Shangyou Fusu

I was only three and a half years old, living in a damp basement and beaten daily by Enoch Pruitt with a heavy leather whip. "Get up, you useless waste of space!" He always told me I was a stray he had picked out of the garbage. But during one brutal beating that nearly stopped my heart, time froze, and a glowing figure called The Chronicler appeared. "You are not an abandoned orphan, Clare. You carry the blood of the highest gods." He revealed that I was the stolen daughter of the ultra-wealthy Barrett family. Then, he showed me the horrific ending of my previous life. I had died right here on this bloody dirt floor. My real parents and three brothers went completely insane with grief, turning into ruthless monsters who destroyed themselves and the entire world to avenge me. Meanwhile, the Pruitt family kept torturing me, locking me in a woodshed and feeding me moldy bread. The memory of my bones breaking and my real mother's agonizing screams crushed my chest. Why did I have to suffer like an animal while my true family tore the world apart looking for me? This time, I refused to die in the mud. I accepted my divine blood, my eyes glowing gold as I summoned a bolt of purple lightning to strike my abuser. I just needed to survive the night. Because my real father's heavily armed convoy was already tearing up the mountain, ready to burn this hell to the ground.

My husband, Jackson, was holding hands with a dead woman. For five years, I believed my adoptive sister, Scarlett, had died in a fiery car crash. My perfect, blissful marriage was built on her ashes. But tonight, at a charity gala, I saw her hidden in the shadows with him. She was alive, and beside them stood a little boy with my husband’s dark, curly hair. I overheard everything. My family had faked her death, destroyed evidence to save her from prison, and set her up in a beautiful new life. My marriage wasn't love. It was a five-year "penance," a sacrifice Jackson made to keep me from asking questions while he, my parents, and my "dead" sister lived as a secret family. My phone buzzed. A text from her, taunting me. “You should come see all the beautiful things my family has given me.” When Jackson found me moments later, his face a mask of fake concern, the urge to scream was a physical force inside me. But I swallowed it down. I looked into the eyes of the man who had demolished my world, forced a smile, and pulled him into an embrace that felt colder than the grave Scarlett was supposed to be in.

The Healer told me I was finally pregnant. After two years of doubt, I was carrying the heir to the Blackstone Pack. This pup was supposed to be the key to our future, solidifying my place as the Alpha's Luna. But just as the joy set in, a Mind-Link from my best friend shattered my world. It was an image of my mate, Damien, pressing another woman against a wall, his mouth devouring hers. When I confronted him, he dismissed it as "blowing off steam," blaming the pressure of needing an heir. But the real blow came when I overheard his mother praising his mistress, Seraphina. She was six months pregnant with what they called a "true Blackstone heir." While I, his fated mate, was just an "empty shell." Fifteen years of love and loyalty, all for nothing. The business empire I built for our pack was just a tool. Our pup, the miracle I was cherishing, was worthless to them. I was just a political necessity with a weak bloodline, waiting to be replaced. That night, at the Full Moon Celebration, I was supposed to announce my pregnancy and beg for their acceptance. Instead, I walked onto the stage, looked Damien in the eye, and spoke the ancient words of severance. Then, I opened a private channel to the one man who could help me burn it all to the ground. "Kaelan," I sent. "I agree to your plan."

