MTL - Self-cultivation of Male Supporting Role - Chapter 8 Paranoid brother

To exact revenge on a scumbag, she agrees to a hidden marriage with him for a year.

On their first encounter, she is rescued by him. On the second encounter, he helps her out of a conundrum. On the third encounter, they rush to get married.

He abducts her home and makes her his wife, ‘Mrs. Lucas’, one who is envied throughout the city. Rumor has it that the the cold and aloof Master Lucas dotes on her. He hugs, loves, pampers and holds her in such high esteem.

However, one day, the man’s domineering and intense love becomes too much for her. She leaves him with divorce papers and climbs over the compound wall to make her escape. Alas, things doesn’t happen the way she had planned. With her having one leg over the wall, he pulls her by her toes and stops her attempt. She falls into his arms. He places a hand over her tummy and asks in a hoarse voice, “Woman, where are you going with my son?”

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Thea fell in love with Ryder who is her childhood best friend.She kept her feelings hidden.A deceitful third party involvement manipulated Ryder into believing that she had broken his trust.~Exceprt~Thea's voice trembled as she grasped Ryder's hand. “Ry...Ryder, please listen.” she begged, her eyes pleading for his attention.Ryder jerked his hand free from Thea's grasp, his expression hardening into ice. “I don't want to hear anything from you.You're no one to me from now on.”“You are going to believe her?”her eyes welled up with tears.“I don't want to believe you..” Ryder spat, his eyes flashing with anger. “From now on, don't dare show your face to me.” With those cutting words, he turned and walked away,leaving Thea shattered, her body racked with sobs as she collapsed to the ground.Years passed Thea returned to the city working as a waitress to support her life.But fate delivered a cruel blow when Ryder and his fiancee walked into the restaurant.“Didn't I say you better stay away from us?How dare you appear in front of us?”Thea's voice trembled as she spoke, her heart heavy with emotion.“Ry...Mr. Thompson,” she corrected herself, her eyes locking onto his, “I never thought our paths would cross again, especially not here.”“I made it clear previously that I never wanted to see you again..” he said, each word cutting through Thea like a knife, reopening old wounds and slicing through her fragile heart.Thea's eyes welled up with tears as she gazed into Ryder's, “I didn't mean to hurt you, Ryder...” she implored, her gaze clinging to his, desperate for him to see the sincerity in her eyes and believe her words.He scoffed,“Hurt?I hate you for what you did to her.How can you hurt my woman?”Thea looked at his eyes to find the glimmer of the boy she once knew.But that boy was gone replaced by a man consumed by rage and hatred for her.She knew she lost him forever.Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes.Will Thea and Ryder ever find their way back to each other, or is their love lost forever, a casualty of misunderstandings and hurtful words? Will they be able to overcome the lies and betrayal that tore them apart, or will their hearts remain forever fractured?

I am currently re-writing the first chapters of this story. They are quite rough and bounce around a lot and I can do better. At some point, I will replace these with the better chapters.Sometime in 2024 Aethon Books will publish the first volume of this story on Amazon, KU, and audible. This will mean the story will be stubbed. I will notify people far in advance of that.In the dystopian world of the future, life is rough when you live at the bottom. Jobs are non-existent. Far too many people live in poverty, crammed into huge buildings called Habitats. With no jobs in the real world, many people can only find work online in VR worlds as servants to the very rich. And it's getting worse. The old internet is unusable and hacked to pieces. The new system needs AI to run things, but all but one of them were destroyed. The last sentient AI is ordered to create a new game world so the rich can have a playground, and the corporations that rule the world can have a new global market place. Everyone wants a piece of the new game. The guilds are competing to be the first to find the dungeons and kill the biggest monster. The corporations are claiming land and putting in their online market places. Ozzy and his friends just want a paycheck.Four friends sign five year contracts as virtual serfs in a small village, and can't go adventuring at all to gain money. They don't have many choices. They can work as a blacksmith, barmaid and shepherd for all those years....or they can cheat and find ways to take advantage of the system and carve out a section of the game world for themselves, and earn a fortune in the real world.When they give you a mop and not a sword, you have to find the loopholes and change the rules.

Fang Ze transmigrated to a world filled with superpowers and became a police. Initially, he planned to carry out his duties diligently. However, by chance, he discovered that his true identity was actually a criminal who had been arrested. The police faked his identity and made him believe that he was one of them. Then, they utilized his remaining memories to solve the case and identify his accomplices. They had set up a huge operation and were ready to capture him and his accomplices at any time! Fortunately, he acquired a superpower called the Midnight Investigation Room. At midnight every day, he could conduct an investigation on a chosen target. During his investigation, not only could he hear the actual thoughts running through the head of his subject, he could also acquire different items based on the value of the information he collected. Some of the items he acquired included: a mushroom that could sustain its host’s beauty forever; a credit card that allowed its users to loan from the future unlimitedly; a loyal assassin troop that lurked in the shadow; a demon eye that allowed its user to pry into the other world; a kobold that could learn and train with double efficiency on behalf of its master; seeds that could be attached to enemies’ bodies to make them puppets; and tapes that could transform human bodies into rocks when applied. In order to resolve his crisis, he collected information and investigated the case while improving his ability and expanding his influence. Unfortunately, he uncovered an even bigger scheme after solving his case. This entire world turned out to be a scheme! Many years later, Fang Ze sat on the throne of the King of Darkness. Accumulated beneath his throne were the countless skulls of his enemies.