hour overtime voucher. Meanwhile, the boss took the female workers and my wife to a yacht party to celebrate. So, I calmly lit the Christmas tree and burned the company down. In my previous life, I worked overtime until I was completely exhausted. With a sharp pain in my chest, I called the boss to ask for leave. His tone was cold. “Everyone accepted their Christmas gift. Only you didn’t. “Get lost, then. You’re fired. Just a nobody at the bottom of society, anyway!” Through the phone, I heard my wife’s heavy breathing, one wave after another. “Thomas, ever since I got married, I’ve never had a good life. Today is truly amazing!” “Hahaha, Samantha, you’re really pitiful, married to such a poor loser.” Mocking laughter filled my ears. Rage consumed me, and I died at my desk. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on Christmas Day.

The story is a mixture of fantasy, a bit of comedy, unconventional romance, and addressing issues that people encounter everyday rolled into one. This ought to leave meaningful lessons about love, one's existence, new beginnings , and dealing with the different nuances of life.

A post asked: "What did it feel like to marry someone you didn’t love?" My husband answered, "No fun in bed at all. Every day, I think about divorce." Owen Clinton’s first love, Luna Dawson, had returned to town, and sparks had reignited between them in secret. Luna, with smug confidence, had urged me to step aside. But I only laughed as I tossed the divorce papers at her. "If you were so capable, you’d get him to sign them. Otherwise, I won't even take you seriously.”

The Lycan King's summons reached all fifty-six packs across the Northern Territories — he was choosing a Luna for his heir. The heir's reputation for brutality preceded him. So my mother swapped my sister Freya's name for mine. Her voice left no room for argument. "Elsa, your sister's wolf spirit hasn't fully awakened yet. She can't survive the journey. Go in her place — enter the Luna Trials for her." She gripped my hand, tears sliding down her cheeks at just the right moment. "When it's over, your brother will come for you. I swear it on the Moon Goddess." In my past life, I believed that oath. I traveled to the Lycan King's fortress, only to be singled out by the heir himself. I barely escaped his stronghold alive, fleeing through blizzards for seven days and nights before I finally lost my pursuers. After two years as a rogue, I made it back to the Frostfang Pack — just in time to witness Freya's Marking Ceremony with the Alpha. My mother stood at the center of the celebration and looked straight through me. "Rogue. There is no place for you here." Cast out a second time, I lost all hope. I died in a blizzard, alone. When consciousness returned, I found myself standing in the stone hall again. She wore the same expression, watching me with those calculating eyes. "Elsa, would you take Freya's place in the Luna Trials?"

Xena Xander returned to the past and found herself back in 1989. That year, she was thirty. Her husband, Julian Zane, was thirty-five. He had just become the youngest academician at the National Academy of Sciences. He was a national talent, and his future looked exceptionally promising. They had a pair of ten-year-old twins. Everyone said she was lucky. She was so lucky to have a good husband and sweet children. But the first thing she did after returning to the past was consult a lawyer and prepare two divorce agreements. She called Julian’s office. When the assistant realized it was her, the response was brief. “Xena, Professor Zane is busy. He doesn’t have time.” She went to the research institute to look for him, but the guard stopped her at the entrance. “Sorry, Professor Zane is unavailable right now.” After three days, she took the divorce agreement and went to see Julian’s first love. She placed the agreement in front of Moon Jensen and calmly said, “Please have Julian sign the divorce agreement. From now on, he and the two children belong to you.”