Gabe came home, having parked his car in the alley as usual.Mia was with his mother. From the happiness on Nicole’s face, Gabe wondered if Mia had talked to her about the marriage. Did Mia also tell Nicole that it was just a fake marriage?“Gabe, come and sit,” Nicole brought him and made him sit next to Mia. “You two look so good together. I’m so happy now. I won’t mind even if I die tonight.”“Mom, don’t talk like that,” Gabe pinched her. “You’re going to live at least fifty more years.”“Fifty?! You’re being too greedy, Gabe,” Nicole pinched his nose. “Nobody lives 100 years these days.”“I’m not being greedy. You have a long life ahead of you,” Gabe confidently said. “And you’re going to marry someone and have kids.”Mia’s jaw dropped, and Nicole’s jaw dropped even lower.“H-He’s just joking, Mia. Don’t mind his eyes,” Nicole hurriedly said, looking embarrassed. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”“Mia!” Gabe looked at her. “Doesn’t my aunt look young? Won’t there be a man
Irene gave golden bracelets to both the bride and the groom. Mia hugged and thanked Irene, but Gabe asked her, “This looks like real gold. Did you marry a millionaire or something? Otherwise, you’re not the type to give even a penny to others.”“If you don’t want it, then give it back,” Irene tried to take his bracelet back.“No, I want it,” Gabe didn’t let her take it back. He knew the value of money, so he happily took this gift. It might not be a big deal to him right now, but it might come to use later on. Who knows?“By the way, Irene, do you have kids?” Gabe asked.“Why?” Irene icily asked.“Nothing. You gave us gifts, so I want to give some gifts to your kids as well.”“They already have too many dolls to play with, so no thanks,” Irene said and then took Mia to the side. “I know I shouldn’t be saying this after marriage, but are you sure of this? You’re rich, and he’s poor. You’re beautiful, and he’s got cross-eyes. It’s a fake marriage, but still what will others think?”“Let
Mia’s car stopped outside her house.“I’ll see you later,” Nicole told Mia before exiting the car and going to her home.Gabe was sitting next to Mia in the car.A minute passed.“Why aren’t you stepping out?” Gabe asked. “Are you feeling tense?”“Yeah. Kind of,” her hand slightly shivered. “I wonder how my aunt would react.”“It’s okay.” Gabe was about to put his hand on her hand, but stopped midway. She noticed that but didn’t say anything. “I’ll speak for you.”“Don’t do that. It’ll only make them even angrier,” Mia said.“Then, you want me to be silent?”“As much as possible. I’ll deal with them when I’m around, but when I’m out, you can deal with them however you want,” Mia said, sounding almost certain. “Just as long as you don’t physically beat them.”“What if they attack me first?”“Run away from the house and wait for me. You can do that, right?” She peered at him through her glasses, awaiting his response.“What if they come to my house and misbehave with my aunt and attack
Mia and Gabe were entering the house, but Mia stopped him and told him to put his right foot first. He asked her why, and she told him that she read in some book that it would bring good luck.Gabe wanted just that. Loads of good luck. Otherwise, how would he be able to make Mia look at no man other than him and him only?Holding his hand, Mia entered the house, not at all realizing that Gabe’s heart was running fast because no woman had ever held his hand like this, not even Kiera who had dated him in the past.Carrie and her son were sitting right on the sofa. She was watching her son play a mobile game and beat his friends and strangers online. And she was proud of him for winning most of the time. “You’ve really got the skill to play these games, Draco, but you played enough for today. Give me the mobile now,” she snatched the mobile from him before he could say anything.“Mom, that’s my friend’s mobile. Be careful with it,” Draco said while standing on his toes.“Why did your fri
After three minutes, Carrie brought food items and arranged everything on the table before standing on the side.“Who’s going to serve?” Mia asked. “Your grandfather?”Carrie frowned and began to put one food item after another. There were five different items.“Every day, you get to eat different varieties,” Mia said, “but who’s money is it?”Carrie didn’t answer.“It’s my parents’ money,” Mia added. “If we eat like this, more than what we need every day, then even a million dollar mountain will reduce to nothing in a few years. That’s why, I want either you or your husband to do a job and support this family. Whoever does the job outside doesn’t have to work here, but whoever doesn’t do a job outside will have to work within the house, whether it’s cooking dishes or cleaning the toilets. Tell this to others.”Carrie’s eyes widened. “You mean you want to tell my dad to work also?”“He’s only in his fifties, isn’t he?” Mia asked. “And he wants to retire already? He hasn’t been doing a
The next morning.Bertha woke up at around 6 o’clock, which was a bit later than the usual time she got up because she had kept scrolling the website, looking to buy jewelry last night, and hadn’t bought anything in the end.To her surprise, Carrie was still sleeping next to her.“This girl, it’s already six, and she’s snoring like a pig,” Bertha snapped and elbowed her waist. “Wake up, you fool! Who’s going to cook breakfast for Draco if you’re dreaming with your mouth open!”“AHH! Mom!” Carrie angrily got up and bit on her mother’s ear, making Bertha cry out loud. Luckily, Carrie soon let go of her mother’s ear and then jumped off the bed. “You never woke Mia up this roughly. You always wake her up gently,but you treat me like I’m made out of wood!” she growled and then left the room in quick but heavy steps.“How can you and Mia be the same?” Bertha muttered under her breath. “You’re my flesh and blood, so I care more for you, idiot. Otherwise, I would have long called the police a
