Bank Brooks Novels

What's the first thing you'd do if you were reborn? Me? I'd start by divorcing my husband, Finn Gallagher. Yeah, Finn Gallagher, the same man who runs half the underworld from behind closed doors. The Don. The richest man alive. The man women dream about; his face plastered on magazines, named "Sexiest Man Alive" five years in a row. In my last life, I tried everything to make him look at me like I mattered. I married him. I gave birth to his son. I swallowed every ounce of pride, trying to be the perfect wife. However, it didn't work. To him, I was no different than a waitress he might casually tip—forgettable, replaceable, invisible. So this time, I'm not begging. I'm not pretending. I'm handing Madeline Brooks the key to my place in his life, and walking away. She's Finn's first love, and also the shadow that haunted every day of my last life. Now Madeline was sitting opposite to me, blinked at me like she didn't hear me right. "You tried so hard to push me out," she said slowly, eyes narrowed. "Now you want me to be with Finn?" "Yes. That's all I'm asking. Just talk to Finn. Tell him to sign the divorce papers." I looked at her confused face and kept going. "Everyone knows I'm the last person who'd ever let Finn go. So if I say I want a divorce, he won't believe me for a second. But you? You're the one who can make that happen... aren't you?" She laughed, because she was finally getting her chance. I laughed too, because I was finally free.

Mula sa isang "blended family," si Chantelle ay lumaking naiiba. Siya'y pinalaki nang may pagmamahal ng kanyang lola matapos mawala ang kanyang ina. Itinakwil siya ng kanyang amang si Gérard, na kontrolado ng bagong asawang si Rhonda, at napag-iwanan ng kanyang mababaw na kapatid na si Mégane. Natutunan niyang mabuhay sa katahimikan. Nang magkasakit nang malubha ang kanyang lola, isang diagnosis ang gumulo sa kanyang buhay. Walang suportang pamilya ni sapat na pera, tinanggap ni Chantelle ang isang hindi inaasahang alok: isang daang gabi kapalit ng isang milyong euro, kasama ang isang mayamang lalaking hindi niya malalaman ang pagkakakilanlan. Sa bawat pagkikita, nakasuot ng maskara ang lalaki, nananatiling tahimik, at hindi pinapayagang magsalita si Chantelle. Tanging mga anonymous na bank transfer at isang nakakalunod na pabango ang naiiwan niyang alaala. Isang araw, napilitan siya ng kanyang ama na dumalo sa isang family dinner. Doo'y nabigla siya nang makitang kasama ang nobyo ni Mégane: si Collen Wilkinson, ang malamig at hindi maabot na CEO ng malakas na kumpanyang pinapasukan niya bilang isang simpleng empleyado. Nang magkasalubong ang kanilang mga mata, nagulo siya. Isang detalye ang sumiklab sa kanyang isip: ang pabango nito. Iyon mismo ang pabango ng lalaking naka-maskara na kasama niya sa labindalawang gabi... at may natitira pang walumpu't walo. Ngayon, pumasok ito sa kanyang buhay sa liwanag ng araw, at kailangan niyang harapin ang katotohanang nagkukubli sa likod ng nakagugulong kontratang ito.

My husband—one of the top elites of Raventon Street, cold and ruthless to his core—keeps a stray orphan girl he rescued from the slums hidden in an apartment. Rowena Fletcher is clean and fragile, like a newborn creature untouched by the world. And somehow, that innocence softens something in Micah Benson—a man who's spent years clawing his way through the brutal wilderness of capital. He thinks this secret game of his goes unnoticed, but I find out anyway. At the Benson family's charity gala, I smash his favorite antique vase in front of everyone. He doesn't even flinch as he simply signals the bodyguards to clean up the mess and then hands me a divorce agreement. "Sign it, Sabrina. The penthouse in Ashbourne City is yours." I burn the divorce agreement—and that's when he finally shows his true colors. He freezes all my accounts and launches a hostile takeover of my gallery. On the night the storm hits, I get a call from the hospital. My sister, Roberta Slater, has been in a car crash—she needs emergency surgery. In the security footage, he stood there, watching coldly. "Sign the papers, or start planning a funeral." I dropped to my knees and slammed my forehead against the floor, blood trailing down my face as I begged, "Micah, please… don't…" A long, flat beep echoed from the other end of the line, slicing through the sound of rain. Then a voice on the line says, "We did everything we could." However, I have gone back in time—to the day I first found out about Rowena. This time, I no longer cry. Instead, I plan my divorce on my own terms. I call Valebrook Bank that same night and begin preparing for a quiet disappearance. But the moment I truly vanish from his world, Micah loses his mind.

