Playing Hard To Get Monica Murphy Novels & Stories

At midnight, Marvin Cooper throws a confession form at my face. The sharp edge of the paper cuts the corner of my eye, and bright red blood begins to seep out. He barks, "Alyssa hit someone with her car. You have a similar build to her. Go to the police station and take the blame." His tone leaves no room for argument, as if he is casually asking me to make him a late-night snack. His first love, Alyssa Evans, hides behind him and tugs pitifully at his sleeve. "But Marvin, if Ms. Huston goes to jail, who's going to make the nourishing soup for you?" Marvin lets out a disdainful snort and looks at me with contempt. "She's just a piece of trash from an orphanage. She should be honored to take the blame for you. Without me, she wouldn't even be able to feed herself. Other than obeying me, what choice does she have?" I wipe the blood from the corner of my eye and look at the man for whom I have spent three years as an unpaid housekeeper and a living blood bank. To treat his stomach condition, I burn my hands countless times cooking for him. I become so anemic that I easily collapse because I've been donating my blood to Alyssa. Marvin is certain that I love him with all my heart, and that I can only cling to him for the rest of my life. I don't cry. I simply take off the cheap apron I'm wearing and say, "You don't need to throw me out. I'll leave on my own." Taking out my phone, I dial a number I have blocked for three years. "I've had my fun. Send a helicopter to pick me up tomorrow. It's time for me to go home and take over the family business."

Betrayed on her wedding day, Agatha marries a mysterious stranger in desperation. As her family and ex-fiancé continue to sabotage her life, her new husband becomes her unexpected savior. But how far will his wealth and influence go, and can Agatha trust the man who's suddenly become her rock?"

My fiance called me to post bail after he was arrested. When I arrived, however, I was informed that he was caught in a compromising position. "I came to protect Lily because I was worried for her safety," my fiance retorted, putting an arm around her shoulder. "But her boyfriend didn't believe me. Or is it the same for you too? Go post bail already." Nonetheless, I spied the lacy underwear poking out ever so slightly over his belt. In the past, I would have made a scene as I demanded an explanation. But now, I was as cool as a cucumber. When the cops asked what our relationship was, I paused in thought for a moment, before saying quietly, "His employer." Once I signed the papers, I texted my brother: [I'll go on that blind date. Schedule it for three days later.]

Emma thought she had escaped the city that broke her, but when her family’s business teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, she is pulled back into the orbit of the one person she vowed never to see again. Zane Mendoza. Now the heir to a billion-dollar fintech empire and the boss of a secret mafia dynasty where Emma’s parents work as underdogs, Zane holds all the cards. For years, he had been searching for Emma, who had disappeared without a trace after their divorce. When Zane discovers that Emma is the daughter of the family who now owes him everything, he makes a ruthless proposition. An arranged marriage. In exchange, he will wipe away her family’s crushing debts. Desperate to save her parents, Emma agrees to Zane’s conditions but negotiates a deal of her own. Their marriage will last one year, and if she is not happy in the marriage, she will leave. Zane agrees, but with a twist. If she falls for him again before the year is up, she will remain his forever. But Zane doesn’t just want Emma as his wife. He wants her in every way. His obsession with her runs deeper than she realizes, and he is ready to eliminate anyone just to have her forever. With a jealous best friend that wants to take everything she loves, an ex boyfriend who wants her back, betrayal lurking at every corner, a secret daughter that Zane doesn’t know is his, and a love that refuses to die, Emma must navigate this web of lies and emotions. Can she resist Zane’s magnetic pull, or will she be caught up in his game for good?

After so many years of kicking against being in a relationship, Liam, an anti-love playboy decides to take a leap and give love a try when everything comes tumbling down - making him wonder if he made the right choice by falling in love with Chloe, his rich employer's daughter who is already betrothed to marry a pompous rich guy from a much wealthier family!

