Catherine Cookson Novels Novels & Stories

Mary Preston and her family fled to another country, leaving everything behind. Suddenly, she found herself surrounded by unfamiliar faces, in a foreign land, speaking a language she didn’t understand. A few years later, at the tender age of 19, she ended up married to Maximus Palmer, the grandson of the powerful Catherine Palmer. Mary loved him with all her heart, but he never felt the same. He married her out of obligation, not out of love. One misunderstanding after another pushed their marriage into a downward spiral, filled with infidelity, abuse, and endless disillusionment. For years, Mary lived under the shadow of another woman, enduring the pain until she finally found the courage to ask for a divorce. Her decision took Maximus by surprise, and he refused to let her go. But fate had other plans, and a tragic event forced the divorce to happen sooner than anyone expected. Afterward, Mary tried to rebuild her life, hoping to find love again and happiness that would last. But the scars from her past made it hard for her to trust or believe in love again. She faced many moments of anguish, sadness, and loneliness. Yet, through it all, she slowly began to find herself and step back into the light. Perhaps this time, she wouldn’t have to face everything alone. Maybe someone new would come into her life, someone who could be her rock and her reason to live. Although she learned that the past was never truly left behind, she also discovered that with a strong foundation, even the most broken things could still stand tall. Life had taught her about the three kinds of love: the one that teaches you how to love, the one you wished was yours but wasn’t meant to be, and the one you never saw coming that heals your wounds and brings true happiness.

His fingers slid into my hair, tugging just enough to tilt my head back and expose my throat to him. “We shouldn’t be doing this, Mr. Turner,” I breathed, my voice breaking on a gasp as he found a sensitive spot just beneath my ear and sucked lightly. His growl was low and primal, vibrating through my skin as he pressed his body against mine. I felt every hard line of him, his heat bleeding through my clothes. “Why not?” he murmured, his voice rough with restrained need. I swallowed hard. “You’re… you’re my ex-fiancé’s father.” He paused. For a moment, everything stilled… his breath against my throat, the air between us, even the rain outside seemed to hesitate. Then he lifted his head, and our eyes locked. His were a stormy blue, intense and unwavering. “No one has to know, Catherine,” he said quietly, his voice was like a dark promise wrapped in silk. Then he leaned in with his lips brushing the shell of my ear. “I can be your dirty secret.” A shiver ripped down my spine. His words settled deep in my gut, awakening something dangerous. I bit my lip. Every cell in my body screamed for me to walk away but I didn’t. Instead, I gripped the front of his shirt, pulled him down, and kissed him hard. Desperately. He rumbled low in his chest, kissing me back with equal hunger, his hands roaming my body like he already knew every curve. When he finally broke the kiss, I was breathless. Then he dropped to his knees between my legs, with his eyes darker now. “I’m going to show you the world,” he said. “If you’d let me.”

My dad arrives at the hotel after taking three bus rides from the town two hours before the wedding starts. He's wearing the old suit that he has kept for the past ten or so years. The cuffs have gone white from all the washing, and his shoes shine brightly from all the polishing. Before entering, Dad has specifically pinned the red boutonniere to his chest several times while looking at his reflection in the glass of the hotel's main entrance just so he can get it right. After all, it symbolizes his status as the bride's father. When Dad is about to take his seat, he grasps the card that shows his seat as he approaches my future husband, Elliott Chambers, tentatively. "Elliott, there seems to be a mistake with my seat." Elliott merely glances at the card before pushing it back to Dad. "Your seat is correct. There are limited spots at the main table, so you'll have to sit at a spare table at the back." Dad is stunned by Elliott's answer. "But it says here that I'm meant to sit at the main table…" Elliott frowns at Dad. "This is a last-minute adjustment. The shareholders and important clients of Chambers Corp will be attending my wedding today. Not everyone gets to sit at the main table." Dad looks down at his old suit before he slowly stuffs the card back into his pocket. He wants to take off the boutonniere, but the pin gets stuck in the fabric of his jacket. The more he wants to take it off, the more his hand keeps shaking. That's when Elliott's mother, Catherine Aldridge, speaks up. "All the seats are the same, Patrick. Don't cause any trouble for Elliott now." Dad quickly nods in response. "You're right. I'm fine with any seat." Then, he picks up the old wooden chest that's sitting by his feet before heading toward the spare table that's located in the corner. I raise my head, only to see a seating card titled "The Carvers" being placed on the most obvious spot of the main table. At the moment, Elliott is helping Claire Carver's mother into her seat. As for my dad, he's hugging the chest containing the wedding gifts meant for me while sitting by the kitchen door.