Playing With The Billionaire
/1/123931/coverbig.jpg?v=46b935087d4d152420a06e58e4a55ce1)
Rejected by My Family, Claimed by the Galactic Commander
I woke up to the stench of rust and rotting flesh, no longer a master botanist who commanded life itself, but a D-class exile dumped on a wasteland planet. Memories that weren't mine flooded in. I was framed by my stepsister, betrayed by my fiancé, and banished by my own family to the Ashfall Peninsula to die. The original girl actually starved to death in despair. The moment I opened my eyes, a scavenger tried to smash my skull with a rusty pipe just to eat me. After I killed him to survive, I discovered a harsher truth: in this universe, plant seeds are classified as A-level strategic resources, completely monopolized by the Imperium. But the universe had a sick sense of humor. A mandatory background scan suddenly triggered a galactic broadcast: I, the exiled trash, was a perfect genetic match for the Imperium's top war hero, General Alexander Orr. The family that ruthlessly erased my existence instantly saw me as a golden ticket. My cheating ex-fiancé was dispatched to drag me back, furious that his "property" was matched with someone else. They all thought I was still that weak, naive girl they could manipulate. But as I held the pure, glowing Life Source Crystals I had secretly extracted from the scrap heap, a cold smile crept onto my face. "I didn't come here to die. I came here to build an empire." I turned my back on the galactic broadcast and stepped into the deadly wilderness.
Chapter 1
A sharp scraping of metal on metal sliced through the fog in Janae's mind.
A second earlier, she was still in deep darkness, feeling death slowly erase her consciousness; but now she woke up again, though not in her original body—the body of another Janae.
A blinding headache—another Janae's dying scream still rattling inside her skull.
Then memories—not hers, but another Janae's—flooded in.
The Bennett estate.
Marble floors.
A ceiling so high it could swallow the sky.
"From today, you are no longer a Bennett."
Another Janae's father—Preston—sat on the highest seat.
He didn't look at another Janae. Like she was a defective product he was finally discarding.
"Father—" another Janae began. "I can prove myself."
"It's too late." Camilla was there. Leaning against the sofa, smiling. The smile she always wore when she had already won. "Janae, you still don't understand, do you? Your ability rank determines your value. D-Class. Even having you as my sister is embarrassing now."
The memory shifted.
A colder one.
Donnell.
Another Janae's fiancé.
The man she had given everything to.
"The engagement is canceled." He didn't hesitate. "I can't marry a failure."
He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I need a mate who can awaken her beast-soul, Janae. Not someone who barely flickers."
He threw the betrothal token at her feet. It shattered against the marble. "Don't beg. It's pathetic."
The memory broke apart.
Janae opened her eyes.
The sky was wrong.
Not the high, clear sky of the Bennett estate.
A bruised, festering gray, choked with smog.
The air was thick with rust and oil and something rotting.
She was lying on a pile of debris.
Broken metal.
Corroded wiring.
The ground beneath her was soft, gray-black dust that smelled of sulfur.
She tried to sit up.
Pain lanced through her ribs.
Her hands were scraped raw.
Her clothes—what was she wearing?
Rags.
Someone else's clothes.
She looked inward.
The vast, forest-like dimension of her personal storage space—gone.
A dead, silent void.
She tried to summon the life-giving energy that had once made emperors kneel—a pathetic trickle.
Weak as a dying ember.
Cold panic seized her.
She was nothing.
Less than nothing.
A shadow fell over her.
She looked up.
A man stood there.
Skeletal.
Ragged.
His eyes gleamed with a hungry, knowing light.
In his hand, a rusted metal pipe.
He grinned.
Yellowed teeth.
Filthy fangs.
"Fresh meat," he rasped. "I know your type the moment I see you." He circled her slowly, pipe tapping against his palm. "Soft skin. Clean neck. No scar on your face."
He laughed. "A noble. Clan-born. Some little princess who got flushed down the Imperium's toilet."
She said nothing.
"Let me guess," he continued. "Daddy kicked you out? Or was it a fiancé who couldn't wait to trade you in for a better model?"
The words hit like a physical blow.
Janae's jaw tightened.
He leaned closer.
"I've seen that look before. The 'I used to matter' look. You know what happens to people like you here? Nothing. You just die slower than the rest."
"You're wrong," she said.
Her voice came out rough, unfamiliar.
"Am I?" He laughed. "This place doesn't care whose daughter you were. On the Ashfall Peninsula, there's only one law: you're either holding the pipe, or you're getting your skull caved in."
The Ashfall Peninsula.
The name triggered something.
A memory from another Janae.
The Imperium's dumping ground.
Where they sent the broken.
The disgraced.
The unwanted.
She was here because of them.
Because of Camilla.
Because of Donnell.
Because of every person who had decided she was worthless and thrown her away.
Jed crouched down, bringing his face close to hers. "You can scream if you want. No one's coming. The Imperium doesn't patrol here. Doesn't send rescue. They dump their garbage, and we clean up the scraps."
