Winona State Library Novels & Stories

On my wedding night, I was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance after a tampered condom left me in excruciating pain. The surgery took over twenty-four hours, and the story spread like wildfire. My husband, Alexander, let it be known that anyone who managed to photograph me in my post-surgery state would be rewarded with ten million dollars. Overnight, I went from being a billionaire's new wife to the laughingstock of every elite circle in New York. The next day, Alexander's childhood sweetheart Dahlia showed up at my door. That was when I learned the truth: she'd coated the condom with industrial-strength adhesive as part of what she called a "social experiment." She didn't show a shred of remorse. Her tone was flippant and cruel: "It was just an experiment. I mean, how was I supposed to know you'd react like that? Besides, we both know you were never good enough for Alexander. So drop the act." Alexander stood beside her, his gaze cold and dismissive: "If it weren't for the marriage contract, no one would've touched you. You know that, right?" What he didn't know was that the woman he was calling a slut had saved his life more times than he could count.

(Completed) Sophia Ysabelle, 26 years old, accepted the life-changing deal of marrying the famous billionaire, Daniel Kelley, not for his money but his name. They have different reasons for marrying each other. Daniel needs a woman to pretend as his wife to get the biggest investment for their company, which will lead them to the top-grossing company in the whole state of California. While Sophia needs someone 'powerful' on her back while still seeking justice for what happened to her in the past. But there is a big problem between the two of them, they couldn't stand alone in one place facing each other. Daniel is a cold and arrogant billionaire with a smile as precious as a diamond, and who already put her under his judgement from the very first time they met. And Sophia is a stubborn yet resilient woman who never backs down from anyone's judgement, not even from her future husband's rudeness. But in the end, will she tell him the real reason for marrying him? When he finds out the truth, will he continue to judge her? Will he be able to protect her from her dark past or he will just remain a cold and arrogant husband towards her? "Never judge someone without knowing the whole story. You may think you understand, but you don't"

Here’s a synopsis of my story; *Synopsis:* Elena wakes up gasping in her Vance Hotel bedroom, believing she just survived a fatal fall from a 40-story building after her fiancé, Julian, and half-sister, Chloe, shoved her off a balcony. She quickly realizes it was a nightmare, but the relief is shattered when she’s hit with excruciating abdominal pain. Elena miscarries her baby on the bathroom floor, losing the child she saw as her only hope and proof of love for Julian. Grief-stricken and bleeding, she contemplates suicide, seeing no reason to live without her baby. Her moment of despair is interrupted by Julian, who enters the room irritated and demanding she get ready for a gala. Unaware of the blood at first, he later sees her state and learns she lost the baby. Instead of comfort, he responds coldly, saying it’s “for the best” because the child would have complicated his trustee meeting. The story ends with Elena devastated, realizing Julian is the same man who pushed her in her nightmare — cruel, wealthy, and utterly without empathy. Her fragile love and hope are destroyed, leaving her alone in her grief. *Core themes*: Betrayal, trauma, miscarriage grief, and the shattering of trust right after surviving what felt like death.

Warning: 18+ Mature Content "I just want your love" she whispered and before he could react she forcefully crushed her lips with his leaving him in a state of shock. He pushed her away by holding her by arms and glared at her. "I made it clear Ahana! I don't love you..." He shouted at her. His denial made her angry and snapped at him "you are denying because of that girl, I am hotter and bolder in bed than her.. " she said while exposing herself to him. He warned her "shut up Ahana! I won't give you the physical pleasure you need I won't cheat my wife" he turned and began to leave but stopped at his place when he heard something which shaken the floor underneath him. He turned and eyed the phone screen. She smirked and said "hell.. then get ready to get ruin" "You can't blackmail me" he almost pleaded with her but she smiled and looked at him with desire and lust. "maintain the physical relationship with me then!" she said leaving him in dilemma. His marriage, reputation, everything was at stake. A story of love, betrayal, and pain.

Only the broken can heal a broken. Five years after the death of his fiancee, Caitlyn Smoak, Dario has been living a miserable life. His father, the famous billionaire Michael Simpson decides to interfere. He has a hundred days to find a bride that will be suitable for the Simpson family or his position in the Simpson Enterprise will be given out to his younger brother Theo. What happens when Diane Jones, a struggling single mother and Dario Simpson, the cold hearted billionaire crosses part, they'll discover that only the broken can heal a broken. Book 2 Catherine Stone's life takes an unexpected turn when Dario Simpson, the son of a famous billionaire, is involved in a life-altering accident that leaves him in a state of vigil paralysis. The only way to bring him out of it is for Catherine to agree to Mr. Devon's proposal to pretend to be Dario's fiancée. Desperate for money, Catherine agrees to the , believing that all she has to do is act. However, as she begins her charade, she finds herself unexpectedly falling in love with the opulent surroundings of the billionaire's mansion and the lavish lifestyle that comes with it. As she navigates the challenges of maintaining the deception, Catherine must confront the growing feelings she has for Dario's brother and decide whether she is willing to risk everything for a love that may not be real.

