Zero With Line Through It 소설 & 이야기

“Tell me the truth, Sophia.” Desmond’s voice was quiet, controlled, yet it still sent a chill down my spine. I forced myself to stay still, tightening my fingers “About what?” I asked carefully, pretending not to understand. A long silence followed. He stepped closer. “The part where you were sent to destroy me” he said softly. My heartbeat stumbled. “Or the part where I’m starting to fall for you anyway?” I swallowed hard, forcing myself to meet his gaze even though panic clawed at my chest. “You lied to me.” The hurt beneath his calm voice hit harder than anger ever could. And for the first time since this nightmare began, I realized something terrifying I never wanted to become the villain in his story. Sophia Ward’s life changed the moment her family became a target. Forced to infiltrate Blackwood Enterprises under orders she could never refuse, her mission is to gain the trust of the company’s untouchable CEO and secretly deliver whatever information is demanded of her. She's determined to remain emotionally detached, focused only on survival and protecting her family. Yet despite her careful plans, she slowly becomes part of a world she was never meant to care about and earns Desmond Blackwood’s attention, perhaps even his trust. Desmond Blackwood is a man of control, mystery, and silence. Blind yet observant, he built a global empire while shutting out the world. But Sophia unsettles him in ways he cannot explain. She is brave, intelligent, and easy to rely on. But he senses she hides something incomplete beneath her calm expression. With danger tightening around them and someone always watching from the shadows, Sophia and Desmond can't tell whether they are destroying each other… or becoming the only thing capable of saving one another.

On the third day of attempting to conquer Blake Stone's heart, he confesses his feelings to me. But the thing is, the affection meter displayed above his head shows the number "0". After we start dating, Blake pampers me to no end. He even proposes to me in a grand fashion on our sixth year anniversary. With tears in my eyes, I'm about to nod when I see a range of comments floating across my vision. [Blake must be exhausted from all the acting, huh? He has to reel in his disgust and keep up the act with Joanna for six years in order to protect Keira from her.] [That idiotic replacement actually got so immersed in this act! I'm laughing my ass off right now!] It's as though my blood had transformed into ice. No wonder the number never changed throughout the years. At the same time, the system's icy voice rings out in my mind. "The final phase is now activated. The countdown to the time left to conquer your target's heart has started. You have ten days left. If you fail, you'll be wiped out from this world." I just smile as I draw back my hand that was about to wear his ring. Then, I wipe my tears away. "I'm sorry, but I'm sick and tired of this stupid strategy game."

Everyone thinks I've lost my mind when I marry Bryan Sable. That's because I'm the daughter of the richest family in town, while he's just the owner of a small company. Everyone says he's only marrying me for my money. They don't know that he's willing to risk his life just to be with me. He also spent years pursuing me. On the day of the wedding, apart from the wedding ring, I also give him 99 free passes, saying, "If you ever upset me, you can use one of the free passes to cancel it out. But once you've used up all 99 of them, this marriage ends." Bryan swears he will never even use a single one of the free passes. But not long after we get married, he gets involved with his secretary, Roxy Upton. From that moment onward, the free passes get used up in rapid succession. He uses one when he misses my birthday party because of her. He uses another when I find a hickey left on his neck by someone other than me. It gets to a point where even our butler can't help but remind Bryan, "Mr. Sable, I think Mrs. Sable is upset right now. Are you sure you want to leave now to go to Ms. Upton?" But Bryan doesn't think much of it. "If she's upset, let her be upset. What's the worst that can happen? I'll just use one of the free passes. I've only used about 50 of them. I've got plenty of chances left." He has no clue that he only has three free passes left. And by now, I no longer kick up a fuss. I'm simply waiting for the day he uses up the final chance. I'm going to watch him dig his own grave, losing me as well as everything I've given him.

