Raihana Monib

Querencia Lynn was always the disappointment-the black sheep of her family. Scorned, unloved, and cast aside, her tragic life ends in an accident... only for her to wake up inside the very pages of a novel she was reading moments before death. Now reborn as a side character destined to become a villainess and political pawn, Querencia knows exactly how her story ends-betrayed by her fiancé, the crown prince, and discarded once she's served her purpose. But this time, she's not playing by the book. Armed with foresight, cunning, and a fortune of her own making, she's determined to break free from her chains-starting with her doomed engagement. But escaping the prince's grip means finding someone powerful enough to shield her from royal retaliation. Enter the Archduke of Wolreign: the prince's cold, formidable cousin and the only man strong enough to oppose him. Dangerous, untouchable, and infamously indifferent, the Archduke is no easy mark. Undeterred, Querencia approaches him with boldness and charm-but her first attempt ends in public humiliation. The nobles mock her. The Archduke calls her crazy. She only laughs. After all, villainesses never beg. They take. With everything on the line, Querencia offers the one thing no one saw coming: a marriage proposal. And for the first time, the unshakable Archduke is left without words. A woman scorned. A man who cannot be tamed. And a future rewritten by the very villainess meant to be destroyed.

One relationship was ruined because of a one-night mistake. "You are my wish to the Father, I pray that He grants you to me." That was my only prayer, but this is not the situation I wanted. I never intended to ruin a relationship, nor did I want to hurt another person. What happened in the past was unexpected, and now, here I am, facing the consequences of my actions. I'm married to a man who does not love me, and who never will, because he only sees me as a friend. "Wait for the love you deserve," as people often say. That's why all I can do is pray and dream that someday, the love I give him will be returned. Actually, I am his legal wife, but I let him do whatever he wants with his life. I also allow him to continue his relationship with the woman he loves, the one he's cared for from the very beginning. I'm not a martyr-I just want everything to be okay, and I don't want any conflict because I've accepted that this is the fate that's been given to me. We are not bound by love, and I've come to terms with that. I accept our situation, and I understand that we are married only on paper, even though we live under the same roof. I do my duties as a wife, like serving him. I learned to cook because of him, though I can tell he doesn't really eat what I prepare. Life is bitter, but this is who I am. I keep trying, trying to make things work between us, to make everything okay, just like when we were young, because we used to be friends. "Have you eaten?" I asked, seeing him drinking coffee in the dining area, focused on his laptop. I gave a bitter smile, already expecting no answer from him because who am I to deserve his attention? I took a deep breath; he didn't even glance at me. I don't have a contagious disease, yet he treats me as if I have leprosy. "Have you spoken to your father?" he asked emotionlessly, closing his laptop with a thud. "I-I told him," I stammered, bowing my head. "Good," he said and stood up. I watched him walk away without saying anything, then started cleaning the dining area. I noticed him stop, so I also paused, and he turned to face me. "Don't expect me to come home during the weekdays. Don't wait for me on the weekends either," he said seriously. All I could do was nod in agreement to avoid further conflict in our family. I endure this life even though it hurts because I'm the one to blame, and I'm the one who understands, so I carry the burden. "When we're at the camp, Psalm, just ignore me because they don't know we're married on paper," he said irritably and turned away. "I'm sorry," I called out, trying to apologize. My hands trembled as I held his hands with both of mine. "I-I'm sorry," I repeated. He sighed deeply and pulled his hands away from mine. "Your sorry won't change the situation, Psalm!" he replied angrily. "I-I love... you," I said bravely, though my voice was shaky. "But you don't own me," he replied coldly. I took a step forward to face him, but when our eyes met, I quickly looked away, playing with my wedding ring. "What do I have to do for you to forgive me?" I asked. "My freedom!" he answered shortly. "And please, stop wearing that ring because we're not lovers." "As you wish." "Do everything you can to earn my forgiveness!" were his last words before he left without saying goodbye. I exhaled deeply and cried. His request may be unclear, but I promise to find a way to give him the freedom he asks for. Even though I love him deeply, I'm willing to sacrifice for his happiness. "Being in love with someone who no longer loves you is the most painful feeling in the world," I whispered, wiping my tears before running to my room, where I cried my heart out. I let out all the pain through my tears. I released all my frustrations. I screamed and threw whatever I could get my hands on because, no matter how much I break down here, no one would hear me. "A-Ah... it hurts!" I cried out in frustration, burying my face in a pillow to calm myself down because there was no one else to comfort me but me. I got up and looked at the picture of us on our wedding day. I stared at Llishan's face, where you could see the forced smile on his lips. I stood and walked towards the picture, gently caressing his face. "I hope that one day I'll wake up, and the pain I carry will be gone." "I hope that one day this pretending will end. It's hard, but I hope that one day you'll have your freedom, baby, and I hope I'll be able to give you what you're asking for when I'm finally tired." This is the truth I'm standing on! I am Princess Psalm Jaxeen De-Gracia, and he is Mc Llishan Sanchez.

