Media-upper Providence Library Novels & Stories

THE KISSING BOOTH by Aurelia Venus Charlotte used to believe betrayal had limits. Then she walked into her parents’ bedroom and found her boyfriend of six years tangled in the sheets with the two people who were supposed to love her most. With nowhere left to go and no savings after another devastating betrayal by the friend she trusted with everything, Venus flees to Las Vegas, determined to rebuild her life from nothing. Her last chance comes in the form of a risky internship at a struggling PR firm whose reputation is collapsing almost as fast as her own life did. Desperate to prove she belongs, Venus pitches a bold Valentine’s campaign designed to take the internet by storm. A live Kissing Booth. One kiss. One camera. One viral moment powerful enough to save the company. What she doesn’t expect is the man who volunteers to step inside. Adonis Thornwood. Cold. Brilliant. Untouchable. Confined to a wheelchair, Adonis is everything Venus should stay away from. He's her boyfriend's older brother, and the most arogant, insufferable boss anyone could work for. When a single kiss between them explodes across the internet, the world becomes obsessed overnight. Suddenly, the girl who lost everything and the man everyone hates and loves at the same time are the center of a media storm neither of them planned, or expected. But the cameras can’t capture the truth. Because Adonis Thornwood is hiding a secret that could destroy them both. The man the world believes is broken may not be broken at all. And when the truth finally comes out, the kiss that made them famous might cost Venus Charlotte the only thing she has left to lose.....her heart.

"Marry me, Olivia," Felix said to her, his expression stern and commanding. "What?" The statement was so unexpected that she choked on the water in her hand. Water dripped down her chin as she coughed and sputtered. She tried breathing while tears filled her eyes. "What did you just say?" She asked hoarsely when she recovered. There was no way he could have said what she thought he said. "Married? Just like that? You can't be serious!' she shook her head in disbelief. "Didn't you seduce and sleep with me just to be with me? Marry me and let's get this problem over with." Olivia Thompson's life takes a complete turn when she sees pictures of her boyfriend of two years with a new girl on the school's social media platforms and her father's demand for her to marry his 50-year-old friend to settle his debts. I'm an attempt to distract her from her problems, her best friend drags her to a lavish party, but everything changes when she wakes up naked on Felix Walton's bed, her best friend's enigmatic brother. Felix offers Olivia a marriage contract to protect his family's reputation after she unexpectedly becomes pregnant; Olivia accepts out of desperation. However, there is a problem: his parents have another woman they would prefer him to marry and she conceals secrets that could destroy the family. What will happen when Olivia faces her deepest fears? Will Olivia and Felix be able to overcome all the challenges in their way and build a future together or will the shadows of their past tear them apart forever?

Athena's last memory is a terrifying plunge from a rooftop, the gunshot that killed her—her husband Austin's gunshot—echoing in her ears. She impossibly wakes on her wedding day, reliving the marriage that led to her death. Trapped in a time loop, she must escape Austin's planned murder. Her arranged marriage is a gilded cage, a death sentence disguised as family duty, escape seemingly impossible. A glimmer of hope arises at the concurrent engagement party of billionaire Kael Visconti and her cousin, Arabella. Rumors swirl around Kael, whispering of underworld ties and his reputation as a ruthless mafia don—a truth he carefully conceals, adding to his aura of power and intrigue. Knowing of Arabella's affair, Athena proposes a risky deal: information on the infidelity in exchange for help escaping her wedding. They strike a bargain: Kael will publicly disrupt the wedding, posing as her lover, in exchange for a sham marriage. The plan succeeds. Kael's dramatic intervention creates chaos; Athena escapes. Their flight becomes a media sensation, thrusting Athena into a public engagement with Kael. But this salvation turns terrifying. A violent confrontation with Arabella and her lover reveals Kael's true nature: he's not just a billionaire but the ruthless head of an extensive underworld organization. The shot is precise, swift, and utterly ruthless; the man falls with horrifying finality. Athena sees the cold calculation in Kael's eyes, a terrifying glimpse into his cruelty. She's traded one dangerous man for another, far more powerful and unpredictable. Her fight for survival against a man far more dangerous than Austin has only just begun. The city's most dangerous man is now her soon-to-be husband.

