Cal Maven Novels & Stories

I fell in love with the nanny's son. After boldly pursuing him, he reluctantly agreed to marry me. But I never expected his young lover to storm into my home like a madwoman, prying my mouth open to pour scalding water down my throat, pressing me into a sink full of dirty water, and finally pushing me down the stairs. My husband stood by my hospital bed, looking at my broken body with disdain. "Irene, every moment with you makes me sick," he spat, barely able to hide his impatience for my death. Yet, when I finally died, he sobbed uncontrollably in public, playing the role of the devoted, heartbroken husband. "Irene, don't leave me! You have no idea how much I wanted to die with you!" At that, I spoke softly from behind him. "Is that so?"

When Kira Jones finally decides to take a sixweek summer vacation, her best and only friend, Samantha, drags her into a trip out of California. What awaits in the way is something Kira has never fathomed at all, as her life gets a serious turn. She meets a mysterious ranch owner whom her friend already has eyes for, and Kira finds herself drawn near him in a very strange way. What will win in the end between the power of love and friendship?

Jessiah is a make-up artist aspiring to break into the modeling and beauty industry. She moves to LA when she lands a job at one of the biggest production companies in Hollywood. On her first week on the job, she meets Jenson Ross, a big-deal actor with a murky past and a dark secret only a privileged few know about. × Genres: Romance, Werewolf, Crime EXCERPT [BOOK I of CALI ALPHAS ] _ _ _ "Dollface," he murmured with a little smirk. He snickered and caressed the back of her head, pulling her closer to his chest. "You're like an antidepressant, in human form." Her breath caught.  Her heart sped up when his hug tightened. His warm face pressed onto her neck, his strong hands lightly squeezing her hips. Moments like this only worsened her attraction to him.  The flirty jokes, the easy conversations, the small smiles, his furtive glances, and his unusually sweet gestures lately... She was in deep trouble. Was he kissing her neck?  Shit. He was no longer thinking straight.  About this. About her. About the consequences. He drew her closer when she tried to pull away. As if he didn't want her out of his sight. While his beard scraped her skin, his thighs touched hers. Her throat ached as he stared into her eyes. "Dammit," he sighed, his thumb tracing the curve of her neck, his touch both gentle and eager.  "Why are you so f-cking beautiful?"  "Joss, I need to g—" "Why now?" he murmured, stroking her cheek. He wasn't acting drunk or playing with her.  Not like this. He wouldn't. Not with her real feelings barely held together by some unspoken truths. Otherwise he wouldn't dare let it get this far.  But why wouldn't he let go? "Just stay. Please. Stay here with me." _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

I had proposed seven times, but Winnie Smith continued refusing to marry me. This was because the Smith family had a special test. To marry their daughters, their sons-in-law had to refrain from sleeping with their fiancees after being drugged. I tried seven times. However, every time after I regained consciousness, Winnie would be sleeping naked next to me. She would cry and throw herself into my arms. “It’s fine. We can try again. I trust you.” It was not until the eighth time that I overheard her instructing the butler, “Switch the aphrodisiac to sleeping pills, and make sure it’s a high dosage. “After he falls asleep, I’ll take it from there as usual.” While I kept my eyes shut tight, I could hear her taking off her long dress. Then, she came over to unbutton my shirt. I heard her sigh. “I’m sorry, Benjamin Lowe. Joe Anderson’s been diagnosed with cancer, and his last wish is to be with me. “Don’t worry, though. After he passes, I’ll marry you immediately.” Right then, I realized that her family’s test had been a lie she told just to marry her childhood best friend. The next day, my parents pressured me again to leave the country and inherit the family business. So, I agreed to their request. Since she wanted to marry Joe, I would wish the couple well.

Synopsis: Not all betrayals should lead you nowhere. Max, my fiance, abandoned me on the red carpet, approached my claimed younger sister Fiona, and escorted her to the priest right in front of my eyes. In the end, he married her with the blessing of my parents. It's really hilarious how these people encouraged me to marry him. If that wasn't tragic enough, Fiona then splashed filthy water all over my beautiful wedding gown. I had no royal roots as the daughter of a prostitute, so I didn't argue or fight since I knew it would never end. But they all seem to forget one thing: a diamond was just an ordinary stone until a polisher revealed its worth. Life couldn't have treated me better by giving me the name Diamond, and I knew I wasn't destined for a dead end. I am the diamond, and I am waiting for the lucky one to polish me and reveal my real brightness. Do I need a polisher? Will I find someone to help me get back at those who have betrayed me? Or will I become my own polisher, shaping my own destiny?

