Ex Libris: Confessions Of A Common Reader

“I searched for you everywhere, Marissa. I hired the best investigators. I realized too late that I needed you in my life. And now that you are here, I cannot let you go.” His voice was weak. His eyes were desperate. And the desperation only made me feel more satisfied than I had in years. I could walk away and let Tristan’s perfect world fall apart. Or I could stay. Crush the empire my sweat was built on, watch Tristan wallow in pain as his world crumbles. I could become the queen of the game he started ten years ago. ********** Marissa, a plus sized lady, was once the talented designer whose creativity turned her husband’s company into a success. Tristan hid her because he was ashamed of her size, stole her work, and even named her designs after his lover. That same night, she lost her pregnancy. Now, ten years later, the empire he built was sinking. But Marissa? She returned stronger, more beautiful, and fearless. When the man who broke her begins to beg, will Marissa forgive him or turn the game to her playground where Tristan will face the worst kind of pain than she ever did?

Elena had once believed that silence could mean safety. That a gentle hand and a warm cup of tea placed quietly on her desk every morning could be a form of love. Lucien was never cruel—not in the obvious ways. He remembered how she liked her eggs, noticed when she swapped her perfume, and sent flowers on days he knew she wouldn’t expect them. He raised her like one would raise a pet—softly, without question. And Elena, foolish in the way only the very lonely can be, mistook his quiet affection for devotion. She told herself he was reserved. Mysterious. That love didn’t always wear its heart on its sleeve. But when the old flame returned—the one who spoke his language without needing to try—Elena saw it. The difference. He looked at her like a man who had found his lost religion. And Elena? She had simply been convenient. No tears, no scene. Just papers on the breakfast table, beside the eggs he cooked perfectly. She didn’t accuse or beg. She only asked for freedom. He didn’t sign. He chuckled. A soft, dismissive sound. “A cat raised indoors doesn’t know how to survive on the street, Elena. You’ll come back." But she didn’t. She disappeared, like smoke—except she didn’t vanish, not really. She lived. She wore colour again. Laughed at bad jokes. Let strange men hand her coffee and ask for her number. Lucien? He watched. He watched her become someone without him. And it drove him mad. The night he cornered her outside the gallery, rain in his hair and desperation in his eyes, he looked like a man undone. "Elena," he breathed, "please. Look at me. Just once." She did. Calm as ever, and her love already gone.

Andrea gave everything to Jason—the man she loved, her inheritance, her dreams, and fifteen years of her life. Together, they built his tech empire, but betrayal shattered her world. Pregnant and suspicious of Jason’s infidelity, Andrea confronts him only to face a devastating accident that robs her of her child and her ability to conceive. Abandoned by Jason and framed as mentally unstable, Andrea is left with nothing. Betrayed by her husband, her best friend, and even his family, she endures humiliation, heartbreak, and months in an illegal mental institution. But when Jason’s estranged younger brother, Jake, rescues her, Andrea vows revenge.

Ava: May ginawa akong masama noong nakaraang siyam na taon. Hindi ito maganda, pero nakita at kinuha ko ang pagkakataon na makuha ang lalaking mahal ko simula pa nong bata ako. Fast forward ng maraming taon at pagod na ako sa isang kasal na walang pagmamahal. Gusto kong makalaya kami pareho sa kasal na hindi dapat nangyari. May kasabihan na kapag mahal mo ang isang bagay… palayain mo ito. Alam ko na hindi niya ako mamahalin at na hindi ako ang magiging choice niya. Ang puso niya ay laging nasa babaeng yun at kahit na may mga pagkakasala ako, nararapat akong mahalin. Rowan: Noong nakaraang siyam na taon, sa sobrang in love ko ay hindi ako makakita ng tama. Sinira ko ito noong ginawa ko ang pinakamalaking pagkakamali sa buhay ko at sa proseso nito ay nawala sa akin ang mahal ko. Alam ko na kailangan kong managot, kaya ginawa ko ito, kasama ang isang asawa na hindi ko gusto. Sa maling babae. Ngayon ay binaliktad niya ulit ang buhay ko sa pag divorce niya sa akin. Ang mas naging komplikado pa dito, ang taong minamahal ko ay bumalik na sa bayan. Ngayon ang tanging katanungan, sino ang tamang babae? Ito ba ang babae na minahal ko noong mga nakaraang taon na? O ito ba ang ex-wife ko, ang babae na hindi ko gusto pero kailangan kong pakasalan?

