Contra Costa Library Hours Novels & Stories

Pamela’s parents were killed by unknown men, Pamela managed to escape but they were after her then she jumped into a big river. So the killer thought she'd be dead and they retreated. Pamela was rescued by a fisherman named Jones. She was taken care of by Mr&Mrs Jones. Due to the incidents, Pamela lost her memory and was given a new name by Mrs. Jones called Giselle. A few years later, Giselle agreed to be her boss’s fake girlfriend for three months just for 1M then they both fell in love along the way. Later, Giselle regained her memory, and she was bent on avenging her parent's death, and she was helped by Thomas, the only son of Mr & Mrs. Jones and Thomas gave her a nickname, KILLER MACHINE after he had trained her. What would happen when Giselle finds out that Greg’s father was part of her Parent's killer? Would she go ahead with her plans, knowing fully well that Greg cherished his father a lot? What would happen if Greg finds out that Giselle is the KiLLER MACHINE that had been killing people? Well, let's see how this beautiful story goes.

Lexie Sinclair's life was already on the brink of collapse. Her jobs were failing, bills piling up, and time running out. Then, everything fell apart—until an unexpected offer came from the most powerful man she could imagine. Damian Valour. The ruthless, untouchable CEO with one proposition. He needed a fiancée to fill the role until his real bride, Victoria returned. For Lexie, it was the deal of a lifetime. For him, it was purely business. But when lines blur between the contract and something real, Lexie finds herself in a twisted game of control and desire, fighting for more than just survival.

“But you said you could help me,” I frowned the despair I tried to hide now showing. “And I still can,” He said now standing inches from me. “The terms have just changed a little.” A little….that was an understatement. “All you have to do is give yourself to me angel,” He whispered caressing my cheek. “and everything in this world will be at your feet, Lucas included.” “For just a year.” Evangeline Hale had the perfect life that everyone envied until it got shuttered after finding out that her husband had been cheating on her, she wants nothing to do with him but when he threatens her, she looks for confront in other things one of them being having sex with a random stranger. Little does she know the stranger is Theodore Duke, the man that’s meant to save her and her husband’s companies from bankruptcy. When they meet again a week later, Theodore makes and offer she can’t refuse, he’ll ensure that her husband grants her the divorce she wants without any repercussions or complications, but there’s a small price to pay, Evangeline must give herself to him, become his girlfriend and sex slave for one year.

Elena Vance made a fifty-dollar mistake that cost her her freedom. Believing her one-night stand was a high-end escort, she left cash and a mocking note on his pillow, only to walk into a boardroom hours later and realize the man was Adrian Blackwood, the ruthless "Ice King" CEO. Adrian didn't just hold her career in his hands; he held a cocktail napkin marriage license signed in a tequila haze and her father’s $200,000 gambling debt. "You belong to me for six months," he declared, trapping her in a fake marriage to secure a corporate merger. Elena entered the "gilded cage" of Adrian's penthouse expecting a cold, transactional war of wills governed by strict "no-touch" clauses. She remained loyal only to save her father, unaware that he would eventually betray her to their enemies. But the boardroom battles quickly turned lethal. Victor Kane, Adrian’s bitter rival from MIT, obsessed with erasing the Blackwood legacy, sold the company's debt to the Russian Bratva. Suddenly, the fake spouses were forced into a terrifying reality: becoming FBI informants. The "Ice King" melted into a desperate protector, and the graphic designer sharpened into a survivor. Their bond shifted from a business deal to a sacrificial love, forged in the fires of betrayal. But when a mission to plant a bug at a mob wedding ends in a massacre, they realize the FBI is compromised. Stripped of his billions and presumed dead, Adrian stands in the ashes of his empire alongside Elena. A secret brother watches from the shadows, and the Russian mob is closing in. "We have nothing left," Elena whispered, staring into the dark. Adrian gripped her hand, his eyes burning with a new, dangerous resolve. "We have each other. And now, we run."

