where does the saying dead ringer come from

When the apocalypse hits, the university campus turns into a zombie nightmare. Carson Langster, just an ordinary education major, gets betrayed by his ex-girlfriend Linda Larrow and his rich so-called friend George Tarren. Nearly dead, his roommates sacrifice themselves to save Carson—only to turn into a zombie.But Carson awakens the Dorm Manager System,giving him the power to control zombies and build bases. He turns the dorm building into his headquarters and brings his zombified roommates—Finn, John Nestle,Rowan, and the others—under his control. Carson builds a full apocalypse survival base with a cafeteria,livestock operation, and factories. His only goal:collect enough cores to upgrade the system and turn his buddies back into humans.

College student Anna is betrayed by her boyfriend, who tries to sell her virginity at a club. Business tycoon Ryder saves her... but then invites her to sign a BDSM contract, making her his "Kitten". Little does he know that she's actually the angel who saved him when they were young - the one he's spent a decade searching for.

To honor a thousand-year promise, Serena Turner sent a puppet to bear the pain inflicted by her reborn lover, Nigel Dalton. Only when it breaks does he grasp the truth. By then, Serena has met her kindred spirit, Simon Clark, and the three are caught in a whirlwind of emotions. After life-and-death trials, she chooses to start over—only to uncover Simon’s love that spans lifetimes.

Out of desperation, Queenie Xavier sells her first night to Yarden Lewis, the man she's secretly loved for eight years. Yarden enjoys the thrill but keeps her as a secret lover, never imagining it could last. She feels the same. When the time comes, she walks away.Only then does Yarden realize he's been in love with her to the very core all along.

Phoebe, heiress of Caelon's wealthiest family, teaches in a mountain village. During a patriotic lesson, a video of the Jovian invasion terrifies Vivian Smith—her father's fiancée—and her son, born to a Jovian spy. Seeing him cry, Vivian, blinded by anger and guilt, humiliates Phoebe. Only when she realizes that Phoebe is Alfred Green's daughter does regret hit.

In her past life, Lady Alexia of House Hubbard had it all - until Prince Jaxon and her own sister Jazmin's betrayal left her corpse cooling in a deserted manor, her entire lineage extinguished. Reborn with vengeance in her heart, she makes a calculated alliance with the 'Crippled Prince' Yoric. But when assassins ambush her palanquin, the supposedly paralyzed prince does the unthinkable - he stands, for her...

Joe Holt, the fearsome legend of the mafia underworld in the past, has recently gotten released from prison after serving his sentence. He washes his hands of his sinful past and decides to become a law-abiding citizen so that he can spend the rest of his life with his wife, Lily Archer, in peace and quiet. He even finds himself a job as a delivery trucker in order to earn honest money.One day, Joe happens to come across an owner of a BMW, who's used to bullying others in his daily life. The owner wastes no time in jeering and humiliating Joe verbally.When Joe's old friends receive word of the incident, they hurry over in an attempt to back him up, but Joe merely waves a hand calmly and refuses their help. He intends to stick to his principles by not causing any chaos and conflicts.Joe is bent on severing all ties with the mafia underworld as well as his past. All he wants to do now is protect his family and live out his life in peace and stability.

Joe Holt, the fearsome legend of the mafia underworld in the past, has recently gotten released from prison after serving his sentence. He washes his hands of his sinful past and decides to become a law-abiding citizen so that he can spend the rest of his life with his wife, Lily Archer, in peace and quiet. He even finds himself a job as a delivery trucker in order to earn honest money.One day, Joe happens to come across an owner of a BMW, who's used to bullying others in his daily life. The owner wastes no time in jeering and humiliating Joe verbally.When Joe's old friends receive word of the incident, they hurry over in an attempt to back him up, but Joe merely waves a hand calmly and refuses their help. He intends to stick to his principles by not causing any chaos and conflicts.Joe is bent on severing all ties with the mafia underworld as well as his past. All he wants to do now is protect his family and live out his life in peace and stability.

Olivia Jones had failed five times to win over the school heartthrob, Boyd Chappell. On her sixth reincarnation, the system finally suggested a change—try his quiet best friend,Ethan Carter.She braced herself for another uphill battle, but to her surprise, Ethan was easy to get close to. He remembered everything she liked, always showed up when she needed him, and even… had photos of her from all five of her past lives.Turns out,he had secretly loved her for years, silently watching her through every cycle of rebirth."This time… could you look at me?"he asked softly.Olivia wavered. She had come to fulfill a mission—but found herself falling for his quiet tenderness instead.When the system declared the mission complete and asked for her final wish, she didn't hesitate:I want him.—After all the chasing, it was the one who waited for her that became her true redemption.

