The Academy's Barbarian - Chapter 10: Count Dermore (2)

The next morning, Eleanor woke up in an unfamiliar room, sun streaming through the window. Beside her, the man from last night was fully dressed, sipping coffee. His expression was cold.The vague memories of last night returned in snippets. “I didn't mean… I was drunk,” Eleanor stammered.Liam raised an eyebrow with a small sad smile playing at the corner of his lips. “Save it. You're not the first to try to seduce me.”Eleanor's anger flared. “I wasn't trying to seduce you! And I'm not some prostitute.”Liam's gaze hardened. “Well, I'm not here to judge you, but don't expect any more than that.”With that, he turned and left, leaving Eleanor stunned.*******Eleanor's life instantly changed when she lost her job and got into a contract marriage with Liam Chase, a ruthless and possessive billionaire who agreed to pay off her debts. Life with Liam was a difficult one as he was cold to her. She found solace in the hands of his cousin and became pregnant for him.But what happens when she finds out that her billionaire husband is linked to her past?Will she easily let go or will her past hunt her forever?Will Liam's cousin come to her rescue or is she doomed forever?Dive into the book and find out more.

“Help me, please,” Bella pleaded, grasping his hands.His dark eyes, devoid of warmth, pierced through hers with an unsettling coldness. “Why should I mess with those goons to help you?” he asked callously.“I’ll do anything you say,” she said without thinking, desperate. “Just save me from them.”He demanded something that Bella had never anticipated even in her dreams.A contract marriage!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Bella Dawn was already in distress to pay her step father’s debts. To add her misery, her mother was diagnosed with liver disease and needed immediate transplant.Where would she get that much money?Then, like a cruel twist of fate, she accidentally encountered a handsome man, Theodore Reid, the enigmatic CEO of Ace Group.Rumors said that he was a ruthless businessman with a heart as cold as ice. Yet, to Bella, he was kind, rescuing her from the clutches of those who sought to exploit her.She was grateful to him until he demanded something weird, shattering her pervious assumptions. He wanted to marry her.NoHe wanted a contract marriage.In exchange, he would take care of her mother's treatment and compensate her generously at the end of their arrangement.For Theodore, it was a solution born out of necessity, a means to appease his grandfather's demands for an heir while he searched for the one who had once saved him, his angel.Bella’s appearance reminded him of his savior. So, he offered her a contract marriage. It was a temporary solution to his grandfather’s demand to get an heir until he found his angel.With no other options left, Bella reluctantly agreed to the terms of the contract. But little did she know it would test her resolve and resilience like never before.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~“Remember one thing, never fall in love with me,” he said, cold and dangerous.Bella gulped, nervous. “What if I do?” A sliver of defiance, a foolish question escaped her lips. She was already attracted to his handsome appearance.He squeezed her jaw and hissed, “You will regret it.”“What if you started liking me?” she dared to ask.He leaned closer, his breath warm against her ear. “No chance,” he scoffed. “You're not my type.”Bella’s heart sank.

The Supernatural era descended, the rules changed, mystery arrived, and the world altered. Countless ruins of civilization emerged, and an abundance of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures lay at everyone’s fingertips. Radical faction, “This is the best of times, entering a new world, excavating relics, mass evolution!” Conservative, “This is the worst of times, with countless monsters outside, once you leave the Safe Zone, extinction awaits humanity!” … Meanwhile, at a remote ruin, Lu Yuan successfully discovered new treasures and sought after the mysterious wealth, desperately trying to contact his fellow Earthlings. “Found a communicator, can it get through?” “Hey, humans—I’m almost becoming a god, and you’re still hiding in the Safe Zone?”

[Attention, humans][Welcome to Midgard, a realm between life and death.][All 300 players accounted for!][Evaluation successful!]Jamie never expected his life to end while saving a stranger. One moment he was pushing a pregnant woman out of the path of a roaring truck—the next, he awakens in Midgard: a realm where death is just the beginning.He isn’t alone. Two hundred ninety-nine others, torn from their final moments, stand beside him. Their fate? To endure ten brutal trials that test body, mind, and spirit.Each challenge grants skills—swordsmanship, magic, strategy—that could mean the difference between survival and annihilation.And at the end awaits a choice:Reincarnate into a fantastical new world, carrying every skill earned.Return to Earth … alive, but powerless.But in a world where trust is fragile and every alliance can shatter in an instant, Jamie must decide—Is mere survival enough?Or will he fight for something greater?