Mia woke up at around seven o’clock. Her eyes felt puffy, and she couldn’t see her surroundings just yet. She began to stretch her body and yawn, which would help realign the muscles and the fluid in her back.However, her eyesight soon turned normal, and she found herself being stared at by Gabe who was sitting in the sofa, with one leg over the other, smiling at him very subtly with the lips, but there was a glow in his eyes. Heck, it was so romantic she ended up pursing her lips and blowing air into her mouth to stop herself from smiling and blushing.“Good morning,” Gabe said.“Good morning,” she put her glasses on and looked at Gabe again. He looked even more striking and handsome even though he was wearing simple clothes. He looked like a million dollars now. Surely, Gabe didn’t grow in handsomeness overnight, but why did he appear more attractive now? What changed in her that made him more appealing? Was it because she found him uttering her name in his sleep that made her deve
Gabe’s heart rate increased from seeing Mia in an appearance he had never seen before. He got up from his seat before he knew it.Carrie also walked out of the kitchen to tell Gabe to not bother her son, but after seeing Mia, she was slack-jawed. “That’s the Reyes’ family heirloom, isn’t it?” she muttered under breath. She always wanted to wear those jewelry, but she never got the chance. “When they were appraised almost two decades back, they were worth upwards of a million dollars. Now I can’t even imagine what their price could be.”Mia came down and showed herself to Gabe like a wife seeking her husband’s attention. “How do I look?”“Like the brightest star in the world,” Gabe said. “Can I kiss you?”Mia was surprised by his request. “Sure,” she put her hand forward.Gabe was hoping to kiss her on the cheek, but a hand was better than nothing, he thought. Liking her smart reaction, Gabe gently held her hand and kissed her. “Grace this chair, your highness.”Mia chuckled a little b
“Whoever manages to defeat that ‘worthless’ brat will get to keep the omega system.”The moment Gabriel Agnar uttered those last few words, all the nine standing members of the Jaguar squad rushed toward Gabe without a shred of hesitation.They were all elite warriors his grandfather had commanded, all intent on claiming the power that lay still dormant within Gabe."Stand down, brat," the third ranker Bennie called out, her voice layered with authority. "You cannot hope to win against us. Surrender, and you may yet find mercy."“You monsters who are ganging up on me, do you even know what mercy means?” Gabe retorted and countered Fang with a punch.Surprisingly, Gabe’s punch seemed simple but the weight it had was tremendous. Fang was pushed back.But at the same time Stark kicked Gabe’s face.Once again, Stark expected Gabe to be sent flying, but Gabe took the attack without even moving an inch.And it was Stark who frowned in response.Zephyr raised his hand, stopping others from a
“It’s time to return,” Gabriel Agnar said, and these few words changed the body language of all the squad members.In that moment, they let their guard dawn, a small figure dashed in through their ranks and attacked their patriarch Gabriel.Gabriel saw through the first feint and responded accordingly, but the second attack also turned out to be a feint just to distract him so that they could pluck the severed hand out of Gabriel’s hand.And they managed to grab the hand, but no amount of pulling was enough to get the severed hand out of the old man’s grip.Everyone was startled after seeing the young kid who gave off an ethereal energy, which they could sense.This young kid was none other than Ulf.“What do you think you’re doing, kid?” Gabriel asked him.“Ha-ha, good afternoon,” Ulf replied awkwardly, “or is it evening now?” He grew triple in size and clenched his fists. “Omega Arts Secret Move…” He threw in a straight punch at Gabriel’s chest. “Final Fist!”Gabriel took the attack
At Russell’s estate.Zephyr, the head of the Jaguar Squad, struck Gabe’s chest with his palm. A shockwave burst through his chest and ripped the back of Gabe’s shirt in the shape of Zephyr's palm.Gabe coughed out a lot of blood, and his eyes nearly turned white. He was about to fall back.Zephyr caught Gabe’s throat and squeezed it. “If I kill you, then the Alpha System will be ours.”“Gabe!” Mia ran toward him. “No!”“Where do you think you’re running?” Pixie, the number five, blurted. Her green hair extended forth like tree vines and sought to capture Mia.Mia moved swiftly and dodged a few vines, but the hair grew branches like trees, and they were sharp enough to pierce through Mia’s body.Her torso and limbs were riddled with many thin holes.She bled from the nose and mouth and couldn’t move at all. She felt completely frozen.Pixie pulled the hair out and retracted them. Mia fell to her knees.Seeing all this, Gabe’s blood thrummed beneath his skin. His heart pounded with the c
