fading facades: love beyond the deal

For three years, Emily Davis faithfully carried out her duties as Benjamin Parker's wife, believing her gentleness could eventually thaw his heart. Sadly, she came to realize that her efforts were in vain. Disheartened, she made the difficult decision to end their marriage. Emily, determined to focus on her career and avoid past mistakes, remains steadfast. Benjamin, however, refuses to give up. Hence, he embarks on a journey to win back his wife's heart.

Nolan Lawson, past fifty, never expects a second chance—until a mysterious system restores his youth in a world torn by war. To survive, he strikes a deal with the gravely wounded General Harper Hartwell. Harper, disguised as a man, slips into the army camp with him. From farmer to fighter, Nolan begins an extraordinary rise to power, carving his path in the chaos of a broken land.

Nolan Lawson, past fifty, never expects a second chance—until a mysterious system restores his youth in a world torn by war. To survive, he strikes a deal with the gravely wounded General Harper Hartwell. Harper, disguised as a man, slips into the army camp with him. From farmer to fighter, Nolan begins an extraordinary rise to power, carving his path in the chaos of a broken land.

Kain Harris runs a small shop. He seems unremarkable. He is not.His abilities have quietly compounded into something the outside world, where the highest known level is thirty, has no framework to measure—wooden carvings that manifest as divine forms, comics that accelerate transcendence, a dog that devours celestial bodies, catfish soup that breeds dragons. His wife is a CEO. His admirer is a martial saint. His neighbors are the greatest cultivators in the nation, and they all know exactly what he is. The world beyond his street does not. When it eventually finds out, it will need a moment.

At a concert seven years ago, the iconic singer, Carmen Rowe, announced her sudden retirement from the music industry. She had found the boy she'd been searching for. The boy, now known as Ben Lewis, was the CEO of Lewis Group and had lost his eyesight in a car accident. Carmen pretended to be a mute and stayed by his side. Under her meticulous care, Ben eventually regained his vision after removing his bandages. However, the moment he could see again, he ran straight to his first love, Carmela Taylor. Heartbroken by the rejection despite all she had done, Carmen decided to divorce Ben and return to the music industry with her daughter. Later, Ben organized a grand comeback concert for Carmela. But during the performance, he recognized that Carmela's voice wasn't the legendary one he remembered. It was only then that he realized the truth. By that time, Carmen Rowe had fully reclaimed her status as the top music diva and had no intention of giving Ben another chance.

Fred, a college grad fresh out for just a year, offers his bus seat to 50-year-old pregnant Sarah. But Sarah latches onto him, falsely claiming he's the father of her unborn twins. With a paternity test report, she forces Fred to break up with his girlfriend. Everyone believes her, dead-set on Fred being the Dad, yet only Fred knows he never had any contact with her beyond that seat. Pushed to jump off a building, Fred gets a second chance at life, and his first act is to refuse to give Sarah that seat...

In the Valenti Family, you're born with a chip. It's fused into the bio-watch on your wrist, its digital face counting down every second you have left to live. Everyone could see the numbers ticking down on my twin sister's watch. And on mine. They all knew she would die on our 18th birthday. So Vivian became the untouchable princess of our brutal world. Every diamond-stitched gown was hers. The rarest jewels were hers. Even our father's last shred of humanity was hers. That single sliver of warmth he showed only after his gun was holstered. I used to pity her. Her time was running out. But God, I envied her. She had everything I never did: our parents' love. Then, the night of her 18th birthday party. My parents worried I'd make a scene. That I'd piss off the Don of an allied Family. So they locked me in the cellar. Damp. Cold. While a deadly fever burned through me. I pounded on the heavy oak door, my voice cracking. "Mamma, please! Let me out! I'm burning up. My head is splitting open…" Outside, my mother's voice was a steel trap. "Enough, Sienna! Today is your sister’s 18th birthday. Her last day alive! Stop the theatrics! Can't you suffer in silence for the Family's honor?" "But I'm really sick..." Her footsteps clicked away, fading into nothing. Then the darkness swallowed me whole. And on my wrist, the bio-watch was flashing a critical alert. CRITICAL ALERT: Vital signs mismatch. Paired chip data incompatible. Please verify user.

Once the beloved heiress of the Hujiwara family, Mao gave up her name to live a humble life with her husband, Syohe Ito, working as a cleaner at Kurosaki Group. She saved the company from a financial crisis and secured a ¥20 billion deal for Syohe's birthday, only for him to humiliate her, credit the success to his mistress, and demand a divorce. Signing the papers, Mao swore to fight back.

In a world where everyone bonds with beasts, the former Lord Apex now delivers takeout, hiding a reborn Inferno Phoenix on his shoulder as a ""pet chicken."" When the beast-training vault his sister worked for faces ruin, he steps back into the light.Now, with his identity exposed, Ryan and his sister charge into the state championships, only to uncover a conspiracy: the powerful Watt family is trafficking forbidden calamity beasts with a shadowy foreign syndicate. As ancient evils stir, Ryan awakens a Shadowpard and an Abyssal Tortoise, while his mysterious ""Eye of Providence"" pushes his allies beyond their limits.

