Novel & Cerita The Gilded Years A Novel

Sophia Rivera couldn't possibly be further away from his universe. Coming from a middle-class family and after the death of her father, Sophia built herself up brick by brick. She doesn't want or need saving and certainly didn't need any spoiled billionaire to validate her worth. Success for Sophia, is earned, not handed down. Damian Hayes has it all; money, charm, and scandals. As the golden grandson of a formidable business mogul, Damian is renowned for hosting wild parties, charming beautiful women. To him, love is just a game; loyalty is a joke, and reputation is just one more weapon in his glittered world. Their worlds collide when Damian's grandfather enacts an ultimatum to Damien, marry Sophia or lose the empire. Where Damian sees Sophia as an ugly burden, ordinary, obstinate, and "Beneath His Standards," Sophia sees him as an entitle brat, arrogant, and reckless. Their marriage isn't constructed on love but is developed on defiance. _______________________________ "What are you wearing?" I looked down and realized it was his shirt. Heat flooded my face. "Sorry, I didn't know I grabbed yours by mistake. I'll go change." Damien stopped me, stepping closer until I could feel the heat from his body. His voice was low and firm. "I'll say this only once, and I hope you remember it. When we're alone—just the two of us—I want you wearing nothing. No clothes at all." My eyes widened. "Are you out of your mind?" He didn't flinch. "I'm not repeating myself. You won't be fully dressed when it's just us. It makes things easier whenever I want to f*ck you, touch you, or use you. The only thing you can wear is lingerie if you must, but nothing more. Now take that shirt off before I rip it off you."

The golden boy of high society once stopped a plane for me. And I? I once ran away while pregnant, disappearing for three years. We got married. Nine years later, a younger, stunning woman appeared by his side. She was vibrant and fearless, joining him in all his wild adventures. Meanwhile, I had become a stay-at-home mom, spending my days making sure our daughter didn’t eat junk food. My husband said in disappointment, “Elaine, you’re not the woman you used to be.” Even our daughter complained. “Miss Snow is smart, gorgeous, and makes her own money. But you? You just rely on my dad.” The next morning, I grabbed my ID and filed for divorce. They must have forgotten that at twenty-two, I had the guts to jump off a cliff into the ocean just to break free, and at thirty-five, I would still have the strength to start over.

We had agreed to spend the New Year with our own families, but at the last minute, my husband, Drake Murrell, changed his mind and insisted I go back with him this year. I agreed, planning to take this opportunity to finally tell him the truth about who I really was. When we first got married, my parents told me to keep a low profile so that Drake, who came from a single-parent household, wouldn’t feel pressured. So I hid the fact that I was the daughter of the richest family in the capital, the Thorntons. When we returned to his hometown, I specifically bought my mother-in-law, Diana Murrell, a pair of gold bangles. She accepted them with a beaming smile, praising me again and again for being such a thoughtful daughter-in-law. However, the next day, as I passed by the old oak tree at the edge of Willow Creek, I overheard her talking about me with a group of people. "Oh, you have no idea. My daughter-in-law is absolutely ridiculous!" My hand froze midair, still holding my phone, as I instinctively ducked behind a haystack. I heard her continue loudly, "She bought me a pair of gold bangles this year. The moment I touched them, I knew they were fake! I’m telling you, they’re probably those cheap online knockoffs, like the kind that cost next to nothing and start fading the moment you wear them!" I was stunned with anger. She called pure gold fake? Looks like the million-dollar New Year gift I had prepared for her wasn’t necessary anymore.

When Nyx Calder enrolls at Briarcrest Academy, she has no intention of climbing its gilded social hierarchy. The school is built on legacy, power, and unspoken rules, and Nyx is there only to survive it. But survival becomes impossible when she collides with Alaric Moore. Briarcrest’s most untouchable student, the unchallenged ruler of its academic and social elite… and the stepbrother she never asked for. Alaric thrives on control. Nyx thrives on defiance. Their rivalry ignites in classrooms and spills into whispered confrontations after hours, each encounter sharpening the tension between them. Forced into constant competition by the academy’s ruthless merit system, they become obsessed with outdoing one another, until hatred begins to feel dangerously like something else. Something forbidden. Something that could destroy them both. Behind Briarcrest’s pristine halls lies a system designed to crush anyone who threatens its order. As Nyx uncovers how deeply the academy manipulates its students, Alaric is forced to choose between the future he was raised for and the girl who refuses to kneel, and when the rules say she should. At Briarcrest, love is forbidden, rebellion is costly, and bloodlines matter more than truth. But how far does the academy’s power really reach? What happens when loyalty to legacy collides with forbidden desire? And when the system demands one of them fall… who will it be? At Briarcrest, breaking the rules could cost them everything, but not breaking them might cost even more.

