DEFYING FATE - Chapter 121: Dong Xuebing’s fury

Theodora is the Queen of Polis, a city-state that lost the war against the most powerful empire in the continent.

She is sure that they'll execute her immediately but, somehow, she survives the meeting with the Emperor, and she finds herself... Married?

Tossed in a new world without connections and allies, she has to either accept her fate or lose the chance to help her people once again.

She soon finds out that her new husband knows more about her than she does herself, and that his purposes are often far from what she expects.

A fallen queen that doesn't know how to be anything else. A handsome Duke who's the cause of her ruin. And their efforts to find some happiness in a marriage that's been forced on them.

WARNING: there are contents not suitable for a sensitive audience.

The smut scenes are half-censored at the beginning, but the amount and details will increase after a few dozen chapters (according to the Queen's mood .-. )

***

«I'm sorry for lying to you, your grace...»

«You're a Duchess. No one will dare to consider your words a lie: if you say that you were painting souls, then it's the truth.»

«I will remember it.»

«No, you have to understand it, Theodora. You're not a prisoner, but my wife. I'll protect you when you need it, and I'll help you with any issue you have. You're not just a Duchess in the name. You're my Duchess.»

«It's hard to believe in such a short amount of time.»

«For now, stop shaking like a chicken. I won't hurt you.»

***

【A new work from the author of 'Top Tier Providence, Secretly Cultivate for a Thousand Years'!】As a young servant, Gu An accidentally broke a pot containing a spiritual flower. While he was panicking, he discovered that he had absorbed twelve years of lifespan from it!Thus began Gu An’s journey to immortality.To cultivate safely, Gu An chose to become a servant disciple in the Taixuan Sect, where he planted medicinal herbs daily to consume their lifespan and enhance his own cultivation.He continuously evolved his basic skills with his evolution skill until they became divine abilities.Eras passed, stars shifted, and the world changed.Legends of immortals began to circulate.Gu An, now an immortal, spent half of his lifespan to push his cultivation beyond the limits of immortality and achieved the saint realm and stood above the heavenly Dao.However, one day, an old man in white robes, who looked like a true immortal, visited Gu An.“I am the Celestial Lord Xuanqing from the heavens. The Great Emperor Taihao has heard of your numerous good deeds in the mortal realm. You have repeatedly saved countless lives and have accrued great merits. He has specially dispatched me to invite you to join the ranks of immortals and assume the celestial position of Divine Steed Officer.”“Dare I ask, what the duties of the Divine Steed Officer arre?”“The Heavenly Court possesses divine horses capable of traversing heaven and earth and move between yin and yang. The Divine Steed Officer is responsible for overseeing and feeding these horses.”Hmm?

After a year of relentless effort, Alex becomes the first to conquer a tutorial quest deemed impossible by the entire playerbase of Endless Leveling Online. But instead of loot or leaderboard fame, he earns something far stranger—an invitation from the God of Games.His prize? A one-way trip to Arcana, a living, breathing world where stories shape reality—and a chance to become the Protagonist of his own story.In a land of endless possibilities and ever-shifting destinies, Alex would try to bend the rules, rewrite fates, and forge his own legend. But being the Protagonist means more than glory.It carries a heavy responsibility.As secrets unravel and alliances are tested, Alex must decide whom he must protect, and save before the world collapses under the weight of its own story.

CONTENT WARNING:/This novel contains mature themes, explicit sexual content, strong language, and adult situations. Reader discretion is advised./---She ran from the devil who raised her…And married the one who wore a crown.After her parents’ tragic death, Lydia Andreyevna’s life became a nightmare. Stripped of her name, inheritance, and freedom by her uncle—Lord Alexander—she was treated like property and promised to a Count four times her age.Desperate to escape, she fled into the cold night… and straight into blood.A stranger. Wounded. Beautiful. Terrifying.She should’ve left him.But she didn’t.She touched him once—and fate branded her forever.Her uncle caught her the next morning. Her escape failed. But when she begged Queen Olga for protection, the Queen offered her a deadly bargain:Marry the masked Grand Duke of Zolotaria.The king’s hunting dog. The butcher of the East. The devil in a crown.The man feared by kings.The heir to the throne.The same man she once saved.Ivan Romanov.They say he bathes in blood. That he kills without blinking. That he conquered kingdoms with a smile behind a mask. That no one sees his face—and lives.Some call him the devil. Others call him Death’s favorite son.But behind the mask is the same man she found dying in the dark.The same voice that haunted her dreams.The same hands she once held.Now, he’s her husband.Her jailer.Her obsession.She doesn’t know if she’s his prisoner, or his weakness.Cold and untouchable, Ivan doesn’t share his bed. Doesn’t share his secrets. But she sees it—the hunger in his eyes. The pain in his silence. The way he looks at her like she’s the only thing keeping his demons at bay.She should fear him.She should hate him.But the moment she dares to take off his mask… it’s already too late.Because Ivan wants her—her fire, her body, her heart.And in his world, what he wants, he keeps.Even if it means burning down the kingdom.She thought she was running from hell.She ended up in his bed.And the most dangerous thing of all?She doesn’t want to leave.