Starting from Zero - Book 2 - Chapter 2 – The Forgotten City

They whisper my name in fear. Justin Black. The guy who sits in the back of the class, always in black, always untouchable. The one everyone watches but no one dares to approach.They don’t know me. Not really.Because if they did, they’d stay the hell away.I don’t do friends. I don’t do relationships. I don’t do attachments.But then there’s her.June Matthews—cheer captain, golden girl, a walking distraction. She’s everything I hate… and yet, she’s in my way. Assigned to me. Forced into my space. Testing my patience.She thinks she can handle me.She’s dead wrong.Because I have a secret. A place where I go to release the darkness inside me. Where names don’t exist, where pleasure and pain are one and the same. A world where people fulfill their deepest, most twisted fantasies.June doesn’t belong in my world.But the longer she stays, the more I want to pull her under.And once I do… I’m not sure I’ll ever let her go.

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- Description from novelbuddy

Marcella Valemont was a villainess wrapped in silk and thorns.The alluring, selfish daughter of the High Priest, she was forced into a cold marriage with the Black-bellied Duke Berith Montclair. She longed for power and would stop at nothing to claim the crown, even if it meant seducing the incorruptible Crown Prince Lucian and clawing her way to the throne into becoming the Queen.Until it all burned.Her ruthless schemes led to betrayal, rebellion, and ruin-- an empire on its knees, a virtuous king destroyed, and a rebellion led by the man she discarded. Desperate and full of regret, she barters her life with the Duke to save Lucian.In an interesting turn of events, Marcella gets to go back in time to fix her wrongs, save the man who was ruined because of her and hopefully stop the bloodthirsty rebel Duke Berith.She finds herself reborn as her 18-year-old self with a chance for a do-over and vows to do better this time.But the past does not forget. Nor does the devil in her husband’s skin.Secrets long buried begin to surface, and Marcella discovers that her former husband is far more than he seems—a man cloaked in darkness, harboring a purpose that threatens everything she holds dear.They say second chances come with thorns and to fix the past, she must trust the devil who destroyed it.

Synopsis: 【Era + Rebirth + Educated Youth + Rough Husband's Devotion + Child Rearing】In her previous life, Su Xiaoxiao unwittingly led disaster into her home, resulting in the demise of her entire family through a series of “accidents.”Upon her rebirth, she vowed to make those who had harmed them pay a bitter price!She was determined to love wholeheartedly the vengeful Jiang Yexun, who was willing to squander his vast wealth and even risked his life for her vengeance.But there was a peculiar issue with her body – she couldn’t seem to control it.Whenever she was near Jiang Yexun, an irresistible urge for intimacy took over.Jiang Yexun clenched his teeth and said, “I've given you a chance to run!”Su Xiaoxiao embraced the man's waist and playfully retorted, “Run from what? A real man should act, not just talk!”Jiang Yexun pressed down on the provoking girl, “Alright then, let's act!”After marriage, Su Xiaoxiao, nursing her sore waist that hadn’t straightened since, tearfully recognized one undeniable fact – you must not provoke a rough-and-tough husband like him.