The Cold Superstar Demands A Second Chance
Avery had spent the last decade building her career from nothing to become a top-tier television host.
But overnight, a fabricated lie turned her entire life to ash. A drunken celebrity she barely knew publicly claimed his devotion to her, while his girlfriend posted fake screenshots framing Avery as a homewrecker.
The backlash was immediate and ruthless. The network handed her an indefinite suspension. Luxury brands terminated her endorsement deals, leaving her facing millions of dollars in penalty claims. Paparazzi swarmed her building, and angry fans screamed insults at her car. Facing absolute bankruptcy, her manager offered one suicide mission out: join a trashy celebrity dating reality show where the very girl who framed her was starring as the fragile victim.
Avery was suffocating under the humiliation of being ruined for a crime she didn't commit. But the final twist of the knife came when Graham, her ex-boyfriend and now a global pop superstar, unexpectedly returned to the network. On live television, he announced to the world that he was back for his "first love"—an outsider with a pure soul. Avery's heart flatlined, knowing he couldn't possibly mean the scandalous, ruined woman she had become.
The vulnerability vanished from her eyes, replaced by a cold, hard sheet of ice. She turned her back on the blinding stage lights and texted her manager.
"Get the contract ready. I'm signing it today."
She was walking into a coliseum, but this time, she would be the one holding the knife.
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Chapter 7
The elevator jolted to a stop on the executive floor.
Avery and Quinn stepped out onto the thick, sound-absorbing carpet.
As they walked down the long corridor, staff members carrying clipboards and coffees stopped in their tracks. Eyes darted toward Avery. Whispers hissed through the air like snakes.
Avery kept her chin high, staring straight ahead, ignoring the burning stares as she marched toward Catherine Pierce's corner office.
Catherine's assistant, Alex, was sitting at his desk. When he saw Avery approaching, he shot up from his chair, his face pale.
Quinn slammed her hands on his desk. "We're here to see Catherine. We have a reality show contract to finalize."
Alex swallowed hard, his eyes darting away. "I'm so sorry. Catherine is in a highly classified emergency meeting. She can't be disturbed."
Avery glanced past Alex's shoulder. Through the frosted glass blinds of the office, she could clearly see the room was completely empty.
It was a deliberate power play. Catherine was treating her like a disease.
Quinn crossed her arms, her face turning red. "Fine. We'll wait right here."
Avery touched Quinn's arm. "I need to go to the restroom. I'll be right back."
Avery turned and walked down the hall, pushing open the heavy wooden door of the women's restroom.
The smell of expensive floral perfume hit her nose. She walked past the mirrors, went into the furthest stall, and locked the door.
She leaned her back against the cold metal partition and closed her eyes, letting the exhaustion finally wash over her face.
Click-clack. Click-clack.
The sharp sound of high heels echoed against the tiles, followed by the loud laughter of two women entering the restroom.
Avery recognized the shrill voice immediately. It was Brenda Jenkins, a junior producer Avery had once reprimanded for messing up a teleprompter script.
"Did you see her face?" Brenda laughed, turning on the faucet. "She looks like a walking corpse. She deserves every bit of this."
The other woman giggled. "I heard she practically begged Kenneth to leave Caryn. So pathetic."
"Please," Brenda scoffed loudly. "I heard the only reason she's getting on Second Heartbeat is because she's sleeping with the executive producer. She's absolute trash."
Inside the stall, Avery's eyes snapped open. A violent, burning rage ignited in her chest.
She reached out and gripped the metal door lock, ready to shove it open and rip Brenda apart.
Before she could slide the latch, the sound of heavy, deliberate footsteps echoed from the hallway outside the partially open restroom door.
A low, magnetic, and terrifyingly cold male voice cut through the air.
"It seems the employees at this network spend their time writing third-rate scripts instead of doing their jobs."
Brenda's laughter died instantly. The sound of the running water was the only noise left.
Avery's hand froze on the lock. Her heart hammered against her ribs.
She knew that voice. It was Graham.
"M-Mr. Gilbert," Brenda stuttered, her voice shaking with pure terror.
"Do you know the legal penalty for defamation in the state of California?" Graham's voice was like ice cracking.
The silence outside was deafening. The two women were practically vibrating with fear, stammering out panicked apologies.