Meu namorado pertencia a elite intocável da capital, com uma fortuna familiar avaliada em dezenas de bilhões. Para me “testar”, ele passou sete anos sem nunca me comprar um único presente, sem gastar um centavo comigo. Até mesmo uma parada em uma loja de conveniência para comprar preservativos precisava ser dividida meio a meio. Então, minha mãe ficou gravemente doente. Pedi dinheiro emprestado a todos os amigos e parentes que pude, mas ainda faltavam dois mil para cobrir os custos da cirurgia. Não importava o quanto eu implorasse, ele se recusou a me emprestar o dinheiro. Organizei o funeral da minha mãe sozinha. Quando voltei para arrumar minhas coisas, encontrei por acaso uma lista de presentes que ele havia comprado para a jovem vizinha. Uma propriedade de luxo privada. Bolsas de grife. Joias no valor de centenas de milhões. Havia também um chat de voz com o amigo dele. — Caleb, é verdade que a Jessica realmente se humilhou e implorou a você por dois mil? Caleb Brooks soltou uma risada baixa e divertida, com um tom preguiçoso e indiferente. — A Nevaeh não estava errada. Qualquer pessoa que saia por aí implorando por dois mil — o que mais ela é, senão uma interesseira? — Estamos juntos há apenas sete anos e ela já está tentando tirar dinheiro de mim. Então essa era a verdade. Sete anos do chamado teste, ao que parecia, tinham sido provocados por nada mais do que algumas palavras manipuladoras de uma jovem vizinha. No entanto, isso já não importava. No momento em que minha mãe faleceu, eu já havia decidido deixá-lo.

Kisah dimulai pada malam ulang tahun pernikahan keempat Annisa Larasati dan suaminya, Baskara Aditama. Dengan hati berbunga-bunga, Annisa datang ke restoran mewah tempat suaminya berjanji bertemu untuk merayakan hari spesial mereka. Namun, kebahagiaannya seketika hancur saat yang menemuinya bukanlah Baskara, melainkan pengacaranya, Johan Setyawan, yang menyodorkan surat gugatan cerai. Hancur dan bingung, Annisa menolak menandatangani surat itu sebelum berbicara langsung dengan Baskara. Setelah perdebatan sengit dan gertakan cerdas, Annisa berhasil memaksa sang pengacara untuk menelepon Baskara. Percakapan telepon itu menjadi pukulan telak baginya. Dengan nada dingin dan tanpa emosi, Baskara menegaskan alasan perceraian mereka: setelah empat tahun, Annisa gagal memberinya keturunan, yang merupakan tujuan utama dari pernikahan perjodohan mereka. Baskara kemudian menawarkan kompensasi finansial dalam jumlah besar, seolah-olah meremehkan pernikahan mereka sebagai transaksi bisnis belaka. Merasa terhina namun didorong oleh harga diri yang tersisa, Annisa menyetujui perceraian itu. Ia menandatangani surat tersebut dengan satu syarat: semua aset dan uang kompensasi yang diberikan Baskara harus dijual dan ditransfer ke rekening bank rahasianya di Swiss. Ia bersumpah bahwa Baskara tidak akan pernah mendapat kesempatan kedua jika suatu hari ia menyesal. Dengan hati yang hancur, Annisa meninggalkan restoran dan berjalan tanpa tujuan di tengah hujan deras hingga akhirnya pingsan karena kelelahan fisik dan emosional. Ia terbangun di unit gawat darurat sebuah rumah sakit. Saat mencoba mencerna kenyataan pahit bahwa ia kini telah resmi bercerai, dokter yang merawatnya datang membawa sebuah berita yang mengubah segalanya. Dalam sebuah ironi yang tragis, dokter tersebut memberitahunya, "Selamat, Ibu Annisa... Anda hamil."

