Long Way Down Jason Reynolds Novels & Stories

Chase Grimm's aide-de-camp sent me a screenshot of an Instagram Live status. Guess who it came from. His new secretary. She was showing off a meticulously prepared lunch from a lunchbox. My handiwork, no less. I made it for him. The caption read: [He's a dark, cold CEO… and a shiny knight who saved a hungry princess with a gastric problem from eating mac 'n' cheese again!] Chase almost never posted on Instagram. Yet there he was, sharing a photo of a cup of ridiculously spicy mac 'n' cheese, captioned: [I have missed this.] The nerve of this prick. Then my mother-in-law sent an entirely unsolicited text: [What the heck were you doing?! You're supposed to make him a proper lunch! He can't stand spicy food!] After all that, I decided to call a supermarket. "Hi! I'd like to order 100 cups of instant super-spicy mac 'n' cheese and have them delivered to Grimm Co. Please and thank you." "Ain't I generous?"

I wish that night had never happened, the night I died and was resurrected by a vampire, life to me never made sense and I always wondered what happens after death. I didn't think my question was answered so soon, but now I ask you: What is the price of death? I found out the hard way that the price of death is life, my life that now belongs to him!

Daisy Truman's childhood crush, Corey Sager, threatened to jump off a building on our wedding day. She ignored him and went ahead with our wedding. Daisy started to panic when he leaped off the building. From then onward, Daisy moved into a church and became a pious person everyone knew of. She aborted our baby and made me kneel in confession to repent for this so-called sin. I tried to escape, but she ordered my legs to be broken and even used my family to threaten me. I lived a life of misery and torture. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to my wedding day. This time, I would push her into Corey's arms. As for me, it was my turn to become the love that she lost.

"I, Conrad Alaric, Alpha of the Shadow pack, break every bond that I share with you, and on this day reject you as my mate." Hearing his words caused my eyes to shut instantly, with the whimpering that went inside of me. My wolf was sad. But , it was that day I decided to take the change, the day I put an end to begging for his love. "And what makes you think that I will come back to you so easily?" "Because... Because I think I'm deeply in love with you now, Katherine."

*It was never supposed to be love… yet my heart chose you anyway.* Viren Rai doesn’t give his heart away. A powerful CEO and the only heir to Rai Bahadur’s empire, he is known for his cold decisions and untouchable charm. Love is a distraction he cannot afford—and a risk he refuses to take. Priya Sharma has never had the privilege of choice. Burdened by her father’s failing health and her family’s endless financial struggles, she is fighting a battle she cannot win alone. Strong yet vulnerable, she hides her pain behind quiet determination. Until Viren steps in with an offer that changes everything. **A contract marriage. One year. No emotions. No strings attached.** In return, he will take care of her problems. It was supposed to be simple. But somewhere between shared silences, unspoken care, and stolen glances, something shifts. The distance between them begins to fade… and hearts that were meant to stay guarded start to feel. He begins to protect her. She begins to trust him. And neither of them realizes when the contract turns into something real. But every deal has an ending. As their one year comes to a close, reality forces them apart. Pride, fear, and unspoken love stand between them. When the truth finally surfaces— will they walk away from each other… or admit what they’ve been denying all along? Because sometimes, even in a contract… **a heart doesn’t follow the rules.**

Cecilia Jones kept a forgiveness notebook. Six months ago, on Cecilia's birthday, Jeff Lawrence abandoned her to meet Yvonne Smith. It was the 93rd time she’d forgiven him. Three months prior, when Yvonne mentioned she was allergic to cat dander, Jeff gave away the cat Cecilia had raised for years. Cecilia forgave him for the 94th time. One month ago, Jeff got drunk and woke up in the same bed as Yvonne. He insisted that nothing had happened and accused Cecilia of having a dirty mind. Cecilia forgave him for the 95th time.

