Beneath the Surface: Secrets of an Obsessed Heart - Chapter 81 - 80

After a near death experience thanks to his own mother, Jake Hollander has an adverse reaction to people, baseball, and family. His feeling of abandonment is slowly lost thanks to his foster family, The Atkins. They take him in and change his mind about everything. He becomes more open, better at baseball, and craves for family. Slowly all wishes are granted.

Instagram: @writerhalf_empty

https://www.patreon.com/half_empty ~~The Last Curve can be found there, a short story about Rhys


**Names, faces, and places aren’t real. A work of fiction. Nonetheless, it is my work of fiction so please don’t post it without permission. *I have used school names that do exist though, but I would like everyone to know that I have no affiliation with them. Nor do my views reflect their views.

The protagonist wakes up to a superpower one day, out of the blue! But there’s no organization targeting the protagonist’s superpower! The prettiest girl in his grade doesn’t turn out to be a psychicer like the protagonist himself! No door opens to another world and he doesn’t get summoned! There is no secret history in the protagonist’s past! There is no reveal explaining the protagonist’s sudden attainment of his superpower! So normal! Such overwhelming normalcy! He graduates from school and gets a job without anything happening! He lives as a mediocre working adult! Having enough power to fight against all of humanity yet not seeing anything happen finally makes him snap! Fine, be that way! If this is the way it’s gonna be, then I’ll make it! I’ll make the secret supernatural organization myself! Welcome to my manmade extraordinariness!

Zhao Ming arrived in the Douluo Continent with the Sign-In and Clock-In System, awakening the Puppet Martial Spirit—Yan Lingji, Yun Yun, Medusa, and more…As Zhao Ming led his ten puppets across the continent, the entire Douluo Continent gradually became his personal domain.Awakening the power of the world, he reveled in the embrace of beauties.Such is the destiny of men.He crushed Tang San, killed the Grandmaster, destroyed the Clear Sky School, unified the continent, and became the first emperor of the Douluo Continent.

“Block him.”“He's technically still my boss.”“Then block him with dignity.”The call ended again.And then started again.I let out a sound somewhere between a growl and a sob, then finally answered with the enthusiasm of a snail crawling through salt.“Yes, Mr. Walton?”“Have you changed your mind yet?”I collapsed onto the towel and gazed at the sky as though it might consume me entirely if I pleaded sweetly enough.“Do you ever take a break?” I asked, shielding my eyes with one hand.“You're avoiding the question.”“Because it's a dumb question.”He exhaled, the sound sharp and irritated even over phone. “It's not a dumb question. It's a business offer.”“It's a weird offer-one that I already said no to.”There was a brief pause, and I could practically hear him clenching his jaw through the speaker.“You are acting unreasonably.”“ Unreasonable?” I sat up. “I'm not the one drafting fake girlfriend contracts like it's a normal Tuesday.”“Isabella-”“Certainly not, Mr. Walton.” I mimicked his tone perfectly. “I told you I'm not doing it. You need to find someone else to play pretend with.”SYNOPSISIsabella Miller thought saying no to her boss’s fake dating offer was the end of the story.But Adrien Walton doesn’t take no—especially not when he’s convinced she’s a gold digger.Suddenly, her student loans are piling up, her father’s vet clinic is on the brink of eviction and her brother is about to be kicked out of college. Coincidence? She thinks not.Adrien Walton is calm, calculating—and he's just pulled every string to corner Isabella into the perfect position.Now she’s stuck choosing between pride and survival.So she agrees to his offer: be his fake girlfriend.No feelings attached. No drama. Just business.Or so she thought.“Conference Room B. Fifteen minutes,” he said, passing by without a glance.The folder he pushed across the table landed with a thud.I opened it. The contract. All of it.---Enemies to lovers? Check.Slow burn? Hmmnyea.Banter so sharp it might file your nails? Yes.Delicious workplace tension? Of course.Tension that could melt steel?Absolutely.Smut?? Wanna find out?Welcome to corporate romance warfare. There’s no escaping this contract.