Corrupted Bonds - Chapter 79: Echo Underneath

“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.

After the nuclear warfare, massacres started to spread throughout the entire world. The order between humans completely collapses, and the strong eats while the weak gets eaten becomes the #1 rule.

Are you looking for your Mr. Right?

Why would I wait for him? Mr. Right is lost on his way.

He quirked his brow at her answer with a faint smile at the corner of his lips.

Then what are you doing? He questioned in amusement.

She placed both her hands on his chest and pushed his masculine body against the wall taking him by surprise.

Her honey-brown eyes blinked at him with mischief dancing in them as she planted a firm kiss at his jaw and said, I'm planning on taking advantage of Mr. Right Now!

His eyes widened dramatically in disbelief. Before his eyes darkened with desire and passion.

He placed his hands on her small waist and she could feel the heat of his big hands through the flimsy fabric of her shirt.

His head leaned ahead as he whispered close to her ear, Feel free to take whatever you want.

She felt his hot tongue licking her earlobe making her heart to beat erratically.

Chen Xiu; known as Ms. Goody-two-shoes. A Superstar who was said to have it all which made her the center of hatred and envy as well.

Little did anyone knew that the same Superstar had to nurse her own wounds in the silence and darkness of night where no one was looking.

But for how long could she hold on for? Eventually, she decided to end her own misery and ended her life in the darkness of night, her only companion.

Having woken up in a new body and at a new place wasn't something she could ever believe in. At least, not until she became Bai Xiu out of the blue.

The day she thought to be her last became her first as a second chance awaited her. But whether this new chance was a blessing or disaster, it was hard to tell since she was trapped in a new body with a new life with the shackles of only her old memories.

New life or a new curse? What really awaited her? The same disappointing silence of the night or was there someone calling out her name desperately at the end of the tunnel? Were sparks meant to fly in her heart or the fire in her heart was meant to burn her whole? Was this leap of faith gonna make her fall on her face or was she meant to fly the horizon?

The new life brought a lot of questions. But the answer was simple...

You would never know until you give it a shot!

“You better stop the fucking prank, woman, and just pick up your phone and call your alpha! Otherwise, I will press the damn button and blow you up,” A man with a very ugly-looking scar on his face said menacingly, holding a time bomb remote control in his hand and shaking it back and forth before a woman.In the last moment of her death, Rose looked into her heart and cried bitterly.“If I had a second chance, Rolan, I would never have agreed to marry you. I would never have had hopes in you.” _____On the day of her sister's wedding, Rose found herself thrust into an unexpected role as the bride when her sister failed to show up. Marrying a man who had loved her sister for three years, Rose held onto the fragile hope that he might one day care for her. But her dreams of love quickly crumbled—he ignored her, treated her coldly, and never gave her the attention she longed for.Even at her lowest, when Rose’s life hung by a thread, he was nowhere to be found, choosing instead to enjoy his time with her sister. Rose’s heart shattered as she took her final breath, consumed by betrayal and despair.When she opened her eyes again, she was back in her younger self—not before the wedding, but on the very same day she was meant to die. This time, Rose vowed to rewrite her story. She would stop loving him, leave him behind, and refuse to let herself be caught in their web of betrayal again.But the peaceful life Rose planned never came to be. Against all odds, she discovered she was pregnant—carrying his child. Now bound together by this unbreakable link, Rose must face the man she once loved, all while trying to guard her heart.Why is he chasing her now? Why wasn’t he with her sister when she ran away and left him? Why does he seem desperate to win her back when all she wants is to stay far away?