MTL - Close to You - Chapter 117

“Chosen Heroes! Scour these worlds as the champions of us, the gods!”When an unsuspecting class of thirty die in a mysterious incident, the benevolent gods take mercy and reincarnate them as Otherworldly Heroes.In a world of magic and swords, the Heroes are forced against hardships as they face off the monsters threatening the world, the evil forces lurking in the shadows, and even themselves and the other heroes. Secrets hidden in their pasts will surface and their skills, trust and love will be put to test as they will tackle their new home.The heroes will... Except this one.This hero is sleeping.

BOOK TWO OF THE HAMILTON SERIESWARNING: A Regency Era novel. Adult content with detailed smut…Read at you own risk⚠️⛔️Genre: Historical Romance / Smut / Enemies-to-Lovers / Mystery / Comedy[Book Two of the Hamilton Series. Can be read as a standalone, but better enjoyed after Lady Ines’ Scandalous Hobby.]To the world, Duke Rowan Hamilton is the perfect gentleman. But in the bedroom, he is a man possessed.Rowan Hamilton has it all: a Ducal title, the face of a fallen angel, and a smile that makes debutantes faint. He is the “Golden Duke”—charming, responsible, and utterly adored by society.But it’s all a lie.Beneath the coats and polite manners, Rowan is a man haunted by a ghost. For three years, he has remained faithful to the memory of a masked woman who stole a kiss, bested him at a game of chance, and vanished into the night. He doesn't want any one as his wife; he wants her.When his domineering aunt tires of his bachelorhood, she hires London’s most notorious underground matchmaker to force the issue.Enter Miss Delaney Kingsley.She is sharp-tongued, infuriatingly competent, and entirely unimpressed by his title. Her mission? To drag Rowan to the altar with the season’s “Diamond,” Lady Celine, within three months to collect the juicy payment Rowan’s aunt had to offer.Rowan intends to fire the meddlesome woman. But when Delaney looks at him with those hazel, intelligent eyes and orders him around like a young lad, he feels the first spark of life he’s felt in years.He decides to play her game. He will let her “coach” him on how to woo a lady. He will let her teach him how to dance, how to flirt, and how to seduce.But he has no intention of using those lessons on Lady Celine.“You were hired to find me a Duchess, Miss Kingsley. But the only person I want in my duchy and in my bed... is you.”As the lessons turn into forbidden nights and the bickering turns into scorching passion, Rowan begins to suspect that his matchmaker is hiding a secret of her own.She moves like a shadow, handles a rifle like a soldier, and tastes exactly like the ghost he’s been hunting for three years.What to Expect:* The Golden Retriever Duke: Who turns into a possessive Alpha behind closed doors.* The Matchmaker Trope: She’s trying to marry him off; he’s trying to take her clothes off.* High Heat: Slow burn that explodes into intense smut.* Competence Kink: He falls harder every time she bosses him around.* Cameos: Featuring the chaotic domestic life of Duchess Ines and Duke Carcel (and their baby Harry!).Excerpt:“Your Grace, please focus,” Delaney snapped, adjusting his cravat with efficient, gloved hands. “Lady Celine is waiting in the ballroom. You must look at her as if she is the only woman in the world.”Rowan caught her wrist, stopping her movements. He stepped into her space, backing her against the heavy oak door of the study, his “Golden Boy” mask slipping to reveal the hunger beneath.“And how, exactly, does one do that, Miss Kingsley?” he whispered, his voice rough. “Show me.”“I—I cannot show you, I am merely the coach—”“Then teach me,” he growled, lowering his head until his lips brushed the sensitive skin of her neck. “Teach me how to pretend I am not burning alive every time you walk into a room.”

The world ends in a single moment.When the Mass Outbreak Event shatters reality, portals tear open across the globe, unleashing monsters that drive civilization to collapse. As cities burn and order crumbles, a game-like System activates across humanity, granting survivors levels, skills, and abilities, and forcing the world into a brutal new set of rules.Eighteen-year-old Jagger Ashton is dragged into this new reality where monsters are only part of the danger. Humans, twisted by power, fear, and desperation, prove just as deadly. Every encounter pushes Jagger closer to the edge, testing his sanity and the fragile line between control and corruption.Jagger begins to uncover a terrifying truth.The Outbreak was not just an invasion. It was a selection process.The System is preparing the world for something far worse.And whatever is coming… it wants strong survivors.To survive what lies ahead, Jagger must confront the power festering inside him and choose whether to master it or surrender to it entirely.

Qin Mei accidentally transmigrated to the 1970s. The original owner of the body was also named Qin Mei. She wasn't in an arranged marriage without choice, but rather coveted Jie Jingchen. Having heard from somewhere that he was going to marry a primary school teacher, she decided to strike first, creating a fait accompli and forcing him to marry her.Her methods were despicable, but they were effective.The original owner was a massive troublemaker; at only eighteen, she had already become a widow, branded as a husband-jinx.The 'Chong Xi' marriage failed, sending the person on their deathbed to their grave, and she was nailed to the village's pillar of shame....She has none of the original owner's memories. As someone from the 21st century, how is she supposed to survive in the 1970s?Fortunately, the original owner found her a husband before she died. She'll cling to his thigh, live off him, curry favor with her parents-in-law, dominate her sisters-in-law, tear apart the “green tea bitches,” help her eldest sister-in-law, kick her brother-in-law, encourage her disabled younger sister-in-law, and ride the spring winds of reform to get rich....“Why isn't Sister-in-law here to take care of you yet?”Jie Jingchen's mouth twitched. He looked at the busy figure by the next sickbed; his wife was taking care of another man.“Are you sure he's your husband?” Jie Jingchen couldn't help but ask.“Are you kidding? Would I mistake my own husband?” Qin Mei glared at him.Not until the man's wife arrived and she was beaten up for being the “other woman,” did Qin Mei become completely bewildered. After taking meticulous care of him for a week, who on earth had she been taking care of?...Under a tree, the neighbors sat together chatting.“So-and-so's daughter-in-law died from drinking pesticide.”“Why drink the pesticide herself? Why not give it to her in-laws? If you're not afraid of dying, why would you be afraid of poisoning their whole family? If it were me, I'd definitely drag their whole family down with me to be buried together. That way, I wouldn't be lonely on the Yellow Springs Road.” Qin Mei couldn't help but chime in.“...” Everyone was speechless.This conversation... made all the in-laws tremble in fear.