Novels by Mandy B

I shifted awkwardly on my feet, trying to gather my thoughts. How well did we know each other? Professionally? Enough to get by. Personally? Barely at all.Paula, still smiling as if this were her favorite part of the day, leaned closer, her sharp gaze sweeping over us. “Let’s start simple. What’s Miss Miller’s favorite color, Jaime?”I turned to him, arching a brow, curious about what he would say.Without missing a beat, Jaime’s lips curved into a subtle smile. “Blue,” he said, his voice steady.I blinked. He was right.Paula raised an eyebrow at me. “Is he correct?”“Yes, but…” I hesitated. “How did you know that?”Jaime shrugged, looking smug. “You always choose blue pens during meetings. And your laptop case is navy. It wasn’t hard to figure out.”I felt my cheeks warm at the casual observation. He noticed things about me? Why?Paula clapped her hands again, clearly pleased. “Good! Attention to detail. That’s a strong start.”“Your turn,” she said, spinning toward me. “What’s Jai

He continued what he was doing, completely absorbed in his task. I didn’t mind watching him, his movements were so fluid, so purposeful, it was as if his hands instinctively knew what they wanted. Watching him like this gave me a strange sense of peace I didn’t realize I craved. The silence between us stretched on, but it was comfortable, almost soothing.“When I was in school,” he began suddenly, breaking the silence. He glanced at me with a soft smile. “I had a roommate who loved cooking. To him, it was therapy, a way to escape the chaos of the world. I used to watch him all the time. Before I knew it, it became my therapy too.”He didn’t need to check if I was paying attention; I was utterly captivated, hanging on every word. Who is this man? He felt so different from the one I thought I knew, it was disarming, almost surreal.“Yeah, I get it,” I said, my voice soft. “Cooking can be therapeutic. Right here, right now, it feels like therapy.”His eyes met mine for a moment, silenci

I woke up the next morning with a strange, jittery energy buzzing through me. Even so, I couldn’t bring myself to turn on my phone. Somehow, I just knew my face would be plastered all over the media.Pressing my face into my pillow, I screamed, muffling the sound as reality dawned on me.I knew what I had signed up for, I knew this was part of the deal, so why was I feeling like this?“What are you doing?” Jessy’s voice cut through the air, pulling me from my loop.Groaning, I flopped onto my back and screamed again this time without the pillow covering my mouth because I wanted to let out all the feelings that were compressing to my chest.“Let me guess,” she teased, sitting on the edge of my bed, “last night didn’t go quite how you imagined?”I covered my face with my hands, my voice muffled. “It was a disaster. Every time I knew he was watching, I completely froze.”Jessy was enjoying this far too much. “Okay, tell me how you feel.”Before I could respond, her phone buzzed. Her eye

Stunning.That was the first word that came to mind the moment I laid eyes on her.Clarissa Miller had always been beautiful, anyone who saw her would agree. But tonight, there was something different. Something radiant. It might have been the way her smile lingered, or how the sleek black knee-length dress fit her like it was made for her alone. Whatever it was, Hope had worked her magic, and I couldn’t deny that it worked well.As Clarissa slid into the car beside me, there were so many things I wanted to say, but none of the words would form. Each thought stayed perched on the tip of my tongue, refusing to leap into the silence between us.The car moved, but the air was heavy, an awkwardness settling between us like a wall I wanted to break down.“So…”“Thanks for this.”We spoke at the same time, our words overlapping. I glanced at her, and she smiled softly, easing the tension just a little.“Ladies first,” I said, offering her a playful grin.She looked away for a moment, then b

For the first time in months, I allowed myself to sleep in. The feeling was pure bliss, and I wasn’t ready to give it up.“You don’t want to eat breakfast? It’s right here in front of you,” Jessy’s voice cut through my haze as she tugged at me, urging me to eat the meal she had prepared.She had taken the day off so we could spend time together, a rare treat considering how hectic things had been for both of us.I grumbled, tightening my eyes shut and refusing to get up. Even though I was wide awake now, I couldn’t bring myself to leave the warmth of my bed. Deep down, I knew that the moment I stood up, reality would hit me like a freight train.“This is for Zoe,” I whispered to myself, a mantra I repeated every time guilt crept in about the situation I had willingly placed myself in.My phone buzzed on the bedside table, jolting me. Groaning, I reached for it and froze the moment I saw the sender.‘The driver will pick you up in an hour. Be ready’I bolted upright, clutching the shee

For the first time since I met Adriel, I saw a genuine smile on his face, a real one that crinkled his eyes and revealed his teeth in full display. It was mesmerizing, radiant, and utterly unexpected. I couldn’t look away. If I thought he was handsome before, this smile was a transformation I wasn’t prepared for.Realizing I was staring, I cleared my throat and quickly dropped my gaze to the floor. It was better to count imaginary specks of dust than let him see how deeply I have been staring at him.“I’m sure this will go well,” he said, his voice steady and confident. “You won’t regret your choice. This is going to be a blast.” His eyes stayed fixed on me, but I refused to look up.I reminded myself why I was here. None of this was real. Adriel Jaime wasn’t my boyfriend; he was using me because it was convenient. I was just a stand-in for the countless women who’d drop everything to be in my shoes.If he had ever announced that he needed something like this, it would be an audition

