the collectors baldacci

This is a short story about a 41-year-old Marisol who died eating instant noodle at midnight. Alone. Skipping dinner to save money. And somehow, she didn't realize it was just the beginning of the worst week of her afterlife. She's stuck in the afterlife's broken bureaucracy with one impossible deal: collect three lost souls... or lose her second chance at life forever.

Charlotte Harris thought it was hard to make it through military training because she was the only female wolf in her unit. She was wrong. On New Year's Eve, she stands at the Royal Winter Ball and watches General Marcus Steele, the man she's been seeing behind her back for months, tell the senator's daughter that he is going to marry her. When Charlotte confronts him, he rejects her openly in front of the entire military elite, calling her "a distraction I've already forgotten." The crowd laughs. The whispers start. Charlotte wants to hide. Then the doors burst open, and quiet falls like snow. Alpha King Daemon Blackwood walks into the hall, his dark eyes scanning the crowd until they land on her. In three strides, he's in front of Charlotte, and in a voice that makes the chandeliers shake, he declares: "This woman is my mate. Anyone who disrespects her disrespects me." Charlotte is shocked. She's never even met the King before tonight. Why would he take her? Why has he been watching her? And why does the General look frightened instead of just angry? As Charlotte is pulled into the dangerous world of the Royal Court, she learns nothing is what it seems. The General wasn't just using her for fun; he was using her as bait. Enemy spies have been hunting her for months because of something she knows, something she saw but didn't realize was important. And the King? He's been protecting her from the shadows, bound by ancient laws that prevented him from revealing himself until the exact right time. Now Charlotte must figure out who to trust, what secrets she's carrying, and whether the King's claim is real security or just another man using her as a pawn. Because the enemies hunting her won't stop, the conspiracy goes higher than anyone thought, and the truth about her own identity might be the most dangerous secret of all. This New Year's Eve, Charlotte will learn she's not the weak omega everyone thought she was. And the King isn't the cold, ruthless boss everyone fears. Together, they might just survive the night.

Like any other planet with a sentient population, Earth went through the process of developing technology, conducting wars, and making loads of money off of people's existential crises. Earth was as typical a planet as any other, until the Library of the Multiverse opened its doors and spewed out its books containing the stories and adventures of heroes and villains from across the multiverse. Now, human beings have the chance to change their destiny by synchronizing with Multi Vs, the magic books that can give a person the power to exceed the normal and become the King or Queen of the Universe!

Celine, a cheerful and kind-hearted woman with luscious long hair, works at a prestigious luxury watch company. One day, she encounters Lenin, a handsome and enigmatic entrepreneur who also happens to own a watch company. Lenin possesses an intense and mysterious gaze, and although he lacks personal connections, he maintains a close relationship with his parents. During her college years, Celine had two friends, one male and one female, and a close childhood friend named Antonia. As Celine continues working at the company, she notices Lenin entering the office. Immediately captivated by his presence, Celine's fascination is met with Lenin piercing gaze, in which Lenin briefly focuses on Celine hands. Unbeknownst to her, Lenin has an unusual inclination towards collecting human hands, using them to adorn his exquisite luxury timepieces. As Celine becomes increasingly drawn to Lenin and his peculiar ways, an intricate and captivating love story unfolds. Will Celine discover Lenin's dark secret? Can their love transcend the boundaries of his obsession? "Hand Collectors" portrays a gripping tale of love, mystery, and the complexities of human connection.

This is the story of Shi-heum and Yoon-sung, who found themselves living together due to circumstances beyond their control.

In a world still healing from the Transparency Revolution that exposed global corruption, violence begins rising again across Mumbai—quietly, strangely, without warning. Ordinary people display inhuman reflexes, unpredictable instincts, and terrifying bursts of clarity in fights. Officials blame stress. The media blames unrest. No one knows the truth. Arjun is the kind of boy who should never be caught in this chaos—quiet, overlooked, bullied, living each day in survival mode. He’s not fast, not skilled, and not brave. Yet whenever danger closes in, something inside him reacts before he can think. A glance he shouldn't notice. A footstep he shouldn't hear. A punch he shouldn't avoid. Everyone around him is changing in violent, unpredictable ways. But Arjun… stays calm. When he survives an attack that should have killed him, he begins to notice the truth: the world is shifting, people are breaking, and whatever is happening to them… isn't happening to him. As more strange incidents spread across the city, Arjun finds himself caught between students who fight like cornered animals, strangers whose instincts feel manufactured, and forces far bigger than any schoolyard conflict. He isn’t trying to become a hero. He isn’t trying to understand the world. He just wants to stay alive. But survival comes with a cost—because once the wrong people notice someone who doesn’t break, they don’t let go. And Arjun is about to find out that the most dangerous thing in this changing world… is a mind that refuses to fall apart.