Something inside her snapped.
Not fear.
Not despair.
Anger.
She remembered Donnell's cold voice.
"I can't marry a failure."
She remembered Camilla's smile.
"Even having you as my sister is embarrassing now."
She remembered another Janae's father's face.
Like she was nothing.
Like she had always been nothing.
"You don't know anything about me," she whispered.
Jed chuckled. "I know enough. I know you're going to die here. I know you're going to cry. I know—"
She moved.
Not away.
Not to run.
Forward.
She saw a piece of sheet metal.
Sharp.
Jagged.
She grabbed it as she rolled, the edge biting into her palm.
Jed raised the pipe.
It whistled down toward her skull.
She threw herself sideways.
The pipe slammed into the ground where her head had been.
Gray dust exploded.
"Still fighting?" He lunged. Kicked her in the ribs.
Pain.
White-hot.
Her organs felt like they were rearranging themselves.
The copper taste of blood filled her mouth.
But she didn't fall.
She didn't cry.
She thought of Donnell.
She thought of Camilla.
She thought of every moment they had made her feel small.
Jed bent down.
Grabbed her by the hair.
Yanked her up.
"See?" he said. "In the end, you're all the same. Just meat for the grinder."
His face was inches from hers.
She could smell his rotten breath.
See the veins in his bloodshot eyes.
"No," she said.
Then she struck.
The metal shard drove deep into his throat.
He froze.
Blood—dark, hot, arterial—gushed over her hands.
His eyes widened.
He made a sound, a wet gurgle.
She pulled the shard out.
He collapsed, clutching his neck.
His mouth opened and closed.
Like a fish gasping for air.
"Not meat," she said, her voice steady. "Never meat."
She watched him die.
His eyes stayed open.
Staring up at the gray, festering sky.
Janae fell back against a pile of old tires.
She was gasping.
Her ribs screamed.
Her hands were slick with blood.
She looked at the corpse beside her.
She didn't feel triumph.
She didn't feel horror.
She felt something else.
Cold.
She was alive.
That was all that mattered.
She forced herself up.
Checked her injuries.
Bruised ribs.
Scraped hands.
Nothing broken.
She would survive.
A howl echoed in the distance.
Some unseen beast, maybe miles away.
But it reminded her: danger was everywhere.
She needed shelter.
Food.
Information.
She needed to find the Reclamation Center.
The only settlement on the Peninsula.
The only place where she could trade, barter, survive.
She looked at Jed's corpse.
A cold, practical thought formed.
Even the dead were resources here.
She started searching his body.
/0/58250/coverbig.jpg?v=5c1bb2adfa59298b299d05e76d796c4d)
Playing With The Billionaire
As the CEO of Sebastian Pictures, I have power and authority. I was the one who called the shots, constantly in the spotlight. I was meant to be the man in charge. Until I met Eloise, she was a junior art director at my subsidiary company. She also happened to be my best friend’s ex-girlfriend. To h
/0/45249/coverbig.jpg?v=a0c8e25236e15a7b9c8fc63f0579d7e5)
Playing With The Playboy
Her dad was a playboy with a string of mistresses who left her mom when she was five. Her bestfriend got jilted by her playboy boyfriend after he was busted hooking up with different girls. Her favorite celebrity couple broke up due to the same reason... and she herself experienced being cheated by
/0/48242/coverbig.jpg?v=82554976155137b1bdc13cfb41f84064)
Playing With The Casanova
—The world I live in is full of mystery, full of lies, full of secrets, I am a General Surgeon and it is my duty to save lives, we all have him his duty in life and I am a Doctor and my duty to save lives in the way of the instruments I use for the operation, I thoughtmy attention was only for my fa
/0/50604/coverbig.jpg?v=559f710fcf13ebc4102559665ce43ddd)
Playing the Marriage Game with Mr Billionaire
Signing her life away for her goals seemed easy at first for Sophia Crux, but she soon gets entangled in a web of complications, and as unwanted feelings start arising for a man meant to be nothing but a step closer to her goals, she has to find a way out. But things take a turn when Alexander Black
/0/99590/coverbig.jpg?v=b6c918ade6303308bd1881d0dc7e3b80)
Playing with the Enemy
After being used and discarded by the man who destroyed his youth, Jade rebuilt himself under the watchful hand of a mafia leader who owns his freedom. But when his past lover reappears through a corporate contract, and one simple hookup that should have meant nothing, turned out to have been with
/0/29020/coverbig.jpg?v=ab9fac2b176f70e7de1aadd1487bf9a9)
Playing with the Omega
The increasing number of incidents of women going missing in the metropolitan area of Zila City has alarmed the Valentin Royal Family. Because of the enormous antagonism between werewolves and vampires, vampires were accused of these disappearances. To vanquish the vampires, the Lycan Prince, Nikola
/0/38233/coverbig.jpg?v=849548ae7a731da8afcaad4f2aada34f)
Playing With Fire