Joyce Stone, the beautiful and rich campus belle, often puts the tab on my account whenever she uses her card on any transactions. When she helps a low-income student with their financial problems, the money I save up from thrifting and working part-time jobs for the month is instantly depleted. When she treats the whole class to lunch, the prize money I won from my physics competition is drained right away. I try to argue with Joyce, only to hear the whole class calling me jealous of her beauty and kindness. Only my boyfriend, Lucas Zimmer, still trusts me. We work together to come up with all sorts of solutions to stop Joyce from using my money. But no matter what I do, my money keeps getting funneled from my account. Before the final exams, Joyce suddenly suggests that we all attend an auction and buy whatever we want there. The million-dollar funds that I've gathered from selling my house in order to treat my mom's illness vanishes from my account immediately. Mom ends up dying from her illness. Since I no longer have money in my account, my life force is the one getting depleted when Joyce keeps spending with her card. In the end, I've died as well. Before I close my eyes, I notice a video of Lucas and Joyce kissing on my phone. He looks at Joyce lovingly before saying, "Melanie gets jealous far too easily. If I don't pretend to trust her, I'm worried that she might go berserk and hurt you." When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day Joyce is about to use her card to pay for everyone's expenses. Before she can open her mouth, I dig out my bank card right away. "Let me treat all of you to whatever you want today."

When I'm paying the pension for my jobless wife, Lilith Ingram, I accidentally find out that she's had a job this whole time. She's paid a salary of two thousand dollars, which is wired into her personal bank account. Every month, the money will be transferred elsewhere, leaving her without a single cent. I've never seen the money before. Back when our daughter, Maisy Ingram, was severely ill, we were 200 dollars short to pay for her hospital bills. I was so poor that I had to sell my blood and beg everyone around me just to get them to lend me money. But during that time, Lilith never thought of sharing the burden with me. She merely comforted me with empty words before transferring two thousand dollars to her first love, Hayden Grant, the next day. Our marriage of 30 years is reduced to nothing but a laughingstock. I place the divorce agreement that I've printed out in front of Lilith. It's a silent confrontation between us. "Must you really resort to this method?" Lilith snaps impatiently. "It's just two thousand dollars! You have an annual salary of 200 thousand dollars! Why care so much about chum change?" Even Maisy takes her side by calling me a petty, stingy geezer. "Everyone has an unattainable first love when they're still young! You should be grateful that Hayden has been holding back his urges without crossing the line for so many years!" I feel as though I got struck by lightning at that moment. It's then that I belatedly realize I'm the only outsider in this family. "Getting a divorce is fine by me. Hayden's getting on with the years. I just want to take care of him and send him off when his time eventually arrives." Maisy adapts a righteous tone. "As compensation for me, I get the house, the car, and the savings. You're leaving this marriage without a single cent under your name."

My partner, Derek Crawford, calls himself a traditional man. On our tenth anniversary, I bought him a pair of his favorite AJ sneakers. Instead, he gifted me a bag of pastries. "Your cake is extremely tiny, and yet it costs you a few dozen dollars! Look at the pastries I got you—not only are they cheap, but they are also huge in quantity! Now this is what I call worth it!" After that, Derek tells me that he'll make it up to me by throwing an engagement party. He has also invited my parents and my relatives to the party. With anticipation brimming in our eyes, we arrive at the restaurant, only to see Derek serving us with store-bought pickles and dinner rolls. "I'm a traditional man, you see. I'm not used to fancy food and foreign cuisines. This, right here, is the basics of a traditional dinner. You don't see patriotic men like me nowadays!" My relatives' expressions change drastically on the spot. Meanwhile, my parents look very mortified. I can only smile awkwardly at them while doing everything I can to stop them from leaving. But as soon as I leave the hotel, I receive a notification from the bank that 200 thousand dollars have been deducted from my account via a supplementary card linked to it. At the same time, Derek's childhood sweetheart, Renee Young, posts a photo of her 12-layered luxurious cake on her social media account. "When I told Derek that I wanted to celebrate my birthday, not only did he buy me the most expensive strawberry cake, but he also reserved a dozen or so tables that are served with the grandest feast! "If your man loves you that much, he won't need any lessons in pampering you! Traditional men definitely know how to love and pamper their queens!" I tighten my grip on my phone. As I look back at Derek, who keeps claiming that he's a traditional man stuck to his traditional ways, I suddenly find it exhausting to continue being in a relationship with him.

