Doll Makers 101 Novels & Stories

Antonio Rivera finally finds out that I haven't asked him for money in a week. For once, he sends me a text message to compliment me. "Darling, you've finally learned how to become a good Donna. I've had my men deliver this week's worth of miracle drugs to your mother's ward. As long as you remain docile and don't be greedy, I'll give you anything you want." What he doesn't know is that I'm printing out a divorce agreement when I receive his message while wearing an old dress from three years ago. No one will believe that I, the Donna of the Rivera family, have to ask Antonio's Consigliere, Elena Gallo, for money even when I need to buy myself some tampons. Hell, I have to apply for a leave request three days in advance if I wish to leave my home. Antonio keeps telling me that he's doing this to protect me. "It's too dangerous outside, sweetheart. All you have to do is stay at home like a good girl you are." But one week ago, Mom's illness took a turn for the worse. I begged Elena to skip the request and let me out of the villa. Elena, however, dragged out my request for seven long days. Only when Mom died did she finally permit me to leave. Miracle drugs? My mom is already dead. I'm no longer tolerating anyone or anything anymore.

After a grueling year of training abroad on the company's dime, I came home holding an OEM certification for our high-end production line. Only three people in the country had it. I couldn't wait to cash in my stock options and finally give my girlfriend, Nora, a home of our own. But when I got back to the office, there was no celebration waiting. Just three notices. [Finance: $50,000 travel reimbursement rejected. $20,000 in salary frozen as a performance hold, to be released after your review is passed.] [HR: Your sponsored training carries a mentoring obligation. You must train three qualified technicians within one month of returning, as your assessment. Fail, and your travel costs will not be reimbursed and your frozen salary will be forfeited.] [Direct Manager, Kevin: Turn over all core technical documentation. Effective tomorrow, you're reassigned to the factory floor for mentoring.] I gripped the three notices and headed for the manager's office to demand an explanation. I pushed the door open and froze. Nora, my girlfriend of three years, was sitting on Kevin's lap, her clothes half undone. Our eyes met. All she gave me was one cold line. "Ethan, since you've already seen it, let's just break up." I backed out of the office without a word. I walked past all the eager faces waiting for a show, went back to my desk, and finally answered the email that had been sitting in my inbox for a week. [I've decided to accept your offer. I can start in a month.] One month. Everything this company owed me, I was going to take back myself.

Betrayed by his fiancée hours before their wedding, CEO Mason Caldwell impulsively finds a last-minute bride, Gianna to spite his ex. Gianna is bound by a contract to Mason, who has vowed to never open up his heart to anyone ever again. But when some unexpected feelings begin to bloom between the two, it seems there might be more danger looming, as well as bitter truths that surface from the past to tear them apart.

I'm Serena Sorrento, the sole daughter of Don Salvatore Sorrento. After seeing the news of a female employee getting stalked and assaulted by a stalker on her way home from work, I spend millions of dollars arranging specialized cars for every female employee in my company when they get off work at night. At first, I thought I'd receive a "thank you" from them. But those employees have the gall to criticize me on various major social media platforms. "Our boss is practically forcing us to work overtime!" "Why must employees hand over the information of their home addresses to the company, anyway?" "Since our boss has money to buy those luxury cars, she might as well give us the money right away!" The entire Internet bashes me for capitalizing on my charity, gloating about my wealth, and not knowing what my employees actually want. After receiving a bombardment of insulting and humiliating text messages, I decide to take the Internet's advice and call for a mandatory company meeting. "After receiving the sincere feedback from all the employees, I shall terminate the specialized pick-up service from today onward. Instead, I shall have it reclassified as a transportation allowance. Those who are eligible shall receive 100 dollars per month." As soon as the announcement is made, the entire company goes crazy.