"Jamie, I've decided. I'm ready to join you at Hillridge as your exclusive screenwriter. I'll be there by the end of this month!" Melanie huddled in a quiet corner on the set as she made the call, a pregnancy test report clutched in her hand. She tried to shake off the chill from the freezing weather, but her hands and feet still felt painfully cold. Jamie's voice at the end of the line was a deep and pleasant baritone. "Your talent has long deserved a bigger stage. For eight years, you've turned me down nearly a hundred times for Ken's sake. Are you ready to leave him this time?" "Yes. I'm leaving him for good!" She clenched the pregnancy test report, her lips a bitter smile.

Venice once rejected Lucien during their university days, believing he was someone far beneath the world she desired. Ambitious and drawn to wealthy and famous men, she never imagined that the quiet man she dismissed would one day become someone powerful. Years later, Lucien has everything—wealth, influence, and a marriage arranged under complicated circumstances. During a grand Bachelor’s Party he hosts, fate brings Venice back into his life. The moment he sees her again, Lucien hires her on the spot. Now Venice finds herself working for the very man she once ignored—Lucien, who is no longer the quiet student she remembered, but a cold and irresistible billionaire. Determined to keep her distance, Venice focuses on her job and reminds herself that Lucien is a married man. Yet the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to ignore the tension growing between them. What Venice doesn't know is that Lucien didn't hire her by coincidence… he had been searching for her for years. Caught between resisting the man who now holds power over her and confronting the feelings she never expected to feel, Venice must decide: will she walk away before it's too late… or will she find herself trapped in a desire she can no longer escape?

Dear best friend, I had sex with our daughter after you died. 🦪 Dora lost her father on her eighteenth birthday, and she swore to find his killer and end his life herself. Because of this, she signs a ‘fight till death’ deal with Umbra, a deadly secret organization her father worked with. A fight where only one of the two fighters would walk out of the ring alive. Dale Lazarus, a man secretly in love with his best friend’s daughter, killed his best friend in a fight. One of them had to die for the other one to live, and it was Dora’s father who didn’t walk out of the ring. Dora doesn’t know this: that Dale Lazarus, her father’s best friend, and also the man she’s shamelessly obsessed with, is the killer she’s after. She swore to his face that she was going to wipe her father’s killer off the planet, not knowing she was talking about him, and He trains her to kill her father’s killer, knowing he was training her to kill him. What happens when Dora realizes she signed a deal to kill the man she is obsessed with? ~ Content warning: This book contains several sensitive topics that may be disturbing to some readers. Reader's discretion is advised. Specific warnings include: Graphic violence and gore, Explicit sexual content, Description of grief and loss, and strong language.

After her father’s sudden death, Sofía discovers a shocking clause in his will: she must marry before turning twenty-eight, or the company they built together will pass to her reckless cousin. Determined to protect her father’s legacy, Sofía embarks on a desperate search for a groom. Her first choice, Roy—the love of her life—refuses. Left with no other option, she turns to Carlos, an ex-boyfriend whose arrogance and selfishness make him the worst possible candidate. As the wedding plans unfold, Sofía grows closer to Sebastián, a man she met at her father’s funeral who is helping her investigate the suspicious will. But their bond is forbidden: his mother harbors a dark connection to Sofía’s past, one that makes their love impossible. When Roy reappears, begging for another chance, Sofía must decide between duty, desperation, and the dangerous pull of her heart. With sixty days until the deadline, every choice could cost her the company, her family’s honor, and the only man she truly loves.

This is my second month trying to win over Lucian Moonshadow, the Alpha. Lucian smiled softly as he said, "Do you really think I would want an inferior Omega?" Later on, he was furious to find me with another wolf. "Didn't you say you wanted to be my Luna? You're nothing but a hustler, aren't you?" I chuckled angrily. "I'll be the Luna of whoever spends the night with me." Lucian uncovered the Alpha from another pack in bed and sent him away. "Leave right now. Ilyra belongs to me."