Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library Novels & Stories

I took a shortcut through the alley and watched Dante Marchetti put a bullet in a man like it was nothing. He saw my face. That was the end of my normal life. Within an hour I was in the back of his car being driven to an estate I had never seen before with gates that locked from the outside and a wardrobe full of clothes in my exact size waiting like someone had known I was coming before I did. He told me I wasn't a prisoner but a guest. He said people who wanted to find me were considerably worse than him and that his walls were the only thing standing between me and a conversation I wouldn't survive. Maybe he was right. The problem is the longer I stayed the harder it became to remember which one was true. Because the man who caught me in that alley wasn't the only version of him. There was another one that nobody else seemed to get to see. The one who stood alone in his dead mother's library looking tired in a way that had nothing to do with sleep. The one who had my cat brought to the estate because he heard me crying through a closed door and didn't know what else to do about it. The one who almost smiled when I threw a glass at his head. That version of him was the one I couldn't stop thinking about. I came here as a witness. I stayed as something else entirely. Somewhere between the locked doors, the candlelit dinners and the secrets we started sharing in the dark I stopped wanting to leave. The question was whether a woman like me could survive loving a man like him. I was about to find out.

After receiving the report for an STD test, I went back to the barbeque restaurant, and there I ran into a young woman who was about three months pregnant. She asked me to let her cut in line, and, feeling sorry for her, I agreed to help her out. I quickly made arrangements for her and made sure she had a seat. But to my shock, after she finished her meal, she had a miscarriage. The girl posted about the incident online, and before I knew it, I was trending on social media, facing a wave of cyberbullying. The internet users went even further, digging up my health records and finding that everything came back positive. [She's positive for everything—she's clearly a woman with a messy private life!] [No wonder she caused the woman's miscarriage just by being near her—she's a biological hazard!] The cyberbullying got so bad that it pushed me into depression. Even my fiancé turned against me, accusing me of being filthy and breaking up with me. The emotional weight became too much, and in my pain, I drove straight into a reservoir. Meanwhile, the girl gained millions of followers online and skyrocketed to fame as a popular influencer. It was only after I died that I learned the shocking truth—this girl was my fiancé's first love. To boost her own popularity, she and my fiancé had come up with this entire scheme together. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back on the day when she asked me to let her cut in line.

"Rupert Zachary Kilmer. Do you take Lianna Callis Smith as your lawful wife? To have and to hold, from this day forward. For better, for worse. For richer or poorer. In sickness and in health, until death do you part?”  "I most certainly do, father…" Nearing the day, he'd finally be tied to the woman he loves, Rupert Kilmer eagerly waited for her sweet answer. Those two words and the priest's declaration of their union. Yet, as he unveiled the woman in white, the face that appeared wasn't his bride. "Eridessa…? Wait what? Where's Lia?" *** Lianna Callis Smith thought she'd be a lot happier when she regained her vision. Yet, tears drenched her cheeks as she came home after her surgery, finally seeing the treachery she'd been sensing back when she's still blind. Her marriage only lasted…for two years. For the man she so loved, was on top of another, in her very home. Facing the blame of his affair, Lianna watched in melancholy from afar, as Rupert was wed to another. However, to her surprise, it wasn't just her who stood on the same building, watching that very scene. "You…you're—" Before the strange man could mutter his words, both met darkness until they woke up, back in three years time. "Let's get married, Jasper Wayne. Let's show them…what they…who they wasted…this…we don't deserve any of this… "In this life, let's live happily…"

I stand in the hospital after my two older brothers decline all 99 of my phone calls. They finally appear, bringing with them the biological sister they found. My gentle eldest brother, who had once rescued me from my so-called abusive parents, raises his hand and slaps me across the face. "Cynthia, you're actually pretending to have a terminal illness just to compete with Sarah for our affection? And you came to this kind of place to frighten us?" I clutch my swollen cheek and listen as my second brother, who always says he'll trust me no matter what, holds Sarah in his arms and laughs out loud. "Are you trying to fake being sick to get our attention after seeing that Sarah is in poor health? "Just cut the act. You've been living in luxury since childhood and have always been in perfect health. How could you possibly be ill?" Sarah Crawford speaks up thoughtfully, "Don't blame her, you two. I think she just feels like I've stolen away your love for her, which is why she has become so unreasonable..." I look at the two brothers who have doted on me for ten years and suddenly feel that nothing matters anymore. After all, I only have seven days left to live. In seven days, everything will return to normal after my departure. But by then, they'll be the ones unable to accept it.

