Novels by Shirley South

Cole's POVI remained with Bella in her ward for a few minutes before leaving her alone with Eric to go fill out some forms as her legally married husband. She was breathing. I kept repeating that to myself as I walked down the hallway to fill out the forms they’d shoved into my hands. I sat at the desk, but my mind wasn’t here.Then my phone vibrated. Mrs. Hanley was calling.I picked up immediately.“Sir?” she said, voice trembling a little.“Mrs. Hanley,” I breathed out, rubbing my forehead. “I need you to watch Miles.”“How long, sir?”“I don’t know.” I swallowed. “It might be late. It might be… not tonight at all.”I heard the shift in her breathing.“Is it madam?” she asked softly.“Yes,” I whispered. “She was… in an accident.”I heard her gasp quietly. “Oh God.”“Oh, don't worry, Mrs. Hanley. She’s alive,” I added quickly, choking a bit on the words. “But I need to stay here. I need you to watch him like a hawk. Don’t let him out of your sight. Don’t—” My voice cracked. I hated

Eric's POVI stood there in the hallway long after the doctor walked away. I swallowed, forcing air into my lungs. I’d begged God to keep her alive. He answered.But memory loss?That… I wasn’t prepared for.When I finally turned around, I forced myself to straighten my shoulders. I couldn’t fall apart. Not here. Not when Rose was still standing out there, holding tightly to Sarah like she sensed the tension everywhere around her.I walked back down the hallway and found Sarah sitting stiffly on one of the chairs, Rose curled on her lap with her thumb in her mouth. Sarah was not looking at the child. She was glaring toward the hall I had just walked out of, arms crossed tightly.The moment she saw me, she stood.“What did the doctor say?” she asked immediately.I ignored the question. Not because I wanted to punish her, I just… couldn’t speak the words again. Not yet.“Sarah,” I said quietly, “take Rose home.”She blinked. “What? Why? You’re coming too.”“I’m staying.”Her head tilted

Eric's POVI didn’t even feel the weight of Rose in my arms as I stormed into the hospital, shouting for help. Everything after Bella hit the ground happened so fast that my brain was still trying to catch up. All I knew, everything I could cling to, was the image of her body lying on the road, still, unmoving, and the blood pooling under her arm.Now she was on a stretcher, being wheeled away from me.“Sir, sir. Who are you to the patient?” a nurse demanded, blocking my path before I could follow the stretcher.I swallowed hard. “I’m—” My voice cracked. “I’m Eric Damon, her ex-husband. I was there when the accident happened. My car was just parked on the side of the road... in front of a store when I heard people screaming. I rushed out and saw her.”The nurse paused. Her eyes softened, but only slightly. “We’ll need her full name.”“Bella Hayes… legally Bella Warren,” I answered. “She—uhm... she has a husband. Cole Warren. You should know him. He is the CEO of Warren Capital Holding

Bella's POVIt had been days... weeks... months since the birth of my precious Miles. Unfortunately, it's the third time I missed Rose's birthday, and I was sure that the lady, Sarah, who had her in her custody, didn't know when it was Rose's birthday. My daughter was now three with a sibling she doesn't know of yet.Still, I couldn't allow myself to think too much about it. Not after the warnings Sarah had thrown at me.On my way back home from my company's headquarters, I got stuck in traffic on the boulevard. People crossing when they weren’t supposed to. I sighed, lowering the AC a bit as I reached the red light and the car slowed to a stop.My phone buzzed through the Bluetooth. I looked at it and it was Bri, my oldest and closest friend. We've been friends before I married Eric, and we've stayed friends since. But I never mentioned anything about Rose to her.Perfect timing, I thought to myself"Hello, Bri," I said.“Hey, Bella!” her bright, musical voice echoed in my car. “You

Bella's POVThe first thing I heard was the cry. I had forgotten how to breathe for a moment as I lay back against the hospital bed, drenched in sweat, tears streaming down my face, while I felt relieved. My body trembled uncontrollably, every one of my muscles still aching from the last push, my vision swimming.But that cry—God, that cry made everything worth it.“He’s here,” one of the nurses said softly. “You did so well, Mrs. Warren.”Another nurse held the tiny, squirming newborn up just enough for me to see him before carrying him to the station, where they cleaned him. I couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything but stare with shaking lips parted, my chest rising and falling as if I’d been underwater for minutes.Cole was beside me, holding my hand so tightly it might’ve bruised, but I didn’t care. His grip was the only thing keeping me tethered to the ground. He leaned down and kissed my forehead over and over again, breath uneven, voice shaking.“You did it, Bella. My love, you di

