Novel & Cerita Gothic Romance Novels

I turn the door knob open and I take a peak. Just a peak, I tell myself but soon I'm seated on his bed and reading a novel that I got from the shelf of books just at a corner of his room. I can't help it, his room is so arranged, the opposite of what I expected. Everything about the is in black and white, giving it this gothic vibe, I expected it to be beige just like the other rooms. Chasing Red! I've gotten myself so hooked up in the love story of the book that I don't pay attention to my surroundings. I never thought Nathan in all his calm and intimidating self would be interested in novels, romance at that!

Or maybe he'd suddenly realised that accepting a marriage proposal from a stranger didn't exactly speak of a sane mind. But he'd started it first. Too late for regrets, buster. I stood up and offered my hand to him, smirking at his questioning gaze. “Come on now. Like all deals we need to shake hands. You're well enough to do that aren't you Roman?” I emphasized his first name challengingly. It sounded ironic coming from me, given how I'd refused his hand in my bedroom, but matters changed. Something flickered in his gaze that I couldn't understand, but then, his lips lifted into what I could only call a deep devastating smirk.

“It was adorable. He used to hide them behind law textbooks. Thought no one would notice.” Lu turned to me, slowly, disbelief dawning in his expression. “Romance novels?” I kept my face perfectly composed. “It’s called studying character psychology. I was curious how emotional arcs were structured.” Christopher leaned closer to Lu and stage-whispered, “Some of them were very emotionally structured. Especially the ones with the shirtless men on the covers.” I tilted my head, deadpan. “At least they weren’t about knights and dragons like yours.” “Oh they were! But mine had duels. Yours had duels of passion.”

I forced my brain to assimilate the words until I couldn't take it any longer. I loved reading, in fact I had huge collections of crime and mystery novels because they were my favorite genre, but romance and historical . . . anything? Count me out. There was just something about ‘soulmates’ and romance that just grossed me out and the fact that this book had both just made me hate it. I stretched and yawned as I reached for my bed. I fell on my bed, face down. I didn't bother with my purple and white duvet as I let myself fall into slumber, Kenneth's smiling face the last thing I thought of.

He sat down next to her and allowed her to lean against his chest, gently stroking her long hair. "Fine, if you won't show me, just tell me." "It's just a romance novel," Maisie said with a light laugh. "The female lead loves the male lead deeply, but he has no feelings for her and sees their relationship as a transaction." Daniel's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly interrupted her. "Novels nowadays are full of nonsense. Don't read it." "What's the matter?" Maisie widened her eyes. "Didn't you ask me to tell you about it?"

The air is still and quiet, filled with secrets waiting to be uncovered. I select another volume and add it to my ever-growing pile. The worn leather spines creak as I pile another stack of books into my arms. Their dusty pages call to me, begging to be opened and explored. I hoisted the stack of books higher in my arms, struggling to keep them balanced. There must have been at least two dozen volumes weighing down my arms, ranging from gothic horror to historical romances, all consists of something dark.

“The novel’s title is Shocking Shocked, and it tells the story of a guy who was electrocuted after disclosing shocking news?” I bit the bottom of my lip. “Well... It’s one of my favorite novels.” She slapped herself across the forehead. “Dainty! We should not read novels like these. I assumed you were interested in romantic novels, so I let you read books, and then I’ll know that you’re reading about terror and murder novels?!” My mouth was closed. What can I do if I’m not a fan of romance novels? Horror, mystery, and psychological stories are my favorite, and not romance. When I read a romantic novel, my whole body convulses. They simply do not appeal to me.

"Whatever happened to love each other first then... then doing the deed after. Is everyone after physical contact only these days? What about getting to know each other first? Chivalry? Romantic date?" I sighed and stopped spinning, facing my laptop and visiting a bookstore's site to see what books sell. Ah, of course, my book wouldn't be in the top 10, and I didn't hope so; what's staring back at me is the top 10 best-selling books for the week, where five of ten are Erotic Romance books. "And I thought my company wouldn't be like other companies who are after profit; I was wrong. Then again, business is business."

But what drew me most to this garden was the abundance of rose bushes, all in various colors—pink, yellow, blue, and red. They were all so beautiful I couldn’t stop admiring them. I plucked one and brought it to my nose. The scent took me back to my dream of that boy with heterochromia eyes, and I smiled, missing him already. Would he appear again in my dream? Would he still smile at me like before? Would he— “What are you doing here?” I startled at the sudden intrusion and snapped my eyes open to see Lorenzo glaring at me. He had his hand wrapped around my wrist, and I could feel his wrath in waves.

My best friend liked it instantly. [Congrats, Director Thornton. Welcome to freedom!] I was promoted to the position of finance director in my company. I bought my own home, and I had a cat. After everything I had been through, I finally understood that loving myself was where lifelong romance would truly begin.