Duke Library Hours Novels & Stories

In the year 2020, the world faced Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2, and took several years to slowly recover from its immense effect. Thirty years after, another virus rose and affected the world's population in just a few weeks. The health workers couldn't determine what exactly the virus is, its type, and the way it is being passed from person to person despite the advanced and improved technology. Because of this and the sudden virus outbreak, the World Health Organization assigned Richforte Medical Team for a research mission for the virus and find a cure for it as soon as possible. Would they be able to accomplish this mission if, in the next few hours, the world would have what they called Zombie Apocalypse?

In a world slowly being erased, the quiet is the killer. Ethan Ashworth’s life ended the day the Silence touched him, leaving a smooth, numb patch on his skin and a ghost where his memories used to be. He is one of the Marked—doomed to be hollowed out, unless the hunters of Die Jägerfind him first. His only hope is the Library, a secret sanctuary for those the Silence hasn’t yet consumed. There, he meets Lorenzo Cavalli, a former soldier marked not by emptiness, but by a rage that refuses to be silenced. Their connection is immediate, volatile, and unwanted—a psychic bond forged in shared terror that screams against the quiet. It’s also the one thing the all-consuming Silence cannot stomach. Their bond isn't just a link; it’s a weapon. A wrong note in a world demanding perfect silence. On the run from relentless hunters and a creeping nothingness that eats sound, memory, and soul, Ethan and Lorenzo discover a terrible truth: the Silence isn't random. It's a hunger. And it’s gathering, preparing to swallow the world whole. Their only chance is to turn their unwanted connection into a blade, and walk into the heart of the consuming quiet. To kill a god of silence, you don’t fight with a shout. You fight with a scream that is also a love song.

Vida was a waitress who put in eight hours a day in order to afford her $300 monthly rent and three square meals a day. She enjoyed each and every fantasy story as if it were true, and she longed to live in and explore the worlds depicted there. But she was shocked to find out it was true. Meeting a royal is the last thing she expected, but it happens. She does, indeed. Her visions morphed into steamy fantasies, and before she knew it, the handsome stranger was standing outside the bar where she worked. The question recurs, "Am I dreaming again?" They repeated in unison, looking into each other's eyes in disbelief. What happened afterwards is ancient history. And the ride was quite exciting.

Tara a woman full of dreams for her family, applied as a personal assistant of Peter. Peter, a notorious playboy, keeps on changing women just like how he changes his clothes. Wore it for a couple of hours then dump it after but when he saw Tara he knows trouble ate him up. A hot woman is his assistant! He couldn’t keep his eyes off on her as well as can’t think clearly when he was with her. Thinking of ways how to pleasure the lady and how she tastes like. But can Peter get the woman’s attention when Tara already has a boyfriend? Will Tara be one of Peter’s playmates? Or Tara will change Peter for the better?

They say family is everything, but what happens when that same family destroys you? After twenty-six hours of labor, Evelyn’s world shattered. Betrayed by the father, stepsister, and fiancé she trusted most, she was stripped of her newborn son, branded a mere surrogate, and thrown out with a five-dollar insult. She should have been broken forever. But fate had other plans. Evelyn survived. Now, she has one chance to reclaim her stolen child and make her enemies pay. To do it, she strikes a dangerous deal with the most ruthless man in the city, Lucien Alexander, the Devil's Son. Two years. One ruthless man. A contract that could save her... or destroy her.

Alina Hart, a sharp-tongued high school senior, hides behind sarcasm and wit to mask the pain of fractured family life. Shipped off to a prestigious boarding school by a father who no longer sees her, Alina struggles to find her place in a world of strict rules and academic expectations. Enter Professor Cristiano Wright, a 27-year-old literature teacher whose calm demeanor and sharp intellect make him both an enigma and a fascination. Tasked by Alina’s older brother Ethan to keep an eye on her, Wright finds himself drawn to the complexity beneath her rebellious exterior. In the backdrop of Shakespearean sonnets and Romantic poetry, Alina and Wright navigate an increasingly fraught connection. What begins as reluctant mentorship soon transforms into a tangled web of forbidden emotions, unspoken words, and an undeniable pull that neither can ignore. Set against the bustling corridors of an urban high school and the quiet corners of a library filled with unspoken confessions, Silent Flames, Forbidden Paths explores the fine line between admiration and desire, duty and vulnerability. As Alina and Wright grapple with their feelings, they must confront their moral boundaries and the cost of their choices. Can they maintain the lines they’ve drawn, or will their emotions blur them beyond recognition?

Thanks to my dad's work, I have to transfer schools. Soon, I go to my new school to register for my enrolment. After submitting my personal information, the teacher in charge shoots me an odd look. "Is your father Mr. Chapman, the new shareholder? His child should have enrolled with us a long time ago. In fact, his daughter is half a year older than you. You're not that person at all…" Stunned, I dig out my phone and show my photo with my dad to the teacher. She glances at the photo before showing me the system window. "Mr. Chapman's daughter has been studying in this school since the first term. He even donated a library to the school recently. This is a photo the school board has taken. You can take a look yourself." In the photo, my dad and an unfamiliar student can be seen standing at the school's bulletin board. That young lady looks as old as I do. Her features are similar to my dad's. In fact, she resembles him more than I do! If they are an actual father and daughter pair, then who am I?

My husband doesn't touch me on our wedding night. He claims he's too tired and asks me to wait. Then, he sneaks into the basement in the wee hours of each night. Whenever he returns, he needs to shower to wash away an indescribable smell. I ask him what he does down there, and he tells me he works out. Why would anyone work out in the middle of the night? I can't take it anymore. One night, I decide to sneak into the basement to see what's going on down there. He chases after me and grabs my pajamas, roaring, "Come back up here! I'll divorce you if you step foot down there!"

When she had just gotten married, her husband tragically passed away mere hours after their wedding. To her horror, she witnessed the ruthless murder before her very eyes. How could someone commit such a heartless act without considering the value of human life or the impact on the victim's family. She must have been completely devastated by this shocking incident, but what happened next was beyond comprehension. The individual who took her husband's life had actually purchased her with money. It is truly unimaginable how someone could engage in such an inhumane act towards another person. Will she ever be able to move forward in her life, burdened by the knowledge that she was bought with money? Delve into the story to discover the answer.

Two hours before the wedding, Ahn Hana was abandoned by her fiance. Drunk and upset, she picked up a young bad boy from the street. Waking up with no memories of the night, she found herself next to a handsome boy in the next morning. What happened when she found out that she is being fooled by a playboy? When a mystery came to light, she realized that she had to fight her fallen mind to win the battle against a serial killer who had been obsessed with her. Was her entire life manipulated by a serial killer?Will this arrogant and proud lawyer able to resolve the murder case of the century while facing the whole nation's hate? Will she become the real killer's target or she will target the murderer?