Once Bitten Twice Shy

Once, Ethan Ashford gave everything for the woman he loved. In return, she betrayed him. Veronica Harrington secretly gave the resources she took from Ethan to her lover, Damien Blackwood, the so-called Chosen One, the Protagonist, the Child of Luck, or whatever else. While Damien and other protagonists took countless "fortuitous encounters" to become the world's heroes, Ethan became the villain everyone despised. Betrayed and tortured, his family was destroyed, his bloodline exterminated, and he died filled with hatred and regret. But fate wasn't finished with him. Ethan awakened a hundred years in the past, before every tragedy began. And that too with a heaven-defying System, called the Villain System, that could give him rewards for changing his own destiny and destroying these protagonists' fortunes. This time, Ethan knew every opportunity the Chosen Ones would obtain, every scheme hidden in the shadows, and every betrayal waiting for him. Did the Divine Healer descend from the mountains? "I'll steal his inheritance." Is the King of Soldiers returning to reclaim his glory? "I'll crush him before he even rises." The destined Son of Fortune? The Heavenly Genius? The Peerless Sword Saint? I'll take every one of their opportunities and leave them with nothing. "As for the heroines who once stood beside those protagonists... If they deserve redemption, they'll stand by my side instead. If they choose my enemies, they'll share their fate." In this life, Ethan would no longer be the stepping stone beneath the protagonists' feet. He would become the nightmare that hunts every Chosen One. After all... "Who says villains are destined to lose?"

Once a ghost, always a ghost. Ethan Vale, a quiet locksmith in East London, hides from a past that officially doesn’t exist. Years ago, he was an MI5 infiltration specialist — until a mission in Prague went wrong, his entire team was killed, and his name was erased. He’s lived in silence since. Until one rain-soaked night, a woman named Clara Daines bursts into his shop with a bleeding shoulder and a biometric case she claims holds evidence of a government conspiracy. Hours later, armed men arrive. Ethan’s calm life is shattered in seconds. When he opens the case, he finds something impossible — an active MI5 kill order with his name on it, dated that same day. Hunted by his own agency, Ethan partners with Detective Isla Hart, a sharp but idealistic investigator chasing a string of assassinations linked to a defunct MI5 unit known as Division 9 — the same unit Ethan once led. As Ethan unravels the mystery, he discovers Division 9 never truly ended — it evolved into The Consortium, a covert alliance manipulating London’s surveillance systems to engineer obedience. Every crime, every target, every “accident” is part of a digital control plan called Project Echelon II. The closer Ethan gets to the truth, the more he realizes: Division 9 didn’t just erase him. It rebuilt him — piece by piece. And now, the ghosts he buried are coming back… wearing his face. The final revelation will force Ethan to confront the deepest question of all: Is he still human — or just another trace in someone else’s code?

Soren Whitaker gave everything to his wife's family. He worked for them. Protected them. Risked his life for them. When the apocalypse turned the world into a wasteland, he thought the Harringtons would finally see him as family. He was wrong. When their supplies ran low, they traded his life for the resources they needed. Soren died knowing the people he had sacrificed everything for had never valued him. Then he opened his eyes. Three months before the apocalypse. With the memories of his first life intact, Soren refuses to repeat the same mistakes. He cuts ties with the Harringtons, abandons the man they once controlled, and begins preparing for the end of the world. But this time, fate gives him something he never possessed before. A mysterious spatial ability. With an endless storage space, Soren begins stockpiling everything he will need to survive the coming apocalypse. Food, medicine, equipment, and resources disappear into a space no one else can access. He knows when the apocalypse will begin. He knows what will happen. He knows who will betray him. Or at least, he thought he did. The future begins changing. Disasters arrive earlier than expected. Someone else appears to know what is coming. Strange messages reveal secrets about Soren's death, while something mysterious waits inside his spatial ability. And the Harringtons, who once traded his life for supplies, are coming for him again. This time, Soren won't be their sacrifice. He'll be the one deciding who survives.

Nicholas Wellesley, the last living legendary Grand Warlord of the Republic of Stars retires after the final battlefield nearly takes his life. Seeking only peace and recovery, he quietly visits the City Hall to handle his civilian identity. But in a single unexpected moment, everything changes. An ice-cold, domineering woman appears out of nowhere… and drags him straight into the marriage registration office. Before he can even make sense of the situation, Nicholas, the man who once commanded armies and shook nations… becomes an accidental husband. And the worst part? She has no idea who she just married.

In a world filled with levels and mythical beasts, a prince thrives to reclaim the kingdom that was once his own and avenge the death of his father no matter what. The prince is faced with all kinds of enemies and monsters but through the help of a peasant maiden, he fights with zeal and the skills of a Japanese swordsman, he never lost his spirit and even after his kingdom was taken from him and he was left with nothing but his sword he still kept his royalty and held his head high in the face of danger and in the face of the evil king, his name is Prince Elliot Alexander the only son of Ivan Alexander the third.

The keeper then looked at James and asked, "Isn't that the thief from earlier?" "I once learned from a man skilled in shipbuilding that if you flip a boat upside down it makes a great roof," he said. "I’ll remember that, help yourself to a room and a meal." "He is; would it be okay for him to spend the night in my room? And eat with me?” "Why would you believe a thief?" “I would,” “You may do as you wish, but I’m holding you accountable if anything of mine goes missing in the night,” and “Agreed” are all responses. After that, a bartender brought him and James their food to a table.

Humiliation forged him. Wealth armed him. Now, revenge drives him. An unexpected phone call changes the life of Billy Anderson—but for the first time, in the best possible way. From a powerless, humiliated son-in-law, he suddenly inherits a fortune so vast it seems unreal. Yet alongside wealth comes shadows: dark secrets, unseen enemies watching his every move, and a web of betrayal that once crushed him but now fuels his quest for revenge. Armed with fortune and determination, Billy must navigate danger, unravel hidden conspiracies, and claim justice—before the past catches up with him.

Adrian Steele was nothing in the eyes of the world, a husband trapped in a life of public humiliation under the sharp gaze of his wife, Isabella Voss, and her influential family. But when a mysterious system awakens within him—granting him power beyond human limits—he begins a transformation that will shake the foundations of wealth, power, and society itself. Rising from obscurity, Adrian builds an empire, crushes those who mocked him, and carves out a life of dominance alongside a woman who truly sees him. Isabella and her family will discover, too late, that the man they once humiliated is no longer theirs to control.

Douglas Garnett was born to save PortVarter. But once his victories served their purpose, the Governor discarded him, exploiting Douglas's sacrifices to amass power and wealth. The ultimate betrayal came when his fiancée—the Governor’s own daughter—abandoned him to marry the heir of a prominent family, treating Douglas like nothing more than trash beneath her feet. Now, cast aside and burning with the sting of betrayal, Douglas must decide: will he fade into the shadows, or will he return to show them what a true savior is capable of? The stage is set, but this time, it’s Douglas who holds the reins!

Once hailed as the nation's greatest war hero, Major General Asher River loses everything in a single day: his rank, his honor, and the family he sacrificed everything to protect. Cast out and mocked as a disgrace, he has only his little daughter left, who still believes in him. But the world made one fatal mistake. They thought the military was the source of his power. As ancient enemies emerge from the shadows and those who betrayed him begin to fall one by one, everyone is forced to ask the same threatening question: Who is Asher River... really?