Nine Lives Caryl Novels & Stories

"Now, darling, can you tell me what happened?" It was obvious he intended to scare her into not admitting it, which was happening because she felt frightened but it made Nine wonder about how many girls he'd done the same thing too. Fortunately for her, Mom saw the look and latched on it with a wicked look. "Refer to me as Madame Dalia, thank you. My daughter, Nine, was doing her late night shift in the pub she works in when this drunk man, out of his wits completely, asks her to drive him here and take him to a room which she does, because my Nine's a hard worker, you see. And then, she does as he asked and is about to leave when he takes advantage of her!"

I held out my hand. Kane, ears flushed red in the way they always did when he was emotional, slipped a nine-carat diamond onto my finger. The blood drained from Kael’s face. Then Kane lifted me into his arms and carried me toward the waiting car. Behind us, Kael made one final, terrible choice. He seized the silver cake knife from the reception table and shouted after me in a voice gone raw with grief. “You only won’t turn back because you’re afraid of being hurt again.”

To strengthen his claim as the heir, Kyle pushed me forward in front of all the elders, showing me off like a trophy. "Elders, this is my mate, Althea. She has been blessed with a divine gift from the Moon Goddess!" he announced, his face flushed with a manic energy. "I have died nine times, and every single time, she was the one who pulled me back from the brink of death!" "What?" "Nine times?" The hall erupted in chaos. All eyes were on me—filled with shock, greed, and a disturbing fanaticism. I wasn't a person to them. I was a rare treasure, a magical item that could grant immortality, to be used over and over.

"I heard that sudden deaths can distort the face, but Sophia loved looking pretty. I'm sure she still looks beautiful now." With that, she eagerly lifted the white sheet. She wanted to expose me at my ugliest moment so that they would be horrified by how I looked. "Don't!" Joel shouted. He squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn't bring himself to look at the body. Just then, Yvette's scream pierced the air, "No! That's not Sophia!" Joel's eyes flew open. Beneath the sheet was the body of a man in his 50s or 60s.

Even though we had married and divorced nine times like a game, I was still the ex-wife. The night grew quiet. The wind outside howled, as if carrying my words far away. After a long silence, Jake lifted his head, attempting an explanation. "Divorcing you… It was my fault. But I couldn't let Carla bear the shame of being involved with a married man." I took a few irritated steps back, unable—and unwilling—to understand. Carla couldn't bear the blame, so that meant I deserved to be divorced nine times?

"Leticia—" "You heard her." Lucas turned to James. His body leaned forward slightly, elegant and predatory at once. His voice was low, but the pressure in it chilled the air. "James Colombo. You had nine chances to keep her by your side. You wasted all nine. Now she is beside me. And I will tell you this: I will spend my life treating her well because she is Leticia. She is my Principessa. She is my Donna. He paused, and the faint, dangerous curve of his smile fully appeared.

The paper slipped from his fingers and scattered across the floor. The contract clearly stated: Zoey had been given 99 chances. If he chose her even once, she’d be allowed to stay and marry him. If not—she’d be forced to leave the country and never return. And he… He had chosen Claire. Every. Single. Time. He had ignored Zoey. Let her get hurt. Rejected her. Again and again. What the hell had he done? Adrian leaned against the wall, stunned, unable to breathe. Linda finally spoke.

The coroner held the notebook up to the bright light, studying every word. After a long pause, he lifted his head, wearing a grim expression that weighed heavily in the room. "In the next life, I don't want to be Mom's daughter anymore." Mom froze, as if turned to stone. "The words in the victim's palm match this last statement. You can see what that 'don't' really meant now," the coroner said sharply. I hovered nearby and let out a quiet sigh.

All I could hear was Jason yelling that I was a liar. Fine. I lied to him. But he was the one who had been lying to me — completely, thoroughly — for nine years. Nine years of my life, and I couldn't even get the title of wife in return. Fine then. I'll be someone else's wife. I made it onto the plane just before the doors closed. We took off right on time. I sat down, put on my eye mask, and tried to rest.

she said to him and kissed his cheek. They were interrupted by somebody who sat on the empty chair opposite Adrienne. “I hate falling in line,” Justin J. said. “Seriously! This place should have like a barcode for people with face value.” Tara and Mac stared at Adrienne with raised brows. “Yep. Meet N-1-9-8-9,” she said to them. “What does the N stand for?” Justin J. asked. “Noteworthy? Naturally hot?” He grinned at Adrienne. She realized that he was no longer wearing those weird electric blue contacts and his eyes were actually gray.