Excerpt: “You were mine from the start but you just had to go back to that son of a bitch, what is so good about that asshole that you can’t let him go? I love you Cara, can’t you see that?” Forced into a cold, loveless contract marriage with ruthless billionaire Damien Zoric, Cara never expected happiness but she didn’t expect betrayal either. But just when she started falling for him, her world collapsed. Accused of infidelity, divorced without a word of defense, disowned by her family and destroyed by the media, she disappeared.... carrying the weight of abandonment. When the truth about the betrayal surfaced, he’s left shattered, desperate to earn her forgiveness, and willing to do anything to win her back but it was already too late. Three years later, she returns successful, stronger and now sharper version of the woman they once destroyed, she’s no longer the silent wife. She’s a mother now, with three beautiful children and no intention of letting the man who ruined her life anywhere near her heart. But he wants her back. But she isn't the same woman he abandoned. She doesn’t want apologies. She doesn’t want revenge. She just wants to be left alone. With an obsessed rival determined to have her for himself. Her vengeful sister wanting what she had and will stop at nothing to take it. And between tangled loyalties, mutual rivalry, and three little children caught in the middle, Cara must protect the life she built even if it means watching her ex-husband suffer the heartbreak he once gave her. Because this time, she isn't giving in easily.

The day before the wedding, I go to the bridal shop to pick up my custom wedding dress. The clerk informs me apologetically, "I'm sorry, Ms. Stone. Yesterday, a woman called Ms. Lovelett came and picked up your dress." My best friend, Sherry Lancelot, suddenly remembers something. "Isn't that the surname of your fiance's secretary? He's so thoughtful. He had your dress picked up in advance for you." But in the next second, Mary Lovelett posts a social media update. In her photo, she is wearing my one-of-a-kind custom wedding dress that is worth hundreds of millions and posing coquettishly in front of the camera. The caption reads, "Zachary is the best boss in the world. I casually said I wanted to take some portraits. He generously bought me a globally limited outfit for a photoshoot so that I can take the photos to my heart's desire!" I look at the post and reply coldly, "That's the wedding dress I personally chose for myself. Since when did it become your photoshoot outfit?" The post is deleted instantly. My fiance, Zachary Everdon, calls me angrily. "What nonsense comment was that? I just lent your stupid dress to Mary for a bit. It's a cheap, one-time thing anyway. I can buy you a dozen more to make up for it." I let out a cold laugh and record the call. Then, I send him a screenshot of the 200 million dollars purchase record. I say, "Sure. Will you pay by check or by direct transfer? Hurry up. Once you pay, we're calling off the engagement."

"Black Network" is a gripping urban mafia suspense novel filled with darkness, betrayal, redemption, and justice. Female protagonist Lina Rossi, a principled senior investigative journalist, digs deep into the East Dock smuggling case and becomes entangled in the Moretti family's vast black-gold empire. After being detained by mafia boss Dominic Moretti, she evolves from prey to avenger, eventually forming a life-and-death alliance with him. The story revolves around internal mafia power struggles (Dominic vs. his brother Marco and sister Valentina), brutal warfare with rival Victor Russos, corrupt political and business protection networks, and Lina’s relentless pursuit of truth. Through intense sequences—including a deadly rooftop shootout, underground escapes, emergency wound treatment in a safehouse, global fund freezes, explosive media exposés, manor bloodbaths, and a subway bomb crisis—Lina uses her journalistic logic and courage, teaming up with Dominic to dismantle the black-gold network. She ultimately detonates the bombshell report “Nova City Judgment,” triggering a city-wide anti-crime storm. Key antagonists fall one by one: Victor dies in a tunnel shootout, while Marco, Valentina, politician Davis, and others face justice in a landmark trial. Dominic confesses in court and activates a financial “dead man’s switch” to protect Lina, earning a reduced sentence. The story ends in triumphant justice: the Moretti manor is demolished, Lina becomes editor-in-chief before retiring, and Dominic is granted early release. The two reunite at sunset by the renovated old dock, walking hand-in-hand toward a peaceful, ordinary future. The novel powerfully explores how truth, redemption, and human resilience ultimately triumph over violence and corruption, proving that justice, though winding, cannot be stopped.

A bought marriage. An uncontrollable desire. An empire at stake. Lorenzo Moretti doesn’t seduce. He dominates. A billionaire CEO feared across Europe, Lorenzo rules Milan like a modern king: cold, ruthless, untouchable. Until his grandfather’s will traps him with a single humiliating condition, to keep the empire, he must take a wife. No love. No romance. Just strategy. Sofia Duarte is broken. Her family’s studio is drowning in debt, her father is destroyed, and the legacy she swore to protect is about to be erased. When Lorenzo offers an obscene deal, marriage in exchange for salvation, she hates every word… and accepts. A contract. Twelve months. One house. One bed. A perfect image. What Lorenzo buys is a wife. What he gets is a woman who refuses to bow. Between explosive arguments, forced proximity, and power games that turn into seduction, hatred starts to burn. The looks last too long. The touches cross forbidden lines. Breathing changes. And when the tension finally breaks, it isn’t gentle. It’s fire. Because Lorenzo doesn’t know how to love, he knows how to possess. And Sofia doesn’t know how to obey, she challenges, provokes, and ignites him. While enemies close in on the empire and the media hunts for cracks in their perfect lie, the contract becomes a golden cage where desire turns into weapon, weakness, and addiction. He bought her to save his throne. She married him to save her family. Neither of them was ready for what happens when Milan’s most dangerous CEO loses control… in bed, in power, and in his heart. Luxury. Domination. Forced proximity. Contract marriage. Obsessive CEO. Strong heroine. Sexual tension that turns into wildfire. She was an agreement.