"Stop right there, Evan! You can't fool me." Grace stretched out her hands to the right and left, preventing her best friend from leaving. "I know you're hiding something." Evan crossed his arms over his chest. "Don't be so confident. And please, know your place. I have the power to replace you with anyone else." He leaned toward her and whispered to her ear. "Or, are you trying to seduce me? How much is your rate for one night?" Upon hearing it, Grace gave him a smack across the face. She was silent for a moment in disbelief. Tears started to roll down her cheeks. "You're so mean, Evan. I-hate-you," she said, heartbroken. She turned away from him without further ado. Evan teared up too, looking at his best friend leaving. "I'm sorry, Grace. I had to do it. We can't be together," he said weakly. Grace and Evan became best friends after he saved her and her mother following a traffic collision. Their friendship grew stronger for years until they became inseparably fond of each other. However, fate played jokes on them. They had to separate for years, lose contact and bury their dreams. When they finally reunited in the same workplace, everything was not the same as it used to be.

"Five years and that's all you have to say to me?" he asked. Standing so close she could taste his breath. She wanted to move away from him. But she didn't want him to know just how much he affected her. So she stood right there. She wasn't going to let him intimidate her. "Well... Is there anything else you want me to say?" she asked The side of his mouth moved upwards. He was smiling? Why the hell was he smiling like that? She thought. She didn't remember saying anything funny. "You left... Kitty" he said. "I asked you to stay... Begged you to stay... And you left anyways.. With him. And now you come back... Acting like everything is okay between us...?" There was something about him... She thought. Something about the way he called her 'Kitty' that made her heart flip. "You shouldn't have gone with him". He said. "Oh really? Why not? Because you didn't want me to?" she asked. She was starting to get angry. "Yeah that's right" he replied. "And because of what you felt for me -what we felt for each other. When I came near you, you felt an excitement so intense that you ceased to breathe --like you are feeling right now. You wanted me just as much as I wanted you. And that should have been enough to make you stay" -------------------- Katherine Kavell has been in love with Jensen Packard ever since she was a teenager... And all she had ever wanted was for him to see her as more than his best friend's sister.Only he never did. So she decided to leave. But when she returns five years later with her son, Jensen Packard knows that he can't let her go for the second time.

Jason Schwartz had been a close friend of my father's, despite the age gap. The year I met him, I was fearless, the kind of girl who thought nothing could touch her. I bit down hard on the hand he offered me. Jason just laughed. "You're adorable," he said. "Like a little wolf." On my 18th birthday, he shoved me onto the bed, his eyes red, as if he had been holding back for years. "Diana, I've finally waited long enough for you to grow up." He was the one who pulled me into that first flutter of desire, the one who led me across every line I wasn't supposed to cross. I grew into exactly the kind of girl he wanted. The day my father was hacked to death by his enemies, Jason took my hand and stepped into his place without hesitation. When I was pregnant, he brought home a girl covered in blood. "Diana, she's not like you. She's like wild grass, tough and stubborn." He said he admired wild grass. But he forgot something. He was the one who raised me into a rose that only knew the shelter of a greenhouse. Good thing I didn't need him anymore.

When I was born, the nurse handed me over to my parents, and the smiles on their faces instantly vanished. Hovering over their son's smooth head was a line of numbers that no one else could see. 6570 days. It was exactly 18 years. Not a day more, not a day less. The nurse thought they were just nervous first-time parents, but my parents knew the truth. That number was my lifespan. While everyone else in the delivery room was celebrating a new life, my parents were staring at my death. For the next 18 years, I was the most precious person in the family. No matter how poor we were, the eggs were always mine, the new clothes were always mine, and the meat was always mine. My younger sister could only look on enviously. My parents often told her, "Let your brother have it. He doesn't have much time left." I was well-behaved from a young age, never causing trouble, quietly waiting to die. On my 18th birthday, I blew out the candles and said a sincere goodbye to the world. The next day, my parents and sister, dressed in black clothes, walked into my room with swollen eyes. I rubbed my eyes, smiled at them, and said, "Good morning." The air froze. The sadness on their faces slowly turned into astonishment, then coldness.