Bella's POVI was not asleep.I had been lying there for nearly an hour, curled on my side, pretending to breathe like someone who had peacefully surrendered to slumber. Fear had stolen everything from me. Beside me, Cole slept soundly, one arm flung across his middle, his chest rising and falling.My phone vibrated again. The screen lit up beneath the blanket where I had hidden it.Eric Damon calling…Again. For the thirteenth time.My breath caught, my heart pounding so loud I was terrified it would wake Cole from across the mattress. Why was he calling at this hour? What did he want? He should have been asleep, living his life, moving forward.I stared at the glowing screen until it stopped vibrating. It went dark. For a full minute, I felt nothing but silence. Then another vibration. But this time, it was a message alert. Voicemail.My throat tightened. I knew I shouldn’t listen. I knew I shouldn’t touch anything connected to him, but my hand moved anyway, slowly. I plugged the ea

We pulled away from the kiss just to catch our breath for a few seconds."You've often told me about the awesome blowjobs you gave your boyfriends. And if I remember right, you've only bragged to me about them, but never offered to give me one," he muttered. "That pisses me off a lot.""I always knew you were jealous of the guys I dated." I bit my lips.He stood and dropped his pants, then sat back with his legs spread open a bit as he rubbed his hard wood. "Prove to me how good you are."I got on my knees in front of him. Then I ran my hand up his leg, feeling him shudder as his cock stiffened even more. My hand gripped him tightly. His wood was bigger than any cock I've held, and believe me, I've held a lot of cocks.I began stroking him, pumping him. Derek closed his eyes as my warm hands gripped his cock. Soon, I coated it with my saliva. My tongue ran over the shaft, leaving not one spot dry. I covered the tip and sucked gently, taking in more, and kept a vacuum-like hold on him,

The weight of my body pressed against him was so hot. His breath brushed my skin, and the softness of his touch sent chills running down my spine. My heart was begging for distance, but my body had already made its choice.His hand rested on my face as he tilted my chin upwards. His eyes were locked on my mouth while he traced the corner of my lips with his thumb. Our breaths tangled in the narrow space between us. Our faces drifted closer until our lips hovered just a breath apart.But then he stopped, and that pause burned more than any kiss ever could.The air in my living room felt very heavy, and for a second, I thought I could hear my own heartbeat echo off the walls. Derek’s hand was still at my waist, his breath warm at the base of my neck, but his eyes had changed. He wasn't looking at me with hunger anymore. He was looking at me with uncertainty. And I understood why.He stepped back first, breaking us apart.“I shouldn’t have done that,” he said quietly. "I'm sorry."“You d

Later that day, after I returned home from work. I sat on my couch for what felt like hours, thinking about whether I should give in to the dangerous pull towards Derek. I was caught up between sense and temptation.This was all new to me. Something about the way he is now just makes me want to have him, and not in the same way we were years ago. I reached out, grabbing my phone from the coffee table beside me. I unlocked it and went straight to my mail. My fingers hovered over his contact number as I hesitated to copy it.I thought to myself how silly it was. How totally ridiculous it was to feed more attention to what's happening. And yet... the thought of him still being drawn to me, the thought of me still having that kind of hold over him felt dangerously and deliciously intoxicating.Later that night, after pacing around for what felt like forever, I closed my eyes, took in a deep breath, and exhaled softly. Then I whispered to myself."Fuck it, I'm calling him."I tapped on his

"You remember me?" I asked in a soft voice, unsure if I actually heard him say my name.He scoffed. "There's not a machine in this world that will be able to wipe you out of my head," he smiled, pressing me even harder against him that it felt like our bodies were merging as one. "You're unforgettable, Elsa."I immediately threw my arms around him, hugging him back. After a while, we pulled apart slowly, reluctant to let each other go, but we had to. I couldn't risk letting anyone see me with a bride's husband in that manner.I smoothed down my dress. "Okay, so if you actually remembered me, why then did you not say anything back there? You just walked past me like I was a statue," I asked, playfully frowning at him."I apologize for making you feel that way, Elsa. It was not my intention," he pleaded. "I really didn't think I'd meet you here at all. It was so unexpected that when I saw you, I didn't know what to do. I needed time to process everything so I could react properly withou

My stepmother loved watching me have sex. Whenever I had my boyfriend around, she would stand outside, peeking through the slightly opened door, watching me and my then partner make love.I always thought it was some kind of fantasy of hers to watch her stepdaughter. But it was something else.Years ago, after the death of my father, I was basically turned into Cinderella. The classic 'daughter turned into a slave in her own father's house'. My stepmother was jealous of me. She hated how beautiful I was and the attention I got from guys back then... it was humiliating.After a while, I got fed up with it, and because my father was dead and I was nineteen, I had no one to stand up for me. No one but Derek.Back then, he was a guy who lived next door. Your typical silent, mysterious, but sweet guy that every girl in the area drooled over. I just didn't see what they were thirsting for about him, but whatever it was sure made a lot of girls go crazy.One evening, he approached me, and th