MTL - Tattoo - Chapter 42

“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.

“Well, well, well, it looks like someone has missed the memo,” I chuckled, as I stared into his bewildered eyes.“You, my friend, are in the land of fiction, where everything is just... make-believe.” I snorted.“What are you talking about?” he asked, still trying to make sense of my words.“ I'm talking about the fact that we are characters in a freaking novel!”“The woman you foolishly slept with is one of the main characters!” I sneered, finding humour in his predicament.“...”,“You know the story, don't you?” he demanded, his tone sharp. “Write it out or give me the gist of it.”“Sigh…”'How does he accept things so easily?' I thought.“So, let me get this straight,” I began, frustration seeping into my voice. “The novel we're in doesn't even have a proper conclusion, and there are five women playing lead roles along with a man who is the protagonist. Sun-Jung, a boy from my class, is the protagonist and Ruby here, is supposed to be the villain as the heir to the devil's throne.”---------------------------------------------------------Meet Kael Hashirae, the mysterious and richest man in the world. Despite his incredible power, he is humble and compassionate towards those in need. But everything changes when he falls in love with a mysterious girl, and his world is turned upside down. Join Kael on his journey as he navigates through love, power, and the unknown in this world of captivating incomplete novel.---------------------------------------------------------[Sometimes the purest good is drawn from the vilest evil ]The concept of human nature has been questioned numerous times throughout history. Debates on the issue have come and gone, but the underlying question still remains on the minds of societies across the globe :“Are humans generally filled with an innate sense goodness and light or are we debase creatures at heart continuously tainted with the stains of vice?”'Human Beings', a self-centred kind of mortals believed or should I say still believe that a good heart or performing good deeds will lead them towards the path of enlightenment.This whole concept seemed funny to me, because beings that don't know what enlightenment is talk about path towards the same while hiding their desires deep inside them.---------------------------------------------------------Maybe it's time to change my ways,The lure of money, power, and fame has lost its blaze.Being a King is more than just a scheme,I've found peace in music, money, and meditation, it seems.If only I could recall why I began this quest,Seeds in my pocket, but the garden's a distant nest.But I won't give up until I find my way,Planting trees to harvest bats for the big leagues, I'll play.

The notorious firearms crime lord Chen Zhang An a.k.a Old Fox was placed under house arrest by the very successor he groomed.

Have you heard stories of love, love that would never waver for years, decades, centuries or even millenniums to come?But can you really call it love?To keep loving someone forever and ever can't be anything less than crazy, can it?This is one such story.A story of a crazy love.And it's also a story of ...Someone somewhere who wished to be saved.Someone somewhere who wished to be free.Someone somewhere who wished to be able to someday make a wish.It's a story that was supposed to be a fairytale but it turned too ugly, too twisted, and far too wretched to be called one.