Cicero Library Hours

On our wedding anniversary, my CEO husband, Michael Grant, invited me to watch the ocean with him. Tragically, a typhoon hit. I stood there in the raging wind and rain for over two hours, and he never showed up. In the end, all I got was a text that he was suddenly going on a business trip and couldn’t make it. Right after that, his intern, Nora Blake, posted a video on her social feed. It showed my usually pampered husband barefoot while helping fishermen haul crates of seafood. Her caption read: "Our hardworking CEO loves to get his hands dirty!" I laughed and commented: "Diligent and enduring—a true role model for us all." The company Slack channel instantly exploded. Everyone was betting on whether I’d finally blow up this time. Michael called me, his voice tight with fury, "Lauren West! What the heck did you mean by posting that comment? Are you trying to humiliate Nora in public? "It was a typhoon. I helped her family move some fish. What’s the big deal? You’re such a pampered little princess who has no idea how hard life really is. Delete that comment now. I’ll take you to the coast another day." Disgust churned in me. I replied, "Let a man who’s already rolled in the mud take me to the ocean? Forget it." Yes. Michael was now tainted, and I didn’t want him anymore.

Kylie Ross A well known beautiful girl, loved by many, protected and shielded from all world dangers. She is a very happy person, everyehere she goes she brings happiness and joy. She is the worlds best daughter. And the most loving and caring friend. This Beautiful girl also has six young men who has been watching over her and protecting her from the world, they'd do anything for her going as far as putting their lives on the line for her. What happens when Kylie leaves to Jacksonville, a town ten hours away from her hometown, her boys. What happens when a innocent, shielded Kylie has no one to fend and protect her but herself? What happens when the town people seem weird to kylie. What happens when a curious kylie finds out the mystery of Jacksonville? What happens when Kylie meets a Greek God, someone whole looks like a model straight out of a magazine? What happens when she falls head over heels for him? What happens when she digs up his big, bad, dark secrets? Will she stay or will she flee? What will she do when family secrets are revealed? When the boys she called her brothers don't turn out to be the people they claimed to be? Join Kylie on her journey, unraveling secrets, falling in love, and finding out who she really is.

When Professor Adrian Hale walks into his first seminar of the semester, he expects the usual—half-awake students, predictable questions, and the comfortable distance that has kept his life quiet and controlled for years. He does not expect her. Eden Marlowe, twenty-two, sharp-minded, quietly bold, and entirely uninterested in hiding the way she looks at him. She’s the kind of student who asks dangerous questions, the kind that sees right through a person’s façade. And Adrian feels himself unravel a little more every time their eyes meet. He knows the rules. He wrote half of them. And Eden is the one person he has no business wanting. But the pull between them is immediate—magnetic, unnerving, impossible to ignore. What begins as lingering glances and charged silences quickly spirals into something neither of them can pretend is innocent. Eden isn’t shy about testing boundaries, and Adrian isn’t nearly as composed as he pretends to be. As lectures blur into tension-filled encounters and office hours turn into moments he can’t forget, the line between professional and forbidden thins… then threatens to disappear entirely. The more Adrian tries to distance himself, the deeper he falls into the gravity of her presence. The more Eden pushes, teases, and challenges him, the faster his restraint cracks. In a world where reputation matters and consequences are real, they have to decide: Is this obsession worth the risk? Or will crossing the line cost them both more than they ever expected?

The room reeked of spilled champagne and poor decisions. Siena Blake blinked against the harsh morning light slicing through velvet curtains, her body aching in places she didn’t want to think about. She wasn’t in her bed. She wasn’t even in her house. And the man lying beside her—a stranger with a dangerously perfect face—was the proof. It was supposed to be her bachelorette party. One night of wild abandon with her friends before tying the knot with the man she’d loved since childhood. Instead, she had woken up in the arms of someone else, with no memory of how she got there. But that wasn’t the worst part. The worst came later—when she found police outside her house, her father being dragged away in handcuffs, and her fiancé, Zane, sending her a venom-laced message: “You’re a whore, Siena. Return the ring or I’ll leak the footage.” Within hours, her life was in ruins. Her family disgraced. Her heart shattered. And the man from that night? Lucian Voss—the most feared CEO in the country—stood behind it all, either by fate or by design. What started as an accident would become her obsession. Because five years later, she’s coming back… With a secret child. A mission for revenge. And a dangerous deal with the devil who unknowingly fathered her baby.

It was Hana Verlice’s engagement party — but the only thing she could think about was that night six months ago. The night Dante Carter pinned her against the backseat window of his car,cheeks pressed to the glass, her dress lifted to her waists, with his mouth buried between her legs. Now, she was hours away from marrying his older brother. Elijah Osborne Carter — the perfect man, heir to Osborne Pharmaceuticals, and her father’s last hope of saving their crumbling empire. But as she slipped into her designer dress, her mind couldn't stop thinking about the one man she could never have. Dante. The mistake she was supposed to forget. The temptation she swore never to touch again. The younger brother who disappeared after that night and was never supposed to come back. But as she stepped out of her dressing room to join her soon-to-be husband at the party, there he was. Leaning at the foot of the stairs like raw sin. Messy hair. Dark eyes. That cocky mouth that once had her moaning his name in ecstacy. Her pulse quickened as her knees threatened to give out. She tried to breathe. To stay still. But one look at him… and she knew she was in trouble. “What the hell are you doing here?” she whispered, her voice barely holding. He smirked, slow and knowing as his gaze dropped shamelessly to her lips. “Did you miss me, cookie?”

