Novels by NOKO

[Harold's POV]But the old miser slots in right before the first punch. “Harold, you know I detest violence.” Clifford exhales an added disapproval. “And this is my building, not yours.” “Violence? His words are violence! All lies!” A furious finger fires at Ralph Virtus. “All Virtuses are good at that.” He glances at his daughter, who’s reliving her stupidity-led betrayal, then back at that glowering slime. “LYING THROUGH THEIR TEETH.” Ralph Virtus jabbed indignantly at the air, right between Harold’s incense eyes. “You’re the lying sack shit! Thanks to your lies, I lost my wife once—!” His daughter looks like she wishes she hadn’t known the enemy, and a snort of confidence pushes through his nostrils. “Would the police not see through my lies if I was lying?” He pleads with Clifford with as much sincerity in him. “He forced my daughter into a marriage she didn’t want. If I wasn’t in a coma, I would’ve stopped it.”Ralph lunges right at him. “YOU GAVE ME HER HAND IN MARRIAGE, YOU

[Harold’s POV]Questions are good. You don’t know, you ask. It’s that simple. Pretend to know, and you’re the dumbest kid in the room. That’s what Harold Lux believed in, and that’s what he taught Juliette. There’s always something good in a question; it points out the clever from the stupid, the real from the fake, an enemy from an ally. And Juliette is one true clever ally. Handing her mobile phone over, she asks, “What do we do, Papa?” Harold reads the screen, and it’s a text from Ralph Virtus: We need to talk. He purses his lips in disapproval, then exhales, “What does he want to talk about?” and hurls the device back at his daughter, who looks ready to be reprimanded or punished. “Our plan to take Papa down,” answers a tone that’s hooked to a lie detector. The business king laughs at the stupid, young arrogance. “And how did you both plan to do that?” She swallows her shame of guilt, touches her heart-shaped necklace, and replies, “we’ll make you take the investors that

[Robert’s POV]He’s never seen the Don in such rage. Mr Smith had described it to him once, and Robert had a strong sense that he would finally be able to see it. He was mentally killing someone. With his bare hands. That sly fox Lux? When Madame was verbally slapping the Don for God knows what, that so-called Business King was grinning from ear to ear. That smug of satisfaction on his face, even Robert wanted to throw a punch at him.But as Madame turned from him, the Don reached out his hand wanting to grab her, to get her back. That full display of desperation showed Robert that Madame mattered the most to the head of the Virtus clan than his own pride. Even more than his family honour. Everything was out the window when he went for his most prized possession. If that son of a bitch lawyer hadn’t placed himself between them, the Don would have thrown his arms around his wife and dragged her into the limousine. Robert’s eyes widened with new knowledge: the Don was angry at himsel

[Harold’s POV]His plan is working. Naive. She’s too naive. Like her mother. Like all women. Just because they are the centre of human procreation, they think they know better. But they are just vessels. Empty. Stupid. And his daughter is the stupidest of them all. He watched everything come crumbling down on her face, and almost couldn’t hide his own satisfaction that was exploding inside. Now, she makes me look like the greatest fool, he thought, the corner of his lips lifted in a tiny smirk. “R-Ralph would never lie to me,” she said, her own doubt whispering underneath those words, and Harold Lux couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “Never?” He jabbed a finger on the table. “HE’S A VIRTUS! He would never tell a Lux the truth! Get that into your thick skull, you stupid girl!” The truth is always hard to take. She plonked herself back on the chair, looking completely lost. Her head swayed with disbelief, and Harold sensed the shattering of an alliance—a way back on track. “I forgive

[Juliette’s POV]Before the door came to a close behind me, Pauline said—-or whispered—beating me to the first word, “I think your father made it very clear over the phone yesterday, Juliette.” Here goes. I grabbed the iPad tightly and lifted my chin, not responding to a word until I sat down, and I took the seat next to Papa. The more Pauline spoke, the softer and more scratchy her voice got, which pains me to listen to it. I had to fight the urge to wince in sympathy. “So, here’s the deal, Juliette. Hand over the evidence you have, and we’ll back you up as CEO of Lux Corp.” I was stunned speechless. This was totally unexpected. Instead of giving me a laundry list of excuses, or berating me for scaring away all the investors, Papa is asking for the evidence I have at hand. He only wants the evidence? But—. “I don’t get it,” I blurted, completely taken aback. “I’ve shown it to you before. But you still chased me out.” My anger had swarmed in. “YOU THREW ME UNDER THE BUS.” Paul

[Juliette’s POV]The thought of dancing under the moonlight, amidst the warm sea breeze, has never crossed my mind until Ralph suggested it. “You’re such a bore.” He smiled with a teasing gaze as I did two twirls. He caught my waist at the perfect moment and pulled me close, snuggling my curves against his frame. That proud toothy grin of his made my heart lose its rhythm, and I lowered my chin to hide the heat in my cheeks. Hooking his elbow around my waist, he leaned in and whispered into my ear, “Why are you blushing?” “Because you’re handsome,” I whispered back and felt a shudder up my spine. Damn, that’s cringey. Thank God, he laughed at the right moment, or I’d have blushed harder. I grabbed more of his back to snuggle deeper and let my left cheek rest on his chest of muscles. Then, very naturally, a sigh of peace and relief left my lips.And very naturally too, he chuckled softly before planting a kiss on the top of my head. “Phase 1 over, kitten.” I closed my eyes to savo

