Nothing But Reading Challenges Novels & Stories

The day Ken Bowen and I finalized the divorce, I walked out wearing only the outfit I had worn on our wedding day. I let Ken keep the house, the cars, the money, and the kids. He looked genuinely surprised, then let out a mocking laugh. "Are you sure about this? You raised the girls yourself, and you're just giving them up? If you really don't want anything, then you won't need to pay child support either. That's fair, right?" I signed the papers without hesitation and said calmly, "Yeah. That's fair." Ken paused, then slowly signed his name. "If you regret this later, you…" I lifted a hand and cut him off. I didn't look back as I walked out. Ken used to say I married him for money and status, that I used our three daughters to tie him down. Whatever. The day he saw my dead body, he would finally understand.

Her deep big dark brown eyes were still the same, but only deeper in the glow of the evening sunglight. When they met mine, it was like they saw right through me, knew my darkest deepest thoughts, my vulnerability, my fears and my desires. It felt like she knew what I don't.... And it really freaked me out.She was fair skinned, had this beauty mark beside her left eye, and it was cute, plus her small straight nose. Her pale brown thin lips were always like they were in a pout.She wasn't my type, that was for sure. So why was I completely irresistibly fascinated by her like I was spell bind?"How old are you? My voice came out a little too rough for my own liking, because all I could think of was nibbling on those pale brown thin lips of hers, run my tongue over them, and lastly, kiss them."Seventeen." She replied after releasing a deep breath which I suspected she'd held captive earlier on. Her tiny hands pulled the hoodie away from her hair and I came face to face with her cornrows.This girl!Fuuuuuuck! She was beautiful, she was possibly the most beautiful thing I had come across today. I don't know, maybe she looked that beautiful to me because she brought me to this enchanted place."I bet you know me as Octavia cause I know you as Eliakim." She raised her eyes up to mine again. "It's a strange name, never heard of it, but it's nice." I was starting to like it when she stared at me, even longed for her eyes to meet mine."So is yours."***This story is about a bipolar guy, and an insecure girl.

In my third year of marriage, Victor Lyon, the most prominent man in Sagedale's elite circle as well as my husband, goes viral on the Internet once again. This time, it's because he has decided to throw a grand wedding to be with Carol Braun, the low-income student he has been sponsoring. I don't kick up a fuss, nor do I throw a tantrum. In fact, I even have someone send them my wishes. Because of that, the rich wives of Sagedale's elite circle view me as a complete joke. After the wedding, Victor explains to me, "Carol's grandpa is very ill. His death wish is to see her marry a good man. I was just acting with her the whole time, Lilian. Don't take it to heart." I just smile and nod. "Yeah, I believe you." In my previous life, I had demanded explanations from Victor hysterically. But in return, he screwed over my parents' company to the point that they were forced to jump off a building by debtors. I got my legs broken before I got thrown into a mental asylum that tortured me endlessly. Thank goodness God took pity on me, for He gave me another chance in life. This time, I no longer want Victor's love. I just want his wealth. When he's busy going on a honeymoon with Carol, I secretly have his assets transferred under my name. When Victor's attending prenatal checkups with Carol, I trick him into signing a share-transfer agreement. Whenever he betrays me, I'll take some of his assets away. Once Victor betrays me three more times, he won't have anything under his name.

Two weeks before our wedding, Jonah Alston suddenly wants to postpone it. He says, "Sasha says she's having her first exhibition on that day. She'll be alone during the opening, and I'm worried she'll get stage fright. I have to help her. We're just going through the motions with the wedding, anyway. What does it matter whether it's a day earlier or later?" This isn't his first time postponing our wedding for Sasha Lester's sake, though. The first time he did it was because he claimed she missed having homecooked food after undergoing surgery. He'd flown abroad to care for her for two months. The second time was because he said she wanted to head into the mountains to get inspired. He'd gone with her out of concern for her safety. Now, this is the third time. I hang up and look at Austin Everett, my childhood sweetheart. He sits across from me, looking leisurely as he taps his emerald-embedded walking cane on the marble floor. I ask, "Do you need a wife?" On my wedding day, Sasha holds up her glass and waits for Jonah to clink it with his. However, his eyes are red as he watches a livestream—it's the wedding of the scion of Everett Group, the country's largest property development company.