Life as Naomi knows, has already taken a huge leap from what she knew it as. At just 5 years, turning 6, the little girl has been thrown into the darker truths of the world. She and her family sold to slavery.But things only seem to get better to get worse. When she and her young mistress both turn 16, she must now leave her family and face the higher society with people far worse than the ones she knew ... And a certain gentleman whose interest in her might lead to her own detriment.

I'd loved Jeffrey for seven years. When I was kidnapped, Jeffrey didn't pay the ransom because of Joanna. He wanted me to behave myself. After I endured hellish torture, I gave up Jeffrey as he wished. But he begged me to give him a second chance.

The girl, from a middle-class background, used to work as a maid for a very wealthy family — the second or third richest in the country. While working there, she had a quiet relationship with the family’s second son, but it didn’t last because he was insecure and kept their love a secret. They broke it off. Later, she left that job to find herself and ended up working at a new company, where the CEO secretly fell in love with her. After a dinner together, she became pregnant, and although she didn’t love him, she agreed to marry him after her mother’s persuasion. The rich ex-boyfriend (the second son) finds out she married another CEO. He’s angry, not just because she moved on, but because he believes this CEO is using her to get back at him. But what he doesn’t know is… the CEO actually truly loves her. So now she’s trapped in a love triangle: A marriage she didn’t choose out of love A man from her past who never gave her the respect she deserved And her own heart, caught in between.

On the day of my husband, Ruben Castille's funeral, a grief-stricken woman shows up at the venue. After putting down the white lilies, she doesn't walk away. Instead, she chooses to approach me. "Honestly speaking, I've been envious of you for 30 years." I frown at her in confusion. Her lips just quirk into a small smile as her gaze falls onto Ruben's portrait. Soon, her eyes redden out of emotion. "Over the past 30 years, he's given me everything, be it love, time, and money. On top of that, he's very generous, too." The woman pauses for a moment. She then tilts her head to look at me, her voice now tinged with resentment. "But his only condition is that I'm not allowed to cause any trouble in front of you." My heart skips a beat. "What do you mean by that?" The woman laughs in return. "You two were married for 30 years. Similarly, Ruben and I were together for 30 years. Ashlee Drayton, he had already betrayed you a long time ago." After that, she turns on her heel and walks away, leaving me rooted to the spot while feeling my limbs going cold. My eyes go wide, and I begin breathing heavily. The betrayal and lies that have lasted for 30 years trigger me instantly, causing me to collapse at the venue. When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day Ruben plans on proposing to me. "Ashlee, will you marry me?" I fall silent for a moment. Then, I accept the ring, only to throw it into a nearby drain without hesitation.

​To the world, Nathan is an ice-cold titan—a billionaire CEO who built an empire on ruthless dominance and a predator’s intuition. But beneath the charcoal weave of his tailored suits beats the heart of a beast. Behind the reinforced glass of his penthouse, he battles a primal hunger and a violent history that his public persona can barely contain. He is an Alpha without a mate—a king ruling a lonely, concrete forest. ​Then he catches her scent. Santa. A brilliant, broken university student, she is a flicker of light surviving on the fringes. She is a survivor fleeing a nightmare, her pulse thrumming with a fear that calls to Nathan’s most lethal instincts. The connection is instant—a soul-deep recognition that shatters Nathan’s control. He doesn't just want her; he recognizes her. ​When her past finally catches up to her, Nathan doesn't rely on human laws. He yields to the wolf. In an act of savage protection, he claims her, whisking her away in a meticulously orchestrated "rescue" that feels more like a kidnapping. ​Now, she is trapped in a gilded cage of silk and steel. Her every need is met by the man who watches her with glowing, possessive eyes. As the walls of the penthouse close in, she is forced to reconcile her terror with a devastating truth: the only person capable of shredding her enemies is the monster who stole her freedom. ​As the lines between protection and possession vanish, she realizes that in his quest to keep her safe, Nathan hasn't just caged her body—he has marked her soul.

"One bride. One billionaire. One deadly secret." Chaewon Kim has never questioned the price of being the daughter of a powerful chaebol—but nothing can prevent her from being auctioned off in a marriage of convenience to Jian Lee, Seoul's most mysterious billionaire. Merciless, genius, and heartbreaking, Jian is the man her father has waged war with for years… and now, he's her husband. Imprisoned in a gilded cage of privilege and deception, Chaewon is compelled to play a game where every smile hides a threat, and every whispered promise might be a trap. But on her wedding night, when a strange black feather is discovered—a ominous reminder of her murdered mother's unsolved killing—Chaewon realizes she's trapped in a much more deadly game. Secrets, lies, and desire begin when friends collide in the darkness behind mansion walls. Under a dangerous game of treachery and unlawful desire, Chaewon is faced with a decision: will she sacrifice her heart to serve the truth no matter what—or will she simply become one more stunning slave crushed beneath the weight of power.