Averay tightly embraced Haze, unwilling to let go of him at the airport. "Please... Haze. I don't want to go, p-please let me stay here. Haze..." she pleaded, her voice trembling with tears. Her tears flowed uncontrollably. Her chest tightened as if her heart was being painfully squeezed. "Please, Ave. Just go. This is for your own good. It will only hurt me more if you stay by my side. I don't want to see you crying, Averay. Just go inside," Haze said, his voice devoid of emotion. Haze didn't want to see a woman cry because it reminded him of his mother. "H-Haze... please, don't push me away... I want to stay with you, please... I love you." He gently removed her arms from his waist, turned his back on her, and started to walk away. But Averay hugged him from behind. "H-Haze, I love you! P-Please, choose me... love me instead. N-Not Kreza. Didn't she leave you? Please, choose me, Haze, I won't leave you. I love you... Hajinn." She sobbed, but his heart remained unmoved, showing no emotion. "I love her. I waited for her for so long, and now she's back. We can finally continue the love we lost, Ave," he said firmly. "W-What about me, Haze? What about me?" she asked, her sobs growing louder, attracting the attention of the people around them. Almost everyone at the airport was watching. "Ave, before Kreza, you didn't exist in my life. From the start, there was no Averay who loved me, and I can't love you back. Just go, Averay. It will hurt you more if you see me with the woman I truly love." "D-Do you really love her? D-Did you ever love me, even once, Haze?" Averay asked, her voice filled with emotion. She didn't want to leave; she wanted to stay. But now, the man she loved so deeply was the one sending her away at the airport. It hurt, but he was pushing her away. "I... don't and never did." With those words, her arms dropped to her sides, and she let him go. She closed her eyes tightly and cried. "Haze..." she called out. "Haze..." But he didn't respond. "Haze!" she screamed, but he continued walking out of the airport, ignoring her. "Haze! Haze! Come back here, please! Haze, I love you! D-Don't forget how much I love you!" She collapsed onto the floor, sobbing uncontrollably, letting her tears fall freely down her cheeks. It felt like a knife was stabbing her heart. She had no choice but to let go and leave behind the man she loved. She had done everything-begged and cried in front of him-but nothing changed. His desire for her to leave won out. She stood up, wiped her tears, took a deep breath, and looked at the airport doors where she could no longer see him. A bitter smile crossed her face, and once again, her tears fell uncontrollably. "Haze, I love you so much..." she whispered before turning away and starting to walk. This was it; she had to do this. She had decided to let him go. She could only wish him a happy life.

Elena died on the operating table, betrayed by her husband, her unborn child already gone. But death? Just her intermission. She woke up in a whole new world-a beastmen's world, where females are rarer than diamonds and the strongest males go mad without a woman's mark to calm them down. And her? Labelled the weakest female alive. An F-rank body with a joke of a status. But hidden inside? Unlimited mental power. Just as she's figuring out this mess, a system pops up with one hell of an offer: Complete the missions. Bond with assigned males. Save this world. Do all that, and you get a one-way ticket back home. for revenge. Sounds simple? Think again. A Wolf General, colder than a blizzard, who should have ended her-ended up letting her mark him. A Fox Prince, all charming smiles and secret schemes, who started playing games only to lose his own heart. A golden Dragon, sunshine-bright and fiercely possessive, who declares her his destined treasure. A shadowy Serpent, too patient and too dangerous, watching her every move from the dark. A Phoenix King, whose love burns so hot he'd reduce empires to cinders for her. They all need her mark. They all want her. And sharing? Not in their vocabulary. Too bad for them- She's not here for love stories. She's here to survive. To climb. To turn their legendary power into her own stepping stones. And one day. To go back and make her betrayers wish they were never born.