My mother' s hand, fragile as a bird' s wing, tightened around mine. For eighteen years, she' d sacrificed everything, her hands chapped and sore from cleaning houses, all so I could go to Northwood University. But with her dying breath, she whispered a secret that shattered my world: "Your father… Richard Thompson." Richard Thompson. The tech mogul whose face graced magazine covers. My father. It was impossible. A fever dream. "He has to matter now," she rasped, revealing a promise he' d made to care for me. The last thing she said before the flatlining monitor screamed her final moments was, "He will hate it. He will hate you. But he will do it. Make him keep his promise." I walked out of that hospital an orphan, holding a crumpled number that was both lifeline and curse. When the sleek black car pulled up to my crumbling apartment, I knew my life was over-and just beginning. My new home felt like a museum, or a very expensive prison. My half-siblings, Emily and Ben Thompson, greeted me with icy disdain. "Stay in your lane," Ben sneered, "The one you came from." I was a ghost in their pristine mansion, eating alone, walking on tiptoes, a cheap paperback thrown in the trash when I dared leave a trace. Then came the university lecture, taught in French, which I couldn't understand. My scholarship, my mother' s sacrifice, felt meaningless. Just as panic swelled, Ben, still with closed eyes, slid his tablet onto my desk. Real-time translation, a silent lifeline, an unexpected act of protection. "Don' t fall behind. It' s embarrassing," he grunted. And then Jessica, the girl I thought was a friend, outed me in the cafeteria. "So you' re the tech mogul' s bastard daughter," she announced, her voice dripping with venom. She mocked my mother, sneered at my attempts to belong, and shoved me, my lunch tray clattering to the floor. I saw red. Something inside me snapped. I lunged, my fist connecting with her nose. Blood, screams, chaos. Expulsion loomed. But my father didn' t come. He sent his assistant, who bought off Jessica' s family with a briefcase full of cash. Another message: I was worthless, easily bought, and completely alone. The bullying escalated. Vandalized lockers, spilled books, tripping hazards. No one would sit with me. I ate lunch in a bathroom stall, enduring it all in silence. Until one afternoon, in a deserted alley, Jessica and her friends cornered me. "No one' s here to save you now," she gloated, "Your rich daddy doesn' t care, and your fake siblings hate you." Just as the football players moved in, a black Audron screeched around the corner. Ben and Emily emerged, their faces cold and menacing. Ben punched a football player, breaking his nose. Emily slammed Jessica' s head against a brick wall, dragging her whimpering form before me. "You touched our sister," Emily' s voice was dangerously quiet. "She is a Thompson. Now you know the rule." Back at the mansion, in the aftermath, Ben explained their silent contempt. "We hate you, but you' re our problem. And we don' t let anyone else mess with our problems." Then, in the sterile bathroom, with Emily bandaging my cuts, they revealed their mother' s tragic death, her art destroyed by Richard. And how their own dreams had been crushed by his iron will. My gift, the glass butterfly, had not been an offering. It had been a ghost. My tears, long held back, finally fell. "He' s trying to break you," I whispered to Ben in the cold, dark basement where Richard had imprisoned us. "He wants obedient successors," Ben replied, recounting his dreams of game development, his mother' s art, all crushed by Richard' s ambition. "I hate him," Ben confessed, his voice raw. "Me too," I whispered back, a cold, hard rage solidifying within me. Then, Emily' s studio, a vibrant space of creation, was a scene of methodical, vicious destruction. Her hands, tools of her trade, wrapped in bandages, tendons severed. "He cut her," Maria, the maid, sobbed. "She will never… sew again." My fear burned away, replaced by a cold, clarifying rage. "You' re the only one he can' t break," Emily said, her empty eyes burning with desperate intensity. "You have to be our shield, Sarah. You have to be our weapon. Get strong. Get smart. You have to be the one to break him." "Okay," I said, my voice steady and clear. "I will."

"I need you to be understanding, Ethan." Chloe' s voice barely registered as she packed, her thumb flying across her phone screen. My girlfriend of three years, who I' d poured my heart and soul, and every penny I earned, into building her company, was leaving. Not for a business trip, but for her ex-boyfriend, Jake. His father had just passed away, and apparently, only Chloe truly understood him. "He needs me," she' d said, as if that explained everything. I sat on the edge of our shared bed, the words like a physical blow. Then came the kicker. "And my dad," she continued, "You know his health is fragile. He needs to see that I'm with a man who is supportive and understanding." This wasn' t just about Jake' s grief; it was a twisted test for me to prove my worth by financing her emotional affair. My money was good enough for her father' s exorbitant medical bills, my time good enough to build her empire, but my feelings? An inconvenience to be suppressed. A cold clarity settled in my gut: it was over. She didn't even say thank you when I handed her all the cash I had and the keys to my car-the car she demanded, along with money for Jake' s "funeral expenses." "I knew you'd understand," she' d said, just before walking out the door, leaving me in the sudden silence of the apartment I paid for, heading to comfort another man. The second the door clicked shut, I moved. Not with anger or hurt, but with a cold, clear purpose. I packed my work, my clothes, everything I owned-leaving behind every trace of her. Then, I canceled every payment to her and her demanding father. "It' s over, Chloe. Don' t come back to the apartment. You are on your own." I blocked her number, her social media. I felt only profound relief. For the first time in a long time, my future was mine.

