The Best Nest

When I'm paying the heating bill, I find out that my wife, Violet Jensen, has two accounts under her name. The first account belongs to our home. The second account goes to a unit in a high-end private residential area. The remark on the account shows two words that say "love nest". Love nest. I don't know who on earth Violet is sharing that nest with, but I know where that address is. After all, that's the apartment I bought at full price before my marriage.

After five years of marrying into the Loween City in place of my sister, the Gambling King finally passed away. My son and my ex-husband—at long last—gave me permission to fake my death and return to them. But they laid down three conditions. First: kneel before Vivian Gray, apologize for framing her all those years ago, and surrender my place as Mrs. Hartwell. Second: work as a live-in maid for my own son for five years, and never show up at his school in my former identity as the reigning queen of the nightlife scene—lest I embarrass him. Third: drink an abortifacient to destroy my fertility forever, as recompense for the infertility I once caused Vivian. "My lady, you've endured five whole years just to earn your freedom—how dare they humiliate you like this?" My maid's eyes were red, burning with indignation on my behalf. But I just tipped my head back and swallowed the death-faking pill, letting the servants toss my "corpse" into the overgrown brambles beyond the city limits. Then, from the mud and weeds, I crawled back to the Hartwell mansion—one knee at a time. Day one, I knelt as ordered and signed over custody of my son without a fight. Day three, I locked myself in the storage closet and stopped showing up at school to pick my son up like I used to. I also stopped pestering him to call me "Mom." Even when Vivian—knowing full well I'm terrified of the dark—deliberately trapped me in the basement, I bore it in silence. By the time my ex-husband Nathan Hartwell saw me again, I was barely hanging on. For the first time, a flicker of panic crossed his face as he carried me out of that basement. But my son just sneered. "It's just another stunt to win our sympathy." When he caught the tears welling in Vivian's eyes, Nathan coldly dropped me to the ground. "Always scheming against Vivian with your dirty tricks—aren't you tired of it?" Right then, the system chimed in my ear: [Please proceed to the "disposable ex-wife death node" to complete the story line and return to your original world.] I let out a quiet laugh. "Not tired at all." And with that, I turned and dove straight into the swimming pool beside me.

After our father died, my sister and I inherited a fortune, a luxury villa, and a tiny convenience store. She took the money and the mansion without hesitation, leaving me with the old shop everyone looked down on. One month later, the apocalypse began. A zombie outbreak swept through the world overnight. The rich became trapped in their homes with no food, no power, and no way out. My sister, once proud of her mansion and millions, ended up starving behind locked gates. Meanwhile, I survived comfortably inside the convenience store I had rebuilt into a fortress, living off endless supplies of snacks, canned food, and soda. When my sister collapsed on the streets begging for help, I risked my life to save her. But greed was stronger than gratitude. After eating my food and recovering her strength, she waited until I fell asleep… then threw me outside to be torn apart by zombies. The moment I died, I opened my eyes again. I had returned to the day we divided the inheritance. This time, my sister smugly grabbed the convenience store first, convinced she had stolen the better deal. What she didn’t know was that I had been reborn too. And this time, I came back with a Apocalypse Survival System. While she fought over scraps, the villa she abandoned would become the safest shelter left in the world.

A cold corporate contract was supposed to protect his empire. He never expected she would become his only sanctuary. ​Eight years ago,Ryan Hayes was a brilliant, vulnerable university student trying to survive his family’s dark shadow. Then came Vennessa Cole—the fierce, captivating girl who blew into his life, broke through his walls, and then completely destroyed him. Or so he thought. When a brutal betrayal tore them apart, he swore he’d never let anyone close again. He built an ironclad, multi-billion-dollar empire on Wall Street to ensure he would always be the predator, never the prey. ​Now, Ryan is a ruthless tech titan inside a glass fortress, cold and untouchable. But when an aggressive corporate war threatens his legacy,he needs an ironclad strategy fast. He gets a ghost from his past. ​Vennessa Cole is no longer the University girl he left behind; she is the sharp-witted queen of Manhattan crisis management. Forced into close proximity by a high-stakes, fake-relationship contract to protect his assets, Ryan is determined to make her pay for the university betrayal that hardened his heart. He wants answers. He wants control. ​But behind closed doors in his penthouse, the fury between them quickly burns into a fierce, undeniable heat. As the corporate sharks close in, the dark secrets of what actually happened during their college years begin to unravel. Ryan realizes the devastating truth: Vennessa didn't destroy him back then—she protected him. ​With an unexpected pregnancy raising the stakes to life and death, Ryan’s cold facade completely fractures. The man who thought he wanted vengeance realizes he’ll burn the entire city down to keep her safe. Because the girl he spent a decade hating isn't his enemy... she is his ultimate safe haven.

Leah is injured in the woods where Zachary’s wolf finds her. Before Leah passes out, she sees the werewolves transform into humans. She is treated by a girl when she wakes up who was sent by Zachary. Leah meets Zachary before she is taken home. Leah is still stunned as she gets home. She hadn’t known that Winstonville would be crawling with such creatures. She recalls what brought her to Winstonville with her mother in the first place, which is the death of her father. Leah arrives for the first day at school and meets Amelia. Amelia helps her adjust. Surprisingly, she sees Zachary in school and promises to approach him. Leah is late for biology class and is surprised to see Zachary who turns out to be her lab partner. She tries to start a conversation with him but he is disinterested. Leah is disappointed. The Elders of the Den are angry that Zachary exposed their secret to a human. Zachary challenges them with mad leaves. He thinks about Leah and how irked at her presence. His wolf feels otherwise. Leah tried to speak to Zachary in school again but he is still disinterested. Leah still doesn’t give up. She notices how Olivia is close to Zachary and feels that they are a thing. In class, she sits with Olivia coincidentally and she explains her relationship with Zachary.

Matthew Guerrero is the youngest son of a Mafia boss. He is a hot-headed man who always lets his fists act before his brain. But on the day he almost died at the hands of a treacherous client of his family, a man saved him—and that man was none other than Kaizer, someone who drifts from job to job. Their paths cross again when Kaizer becomes a bodyguard for the Guerrero family. Even though Kaizer once saved Matthew’s life, the two of them still constantly clash, both inside and outside the Guerrero mansion. Yet as time goes by, they slowly come to understand each other, and no one can separate these two men—through hardship and joy, they are always together. They get kidnapped together, shot together, end up in the hospital together, and even suffer food poisoning together from the street food they ate. After everything painful they have gone through, they are always side by side. Until little by little, what they feel for each other begins to change. Matthew thinks at first that it is just because Kaizer is his friend, but he realizes that what he feels for the man who is always with him is something far deeper. It is not easy for them to confess their feelings to each other before finally becoming a couple and doing the things only couples do. But behind those happy moments, Kaizer is hiding a secret—one that will shatter Matthew’s heart and world. A secret he has kept hidden for so long, one that will eventually explode and damage their love: a love born from trust and true affection… and lies.