Jess Mariano Reading List Novels & Stories

The mother was never dead. She must have read it at least twenty times already, memorized the slope of each letter, the smudge on the edge, the tilt of the final dot. It wasn’t Pablo’s handwriting. It wasn’t De Marco’s. It was from someone who wanted her to know something, or suffer from believing it. Her hands shook as she folded the note again. Was it real? A trap? Hope? Madness? The door creaked as Mariano entered, his steps slow, careful. He carried no gun, no files, no bravado. Just his eyes, which avoided hers.

And that smile irritated Jay who didn't take his eyes off Kian, exchanging glare with him. Jessie was left alone. She got confused as she read the title of the book. "The Lion's Den?"

“Very fast way to get disinvited from half of Asia.” “I was talking about the model,” Jessica said, heat blooming. “Not the people. Not the country. I was angry and—sloppy.” Marie came around the desk and perched on its edge, close enough to take her niece’s hand. “You’re brilliant. Idealistic. Driven. Occasionally reckless. Auto-translation for an undeciphered language is… ambitious.” “Ambitious isn’t impossible.” Jessica held her gaze, steady. “I can do this.”

So, there was still the possibility that she was alive. After Marianne left, Joe showed up. He gave Jessa a hug and handed her an old, leather-bound cookbook. “I finally got it back. I don’t know how Mom got her hands on it in the first place.” Jessa took the book and lovingly caressed the cover. “Thank you.” I sat down next to her as she started going through the book eagerly. Joe hesitated, as though he wanted to add something else, but when I lifted an eyebrow at him, he only shrugged and left again. Jessa’s fingers caressed the pages as she read.