Novels by Fiery pen

Her hands trembled slightly. She was staring out the window of her office at the academy but her mind was somewhere else entirely. She had been transported back in time to the fateful day two weeks ago when the doctor had made the announcement with a wide grin on her face. "Congratulations, Miss Vivian. You're ten weeks pregnant." She had said, flashing Vivian a genuine smile that reached her crinkling eyes. At that moment, a cold sweat had broken out on Vivian’s forehead as the doctor’s words hit her like a bomb. The words had been so unprecedented, so out of left field that it took her a long time to understand the gravity of the doctor’s pronouncement. When she had finally digested her words, fear caused a knot to form in her stomach."The baby is in perfect condition." The doctor had said and Vivian had smiled at her, happy but at the same time, uncertain. "Your husband must be so proud." She had said. But would he? Nate had been so vehemently against a child and even though

VIVIANI opened my eyes. But I was in an unfamiliar place. The darkness that surrounded me was not only palpable, it was suffocating. I tried to breathe but my lungs seemed to be constricted with something. I stretched forth my hands to guide my path but something seemed to be on my way. I tore at the barrier but it only grew thicker. It was the darkness. Was there any way out of here? How could I fight something I could not even see? I opened my mouth to scream but no sound would come out. I was stuck in this deep, dark pit with nowhere to go but down. Below me, it seemed like there was quicksand and if I did not find a way to get out of here quickly, I would be swallowed whole. I clawed at the space in front of me, beside me and above me but the darkness was too dense, too restricting. Where was help when I needed it the most? My determination had started to wane. My resolve which I thought was stronger than steel bars had become considerably weakened the more it dawned on me t

NATEI felt overwhelmed. I had not felt this way in the longest of times, not even when dealing with Richard's stupidity. Why were things going haywire all of a sudden just when I thought the dust had settled down? I could not pretend not to know why. Gran's announcement yesterday had triggered a lot of suppressed resentment and I just had to deal tactfully with it or everything I held dear would be taken away right before my eyes. I had been called to the company the day before because Aston was making trouble. Word had spread that he had gone around contacting all the members of the board and having a secret meeting with them. I was not sure what the meeting had been about but I could guess. "Let's hurry." I said to my driver as I looked through Vivian's mail for the umpteenth time. I was about to send a message thanking her for her hard work when my phone started to vibrate. It was a call from my personal assistant. "They are holding an emergency extraordinary meeting of the

VIVIANI typed away feverishly. I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins, fueling my fingers and propelling me to think. What had this not occurred to me before? Why had I glossed over Emily's statement back then like it was nothing at all. Had I been too overwhelmed at the time that I had been unable to put two and two together? Unable to see what was right in front of me? Emily had said three companies. Three companies, but only two were behind bars. So what happened to the last one? It was a question I should have been asking for sometime now. Would I be able to find a connection that would reveal which company was the third? Would I find enough proof? I started by digging into the two companies. Their CEOs had been well known in the business world for taking over small companies after leading them into debt. There were many comments online laying complaints against them and a third name kept popping up. Could it be?... I changed the direction of my research. It w

VIVIAN It all felt awkward. Gran had made the announcement of the century and the room was thrown into chaos. Aston looked like he could combust in anger at any time and stormed off. Gran was unwilling to listen to Nate's protests and Nate's mother just looked surprised. I, on the other hand was unsure how I was supposed to react. I was not very surprised, considering how much affinity Gran held for Nate, I was only a bit skeptical about the timing. But what did I care? I was no longer a part of the family. I was practically a stranger who happened to witness the Stuart family going at each other and it didn't matter what my thoughts were. I just wanted to escape before anyone looked in my direction and thought to rope me into it. Gran shuffled out of the room, leaning slightly on his cane and I saw my chance. Nate was still looking around, confused as ever and there was just a general tension in the air that I was sure no one would notice my silent disappearance. It felt good n

NATEI swore internally. How had Ashton found out? But then again, the same idiot that had the temerity to give out company information had probably babbled again. Vivian looked stricken standing there, staring numbly from Ashton to my mother to Gran. She tried to say something but it seemed like the words would not come out. I wanted to hold her and calm her down like I did yesterday in the hospital but this was not the place or time and I was pretty sure she would push me away. Guilt weighed down on me heavily. This was all my fault. I had brought this situation on her and I wanted to fix it badly but I felt control slipping out of my hands. Ashton was pushing, tearing down the walls of support around me, trying to strip me of my confidence and painting Vivian as the black sheep. I could not understand for the life of me why he had suddenly turned bad. Or perhaps he had always been this way, lurking silently in the shadows, waiting for this chance to ruin me. "Vivian did nothin

