Long Way Down Jason Reynolds Summary Novels & Stories

The morning of my wedding, my own sister locked me in a bathroom stall. The boy I had sponsored out of poverty couldn't bear to see my fiancée standing alone at the altar, so he stepped up and married Lillian Gates in my place. My sister was so moved that she claimed him on the spot as a brother and let him complete the marriage alliance with the Gates family in my name. My fiancée said, "Silas, you healed my legs. I love you. I respect you. But Liam and I have already registered our marriage. From here on, one of you is my husband, and the other is my boyfriend. Things between us can stay the same… alright?" I slapped her across the face. What she did not know was that her legs were never fully healed. In seven days, without my brace, she would be unable to walk again. What she also did not know was that my sister–so certain of her schemes–had never even seen our parents' will. So what made her think the company had been left to her?

My husband insisted that I wear high heels at the company’s annual meeting despite being pregnant. He compared me to his female secretary with a look of disdain. "Can’t you learn from Lucille? She’s eight months pregnant and still comes to work in full makeup, handling her tasks efficiently. If you don’t wear them, don’t go. I’ll be embarrassed!" He even tried to give the high heels to his secretary and take her as his date. Left with no choice, I forced myself to wear them. However, on the balcony, the secretary tripped me, spilling red wine all over me. Limping, I found my husband, only for him to sneer, "Tripping on flat ground? How clumsy!" Furious and pale with anger, I turned to leave. Someone urged him to chase after me, but he only got angrier. "How bad could it be? She’s so timid—she can’t survive without me! Just wait. When the event’s over, she’ll definitely be waiting in the car to drive me home." Alas, he was wrong. I turned and went straight to the hospital for an abortion.

Seven years after registering our marriage, my husband Gaius and I finally decided to hold the romantic wedding ceremony we had missed back then. That day, I wore the wedding gown I had designed myself and walked toward him with hopeful eyes. Before I could deliver my carefully prepared vows, an incident interrupted the moment. Amid the stunned murmurs of the guests, Gaius dashed toward the woman who had fainted—again—at my wedding. His voice trembled with urgency, eyes burning red. "Call an ambulance! Now!" He didn't even look back as he left the wedding hall. When the wedding bell rang seven times, I calmly pulled off my veil. Facing the guests who had yet to disperse, I smiled and said, "As you can see, today marks the divorce ceremony between Gaius and me. Please, eat and drink to your heart's content. Don't let the trip go to waste!"

Four years ago, Aria Hale ran from the only man she ever loved. She left without a word. Withouy goodbye. And carrying a secret that could destroy him. Lucian Drakov went to look for her, until he saw her plane crashing. The loss turned him into something darker, merciless, untouchable, feared by all. But fate is cruel. Because the woman he mourned walks back into his life alive and trembling... and holding a little boy with his steal-gray eyes. Now Lucian wants answers. He wants the truth. He wants the years she stole from him.

Someone had sprinkled some corrosive acid powder all over my wedding dress, the one worth over a hundred million. The moment I put it on, my flesh began to burn and dissolve. Blood and yellowish fluid pooled around me as a result. When I tried to call for an ambulance, someone’s mother held me down. She smiled cruelly and said, “You dare steal my daughter’s wedding dress? Go to hell!” However, my husband had ordered the dress from a top designer. It was one of a kind! I struggled with all my strength and shouted at her, “Do you know who I am? How dare you touch me?!” Her daughter, Yelena Stone, then grabbed a knife and stabbed me hard in my pregnant belly. She sneered and said, “You stole my man, but you have the audacity to yell at me? Fine. I’ll just spend a little more to end your worthless life.” My worthless life? I laughed. My hands were stained with blood as I called my brother, Hunter Sinclair, an elite in Jinvell’s social circles. “Hunter! Someone’s trying to kill me! And tell Jacob to get here now!”