Laura William's life was completely changed when she found out about her husband's affair with his ex-girlfriend. She made the difficult decision to end their marriage and leave behind her opulent lifestyle as a billionaire's wife. Unbeknownst to him, she was carrying his twins and hoped he never discovered the truth. Kairo Jackson, a thriving CEO, was faced the repercussions of his past actions as his ex-wife returned. As he unraveled the hidden truth, he grappled with feelings of regret. Would he come to regret his choices, and would she be able to find it in her heart to forgive him and possibly rekindle their lost love?

"You will be treated like nothing except my fuck toy. You will get spoiled food once a week and water one sip a day. You will always stay naked. No clothes for you. No electricity for you. You will be locked in 1 room with just a floor forever. You will never be treated like a human being again from this day on."

“Let go of me.” I took in deep breaths and pushed him away but this man was way stronger than me. “Let me show you that I am a changed man.” He pulled me closer once again. “Let me love you.” I had never seen this man beg before but for the first I was. But the Gabriella he wanted was long gone. The Gabriella he wanted had died the day she found out he was cheating, she had died the day she took her things and left NewYork with her unborn baby. I would never let him come close to me or my child and I’ll also never let him go for hurting me.

After being married for three years, I was very satisfied with my life. My husband was handsome, caring, gentle, emotionally stable, and never lost his temper with me. That was until the day when I saw my kind husband cornering his true love. He asked angrily, "You were the one who decided to marry someone else, what right have you got to ask me to do anything?" Only then did I realize that he could be emotionally unstable when he was truly in love with someone. I knew my place, so I decided to divorce my husband and disappear from his life. A lot of people said that Ryan had gone mad and that he was turning the whole Jelaston upside down just to find me. I felt that it was impossible for someone so emotionally stable as Ryan to go crazy. Not to mention the fact that I was just an ex-wife that he didn't really care about. Sometime later, he saw me standing next to another man. He grabbed my wrists and pleaded with red eyes, "I'm sorry, Charlotte. Please come back to me." Only then did I realize that what I heard other people talking about wasn't just a rumor. Ryan really had gone mad.

Gwyneth saves a man who is wanted by a secret organization. To stay in her house, the man did not care about his honor but knelt down to beg and used his own life to threaten her, causing Gwyneth to compromise. This man, to avoid being pursued by the secret organization, and Gwyneth, who did not want her family to urge her to marry someone she didn't love, so they both agreed to a fake marriage, creating a fake marriage certificate and arbitrarily buying the cheapest wedding rings in the jewelry store. She thought everything would end quickly, but one night, when she secretly followed him outside, Gwyneth discovered that the man she had been living with for months was actually a notorious murderer, the leader of a major gang. In order not to be killed, Gwyneth decided to run away, but the man still found her and this time he stood in front of her with a different identity, his whole body emitted the smell of money and an overwhelming murderous aura, no longer the warm man she once knew.

Georgia fell for Alpha Evans the moment she laid eyes on him…and discovering he was her mate only sealed it. She fled from a forced marriage to a Lycan King, choosing love instead. For two years, she gave Evans everything. But love wasn’t enough. On their anniversary, he brought home Anastasia. His first love and chosen mate. Georgia tried to endure it… until Anastasia shoved her down the stairs, costing her their baby. And Evans? He didn’t even flinch. That was her breaking point. “Sign the divorce papers, Evans. I’m done with you!!” Evans only laughed. “You’ll regret this, Georgia. You’ve got a few days to come to your senses. Don’t forget you’re a nobody. You have nowhere to go. You’ll eventually come crawling back.” That’s what he thought. He believed Georgia was just a poor, helpless orphan..exactly what she wanted him to believe. But Evans had no idea who he was messing with. Georgia wasn’t just anybody. She was the daughter of Alpha Blackwood…the strongest, wealthiest Alpha in all the packs. Now she’s back to reclaim what’s hers.