before the fall noah hawley

In her past life, Wendy Croft was a bright and beloved college student, cherished by her family. Yet her trust was betrayed—by a biased fiancé, and Vicky Bush, who stole her college admission letter and condemned her to a tragic marriage, drowning her in endless children birth. Given a second chance, she refused to relive the same nightmare. When her fiancé conspired to harvest her brother's heart for Vicky, Wendy decisively signed the organ donation form herself, turning the tables. Before Vicky could steal her identity to attend university, Wendy secured her own rightful place, crushing Vicky's ambitions. And when faced with her fiancé's manipulative mind games and the deceit of a two-faced rival, she ensured they reaped what they had sown. Determined to walk her path alone, she never expected to catch the eye of the campus heartthrob—only to discover he had been silently guarding her, life after life...

"If she can't reclaim love within a week… what will become of her?” In a world obsessed with appearances, a fantasy romance thriller unfolds—one that shakes love to its core. After seven years together, she is abandoned by her boyfriend for one cruel reason: she isn’t pretty enough. Consumed by betrayal and rage, she reaches the depths of despair—only to find herself standing in a plastic surgery clinic. That’s when Lucifer appears before her, whispering a tempting offer. “Would you like to be reborn with a new face?” But there’s a catch. If she fails to win back love within seven days, she will be condemned to live forever with a grotesque face. Bound by a devil’s contract, Jung-yun is granted breathtaking beauty. Yet what begins as a simple desire for revenge soon forces her to confront the deepest parts of herself. Between what is seen and unseen, love begins to bloom. What is love? Who am I, really? A chain of endless questions leads into a complex and delicate psychological thriller—where love and revenge collide, both inside and out.

Wilson Zander's family was massacred during his childhood. Before dying at the hands of the traitor Peter, Wilson's father imparted his lifelong martial arts mastery and entrusted him with the Dark Iron Token. Fifteen years later, Wilson concealed his identity and toiled as a lowly worker at Logan's Martial Arts School. There, he witnessed the lackey Quinn brazenly humiliating Shanok's martial traditions, subjecting his fiancée, Rose Logan, to unimaginable torment. Unable to endure any longer, Wilson's long-buried memories resurfaced. Unleashing his true strength, he defeated Quinn—only to draw the attention of Musah Yagu, a formidable warrior from the Eastern Isles. With the unparalleled power of the Tai Chi Thirteen Fist Forms, Wilson overwhelmed Yagu. Soon after, he uncovered Peter's sinister conspiracy and exposed his treachery to the world. In the final confrontation, Wilson defeated Kuma Amano and ascended as the Martial Lord of Shanok. He vowed to defend Shanok's martial legacy and stand against the impending threat of the Eastern Isles.

In their previous lives, the empress and the consort spent their whole lives locked in a bitter rivalry. It wasn't until their deaths that they uncovered the truth—they had both been pawns in the emperor's game. Their children were used to turn them against each other, and their families had all perished at the emperor's hands. Reborn, the empress returns to the very day the emperor falsely accused her of causing the consort's miscarriage. This time, she does everything she can to protect her former enemy. But before she can offer an explanation, she discovers that the consort has been reborn as well. Once they confirm their shared secret, the two women turn from rivals to allies, determined to take down the unfaithful emperor together. In their previous lives, the emperor's power was still shaky at this point, and he relied heavily on the political influence of both women's families. This time, the empress uses his greed against him and brings him to his own downfall. At the story's close, the consort embraces a life of peace while the empress ascends the throne with grace. For once, the women of the imperial harem live peacefully, free of rivalry. Who says a woman can't wear the crown?