Corrupted Bonds - Chapter 116: Collapse

Ethan's head throbbed violently as he opened his eyes, his vision hazy and unfocused. A dull ringing filled his ears, drowning out his thoughts.“What’s happening…?” he thought, his mind sluggish, struggling to catch up with reality. One moment, he was asleep—or at least, he thought he was—and the next, searing pain forced him awake.His vision swam, shapes blurring together in a disorienting mess. But then, muffled noises filtered through the haze—frantic, panicked sounds. Someone was trying to scream, their voice smothered, choked by something.A cold shiver ran down his spine.As his sight gradually sharpened, Ethan's breath hitched.He was on all fours, looming over someone. A girl.Her body twisted and writhed beneath him, ropes biting into her wrists and ankles. Her mouth was gagged, muffling her cries. Her wide brown eyes, brimming with fear and fury, glared up at him.Ethan's body locked in place, his blood running cold.“What the…?” His mind reeled, thoughts slamming into each other in chaotic disarray. “What kind of bizarre dream is this?”Panic clawed at his chest. His breath came in ragged, uneven gasps as he scrambled backward, only to realize his limbs felt sluggish, uncooperative, like they didn’t belong to him.“Is this… is this some kind of twisted fantasy I never knew I had?” A sickening thought slithered through his mind, making his stomach churn.The girl's frantic squirming slowed for a moment, her gaze flickering with confusion as she took in his expression—his trembling hands, his wide, horrified eyes. But the fear returned just as quickly. She struggled harder, her body arching, her muffled screams rising in pitch.Ethan wanted to speak, to say something, anything, but before he could force out a word, a glowing blue window materialized before his eyes.His breath caught.A translucent, hovering screen?“What…?”Lines of glowing text scrolled across its surface.---[System Activated…][Host Confirmed.][Simulating Previous Data…]Ethan awakens in a mysterious world, shackled by a curse that clouds his judgment and drives him toward choices he never wished to make. Burdened by guilt and responsibility, he must navigate the fallout of his actions while unraveling the truth behind the curse—and his place in this enigmatic new reality.

Four rich and handsome brothers up against one girl!Asher, Ashton, Ashley and Ashal are the four quadruplet sons of the Rollins family, the wealthiest family in the country of Danvarr. They’re notorious for being sexy, smart businessmen like their father. The brothers never use their real names in public spaces and all go by ‘Ash Rollins’. They all wear the same hairstyle and swap identities almost all the time. Even their parents can’t always tell them apart. Only the brothers can.Demi is a sweet, hardworking twenty years old girl who works at a book store. When her boyfriend cheats on her because she wanted to wait till marriage, she makes a poor decision to drink for the first time. Her night is so crazy she wakes up at home with a marriage certificate in her hand signed by one Ash Rollins. The problem is she can’t recall much and doesn’t know which of the brothers she married. Typically, all the quads deny her claim and the billionaire family kicks her out of their mansion.Demi’s fate changes when the annulment of the marriage threatens the social image of the Rollins Empire. The family proposes Demi plays their daughter-in-law for a year till the tension blows over. Demi accepts only to teach the quads a lesson. Since her true husband won’t step up, Demi is allowed to choose any of the quads to be her husband.Her ‘real husband silently grows restless seeing her with his brother, but he isn’t the only one falling head over heels for the first daughter-in-law of the Rollins empire. All the brothers compete for Demi’s heart because she’s nothing like the women they’re used to. Will their obsession to win her heart finally tear the brothers apart or will Demi’s big secret do the trick? Which ‘Ash Rollins’ will win the girl in the end?

A young man, with a keen mind of medical knowledge and skill, steps into a vibrant buzzing city for the first time.How would this young man face the challenges of love and hate, of family’s vengeance, and the temptation of beautiful ladies?

What if life could be repeated?

But he became the clan uncle who was once called a lunatic?

Alas, wearing open-crotch pants in front of me, crawling on the ground, is it my two-year-old self?

I originally wanted to give my former self more New Year’s money, but I never thought that I would go from a braised pork stall to a food giant, from a small factory to an industrial empire.

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