En route to the planet Antarea, Cara (the third regeneration of Neas) and her teenage companion Toby are thrown off course and arrive in Outworld, one of many interconnected realms. After being mortally wounded in the aftermath of a skirmish, Cara regenerates into her next incarnation, "Margie", and is coerced into partaking in a fighting tournament known as "Mortal Kombat". From here, Margie solidifies her new position as an Earthrealm defender, alongside Toby and her mentor, Raiden, as well as other fighters - Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, and Kenshi. Their mission is to protect the realms from the forces of the powerful, deadly sorcerer, Shang Tsung, and his four-armed Shokan champion, Goro.
Henley agrees to pretend to date millionaire Bennett Calloway for a fee, falling in love as she wonders - how is he involved in her brother's false conviction?
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Henley Linden's brother is in jail for a crime he didn't commit, and she'll take any job to raise the money needed to free him. Soon, she's agreed to pretend to date millionaire Bennett Calloway for ten thousand dollars, so his mother will ease up the pressure on him to find a wife. But once Henley is enmeshed in Bennett's world, he falls for her, and she starts to have feelings for him as well. Despite her romance with Bennett, as she grows closer to the Calloways, Henley realizes they are somehow involved in her brother's conviction. Journeying deeper into a world of wealth and conspiracies, Henley is forced to rely on Bennett, though doing so could cost her everything.
[[word count: 200,000-250,000 words]]