He conquered her people. Now he wants her heart. Freya was a human warrior, captured when the werewolves ravaged her realm and slaughtered everything she held dear. Labeled a prisoner of war, she expected death until the cold, powerful Alpha King set his sights on her. He doesn’t just spare her. He claims her as his bride. Thrown into a savage world ruled by her enemies, Freya swears to destroy the werewolf clan from the inside. But as she begins to uncover secrets buried beneath the bloodshed and as the Alpha’s icy walls begin to crack, her hatred blurs. How do you kill the monster… when your heart starts beating for him?

On the surface, Connor Shaw appears to be the coolheaded, celibate follower of the Fyerian faith who lives like a monk. All of Jewelton knows that about him. Behind closed doors, however, he suffers from a severe case of compulsive sexual disorder. According to the traditions of the merpeople, a mermaid like Sylvie Waverly will have to marry the first human she meets and perform the ultimate act of intimacy 999 times. Masquerading as a lovesick doormat, Sylvie does everything she can to marry Connor. However, the only one in Connor's heart is Anna Larson, his first love. Everyone assumes Sylvie will get jealous, but all she wants is to complete her mission as soon as possible and return to her own world. Once Connor has bedded her 999 times, Sylvie leaves him without a second thought. By the time Connor realizes Sylvie is the mermaid who saved him all those years ago and that she alone can cure him of his compulsive sexual disorder, it is all too late.

Pain. That was all I remembered after I lost my mom to a sudden death. I was seven when that happened. And after that, my father took over the house and the company, and married a week later to my mom's best friend, while stating it was for my own good. The world turned their backs on me, calling me trash and a jinx. But that wasn't the worst thing I had to endure. My father drugged and sold me as a replacement for the debts he could not repay. In return, I got stuck in the hands of a ruthless disfigured man, who always hid his face behind a mask. “I'll never let you go, Georgina. You're mine, and the sooner you accept that, the better”. His cold voice echoed in my ears as he grabbed my neck and made my legs become weak. I thought all hope was lost, but I miraculously escaped. … Ha. It's funny how fast time flies. It's been 8 years, and I finally returned to the city that broke me. But this time, I didn't return the same way I had left. I didn't return as the docile fool. Rather, I returned as someone they could not touch. A mother to my lovely twins. And the most sought after miraculous doctor. “My daughter, you're back home. Everyone, she is my daughter”. “My wife, I have finally found you. Return home with me”. They tried to control me again. How sick and irritating. Did they think I was the old Georgina they knew? They are wrong. The old Georgina had died, and this new Georgina had returned to make them pay. I will reclaim everything they took away. The company, the house. Including restoring my mother's honor! I'm Georgina, and you are welcome to my story…

"I ran away on my wedding day..." I'm forced to pay for the sins of my father. An arranged marriage to the Mad Prince for the life of my father, the Mayor. Sometimes it amuses him to give me pleasure so intense I think I’ll die. He said I'm his property, to do as he pleases and he's the only one allowed to hurt me in a good way. So, he'll keep me locked up until the last day of my life. Luckily, help finally came but even help could not save me from Pietro Eppolito. PIETRO: I’ve been tagged a lot of things; Beast, Reaper, Killer, Monster, Psychopath, Murderer, Mad Prince, and several others. Sadly, the mayor’s daughter decides to make me a person of interest in her little journal. Now she’s on my radar and all I want to do is ruin her. Maybe that’s the only way I would spare her father, who happens to be my next prey.

After the New Year, some of my husband's former students are back to visit him. So, my husband, Isaac Cooper, treats them to dinner. They greet us warmly, but when they first see me, there is a hint of surprise in their eyes. In the private room, Isaac takes my hand. Everyone starts teasing us. "Mr. and Mrs. Cooper are so loving. I'm so jealous!" I lower my head shyly and excuse myself to the restroom, only to overhear two of his students chatting. "I was startled just now. I thought Mr. Cooper's wife would be Lilith Walker." "But Mrs. Cooper looks so much like her. When she walked in, I almost mistook her for Lilith." I freeze on the spot. I know Lilith is Isaac's ex-girlfriend, but I have never seen her in person. Cold water runs over my hands. As I look at my carefully made-up face in the mirror, I suddenly feel a wave of nausea.