Rejected No More: The Genius's Revenge

I was sitting in a Starbucks, staring at a cold Americano, while the girl I thought was the love of my life looked at me with pure disgust. Hailee Baxter slammed her latte down and told me we were done, claiming she couldn’t start her career at City Hall with a "diner kid" dragging her down. She wasn't just breaking my heart; she was trading me in for Kyler Craft, the son of a powerful politician who could buy her the future she craved. In my past life, this was the moment I shattered, beginning a twenty-year spiral into alcoholism, poverty, and watching my parents work themselves into an early grave while I failed at everything. I vividly remembered the smell of cheap whiskey and the obituary of my father that I was too broke to even attend. But as I looked down at my hands, they weren't the calloused, shaking hands of a forty-year-old failure; they were smooth, young, and steady. The silver Motorola flip phone in my pocket felt like a relic from a museum, and the girl in front of me looked like a shallow stranger rather than the woman of my dreams. The crushing pain in my chest wasn't a heart attack—it was forty years of bitter regret colliding with a twenty-two-year-old body. Hailee was waiting for me to beg for another chance, her napkin ready to wipe away the pathetic tears she expected, but all I felt was a cold, clinical clarity. How could I have been so blind to her greed, and why did I let one failed exam and a rich boy’s bullying destroy my entire family’s legacy? I glanced at the newspaper on the table: May 12, 2005. This was the day I supposedly lost the City Hall fellowship, but I remembered a secret about the "Supplemental Candidate Protocol" that no one else would know for another week. I stood up, ignored Hailee's insults, and dialed the number etched into my soul. "Mom," I whispered into the flip phone, "I'm coming home. And this time, I’m going to take back everything we lost."

Chapters

Chapter 9

Arlis walked into the hallway and leaned against the cool plaster wall. His shirt was soaked through with sweat under the cheap jacket.

Candidate 36 was waiting. "You were in there forever! Did they kill you?"

"Just be yourself," Arlis said, patting the kid on the shoulder.

He went to the restroom and splashed cold water on his face. He looked in the mirror. His eyes were bright, predatory. The fear was gone.

Back in the interview room, chaos had erupted.

"I'm giving him a 98," Commissioner Lee stated, capping her pen. "He understands infrastructure better than the Director of Public Works."

"He's a kid," another commissioner argued. "Is he manageable?"

Reynolds looked at his score sheet. He picked up his pen. "He's not a kid. He's a shark. And we need teeth." He wrote a number. 99.

Arlis returned to the lobby. The sun was setting, casting long orange shadows across the marble floor.

Kyler and Hailee were still there. They were waiting to see the humiliation.

"Took you long enough," Kyler jeered. "Did you cry? Did you beg?"

Hailee looked at Arlis. She noticed something different. He wasn't hunched over. He looked... tall.

The large electronic board on the wall flickered.

PRELIMINARY RESULTS

The names began to scroll from the bottom up.

Rank 10... Candidate 36.

Rank 9...

Kyler crossed his arms. "Watch for the top five."

Rank 5... Kyler Craft. Score: 88.5.

Kyler pumped his fist. "Top five! I'm in!" He kissed Hailee on the cheek. "Told you."

The list continued.

Rank 2... Jacob Miller.

"Wait," Kyler frowned. "Miller was number one."

The screen flashed. The top name appeared in bold, gold letters.

RANK 1: ARLIS ZIMMERMAN - SCORE: 97.0

The lobby went dead silent.

Kyler's jaw dropped. His eyes bulged. "What? That's... that's a glitch! The system is broken!"

Hailee stared at the screen. She blinked, trying to make the letters rearrange themselves. Arlis? The guy she dumped for being a loser?

People turned to look at Arlis. The whispers started. "That's him? The guy in the gray suit?"

The elevator dinged. Commissioner Reynolds walked out. He ignored the crowd. He walked straight to Arlis.

He extended a hand. "Mr. Zimmerman. Outstanding performance. The highest score in the history of the board."

Arlis took the hand. His grip was firm. "Thank you, Commissioner. I look forward to starting."

Kyler pushed forward, his face a mask of panic. "Commissioner! I'm Kyler Craft. My father is-"

Reynolds turned on him, his eyes like ice. "Mr. Craft. This is City Hall. We hire based on merit, not lineage. Step back."

Kyler shrank back as if he'd been slapped. His face turned a deep, humiliated purple.

Hailee stepped forward, her hand reaching out. "Arlis... I..."

Arlis didn't even blink. He turned his back on her. He walked toward the glass doors, the sunset framing him in light. He didn't say a word. His silence was louder than a scream.