A night security job at a museum seems like the easiest money Jorden Leon has ever made. But on his very first shift, he discovers that the museum's relics are anything but ordinary. Driven by instinct, he restores a shattered Eight-Armed Asura bronze statue. As the final crack disappears, an ancient force surges into him, awakening powers beyond imagination. Unaware that he has just prevented an S-Class catastrophe capable of destroying the city, Jordan steps into a new destiny. Soon, whispers spread through the city of a mysterious guardian who protects the living from dangers buried deep in the past.

A night security job at a museum seems like the easiest money Jorden Leon has ever made. But on his very first shift, he discovers that the museum's relics are anything but ordinary. Driven by instinct, he restores a shattered Eight-Armed Asura bronze statue. As the final crack disappears, an ancient force surges into him, awakening powers beyond imagination. Unaware that he has just prevented an S-Class catastrophe capable of destroying the city, Jordan steps into a new destiny. Soon, whispers spread through the city of a mysterious guardian who protects the living from dangers buried deep in the past.

Elian Bruce is young, ambitious, and utterly devoted. Kaylan Bell is his entire world. They study side by side, build a business from nothing,dream of forever. He promises to marry her and love her for life. She vows to never leave his side.But ten years change people.Ten years turn promises into weapons. Ten years transform love into the sharpest blade.Now the devotion curdles into something unrecognizable. The man who once held her like she's precious now wields that same closeness like a knife. And Kaylan faces the most painful question:when your greatest love becomes your deepest wound,who bleeds more—the one who wields the blade, or the one who once forged it? Some loves don't die.They just learn to cut deeper.

Elian Bruce is young, ambitious, and utterly devoted. Kaylan Bell is his entire world. They study side by side, build a business from nothing,dream of forever. He promises to marry her and love her for life. She vows to never leave his side.But ten years change people.Ten years turn promises into weapons. Ten years transform love into the sharpest blade.Now the devotion curdles into something unrecognizable. The man who once held her like she's precious now wields that same closeness like a knife. And Kaylan faces the most painful question:when your greatest love becomes your deepest wound,who bleeds more—the one who wields the blade, or the one who once forged it? Some loves don't die.They just learn to cut deeper.

Celia Brooks finally returns from healing abroad, only to receive devastating news—Nicholas Holden has cheated on her. After being childhood sweethearts for over twenty years and in love for seven years, during which Nicholas had given her countless preferential treatments, Celia is heartbroken but unwilling to give up. She decides to give Nicholas 100 chances to hurt her.

Lauren Turner is a werewolf who is struggling to contain the crazy wolf inside of her. But her life starts to change and gets even more complicated when the powerful Alpha, Sebastian Ashford, forces Lauren into a contractual marriage. Lauren and Sebastian must deal with the ramifications of their false nuptials alongside the constant threat that their identity will be discovered by the humans. But little does Lauren know, that Sebastian’s true reasons for entering into this contract may be the biggest threat of all.

While others survive by hiding, Evan Ryce survives by "collecting rent." In the last luxury air-conditioned apartment, he faces the chaos of his employees:Maya, an SSS zombie who zaps and dances, a security zombie saving crystal cores to marry his neighbor, and more SSS zombies running a moving and delivery biz with 100% reviews. When 30,000 survivors and his freeloading family show up, Evan declares: "Pay the crystal cores—or my zombies will deal with you!"

The night before our 17th wedding attempt, my mafia husband, Rafaeal Holloway, looks at me and promises an uninterrupted wedding. He solemnly swears. "Gianna, I promise you. I told Natalia that even if the sky falls, she'll deal with it alone." I am five months pregnant by then. After three years of dating and five months carrying his child, we've never managed to make it down the aisle because he's canceled the past 16 weddings. Every single time, it's for his sworn sister, Natalia Sullivan. The first time, she claims she has a fever. I spend the whole night at the hospital, still in my wedding dress, just to find out she has a mild cold. The second time, she claims her chest hurts. Rafael abandons me mid-wedding and rushes to her side, while she's out laughing over afternoon tea with friends. The third time, she cries for fear of thunder. He bolts mid-vows and leaves me alone in a hall full of staring guests. But everything's different now. Three days ago, a letter arrived from Northern Silenzio. My father, the Don of the Rossetti family, has finally summoned me home. If Rafael walks away for Natalia one more time, I'll leave for good.

My fiancé leaves me jilted on our wedding day and marries my sister. As I stand there, feeling humiliated, William Sterling gets on one knee before me and asks me to marry him. Everyone in my city knows of him—he's an elite bachelor and every woman's dream. Yet now, he slips a wedding band onto my ring finger and confesses his love for me. "I've always loved you, and I thank the heavens for giving me the chance to spend my life with you." We get married, and he treats me well. Everyone knows that he won't fall for anyone other than me. Everything changes when I accidentally enter his studio in the seventh year of our marriage. I see that he's painted thousands of portraits of my sister, Ivy Winslow. Each one is a tender confession of his love for her. The man I love with all my heart earnestly prays to the heavens and utters his wish. He's willing to sacrifice anything for Ivy to be happy, including his life. It turns out what I thought was seven years of love was nothing but a lie. Ivy is the one he's loved all along. If that's the case, I'll back out. I'll leave in three days, and I hope he and Ivy can be happy together.