Cherry Jepsen is the Jepsen family's biological daughter who was switched at birth. After 18 years, she returns home, and everyone expects her to compete with the daughter raised in her place, Rudy Jepsen. Instead, the first thing Cherry does is cling to Rudy's side as an ally. Through their growing bond, Rudy is moved by Cherry's genuine affection. The two sisters unite to crush their enemies and each finds sweet romance along the way.

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.

Simon Jones was once a Progenitor, a celestial figure of immense power.But memory loss has reduced him to the family disgrace, the scorned son-in-law the Scott household barely tolerates. When his memories return, so does everything else. He exposes the truth at Renee Scott's coronation ceremony, takes down corrupt clans with quiet precision, and makes his intentions toward Madison Collins known in the grandest way possible with the world itself as his betrothal gift.

Wealthy heiress Lina Veyne is forced into an engagement with ruthless heir Lucien Moro to save her family, trapped like a bird in a gilded cage. At the IRIS Club’s secret Phantom show, she's shocked to find masked dancer ""Seven"" is Stian Quinn, her first love who was declared dead at sea 5 years prior. This is all Lucien’s cruel scheme: he faked Stian's death, and uses the supposedly amnesiac man to break and tame Lina once and for all. When Lina's reckless defiance only brings brutal punishment down on Stian, she puts on a mask of obedience to Lucien, while secretly plotting her revenge. She soon makes a shocking discovery: Stian's amnesia is a lie. He's been undercover at IRIS this whole time, gathering damning evidence to take down this dark empire for good.

Zelda Lang never expects to find herself in a whirlwind marriage with Theo Wolfe, the powerful CEO of the Wolfe Corp. Bound by a promise to her late mentor, she secretly sneaks into Theo’s room every night to treat his mysterious illness. Despite her efforts, Theo keeps his distance, wary of her motives. Little does he know, the woman he's pushing away is the very miracle doctor he's been searching for all along…

Just because I forget to bring my mate's lover back—leaving her alone in the wilderness for three hours—he flies into a rage and throws me into an abandoned well in the desolate countryside. "You need to experience the torment that Belinda was put through." The well is deep and narrow, forcing me to curl up in my wolf form. I struggle to breathe. I plead for mercy and beg for forgiveness. However, all he does is tell me off icily. "Stay there and repent for your sins. You'll only understand the dignity required of a Luna once you learn your lesson from this." He orders his men to seal the well with a large boulder. I let out anguished howls and roars as I claw my way upward. However, I only fall back down over and over again. The walls of the well are covered in my claw marks. I continue like this until I can't make a sound through my parched throat. … Half a month later, my mate's heart softens when he sees the birthday gift I've prepared in advance for him. He decides to end my punishment. Unbeknownst to him, worms and snakes have already gnawed my body beyond recognition at the bottom of the well.

High school graduate Annie Xavier dies in an accident on the day she's accepted to Quinbert University, but her mother, Lydia Smith,misunderstands her and pushes her away,causing her to give up the will to live.Manipulated by her adopted daughter, Lydia unknowingly harvests Annie's organs, including a heart for the adopted daughter. Only when the funeral home calls does Lydia uncover the shocking truth and expose the adopted daughter and her father's scheme.

Nancy, a small-town girl, decides to marry Steven, a homeless man she rescued by chance. She does this to avoid being forced by her foster mother to marry the town bully. Nancy doesn't realize that Steven is the president of the Williams Group and is actually engaged to the heiress of the Thompson Foundation, who went missing years ago—and who is, in fact, Nancy herself. But then Lily stole her identity. How can Nancy get back what she's owed?

Cherry Jepsen is the Jepsen family's biological daughter who was switched at birth. After 18 years, she returns home, and everyone expects her to compete with the daughter raised in her place, Rudy Jepsen. Instead, the first thing Cherry does is cling to Rudy's side as an ally. Through their growing bond, Rudy is moved by Cherry's genuine affection. The two sisters unite to crush their enemies and each finds sweet romance along the way.