She was his forgotten wife. He was her biggest mistake. Four years later, she returns — richer, colder, and carrying his secret. For three years, Yessica did everything right. She made his breakfast, celebrated their anniversaries alone, and loved a man who barely knew her name. When she nearly bled to death during a pregnancy complication — calling Lewis four times while he finished a business meeting — she finally understood: she was never a wife. She was a convenience. So she left. With nothing but the baby growing inside her and a borrowed £50,000, she built Bellamy Holdings into a £500 million empire. She became the woman no one could ignore. Now she's back. And so is Lewis Silverthorn — shattered, desperate, and staring at a four-year-old daughter with his exact gray eyes. He wants forgiveness. He wants his family. But Yessica built her walls from the rubble of his neglect, and a charming rival named Rafferty Montague is offering her everything Lewis never could. Worse — someone has been pulling strings all along. A betrayal runs deeper than either of them imagined, and this time, it could cost them everything. Can a man undo three years of silence with a lifetime of trying? Or is some love too broken to survive?

My best friend was a D-list influencer who'd blown six months of savings to drag me to a so-called "socialite finishing school." But then the instructor made us slap each other across the face — an "obedience test." I couldn't help it. I laughed. The next second, my friend was blacklisted from the entire circle, and her agent sent a termination notice. The instructor pointed at me and gave my friend an ultimatum: "Get on your knees. Slap her ten times. Then I'll lift the ban." My friend cried, trembling as she walked toward me. I sighed. The billion-dollar inheritance I'd just received — looks like the secret was about to come out.

When a mafia princess wanted to live a normal life, a marriage proposal totally changed her. She embraces life being the wife of the CEO, Bryce Hamilton. Hopeful for a happy family of her own, Fabe Everette realizes that a contracted marriage is like pointing a gun in your own head. Only you are too afraid to pull the trigger. But things got out of control when love hit her like a bomb. Fabe endures all the hardship of being his wife, mistreated and belittled by her husband's family. In hope for Bryce to love her back, the way she learned to love him. But after two years of marriage, Bryce filed for divorce for not giving him a baby. His inheritance depends on it, and it's part of their deal. Fabe raveled in her own foolishness and left. "Loving you is my hell! And I don't want to burn again," Fabe looked straight into his eyes and walked away. She has fooled once and never again. Where the game of rejection and revenge wins, will love prevail in the world of guns?

On my wedding day, the officiant had just asked me whether I would take this man as my husband. Then my fiancé's secretary shoved her way onto the stage, heavily pregnant, sobbing that her baby couldn't grow up without a father. The whole audience was in an uproar. Adrian grasped both of her hands, turned to look at me, and kept his voice mild. "Vivian, she's stood by me for five years. That has to count for something." "The baby's already seven months along. I can't let him come into this world without a name." "You'll remain Mrs. Locke and we can treat her as part of our family. The three of us will build a harmonious life together." I looked at the big backdrop screen behind him, emblazoned with both our names side by side, and I started to laugh. "Adrian, did you forget?" "For this wedding, the hotel is mine and the guests are all those I invited." "Even that tux you're wearing was paid for with the card I gave you." I pulled off my wedding veil and dropped it onto the floor at his feet. "You want to give her a name? Fine." "First, cough up every last cent you owe me."

All my life I've been waiting for my mate. I never thought he would turn out to be my boss. I’m his secretary by day, but his secret lover by night. That’s been our status quo for four years now. He says an Alpha in his position must maintain his reputation. “My family’s honor is my greatest privilege,” he once said to me. Honor might keep Emeric Garvalle from claiming me properly as his. But it sure doesn’t stop him from devouring me during our weekly hookups. Nor does it stop him from locking his office door behind us and bending me over his big mahogany desk whenever he feels so inclined. Most of the time, Emeric is nothing but cold to me. But he’s like a different person in bed, where he can’t get enough of me. A secretary with benefits. That’s all he wants me to be.

Five years ago, my girlfriend, Stacie Garcia, got crippled in an attempt to save me. Out of guilt, I stayed by her side and took on all the hardest grunt work so that I could use all of the money I've earned on her. But when I'm in the middle of cleaning a Porsche's dealership, I witness Stacie flirting with another young man there. To my shock, she's even standing without any problems. Stacie tells the man in a generous manner, "Which car do you have your eye on? I'll buy you any car no matter how expensive it is as long as you like it!"