The Second Son of the Marquis Wants to Laze Around - Chapter 42: The d’Armand: Knights (2/4)

“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.

Jake wasn’t a saint—just a man who played the role people expected. A former athlete turned aimless drifter, he spent his days coasting and his nights as someone’s little secret, paid for services no one wanted to admit they needed.But one wrong move, one moment in the wrong place, and his life is over.When he wakes up, it’s not to the world he knew but to something out of a myth—a land ruled by powerful elven women, where men are nothing more than ancient legends. Now reborn as the child of a powerful princess, his existence is an anomaly—one even his own mother doesn’t understand. Fearing he may be some kind of curse, she keeps his identity a secret, shielding him from the world.Because in a world of only women… what happens when they find out what he really is?As Eren learns more about this world, he discovers that he is linked to an ancient prophecy—one that speaks of uniting the seven tribes. To survive, he must rely on his wit, charm, and thirst for adventure, forging his own path to bring them together—before the world tears itself apart.|||||||||||Note: Mc growth will be slow until chapter 18*My first book and my entry into WSA!

DESTINY GAMES. It has been 85 years since Earth-11 became aligned with Yggdrasil and 73 years since Icon became the first demigod from Earth. Icon, as the first demigod, was privileged to weave the thread of fate for everyone. He was supposed to cut off Yggdrasil and free Earth-11 from the grasps of the other Earths and their god kings. That’s why everyone helped him climb the tower of Destiny. But instead of ridding earth of Yggdrasil, he turned the destiny of mankind into seven rings of immortality. The first ring was for the immortality of power. The second was for the immortality of the knowledge. The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth were for the immortality of the mind, energy, body, and soul. The last ring, the ring of the paragon, was made to rule them all. Icon kept the ring of the paragon for himself and became a dictator. He ruled with an iron fist for many years. His was a reign of terror. But he was eventually vanquished by the collective effort of the world. It has been 62 years since then. Icon is no more, but the damage he had done still remains. Earth-11 is still connected to Yggdrasil. The deadly games of the Tower of Destiny still remain, and the fight for the seven rings of immortality still continues. Kelvin Thorn has just awakened his ability. It came at a good time too since he is running for his life. The ability he awakened saved him, but it came with a cost. He must climb the tower of destiny under the witness of the whole world and accumulate destiny, or he will die. His situation is not unique. Everyone that awakens, which is mostly everyone, must climb the tower of destiny. It is one of the curses that Icon left behind before he died. But Thorn is different because the seventh ring found him. The tower of destiny is where everyone granted power by destiny, be they humans, non-humans, or otherworlders, must fight in games of might, skill, and knowledge to gather the power of destiny. They will either die or eventually overcome death. Kelvin will be one of the latest in the line of billions of others in this struggle.

Lin Luoran is a 27-year-old girl from a rural family. She doesn’t have a college degree, let alone any money.

After cheated by her boyfriend, Lin Luoran accidently finds a mysterious space in her heirloom. At first, she only tries to use the magical spring water in that space to grow medicines like ginseng to help out her family. However, Lin Luoran never thought that she would become the last female cultivator in the world.

The family of cultivators have not been seen on earth for thousands of years. Lin Luoran strives to cultivate herself in the metropolis, to complete her first-ever journey to immortality.

As for love… What will happen to Lin Luoran, a girl that is so different? Let’s open the book and find out.