I accidentally wore the jewelry belonging to the former Luna of the pack on my birthday. My ten-year-old stepson, Soren Lambert, doesn't hesitate to push me down the stairs because of that. He looks just like his father, Michael Lambert, as he looks at me in a high and mighty manner. My face is completely twisted in pain at that time. But Soren's expression remains icy. "You really think you'll become the pack's Luna just because you put on my mom's jewelry? Once I inherit the Alpha position, the first thing I'll do is exile you from the pack!" Pain continues to swallow me whole. My heart breaks into countless pieces at the same time. After all, I've personally raised Soren since he was a pup. But when faced with Soren's hurtful accusations, I don't even feel a trace of sadness or anger. Instead, a wave of calmness washes over me. "You don't have to wait till you're all grown up. I'll grant your wish tomorrow."

When I was ten, I bugged my brother to come home for my birthday. He died in a plane crash that day. They never found his body. After that, my parents saw me as a total screw-up. They blamed me for his death. Every year on his memorial day, they forced me to kneel at the cemetery and repent my mistakes. I did that for eight years. I figured I'd spend my whole life paying for it. But on my 18th birthday, some creep stalked and murdered me. Right before I died, I tried calling for help. But my mom chewed me out. "I bet you're just dodging your duty to make up for James. You're full of crap. If you hadn't forced him to come back, he would have been alive. This is what you deserve." She hung up, leaving me staring at the dead screen. My last hope was dashed. She was right. Someone like me meant nothing but bad luck to those around me. I didn't deserve to exist. But then, eight years after his death, James showed up with his pregnant wife. When they heard I was gone, they fell apart.

I once thought I would spend my entire life in love with my husband, Vincenzo, the Don of the De Luca family. In the end, our whirlwind romance was no match for a childhood promise. On the day Vincenzo went through with a sham marriage to his childhood sweetheart, Chloe, to honor a blood oath, I destroyed the penthouse we had filled with memories and left his city for good. When Vincenzo used the family's entire intelligence network and still couldn't find me, the untouchable Don was driven mad. Later, he offered a worldwide bounty for any information on my whereabouts and even publicly begged me to come back. Too bad for him, I already wore another man's ring. Vincenzo, nothing waits for you forever. Especially a love you strangled with your own hands.

Tara and Mike didn't choose each other. An arranged marriage binds them, trapping them in a cohabitation as burning as it is explosive. She, audacious, obstinate, wants to tame this man with the fiery gaze, this cold, angry husband who hides his wounds behind a wall of ice. He, haunted by his fears, consumed by jealousy, fights against the disturbance this unsubmissive woman awakens in him. Between confrontations and attraction, their daily life becomes a battlefield where every word is a weapon, every glance a provocation. Tara wants to understand him, to push him to love. Mike wants to protect himself from her, but ends up burning with desire for her. In this war where love and hate intertwine, the real battle lies elsewhere: learning to trust, to respect, to heal. But when two wounded souls clash, can one truly hope for peace… or only reap the ashes of an impossible love?

On the day two couples come to the orphanage to adopt, a row of comments suddenly appears before my eyes. "Hurry, Nancy! Make the first move! The couple who look like bumpkins is just pretending to be poor! The ones dressed nicely are actually poor." "Call them Mom and Dad quickly! Do not let Nadia steal them away!" In the next second, Nancy, who is standing beside me, suddenly rushes toward the country bumpkin couple. Nancy says, "I'll gladly go to the countryside with you. I will leave the rich girl life to my sister." Everyone starts cheering in the comments. "This is great! Nancy, our dear female lead, won't suffer anymore!" "Nadia, the evil villainess, will rot and stink for the rest of her life. Nancy will crush her under her foot. She will never have the chance or the right to meet the male lead!" I am stunned. So Nancy can see the comments too. She is the female lead, while I am the villainess. But what she does not know is that I am reborn. In my previous life, the real wealthy family takes me away. I look at Nancy and smile coldly. "Just wait, dear sister. Your 'good fortune' is yet to come."

Nora was part of a transaction her father and Erik agreed upon. She was already married at the age of 18 five years ago. Nora is alone and desperate. The life, she thought, is nowhere near reality. The life of crime, and the unbridled carnal excesses that her husband lives, are dangerously bordering her on the brink of despair. Betrayed by her family, and by her husband. Nora wants to find a way out of this unwanted life, and one day finds love. Life seems to shine her way finally, but her that happiness was cut short. Nora thought that she had finally found her way to happiness. But her whole life fell apart in a matter of minutes. Alone and pregnant, Nora will have to face the person she fears the most from her past. Discover the future that awaits Nora. Where betrayals and misfortunes are just around the corner. And revenge is the main dish. Join Nora and Erik on this turbulent journey. Where mistakes are paid dearly. And the solutions are very painful.