Alkek Library Texas State Novels & Stories

I jump off the seventh floor on my wedding day. Why? Because everyone has abandoned me to pick up a fake heiress from the airport, my fiancé included. I expect to see them riddled with heartbreak and regret after my death. However, my father merely shakes his head stoically and looks at my body while saying I was too willful. My mother bites her lip and sighs in relief. My fiancé, Magnus Gilmore, shields the fake heiress. He's afraid she'll see the horrible state of my body. The fake heiress is scared to tears at this, and everyone crowds around her to console her. No one cares whether I'm still breathing while lying in a pool of blood. I'm stunned when I see this, but I soon laugh self-deprecatingly. When I open my eyes again, I've been brought back seven years in the past. It's the day I've just stepped foot at home.

"I kissed you because I wanted to, make no mistake about that. I have never regretted, in fact, it has given me some hope." he was more candid than she expected. The fact that he wanted to kiss her was beyond her. "Hope?" she echoed. Unable to fully comprehend where the conversation was heading. "I have an arrangement I would like to propose." he was blunt, his voice strong and serious. There was no longer any hint of the gentleman she witnessed the day before. "What kind of arrangement?" she found herself hanging on his every word, it was clear who controlled the state of the conversation. "A temporary one...between us." he waited for her reaction but Ivory herself was unsure of how to react or respond. She had never found herself in a situation such as this and she thought the likelihood of it actually happening was nil. "I want you, Ivory, in more ways than one. Last night proved that you may have the same desires." He crossed his arms over his chest and waited.

BLURB: How far would you go for love? For Diana, she would jump into a fire to save the man she loved – and she did. But all she got in return was betrayal. The scars the flames imprinted on her body were nothing compared to the wounds he left on her heart, leaving her in a state of anguish and hatred, not just to him, but herself. Then on one night, at a bar, in an attempt to forget her pain, she meets a handsome stranger whom she feels instant attraction for, the sparks could not be ignored. The passion driven kiss they shared haunted her for months. an unforgettable moment she tried to push to the back of her mind– until she goes for a meeting to plan an event for none other than the handsome stranger- who happens to be her ex fiancés boss. Will she allow herself to love again? Or would she hold on to the past? If she could go that far for love…how far would she go for revenge?

Nicole Williams is a good girl, an 18-year-old college student. She is deceived by her sister during a party to enter the room of a mysterious man. Her sister didn't expect that she would end up in the wrong room. After being exposed in her passionate night in national newspapers, she is forced to marry that man, who will make her suffer unimaginably. Bruno Leone is a multimillionaire CEO, an attractive man in his early 30s. After being betrayed by a woman with his own brother, he became bitter. Unintentionally, he spends a night with Nicole while in a drunken state from a drink he was given. His father forces him to marry the girl, and he thinks she planned it all. Therefore, he decides to make her regret what she did, enjoying making her suffer. He never thought he would end up loving her. Will Nicole be able to forgive him after all the harm he caused?

When my boyfriend told me he had failed the college entrance exams, he begged me to apply to a vocational college with him. I was about to say yes when a barrage of floating comments suddenly appeared in front of my eyes. [The male lead deserves an Oscar. Since when is 680 considered a bad score? He was literally touring Kingston University with the real heiress just moments ago.] [Don't fall for it! You're the top scorer in the entire state! He only wants to drag you down so the real heiress can shine.] [There's no point warning her. She's completely blinded by love. A provincial champion wasting her future at a vocational college... she'll end up abandoned by her family, framed into debt by the real heiress, forced to drop out, and stuck running a roadside stall for the rest of her life.] My hand froze midair. In an instant, all the blood drained from my body.

Leonard Cole, was never meant to survive, Not the accident that took both his parents when he was seven, Not the poverty that swallowed him whole after, Not the world that looked at him every single day and saw absolutely nothing worth saving. But Leo survived. And not just that, he fought. Quietly, furiously, on an empty stomach and broken shoes, he fought for a future that nobody around him believed he deserved. Then he met Elena Hartwell, beautiful, warm, the daughter of a Texas millionaire, and for the first time in his life, Leo felt like maybe the universe owed him one good thing. But nothing in Leo's life has ever come without a price. Because someone has been watching him. Long before Elena. Long before school. Someone who knows something about Leonard Cole that even Leo himself doesn't know yet. And closer to home, Elvano Reyes, the dangerous son of a millionaire who wants Elena for himself, has a connection to Leo that goes deeper than jealousy. Deeper than rivalry. Something personal. Something that started long before either of them walked into the same classroom. As Elena's cold and calculating mother works tirelessly to destroy what Leo and Elena have built together, and secrets from the past begin crawling toward the surface, Leo's whole world is about to crack open in ways he never saw coming. He will lose everything and He will break completely. And then, he will rise in a way that shocks everyone who ever looked through him. But the biggest question isn't whether Leo becomes powerful. It's what he does with that power when the girl who shattered him comes crawling back. The decision will be yours.