ROSECarefully, I picked up my iPad and the impatient phone and turned towards the exit of the office. I thought to answer the call once I’m outside, but it stopped buzzing. So I moved cautiously towards the elevator, when it arrived just as I halted to push the button for it. The doors opened and my handsome Alpha King appeared, worried as hell. ‘Why didn’t you answer my call?’ he demanded.I rolled my eyes. ‘Because I’m getting through a door with this.’ I pointed at my huge belly. He was about to carry me like a bride when I slapped his hands away. ‘Stop it!’ I hissed. ‘You want everyone to know?!’ ‘Wheelchair. If you ever missed my call again.’ He stepped aside for me to enter the metal carrier. ‘Alright, alright…’ I chuckled. ‘So how was it?’ He asked, glancing at my iPad. ‘Did she approve it?’ ‘No.’ I sighed. ‘It’s too extravagant. The actress specifically asked for more grounded styles. She wants people to relate more to acting than her beauty.’ And Keithen scoffed. ‘Goo

ROSEI rolled myself onto him, loving the way my skin rubbed against his, feeling his warmth and heartbeat against mine, as well as the vibrations of his chuckle. He swept the sticky damp strands off my face, hooking some around my ears, then combed the rest to the back of my head with his fingers, and all the time, I had my eyes closed, savouring the moment. And he chuckled some more. ‘You want another round?’ he whispered. My eyes burst open, and his arms squeezed my bare waist as he laughed. ‘I’m hurt, cub. You look like a car was about to hit you.’ I shifted closer to his face—my breasts scraping his hard chest, and he grunted a little—and kissed him on the mouth hard, delivering all my passion, all my apologies. Immediately, his mouth opened and he shifted to push me forward, so that his tongue could dive in a little more, consuming me breathless. Just as the familiar desires stirred inside me, I pulled back, tore my lips from his and captured his face with both hands, tryi

ROSEI’m a werewolf, aren’t I? Okay, not entirely. Just half wolf, half human. But that still counts, right? There’s still some wolf inside me to make this work! This has to work! Concentrate. Focus, Rose. Think of the gate. I could be at the beach, or the back alley. Does it relocate to the same place twice? Or does it choose a new place each time? ‘Rose, are you having a headache?’ asked Joy. I opened my eyes and evaluated my best friend for a while. Then, I made up my mind. ‘Joy.’ I grabbed her shoulders. ‘I’m about to tell you something that nothing in Science can ever explain.’ ‘O…kay?’ I could see the wheels of her mind churning to come up with the plausible reason for my sudden strange behaviour. ‘Is it Harry Potter kinda something?’ I nodded firmly. And she mouthed ‘O’, with a knowing gaze. But behind that gaze, I still caught her disbelief. ‘It’s alright to not believe me. Just promise me that you won’t tell a living soul.’ I was staring at her so hard, I could almost

RICHARDA video showing Richard in his midnight blue shirt with his arm stretched across the desk. The files shifted and a sketch of a female figurine in a puffed up flowy gown with petals in her hair and on her lashes and lips. Richard was flabbergasted. He turned back to the CEO, his mind churning furiously to come up with the best excuse to save his ass. ‘When Rose brought me that design, I thought to myself: this is something that ambitious Annie would use. It’s extravagant and flamboyant. Wouldn’t it be nice to distract her with this, so my precious gem can focus on levelling up her skills? She can’t be stuck in the B.A.D. crap all the time.’ Richard felt deflated. His world was crashing down into dust. ‘Y-You set me up.’ The CEO laughed heartily. ‘You flatter yourself too much, Richard. Set ups are for my equals. This is just a test. But you scored full marks.’ The young rising star slammed his palms on the desk and glared at the CEO—the woman who had previously doted on hi

ROSE‘... the winner of this styling face off is—.’ The emcee’s eyes rolled left to right repeatedly as he read the card. His brows knitted as a mutter of disbelief spilled from his mouth, ‘Annie from B.A.D.’ My insides sank to the deepest parts of my spirit. ‘YES!’ Annie shrieked out victoriously. With a smugful grin, she cast a look of condemnation in my way. ‘I told you she’s a fake! She can’t style at all! Extraordinary—ha!’ That was… … unexpected. I thought I had a good chance. I really did read Miss Jewel’s comments wrongly. ‘Oh! The main judge has something to say!’ The emcee shoved Annie aside to make way for the retired supermodel, Jinda Avengelistford, who gracefully took the centrestage at an astounding height of six feet. ‘Based on the styling standards, Miss Annie has met every single one.’ She turned to the head of B.A.D.’s styling team and flashed a warm smile. ‘It was exciting—your unexpected. There is still a difference between professional and personal styling.

KEITHEN ’CUT!’ The director’s frown was as clear as the blue sky outside. I could tell that he’s been trying to hold it in. But the shit’s about to explode. ‘Rum.’ He forced a smile. ‘Are you sure you’re not unwell?’ I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve said this: ‘I’m fine.’ ‘Then what’s the problem?!’ The older guy grabbed his hair, about to go crazy. I stared at the line of the script that was shoved into my view. Instantly, the clog in my throat grew real. As real as the reality I’m about to face in an hour’s time. ‘Maybe Rum’s upset that this is all going to end for him soon.’ I looked up and a pair of kind eyes smiled back at me. Sherry patted my shoulder as that sweet smile turned into a sympathetic one. ‘I bet he misses all this. Don’t you, boss?’ I chuckled dryly and looked down again. ‘I’m not your boss, Sher. I’ve said it many times.’ That’s it. No matter how hard you try. You can’t fight reality. You just can’t. You can stay hidden around her. It won’t ma