Numbers x Casket - Chapter 18: Arcane City

“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.

There was no light in the night, save for the sound of war drums and war cries.

The young man listened carefully, it was the sound of his heartbeat and the flow of his blood.

What lay hidden in the darkness ahead? Is it man, god or……a monster?

There was no such thing as the best road, because the journey beneath one’s feet is limitless!

For He Gu, to be secretly in love is like a strong alcoholic drink. Obviously, once it flows into your system, dizziness, the loss of self-control and suffering will follow closely by, making it possible for anyone to be fatally attracted like moths to flames, and willingly endure the hardships.

While you made sure to not overdo it, I’ve become completely intoxicated…however, for every intoxicated feeling, you will inevitably wake up from it one day.

When Song Ju Han continued to act childish and recklessly destroyed He Gu’s tenderness for him, he had never imagined that the man has already been written into his destiny. Even more, he had never imagined that—the person brought to him by destiny—would one day want to escape…

Yuka, reborn as the daughter of the universe's richest man, tries to live a simple life. She gets a big shock when she has to join Union University of the Alliance because of government rules.In university, Yuka picks an easy major, hoping to keep a low profile. But her plan doesn't work. She keeps facing tough situations that show off her smart mind and strong skills. Yuka tries hard to live normally but keeps getting pulled into extraordinary accidents.This is the story about how Yuka grows. It's about her trying to hide her real identity while dealing with a world that always challenges her.