I'm 29 years old, nearly 30 and so far, my sister and Photography have been my life and soul. Ever since I stepped foot in my first darkroom during my Sophomore year I always had a hunch that this would be my true passion. Since I held my first camera. Set up my first tripod, captured my first photo and filmed my first piece. I just knew that this is what I wanted to do. My life has been a complicated mess since I was 10 years old. My life was thrown away by my parents because I was a burden to them, I had a pen pal who I vented my anger out on for years yet he had become a huge part of my life. I haven't had a serious relationship in...well...ever and It's not every day that you find a man wanting to talk to you...granted, this man is the one who spilt his coffee down me the first time we met and from then on he became the Baine of my existence. I live in Texas City, Houston and I love what I do, the freedom it gives me being behind a camera but it also comes with a price when you least expect it. My life was complicated enough but when I vent out on a secret to this man, my feelings towards him become stir crazy and a whirlwind of emotions. One's I didn't want in the first place because 2 weeks before meeting said man...I was applying for a year long fellow ship abroad. A once in a lifetime opportunity to go to one of Spain's most explored and cultured cities - Barcelona.

Ambelyn did something terrible six years ago. She willingly gave her virginity to the college bully who had been tormenting her because she was forced in an arranged marriage by her family to marry the son of their biggest investor. Now stuck in a loveless marriage, where she watches her husband parade his first love and their second child hurting her and her miracle baby. Her husband hated her after divorcing she wasn't a virgin, which was the main requirement for their marriage and decided to show her how worthless she was. She swallows the insult for the sake of their child, but when her husband refuses to sign the papers for their son to get surgery or loses his life, and their second child bullying her and his elder brother and wishing for a new mummy, she decides to do what she never thought and divorce her husband, granting him slow custody of the second child, while she takes sole custody of the first child. The only issue was, she started working for the Heartless Cruel CEO who returned back home after six years abroad and it was the same man who pinned her against a library shelf and deflowered her. Would Ambelyn be able to survive working under the bully who once made her life a living hell, or would she be able to find her happily ever after in the hands of someone unexpected.

Elyna Blanc never expected to be forced into marriage, let alone with the ruthless and wealthy Hugo Dubois. But when her family's financial status hangs in the balance, Elyna has no choice but to marry Hugo, the young billionaire who leads one of Europe's biggest and fastest investment firms. Just as Elyna begins to adapt to her new life as Hugo's wife, he is kidnapped by a close person to Elyna, throwing her into a state of confusion and uncertainty. As she struggles to uncover the truth behind Hugo's kidnapping, Elyna discovers she is pregnant with his child, raising questions about the true nature of their relationship. With the paternity of the child in question, Elyna is forced to confront the reality of her marriage to Hugo and the secrets he may be keeping. As she navigates the challenges of pregnancy and a missing husband, Elyna realizes that her life may be more complicated than she ever imagined. Will Elyna be able to uncover the truth about her husband's kidnapping and the father of her child? Only time will tell in this gripping tale of love, betrayal, and uncertainty.

Shana ward is the son of a wealthy businessman in their city. However, Shana's wealth status is hidden from the public to prevent her father's enemies from targeting Shana. Shana's life was fine before she met Dennis. Shana accidentally entering Dennis's room while running away from her father's enemies is the cause of everything. Dennis was a famous actor at the time. Their second meeting at a nightclub changes Dennis and Shana's lives. In a state of drunkenness, they both tied the knot with a contract. Since marrying Dennis, Shana's life has never been peaceful with her father's enemies getting to know her and Dennis who doesn't love her because indeed Dennis already has a girlfriend named Bethany. In silence, Bethany often messes up Shana's life. Will Shana's life be restless until the end and will Dennis open his heart to Shana? Stay tuned in the story Regret: Love that Changes Everything.