Villain Retirement - Chapter 148 - 148: Overwhelming

“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.

Drowned, betrayed, and humiliated—Brandon’s life ended in the most pathetic way possible. But when he opened his eyes again, he was no longer Brandon.Reborn as Noah Weaverheart—in a novel he had read—the spoiled yet talentless son of a duchess, he quickly realizes a cruel truth: he’s nothing more than a stepping stone, fated to die in the first 30 chapters of this world’s story.But fate isn’t set in stone.Because he now has the Sovereign Bond System, a power that allows him to share everything from the women he bonds with—but at 10,000 times the quality.—[Ding! You have bonded with Neko Neko.][Ding! You have shared the affinity and talent of Neko Neko.][Ding! You have obtained the affinity: Ice (SSS rank) and the talent: Sovereign of Ice (SSS rank).]Noah’s lips curled into a knowing smirk.If this world wanted him to be a stepping stone, then he’d crush the so-called protagonist, steal his harem, and rewrite destiny itself.

Lucius was a man born to a pair of lowly servants that worked for the Great Demon worshiping Barrom clan. Growing up in the harsh conditions of the Barrom clan where magic and power reigned supreme, he weathered though humiliation and schemes. Knowing that he wanted to be the oppressor than the oppressed, he began his conquest. Not averse to betraying or scheming, Lucius made use of his allies as mere pawns to be sacrificed.

Learning that a powerful artifact lost eons ago was hidden in an ancient ruin, Lucius betrayed and sacrificed one of his closest people, his lover without hesitation.

But he didn’t know that fate had a different plan for him and the artifact he had yearned for would send his soul hurtling across the cosmos, forcing it into the broken body of a young man called Asher Inanis. Coming to his senses he finds the world to be completely different where the magic of his previous world did not exist, but what did was ‘Gifts’.

Witness how he learns about the world, gains power and reigns supreme against all odds becoming the Demonic Sage.

She is one of the best thieves that the world has seen in the 24th century. However, not even in her wildest dreams had she imagine that she’d be reincarnated as a good-for-nothing orphaned Seventh Miss of the Vermilion Bird Family. She finds herself stuck in a family that mistreats her, as well as an unfamiliar place with no support system.