Bria Stephens was an artist once. She painted cities at dusk in colors no one else could see — until someone she trusted told her she wasn't good enough. She never picked up a brush again. Now she's a senior editor at Caelum Press, one of the most prestigious publishing houses in the country. Her colleagues call her the Ice Queen of the slush pile. Authors fear her rejections. No one knows she still sees the world like a canvas — she just stopped letting anyone see her. Ryan Malcolm wasn't always Ryan Malcolm. He was born Dante Wards, in a neighborhood that tried to bury him. He failed. He lost everything. So he left, changed his name, and rebuilt himself from nothing. Now he's the cold, elusive CEO of Caelum Press — the company he built with his own hands. The only people who know the man beneath the armor are the younger sibling he raised alone, and the anonymous scholarship he funds for kids from his old streets. When an anonymous manuscript lands on Bria's desk — a story about a young artist who stopped painting, written with details no stranger should know — her carefully constructed walls begin to crack. Someone inside Caelum Press knows her secret. Someone is watching. At the same time, an inquiry into the Dante Wards Scholarship threatens to expose the past Ryan has spent years burying. Forced together by the threats circling them both, Bria and Ryan discover what they've been hiding from the world — and from themselves. Two people who built the same walls. Two people who recognize the armor because they wear the same kind. The world has already written Bria as the villainess. Ryan has been written as a ghost. But the story isn't over yet — and some stories can be rewritten. The Color of Cold is a slow-burn contemporary romance about art, survival, and what happens when two people who forgot how to feel finally let someone in.

[Irresistible MC + Farming & Entrepreneurship + Strong Female Lead + Cute Baby + Love Rivalry + Farming System + Male Competition] Deng Yuyuan wakes up to find she has transmigrated into a period novel about a "pampered group darling" — as the biological mother of the vicious female villain. The female villain has a biased grandmother, a mooching uncle and his family, a blindly filial father, and a spineless mother. She was a small-time thief as a child. As an adult, she committed every kind of evil — constantly framing the female lead — and ultimately met a miserable end. The female lead is the only daughter in another family, doted on by her older brothers. The villain targeted her out of pure jealousy. And now, Deng Yuyuan has become that villain's cowardly mother — and the villain herself is currently just an ugly, wrinkly-faced infant. The blindly filial father loves his wife, but gives all the good things to his own mother. He says to his starving wife and daughter: "Xiao Yuan, come drink some water. I specially heated it for you." Deng Yuyuan looks at her own bony frame and her tiny child — and decides to get a divorce. Goodbye, useless husband. She's going to raise this little cub with an abundance of money and love. No way she'll go astray this time. Lost one husband, gained a crowd of suitors. A beautiful sent-down youth coveted by many — she knows some self-defense and burns the midnight oil studying. With the reinstatement of the college entrance exams, she takes her child toward a much wider world. Riding the wave of the times, Deng Yuyuan works her way up to become a gaming tycoon and a cutting-edge scientist... Except — why are so many men fighting to be her cub's stepfather?

In her previous life, she took the wrong "white lotus" script, causing her to die a miserable death. Heaven has let her live again, so she shouldn't have to suffer the hardships of her past life once more! Feng Moxi sheds her weakness from her previous life. Making a new choice, she must fight! There are monsters! Kill them! There are scumbags! Eliminate them! With her meager strength, she picks up a Heavy Sword and forges a difficult path forward. Unexpectedly, that arrogant and reckless person who caused her no small amount of trouble along the way eventually becomes a comrade-in-arms to whom she can entrust her back, a companion for life. The sky fills with darkness, the Demon People emerge! The Heavenly Dao returns. One day, Feng Moxi is leisurely roasting beast meat by the river. Chaoyang, having just finished fighting a demon beast, sees the crumbs on her lips and immediately leans in. "Want some?" Chaoyang dazedly nodded his head. Suddenly, a piece of burnt beast meat is stuffed into his mouth. Chaoyang pulls Feng Moxi into his embrace, gently brushes the corner of her lips with his hand, and says, "You're mine!" Apocalypse + Cultivation + Doting Boyfriend

【Career-oriented female protagonist + Love-struck male lead + Entertainment industry + Variety show + Satisfying sweetness】 Renee Morgan, a newcomer in the entertainment industry, learns of her predetermined fate as a minor female supporting character in a dream. She is the queen of minor roles, the resilient type, blazing with fighting spirit, illuminating many female stars. Renee Morgan: "...To hell with being a minor character. Anyone who dares use me as a stepping stone, I'll make sure they fall flat." Wendy Aldridge, also a newcomer in the entertainment industry, wants to use her as a control group. Renee Morgan: Ok~ Half a month later, Wendy Aldridge, who was supposed to become famous as part of the control group, ends up being cyber-bullied and is urged to leave the industry? Renee Morgan, who was supposed to be cyber-bullied out of the industry, becomes an overnight sensation and a top-star. The rival company's leading actress, backed by influential figures in the entertainment circle, snatches the main female role, leaving only the role of the female third lead for her. Renee Morgan: Ok~ Four months later, this drama explodes in popularity, all supporting roles become famous, and the female third lead role becomes a classic. The biggest stars, male and female leads, are left with no buzz? ... Later, Renee Morgan finally achieves her dream, winning the Best Actress Award with her acting skills, and announces her relationship on the day she receives the award—she is in love. He's just a regular person. One day, Morgan all over the country sees familiar figures appearing in the news and rushes online to share: Is this the Best Actress's ordinary boyfriend?