Inside the stall, Avery couldn't breathe.
Why was he doing this? Why would he step in? He was supposed to hate her. He was supposed to enjoy watching her burn.
Outside, Graham let out a low, dismissive scoff.
His heavy footsteps echoed against the floorboards as he walked away.
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8.9
Aliana braved a heavy storm, carrying a warm stew for her fiancé, Ivan, just as she always put his needs before her own. This ingrained habit, a survival mechanism from a cold childhood, was about to shatter into a million pieces. Tonight, everything she believed was a lie.
The iron gates of Ivan's private villa flashed red, denying her entry, and a guard mumbled lies. Ignoring him, she pushed past, a strange orchid perfume leading her to Ivan's car, where a tube of crimson lipstick lay on the passenger seat. Through a window, she saw him with another woman and a small child, an image that felt like jagged glass twisting in her heart.
Then his words cut through the storm, cold and cruel:
"Aliana is just a placeholder."
He was marrying her for her multi-billion-dollar patent, a secret deal made with her own parents, who had sold her for a kickback to buy this very house. Her family, her love, her future-all were a calculated lie.
Her inner wolf, usually fierce, fell terrifyingly silent, replaced by a chilling resolve. The burning acid in her throat wasn't just bile; it was the taste of her shattered devotion.
She didn't want his apologies or his guilt. She wanted his ruin, and as Ivan walked in with a fake smile the next morning, Aliana was ready to deliver it.
7.8
Elie Joyce’s entire life was controlled by Ebert Ewing, a ruthless billionaire who held her sick grandmother's survival and her family's freedom in his hands.
But on a freezing, stormy night, he forced her into a scandalous scrap of red silk and handed her over to a notorious, disgusting predator.
"You aren't an escort. You're just a free gift."
Ebert mocked her, using her as a disposable bargaining chip to secure a corporate funding round.
When the predator humiliated her, forced high-proof vodka down her throat, and violently pinned her to the floor, Ebert simply watched with dead eyes.
And when Ebert finally intervened to brutally beat the man, it wasn't out of mercy.
"She is my property. Even if she is trash that I threw away, a filthy pig like you doesn't get to touch her."
Afterward, he dragged her battered, barefoot body into his car, only to kick her out into the torrential rain, leaving her on the dark streets to die.
Standing in the storm, shivering and bleeding from broken glass, the last shred of Elie's hope shattered.
She had sacrificed her dignity and soul, enduring his violent bites and cruel control, just to keep her family alive.
Why did she have to suffer this endless, twisted humiliation for a psychopath who only saw her as trash?
But she didn't break.
Tearing a strip of his expensive shirt to bandage her bleeding foot, Elie gripped her broken stiletto like a knife.
With her eyes turning cold and calculating, she limped out of the shadows.
She was going to survive, and Ebert Ewing would soon realize she was no longer his obedient prey.
8.3
EDEN
8.3
Elianila, an AI Architect, is part of an elite team tasked with designing a global system meant to prevent threats, manage disasters, and distribute resources to vulnerable regions. After five years of tireless work with her colleagues, she uncovers disturbing anomalies, code-named, X-variables, that flag individuals according to criteria she never programmed.
As Elianila digs deeper to understand what the X-variables measure and where their origin, she finds herself in direct conflict with the authorities. Soon, the System marks her and her daughter as threats - targets to be eliminated.
With a small band of colleagues and dissidents, Elianila goes on the run, hiding in places beyond the Systems reach. As they evade surveillance, they race against time to warn others, expose the truth, and fight back against the omnipresent authority of the System.
7.1
The captain is dead to the world. And I'm the only one holding the kill switch.
Ethan Carter, the "Glacier of Silvercrest," was the most feared Alpha to ever step onto the ice. Now, he's nothing but a shell-a broken, comatose legend trapped in his own body.
My life? It was supposed to be simple. Graduate, survive the pack's bottom-tier status, and pay off my father's ruinous blood-debts. Instead, the pack elders handed me a contract soaked in cold, hard malice: I am the designated "Stabilizer." My only job is to touch him, scent him, and keep his wolf from flatlining.
I thought I was just a glorified nurse. I didn't realize the Alpha was listening.
