Novels by Ify Francis

The words hit like a slap. “What?” Chelsea stepped closer. “Why?” “There was an environmental issue on one of the floors,” he said quietly. “They said I was responsible.” “But you weren’t,” she protested immediately. “You’ve been saying for weeks that the equipment was faulty.” “I know,” he said, voice cracking. “But I couldn’t prove it.” “It means we won't be able to get the insurance request. We won't be able to save mum.” Tears welled up in Chelsea's eyes. Silence filled the room, thick and suffocating. “They said,” he continued, swallowing hard, “that if I can bring a guarantor—someone who will vouch for my character and assure them it won’t happen again—they might reconsider. Otherwise… that’s it.” Chelsea’s mind raced. A guarantor. Someone powerful. Someone respected. Someone they didn’t have. Her legs felt weak. Without his job, the surgery—everything—would fall apart. All the hope she had carefully gathered would collapse like a house of cards. “I’ll do i

Chelsea bolted in through the glass doors of the clinic panting breathlessly. The clinic buzzed with controlled chaos—rolling carts, murmured diagnoses, sharp footsteps echoing down white corridors that smelled faintly of antiseptic and burnt coffee. It was nothing like the small facility she had trained in. Everything here moved faster, expected more, demanded precision.Smoothing down her scrubs, she followed the elegant woman walking briskly ahead of her.“Welcome to Still Waters,” Elena, the doctor -in- charge said with a warm smile curving her lips. “You are late though.”“I am so sorry," Chelsea wheezed. “I had to stop by at the hospital to check on my mum, deliver lunch to my dad at work and wait at the bus station to catch the next bus. It took an hour.”Immediately concern filled Elena's eyes. “I am so sorry." She smiled again. “But don't worry, you will soon get settled in New York. How is your mum, by the way?”“Thankfully she hasn't worsened.”“I wish her a speedy recover

Chelsea’s heart was still racing when the elevator doors finally slid shut. Her cheeks were flushing red.Not because she had almost missed it—but because of him.She clutched the pink lunch bag closer to her chest, willing her breathing to slow. This was supposed to be quick. Drop off lunch. Kiss her father on the cheek. Run back to the clinic before her supervisor noticed her absence. Nothing more.Her father’s lunch had nearly fallen. Her life plans almost followed.“I’m so sorry,” she said, finally finding her voice. “Thank you for stopping the elevator for me.”Davis studied her, intrigued. Despite her rushed state, she was… adorable. No makeup, flustered, curls tugged into a too-tight ponytail, and eyes the color of warm honey. She stood barely at his shoulder. Small. Soft. Innocent.And dangerously cute.Davis looked down at her, eyes unreadable, mouth curved into something dangerously close to a smile. Up close, he was… distracting. Clean-cut. Confident. Too polished for the p

By the time Davis got to work, the ache from the morning had hardened into something sharp and reckless.It was the kind of ache he recognized too well. It settled into him the way neglect always had, carving out a familiar hollow in his chest. He had learned long ago that when something hurt and refused to leave, the best way to survive it was to dress well, smile wider, and keep moving.The glass walls of the Dylan Corps tower reflected the man he had learned to be—tailored suit, unbothered stride, charming smile that came easily even when his heart felt anything but. What it did not show was the boy who had once waited by the window for a father who never came home, or the teenager who learned that silence from a parent could echo louder than shouting.People greeted him as he walked past, many with admiration. Davis responded effortlessly, the way he always did. A nod here. A brief smile there. A joke tossed lightly over his shoulder. He made it look easy because it was easy. Atte

“Davis, I think we should take a break.”Elena did not choose her office because it was romantic. But he had dropped by and it was the perfect opportunity to make such an announcement since they rarely saw much of each other these days. Her words landed gently, yet they cracked something loud and ugly inside him.“A break?” he repeated, lips curling into a humorless smile. “Is that what people say now when they’re tired of pretending?”Elena flinched. “That’s not fair.”“Then explain it to me fairly,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “Our engagement ceremony is just around the corner, Elena. In a bit. And now you want a break?”She inhaled deeply, as if she had rehearsed this moment a hundred times and still feared she would forget her lines. “I’m starting my residency soon. Medicine isn’t… it isn’t something you do halfway. I need focus. I need space.”“Space from me?” His voice sharpened. “Or space from being my fiancée?”Her silence answered him too quickly.Davis laughed under