Media-upper Providence Library Novels & Stories

On the first day of every month, my mom will give me my allowance based on the number of times I had checked in with her last month. "You'll receive 20 dollars for greeting your parents once in the morning and once in the evening. But last month, you only hit ten days' worth of quota, so you can only receive 200 dollars. This also means your 300-dollar punctuality fee will be deducted as well. "After adding on 150 dollars for your basic necessities, you shall receive only 350 dollars for this month's allowance. Remember to write a reflection report on your lack of punctuality later. I'll only transfer you the money if your report is acceptable." I become so overwhelmed by anxiety that my voice starts trembling. "I was busy with my finals last month, Mom! I had to line up outside the library at 5:00 am every day just so I could secure myself a seat! That's why I couldn't call you in time!" In a choked-up tone, I plead to my mom, "I need 600 dollars for the train ticket all the way home during the holidays! 350 dollars really isn't enough for me! Mom, can you please—" But my mom cuts me off firmly, "The allowance system is something that I've specifically designed for you so that I can help you get rid of the bad habit of wanting to receive everything without putting in hard work! Why can't you just understand that I'm doing this for your own good?" After that, she ends the call mercilessly. Just as I'm filled with despair and helplessness, a blond appears before my eyes. He's willing to buy my train ticket for me, but in return, I need to leave with him.

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.

16 year old Scarlet Paine struggles to understand what’s happening to her, as she wakes and realizes she’s becoming a vampire. Alienated from her parents and her friends, the only person she has left to turn to is Sage, the mysterious boy who has quickly become the love of her life. Yet Sage, whose house she finds boarded up, is nowhere to be found.

Scarlet, alone in the world, with nowhere left to turn, seeks out her friends and tries to reconcile with them. All seems to be patched up when they invite her to join them on a trip to an abandoned island in the Hudson—but as things get out of hand and Scarlet’s true powers are revealed, who her friends and enemies are becomes more confusing than ever.

Blake, still interested in her, tries to make amends. He seems sincere, and Scarlet is confused as she has to grapple with whether to be with Blake or to wait for Sage, who is nowhere to be found.

When Scarlet finally finds Sage, they have the most romantic time of her life; yet it is tinged with tragedy, as Sage is dying, with but a few days left to live.

Kyle, meanwhile, turned into the only other vampire left in the world, is on a murderous rampage, seeking Scarlet; Caitlin and Caleb consult with Aiden, and they each embark on different missions—Caleb to stop and kill Kyle, and Caitlin, to the famed Yale University library, to research the ancient relic rumored to both cure and kill vampires for all time.

It is a race against time, and it may be too late. Scarlet is changing rapidly, barely able to control what she’s becoming, and Sage is dying with each passing moment. As the book culminates in an action-packed, shocking twist, Scarlet will be left with a monumental choice—one that will change the world forever. Will Scarlet make the ultimate sacrifice to save Sage’s life? Will she risk everything she has for love?

Axel, an eleven-year-old boy, was robbed of his childhood after the brutal assassination of his parents by the Hawthornes - his family’s longtime rivals. His parents had discovered the dark secrets behind the Hawthornes’ wealth, and for that, they paid with their lives. To deceive the media, the Hawthornes took Axel in, pretending to care for him while secretly turning his life into a living nightmare behind their cold, gilded walls. Yet, in the midst of that darkness, there was Mia Hawthorne, a girl a year younger than Axel. She was the only one who cared. Every night, she would sneak into the dark room where Axel was locked away, bringing him food and comfort. She talked to him, shared her heart, but Axel always turned away - silent, haunted, his eyes fixed on the memory of his parents’ lifeless bodies. But then, by a twist of fate - through Mia’s mistake - Axel escaped, vanishing into the unknown. But he returned, hardened and driven by a single purpose: to destroy the entire Hawthorne bloodline. Will Axel succeed in wiping out the family that destroyed his life, including the one person who once showed him kindness? Stay tuned to find out. You don’t want to miss this.

Natalie Walker poured her heart and soul into loving Cedric Johnson for ten years, only to end up being burned to death by his lover.Cedric thought of that woman as nothing more than a housemaid. Even marriage wouldn't change her status. That was, until he received the news that she wanted a divorce..."Why do you want a divorce?" Cedric asked arrogantly, believing that this woman couldn't survive without him."Aren't you eager for me to die so you can be with your lover? I'm simply fulfilling your wish!" Natalie shot back as she laughed mockingly. "Cedric, I won't be blind again! Not in this lifetime!"Natalie, who had been reborn from the ashes, held the divorce papers and kicked the scumbag and his mistress to the curb.At a press conference for her company, the media asked, "We heard that you initiated the divorce. Could you tell us the reason?"Natalie responded calmly, "It was simply time to let go."That fire had consumed all her emotions.Looking back, it was nothing more than a long-planned trap set for her.