When Ethan finally wakes, he isn't the hero the Kingdom of Valeria remembers. He's a starving predator with amber eyes that burn holes through my defenses and a temperament that makes the frost in the mansion seem warm. He hates the bargain, he hates the pack, and-most dangerously-he hates the way his scent turns wild whenever I'm near.
He wants me out of his sight. I want to be out of his reach.
But in a pack built on secrets, someone is still trying to finish the job they started on his life. Now, the man who wants me gone is the only one who can protect me. And as the rink turns into a battlefield, I'm realizing the most dangerous thing about the Alpha isn't his temper... it's the fact that once he claims a mate, he doesn't know how to let go.
Frozen hearts are meant to shatter. But in the fire of this pack, we're both going to burn.
9.5
He was born from the void between stars - a being of immense power, forged from cosmic origins.
For thousands of years, he walked among humanity, protecting them and keeping his true strength hidden. After losing the only family he had, grief led him to seek his own end... only to wake up in a world entirely unlike his own.
Here, cultivation is the main path to power. Those who master spirit qi gain superhuman strength, speed, and abilities that place them far above ordinary people. Four great sects rule the land, competing for resources, secrets, and dominance over each other.
Icaros joined the Li Sect, where he found companions he came to trust and care for: the capable and easygoing Li Han, the sharp and composed Su Yan, and the spirited Nelly. For a time, he felt he had found a place to belong, even as he kept his true nature hidden and wondered whether he could ever learn to cultivate like those around him.
Everything changed when their voyage was suddenly attacked. A powerful figure floating in the sky cut their ship apart with sharp, devastating energy strikes, leaving only destruction in his wake. Believing his friends had been lost in the disaster, Icaros chose to stop holding back any longer.
> "I am done hiding!"
He unleashed his full power: golden light blazed from his eyes, he flew at incredible speed, and he broke through every barrier and enemy in his way. On the shores ahead, he tore through hordes of powerful jade monsters, destroying them completely before flying deep into the interior of the island.
Meanwhile, survivors washed up scattered and alone. One young cultivator found himself on the shores of Jade Island - a place most cultivators avoid, as it holds no treasures or useful materials, only danger and endless deposits of ordinary jade. Yet despite the risks, ordinary people have built settlements here, finding safety from the conflicts and power struggles of the outside world.
This island works by different rules. Spirit qi is scarce and unstable, making cultivation far less effective than elsewhere. Instead, the people here rely on advanced technology - weapons and explosives that can injure or even defeat those with great physical strength. Here, skill and preparation can be just as powerful as raw strength, and even the strongest cultivators must move with caution.
Now, Icaros has vanished deep into the island. His companions are lost somewhere across this dangerous land. And the mysterious swordsman who destroyed their ship has already arrived here, searching for an ancient map said to lead to the legacy of a being from another world.
Will they find each other again? And can anyone survive in a place where the usual rules of power no longer hold true?
✅ Chapters 1–19: FREE
🔒 Chapters 20 onwards: PAID
(Continue the journey of power, friendship, and discovery!)
9.4
I was a New York photographer, but I woke up under the brutal sun of the African savanna.
Worse, I wasn't human. I was trapped in the body of a male cheetah, with two starving cubs clinging to my fur, telepathically calling me "Mom."
But I am a real man!
To keep my adopted sons alive, I had to fight hyenas and dodge rogue lions. But the real nightmare was my bizarre survival mechanism. Under extreme threat, I would uncontrollably shift back into my human form—stark, undeniably naked. I was forced to sprint across the plains with my bare skin exposed, carrying two cubs while escaping furious lionesses. I became a freak, the most confusing and humiliating legend of the animal kingdom.
Covered in bloody scratches and mud, I was pushed to the brink of despair. Why was I thrown into this beast's body? Why did my only defense mechanism involve profound social death?
Just when I barely survived a cliff dive to escape the lions, my path was blocked by two massive, highly intelligent prime male cheetahs.
But the alpha, Bradley, didn't want to kill me for my territory.
His intense gaze raked over my naked, bleeding human body with a dark, possessive hunger.
"You are full of surprises."
He purred smoothly, teaching me to magically summon a fur skirt before demanding I join his coalition.
"Oh, you'll come to me. I guarantee it."
Looking into his predatory eyes, I realized I was no longer just surviving the wild; I was the prey of a completely different kind of beast.