The Returner - Chapter 168: Count on it, lizard (3)

She was once an heiress, but later her family went bankrupt, and her fiancé betrayed her. Besides, she had to bear the expensive medical expenses of her brother. Therefore, to regain everything, she decidedly married her ex's cousin in a deal. Initially, he was very aloof and didn't care about women at all, but he gradually fell in love with her, protecting her and supporting her...

After failing to ascend to the heights of Divinity despite all her preparations, an ancient cultivator finds herself not embracing the emptiness of the void - but the interior warmth of a womb.Her memories intact despite her spirit being a merest fraction of her height - and her trusted Astralism unchanged - she carefully starts over from an infant.How to navigate her family: [really easy with only two parents and an estate full of servants!]How to portray herself: [everyone likes 'sweet' kids and trusts (underestimates) 'weak' girls!]How 'quickly' to reveal the power she gathers: [this region is a 'backwater', let's just take it slow~]How her marriage was arranged before birth: [my parents adore me so at an appropriate time I'll just have it cance- oh?]Dealing with an 'amusing' deceit: ['he' looks worried still, but 'he' doesn't have to worry from me!]Confronting the 'boy' in private: [whatever their iffy plan is, I just obtained a husband-wife~]Even in a new life, | Elua er Goltbred | can't and doesn't *want* to change who she really is. A scheming cultivator. A possessive lover. Neither of those things had been a real hindrance to the Peak of Demi-God.Balancing the two in this life - without driving away the young 'boy' she decided would be hers - centers as much around helping | Qatrand er Yecine | find herself... as it is hoping to ease the fiance into how messed up the 'younger' girl honestly is.It's a good thing that the reborn cultivator can improvise with her ridiculous control of an Illusion Astralism - because plans fail and unexpected things happen when you're not *really* a genius.Like her Physique in this life allowing the lightest 'grip' to crack stone...| Qat | (the nickname picked almost instantly!) despite being a little stunted by her family environment early on, finds her future wife to be 'cute' on their first meeting.... she really shouldn't have let on.It made her | El | kind of vain.Oh, and muscles.| Elua | : I just like looking at them, okay!? Is it so weird? People can have hobbies...

I watch him, his green eyes brimming with concern as he gently massages my scarred leg. The sensation is both soothing and a stark reminder of my own inadequacy. The once-feared Crimson General, a symbol of power and invincibility, is now nothing but a frail shadow of his former self. I’ve been abandoned, left to decay in this forsaken place, my family and comrades long forgotten. Darkness had become my only solace, and I had resigned myself to it.Then he arrived, a beacon of light in my endless night. His presence, his care—it’s more than I ever deserved. Yet, I find myself clinging to him with an intensity that borders on madness. I hate that I need him so desperately, that his every action and word have become my lifeline. It consumes me, a torment I can't escape.“You don't have to do this. Please, don’t do this. I’m nothing. You deserve better. Leave. Please,” I beg, my voice trembling with raw anguish, the very words tearing me apart.He continues his work, seemingly unaffected by my pleas.“Why are you here? Look at me! I’m nothing.”Desperation and anger swell within me, mixing into a maelstrom of anxiety. I can’t comprehend the emotions coursing through me.“You're my alpha, where else would I be?” he responds softly, his gaze unwavering, as if my pleas were mere background noise.My heart races, torn between overwhelming relief and paralyzing dread. In that moment, I realize the truth: you would have to tear him from my cold, lifeless arms. I’m never letting go.General Thorne, betrayed and broken, finds new life and love with Omega Noelle, who nurses him back to health. Their deepening bond reveals Thorne’s softer side, offering a chance at happiness. Unfortunately, Thorne’s past soon catches up with them, threatening their newfound peace.

Iona, the knight who was the loyal dog of the tyrant Emperor, gave her life for him. But her lord, whom she trusted, abandoned her in the end, and the person who stood by her side in her death was no other than her husband.“I want to kiss you one last time.” Iona demanded on the verge of death.“I’m telling you in advance… Just in case… You won’t die and this won’t be our last kiss.”Satisfied with her non-lonely death, she closed her eyes.When Iona woke up again, she realized that she had returned to the past and her husband was again chosen to be her partner.Though her past wasn’t good, one thing she also didn’t want to change was her husband, the only success in her life. If so, she should at least turn this marriage into a ‘successful marriage’, she decided.“Lord Leroy, I will formally propose to you; Please marry me. I will definitely make you happy.”Iona was determined to repay her husband for his generosity. Just the way she wanted.