Brandi Ratcliff was the most dedicated core disciple of Silver Peak Academy. But the moment Seraphina's magic core showed signs of weakness, the Dean and Brandi's trusted peers cornered her. They demanded she hand over her life-bound Azure Lotus Artifact. "Give it to her, Brandi. It is for the greater good of the academy." In her past life, Brandi naively gave in to their pressure. The result was a brutal betrayal. They forcefully drained her magic circuits dry to transfer the artifact, causing her veins to collapse. She bled out on the cold stone floor, listening to the very people she trusted praise Seraphina's recovery while stepping over her dying body. They dismissed her as a necessary, disposable sacrifice. Until her dying breath, Brandi didn't understand. Why was her absolute loyalty rewarded with a gruesome death? Why did she have to be the sacrificial lamb on their altar just because Seraphina knew how to fake a few tears? Opening her eyes again, the stale, incense-heavy air of the Dean's office filled her lungs. She was back at the exact moment they demanded her artifact. Looking at their hypocritical, greedy faces, Brandi didn't defend herself like the desperate girl she once was. She gripped the lotus and violently severed the soul contract herself, tossing the dead metal onto the desk like garbage. She threw down her elite silver badge right next to it. "I am officially withdrawing from Silver Peak Academy." In this life, she absolutely refused to be their stepping stone.

Transmigration? So what? Given this second chance in life, I would not definitely make any mistakes... including that of opening my heart. :cover photo not mine:

Being stimulated by three overly attractive vampires was the last thing I had ever imagined. "Oh Jasmine, this is a sight to behold," Archer murmured,landing kisses all along my inner thighs. Lucien broke the kiss, I could see the lust in his eyes. Micheal took the turn to kiss me once I caught my breath and Lucien's fingers moved to spread my labia only for me to feel the unexpected lick of Archer's tongue on my clit. My eyes rolled to the back of my head. "Feel it..." Lucien growled into my ear, biting my earlobe, "Feel it how we pleasure you, little mate." ****** My whole life I have known my identity as a human but everything changed once I took the job in the Kings' palace as their maid and their attention fell on me. Black Vale Dynasty was ruled by three powerful Vampire kings. Respected, Obeyed and feared they were the most dangerous predators on the earth. But when my life unknowingly gets entangled with theirs, soon the unimaginable happened—On the night of the full moon, I turned out to be their mate and this puts my whole existence under question. They did not want to leave me but a human couldn't be the destined mate of a vampire, let alone three. However, fate pulled the strangest game on me, linking my life to the eliminated Vaidel-Dynasty which was once ruled by the strongest vampire of all time before the rogue attack…that destroyed everything.

The sensation of falling wasn't like flying; it was heavy, violent, and smelled of burning flesh. Above us, on the crumbling balcony of the Sears manor, Duke Cato Sears turned his back, shielding his cousin Bianca from the smoke as he walked away, leaving my sister Blossom and me to drop into the abyss. As the darkness slammed shut like an iron door, I realized my entire life had been a cruel script written by the people I called family. In my first life, I was the sacrificial lamb of the Dawson manor, sold to a man who eventually watched me die without blinking. My sister Blossom had pushed me into Cato's arms to avoid his rumors, only to laugh when the fire finally consumed us both. My father had measured my value like a piece of livestock, and my step-grandmother didn't even acknowledge my existence while I was being led to the slaughter. I died in that fire, feeling the heat scorch my skin and the weight of a hatred so potent it tasted like bile. I spent twenty years being the weak, manipulated shadow of a girl, only to end up as nothing more than a phantom scorch mark on a "hero's" estate. I couldn't understand why my own blood treated my life like a game they could discard. The injustice of it all burned hotter than the flames that took my last breath. Then, I sat up, sucking in air that tasted of lavender and air conditioning, not smoke. I was back in my bedroom, three days before the engagement ball that ruined my life. Blossom stood at the door, her "sweet" mask slipping as she tried to manipulate me into the Duke's path again. She thought she was the only one who had come back, but she didn't realize that this time, I was going to let her have exactly what she wanted: the Duke, the bankruptcy, and the living hell that awaited her in that house.

I died in the terrifying plunge of Flight 815. But when I opened my eyes, I was lying in a luxurious bathtub, completely unharmed. The door opened, and my husband Jordi walked in—looking fifteen years older, his eyes glacial. He pinned me to the wall, his thumb pressing against my windpipe, demanding to know who hired me to play his dead wife. I managed to prove I was the real Isadora, biologically still twenty-eight years old. But my nightmare had just begun. My twenty-three-year-old son Hector looked at my unaged face with pure hatred. "Get this cheap replica out of my father's house, or I'll have him declared incompetent!" My twenty-year-old daughter Blossom, now a spoiled stranger treating Jordi like a personal ATM, screamed at me over the phone. Even Jordi's ambitious female colleague showed up at our estate, treating me like a temporary toy she could easily replace. In the space of a single breath, I had lost fifteen years. My children had grown up without me, learning to hate instead of grieve. Now, they looked at their real mother as if I were a monster trying to steal my own inheritance. But I didn't return from the dead just to be pushed out. I put on my old green silk dress, stepped in front of the female executive, and smiled. If they want to treat me like a threat, I'll fight them all to get my family back.