After the tragic death of her four-year-old son, Amelia Carter’s perfect life begins to unravel. Once adored by her husband, Amelia became the target of his quiet disgust after childbirth changed her body in ways she could not control. The man who once called her beautiful now barely looks at her without judgment. Every cruel comment, every cold stare, every reminder of the weight she failed to lose slowly destroys her confidence piece by piece. Then grief shatters what remains of their marriage. Humiliated, body-shamed, and blamed for a tragedy she can no longer separate from her own guilt, Amelia is left with nothing. Until Nathaniel Vaughn enters her life. Powerful. Dangerous. Infuriatingly unreadable. A man with his own reasons for hating her husband. But unlike everyone else, Nathaniel does not look at Amelia with pity or disgust. And when he offers her a deal that could destroy the man who ruined her life, Amelia is pulled into a world of revenge, scandal, ruthless power plays… and a dangerously unexpected attraction. Because the more Amelia begins reclaiming herself, the more her ex-husband realizes the woman he discarded was never weak at all. And by the time he understands that, it may already be too late.

Everyone says I have the face of an angel. However, I choose to take a knife and slash my own beautiful face. When my twin sister sees the drastic change in my appearance, she loses it and screams at me, wanting to know why I ruined my face. In my past life, she couldn't stop stealing food deliveries. When our next-door neighbor caught her, she shoved the pregnant woman so hard that she miscarried. The woman was seven months along, and both she and her baby died. But my sister just shrugged it off, bragging that she was some popular influencer, and two pathetic lives didn't matter. She even slapped down a 50-dollar bill like it was nothing, just to humiliate them. "Still trying to scam my money? For all we know, that woman's baby was already dead inside her. Your family must've done pretty awful things to deserve losing two lives like that!" When the dead woman's family showed up at our door with kitchen knives, ready for revenge, my sister chickened out and hid. Before that, she tricked me into coming home instead. The second I walked up to our front door, the grief-stricken husband slashed at my neck, severing the artery. I died right there on the spot. After I died, everyone spat on my memory. They all said I got what I deserved, and my parents covered up what my sister really did. She even had the nerve to come forward and apologize for me, cashing in on my death while hooking up with my boyfriend. The two of them became this perfect couple online and made tons of money. This time around, I decide to destroy my face. I want to see how she will steal my identity and pin her crimes on me now!

Most don't believe in magic. witches, wizards, magical creatures and hidden worlds? The concept is insane. utterly insane. Raina firmly believed that to the point she doubted her own eyes, let alone that she herself could ever do such incredible things. but once she's swept into Davon's world, the mysterious and sensuous man opens her mind to things and feelings she'd never known. But are these feelings real? Or is she merely the next victim of him hidden agenda?

When my cousin, Rita Pike, brings her boyfriend, Benny Booker, home to meet her parents, I get labelled as a freeloader for some reason. As soon as Benny steps through the front door, he shoots me a disdainful glance. "You're the cousin who refuses to move out of my girlfriend's villa, right?" I just stare at him in confusion. Yes, I do live in this villa. But my parents have left this property to me as a part of my assets. My name is the one printed on the property deed. Heck, I'm the one who told my butler to give Rita a room to stay here! Why is it that I'm painted as the poor relative who refuses to move out now that she's dating another man?

My husband, Don Lorenzo, ran New York's underworld. And he's the one who put me in prison. All because his childhood flame, Cassandra Viti—the Viti family princess—killed my father. I was the first one on the scene. The Feds caught me standing over the body. He faked the evidence. Made sure I took the fall. I spent three years in hell. His apology? A single sentence and an unlimited black card. "I owe Cassandra three wishes. Once you're out, once I've paid my debt to her, you'll be my Donna again."