The harsh fluorescent lights of the ER flickered over Sylvia' s pale face, her party dress torn, mascara smudged. She was my vibrant, wild fiancée-to-be, now fragile and broken from a "roofie" incident. I knelt at her gurney, proposing in that sterile room, promising to be her anchor, to always keep her safe. My life as a simple craft brewery manager felt real with her, far from the corporate schemes of my wealthy family. But the night before our engagement party, rushing to find her, I found her apartment door slightly ajar. Then I heard it: "Wasn't the fake roofie stunt enough? This isn't fair to Caleb!" and her callous response, "Caleb's just too... vanilla. I have needs." The 'roofie'-a performance. My devotion, my comfort, my entire world built on her calculated lie for "content." The woman I loved, mocked me, played me for a fool, shamelessly indulging in an illicit party with her sleazy manager. Every word of sincerity, every act of tenderness I gave her, was met with cold, manipulative mockery. How could the woman I was ready to marry be so utterly fake, so greedily hollow, so ruthlessly cruel? My world collapsed, but in the ruins, a new, chilling clarity emerged. I pulled out my phone, scrolled past her name, and dialed a number I hadn't touched in a year. "Dad. About that merger... I'm in." She thought she was playing games with a vanilla brewery manager. She had no idea she was messing with Caleb Wright, the heir to Wright Oil. The game was far from over. It had just begun.

For thirty years, I lovingly maintained our family home, a legacy from my parents. Now, in my late fifties, a promise resonated: the Italy trip my husband, David, made me under wedding fireworks. When I finally brought up that cherished dream, he scoffed, "Too old for that." Days later, on his laptop, I saw it: five plane tickets to Rome and Florence. For David, our son Mike, his wife Jessica, our grandson Leo. And my sister, Emily. Not for me. My dream trip, his very promise, was given to everyone else—especially Emily, whom David openly admired. This wasn't an oversight; it was a deliberate, casual cruelty. I drove them to the airport, listening to their excited chatter. At the curb, David publicly humiliated me over a "lost" passport, grabbing my arm. Even after it was found, he didn't apologize. They just rushed to the gate, leaving me alone. No one looked back. The humiliation burned, hotter than anything before. My family, my entire life, simply walked away, discarding me. Thirty years of giving, of being taken for granted, culminated in this brutal moment. This was my reward. I watched them disappear, then turned and walked out of the airport for good. I drove straight to a real estate agent, listing the house—my house, inherited and solely in my name. Then, I booked my own one-way ticket: Paris, France. My flight was in three days, the same day they were due in Rome. My old life was over.

The rune manipulating skill was such an honor that it shouldn't be taken lightly. This incredible power honored her family for a century but at a greater price. Her grandfather had no choice but to disguise her as a man named Albert. It was the only way to protect the power she was born to yield. However, it was futile in the end. Murdered in cold blood, and by her sister no less. It still wasn't over though. She had reached the zenith of rune manipulation and achieved immortality. Reborn in a new body, it was time to avenge herself.

Elena died on the operating table, betrayed by her husband, her unborn child already gone. But death? Just her intermission. She woke up in a whole new world-a beastmen's world, where females are rarer than diamonds and the strongest males go mad without a woman's mark to calm them down. And her? Labelled the weakest female alive. An F-rank body with a joke of a status. But hidden inside? Unlimited mental power. Just as she's figuring out this mess, a system pops up with one hell of an offer: Complete the missions. Bond with assigned males. Save this world. Do all that, and you get a one-way ticket back home. for revenge. Sounds simple? Think again. A Wolf General, colder than a blizzard, who should have ended her-ended up letting her mark him. A Fox Prince, all charming smiles and secret schemes, who started playing games only to lose his own heart. A golden Dragon, sunshine-bright and fiercely possessive, who declares her his destined treasure. A shadowy Serpent, too patient and too dangerous, watching her every move from the dark. A Phoenix King, whose love burns so hot he'd reduce empires to cinders for her. They all need her mark. They all want her. And sharing? Not in their vocabulary. Too bad for them- She's not here for love stories. She's here to survive. To climb. To turn their legendary power into her own stepping stones. And one day. To go back and make her betrayers wish they were never born.

