Firebrand - Chapter 15: In the Maelstrom

***COMPLETED*** Aurora Roberts' entire life revolves around her four-month-old baby Aurelia. The father of her baby... not in the picture at the moment.Liam Roberts used to be her best friend and the one she trusted with all her heart, until he broke her heart one day by asking for divorce out of nowhere. It's been more than a year since that happened and she thought it was water under the bridge.Even at twenty-three, Rory is financially stable thanks to the life insurance payment. Also, she is the co-partner of a Café that does fairly well. She plans to take the LSAT as becoming a lawyer is her dream.But, a single phone call set a domino effect that changed all her plans.Her grandmother--the one who mandated her marriage-- is suffering from vascular dementia. And when her caretaker called Rory to ask her to meet her grandmother, she knew she must visit her.But what should she do when she is asked to bring the baby's father with her?He is the one who asked for a divorce and he didn't take any responsibility for the baby! But can she deny the last wish of her grandmother?Does she need him?No!She can take care of herself and her baby. She does not need the pity of anyone.Does she want him back?No!She has her pride! She won't beg him to come back.Does she miss him?Yes, um, No..! Actually, it is complicated!And will her daughter need her father?...As for Liam, where does he stand? What does he want? Why did he ask for the divorce out of nowhere? Why is he refusing to acknowledge their baby?She doesn't know.What should she do? Should she give him one more chance to explain himself? Will he be willing to open a conversation with her for the sake of their baby?Liam Roberts is the CEO of a start-up online company that became an instant hit. He became a billionaire in the span of a year. Rory is his first love and the most favorite person in the world. But he cannot let her stay with him. She will be destroyed if she stays with him.And so, he will keep her away from him.He hoped the secret he is hiding stays hidden forever. Maybe then he will not hurt Rory.But can he keep Rory away?Will the hidden secret surface?And will it affect Rory?*****

**MASS RELEASE 10 CHAPTERS ON FIRST NOVEMBER** 2 CHAPTERS DAILY (NOVEMBER)Seraphina Vale grew up unwanted. An orphan passed from one home to another until she learned that happy endings were best found between pages, not in real life. By adulthood, she was a broke writer, living on instant noodles and failed manuscripts, clinging to dreams that never sold.Then her best friend mailed her a “souvenir” — a tiny glass bottle supposedly holding phoenix tears. She laughed, made a wish, and the next thing she knew… she woke up in another world.A world where dragons run corporations, fox spirits manage PR, and even gorgons hold seats in the boardroom.And her? She’s not even the heroine. Just a phoenix side character and worse, a defective one.As if being cannon fodder wasn’t bad enough, the System whispers her only way home: die.Easy to say, but impossible when phoenixes don’t stay dead. Every time she burns out, she rises again, trapped in the same cruel loop.Then there’s her boss… Lucian Drake, the Ice Dragon CEO with glacial eyes and a reputation as the perfect gentleman. In the original story, Lucian Drake was fated to betray her. His carefully planned affection was only a trap to draw out the real heroine.The system keeps warning her: 'don’t trust him, don’t fall for him.'But how can she not when he smiles like that, when his voice softens, when his smallest gestures feel too genuine to be scripted?So she lets herself believe, just a little… that maybe this story could change.Maybe this time, she could change her roles.But stories have rules. And when the truth surfaces, it cuts deep.She was never the one. Just a substitute. A pawn in his plan to lure the real heroine back.And yet, when everything falls apart, when the truth burns through their carefully built lies, Lucian is the one left chasing after the phoenix he broke.If Seraphina wants to escape, she’ll have to survive office politics, respawn cycles, and a love that was never meant to be hers. Because even if the coldest dragon learns to love her too late... it might already be her turn to fly away.[Transmigration] [Fantasy Romance] [Enemies to Lovers] [Rebirth Loop] [Substitute Female Lead] [Cold CEO Dragon] [Phoenix FL] [Chasing Her Back] [Emotional Betrayal] [Second Male Lead Redemption] [Slow Burn]P/s : This story is written primarily in first-person (Seraphina’s POV) with occasional third-person scenes from Lucian’s perspective to show events outside her knowledge. Expect sarcasm, emotional chaos, and dragons with communication issues.

“Ahhhh why meeee?! I didn’t do anything, just played this shitty game, fuck, fuck fuck fuck!”[System: Your heart rate—]“Shut up! Millions of people played this shit and you choose me?! A fucking town girl who didn’t even stepped in a city in her life?! To be a fucking Empress?!”[System: You have fit the description][Woman, with no family. A woman who played at least 500 hours. A woman who reached max level. A woman who completed the final achievement. A woman who is in her late 20s.][Out of 43,456 candidates you were the one who got picked on a random roll. Be happy.]“Happy?! Happy that you have destroyed my life?! I bought my first house working twelve hour shifts every single fucking day and suddenly a black hole fucking vacuumed me in and I wake up in this terrible dress in a palace!”[System: Correct.]Indeed, the System was correct and even her, as she was in the grand palace of the Klimantina Empire, the exact same empire that she ruled… in the game at least.An empire that put her in the 17th century, the well known Rococo era… with a difference that it wasn’t based on a total fictional world, a total fictional country and its people and history.A game where the Empress took the throne after her family perished in a fire. In doing so, she not only assumed power but also entered a dangerous internal struggle, as her own people sought to overthrow her and claim the throne for themselves

When he first crossed over, Chen Liguo did not want to accept it.

But he quickly discovered, after he crossed, he found that all the men he met had perfect figures and eight-packs. Furthermore, these men liked him.

As a gay man, Chen Liguo was so excited he shed tears of joy.

However, the world obviously wouldn’t have such good things.

Because, just as he was drooling and about to pounce, a system appeared and told him: Buddy, sorry to let you down, but you can’t be with these people.

Chen Liguo: What if I insist?

System: Hehe

……

Chen Liguo: You trash system! Destroying my youth! Ruining my s*x life!

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