The Memory Keeper Novels & Stories

"Sherman...Sherman Colton," I managed to mutter, my voice quivering from a combination of exhaustion and worry. The name surfaced from the depths of my consciousness, unexpected yet purposeful. As I felt my awareness fade, a lingering feeling of unease settled within me. I didn't just say that name in response to a question; it was more like a desperate plea, a fragment of worry for the man whose image and reputation I was afraid I had ruined in the chaotic events that had taken place. As I surrendered to the embrace of unconsciousness, a deep uncertainty gripped my soul, unsure if I would ever wake up to the light of another day. I whispered, "Mr.Colton, I didn't break your trust." ........................................................................... Within the luxurious Elite Oaks Resort, Zara Tahel, the unassuming housekeeper, found herself thrust into a passionate whirlwind of destiny. Her heartache led her to cancel her wedding when she uncovered her lover's affair with his superior. Little did she know, her life was about to take a captivating turn. In her bridal gown's elegance, Zara collided with Sherman Colton, the charismatic CEO of the resort. Their encounter was electric, sparking a photograph that set the world buzzing with intrigue. But their chemistry was undeniable, a passionate connection that smoldered. Sherman offered an arrangement, one fraught with desire and hidden longing. As their worlds intertwined, the question hung in the air: Was their deal just a façade to protect his reputation, or had a deep, secret attraction ignited since that unforgettable moment? Amidst moonlit nights and stolen moments at Elite Oaks Resort, Zara and Sherman embarked on a passionate journey, testing the limits of love and desire. Their hearts danced to a melody of fervent ardor, setting their worlds ablaze with irresistible chemistry.

The housekeeper became my stepmother, and together with her son, they humiliated and murdered me. After being reborn, I exposed a video of her affair with her lover at her wedding, destroying her reputation completely. I watched as she and her son were kicked out. They left with nothing, wandering the streets like outcasts. I smiled and tossed a moldy piece of bread into their begging bowl. “This is all you deserve.”

She had just one job. To fill in her mother’s role at work while her mother's boss, Jordan, searched for a replacement. Filling his head and heart wasn’t part of the bargain.

Every time the housekeeper came to cook, she brought her daughter along. I felt sorry for them — single mother, no support — so I never said a word. Until one afternoon, I pulled out the chair at the head of the table and found a note taped to the back. It read: "Freeloaders aren't allowed to eat here." I tore the note off and turned to the housekeeper. "What is this supposed to mean?" The girl shot me a look of pure contempt and let out a cold laugh. "You're just a maid. You sponge off other people's homes day after day — how are you not ashamed? If you can't afford food, go beg on the street. People like you, mooching off everyone, make me sick." I stared at her, completely thrown. The housekeeper rushed over and lowered her voice. "Ms. Wolfe, my daughter doesn't know I'm the maid here. She saw how hard I work and felt sorry for me — that's why she put up the note." "And she has serious germophobia. She can't stand eating with strangers. Wait outside until she's done eating. Don't come back in." Before I could answer, she shoved me out the front door. The door slammed shut behind me with a final bang. I stood there on the steps and calmly dialed the police. "Hello. There's been a break-in at my home. Someone's locked me out. I need an officer here now."

My childhood friend, whom I hadn’t contacted for years, kept calling nonstop during an important meeting. After the meeting, he spoke in a sharp tone. “Do you think you’re too big for your britches? I’m getting engaged and you’re not even coming back to help out. Do I have to invite you?” I was representing my country at an international scientific forum, so I could only decline politely. Unexpectedly, he turned all haughty. “Fine then. If you’re not coming back, then just send me a gift with four circles and I’ll let it slide. Four circles? Thinking he meant ten thousand with four zeroes, I immediately agreed. “Don’t worry, I’ll give you ten thousand dollars as a wedding gift.” “Ten grand? Who the hell are you kidding? “My wife is the eldest daughter of the Jeffersons, the most prestigious family in Cirrus. Only the most distinguished people are on the guest list. Seeing that we’re old friends, I’m letting you attend. It’s your great honor!” He cursed angrily and sent me the invitation. I was struck dumb the moment I opened it. My aloof ice queen of a wife, who kept strangers at bay, was locked in a passionate kiss with her arms wrapped around my childhood friend’s waist. “Four zeroes, huh? How about four wreaths?” My gaze darkened as I clutched my phone. Four funeral wreaths ought to count as four circles, too!