Mikkel Solar has been living his life as a drifting shadow at the borders of his pack for the past 11 years. His only companions being his parents. His 'condition' has rendered him an outcast of society, a being they see as a curse. Upon reaching the age of maturity, the supernaturals of Europe are deemed worthy of entering the land of Rhodes, a place that refines the finest warriors, witches, healers and leaders. Aged 22, Mikkel finally finds himself the opportunity to escape to the land of neutrality where legally he was free to abide in without the threat of being harmed. However, will he pass the entrance exam and will the Land of Rhodes find him worthy of enrollment? Meghaal Singhe a studious human who just wants to get her degree has been housing at the Cosmic moon pack for the last month. Mikkel finds in her the friend he never had. The friend he always wanted and needed. The Two best friends fight their way past figures of Authority and superstitious stigma that stand against them as they force their ways past the gates of Rhodes. But what they do not know is that a storm is brewing. A storm that links the two of them to everyone and everything that plays a part. Betrayal, negligence, broken hearts and newfound love are the cups of tea they're in for. This story does not only focus on Mikkel and Meghaal. It just starts out with them. There will be 3 other protagonists who will have their very own story within it. Each one of them will have a problem of their own, and each one of them will be connected to one other. T/W This story contains mxm, mxg, gxg, mxmxm, depression, suicide, mental health, and rape.

Todd Vandenberg was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. After his parents died in an accident when he was very young, his Grandfather took him in. Grooming him to one day take over the family company, Vandenberg Pharmaceuticals. Now in his late twenties, he spends his time at clubs and in the bed of a different woman every night. In an attempt to make his wayward grandson change his promiscuous ways, he offers him a deal. Marry within six months’ time; if not, you will be cut off. His friend tells him about a site on the dark web where women auction themselves as brides to the highest bidder. Is this the easy way out he was looking for, or could it lead to something more? Amelia McLeary is a struggling college student, determined to break into the tech industry. As a woman, the odds are already stacked against her, but add to that her ever-growing medical debt because of her diabetes and the ailing health of her aunt, and she finds herself having to choose between giving up her dream or letting her only family die. Knowing there has to be another way, she overhears some fellow students talking about a site on the dark web. Having never had luck with relationships , why not have a contract one instead? What she never expected was for the man that won her bid to be the infamous playboy and the heir to the very company that had gotten her into this mess in the first place. Why not make him pay? Or could fate be trying to change both their lives forever?

"I never signed this," I argued. "I signed health insurance forms." "You really should read the fine print, darling, that's the first rule of business," Jason smirked. "You legally donated your eggs to Chloe on that rainy Tuesday." I looked at Chloe, who was standing there with a smug smile on her face. "Your services as a wife are no longer needed, Chelley," Chloe announced. "But your biological contribution was essential." ***** Mitchelle has always been the responsible one, the one everyone relied on, the quiet genius who kept the family from falling apart. But now she has to face the fact that the people she loved the most betrayed her completely. Her husband sees her as a tool, her sister as a pawn, and the world she thought she controlled has crumbled. She is left with nothing but the remnants of a life she never wanted to live and the rage burning in her chest. But Mitchelle is not someone who breaks easily. She is smart, she is resourceful and she has a fire inside her that refuses to be extinguished. With the help of her best friend, Danika, Mitchelle hatches a plan that will make them regret ever underestimating her. Forty million dollars or one month under the same roof, she has leverage, she has power, and she is ready to use it. The clock is ticking, and every second counts as she transforms from the hurt and betrayed wife into a force that will command attention and respect. She will make them squirm, she will make them pay, and she will reclaim her life on her terms.