Continue to next part

After her husband claims his pregnant mistress is his stepmother, the protagonist is manipulated into raising the woman's sons. For years, she endures horrific abuse and failing health, eventually losing an eye to the boys' cruelty. When she discovers the mistress faked her death to live a double life with her husband, the children murder her. Waking up in the past on the day the deception began, she now has a chance to rewrite her fate and expose the lies before her life is destroyed again.

Action Horror Modern Mystery Romance

7.9

From Broken Omega To The Alpha's Fierce Queen

7.9

My union with Alpha Archer Fitzpatrick was meant to save my family. Instead, on our wedding night, terror made me strike his hand away, and my fated mate's heart froze. In my first life, his cousin Jonah had shattered me in a dark cellar, and when Archer came to comfort me, I saw only my abuser. Without the Alpha's protection, Jonah and his mother Eleanor destroyed everything—my family, my son, and finally me. Archer died alone on a desolate peak, defending a pack already rotting. As I fell from the tower, regret consumed me. Now I wake on that same union night, untouched and eighteen, the scent of cedarwood and coming storm filling my lungs. Jonah's drunken footsteps approach my locked door. This time, I grip a brass letter opener and wait.

Action Fantasy Mystery Romance Werewolf

8.4

His Captive Bride's Fight For Freedom

8.4

Cailin’s life as a temp worker shatters when a hotel delivery traps her in the dark world of Graham Shepherd, a billionaire tormented by a phobia of human touch—except for her. His powerful grandfather pays her foster family ten million dollars to legally buy her, forcing a marriage certificate with the man who assaulted her. Locked in a vast estate, Cailin offers a cold contract: an heir in exchange for a secret divorce. But her defiance fuels Graham’s possessive rage, and when she resists, he starves her in a dark room. Weak and desperate, she vows to survive and escape the gilded hell built by the cruel men who ruined her life.

Action Billionaire Modern Mystery Romance

8.0

His Unwanted Wife: The Genius Artist Returns

8.0

On our fifth anniversary, my husband slid a black velvet box across the table. Inside wasn't a diamond ring, but a fountain pen. "Sign the separation papers, Aurora," Ethan said. "Ilene is spiraling again. She needs to see we are over." I was the wife of the Mafia Underboss, yet I was being discarded for the Family Ward. Before I could answer, Ilene stormed into the restaurant. She shrieked that I was still wearing his ring and threw a bowl of boiling lobster bisque directly at my chest. As my skin blistered and peeled, Ethan didn't rush to me. He hugged her. "It's okay," he soothed the woman who had just assaulted me. "I've got you." The betrayal didn't stop there. When Ilene pushed me down the stairs days later, Ethan erased the security footage to protect her from the police. When I was kidnapped by his enemies, I called his emergency line—the one meant for life-or-death situations. He declined the call. He was too busy holding Ilene's hand to save his wife. That was the moment the chain broke. As the kidnapper's van sped onto the highway, I didn't wait for a rescue that would never come. I opened the door and jumped into the dark. Everyone thought Aurora Bruce died on that pavement. Two years later, Ethan stood outside a gallery in Paris, looking at the woman he had destroyed, finally realizing he had protected the wrong one.

Action Modern Romance

8.6

My Fiancé Loves My Adopted Sister

8.6

Madeleine Riley sacrificed her freedom and went to prison for Nicholas Hawkins, only to discover their engagement was a cruel bet to win her adopted sister's heart. Cast out by her own family, she severs every tie and returns to London, reclaiming her place as the Silva family's beloved daughter. She agrees to an arranged match—but it's Victor Thompson, the ruthless head of a global financial empire, who truly sees her. As Madeleine rises, Nicholas comes crawling back for a second chance, unaware that Victor will destroy anyone who dares cross his bride.

Action Billionaire Mafia Modern Romance

8.3

The Betrayed Heiress's Spectacular Doomsday Comeback

8.3

Thirty days before the global financial system collapses into a bloody apocalypse, a betrayed heiress awakens in her past life. She remembers everything: her brother Ethan beaten to death by a mob, her brother Mason bleeding out after a gang severed his hands, and her boyfriend Dean trading her to scavengers for a single can of food. Now she has one chance to rewrite the nightmare. With her abusive father’s wrist shattered and her eight-million-dollar trust liquidated, she unlocks a miraculous pocket dimension. This time, she will build an impenetrable fortress, protect the brothers she lost, and become the monster that even the end of the world should fear.

Action Adventure Fantasy Modern Mystery Young Adult

Rejected No More: The Genius's Revenge

Chapter 9

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