Novels by Love Jackson

NARAI stood in front of the long mirror, the reflection staring back at me looked nothing like the girl who had dreamed of love and freedom. The white wedding dress hugged my body in all the wrong ways, too tight in places, flowing in others, like it was mocking me. I ran my fingers over the fabric, over the lace, over the delicate embroidery, and felt nothing but the weight of my life crashing down on me.How had it changed so fast? One moment I was planning my future with Mike, hoping for a life we could build together. Hoping to see a real tomorrow where we were free from my father’s grasp and Camille’s manipulations. I had imagined creating a life away from all this greed. And then, in one blow, I had lost him.Mike. My heart ached at the memory. I was to be with him but this monster I was to marry made sure to put a wedge between us. Tears welled up, uninvited, hot and relentless. They rolled down my cheeks, burning against my skin.“Miss Nara,” a soft voice came from behind me

NARAMy phone rang in the afternoon while I was folding clothes.I froze when I saw his name.For a second, my heart lifted before fear could catch up. I wiped my hands on my skirt and answered.“Mike?”His voice came through low and strained. “Nara. Can you come over?”Something about his tone made my chest tighten. “What’s wrong?”“I need to talk to you,” he said. “In person. Please.”My fingers curled around the phone. “Is it about my parents?”There was a pause. “Yes. And something else.”Hope rushed in before I could stop it. “Did you speak to them? Did it go okay?”Another pause. Longer this time. “Just come, okay?”“I’ll come,” I said quickly. “I’ll be there soon.”I ended the call with my heart racing.He had done it. He had stood his ground. Maybe this was him telling me everything would be fine.I changed my clothes fast and thought through my excuse. Camille barely looked at me when I told her I needed to get something from the market. She waved me off like I was nothing.I

Mike woke up the next morning with his chest already tight.The light coming through the window felt too bright, too honest. He lay there staring at the ceiling, replaying Nara’s face from the day before. Her tears. The way she had clung to him like he was the last solid thing left in her world.He sat up slowly and ran a hand down his face.“I have to do this,” he said to the empty room.Getting dressed took longer than it should have.He pulled out his clothes one by one, laying them on the bed, then picking them up again. He tried a shirt, frowned, took it off. Tried another. He kept thinking it looked cheap. Too thin. Too obvious.He settled on the most formal outfit he owned. A dark jacket he only wore for interviews. A plain shirt. No tie. He stared at himself in the mirror, turning left, then right.“Do I look like a joke?” he asked his reflection.The man in the mirror didn’t answer.He fixed his hair twice. Cleaned his shoes even though they were already clean. His hands shoo

NARAI stood in front of the mirror long after the sun had gone down.The room was quiet, but my head wasn’t. My eyes were swollen and red, lashes stiff from dried tears. I wiped my face again even though it didn’t help much. Camille had laid a dress on my bed like a final decision already made. Cream colored. Long sleeves. Modest, but tight where it mattered. It didn’t feel like clothing. It felt like packaging.I slipped it on slowly.The fabric clung to my skin in a way that made my stomach twist. I barely recognized the girl staring back at me. She looked dressed for display, not dinner. Like livestock cleaned up before sale.My chest ached as every breath felt slow and forced. I kept blinking hard, scared that if I cried again, I wouldn’t stop.Dinner… with Jared Wilson’s family.. the words tasted bitter in my mouth.I whispered Mike’s name without thinking. Just once. Soft. Like a plea. Like if I said it out loud, he’d somehow feel it wherever he was.A knock hit the door.“Nara

NARA“You will marry him, and that’s final. I don’t want to hear whatever bullshit you have to say!” my father yelled.“I will not. That man is a widower, for crying out loud!” I shot back, struggling to stop the tears burning in my eyes.“And so what if he is a widower?” My father’s voice dropped deathly low as he advanced toward me.“I will not be used as a replacement for any man. I deserve to be with someone I love—and who loves me too. Not someone who is looking for a substitute.” I was defiant and hell-bent on not marrying Jared Wilson. A billionaire businessman and mogul, he had the looks and the money any woman would normally desire.But I would live a life of eternal sorrow if I married that man, because he was only seeking a breeding tool. He had lost his wife five months ago—Catherine Wilson. She was the opposite of everything he embodied, yet the poor woman had died while giving birth to their child, the acclaimed heir to his family’s fortune.And now he was searching for