Emberly, an esteemed scientist of the Imperial Federation, took her own life after completing important research. She was reborn, and just like in her first life, she was born into a wealthy family. She could’ve lived a carefree and prosperous life. However, the babies got mixed up in the hospital and she was taken home by another family from the countryside. Her foster parents later found out the truth and brought her to her real family, but they didn’t like her. Her evil adopted sister even loathed her. She was framed and ultimately, she died in prison. But in her next life, she refused to stay a coward and swore she would take revenge on all who wronged her. She would only care about those who were truly good to her and turn a blind eye to her heartless family. In one life, she had once experienced darkness and been trampled upon like an ant. In another, she had stood on top of the world. This time, she only wished to live for herself. As if a switch had gone on inside of her, she suddenly became the best at everything she put her mind to. He won the math contest, topped the college entrance exams, and solved an age old question... Later, she garnered countless scientific research achievements. People who had once slandered her and looked down on her cried bitterly and begged her for a patent authorization. She just sneered at them. No way! This was a world without faith, but the world put their faith in her. Austin, the heir to a powerful aristocratic family in the imperial capital, was cold-hearted and decisive. He scared anyone who laid eyes on him. Unbeknownst to everyone, he doted on one woman: Emberly. Nobody knew that his desire for her grew stronger with every passing day. She brought light to his originally dull and gloomy life.

A sharp pain shot through my head, pulling me from a deep darkness. I opened my eyes to my luxury penthouse, but I shouldn't have been there. I remembered dying. The memory was cold and sharp: my protégé, Dustin, sold me out, and my husband, Graves, watched our company crumble, leading to my fatal heart attack. Then, Graves appeared, his charming, empty smile unchanged. But he wasn't alone. A young woman, Alex Salazar, stood behind him, clutching her cheap handbag. Graves introduced her as an intern, saying she had nowhere to stay and would be living with us. My eyes fell to her neck, where a dark hickey was partially hidden. The date on the nightstand confirmed it: I had traveled back in time to the exact day Graves brought Alex home in my previous life, the beginning of my long, painful nightmare. Last time, I had screamed and thrown things, starting my humiliation. A strange calm washed over me. I had been given a second chance, not to win him back, but to escape. "Of course," I said, my voice even, "The poor thing. We should take care of her." Graves looked surprised, then relieved. He thought he had won. "In fact," I continued, pulling out divorce papers, "I'll make sure she's comfortable. You just have one small thing to do for me." I wanted the Malibu property. "Give me that, and I'll walk away quietly. You can have your new life. You can take care of this... orphan."

I woke up in a freezing alley, my lungs burning and my body shattered. I wasn't just a dying Appalachian girl; I was an ancient soul trapped in a broken human shell, starving for life force. A bulletproof Maybach idled nearby, and the man inside, Cristofer Barrett, radiated an intoxicating wave of dark energy. Driven by primal survival, I lunged at him and forced a kiss, stealing his cursed power to knit my bones back together. But my nightmare was far from over. I was dragged into the Montoya estate, a den of vipers where my "family" viewed me as a disposable tool for a corporate merger. My sister, Jordin, orchestrated a vicious campaign to humiliate me, even sabotaging my dress to ensure my ruin at the upcoming Hubbard gala. I was treated like a stray dog, beaten, and mocked by those who claimed my blood. They didn't realize that the girl they were torturing had already seen through their lies, their secret assassinations, and their pathetic greed. They thought I was a fragile victim, but they had no idea who they were dealing with. I had the power of a legend, a mind for high-stakes manipulation, and an old score to settle. Tonight, at the gala, I wouldn't just show up—I would tear their perfect world apart.

The last thing I remembered was a crushing weight in my chest, and the impossibly cruel words about my son not being mine. Then, everything went black. I thought I was dead, a broken man on my own lawn, betrayed by the wife I' d mourned for a decade. But I opened my eyes to the scent of lilies and the familiar wooden pews of St. Michael's church. It was Nicole' s funeral, ten years ago, the very day she supposedly died. My mother-in-law, Maria, was there, whispering an insane proposition: marry her younger daughter, Gabby, just on paper, for my baby son, A.J. In my first life, I' d been horrified by the thought, clinging to Nicole' s memory. But that Andrew was dead. This Andrew was back, alive and seething with a cold, hard resolve. I knew what was coming in ten years. I knew she' d return to destroy me. Not this time. I stared at Gabby, then turned to Maria, my voice steady, my decision made. "Okay," I said. "I' ll do it." The game had changed. I was given a second chance, and this time, I would build a fortress.