A Lesson Before Dying Barnes And Noble Novels & Stories

When the girlfriend of my childhood friend, Shane Sheridan, comes over for the first time, I help to prepare a feast to welcome her. Lydia Forestwood glances at the garlic butter shrimp and suddenly flies into a rage. "You deliberately made something I'm allergic to! You want to embarrass and badmouth me in front of my boyfriend so you can take my place. Stop dreaming! If he were ever interested in you, then I wouldn't be here." I'm confused and quickly explain that his mom broke her leg and asked me to come and help. I also explain that I already have a fiancé and have zero interest in Shane. She lets out a cold laugh. "Stop playing hard to get. I can spot a scheming woman in a glance. Y

For seventeen years, Josie Callahan and Grayson Locke have been inseparable. Best friends. Neighbors. Each other's first call, first choice, and safest place. The summer before senior year, after years of hiding their feelings, they finally admit the truth. They fall in love. For one perfect summer, everything feels possible. Then, on the first day of school, Josie hears the one word that changes everything. Leukemia. With only months left to live, she makes an impossible choice. Instead of letting Gray watch her die the same way he watched cancer steal his mother two years earlier, she destroys their relationship herself. She rejects him. Breaks his heart

In the three years I spent unconscious in a hospital bed, Julius Carter took care of me day and night without complaint. The very first thing he did after I woke up was get down on one knee beside my hospital bed and propose. That night, while scrolling through social media, I came across a female influencer who looked strikingly similar to me. [Another date with my boyfriend today!] [He took me to an upscale restaurant for dinner and bought me the diamond ring I wanted. He's the sweetest!] The top comment read: [You're showing off so much. I bet you're just a sugar baby!] She fired back immediately with a reply. [Being a sugar baby takes skill, too. Looking like a pig won't get you tha

I dropped by to help my younger sister revise her thesis, and while I was at it, I joined her research group for dinner. The moment I walked into the private dining room, a few girls blushed and called out to me. “Hey, handsome, are you single? Give us a shot!” My sister’s boyfriend, Eric Pensworth, looked at me with a faint smile. “Man, you look kind of familiar. You remind me of that pretty boy everyone’s been talking about on the forum. “They say you slept with Professor Alva Jackson and stole my direct-entry PhD spot.” I froze. The Alva Jackson he was talking about was the newly hired professor at Adams University, fresh back from overseas. Just as I was about to explain, he cut

Adrian Moretti’s adopted sister—She knew perfectly well that I suffered from severe asthma and could not be exposed to smoke or strong scents. Yet during the yacht reception, she deliberately dragged me onto the open deck, where cigars burned nonstop and the wind howled. Within seconds, my chest tightened. When I reached for my inhaler, my blood ran cold. It was empty. I collapsed against the railing, gasping violently, my lungs burning as if they were collapsing in on themselves. She crouched beside me and smiled. “You’re always so dramatic. It’s just a little smoke. You don’t need to act like you’re dying,” she said softly. “You’re too weak. You need to build some tolerance.” I looked towa

On the day my twin sister, Alexia Cavanaugh, and I turn 22, I collapse and find out that I have late-stage cancer. Ignoring the doctor's advice to be admitted, I walk out of the hospital. All I want is to spend one final birthday with my family without a single worry. But when I arrive at the party, a server stops me at the door and tells me the venue has been reserved exclusively for Alexia. Outsiders aren't allowed in. Through the glass, I watch as my brother holds a cake and my father places a birthday hat on Alexia's head. Even my boyfriend is there, smiling as Alexia makes a wish. I stand there for half an hour, gripping my phone, before my boyfriend finally answers my call. "I wa

On the day I'm diagnosed with cancer, my fiance, Alessio Albini, announces his upcoming wedding with his childhood sweetheart, Camelia Germani, in public. Alessio tells me apologetically, "Estella, Camelia is pregnant. Her child mustn't be exposed to the public. That's why I need to grant her a proper wedding." After that, he consoles me patiently. "Once Camelia gives birth to her baby, I'll divorce her right away. Don't worry, Estella. You're the only woman I love." I suppress my grief as I pass Alessio my cancer diagnosis report. "Alessio, I'm dying. I want to marry you before it's time for me to leave this world…" But Alessio rips the report into shreds angrily. Disappointment is wri

Today is Morgan Franklin's 30th birthday. It also marks the day he brings up divorce in front of me for the 99th time. He doesn't sound guilty and tentative anymore, unlike his demeanor when he mentioned divorce for the first time. Instead, he has a cigarette dangling between his lips while looking at me mockingly. "I've already called the ambulance for you, Milana. Have you thought about how you're going to commit suicide this time? Are you slitting your wrist or overdosing on pills?" Everyone in the private room bursts out laughing. "I bet she's going down the sleeping pill route! She did that the last time, and she had to get her stomach pumped for three hours!" "Hell no! She's defin

Vic, the loyal female bodyguard, harbored two hidden truths. Firstly, she carried an unrequited love for her employer, Martin Cadell - the Chairman of Crimson Corporation. Secondly, she battled a terminal illness, knowing her time was limited. Wrongly accused of a crime, Vic took her secrets to the grave. But fate had other plans as she awoke in the body of Victoria Red - a comatose heiress set to wed her former boss, Martin Cadell. From protector to betrothed, can Vic maintain her facade from Martin, who had just discovered his feelings for his departed guard? Or is it time for her to embrace a new beginning and pursue genuine love?

After ten years together, Aiden, my Alpha, my first and only love, finally promised to hold the mating ceremony with me during the Spring Hunt Festival. I was overjoyed. That night, at the festival party, I downed a few extra glasses of wine. However, Aiden, who had always been so gentle with me, suddenly became someone I didn't recognize. He scolded me, said I was unfit to be the future Luna if I couldn’t even follow the rules, and shoved me out of the car. Drunk and dazed, I was left alone in the dangerous Shadow Forest. Terrified but unwilling to break, I walked through that forest for five hours in the dead of night. When I finally made it back to our home, I heard him in the other r