Power and Wealth - Chapter 1044: Tangled together

Mara and Maria-Isabel have always been best friends. But while Mara is happily married to Ethan, Maria-Isabel is trapped in an abusive relationship. When Mara and Ethan help her escape, they never expect what happens next.One night, Mara walks in on a moment she never should have seen her husband and her best friend, locked in an intense, lingering gaze.“Tell me it’s not what I think,” Mara whispers, her voice shaking.Maria-Isabel looks away. Ethan stays silent.Their friendship was meant to save Maria-Isabel. Instead, it may have destroyed them all.A story of love, betrayal, and a choice that will change everything.

Ethan Blackwood wasn’t used to being defied. As the CEO of a global empire, he crushed obstacles with a single glance. But when Lily Anderson stood before him, her chin lifted in quiet defiance, and something in him snapped. “Sign the contract,” he said, his voice like ice. “30 days. You’ll obey every command. After that, you’re free.”She hesitated, her fingers trembling as she gripped the pen. “And if I refuse?”His smirk was cold, but his eyes burned. “Then you’ll spend the rest of your life paying off your father’s debts. Your choice.”Trapped, Lily signed. But she vowed one thing: she wouldn’t let him break her.From the first day, their clash was electric. He demanded perfection; she gave him rebellion. “You think you can control me?” she spat, after he criticized her for being late.Ethan stepped closer, his presence overwhelming. “I don’t just control you. Lily, I own you.”But as the days passed, the lines between them blurred. Late nights in his penthouse turned into whispered conversations. His cold demeanor cracked, revealing glimpses of a man haunted by his past. One night, after a heated argument, he pinned her against the wall, his breath hot against her ear. “Why do you fight me so much?”Her voice trembled. “Because I’m afraid if I stop, I’ll lose myself to you.”Their connection deepened, but danger loomed. Secrets from Ethan’s past resurfaced, threatening to destroy everything. When Lily discovered the truth behind his obsession with her, she confronted him. “Was I just a pawn in your game? A way to settle an old score?”His eyes darkened with pain. “You were never just a game, Lily. You’re the only thing that’s ever felt real.”As the final days of their contract approached, their bond was tested like never before. Enemies closed in, and trust hung by a thread. Could they overcome the shadows of their pasts, or would their love crumble under the weight of secrets and pride?

It’s my 100th life!! This life’s genre is fantasy.By the way, am I a prince?My mother was a maid, and my father is a king. However, I’m just a prince who is born with blood from a lowly class.It’s actually good! Yeah! It’s pretty good to me!There are no followers and no right of succession. I mean, people don’t really care about my existence.‘This is a place where you can live easily, right?’

How long I’d been here, I couldn’t quite recall. From this sorry situation, I as always raised my eyes to the sky; a sky in which the great, massive sun was clad in levity. Sunlight poured gently upon all. What a blessing it would have been for the world if only the skies could remain clear. For tomorrow too, and for all days to come, I was to continue to pray for calm. To endure for those who cried, with desperation I remained in prayer.

And then, one freezing, forlorn, soulless, stagnant, drizzly day we died. Or so I thought…