On the night of New Year's Eve, I wake up in a hospital ward with an IV drip connected to the back of my hand. A nurse passes me the hospital bill. "It's 300 dollars in total, including the emergency treatment fee and the cost for a bottle of glucose drips." When I turn on my phone, I feel my heart sinking. I only have 29.01 dollars left in my bank account. The wallpaper of my phone is a countdown of my family contract's app. Today is the date when I have to renew my family contract for the year. In order to accumulate enough money to go home, I've been working as a staff member in concert venues. Earlier, I had collapsed backstage, so I was quickly sent to the hospital. The dial tone keeps beeping for a long time. Finally, my mom answers my call in what seems to be a noisy background. "Mom, I'm at the hospital right now. I need 300 dollars to pay the hospital bill." "You're at the hospital?" Mom's voice turns shrill immediately. "Why did you visit the hospital during the holidays? You really are a jinx!" "I fainted earlier. I was working at a concert venue—" "What? So, you refused to do chores at home during the holidays! Instead, you decide to work at a concert venue?" Mom interrupts immediately. "I don't have 300 dollars on me! You'd better come up with a way to pay that bill of yours!" "Mom…" My hand tightens around my phone. "Today is the last day of my family contract's renewal period. I'll renew the contract once I pay the bill." "Renew the contract, huh?" Mom just sneers at me. "That's a part of your duties! How dare you use it against me! Helena Lambert, if you don't renew the contract today, you can forget about calling me 'Mom'!" After that, she ends the call. I can only grip my phone to the point that my fingers turn white. After that, I tap on a social media app in hopes that I can borrow money from my friends, only to see the latest post on the social media feed. My younger sister, Hannah Lambert, has posted a photo collage there. "I'm here with my parents to watch my favorite singer's concert! Snagging tickets to the first-row seats is definitely worth it!" The background of those photos is the same concert venue where I work part-time at. It's the most expensive venue in town. Apparently, tickets cost 2,900 dollars each.

Adrian harus pura-pura menjadi Pacar seorang CEO yang dingin. Tugasnya sederhana, setidaknya di atas kertas. Adrian hanya perlu mendampingi Alana di acara-acara sosial kelas atas dan bersandiwara di depan media untuk menjaga reputasi sang CEO. Namun, begitu masuk ke lingkaran elit, hidup Adrian yang tenang berubah menjadi kekacauan total. Ia harus berhadapan dengan kilatan kamera paparazzi, persaingan bisnis yang licin, hingga tekanan dari keluarga Alana yang menuntut kesempurnaan. Di tengah hiruk-pikuk kepalsuan itu, tembok es yang dibangun Alana perlahan mulai retak. Garis antara profesionalitas dan perasaan pribadi menjadi kabur saat sang CEO mulai menunjukkan sisi posesif yang tidak ada dalam kontrak. Saat masa kontrak hampir berakhir dan Adrian bersiap kembali ke hidupnya yang sederhana, Alana justru mengajukan revisi kontrak yang paling berbahaya bagi jantung Adrian. Di bawah gemerlap lampu kota, ia memberikan tawaran terakhir: “Kalau aku minta kamu tetap di sisiku… kali ini tanpa kontrak, apa kamu masih mau?”

"What do you want from me?" he asks, staring at the woman who transforms from an exquisite, perplexing beauty into sexual temptation. "I want you to kill me." “You’re already dead, strigoi.” As he clutches the doorknob, her voice caresses his ears — “I want true death.” Her tone softens, too alluring to refuse. “And only you can give it to me, WOLF.” When an outcast vampiress meets the most desired Alpha CEO in the city, there should have been bloodshed. Fate, on the other hand, has different plans for them. Wolves, vampires, and the entire supernatural underworld will come between them. But those are simple to overcome in comparison with their own prejudices. For Paul, she's a tainted soul. In normal circumstances, he would give her what she wants, death. But the rules he loves so much compel him to protect her. For Laura, he's just a means to an end, someone who holds the key to what she desires. Love is just a stumbling block in a life she doesn't want to live. Join Discord: https://discord.gg/QNZtVmVWc5 All my social media accounts can be found on my website: https://helenbold.com

From the time I was ten until I turned eighteen, my parents made me write 299 IOUs. Every time I needed money, I had to borrow it and pay it back as an adult. Then I got into a car accident. I needed money for surgery but was still short by 3,000. With no other options, I went to my parents for help. But they just gave me cold smiles. “Clara, you’re eighteen now. We have no obligation to give you money anymore. If you need it, write another IOU.” While holding back tears, I wrote my 300th IOU. After my surgery, I saw my adopted sister’s social media post. In the pictures, she was celebrating her 18th birthday on a cruise. She was the center of attention, like a princess. My parents had given her a luxury apartment in the city and a Maserati as birthday gifts. Even my childhood friend was looking at her with love in his eyes. She said they were the ones she loved and thanked them for giving her the best of everything. I looked down at the crumpled IOU in my hand and suddenly laughed. Once I paid off my debt, I would no longer need such a family.

My roommates have booked booth seats at the New Year Countdown Light Show at the price of five thousand dollars per ticket. Soon, they begin urging me to transfer them my share of the payment on the group chat. I just send them a screenshot of the remaining balance in my bank account. "You guys have fun. I'm still saving up for my college tuition fees." Everyone just spams me with laughing messages instead. One of my roommates, Zane Lawson, even uploads a screenshot of our conversation to his social media feed together with a caption that says, "The first step of ascending to the next tier in social hierarchy is to stay away from party poopers like this." But as soon as 12:00 am is over, my roommates send me a photo of the light show. "It's such a shame that you aren't here." I'm still confused by the photo when I receive a phone call from the counselor, who sounds very anxious over the phone. "Did you buy tickets for your roommates to the light show? The organizers claimed that they never checked in at the entrance! Now, they've gone missing!"