Betrayed by the people she trusted most, Ava Lin’s perfect life shatters overnight. From losing her mother under mysterious circumstances to being tormented by her stepmother and stepsister, Ava learns early that love in her world comes at a price. But nothing prepares her for the ultimate betrayal,catching her fiancé in bed with her own sister just weeks before their wedding. Humiliated and heartbroken, Ava makes a reckless decision that changes everything: a contract marriage to a stranger. What she doesn’t know is that her new husband is Elias Ward,a powerful, cold-hearted billionaire with secrets of his own. Thrown into a world of wealth, power, and hidden enemies, Ava finds herself entangled in a dangerous game of revenge, lies, and unexpected passion. As she rises from the ashes of betrayal, those who once destroyed her will stop at nothing to bring her down even if it means exposing deadly secrets buried in her past. But when love begins to bloom in the most unexpected place, Ava must decide,will she continue fighting for revenge, or risk everything for a second chance at love? In a story filled with scandal, heartbreak, and justice, one woman’s pain becomes her greatest strength… and her ultimate weapon.

I was sold to a monster, who loved slim thin girls.My chubby body automatically made me the prey. Elena Sterling is a brilliant botanist but to the Silverton Empire, she is just collateral. She is forced into a brutal marriage contract with Julian Silverton, a Billionaire who doesn’t want her heart and treats her like a piece of trash lying waste and occupying space. When her fathers and Julian’s grandfather's work is reduced to ash, Julian grew unexplainable love for her not because she lost weight but because she holds the cure to the dark secret the Silvertons empire had ever held. How long does this love last? How long will this secret be kept covered? Would Elena find out? And would she stay after finding out?

Seraphina Vale has always been a survivor. Bullied mercilessly by her affluent college classmates and betrayed by her closest friend, Isla Kensington, Seraphina has spent years hiding behind a quiet, unassuming façade. Her turning point comes when Isla’s ultimate betrayal, she leaked Seraphina’s private journal containing intimate reflections about her deceased mother and that led to a public humiliation so devastating that Seraphina ends up hospitalized. Emotionally shattered and at her lowest point, Seraphina stumbles upon Adrian Montclair, a charismatic yet ruthless Mafia boss who offers her an unexpected lifeline. Adrian, a man haunted by his own dark past, sees something in Seraphina that reminds him of the person he used to be: broken but not irreparable. He offers her a "contract." He will help her rebuild herself, reclaim her life, and exact justice against those who wronged her. In return, she must agree to one favor in the future, the nature of which he will not reveal. Desperate and with nothing to lose, Seraphina accepts, plunging herself into Adrian’s dangerous world.

She accidentally summoned the great Demon King but all she ever wanted was to get rid of her ghosts. “Can I take it back?” She asked, blinking innocently with her soft long eyelashes. “You’ve sealed the contract with the kiss. There’s no going back now.” A smirk played at his plump red lips.

I never thought my last name would cost me my freedom. One scandal. One signature. And now I’m married to a man colder than the vows we exchanged. Koven Elrik Mavros doesn’t believe in love. He believes in control, contracts, and consequences. And I just happened to be the loophole he needed. But I’m not the kind of woman who bows. I bite back even when it hurts. Now, we’re trapped in a marriage meant to break us. But the more he pushes, the more I see the cracks in his armor. This was supposed to end in divorce. So why does it feel like everything's just beginning?

Violet Harlow is out of options when she signs a one-year contract to work inside Cain House, the private estate of billionaire CEO and widower Theodore Cain. The offer sounds like survival: high pay, housing, protection, and a chance to finally breathe. But Cain House is no ordinary mansion, and Theodore is no ordinary man. Cold, dominant, and dangerously controlled, he gives Violet rules she is expected to obey. But Violet is independent, stubborn, and terrible at surviving quietly. What she does not know is that the contract was written by Theodore’s dead wife, Eleanor Cain. Hidden inside it is a clause that could make Violet trustee of the Widow’s Fund, a billion-dollar foundation holding the Cain family’s darkest secrets. If Violet lasts one year, she gains control of the one thing the family would kill to protect. Everyone wants Violet gone. Theodore needs her to stay. But he cannot tell her why. In this dark romance filled with mystery, steamy forbidden love, betrayal, and shocking twists, Violet realizes Theodore may not be the monster in the story. He may be the prisoner. And saving him could destroy them both. #DarkRomance #Steamy #Mystery #CEO #Dominant #Independent #ContractMarriage #ForbiddenLove #Twist #Billionaire #Widower #Betrayal #FamilySecrets #Possessive #GothicRomance