Tessa Wexler inherits a rare talent from her mother. That is, she is super smart and has a high ability to learn everything. As long as she learns something, she will do the best in the whole field. But every coin has two sides. She can’t live more than 30 years for her rare disease caused by the ta
/0/21519/coverbig.jpg?v=ff4708cfeec49db22f04b7914e429415)
Playing With Violet Ashlock
Playing With Violet Ashlock Austin Portwalt Crazy ambitious billionaire who loves making big deals. He loves money and wants more than what he has now. He loves his bachelor life and wants to continue it forever but too bad his parents set him an arrange marriage with Dubai's most successful busine
/0/7890/coverbig.jpg?v=b2d6215b3ad39065fa9547307861afa0)
/0/48749/coverbig.jpg?v=20231219165956)
Nasty Games: Playing With The Ruthless Mafia
Money and power. That is where Bora Huassefa Mafianni's world revolves. But as she explores the mafia world more, she meets Connor Zulueta, who will make her feel different emotions she hasn't felt before. Can Connor change Bora for the better? Can the two powerful mafias collide? Or they will b
/1/130442/coverbig.jpg?v=826938fa2d6147a359ff89b8580da6c0)
Forbidden Sparks Vol. 1: Playing With Fire
At nineteen, Marty Munroe thought the hardest part of her life was behind her. But five years after her father's death, her mother, Charlotte, introduces the new man in her life: Clark Hamilton. He's devastatingly handsome, deeply seductive, and harbors a massive secret. He's also Marty's soon-to-be
/0/29220/coverbig.jpg?v=5f16df7679d57271219941ba8b33250b)
Engaged with the Billionaire
Cindy Riella Foren broke up with her boyfriend after she caught him cheating with her stepsister. That same day, she talked to her father and found out he arranged her in a marriage with a billionaire, Dion Theron Montero. Dion Montero was the only Heir of the Monteros who had never been known to t
/0/44859/coverbig.jpg?v=043d5421f87cb2fc6bc228791793a53f)
Contract With The Billionaire
Alex needs an heir to inherit his grandfather’s property, but he is determined to avoid any relationships or marriage after a terrible breakup with his ex-girlfriend. Despite trying everything, he can't find a suitable woman to give him an heir. Desperate, Alex decides to search for her himself. He
/0/57943/coverbig.jpg?v=b92a7f43cce6ad5fcc6b3dfc126a2c19)
Stuck with the Billionaire
When Miriam Dior, a young and determined woman, meets Anthony Parks, a successful and ruthless billionaire, their initial dislike for each other hides a burning attraction. As they navigate a web of hatred, love, and revenge, they must confront their pasts and confront the truth. But as they fight f
/0/74998/coverbig.jpg?v=70eaeedb1481d95adc9bf69122fb89a9)
Trapped With The Billionaire
Angel never imagined she'd become a billionaire's wife-especially not by force. When Aaron Blackwood, ruthless CEO and heir to a multibillion-dollar empire, is backed into a corner, he makes her an offer she can't refuse. A contract. A marriage. A deal that should have been simple. But nothing abou
/0/21253/coverbig.jpg?v=38a6957a1607dd98516e07d4dbe13a34)
Entangled with the Billionaire
Mia thought the best way to get revenge against her terrible ex was to get sexual pleasure from someone else. Preferably, a stranger! So she stalked the sexiest man she could find at the party. Once he cornered her, She made him a deal. Mia had no idea that the man she made a deal with was a p
/0/48486/coverbig.jpg?v=3e0a66e76c6626a4b2af38b9a498bff8)
Living With The Billionaire
The life of the provincial girl Althea, or simply Althea for cuteness, changed when she went to a city. She thought she was heading there for work, but it turned out otherwise. Why didn't she inform her soon-to-be husband that she was already married? And not just to any man but to a super saiyan –
/0/62323/coverbig.jpg?v=9baf1ca8264de4c94687df0f6870c45d)
CONTRACT WITH THE BILLIONAIRE
Ariel who grew up in the countryside was brought back to the city only to be used and abandoned by her very own family. Used in replacement for her sister and finding out the truth from years ago, will Ariel seek revenge? What happens when she turns out to be different from what was expected? Alan
/0/36190/coverbig.jpg?v=88214d6b45570198e54c4a8206c1938e)
Entangling With The Billionaire
It all started when Clinton’s wife, Sarah cheated on him. What was once happy marriage, began crumbling. Eventually the billionaire, Clinton filed for a divorce when he started having a secret affair with his office-personal assistant, Linda. For him, Linda was a consolation to his painful heartbre
/0/60463/coverbig.jpg?v=179266ff5fafecf40dba0b4771a78a23)
OBSESSED with the Billionaire
Jerome Meyers, an incredibly handsome, crazy young billionaire dad, CEO and a college student. Yes. A CEO, but still a student, studying a one year programme which his family urged him to, since he couldn't achieve it due to what happened to him some years back. Jerome is a carefree guy who was le
