Pocketbook Int Novels & Stories

From New York to Rome, Istanbul, Cairo, Iceland, and beyond, Adrian races against an invisible enemy that has protected the truth for over five hundred years. But as the final cipher draws closer, he realizes the greatest danger isn't unlocking the secret... it's surviving it.

He was slipping...slowly and ever so surely, he started letting go of his sanity. Inside the Willow Tree, you will find a man in slumber, and you would wish it had stayed that way.

Valeria Cole has spent years sacrificing everything to keep her younger brother alive. But when his condition suddenly deteriorates, she is given an impossible ultimatum; raise an astronomical sum of money in seven days or lose him forever. Valeria accepts a contract marriage proposal from Julius Sterling, the billionaire CEO of Sterling Holdings, as a result of desperation. The agreement appears simple. She will be his wife for one year in exchange for enough money to save her brother's life. But nothing about Julius Sterling seemed simple. As Valeria adjusts to a world of wealth, power, and carefully guarded secrets, she begins to uncover disturbing inconsistencies surrounding her marriage. The deeper she digs, the more she realizes that the contract was never just a business arrangement. The greatest betrayal comes from the one person she trusted most—her best friend, Victoria Whitmore. Unknown to Valeria, Victoria played a crucial role in bringing her and Julius together as part of a hidden corporate project designed to manipulate human behavior and control outcomes. What Valeria believed was a lifeline was, in reality, a carefully orchestrated trap. Caught between a powerful man who knows more than he admits and a friend whose loyalty was never what it seemed, Valeria must decide whether she will remain a pawn in someone else's game or fight for her freedom. When secrets unravel and loyalties shatter, she discovers a terrifying truth: she was never chosen to be wife. She was chosen to be a test.

My CEO wife has a habit of rewarding top-performing employees with a private dinner. After seven years of being secretly married to her, I finally pushed myself to the limit—working around the clock for an entire month, nearly coughing up blood—just to land the number-one spot and finally earn that public dinner date with my own wife. But Alexia gave the spot to an intern instead. "Caleb just joined the team. He needs some motivation and encouragement. As my husband, you need to be understanding. Next time, if you close over ten million in sales, I'll definitely give you the spot—and I'll even throw in a diamond wedding ring worth a million." For the sake of the company and our marriage, I let it slide. Then I closed a ten-million-dollar deal and showed up at the restaurant we'd agreed on. She never came. No calls, no texts. I was about to head back to the office to find her when I saw Caleb's post on social media: a candlelit dinner with my wife, and on his ring finger—the very ring she'd promised me. His caption read: [Family keeps asking when I'm getting married? Don't worry—my girlfriend, the CEO, showed up with a ring to save the day.] Coworkers flooded the comments with excitement. I calmly left a comment of my own. My wife, who had been MIA for six hours, immediately called me in a panic. "Don't get the wrong idea! It was just a dare—he lost a game, that's all. You're still my husband. I just loaned him the ring for a minute. Once the game's over, I'll get it right back to you." But I don't want the ring or her anymore. "Don't bother. Let's get a divorce."

"Why are you angry?" I asked him. "It's not like we're a couple." He stopped, and stared at me, boring my eyes with his emerald eyes. "If we are…" He paused, clenching his jaw, "then am I allowed to be angry?” I looked at him like he was insane. “Then we'll take it to that level." He continued. "I'm serious. I want you.” Leizel Snow Garcia Waterstrings is not just fierce. She's more than that. Ending up as an ice cream worker in a local ice cream shop, it was her one step of becoming a strong and independent woman. And that's when a cold-hearted stranger came in view. Eion Aurelio Hudson. Out of seven billion people in the world, the two hard-headed people crossed paths, making her "strong and independent woman" facade slowly fall apart. With all the dramas, free food, forgotten birthdays, Robot handling, idiots around, and emotional crisis, will she be able to melt his winter heart with her blazing fire or will this fire be put away instantly? ``` ``` One Blazing Head. One Winter Heart. Two Hard-headed people. A huge disaster. (Book 1 of Hearts Series but can be read as standalone)

Okay, take a deep breathe and down the memory lane we go. As far as I’m told, I just woke up from a terrible accident that occur months ago that I have no idea- as a matter of fact, I don’t have any recollection of my life before waking up. There are three things that I’m certain: first is that the ‘accident’ has something to do with flight. I know what I saw. It was a giant pair of wings. Secondly, a guy whose face I can’t seem to recall but for some reason is all I can think about. And lastly, I know these two things intersect with one another and the for the reason why and how? I’m not sure. And as I begin to collect the broken fragments of him in my memory, I also begin to collect my missing pieces. Whether its for the better or the worse is what I'm about to find out. Okay, let’s do this again, shall we? Take a deep breathe and down the memory lang we go.

On our wedding anniversary, my CEO husband, Michael Grant, invited me to watch the ocean with him. Tragically, a typhoon hit. I stood there in the raging wind and rain for over two hours, and he never showed up. In the end, all I got was a text that he was suddenly going on a business trip and couldn’t make it. Right after that, his intern, Nora Blake, posted a video on her social feed. It showed my usually pampered husband barefoot while helping fishermen haul crates of seafood. Her caption read: "Our hardworking CEO loves to get his hands dirty!" I laughed and commented: "Diligent and enduring—a true role model for us all." The company Slack channel instantly exploded. Everyone was betting on whether I’d finally blow up this time. Michael called me, his voice tight with fury, "Lauren West! What the heck did you mean by posting that comment? Are you trying to humiliate Nora in public? "It was a typhoon. I helped her family move some fish. What’s the big deal? You’re such a pampered little princess who has no idea how hard life really is. Delete that comment now. I’ll take you to the coast another day." Disgust churned in me. I replied, "Let a man who’s already rolled in the mud take me to the ocean? Forget it." Yes. Michael was now tainted, and I didn’t want him anymore.

"Sean, I've made up my mind, I'm going to marry you!" Janice Douglas played with her left hand's fingertips absentmindedly, her eyes locked on the swinging door of the nearby private room. On the other end of the call, the man let out a low chuckle, warm yet laced with a cool, worldly detachment. "Ms. Douglas, are you sure about this? Marrying into our families is a one-way street, no U-turns." "I'm sure!" Janice did not even pause before she shot back, her voice slicing through any second thoughts. "Fine, I'll be back in ten days. Pick me up at the airport, and we'll head straight to make it official."

He is born with no idea how to love others. The darkness and cruelty in his bones is his irreparable personality. But one day, God pitied him and planned to give a blooming moon to him. And there is a ray of light in his life from then on named 'ALDEN' But Destiny played with this poor man and he lost his love but now he is back after 4 years to take what belongs to him. "If there is an angel in the world, it must be like you", Kang DENNIS This is a boys love Story with mature content. Thank you ShineeSunshine ️

Li XingYue was a workaholic person whose priorities were to live free and independent, but her mom was determined to see her daughter getting married. Hoping that her daughter will successfully settle down with her lovely husband, XingYue’s mom wouldn’t take “no” as an answer. Unable to convince her mom to let her live freely, she had no choice but to do as her mom wished. Or did she? She signed a deal to reject each other on the wedding point with her soon-to-be husband, Xi song, a well-known surgeon. Despite the planning, they get tied together by the ever-tightening strings of fate, where XingYue and Xi Song find themselves drawing closer, despite their best efforts. Engaged in a never-ending battle of wits, fighting against the ties that bind them, but how long will they be able to resist the inevitable? Will they get divorced, or cupid will finally unite the duo?