The sensation of falling wasn't like flying; it was heavy, violent, and smelled of burning flesh. Above us, on the crumbling balcony of the Sears manor, Duke Cato Sears turned his back, shielding his cousin Bianca from the smoke as he walked away, leaving my sister Blossom and me to drop into the abyss. As the darkness slammed shut like an iron door, I realized my entire life had been a cruel script written by the people I called family. In my first life, I was the sacrificial lamb of the Dawson manor, sold to a man who eventually watched me die without blinking. My sister Blossom had pushed me into Cato's arms to avoid his rumors, only to laugh when the fire finally consumed us both. My father had measured my value like a piece of livestock, and my step-grandmother didn't even acknowledge my existence while I was being led to the slaughter. I died in that fire, feeling the heat scorch my skin and the weight of a hatred so potent it tasted like bile. I spent twenty years being the weak, manipulated shadow of a girl, only to end up as nothing more than a phantom scorch mark on a "hero's" estate. I couldn't understand why my own blood treated my life like a game they could discard. The injustice of it all burned hotter than the flames that took my last breath. Then, I sat up, sucking in air that tasted of lavender and air conditioning, not smoke. I was back in my bedroom, three days before the engagement ball that ruined my life. Blossom stood at the door, her "sweet" mask slipping as she tried to manipulate me into the Duke's path again. She thought she was the only one who had come back, but she didn't realize that this time, I was going to let her have exactly what she wanted: the Duke, the bankruptcy, and the living hell that awaited her in that house.

I stood in the Royal Hall, clutching a glass of warm champagne while watching Senator Levine laugh. To the crowd, he was a pillar of the community; to me, he was the parasite who had already destroyed my life once. In my past life, this gala was the night the monarchy began to bleed. Levine successfully planted his cameras, the Vance empire funded a coup, and the kingdom I loved was sold off to the highest bidder. I lived through the consequences of my silence. I watched my sister, Seraphina, die in childbirth because the medical supplies were intercepted by traitors. I watched the man I loved, Duke Elliot, stripped of his titles and branded a criminal. I spent my final days in a damp, freezing cell, listening to the executioner sharpen his blade while the people cheered for our demise. The injustice burned in my throat like lye. I died wondering how I could have been so naive, how I could have let these monsters walk among us while I played the part of a perfect, quiet wife. Why did the gods let the wicked prosper while my family’s blood watered the palace gardens? What would I have given for just one chance to strike first? Then, the world shifted. I opened my eyes to find myself back at the gala, the scent of sandalwood and rain surrounding me as Elliot rested a possessive hand on my back. I wasn't just a Duchess anymore; I was a ghost from a future that would never happen, and I was ready to erase every name on my list.

Chloe Miller and Blake Harrison were husband and wife, a title that masked three years of mutual hatred and separate beds. Then, a gang abducted and brutally murdered Chloe. But instead of peace, she woke to the Grim Reaper' s voice: "Ms. Miller, you have desires you have not resolved. You cannot be reborn yet." She was granted ten days to return to life and fix her problems, or risk eternal damnation. Chloe returned to find Blake celebrating her "death" with her adoptive sister, Amelia Miller, the woman Blake truly loved. Blake, believing her to be a manipulative ghost, grabbed her throat. "You have the nerve to come back!" he snarled. He thought she faked her kidnapping, mocking her with twisted accusations alongside Amelia and her parents. Chloe, overwhelmed, saw the prayer beads she' d gotten for Blake during his accident, a symbol of her wasted devotion. Her past devotion felt like a torment now, a chain she needed to break. She pulled the beads from his wrist, scattering them, severing their hold. "I' m tired, Blake," she said, her voice clear and firm. "Let' s get a divorce." His eyes widened in shock. He refused. He' d always refused. But this time, Chloe wasn' t fighting for him. She was fighting for herself. She was finally ready to rewrite her own story, leaving behind the shattered pieces of her past.

