Alpha Eric's Promise, Protecting those he loves - Chapter 20

“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.

This is a story about love, friendship, ambition, betrayal and fearsome weapons.

[Warning: R-18]Lukas had just started making his career in a good company, allowing his family to live comfortably, when he was poisoned by some of his jealous colleges during his promotion-celebration dinner.Everything blanked out in front of his eyes and he thought he was dead.Miraculously, however, he regained his senses but he was no longer the Lukas Adams, the rising star of his company--he was now Lukas Rivervale, the youngest son of Viscount Raymond.Clearly, he had transmigrated.After accepting his new reality, he realized the world he was in was a Magic World, dominated by Mages.In this world, only strong were respected and because he had failed his awakening ceremony at the age of 12, he was despised and looked down up.What a tragedy!Fortunately, the Goddess of Luck seemed to be smiling upon him because he realized he now possessed the Legacy of an Arcane Mage, one the strongest beings to ever live in this world.Vowing to become the strong enough to find a way back to the Earth and take revenge on those who plotted against him, he embarks on the path of a Mage.

Tae-seo, a villain who tormented the main character in an Omega verse novel, suddenly finds himself reincarnated into that very antagonist role. What’s worse, he reincarnates just as he’s about to administer a heat-inducing drug to the main character!Tae-seo, the protagonist of the original story, thwarts Seo Da-rae’s plan to administer the drug and, in order to avoid triggering a dead flag, casually drinks the inducer. Reincarnated not as an Omega but as a Beta, Tae-seo expects nothing out of the ordinary to happen.“Well, causing a cycle right here is quite audacious. Or are you asking just anyone to pick you up?”Unfortunately, due to side effects, Tae-seo manifests as an Omega and experiences the heat cycle. By chance, he ends up sharing a bed with a man named Kang Se-heon.“Don’t expect me to take responsibility later. I have no intention of being manipulated by a bloodthirsty person like you.”“I don’t have any intention of asking you to take responsibility either.”Initially unaware of his relatively minor role in the original story, Tae-seo is surprised to learn that Kang Se-heon happens to be the main character’s cousin. As Se-heon starts approaching Tae-seo in a suspicious manner and even other characters from the original story oddly gravitate towards him, Tae-seo’s confusion deepens.“Yoon Tae-seo, you should choose me, even if it’s for the sake of the child.”Will Tae-seo be able to navigate through the night with Kang Se-heon and escape the grasp of the original story’s main characters unscathed?