After praying to the Virgin Mary statue 100 thousand times, my younger sister, Stephanie Harvey, and I have returned to the day we're meant to get reincarnated. In our previous lifetime, Stephanie chose to reincarnate into the womb belonging to Tiara Cromwell, the richest woman in town. As for me, I could only reincarnate into the womb of Lynette Ross, a mistress, seeing as there were too many souls queuing up for their turn. Once we were born, Stephanie was pampered and doted on by Tiara, whereas I kept getting degraded and insulted because I was the child of a mistress. "You're just a lowly bitch with a mistress as your mother! You don't even have the right to lick my shoes for me!" Unexpectedly, our shitty father worked with Lynette to take over Tiara's family business. Tiara went broke overnight and fell from grace. As for me, I transformed into a proper heiress. When Stephanie saw the photos of my grand coming-of-age party on my social media feed, she came knocking on my door and pleaded for my help. "Madison, we're half-sisters, aren't we? Please help me!" I decided to give her some money, seeing as she was my sister. But Stephanie pushed me into the pool, resulting in my drowning. Now that we've both returned to the day we get reincarnated, Stephanie quickly reincarnates into Lynette's womb. I, on the other hand, choose Tiara as my mother. Later on, Stephanie sobs as she takes her own life repeatedly just so she can get another chance to start over again.

Tessa Smith was born into the perfect life—wealth, fame, and love. As the only child of a renowned business tycoon and his elegant housewife, her days were filled with luxury, private tutors, and the unwavering belief that she would someday inherit her father’s empire. Groomed to be graceful, admired by fans, and adored by the media, Tessa's world seemed idyllic—until it shattered in a single, tragic moment. One fateful evening, masked intruders breached their heavily guarded island manor. Her mother, Kiera, answering the door with love and peace in her heart, was murdered in cold blood. That night rewrote Tessa's future. No longer driven by wealth or societal expectations, she chose a path that no one—least of all her father—had prepared her for: justice. Despite opposition, Tessa joined the force, quickly rising through the ranks as a brilliant, fearless detective. She cracked impossible cases and earned her place in a male-dominated world. Alongside her partner and love interest, Caleb Milanowski—a sharp-minded officer from humble beginnings—the duo formed an unstoppable team, both in investigations and in life. But just when they thought they’d found peace, a final case emerged: expose a powerful, faceless kingpin who had evaded justice for decades. Through riddles and coded messages, the truth led Tessa to a devastating revelation—one that would test her loyalty, threaten her relationship, and force her to choose between love, legacy, and the truth. In a gripping battle between duty and blood, Tessa is thrust into the heart of betrayal. To restore peace to a nation, she must dismantle the criminal empire that may be rooted in her very own family. A tale of love, loss, vengeance, and truth—where every secret comes with a price.

In my previous life, after I got divorced from Serena Langston, the court had given me custody of my newborn daughter, Talia Poole. Meanwhile, my son, Lucas Poole, was to live with Serena. Many years later, Talia got into a top prestigious university. I had raised her to be a humble and polite young lady. On the day the SAT scores were released, the mass media fought with each other just to get an inclusive interview on how I raised and parented Talia. Meanwhile, Lucas had already dropped out of school when he was still a junior at high school. After that, he eloped with a delinquent, only to impregnate her before he even hit 16 of age. Just like that, he was treated as the living educational material of what a teenager shouldn't become when they grew up. At the age of 30, he was still mooching off Serena without an achievement or a job under his belt. Serena's dream of watching Lucas succeed in life was completely shattered. In fact, she was utterly humiliated by his existence. On the day Talia's celebratory banquet was held, Serena showed up and picked a fight with me. She insisted that I had given Lucas all of our bad DNA, which resulted in him being a massive failure in life. During the fight, Serena stabbed me in the chest. Then, she jumped off the building and died. When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day the court will be giving us custody over our children. This time, Serena quickly requests the judge for Talia's custody. I can tell right away that she's been reborn as well.