A sharp pain shot through my head, pulling me from a deep darkness. I opened my eyes to my luxury penthouse, but I shouldn't have been there. I remembered dying. The memory was cold and sharp: my protégé, Dustin, sold me out, and my husband, Graves, watched our company crumble, leading to my fatal heart attack. Then, Graves appeared, his charming, empty smile unchanged. But he wasn't alone. A young woman, Alex Salazar, stood behind him, clutching her cheap handbag. Graves introduced her as an intern, saying she had nowhere to stay and would be living with us. My eyes fell to her neck, where a dark hickey was partially hidden. The date on the nightstand confirmed it: I had traveled back in time to the exact day Graves brought Alex home in my previous life, the beginning of my long, painful nightmare. Last time, I had screamed and thrown things, starting my humiliation. A strange calm washed over me. I had been given a second chance, not to win him back, but to escape. "Of course," I said, my voice even, "The poor thing. We should take care of her." Graves looked surprised, then relieved. He thought he had won. "In fact," I continued, pulling out divorce papers, "I'll make sure she's comfortable. You just have one small thing to do for me." I wanted the Malibu property. "Give me that, and I'll walk away quietly. You can have your new life. You can take care of this... orphan."

The numb cold started in my fingertips, creeping inward. I watched Chloe, my wife, her face a mask of impatient fury in the dim tent light. Outside, a blizzard howled, the soundtrack to my dying. My miraculous blood, the blood that could heal, drained from my arm, a crimson offering for a dead man. "More," Chloe demanded, her voice sharp. "It' s not enough. You have to bring him back." Her childhood sweetheart, Jake Miller, lay frozen nearby, a corpse. "Chloe, it doesn' t work like this," I rasped, my vision blurring. "I can heal injuries. I can' t raise the dead." "Liar!" she shrieked, her grief a twisted venom. "You can heal anything! You won' t save him because you' re jealous! It' s your fault he went up that mountain! If you hadn' t forced me to marry you, he' d still be alive!" The accusation was a sick joke. I had healed her to repay a debt, a lie used to trap me. I wasn' t a god, just a medical prodigy. As my lifeblood pooled, the world faded to black, her hateful face my last sight. Then, bright, sterile light. I gasped, eyes flying open in a pristine hospital room. My hands were whole, warm. Mrs. Davis, Chloe' s mother, stood by the window, worried but hopeful. This was the day it all began, the day they begged me to heal their daughter. I remembered my profound sense of duty, repaying a girl I believed saved me. That single selfless act led to a year of loveless marriage, resentment, and my own murder. "Dr. Hayes," Mrs. Davis said, trembling. "We' ve heard about your… gift. They say you can perform miracles." She stepped forward, hands clasped. "My daughter, Chloe… she' ll never walk again. But we believe… you can save her. Please, we' ll give you anything." But my gaze was cold. I saw the contempt, the venom of my past in her desperate eyes. I had been a fool. A naive, sacrificial lamb. Not again.

A faint, shimmering gold mark pulsed on my inner wrist, a birthright that let me see glimpses of the future. It was also the reason I died. In my last life, my stepsister, Bethany Vance, with her gaudy gold bracelet, completely fooled our father, faking prophetic abilities that mimicked my own. He adored her, while I was nothing more than a bargaining chip, handed off to Ethan Blackwood' s estranged brother, Liam. I sacrificed everything for Liam, only for him to sneer, "A trick. All of it. Just to get power," moments before his fingers closed around my throat on our wedding night. Then, darkness. Now, I was back, in the same opulent ballroom, on the very day my father would announce the engagements. I watched Bethany preen as my father declared her engagement to Ethan, the Blackwood heir. Then came my turn. "And I am also pleased to announce the engagement of my other daughter, Ava, to Mr. Liam Blackwood." The applause was noticeably weaker. The familiar sting of being second-best, but this time, it was fuel. The grand doors burst open. Liam Blackwood stormed in, ignoring everyone but my father and Bethany. "I reject this arrangement. I' m not marrying Ava. I am here for Bethany." He offered a blank equity deed for her hand, dismissing me as he left. "You and I are finished. Bethany is the one with the true gift. She is the future of both our families. Not her." In my past life, I would have shattered. This time, a cold, simmering rage ignited. "Liam," I said, my voice low and steady. "You think you know what you want. But you are a fool." He hissed, "Bethany' s abilities are proven. What do you have? Nothing." I met his gaze, a cold smile touching my lips. "I have the truth." I turned my back on him. This time, I wouldn' t beg. This time, I would destroy him. And I would take everything he ever wanted for myself.