Oliver Haywood is a cold and ruthless billionaire who doesn't want any woman in his life due to his past. Even with the amount of women begging for his attention, he has refused to marry. But things changed the day his grandfather's will was read and it was stated that he is to lose his inheritance to an orphanage except he gets married and father a child within a year and six months. Although he doesn’t care about his grandfather’s wealth but not being able to stand and watch his grandfather's legacy and all he has worked hard for to be donated to orphanages, he swallowed his hatred and instructed his assistant to find a wife in less than 48 hours or else he is going to lose his job. After rejecting 44 women, he finally picked the last one standing. Which is a lady that came from the lower class of society but didn't look anything like someone that grew from the slums. He had picked her out of curiosity and unknown to him she has had a crush on him for the longest time and her reason for marrying him is to make him fall in love with her. But will Nuella Allen succeed in getting his heart? Will she make him change his view regarding all women? Would he want to grow old with her? Was she really from the slums? There is only one way to find out.

I married a man just hours after being abandoned at the altar. Now I’m staring at a stranger who calls me his wife. Sofie Davis never imagined her perfect wedding would end in ruin, her white dress soaked by rain, her dreams shattered at her feet. Left behind on a day meant to honor her late parents, Sofie is drowning in heartbreak when James Alexander Reed steps forward with an impossible offer: a contract marriage. James, a powerful and emotionally walled-off billionaire, has watched Sofie from afar, drawn to the sincerity and compassion that set her apart from the world he knows. For him, the proposal is a shield against the fortune-seekers orbiting his wealth and a chance to finally get close to the woman he’s never forgotten. For Sofie, it’s a desperate attempt to reclaim her dignity, rewrite the ending, and survive the public humiliation she never asked for. As their fragile arrangement begins to blur, Sofie’s fire and empathy chip away at James’s defenses, revealing a tenderness even he didn’t know he still possessed. But both carry wounds that run deep: grief, betrayal, and the quiet ache of loneliness masked by control. Their journey is messy, tender, and slow-burning. And when love finally demands more than convenience, Sofie and James must decide if what’s growing between them is worth the risk or if it’s safer to walk away before their hearts are fully exposed. Unbound Desires is a story of second chances, healing, and the kind of intimacy that only blossoms when two people dare to be truly seen.

My husband, Alex Carter, is a top AI engineer. He one day gets drugged by a new intern at his company, and one night of chaos follows. He calls me the next morning, his voice hoarse from a hangover and filled with unfamiliar panic. "Em, I messed up. But don't worry. I gave her enough money to disappear from this city." After ten years together, I believe it is just a momentary lapse in judgment. Six months later, Alex's company suffers the worst cyber attack in its history, with core data hanging by a thread. I rush back from a fragrance exhibition in Astral, only to witness a scene at the data center entrance that sends me into shock. Alex stands outside the tightly sealed door, his face showing a weariness and guilt I have never seen before. The doctor says that the intern, Brooke Anderson, is three months pregnant and has spent 72 hours with him in the high-radiation server room. Now, she shows signs of miscarriage. Later, Brooke gives birth to twins, a boy and a girl. The entire Carter family is ecstatic. I remove the wedding ring that has accompanied me for ten years, my fingertips turning ice cold. I dial the number saved with only one letter "S" and say, "Mr. Sullivan, I accept the collaboration you proposed last time." A low, soft laugh comes from the other end of the line. "Ms. Emma Shaw, that's a wise decision."

“I Marcus Brennon of Shadowmoon, hereby reject you as my mate,” he declared with finality. “Not only are you a disgrace to me, but you are a curse to this entire pack. I do not wish to be associated with such bad luck.” Marcus stood before me, his voice extremely cold as if we didn't just share a special bond a few hours back. As Marcus turned to leave, the pain of his rejection sliced deeply through me. I stumbled to my feet, my limbs feeling weak under the weight of the broken bond. *** Bella had it all, a face card that never declined and curves in all the right places, excellent college grades, and a lovely, peaceful home. But when her father Alpha Derek was mysteriously murdered, everybody turned against her and her world as she knew it comes crumbling down. Everyone but her knows her real identity and how she came to be a part of Alpha Derek's family. In a cruel twist of fate, the woman she thought was her mother does the unthinkable casting her out with nothing to her name. Betrayed by her own family, with nowhere to turn, Bella seeks comfort in her mate's arms, only to be met with rejection. Just as Bella was about to lose hope a friend saved her life unexpectedly. A few months down the line Bella met a fine young man who effortlessly set her heart ablaze. Would her life take a turn for the better or, does fate have something more special or perhaps even darker, for her?

"You know I can't talk while you're here", he says. His voice is rough, dangerous and hungry. I swallow, my throat dry. But I don't look away. "Why?" I ask, my fingers trace his jaw, trembling. "I'll be good. Promise". A dark laugh rumbles through his chest. "I don't want good", he says, voice rough. "I want you screaming my name… just not here. Not in front of the president and the damn press". His control slips as he buries his face in my neck. His lips burn where they touch. "Christ", he mutters. "What are you doing to me? I have a speech to deliver. But I can't even remember the first line. I swear I know it, but…" "You're a dirty bastard", I whisper, breathless. "Yours", he says, his teeth grazing my earlobe. "So… what do I tell the president?" –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Aneeka's messy divorce leaves her heartbroken. With her inheritance on the line, outwitting her cheating ex should be her only goal. But fate has other ideas. Just 24 hours after the divorce, she unexpectedly marries Derek Simon, the country's most eligible bachelor. What starts as a wild, prove a point kiss explodes into an undeniable, all consuming passion. The pull between them is real, hot, and impossible to ignore. Is this her second chance at love? Or a disaster waiting to happen?