EPILOGUE (DAISY)My favorite time of the day is waking up snuggled into his arms. He always holds me so hard to his body that I can barely move and once I try to escape from his hold he will push me back to himself. That always brings so much smile to my face, so much happiness that I can't begin to mention. “Are you awake?” His sleepy voice asked, and I tried to pretend I was still sleeping as I closed my eyes tight.“I could hear your thoughts so wild, and you know….”Laughter bubbled out of me as he tickled me “Stop it” I yelled, pushing his hands away from me as he got a hold of me and was still tickling me so badly. “Say please,” he said while still tickling me so hard that my chest hurt. “Never” I pushed his hand away, trying to stand from the bed, but he was so strong, and he caught me before I even escaped. “Okay, please Damien, please” His hand softened as he held me to himself. We are still on the bed now and panting a little from the play that we had just engaged i

I hated that smell, which was the first thing that hit me. Groaning, I am turning around as I hear a sharp noise and my attention is on the faces that are looking at me. They are so familiar. Someone with white rushed to where I was lying down on a bed, and the rest of the faces looked like they were waiting for a verdict from him. He said something and the rest of them disappeared. He was the only one in the room as he examined me. Furthermore, he held my eyes open and searched inside, bringing out a touch of light as he scanned inside my eyes. I wish I could see what he is doing, I wish I knew what the hell I am doing here. Finally, the sounds that rang in my head went away, and now I am staring into his face. “Are you okay? Do I feel pain anywhere? Mr. Anderson” He said, looking into my eyes. This man knew me, am I, Mr. Anderson?I couldn't seem to think of anything else as I just looked at him. He motioned to someone, and they came to where he was standing. He took a syr

DAISYWhat are they up to? I was left alone for a while in my solitude when the door opened, and he was the only one who came back inside. Not a noise was heard on my part as I let him walk to where I was still tied. He looked at me without saying a word. His eyes were unpleasant, they almost reminded me of the Kenny that I had seen before, the one I went somewhere in my mind.“I see you are proving stubborn,” he said as his eyes went down to the food that lay beside me. I would rather not have a taste of even water from this place, I didn’t want to take anything that was theirs.“You are going to remain here for a very, very long time, so you better get used to it” he regarded me sternly before turning around.As he walked away, my eyes were fixed on his back, they were stiff.The last time my eyes held him, they were hiding something, his stiff back was hiding something.Now I wonder what this is about. It is very much obvious that he isn’t working alone, he neither has the money

My eyes bulged in shock at the person who stood there. I wasn't expecting to see him, I wasn't expecting to look at him right now as he stood there and gazed heartily at me. Of course, it was a fake smile, nothing was real about the fact that he had me locked here and now smiling at me. “Well well it seems I have finally had that audience with you” he grinned as he came closer. I tried saying something as anger welled up inside of me. My mouth was gagged, I could not say a word and even when I tried moving, of course, I was tied up. He walked closer and then stood meters away from me as I shrieked and made noises wanting to move away from here. I wanted to smack my hand right across his face, Kenny, why will Kenny keep me locked here? “I mean, why are you looking so shocked? You think I was going to let you off like that? You embarrassed me with that divorce letter and what? You are going off another person almost immediately” He laughed again and nodded to the person beside me.

DAMIENI checked the time again and again, but there was no still sight of her, and it was getting so late. Walking outside, I stood in front of the door and looked at the gate, hoping for it to open and for her to walk towards me, but as I stood, there was not a sign of her, this has me so worried. Not only have I been standing here, but I have tried the phone a thousand times, and it keeps going to voicemail, and I am legit worried. Calling my assistant, I demanded her friend's number as I had tried to search for it but didn't see it. She picked at the second ring. “Is Daisy there with you?” Once the greetings were over, I asked her.“No, she went back home like three hours ago, she said she wanted to get some groceries on her way home, and then I waited for her call but she still hadn't answered me. Is everything alright?”I have to tell her things are good before ending the call. She went to get groceries three hours ago and isn't back yet. There was only one place where she

Katherine“It can’t be.” The same widened eyes and gasp that came from Juanita was the same on my face as soon as I had seen the name.“How does that even make sense? They are not fucking married” I yelled so loud into the air like that was where my anger was, and I was directing it at that.This was so painful and annoying at the same time, this wasn’t how it was supposed to be.It was meant to be one of my children and in that way, I can claim every single thing he ever owned, but now it isn’t. I turned to Bluey who looked at us with widened eyes and I walked to where she was seated.“I have called someone that will take you back to your father, you and each one of you I don’t need in my life, now when they are here, you get out of this house because you are so very useless to me” I could see the tears that began forming in her eyes, but that has and would never be a concern of mine.I wasn’t interested in marriage or even kids until he came and proclaimed thousands of love and wi