Media-upper Providence Library Novels & Stories

"Try not to embarrass me out there, Sunshine," Tyler muttered. I rolled my eyes. "I'm not the one with the ego, Sinclair." ********** Flora Morgan lost everything in one day. Her perfect relationship. Her dream job. Her reputation—all because of an embezzlement scandal she knew nothing about. With thirty thousand dollars in debt, the last thing Flora expects is to end up tangled with Tyler Sinclair—the NHL’s most feared player. Cold, arrogant and tattooed. The man the media calls The Devil on Ice. One mistaken identity. One outrageous proposal. One fake relationship neither of them wants. Now she's living under the same roof as the most infuriating man she's ever met, smiling for cameras, modeling beside hockey's biggest star, and convincing the entire world they're hopelessly in love. The problem? Fake relationships have a dangerous habit of feeling real. Especially when buried family secrets begin to surface, dangerous enemies start circling, and the past refuses to stay buried. What happens when the cameras stop rolling... but Tyler still calls her his prettiest problem?

An ambitious administrative assistant...a perfectionist and hunk executive...a dark secret...and a whole lot name calling. Deborah Green is brilliant, diligent, and on track to earn her MBA; the only stumbling block in her path is her boss, Sebastian Alvarado. He is demanding, frank, inconsiderate, and totally enticing. A Handsome Beast, at least for Deb. After spending time in France, Sebastian has moved back to Chicago to play an integral role in his family's massive media empire. He had no idea that the foreign assistant helping him out was the stunning, naive and provocative, yet completely irritating creature he now has to deal with on a daily basis. He's never been into office romance, despite the rumors. But Deb is so alluring that he is prepared to break the rules, if necessary. Everywhere in the workplace. Sebastian and Deborah's hunger for one another has reached a boiling point, and they must now decide how much they are willing to sacrifice for satisfaction. But what if she becomes entangled with the need to conceal one terrible secret —- a secret that could alter the course of her entire life? Given the stakes, she must keep it a secret or she's totally done.

On my wedding day, my boyfriend, Theodore Gunther, suddenly stops the wedding ceremony—all because Gwen Lithgow has updated her social media to say she's back. Theodore throws away the wedding ring he designed. He leaves me at the altar without another look back. I'm dumbfounded as I stand there in my wedding dress. My brother, Alvin Chilton, who's supporting me, lets go. "You've always been strong, Joycelyn. I know you can handle this alone. Gwen needs me more now." With that, he also leaves. He and Theodore have both left me for the same woman. They abandon me alone. That night, after dealing with the fallout of the failed wedding, Gwen sends me a photo. In it, Theodore and Alvin are standing by her bedside. She wears the necklace Theodore made himself and the wedding dress Alvin designed. Those were supposed to be mine. The image makes me lose hope in them. Tears stream down my face as I make a call. "Mom, Dad, I've changed my mind. I want to go home."

Raine Ellery never imagined her survival would come at a deadly price. Confined in a contractual marriage with the billionaire CEO Cassian Ashcroft to save her late mother's legacy, Raine simply had to escape her crumbling world. But the moment she signs the contract, Cassian collapses at her feet, and by midnight, he's declared dead. The media named her the bride of bad luck. The public thinks she’s cursed, while the Ashcroft board accuses her of murder. And the bargain she thought would be her salvation becomes a trap from which she cannot escape. Imprisoned in a penthouse filled with secrets and haunted by scandals, Raine is forced to play a high-stakes game of silence and survival. But when rumors of Cassian's secret enemies, a hidden inheritance war, and a conspiracy of faked death begin to surface, Raine is drawn into a quest for the truth before the world buries her with it. And just when she believes it's the end, Cassian returns—alive. Now Raine must face the most dangerous twist of all: the man she never truly knew is back… and he is not alone in what he wants.

Financial reporter Zoey, known for her pride and icy beauty, and with a formidable business acumen, finds herself at the center of a scandal on the very day she and financial tycoon Barlen are to get their marriage license. An insider exposes her, claiming that she loves only Barlen's wealth and that their marriage is merely a product of her exquisite acting skills. Unaware of the brewing storm, Zoey and Barlen are in the midst of obtaining their license when the news breaks. Barlen, upon reading the revelations, 'borrows' Zoey's phone and promptly turns it off, facing the onslaught of public opinion with firm evidence in hand. Surrounded by media reporters, Barlen is bombarded with questions about his perspective on the scandal. He deliberately twists the narrative: "My wife, she doesn't just love my money. Could she possibly love someone else's?" The reporters press on, clarifying their query: "Do you mean she only loves money, not you as a person?" Barlen remains composed: "She loves my money, and I love her as a person. Is there a problem with that?" In a single sentence: He redeems her with all his love and warmth. How could I not be enamored with someone like you?

To take care of my mother after she fell and injured herself, I turned down a promotion and took a week off work to stay by her side. On the day she was discharged from the hospital, she smiled and handed me a small envelope. “Suzy, you’ve worked hard these past few days. This is just a little something from me. Go treat yourself to something good.” I wiped my hands, a quiet warmth spreading through my chest. When I opened the envelope, I froze for a moment. Inside was $2. Still, I told myself it didn’t matter. The amount wasn’t important. What mattered was the thought behind it. But the very next day, while scrolling through social media, I came across a post from my younger brother, the one who hadn’t shown his face at the hospital even once. Nine photos filled the post, all of them showing off a sprawling luxury mansion. In the center was a photo of the purchase contract. The caption read: “Officially the owner of a $2 million riverfront house. Big thanks to Mom for the support!”

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!"

"Honey, it hurts …" Three years after getting married, Chelsey Jenson finally beds her husband, Lucas Yates.But even as he's above her, he's calling out his first love's name. "Shannon, I love you …"Lucas loses his sight for three years, and Chelsey cares for him without a complaint through the whole ordeal. What's the first thing he does upon regaining his sight? Seek out his first love.During an interview with the media, Chelsey announces, "Lucas Yates has erectile dysfunction and can't satisfy me in bed. I want a divorce!"The divorce becomes the talk of the town; everyone knows the handsome, rich, and powerful Lucas is useless in bed.Many years later, Lucas ends up chasing Chelsey all over the world. "Honey, I was wrong. Let's remarry!"Chelsey turns him down without hesitation. "I'm not interested in men with ED, so stay as far away from me as possible. Don't stop me from getting together with those young and fresh men!"

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.

The temperature starts to drop once we reach the top of the mountain. My two childhood friends, who swore to protect me with their lives, don't even spare me a glance. One is hastily wrapping all his clothes around Lisette Locke, while the other is warming her with his body. I'm so cold that my heart condition acts up; I beg them to save me. However, they're infuriated by this. "How can you still be trying to get our attention at a time like this, Cecilia? Run around for a while if you're cold!" "We'll buy you that white down jacket you wanted when we get back, but you can't take it from Lise now!" The rescue team arrives, and I barely make it out alive. I'm hospitalized for a week, but neither of them come to visit me. I see from my social media that they're busy celebrating Lisette's birthday. We've been friends for over a decade, yet I mean nothing when compared to the driver's daughter. I call my father and say, "Dad, "I'm willing to marry into the Jorgensen family!"