In ancient times, serpents had wings and feet, and they were called by many names. One of those kinds were also called Dragons.So, dragons were indeed serpents with wings and legs. Even in the modern day, dragons were worshiped in some places. Some martial arts were derived from dragons, too.However, Alleria’s martial arts were not related to dragons but of a different serpent kind, whose existence had been erased from history..When Alleria was young, she spent her time in the woods, and the most difficult enemies she faced were the monstrous serpents that lived in that forest. This made her wonder just how much stronger would the serpents be if they had legs, too, as they did in the past.This led Alleria to search through her clan’s library and find the ancient serpent art books. And she picked one that she believed would be the most challenging.And thanks to her collective efforts, she managed to become the head of one of the Eight Enigma Squads, the Serpent Squad.The Ancient S
Alleria was sent flying through multiple walls, and she ended up crashing into the tables of the precious customers.“That hurts…” Alleria’s cheek bruised, and she bled from a corner of her mouth.“W-Who are you?” The customers were all shocked because this woman was wearing armor underneath her cloak, and there was even a short sword at her waist. “Are you a cosplayer?”“Who was that little girl?” Alleria got back up, looking quite irritated because her cloak was dirtied by the food, so she had to remove it. She looked sturdy despite her age, and she was nearly six feet tall. Many men in that hall hadn’t seen such a well-built woman with attractive looks like that before. “Call herself as my grandmother,” she cracked her neck, releasing the gas bubbles from the joints in her spine, “let’s see if you’ve really got what it takes to utter such words.”She rushed into the bathroom, but to her surprise, Systa and Nicole were gone.“What?” Alleria frowned. “I didn’t see them leave. Where di
Nicole was getting out of the taxi, but Systa held her hand and stopped her. “I’m not feeling the urgency anymore. Can we go somewhere else now?”Nicole couldn’t make sense of Systa’s words. The little girl was struggling until seconds ago, and she’s fine now? Something didn’t feel right. Whether Systa was playing games or not, Nicole didn’t want to take the risk. “I’m taking you to the toilet room once.”“Ugh,” Systa hissed at her. “Listen to me.”Nicole was startled. “Did you just hiss at me? And why are you gritting your teeth?”“Because you don’t understand the trouble that you’re in!” Systa blurted. “Driver, turn the car around and get going.”The driver, however, looked at her with a silly expression as if Systa was not the one who’s going to pay him for the ride.Systa didn’t like that the driver was treating her as a little girl. She wished she could show her powers to him, but because of Nicole, she had to hold herself back.“Can you wait here for half an hour for us?” Nicole
Nicole finished her work in the hotel and walked out with Systa who was in the form of a little girl now.“Why do you look like that?” Nicole asked her.“Look like what?” Systa asked her back.“Look like you’re weighing life's burdens on your shoulders?” Nicole said.“I was just thinking about something,” Systa replied.Nicole picked her up onto her waist.“W-What are you doing?” Systa quickly said, her cheeks flushing. “This is embarrassing. Put me down.”“Get used to it,” Nicole pinched Systa’s cheeks. “You know, I watched Gabe grow, but I missed watching a girl grow. I didn’t have a daughter, you see. So, I feel like keeping you with me for as long as possible.”“S-Stop pulling my cheeks!” Systa found it annoying because her skin was not perfectly authentic human-standard.“Stop acting like that,” Nicole stopped pulling the cheek and gently rubbed it. “You’re a girl, so you’re going to raise kids one day. You shouldn’t get angry easily. Your worth will be decided by how good you ca
In Sciocidad, also known as the phantom city which floated through the sky also known as the lower heaven.At the border, Russell and Jessica were talking with a mature lady whose name they didn’t even know. All he knew was that she was the librarian of the clan that lived in this city.“My goal is to stop another world war from happening,” Russell told her. “If a war breaks out again, then the world really is going to end.”“Silly young man,” the lady named Uzza smiled, “the third world you were worrying about has long started and is still ongoing.”“W-What?” Russell was startled.“Food, air, water, and even people’s very blood has been polluted for decades now and it’s still happening today,” Uzza said. “We see a lot of chemicals being sprayed in the air through special jets. There are nanoparticles, graphene, and even parasites in those chemicals, which will mix with water, food, and can even enter people’s bodies through their skin. Everything the media tells you is fake. The elect
“It’s one thing that James lost, but for Atarah to lose to this brat…” The number one ranker of the Jaguar Squad, Stark, spoke. “This is quite shameful.”“Indeed,” Fang, the second ranker, opined. “I feel a little embarrassed since I’ve trained James for over a month now. For him to lose without even taking an opponent’s limb is quite disappointing. I hope he’s not dead.”“James is the last ranker, the number 10 of the squad,” the zeroth ranker and the head of the Jaguar Squad, Zephyr, replied. He had a sharp mustache and was cleanly shaven. “He’s the weakest, but Atarah is the ranked fourth in the squad, and she let her younger comrade lose. So, she failed both as a teammate and as an individual fighter. She needs to be punished for her mistakes later. But for now…” He glanced at the number five ranker, who was a green-headed female, Pixie.Pixie stepped forth and treated Atarah’s injury with her vivre. It was as though she was conducting surgery with her vivre, using it as needles to