Emperor's Reckoning - Chapter 23: Jugen First

“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.

Tong Yao never expected that getting a milk tea could result in getting struck by lightning on a sunny day, and then waking up in the 1980s. She became a mischievous, spoilt wife of a top-tier doctor from the future. Rather than leading an ordinary life, she was caught eloping and stealing money, and reacted with crying, making a fuss, and hitting walls.Under the hopeless circumstances, she discovered she could understand animal language. While other time-travelers were busy making money to support their families, she was just enjoying the show.“The deputy director's wife accepted five jins of pork from a patient's family. The old couple is squabbling behind closed doors right now.”“The Dean has had a flare-up of hemorrhoids these past few days and can't sit on a chair.”“Mr. Li's wife is a tough woman. That missing tooth on the left was knocked out by her.”“Tong Yao has improper conduct. She used to secretly meet people in the village.”Tong Yao didn't expect the day would come when she would be the talk of the town....One day, Tong Yao heard a stray cat at the door muttering, “Dr. Si is having a date with a nurse in the corridor.”Furious, Tong Yao went to catch them in the act, only to find the doctor was discussing a patient's condition with a nurse who was over fifty. Wanting to run away, Tong Yao found her escape route cut off by the doctor, who backed her against a wall, “So I heard you came to catch us, huh?”Tong Yao never expected the saying, 'Those who always walk by the river eventually get their shoes wet,' to come true.

Cole Raden was a previous veteran who becomes entangled in a series of Conspiracies by supernatural Factions and entities. Forced to retaliate, Cole must use his experience and instincts to survive by any means possible, till he ties all threads and frees himself from the chain of bondage.Will he make it out with In tact? or will he loose something greater than his life in the process? only time can tell and his decisions along the way may shape final resulthttps://discord.gg/qAbZX9k5A