NATALIE Valen didn’t understand what my look meant and quickly evaded my eyes. “So, Natalie Caldwell,” a soft but firm feminine voice made heads turn. “How did you do it?” She asked and I smiled in confusion. What did she mean by how did I do it? Do what? “Become a chief jeweler and now I hear, head of your team within a small time frame?” She asked and my back stiffened. I glanced at Valen. Was she supposed to ask this? “And what do you think about the workload? The company?” She asked, a certain look of concern in her face. I cleared my throat and tried my best to answer but somehow I felt I was lacking. She gave me accolades where it was due, asking me a couple more questions from the project we had won and I did my best to answer but after thirty minutes of continuous questions, I started to feel suffocated. “Excuse me, I’ll just powder my nose,” I said and stood up, getting directions to the bathroom and hiding in there. They were only asking friendly quest

NATALIE My blood boiled when I crossed referenced the unknown number and found out it was none other than Lucas!Why was he texting me?And how did he even get my number!?I laid my phone flat on my desk and mentally removed myself from the situation. I had way too many files to file for this nonsense.An exhausted sigh escaped my lips with the realization that Richard had been a very lazy boss. How was it that we had weeks of paperwork, some of them almost past their due dates?I worked until my alarm dinged signaling end of day. My secretary came in and did her job by clearing and reorganizing while I grabbed my things and left for the day.But my mind was still revolving around the audacious text. There was no way I was going to respond to that message. I had run out of polite things to say to Lucas.I called a cab and exited the building before Valen would see me leaving. My mind was still turning over what I'd heard him say. I knew almost everything about the Gravestones but

NATALIEMy heels bounced off of the concrete with perfect consistency. My hair was sleeked back, the bounce in my steps making my ponytail sweep. I looked composed and poised but actually, my mind was in shambles.For two weeks, the only thing I’ve thought about were Valen’s words “I finally found her, Malcolm. After twenty years,” I know I shouldn’t have evesdeopped on the conversation but it was innocent. After the abrupt rise in position, I had walked back to Valen’s office to try to talk him out of the unusual promotion he gave me when I first heard arguments. I leaned in closer, a bit of worry forming in my guts before I heard it.I didn’t wait to let my presence be known, I wasn’t supposed to be there in the first place.And for those two weeks, I have unintentionally buried myself in work to escape Valen. I walked through the doors of Gravestone group when my phone beeped out of the blue. I reached my hand into my bag, trying to keep my line of sight straight but I didn’t g

MALCOLM Natalie. Team lead. With firing power?Jesus.The door swung shut behind the last of the staff, leaving the conference room eerily quiet. I finally stepped out, crossing the hallway with long strides, and caught up with Valen near the elevator bank. He was scrolling through his phone like he didn't just detonate a bomb back there.“You’re not going to say anything?” he asked, not looking up.I didn’t answer right away. I waited until the hallway had fully cleared. When I was sure it was just us, I exhaled, slow and controlled, trying to pick the right words. But nothing felt measured enough for this.“Do you really think that was wise?” I blurted finally, my voice low but tense.Valen glanced up. His expression didn’t change. “You’re going to have to be more specific.”I took a step closer. “Handing Natalie the reins like that. Giving her a whole team. With decision power. That's dangerous.”He arched a brow, and I kept rambling.“The rot that has been growing in this compan

Natalie’s pov I stepped forward, losing control over my restraint. “You know what, Richard?” I said in a calm voice. “If you want to question my performance, that's fine. You want to criticize my work? Go ahead. But if you ever, reduce my skills, my ideas, or my success to some sexual joke again—” I paused, letting the silence drop like a weight. “I earned every inch of my position here,” I said, locking eyes with him. “Don’t mistake your insecurity for my ambition. We are not the same.” His face turned an ugly shade of purple, but he didn’t speak. Good for him. The room remained breathless in the wake of my words. I should have walked away after all that. But I turned back to him. I couldn’t stop myself. “No, seriously, Richard,” I said, quieter now. “Isn’t it crazy that you suddenly have a problem with me? A moment ago you wanted nothing but to eat out of the palm of my hands . Literally you were in my kitchen last night, desperate for something ‘domestic’. But here you are w

Natalie’s pov I was late. Not just “five minutes past your alarm” late. I was two-hours-late, head-pounding, drooling, tears-leaking-out-of-my-eyes kind of late. My body felt like it had been squeezed out and left to dry out in the cold. I had stayed up scrolling the news, watching my former company’s name plummet in real-time, headlines bold with their failure. Still, I hadn’t expected to oversleep. I barely managed to pull myself together. A half-wrinkled blouse, a ponytail that screamed defeat, and one shoe scuffed from being dragged halfway across the bedroom while I tried to find the second of the pair. By the time I walked into the office building, I was extremely late. The elevator ride felt unusually slow. My reflection in the mirrored walls was not doing me any favors. When the elevator finally chimed and slid open, I stepped out into a wall of tension I could feel in my teeth. The floor was too quiet. Something was wrong. I didn’t make it ten steps before I heard m