Betrayed by the two people she trusted most - her husband and her foster sister-turned-best friend - Lilith dies with regrets. But fate has other plans. Granted a second chance by a mysterious system, she wakes up in the past. This time... She won't be naive. This time, she'll rewrite her destiny. On the first day of her rebirth, she crosses paths with Dean: a disarmingly gorgeous, silver-haired man who proposes a fake engagement to help her. But the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to draw the line between real and pretend. With the past betrayal still fresh in her mind, Lilith must decide- Will she risk her heart again... or keep her eyes on the prize?

In the hidden hollows of the Appalachians, my family knew a secret: a spark of life, a whisper of old magic in our blood that could make the barren fruitful. It was just folklore until Eleanor Montgomery arrived, her son Ethan, heir to a sprawling industrial empire, dying. Desperate, my family agreed: I, Sarah-Mae Jenkins, would marry Ethan, save him, and secure our future. My "gift" worked. I conceived twins, and Ethan recovered, vibrant and strong. But on the day our healthy babies were born, he stood over me, cruel and triumphant, and smothered them. "Mountain trash," he spat, then sealed me alive in their cold family crypt. To erase all trace, Montgomery Industries orchestrated a chemical spill, annihilating my entire valley, my home, my people. Every hope, every life, gone. Everything I had, destroyed. Why such monstrous cruelty for a boy' s twisted obsession? Why was my very essence, my gift of life, deemed a curse worthy of such utter annihilation? The pain was a living thing, consuming me. Then, darkness. Then, light. I gasped awake in my own bed, back in the small cabin, on the very day Eleanor Montgomery' s black car would wind its way up our mountain road. This time, there would be no bargain. This time, Sarah-Mae Jenkins was reborn for one purpose: revenge.

For years, I lived a quiet life as Sarah, deeply in love with Beau Harrison, tirelessly helping him and his brother Clay rise through the ranks. I poured my heart into a protective Woven Ward for Beau, believing we were building a beautiful, shared future towards our sacred Haven. My Cinderheart sister, Ashlyn, found her own love with Clay, and our gentle Shadowfox, Whisper, curled at our feet, a constant comfort. Then, a knock on the door shattered our world into a million pieces. Clay stood there with a smug Crystal Thorne, his voice chilling as he callously abandoned Ashlyn. Crystal brazenly demanded Ashlyn's very essence, her Spirit-Spark, for her own selfish ascension. But the true horror struck when she casually confessed they' d already murdered Whisper, harvesting his spark for Crystal' s gain. Ashlyn' s raw scream tore through the cabin as untamed flames erupted around her, shedding her disguise like a burning cloak before she rocketed away in a desperate escape. My heart was a burning stone of grief and rage. Moments later, Beau arrived, his face a stranger' s, summarily dismissing our love as he told me I was too "gentle" and "unambitious" for the Haven. He stood there with Crystal, expecting me to hand over my own Spirit-Spark after witnessing my beloved sister' s torments and our innocent pet' s murder. How could they be so utterly blind, so incredibly callous? They saw only Sarah, the soft woman they thought weak and easily discarded. They had no idea I, Scarlett, held the keys to the very divine realm they craved, no idea about the Guardian Spirit they had just so heinously betrayed. But their triumph would be short-lived, their stolen glory a trap. A cold resolve solidified in my core; my own vengeful plan was already set in motion. With a feigned, heartbroken resignation, I handed Beau the Woven Ward again, knowing it was now not a gift, but a tether ensuring their destined fall. "Oh, I' ll be there," I whispered, as Sarah was irrevocably gone, and Scarlett, the ancient Guardian, returned, ready to make them pay.