zero no tsukaima

Elijah Dawson had everything—a billion-dollar empire, a name that commanded respect, and the kind of life others could only dream of. By 20, he’d conquered the business world, turning his love for cars into an empire. But there’s one thing he can’t own: Eloise Hart, his late brother’s wife, and the woman who’s haunted him for years. Eloise is chaos in human form. Tattooed, reckless, and unapologetic, she lives her life with zero regrets. The world sees her as a disaster waiting to happen, a woman who drags Elijah’s name into scandal every chance she gets. But what they don’t know is that she’s the one woman he’s never been able to let go. Elijah knows he should stay away, that every time he’s near her, he risks losing everything—his reputation, his empire, and the respect he has to his late brother. He swore he’d never cross that line, but how long can he resist when Eloise is the one thing he’s always wanted but could never have? Because for Eloise, she could fuck every man on the planet, but not him. Not her brother-in-law.

She loves peace, but the job where she in was the complete opposite. He loved peace when he was just a child before his mom left him. She never thought that she could experience what she wanted when she met him. His mask fell when he saw how frightened the woman was when someone tried to harm her. She looked at him like a hero when he saved her. He was silently cursing himself for why he did that. She fell in love and waited for him to take action. He stayed put and reminded himself to know his boundaries. She hated him because of what he did. But he was happy when he saw the happiness in her eyes again. In the middle of the forbidden love between a man who’ll do everything just to be in power and a woman who wants freedom from the world she's been in. Would their painful past be the reason to begin again as a whole, or would it break them into pieces and have a zero chance to come back and act like nothing happened? There are secrets that may hurt them. At first, they thought that it was just a small one, when in fact, it was indeed a small one, piled and stacked, which created a mountain of lies and a big vault of curse. The question is, if it were you, would you dare to unveil it or just let the one in power conceal the whole truth?

Here's a piece of advice—do not catch the eye of those pretty salesgirls who sell supplements. You have no idea the things they'll do to close a deal. I become a yummy slice of cake in their eyes; they all want a bite of me. I'm faced with the seduction and allure of countless beauties, but it doesn't make me happy at all.

My best friend takes me to a beauty salon for a facial. A young and handsome employee there latches onto me. He's tall, good-looking, and is great with women. He knows just the right things to say and is flirtatious without being lecherous. He shows me the pleasures of being a woman… I forget all about my boyfriend and allow him to make me descend into the throes of passion. What I don't know is that there's a price I can't pay behind the gentleness…

I worked for a restaurant, and our boss loved making empty promises about giving us restaurant shares. The boss said we would start with zero shares, but we could earn 0.01% for every two hours of overtime, covering someone else’s work or saving the restaurant 1,000 bucks. I suggested she write this down in an official document and have someone track it properly. She just smiled and told everyone to work harder. She never actually put it in writing. The experienced staff did not believe her, but one prep cook took it seriously. At the end of the year, he went to the boss to claim his shares. The boss said, “Sorry, the head chef told me there’s no official document, so it doesn’t count. You can’t claim any shares.” The prep cook worked hard all year and got nothing for it, so he took his anger out on me. The day before I was going home for the New Year, he killed me with a knife. “If you hadn’t said it doesn’t count without an official document, this whole restaurant would’ve been mine!” I lay in a pool of blood. When I opened my eyes, I was back to the day the boss first made those empty promises.

In a ruthless world where survival is a daily battle, Alyssa’s life takes a dark turn after losing her parents. Left to endure the torment of her abusive uncle, she fights to stay alive—until his actions lead to his untimely death, leaving her homeless and alone. Desperation pulls her into the orbit of Zero Blackwood, a powerful and enigmatic leader of a criminal network. Forced to join his ranks as a “wild cat,” Alyssa learns to play her role in a world of crime. Her quick rise stirs jealousy in Serial, the group’s leader, who sees her as a threat. Things take a sharp turn when Zero starts falling for Alyssa. His feelings put her in more danger as Serial grows hostile. Torn between Zero’s affection and her dream of freedom, Alyssa plans her escape. But when she’s caught, Zero shocks everyone by sparing her and confessing his love. Now, Alyssa must survive in this dangerous world, outsmart her rivals, and decide if love or freedom is worth the risk.