Duke University Libraries Novels & Stories

"I died with the taste of jasmine and betrayal on my tongue. I woke up with a debt to a monster." Elara Vance was the perfect noble daughter—quiet, dutiful, and blind. She gave her heart to the charming Lord Caspian de Montfort and her trust to her "saintly" step-sister, Lyra. Her reward? A slow-acting poison in her tea and the sight of her husband prying the family signet ring from her cold, paralyzed finger. But death is not the end for those with a soul full of rage. In the misty aisles of the Shop of Lost Regrets, Elara meets the Archivist—a terrifying entity who offers her a second chance. The price? She must return to her sixteen-year-old self and complete a series of increasingly dangerous tasks. If she succeeds, she gets her revenge. If she fails, her heart stops forever. To survive her murderous family, Elara must secure the protection of the only man they fear: Kaelen Thorne, the "Monstrous Duke" of the North. She proposes a marriage of convenience—a cold, blood-bound contract built on secrets and strategy. As Elara and Kaelen journey to the frozen border, they enter a deadly game of cat and mouse. Between the Duke’s ancient curse, Caspian’s obsessive pursuit, and the Archivist’s mysterious demands, Elara must navigate a world where love is a weakness and information is the only currency. In this life, Elara is no longer a pawn. She is the player. And she will burn the kingdom to the ground to ensure her enemies never taste jasmine again.

Blurb Having no one in your life seems hard but for Ayato it’s only normal, so what if he doesn’t have anyone? As long as he have money. But the problem is he doesn’t have money too. No one to lean on + No money= Seige Ayato. Ayato decided to enter S University where they give everything for free and pays money , but when he entered the University that’s so good to be true he discovered it’s darkest side where he met Yuuki Toshita his assigned ‘Personal Trainer’. Personal Trainers in S University aren’t normal trainers that you expect to be, Personal Trainers there train other ‘things’. They train your body in different ways, they teach you different styles and positions in different ways. Ayato decided to apply the V Course to avoid other ‘lessons’ but one day Yuuki-sensei showed up in his dorm one day naked! What will Ayato do to avoid the ‘things’ he don’t wanted to do?

Despite dreaming of attending university all my life, I ended up stuck in my farming village. I married my brother-in-law and became my nephew’s stepmother. This all happened because my sister died trying to make money for my tuition fees on the day my results came out. I thought I had failed to secure a place at university and stopped thinking about higher education out of guilt. I married my brother-in-law according to my sister’s wishes. To pay for my sins, I raised my nephew and treated him like my own son. I made money and tutored him so that he could get into Northside University. In the end, I developed late-stage cancer. Before dying, I attended my nephew’s celebration, but he publicly accused me of being a homewrecker while my husband agreed that I had seduced him. They brought out my sister, dead for eighteen years, and made me apologize to her. It was then that I found out she had faked her death and used my university admission letter to finish her study. She had become a university lecturer after tricking me into taking care of her family. Outraged, I had a cerebral hemorrhage. When I woke up, I found I had gone back to the day my sister faked her death.

It all started from a drunken one night stand.November is in her last year in the university and it's her birthday the last birthday she has to spend as a university student. She decides to go out to party with her friends, at the party, drunk and far spent, she meets Kalmon- her hot soon-to-be boss, and they have a one night stand.She starts working for Kalmon and soon, they become lovers but luck isn't on their side as November's ex lover comes to town to try and shatter her happiness.Read to find out what happens next.

Having the same faces, Laura and Olivia made a decision to exchange places wherein Olivia becomes Laura who is an ordinary girl, and Laura becomes Olivia, the sole heir of the Reign Industries. As Olivia pursues the life she dreams as a common girl, Laura also pursues the fairytale-like life she had always wanted - or so she thought. At the Reign household, she encounters inconceivable events which will surely change her life forever. And in the middle of those events, she meets and falls in love with the cold-hearted Duke who is the real Olivia's fiancé.

Georgina Hidalgo had it rough when only she survived the tragic car accident leading both of her parents dead. Leaving her without anything, an old lady came claiming she is her grandma. She is forced to leave the metro as her grandma's order. They are set to live for good at Grimson town, a place she would never know that exist in the 21st century. Bound to find a fresh start in the new town and seek friends at Howling University, Gina wished nothing but good fortune, but something else came in. Upon learning that the school she's attending is controlled by an unjust ranking system, she is tortured by bullies that almost killed her. When she exceed her limits in enduring the pain, she decided to rebel against the University. And the only salvation she found is Casper Cross Roswell, the University's gorgeous SSG President. But the refuge she expected vanished when she learned that the University she is attending is a den for... werewolves. Captivated and nowhere to go in the monstrous Grimson town, can she still resolve the fate given to her?

The Revoltoir Household is a very wealthy household. It has everything every noble wished for. Wealth? Power? They have it all. That house produced a lot of legends in the Empire. Little did they know, that house is the most despicable house of all. All because of the secret Tradition that is also known as Bataille De Survie. The 5 geniuses of the current generation of this house got super close. As they don't want to fight and kill each other, they decided to make a plan to overthrow their father and to make one of them be the new Grand Duke and to put a stop to their horrible tradition. Will they pull it off? or will they all die protecting one another?

My childhood friends switched their university of choice behind my back. Going to the capital, they enrolled in an elite university with an exchange student. To them, I was just a tool who could not survive without them. That impression lasted until the opening ceremony of an Ivy League university. As the representative of the new students, I stood at the center of the hall. Meanwhile, the youngest PhD advisor in the entire country watched me as he smiled. Beyond the world of the novel I lived in, the readers’ comments went wild. [Shouldn’t she be crying back at home? Why is she in an Ivy League university?] However, the next part was even crazier. That man actually asked me to be his girlfriend yesterday. He was Professor Samuel Grant, the one who had rejected my four childhood friends from studying under him. When my childhood friends left me behind to chase after that manipulative witch, they never expected me to cast aside my role as someone running after them. I ended up holding a full-ride scholarship and reached heights they could never touch.

There were five things I was absolutely certain I wouldn't miss even if I became blind: -The first one was the fact that I was a slave and my life would never go back to the way it was. -The Second one was the Duke who bought me was a dragon hiding his identity for a reason I didn't know. Weren't dragons supposed to be powerful and all? Using his race might give him a huge advantage in politics. -The third one I was certain the Duke was hungry for me and I started to love him. Furthermore, he was cursed and the cursed ones didn't live for more than a year. Conquering him was a lost cause; a battle with less than 50% of success. However… Was it really necessary to label numbers on everything that was happening? -The Fourth one: Was it really necessary for Dotoria, the human land, to curse the other races existing within its borders? I wasn't confident about the statement. Nonetheless, everyone was looking for a wish granter gem. The nine kingdoms collided eying the gemstone like a prize for dominion. -The Fifth one had the magic of belief in it; Do you work on your dream or stay back hiding behind a smoke of mist fearing failure? I wanted to escape but I gradually lost interest in it. The world was a mystery in my eyes and I was taught to never engage in a battle with less than 50% of success. Do I even have a dream because the only thing I wished for was the reason I was a slave. People were driven by dreams and goals and I didn't have one yet.

Famous actress Cassandra Lei Tan, has a drug scandal that damages her career, leaving her jobless for a short time. That was until she has a chance to earn a major role in an upcoming drama. But to clear her name and secure success, she must first take a job working as a secretary to the CEO of a multinational technology company called Xiangda Inc. What will happen when a sassy actress meets the cold-hearted CEO named Mr. Duke Harrington? Will she successfully fulfill her purpose in staying there? Or maybe she will encounter something that she would never imagine, like falling in love with her boss.