She returned to bury her father. Instead, she was forced to marry his enemy’s son. - Rosalind Marlow returns to New York to settle her father’s affairs, once one of the city’s most feared mafia bosses, only to find he died beside his greatest rival… and left behind a contract binding her to the rival’s son. Viktor Marino is cold, calculating, and infuriatingly magnetic. Rosa has no intention of becoming anyone’s pawn, not in grief, not in business, and definitely not in bed. But Viktor plays a long game, and with every stare, every challenge, he pulls her deeper into a world of secrets, power, and heat. She was raised to be untouchable. He was born to conquer. And in the space between vengeance and desire, who is going to lose control first? (Contains mature and dark content) ***** EXCERPT ‘Why would you want to leave this behind?’ he growled in my ear, his chest rumbling against my back. Because I can’t trust you. Because I don’t know what I want. ‘Because it’s cruel,’ I whispered. And then he pulled away, leaving me trembling, desperate, and furious.” ❦

WARNING: [R-18] STORY WITH EXTREMELY EXPLICIT/MATURE CONTENT When Ara met the most annoying man on earth, Daniel, she actually met the man of her dreams. Her knight in shining armor who's willing to protect her, no matter what. They might be like cats and dogs, but he fields her life with roses and soon, thorns. Thorns when she has to let go of him and accept the fact that the love that they feel for each other is not for them to share for life but for eternity.

After I got pulled into the horror game, my nearsightedness made everything blurry. I ended up treating the creepy girl in the blood-stained dress like my own daughter, the final boss like my husband, and the old creepy ghosts like my loving parents. The first time I met the boss, I grabbed his abs and said, “Nice body. Shame you’re kind of short.” He actually laughed in anger, picked up the severed head in his hand, put it back on his neck, and ground out, “I’m six-foot-one. Still think I’m short now?”

"She was my siren. My unearthly creature, far more beautiful than any angel. I was getting lost in her ocean blue eyes and she was making my heart skip a beat every time she smiles. She was the beginning and the end of all my days, she was my reason to wake up and live a better life. She was my whole life. And my undoing..."

After spending the past month working overtime and burning the midnight oil every day, I finally closed a business deal that's worth 50 million dollars before the company's annual dinner. My boss, William Lewis, begins giving away the end-of-the-year bonuses with a wide smile on his face. "The finance director helped our company save three million dollars worth of taxes. He will receive a villa by the river as a gift." "The head of IT led the team and solved various difficult problems. He shall receive 200 thousand dollars in cash." "Lily Lane, the receptionist, has always shown a great attitude whenever she greets the clients. She shall receive a Hermes bag." When it's my turn, I wipe the sweat off my palms before accepting my bonus. But upon opening the giftbox, I see three entrance tickets to the local zoo instead. "You must be sick of receiving commissions all the time as the sales director. Why don't you take advantage of this holiday to spend some quality time with your family?" On the way home, I dial a number. "Mr. Skylar, there's a problem with the 50-million-dollar contract. Let's discuss it later."

When I was selecting a marriage partner, I saw the chat. [Girl, don’t pick Max Lawrence. He’s a mama’s boy. If you marry him, his mother would make your life miserable.] [Choose Daniel Quinn. He may be an illegitimate son who isn’t valued now, but he’ll rise to power and become the head of the Quinn family.] In my past life, I had trusted those comments and chose Daniel. After we got married, he abused me. I had three miscarriages in a row. By the last miscarriage, I could not take it anymore and ran back home. There, I saw my father’s illegitimate daughter, Pearl Sullivan. She had married Max in my place. With my father’s arm in her hand, she had pointed at me while saying, “Mindy, why do you always make Daniel angry? You’re so immature.” My father looked unhappy. “You’re already married, yet you keep coming back home. Send her back.” They sent me back to the Quinn family. Daniel beat me to death. After I returned to the past, I saw those misleading comments again. I was not going to sit back and accept my fate again.

‘I always thought my wedding - should I ever have one - would be elegant and beautiful, filled with joy and laughter. And whilst this wedding was elegant, it wasn't really mine.’ ~ Dante Rizzo made a big mistake, leading to his rival wanting payback years later in the form of a trophy wife. Out of his four daughters, Rizzo only had the choice of two: an elegant dress-maker or a naive girl who could hardly get a sentence out. But on the day of the wedding, the dress-maker backs out, leaving a new set of options for Rizzo. With the pressure of his rival breathing down his neck, he makes a split decision to switch daughters, and there’s nothing she can do about it.