Blurb Labis na pinagsisisihan ni Sandy nang magkrus ang kanilang landas ni Dimitri Vinocencio. Ang lalaking inibig at nagpatibok ng kaniyang puso at maging ang lahat sa kaniya ay nagawa niyang isuko. Lihim silang nagpakasal. Subalit ang inakala 't masaya nilang simulan bilang mag-asawa na aabot hanggang sa dulo ng walang hanggan katulad sa kanilang simumpaang PAG-IBIG NA WAGAS, makalipas lamang pala ng tatlong taon ay MAGWAWAKAS. Siya na mismo ang sumuko. Matapos ipinamukha ni Dimitri sa kan'ya kung gaano pa nito ka-mahal ang ex-girlfriend at first love nitong si Lindsay na ngayo'y nagbabalik ay nakapag-desisiyon siya hiwalayan na ang asawa. Sa kaniyang pagbangon muli mula sa lusak matapos ang diborsyo. Sino ang mag-aakala? Na ang sikat na Jewelry designer na hindi nagpakilala sa publiko at ang matagal nang hinahanap ni Dimitri dahil sa natatatangi nitong mga obra ay walang iba kun 'di ay siya. Si Sandy Ariela ang nag-iisang Unica Hija ng nag-uumapaw sa karangyaan mula pamilya ng mga Delavin. Siya rin ang unknown magic fortune teller sa investment bank na ngayon ay hinabol ng halos lahat ng Business Tycoons mapansin lamang ang mga ito. Isa na roon si Dimitri na matagal nang naghihintay na muli silang magkita ng dating asawa na nawala noon na parang bula. Ngayon ay nakita na nito si Sandy ay hindi na niya ito pakakawalan pa na noon hay halos mabaliw siya kahahanap sa bawat araw na lumipas ay kabiguan lamang ang nakukuha. Magawa pa kaya ni Dimitri na mahuli ang sa nagyo 'y mailap na puso ng dating asawa na minsan ay naging kaniyang pagmamay-ari?

Isang mapagmahal at mabuting asawa si Dave Justin Alarcon at malapit na sana siyang maging ama nang sa hindi inaasahang pangyayare ay nabaril ang kanyang asawa sa isang bank robbery na ikinamatay nito. Nabiyudo ng maaga at nawalan ng direksyon ang buhay ni Dave. Isang dalagang guro si Leslie Hidalgo na nakatira sa maynila, Kinailangan niyang umuwe ng probinsya sa pakiusap ng mga magulang ng kanyang ina. Sa pagbalik niya ng probinsya ay nalaman niyang nagawa siyang ipagkasundo ng kanyang abuelo sa apo ng isang mayamang angkan sa kanilang lugar, na pinagkakautangan ng malaki ng kanyang lolo Arturo. Labag man sa kanyang kalooban ay pumayag na rin siya sa kasunduan dahil nakasalalay ang kanilang koprahan, ganoon na rin ang bahay at lupa ng lolo't lola niya. Ngunit nakita niya agad ang masamang ugali ng lalaking kanyang pakakasalan, kaya bago dumating ang araw ng engagement party ay tumakas na si Leslie at bumalik ng maynila. Pinagtagpo ng tadhana ang kanilang landas ng mabundol ng kotseng minamaneho ni Dave si Leslie ng dahil sa kalasingan. Naging kargo niya ang babae dahil nagpanggap itong nawalan ng ala-ala upang mapagtaguan ang lalaking pakakasalan. Naawa ang ina ni Dave sa babae kaya kinupkop ito at inalagaan. Sa paglipas ng mga araw ay nahulog ang loob ni Dave sa babae ngunit pilit namang pinaglabanan nito ang nararamdaman. Paano kung malaman niya na ang babaeng kinupkop nila ay ikakasal na pala sa iba? May patutunguhan pa kaya ang nararamdaman ni Dave para sa dalagang tumakas sa napagkasunduang kasal? Ano kaya ang magiging reaksyon ni Dave kung mabatid niya na nagpapanggap lang na may amnesia ang babaeng muling nakapagpaibig sa kanya?