One Good Deed David Baldacci

The longest confession of love is companionship. Each of us seeks happiness, do you want to be happy too? Come here so that I can heal you.

"I, Nikolai Kensington, will make you so rich, you'll walk on money. I'll place you above your enemies and make them worship at your feet. You'll no longer be known as the timid Adira, but you'll become known as one of the most powerful women in the country." Those were the words that changed Adira's life forever. Adira Ravenswood was heartbroken when Lancelot divorced her to be with his second lover. They had been friends from childhood, so she had loved him so dearly and didn't know how to move on without him. While Lancelot was from a very rich home, Adira was very poor, and she felt that was part of the reasons he had quit the marriage. Everyone ridiculed her, Lancelot's mother froze her accounts so she couldn't have access to the money she had gotten from him. Adira's own family mocked and looked down on her. They said she could never amount to anything. Adira was broken and dejected and was at the verge of taking her life when the most powerful, but cold-hearted man in the country showed up and offered her a juicy proposal - one that would make her trample on every single person that's ever hurt her. But it came with a condition - a condition that was very easy, yet so difficult.

When my cousin died, my aunt forced me to marry her husband in order to take care of the child she left behind. She said that it was a way to pay her back for raising me after the death of my mom. For eight years of being in the marriage, I was bullied by my cousin's son, accusing me killing his mom in order to take over her home. And my husband? He never defended me. To them, I was nothing more than a mere house help. And the day I had looked forward finally came, when I could walk away from the marriage. But fate had other plans—I died in pain that very day. Now, with a second chance at life, I made one thing clear: I was done with that miserable family, for good.

I help my students gain admission to top state art academies, yet my boss, Sebastian Emerson, withholds every cent of the pay I earned from 24 consecutive days of overtime. When I confront him in anger, he accuses me of stealing 120 thousand dollars in training fees from the students. "Honestly, being poor is no excuse for being shady. And having disabled parents doesn't give you the right to steal. "You've got two days to pay it back! Otherwise, I'll make sure you spend a few nights in jail, and I'll even inform your parents!" When a student calls, he snatches the phone and starts screaming, "There's no money! All your tuition went into buying your art supplies! If you've got a problem, go ahead and sue me, brat!" Meanwhile, Jayla Buckley, who is curled up in his arms, keeps placing order after order of Chaennal haute couture without the slightest hesitation. Watching the two of them colluding so shamelessly, I grip my attorney license in my pocket until my knuckles ache. Take it to court? Litigation? That's my arena. And I'll make sure both of them end up exactly where they belong—behind bars.

I had been married to Lucius Martin for three years, and in all that time, there was never a shortage of women around him. Each time he brought another woman home, he would give me a necklace worth a fortune. In just three short years, I had accumulated ninety-nine necklaces. When Lucius fastened the hundredth necklace around my neck, I no longer cried or made a scene. Because this time, the woman he cheated with was my own older sister, the one who had beaten and scolded me since we were children. The man I loved most joined hands with the person I hated most to torment me together. At that moment, my heart finally died. This time, I took the initiative and walked up to Lucius, placing a house purchase contract into his hands. "As long as you sign this," I said, "you can do whatever you want with her." A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes, but in the end, he signed without hesitation. For the first time ever, he even leaned down and gently kissed my cheek. "Good girl," he murmured. "You've finally learned to behave." I personally opened the car door for him and watched as he hurried off toward my sister. When the car disappeared completely from sight, I let out a long breath. Then I reached beneath the documents and pulled out the paper hidden there—a divorce agreement.

While waiting for my husband to pick me up at the parking lot, I came across a trending topic in my city. "How do I deal with an overly-clingy wife?" Amidst a flurry of boastful, lovey-dovey comments, one female username caught my attention. "Just pretend to be incompetent! My childhood friend was forced to marry someone he didn’t love. I gave him the idea to pretend to be directionally-challenged, which he has done for five years now. "When his wife got pregnant, he secretly mixed lubricant into the shower gel, causing her to slip. Then, on the way to the hospital, he pretended to get lost. He deliberately circled the suburbs several times, which led to her miscarriage and now she can't have children anymore." "Coincidentally, today is supposed to be the selection day for her promotion to professor. He offered to drive her to work, but he actually plans to pretend to get lost to make her late so that I can get promoted instead. "When she fails the selection, he’ll use that as a chance to convince her to quit her job, turn her into a useless housewife, and then kick her out!" Reading this suspiciously familiar experience sent a chill down my spine. Before I could ponder further, I heard my husband’s apologetic voice. "Sorry, honey, I got lost. I hope this won't affect your selection."

Yvonne Larson, my housekeeper, has always been punctual, but she ends up being late today. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Carter. Dinner's not ready yet. I hope you won't mind. I had no choice. I waited for over half an hour, but no one got the door for me. I even called Mrs. Carter a few times, but she didn't take my calls. That's why I ended up running late." Halfway through changing into my house slippers, I pause and frown. "Yvonne, didn't Susanna give you the access card to the apartment?" Yvonne looks confused. "The access card? Mrs. Carter never gave me any card." "Never?" "That's right," Yvonne confirms timidly while wiping the sweat off her brow. "For the past month, I've always had to call Mrs. Carter and ask her to open the door for me. She wasn't picking up her phone today, so I had to wait outside…" That's strange. I've checked the logs before. The access card has been used multiple times throughout the past month.

Louella and Davina Mitchell are identical twins, but that's where it ends. Where Davina is filled with desire to help and respect others, Louella is filled with hate and debauchery in all aspects of life. The only thing they agree on is their hate for each other. When Louella tries to rob Davina of her inheritance, things start to backfire and her world comes tumbling down around her. Filled with supernatural creatures, magic, and time travel, this steamy, sexy paranormal romance/thriller will capture your attention from cover to cover.

Patricia’s meticulously crafted world teeters on the edge as her past storms back with a vengeance. Confronted with Alvin—the man she once loved and left behind—Patricia is thrust into a tempest of conflicting emotions and buried secrets. As old flames rekindle and past choices resurface, she must navigate the fraught dynamics of working alongside Alvin while her heart grapples with the remnants of a love she believed she had buried. Will Patricia give in to the magnetic pull of her past, or will she summon the strength to safeguard the life she has painstakingly rebuilt? From the author who brought you “Power of Desire” and “Wild Fantasy,” comes her new First Love-Revenge-Sexy-Romance Novel . Discover a story where love battles against fate, rising from the ashes of betrayal and defying even death, as a woman’s fierce passion and resolve ignite a quest for justice.

I double over in pain after assisting Adrian Randall with a late-night operation. He immediately carries me to a ward to check on me. However, before he can do that, he receives a call from a patient and hurries off. That night, I miscarry. When I come out of the operating theater, I see his childhood friend's social media update. She's shared a photo of her baby bump. "He hurried to come to my side just because I was lost. You have to treat Adrian well in the future, my darling!" I rub my belly, which throbs with a dull ache. I don't cry and demand an explanation from Adrian as I would have in the past. Instead, I like the post and apply for a position on the Borderless Medical Assistance Program. The day I leave, the high and mighty Dr. Randall looks at me with red-rimmed eyes. He asks, "How can you bear to leave me behind?"