My husband's sister was pregnant when she leapt from the building. Her final phone call wasn't to him. It was to me. When the police asked for clues, I said nothing. When my in-laws knelt and begged, I watched them coldly. Yet my husband never divorced me. If anything, he treated me even better than before. Then, after I became pregnant, my nightmare truly began. He tied me to the bed and summoned a group of vagrants, ordering them to take turns violating me. He said he wanted me to taste despair.

When my husband returned home to visit his parents, I noticed that he forgot to bring back the specialties he had bought. I ran after him, only to find him getting out of a car in a suit. His childhood friend stepped forward to welcome him. They held hands and smiled as they looked into each other’s eyes. They looked like a happy, newlywed couple. Only when my husband saw me standing not too far away did he hurriedly distance himself from his childhood friend. “Her mother’s critically ill, and her mother’s only wish is to see her get married. I’m just helping her.” I simply smiled. I pushed him right back to his childhood friend’s side and started cheering with everyone else. “When’s the baby coming?! I’ll be sure to wrap a nice gift!”

Louisa Forge didn’t choose this. She was handed over like a bargaining chip — marked by an Alpha she despises, installed in a pack house that doesn’t want her, bound to a man who locks her in her room and calls it mercy. Kaelen is everything a wolf shouldn’t be: cruel, reckless, and hungry for a power he hasn’t earned. But the pack house has another occupant. Julian — former Alpha, widower, a man who has been quietly starving himself to death since the loss of his mate — is supposed to be irrelevant. A ghost in the east wing. Instead he’s the one who checks on her in the night, who brings her sedatives for the pain, who laughs with her over terrible soup until the whole dining room forgets to be miserable. He’s also the one who tells her, very clearly, that what happened between them during her heat meant nothing. He’s lying. They both know it. Caught between a mate bond she never consented to and a connection she can’t name, Louisa is doing what she does best — surviving. She’s building alliances in quiet corners, winning loyalty one small kindness at a time, and carrying a secret that could burn everything to the ground. Because the heir Kaelen is so desperate to claim? It isn’t his.

The night before our wedding, Edward Fowler's friends gather for a celebration. A full set of sex toys lies in the gift box from his tomboy bestie, Winnie Spencer. I freeze, and Winnie shouts boisterously, "Don't you dare go easy on him, Sarah. That pup might look like someone who's abstaining, but he's actually pretty wild in the sheets. "During the start of the year, he only used three of these, yet he landed me straight in the hospital with injuries that took me half a month to heal!" She then hooks an arm around Edward's neck. "Let me give you a piece of advice as your buddy—you need to learn how to be gentle once you're married. "Sarah looks so delicate, so you'd better not pull the same stunt as last time. I was just recovering, yet you dragged me into it for two whole days. I almost died in bed!" My face darkens. Winnie covers her mouth in exaggerated shock. "It's just us buddies messing around. You're not mad, are you, Sarah?" Everyone is anticipating for me to snap. But instead, I let out a soft chuckle before replying, "Why would I be? I should be thanking you for being a free tutor instead. After all, someone who's in your line of work would charge at least three hundred dollars per night just for the same lesson."

The Alpha's son thought he would humiliate me in front of everyone by rejecting me, but I turned the tables on him; I rejected him first! But now I'm paying the price for embarrassing the Alpha's son. I've been kicked out of my family home and I can't get a job. My life looks bleak and hopeless until a tall dark and handsome stranger shows up in the tavern with a small boy at his side. The newly widowed Jareth makes an insane proposal: A fake marriage. I get a home and the safety of his name. He gets a live-in babysitter for his kid. But he doesn't know that I'm no ordinary she-wolf, and something tells me that Jareth is hiding something too.