BUILDING MY OWN EMPIRE - My Journey from Nothing to Overwhelming Power - Chapter 16 – At the End, Do Not Rejoice Too Much

[Volume 1: Dante Blackthorn]When Anastasia and her sister Marianne are captured and shipped across the seas by pirates, they become commodities to be sold in a distant land. Marianne is taken as a courtesan, while Anastasia barely escapes a terrible fate by pretending to be mute. She is forced into the lowest ring of servants at the royal palace, where she endures a life of servitude and creates beautiful artwork to mask her pain.Despite years passing, Anastasia has never forgotten her sister's promise to return to their family together. However, with her movement restricted and the guards vigilant, escape seems impossible.When Anastasia comes into contact with the Forsaken Prince, her life spirals out of control and she triggers a Crux of incredible proportions. Now battling her own inner demons while navigating the treacherous politics of the royal court, Anastasia must confront the truth about her sister's fate and make a choice that could alter the course of an entire kingdom.[Volume 2: Emily Blackthorn]Princess Emily's life takes a turbulent turn when she is rejected, leaving her heartbroken and her soul at the brink of corruption. In a desperate bid to save herself, she journeys to the West.Enter the Storm Prince, a charismatic archdemon with striking blue eyes, with a saint-like smile. Emily had hoped she'd seen the last of him, but fate has other plans. As if her soul dying isn’t enough, someone wants to steal it!Caught between the suitors and the haunting nightmares that have plagued her since childhood, Emily begins to see Raylen in a new light. The blue-eyed demon may not be the monster she once thought.

“Block him.”“He's technically still my boss.”“Then block him with dignity.”The call ended again.And then started again.I let out a sound somewhere between a growl and a sob, then finally answered with the enthusiasm of a snail crawling through salt.“Yes, Mr. Walton?”“Have you changed your mind yet?”I collapsed onto the towel and gazed at the sky as though it might consume me entirely if I pleaded sweetly enough.“Do you ever take a break?” I asked, shielding my eyes with one hand.“You're avoiding the question.”“Because it's a dumb question.”He exhaled, the sound sharp and irritated even over phone. “It's not a dumb question. It's a business offer.”“It's a weird offer-one that I already said no to.”There was a brief pause, and I could practically hear him clenching his jaw through the speaker.“You are acting unreasonably.”“ Unreasonable?” I sat up. “I'm not the one drafting fake girlfriend contracts like it's a normal Tuesday.”“Isabella-”“Certainly not, Mr. Walton.” I mimicked his tone perfectly. “I told you I'm not doing it. You need to find someone else to play pretend with.”SYNOPSISIsabella Miller thought saying no to her boss’s fake dating offer was the end of the story.But Adrien Walton doesn’t take no—especially not when he’s convinced she’s a gold digger.Suddenly, her student loans are piling up, her father’s vet clinic is on the brink of eviction and her brother is about to be kicked out of college. Coincidence? She thinks not.Adrien Walton is calm, calculating—and he's just pulled every string to corner Isabella into the perfect position.Now she’s stuck choosing between pride and survival.So she agrees to his offer: be his fake girlfriend.No feelings attached. No drama. Just business.Or so she thought.“Conference Room B. Fifteen minutes,” he said, passing by without a glance.The folder he pushed across the table landed with a thud.I opened it. The contract. All of it.---Enemies to lovers? Check.Slow burn? Hmmnyea.Banter so sharp it might file your nails? Yes.Delicious workplace tension? Of course.Tension that could melt steel?Absolutely.Smut?? Wanna find out?Welcome to corporate romance warfare. There’s no escaping this contract.

Seria, a social outcast, has changed.
Seria Stern, the wicked woman who made everyone tremble with fear, was now calm.

In fact, she wasn’t just changed, she was a completely different person.

The moment she realized that she had possessed the body of the villain Seria, in a romance novel, she had a hunch about the future and decided to live low.

She would avoid kidnapping and harassing the original heroine, hence preventing her death by decapitation at the hands of Kalis, the second male lead.

In order to avoid that, she had to fix her bad relationship with Kalis and even healed his injured arm.

Thanks to that she got engaged with him, so it’s all worked out.
Finally, the original heroine returned, and her husband, Lesche, should be on good terms with her now.

“I’ve been waiting to escort her, so…”

Lesche asked, resolutely cutting off Kalis’ words.

“Miss Seria, it would be better for you to choose. With whom would you want to go with?”

Something was strange.
The original, wasn’t it perfectly fine?

Before her reincarnation, Jiang Nanfei, after marrying Huo Beijiang, led a troubled life which included the tragic death of her younger brother, the early loss of her parents, and betrayal from those she trusted the most. After being reborn, she thanked heaven and earth, shamelessly tried to get close to him, stick with him, make him hers.In this life, she wants to clean the dust off her heart and through her own efforts, achieve the life she desires. The beauty of life is not only about the scum man in front of her, or the pure lotus far away, it is also about the family behind her, the friends around her, and the man who loves her dearly.