Zira Deverauxdoro was left and was abandon at St. Maria hospital not long after she was born. After that she's been to one foster home to another and each one, she felt alone like there was a part of her missing to keep her from being whole. When she turned 10 years old, she was finally adopted by Ahriman Radamés, one of the riches CEO. There was always something strange about her adopted father, but when she found out that he wasn't human by accident and that he had plans with her that's when she left. Even though she was only sixteen, she had a great common sense and a good amount of money she stashed away of her adopted parents. She's been on her own for 2 years and knows she can never trust or count on others. She can never stay in one place for too long fearing that Ahriman Radamés would find her. She lived day by day in one hotel after another. Driving to a different state every few days. Until one day she rides into a small town in Vermont and runs into a guy name Seth while hustling on a pool table in a bar that happens to be run by vampires.

Charlotte always hoped for forever with her college sweetheart, Jonah, but after their marriage, the man she gave her heart took her freedom and turned her into a shadow of herself. He married another woman for her money and dumped Charlotte to the curb because of his greed. Broken, with no hope from anywhere, her savior comes in form of the man she least expected, her ex’s uncle. Xavier Roman is the wealthiest man in the state, a zillionaire whose income cannot be counted. He proposes a contract marriage to his nephew’s ex-wife in order to silence the ugly rumors surrounding him and she agrees out of desperation. In return, he promises to help her exert her revenge on everyone who wronged her, and spoil her beyond imagination. Driven by hate and jealousy, her ex-husband returns with his family, tarnishing her image in every way they can to get back at her, but she cannot be touched because of the man whose name she is affiliated with. What happens when she starts to want more than just his money? What happens when he realizes that it was never just business for him? How will she ever get over him, when coupled with his money, he shows her in more ways than one, what it means to be truly pleasured by a man…?

BLURB Lena got back from work one evening and was greeted with the most heartbreaking scene of her life. Her own fiancee who she wanted to spend the rest of her life with was engaging her step sister. Dejectedly and drugged, she left the house and staggered into the wrong room in a club and ended up getting laid by an unknown man. Six years after finding out she was pregnant and leaving the city, she came back but this time around, with two set of identical twins( quadruplet) She started working for the most cold hearted billionaire in the city, Denzel. As fate would have it, she was able to melt his cold heart and they started a relationship. But things took a wrong turn when Lena found out that Denzel was the father of her quadruplet, the same man that took advantage of her drugged state years ago. Now, all she wanted was to keep her babies away from this man. But how will that be possible when the same man she wants to stay away from is the same man her quadruplet grew to love so much? She came back one day only for her kids to rush to her and exclaim; " Mommy, mommy, we've finally found our super rich daddy! "

I took a shortcut through the alley and watched Dante Marchetti put a bullet in a man like it was nothing. He saw my face. That was the end of my normal life. Within an hour I was in the back of his car being driven to an estate I had never seen before with gates that locked from the outside and a wardrobe full of clothes in my exact size waiting like someone had known I was coming before I did. He told me I wasn't a prisoner but a guest. He said people who wanted to find me were considerably worse than him and that his walls were the only thing standing between me and a conversation I wouldn't survive. Maybe he was right. The problem is the longer I stayed the harder it became to remember which one was true. Because the man who caught me in that alley wasn't the only version of him. There was another one that nobody else seemed to get to see. The one who stood alone in his dead mother's library looking tired in a way that had nothing to do with sleep. The one who had my cat brought to the estate because he heard me crying through a closed door and didn't know what else to do about it. The one who almost smiled when I threw a glass at his head. That version of him was the one I couldn't stop thinking about. I came here as a witness. I stayed as something else entirely. Somewhere between the locked doors, the candlelit dinners and the secrets we started sharing in the dark I stopped wanting to leave. The question was whether a woman like me could survive loving a man like him. I was about to find out.

16 year old Scarlet Paine struggles to understand what’s happening to her, as she wakes and realizes she’s becoming a vampire. Alienated from her parents and her friends, the only person she has left to turn to is Sage, the mysterious boy who has quickly become the love of her life. Yet Sage, whose house she finds boarded up, is nowhere to be found.

Scarlet, alone in the world, with nowhere left to turn, seeks out her friends and tries to reconcile with them. All seems to be patched up when they invite her to join them on a trip to an abandoned island in the Hudson—but as things get out of hand and Scarlet’s true powers are revealed, who her friends and enemies are becomes more confusing than ever.

Blake, still interested in her, tries to make amends. He seems sincere, and Scarlet is confused as she has to grapple with whether to be with Blake or to wait for Sage, who is nowhere to be found.

When Scarlet finally finds Sage, they have the most romantic time of her life; yet it is tinged with tragedy, as Sage is dying, with but a few days left to live.

Kyle, meanwhile, turned into the only other vampire left in the world, is on a murderous rampage, seeking Scarlet; Caitlin and Caleb consult with Aiden, and they each embark on different missions—Caleb to stop and kill Kyle, and Caitlin, to the famed Yale University library, to research the ancient relic rumored to both cure and kill vampires for all time.

It is a race against time, and it may be too late. Scarlet is changing rapidly, barely able to control what she’s becoming, and Sage is dying with each passing moment. As the book culminates in an action-packed, shocking twist, Scarlet will be left with a monumental choice—one that will change the world forever. Will Scarlet make the ultimate sacrifice to save Sage’s life? Will she risk everything she has for love?