The Gentle Maiden and Five Lustful Brothers - Chapter 16: His eye’s a Violent shade of red

Amelia has slaved her whole life, working multiple jobs to help support her poor husband Caleb― only to discover he is a millionaire!When confronted, Caleb feels no guilt. He divorces her immediately to pursue his true love, leaving her with nothing to her name.“Kelsie is the woman that I love, the woman who truly deserves to be by my side,” Caleb said. “Now, sign the papers and I can end this farce of a marriage.”But thankfully, fate has yet to close all its doors on her.The messy breakup has led Amelia to meet the elusive Matteo Montgomery, the mysterious owner of X’el International Inc., and even though Amelia could have sworn that this is the first time they have ever met, Matteo seemed to hold more interest in her than ordinary.With her divorce finalized, Matteo’s courtship quickly grows more extravagant. He offers her everything, from a job as his secretary, a new penthouse apartment, and a permanent home in his heart.But just as Amelia’s heart begins to open up to Matteo’s sincerity, Caleb comes crawling back, determined to ruin her life.***【Excerpt】“Oh?” Matteo asked, and Amelia caught a hint of amusement in his voice. “Then pray tell, what did we converse about?”Amelia swallowed. Good heavens, he was so close. She could barely even breathe, afraid that every movement she made would just amplify how loud her heartbeat was. It was racing like a bullet train at this point, and she felt it clog at her throat, refusing her a chance to speak.“I… I…I―”“I have no girlfriend, Amelia,” Matteo said. “And before you overthink, I do not have a wife in secret either.”His fingers didn’t let go of her wrist, and instead, it even tightened its grip. It wasn’t painful in the slightest, but it sent surges of electricity rushing through her body as though she had been struck by lightning in the most thrilling of ways.A coy smile curved his lips, and he leaned in just the slightest. His lips were now a hair’s breadth away from hers, and Amelia instinctively held her breath.“Unless, perhaps you would like to volunteer?”

Deep below the earth's surface, a mystifying subterranean seascape lurks, an archipelago bathed in inky blackness where suspense and horror hold court. Here lie strange islands and even stranger monsters, far beyond the realms of human imagination. In this domain, mankind is far from dominant; instead, madness and death rule supreme.

Pleading for mercy from the unknown creatures of the deep only leads to a slow, tortured existence. The trapped survivors gradually distort, losing what made them human, both physically and mentally, to the gloom as they remain trapped in this eternal obscurity. Their only hope? A perilous expedition into uncharted sea territories.

Fueled by determination, Charles embark on this daunting voyage aboard his steamship, aiming to reclaim humanity's past glory. Together with his crew, they sought a way out of this hidden sea world, a path back to the sunlit world above, where humans once stood tall.

=========================================

I read a few comments from Chinese readers that compared this novel with Lord of Mysteries because of similar elements: Lovecraftian, western fantasy, first industrial revolution, and steampunk. However, I have yet to finish reading Lord of Mysteries to do any actual comparison, but I do think those who have enjoyed that novel would enjoy this as well. Also, the author of LotM, Cuttlefish That Loves Diving, also did a shout-out for this novel, so I guess he approves of it too?

……………………………………………………………

Dear readers! Without any ads, maybe you will prefer .

After meeting an unfortunate death on earth, Sigrid unwillingly transmigrated into a novel world becoming Lady Sigrid Thorin the unwanted wife of the crown prince. She resigned herself to her fate and set a goal to become the empress.But to become the future empress, she had to gain the heart of her husband_the foul tempered Prince Roland Maximus a man that loathed her and would sooner kill her than kiss her.While his heart was too thin for her to squeeze into, it was rather wide for the woman he brought home on returning from a three month expedition, a woman he had sworn to protect forever. The same woman Sigrid was on a mission to destroy, an irreconcilable enemy.With misunderstandings, scheming and jealousy, thus begun Sigrid's trials to win the heart of the man that had undeniably captivated her with his dazzling smile and her mission step over the fake female lead, be crowned empress and change her fate.Excerpt.“A knife to the throat of your husband that has just returned from war, what do you hope to accomplish crown princess?”Sigrid's eyes trailed down, to the silver blade pressed against her abdomen, she raised her head and laughed snidely.“A knife to the belly of your wife as soon as you return from war, other men start by saying, honey i am home. They also don't bring home unwanted canaries as presents for their wives.”Roland leaned down with a part smug and part angry smoldering look in his eyes. It was if he wished to set her on fire, and not in the passionate way.“Honey i am home.” he slowly said, dragging the words out.Sigrid trailed the knife slowly over his neck, almost as if she was caressing it with her fingers. “Welcome back, i hope you don't mind but i intend to kill that canary. If you want to bring me a gift next time, try gold and diamonds. I can also accept you, just wrap a ribbon around your bare chest.”

“Mr Liu Wei..”

Liling paused as she took In a deep breath. “I need one million yuan... ”

Liu Wei shifted his gaze to face her. His face bore a surprised expression. 'What was she using that much money for?'

Liling who was anxious held the helm of her gown tightly. She swallowed hard and continued courageously. “I don't think I can pay back..., but I'll give you something else”

Her voice drained of all vigour. It was really hard to give herself away, so easily but she had no choice. Taking in a deep breath, she lifted her eyes to look at him. “My body...” ...

‘’Jin Yue, please wait.’’ Jin Yue suddenly stopped in his tracks, he badly wanted to look back but at the end he decided against it. ‘’Speak, I’m in a hurry.’’

‘’Jin Yue, throug the time we spent together, did you ever, even for a split second, love me?’’

Jin Yue froze when he heard her question. Did he love her? From the moment he set his eyes on her, he had loved her. She had stolen his heart away that even right now, he wanted to kneel and beg her to stay with him.

But he wouldn’t tell her that. If he wanted her to stop feeling guilty, he would not tell her. She should hate him so she would be happy with the one she loved.

‘’No; not even for a split second, so Miss Xin Yong, stop being delusional and scrap every memory you have of me.’’ ...

This is a story of two couples and the hurdles they meet in their journey of love and how fate tries to bring them back together. I hope you like it.