Myra Kapoor, a very kind-hearted twenty-two years old girl, who has just graduated from college. She lost her father a few years ago and her mother lost her mental health, who is admitted to the hospital. She was living in Delhi with her uncle and aunt, who paid the medical fees of her mother's treatment. They treat her as the maid of the house. As if life hadn't jerked enough from her, she was replaced in the place of her cousin sister Raima to marry the billionaire Austin Black, who is the father of a five-year kid. She was threatened by her uncle and aunt to marry Austin. There was no option for her, if she denies, what about her mother? Austin Black, AB in the business world. A heartthrob king, who has achieved a lot of fame and controversies at the age of twenty-six. An egoistic hunk, who asked to marry the daughter of the Kapoor family only to take her possession so his sister, Natalie Black can live a happy life with Aarjav Kapoor. Nobody knows about his five years old son. He is the most stunning bachelor of New York City. But he has a son, how? Myra was arranged as the bride of Austin, she was hoping for a lovely romance in her life, a prince charming but unfortunately, she is getting married to a guy, who is the father of a five years kid and he already told her that she will be his pretended wife until Natalie sets out in her life with Aarjav. She is a mere asylum object for him for an unlimited period. Join the journey of Austin Black and Myra Kapoor... Will their marriage be ended up? What is Austin's secret?

When Ava Harrison hide behind the wooden drink cart, she never expects to hear her world unravel word by word. Married for three years to Marcus Moretti, the cold but captivating heir to an international luxury conglomerate, Ava has sacrificed everything, her dreams, her dignity, even her health—to love and support him. But the man she trusted has been lying. And worse? He's been doing it with her sister, Sophia. With a positive pregnancy test clutched in one hand and her dignity in the other, Ava walks away from the man who never truly saw her. But the world won't let her go easily. Not when she's carrying the Moretti twins heir. Ava disappears, not just from Marcus's world but from everything she's known. She changes her identity, finds unlikely allies—including a mysterious masked man with a dark past—and begins a quiet life in Canada. But Marcus refuses to let her go. As he unravels the truth—that Ava was the one who saved his life years ago, not Sophia—he spirals into guilt and obsession. But Ava is no longer the naïve girl who cried in silence. She's determined to protect her unborn children at all costs. And when fate forces her to cross paths with Marcus again, both are pulled into a storm of regret, revenge, and revelations that will tear their world apart. Love, betrayal, and the strength to rebuild— This is a rollercoaster of emotions, laced with secrets, seduction, and the quiet resilience of a woman who finally chooses herself.

“Before you become my wife, there are three rules you must follow, Miss. Morgan.” he drawled and I folded my arms “I can follow any rules as long as it doesn't intrude on my privacy.” I replied and he scoffed. “Rule number one, drop that attitude. I will not tolerate you being all sassy with me. Rule number two, you are to put on an act in front of my parents, but don't get too touchy with me. And the last but most important rule is this, NEVER FALL IN LOVE WITH ME!” He spelled it out, his eyes locked with mine. “Sure, I will abide by your rules, Mr. Finn. The last thing I'd do in my life is fall in love with you, so the rules are easy-peasy.” *** Amelia is pushed into a tight corner after losing her job due to an argument she had with Jason Finn, an ambitious and hot billionaire playboy she found annoying and rude. As if that was not enough, her mother's health deteriorated and with no money to further her treatment, she had no choice but to go into a contract marriage with the same billionaire she despised the most. According to him, he didn't like her one bit, and only wanted her to put on a show for his parents, who were pestering him to get married. He bound her with a contract and gave her a rule to follow, but rules are made to be broken, right? When affections begin to spark between them, Jason knew he was in trouble. Secrets, lies and betrayal comes into play, and it's up to them to fight for what they truly believe in.