Villian: Stealing Heroine (R-18) - Chapter 3: Landlady

He’s her stepbrother, her sin and her biggest mistake waiting to happen.Catherine Brown thought moving in with her mother’s new husband couldn’t be harder until she met the cold, arrogant and sinfully attractive Julian Vaughn, her stepbrother.He hates her, teases her and gets under her skin everyday. He’s everything she should stay away from, off-limits and untouchable.But when his anger turns into something darker and hungrier, when he looks at her like he wants to ruin her innocence, Catherine realizes danger has a new name.And no matter how hard she tries, she can’t stop wanting the one man she’s not supposed to have.When hate turns to desire, who’s really in control?EXCERPT✨“You’ve never had sex before?” Julian asked, disbelief flickering in his eyes.Catherine hesitated, then nodded, staring at the floor instead of him.He bit his lower lip, trying to rein in the thoughts crowding his mind. Goodness, she was too innocent for her own good.“So all you did with your previous boyfriends were just kisses and smooches?”She immediately stood, her cheeks flushed. “There are no boyfriends,” she blurted. “I’ve never even been kissed. Please don’t laugh at me.”Laugh? Hell no. Julian wasn’t laughing. He was fighting the urge to pull her close. Knowing she’d never been touched only made his hunger worse.She didn’t realize he’d moved until his breath brushed her ear, his voice dropping low and dangerous.“Catherine, just say the word and I’ll show you what it means to be touched by a man.”Her heart stuttered in her chest and he could hear every beat.

Rules exist to be broken, and every loophole is a weapon. Trust no one, and annihilate those who deserve revenge.Granger Reiner never asked to be a champion, but fate chose him as the 101st contender for the goddess of Ascension—a deity mocked as the weakest among the pantheon, with 100 failed champions in just five months.Armed with a unique system and the ability to create barriers, Granger is thrust into Agrasia, a world teeming with treachery, to compete against other champions and conquer the Endless Dungeon.What he discovers is far worse than he could imagine: betrayal lurks at every corner, allies are fleeting, and the game is rigged.Learning the hard way that fairness has no place in a world built on lies, Granger transforms his weakness into his greatest strength. With vengeance as his driving force, he sets out to destroy the system, expose the truth, and turn the goddess’s mockery into triumph.In a world where everyone is an enemy, the 101st champion will stop at nothing—even if it means taking on the world itself.

Elara’s first life crashed hard. Cruel tricks ruined her name, broke her dreams, and turned the whole entertainment world against her. Friends betrayed her. Lovers sold her out. Everyone she trusted stabbed her in the back. The pain piled up until she felt trapped with no way out. One night, she couldn’t take it anymore. She walked to the river and ended it all in the cold, quiet water.Later, proof came out. Messages. Recordings. Everything showed she had been framed. People posted apologies online. But it was too late. She was already gone.The universe, though, clearly has a twisted sense of humor.Because somehow, Elara came back. She woke up in her own past, every awful memory still sharp in her head. Right then she made a promise she would never break: protect her gentle grandfather no matter what, and never let anyone push her to that dark place again.This time she steps into the entertainment world with her head high. She trains harder, sings better, fights smarter. The same people who once crushed her? Now they get to feel the pressure.Love? Not happening. Her heart is locked tight. But why is it that as she rises and shines brighter, handsome, powerful men start circling her—guys who never even glanced at her in her previous life were now hovering around her.The actor smiled at her during a press interview, leaned closer, and said softly, “We should have dinner sometime.”The footballer sent flowers so big they blocked her room door.The surgeon she met at a charity event checked her pulse and then forgot to let go of her wrist.The singer she collaborated with kept calling her name during rehearsals, as if the mic could not hear him well enough.Elara stared at the ceiling that night and sighed.She only wanted to sing. Why did everyone look like they wanted to adopt her, date her, or both?But the worst one came after the concert.The lights had just gone off. Her ears were still ringing. Sweat clung to her neck. She had barely stepped backstage when a shadow blocked her path.She looked up.The CEO of the greatest company in Aurelia stood there. The same man who once said her voice was “not worth investing in.” The same man who did not even know her name before rebirth.Now he held her wrist lightly, but firmly.“Let’s talk,” he said.Elara blinked. “About… sponsorship?”“No,” he replied calmly. “About marriage.”Her brain froze.“…What?”“I will give you everything,” he continued, as if asking for a glass of water. “Resources. Protection. Freedom to sing. Become my wife.”Elara stared at him, her mouth open, her thoughts running in circles.This was not how it was supposed to be.Why was the world now skipping steps?NB:This story takes place in a fictional world. Aurelia is a country. Solmere, Veston, and Starfall City are the three capital cities of Aurelia. Other cities, such as Lorien and Crelou, are smaller cities.

After she wakes up from being reborn, she becomes the little pitiful girl who is sent into a mental hospital by her biological elder brothers. Her biological elder brothers only dote on the fake young miss, the ‘younger sister’ who is switched at birth. She despises her in any possible way. So, Pei Yunge makes trouble and deals with the fake young miss, waiting for them to tell her to scram. However, the brothers’ attitudes are extremely strange.President Qin sneers. “My younger sister destroyed a shop? Buy the entire mall for my younger sister to trash!”Best Actor Qin raises an eyebrow. “She sent herself to the casting couch? What am I then, dead?”God Qin’s expression is dark. “You repeatedly played tricks and bullied Ge’er. Did you think I was blind?”Pei Yunge: “?”#Scum brothers have days when they’re abnormal too#…After returning to eight years ago, before the Qin family goes bankrupt, the brothers only cares about their biological younger sister that died so terribly because of them. So what if she is talentless and stupid? She remains the apple of their eye, one they swear to protect and love! Just as the brothers take determined steps and find Pei Yunge…“My Yunyun got first place in the world championship again. What a good girl.” The refined and dignified man smiles charmingly.After her real identity is exposed, she is seethes with rage. She grabs the man and bites him. “Don’t even think about humoring me home.”The three biological brothers: “?”#What is with this strange development and wild man#[Doted on by everyone + Identity Reveal] [An extremely cool and foxy boss and a President wolf in sheep’s clothing]