The Memory Box Kathryn Hughes Novels & Stories

Right after my best friend, Freda Foster, is done giving birth, I cuddle with her newborn while playing with him. "Hi, darling. I'm your godmother, and he's your godfather." That's when my husband, Hugo Reid, suddenly speaks up. "I'm not his godfather. I'm his actual father." At first, I think I'm hearing things. Unexpectedly, Hugo's lips curl into a smirk. He repeats himself, "The baby's mine. On the day your father passed away, Freda and I did it the whole night. We used a whole box of condoms, too." I remain rooted to the spot. My throat feels very constricted to the point I can barely find my voice. A long while later, I finally choke out, "But… But we only registered our marriage yesterday…" Hugo laughs as he wraps an arm around me and starts consoling me. "Don't worry. Freda and I are friends with benefits, at most. If we wanted to get married, we'd have gotten married a long time ago." A pause later, he adds teasingly, "Wait, Freda is still keeping this a secret from you, huh? The truth is, we were in a relationship before. I'm the first man she's been with, you know."

"Fresh out of prison and you can't wait to prostitute yourself, you sure are a no-nonsense bitch." Framed and imprisoned, Zona is kidnapped just after her release from prison to a slave auction and bought by her nemesis, Mafia Lord Valerio, for five million dollars. Because of the misunderstanding that Zona is the murderer of his own sister, plus the misunderstanding that she has betrayed him physically and mentally in the past, Valerio, who used to be gentle and accommodating to Zona, now sits in the VVIP box of the auction and casts a gaze at her as cold as looking at garbage. Valerio does not want to kill her, so he humiliates her, in order to revenge, he wantonly plundered her spirit, body, tortured her like a broken doll, and threatened to set her free only if she paid him back five million dollars. Zona endures all the abuse and pain she is subjected to in order to clear her name and avenge the death of her best sister. When the real killer appears in front of her, will she be able to fight back and make the bad guy pay? When the truth comes out, how will Valerio deal with the "angel" that he has tortured so much? And when it's all over, what path will Zona choose, heaven or hell?

On the day of my wedding with my girlfriend, I was unexpectedly informed by the hotel that our ceremony had to be postponed by a couple of hours. With no time to notify relatives and friends of the change, I had to rush to the hotel entrance to intercept guests. Upon arriving, I was stopped at the door by security, who told me that a wedding was currently taking place inside. The host's voice could be heard as I saw my girlfriend, wearing a veil, smiling and extending her hand to a man who was half-kneeling. In the audience, all the bride's relatives who were supposed to attend our wedding were seated, clapping and cheering. The man on stage was her dream guy and also my current superior. Seeing me causing a commotion, my girlfriend warned me, "I'm just helping out. Alex is your superior. I'm also doing this to help you. Don't cause any trouble." Just helping out? I had booked the wedding venue, chosen the time, designed the wedding dress, and personally sent out the invitations. How could a wedding be rearranged so suddenly? I looked coldly at the ring box the man was holding. "It seems my taste is quite similar to my yours. If that's the case, this diamond ring is yours, including the wife." My girlfriend finally panicked.

Roxanne awakens with no memory of her past, only the instincts of a wolf and scars that screams of a life on the run. Rescued after a near-fatal accident, she’s told she is the long-lost daughter of the Beta. At first, she believed them. But when she meets her fated mate, the Beta’s son, doubt takes root. Could she really be the lost daughter, mated to her elder brother? Or is this all a carefully woven lie by those she might have been running from?

She loved him once—the ruthless billionaire who made her believe in forever. But one poisoned glass turned her into his enemy, and Adrian Cole let her rot in prison for eight long years. Now she’s free, scarred, and burning with the memory of his betrayal… while he’ll stop at nothing to claim her again. Can Elena forgive the man who destroyed her, or is loving him the most dangerous mistake of all?

When Maya walks away from Alvarez, she thinks she’s freeing herself from a toxic love. But love doesn’t die easily. Alvarez refuses to let go, torn between rage and longing, while a new man steps into Maya’s life — calm, patient, everything Alvarez never was. Caught between memory and possibility, Maya must face the truth: can broken love be fixed, or is it better left behind?

Angela Claire is just an ordinary woman who is striving in her life just to sustain her grandmother's medication. But one day her life turned upside down when the handsome CEO of JBC Corporation - John Blaire Castillejo II claimed that she is his wife! But how could that be possible? She might have met an accident a few hours before but her memory is intact. She is single all her life and never has been married!

After the most wanted bachelor in Renowoods, Marvin Chambers, lost his memory, he began to pursue me relentlessly. I dated Marvin for three years and fell hopelessly in love with him. Just when I was about to tell him I was pregnant, I overheard a girl who used to bully me say to him, "Thanks for pretending to lose your memory and pulling 99 pranks on Serena just to avenge me. "Once you hit 100, I'll be your girlfriend." That was when I finally understood—Shirley Hunt was the one Marvin had always loved. And I was just the fool he used to make her laugh. Later, I died in a plane crash. Marvin lost his mind searching through the wreckage, only to find a single ring. Inside, it was engraved: [Hope You'll Love Me After 100 Pranks]. They say he collapsed crying in the debris and had to be rushed to the hospital after passing out. When he woke up, he turned against everyone who had helped him prank me. Meanwhile, I stood smiling in the snowstorm of Frontania, watching as my medical records went up in flames. He had faked amnesia to win my heart, so I faked my death to teach him a lesson.

No one gets to understand Nigerian 419 scam until you`re caught in their dragnet. This story will blow your mind. Franck Dubila and family decided to celebrate the established health of his son Anthony (Junior) in their home in Makepeville. All was going on great, till the moment the story of ‘ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND dollars’ secret gift from grandpa to his grandson sets in. Opening a Pandora box, as 419ers got hold of the intelligence. Thus, provoking, a wanton appetite, as they hatched out a diabolic plan to harvest the money by all cost. But, unfortunately for them, the Machiavellic plan only gave birth to a collateral damage in the course. As little Anthony is caught in a ghastly motor accident during the process changing the face of the whole game. When Franck is whispered the truth at the hospital, that, it was all conmen at their art, it created a tsunami in his spirit seeing the situation in which his son was in. Where he took the most dangerous decision which is to revenge his son`s comatose state. By plunging himself into a bloody manhunt against one of the deadliest 419 cabal of Makepeville. But, will he be up to the stakes, will he be able to hide his plans from his entire family, will he be human enough to forgive the person who betrayed him and his son? For sure, blood will flow and hard decisions will follow.

I've planned seven wedding ceremonies in total, and not once has my fiance, Zachary Gardner, ever shown up for it. The first time, his adopted younger sister, Louise Foster, bursts into tears because she lost her passport at the airport. It was the dead of winter, but he dumped me by the side of the road and left me. The second time, Louise's dog sprained its ankle. Zachary stuffed the ring back into its box and rushed to the animal hospital to accompany her. Every time I argue with him about it, he declares nonchalantly, "We can get married anytime, but I can't let Louise be upset." Everyone around us agrees with him, saying that we're all family anyway, so I shouldn't be so petty. None of them has seen Zachary and Louise kissing fiercely on the dance floor. Today is the seventh wedding ceremony. Once again, he turns to leave after getting a call. I grab the corner of his shirt and say in a choked voice, "If you leave this time, Zachary, I won't marry you anymore." He stops in his tracks and peels off my fingers. "Wait for me," he says before rushing off. What he doesn't know is that this time, I won't be waiting for him any longer.