How Does Lean In: Women, Work, And The Will To Lead Empower Women?

Seven years of love are gone. Her home is gone. Her future is shattered. And then she discovered she was pregnant. Alone, jobless, and heartbroken, Serena walked away from her cheating husband. She chose to rebuild her life from scratch as a single mother. But starting over isn’t easy, especially when the world keeps shutting doors in her face. Until she meets him. Adrian Henrix Cold. Powerful. The ruthless billionaire CEO everyone fears. He is a man with one goal. He had no time to fall in love or get involved in other people’s lives. But for some reason… He keeps noticing her. Helping her. Challenging her. Watching her rise from nothing. As Serena rebuilds her life and steps into his world, she begins to shine in ways no one expected. And suddenly… The woman her ex-husband betrayed and abandoned becomes the woman any man would pray to have. But when the past she wants to forget returns… When betrayal, secrets, and ambition collide… Will Serena trust again? Or will she prove that a broken woman can reach heights that no one ever imagined?

Grayson I was her nightmare before I ever knew I loved her. I told myself it was harmless words, laughter and power. I didn’t see the damage until it was too late. By the time I realized Selene was the only girl who ever mattered, she was already gone, taking my chance at redemption with her. Success followed me anyway. Money. Power. A company with my name on the top floor. None of it erased her. So when she walks into my office ten years later—untouched by the boy I used to be—I know this is my reckoning. She may be my employee now, but I’m the one on my knees. I’ll endure her anger, her hatred, even her revenge… if it means I get the chance to make things right. Because this time, I refuse to lose her. Selene I survived him once. I won’t let him destroy me again. Grayson was my bully, my humiliation, the reason my scars run deeper than skin. He took pieces of me I never got back—and now fate has the audacity to put him above me. My boss. My CEO. My past. He looks at me like regret is eating him alive. Like I’m something he still wants. But wanting me now doesn’t erase what he did then. I didn’t come back to be weak. I didn’t come back to forgive. I came back to win. And if Grayson thinks redemption will be easy, he’s forgotten one thing—I’m not the girl he broke anymore. And I won’t go down without a fight.

Gideon Hart, a man known for keeping every woman at arm's length, gets drugged and wakes up in a hotel with me lying beside him. Afterward, he comes to me and offers ten million as compensation. When I remain silent, my best friend, Lena Quimby, jumps in like she's been waiting for her cue. She snaps that money can't buy everything, trying to reject the offer on my behalf. Before I can say a word, comments start flashing before me like a live stream chat. "Here we go! The male lead, the female lead, and the side character are all on screen together!" "Lena's so classy. Way better than that gold-digger Evelyn." "Watch Evelyn reject the money and still get clowned!" "Who wouldn't pick the sweet, innocent heroine?" Glancing at Lena's flushed cheeks and the way her eyes stick to Gideon, I almost let out a cold laugh. Then, I turn to the man in front of me and hold up my Venmo QR code. "Sure. Wire it!"

Evina Chen is a young career woman who is not afraid to defy her superiors. She would even risk her personal life to defend her colleagues from tyrannical bosses. Meanwhile, Gabriel Yang is a ruthless, dominant CEO who would sacrifice anything for the sake of the growth of their company. He would crush anyone who would dare stand in his way. She hates authorities. He hates rebels. But both would learn the true meaning of love in each other's arms. The question is, will their love for one another be enough to overcome the power struggles along the way? ****** NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: > Forgive me in advance for the mistakes. I don't have an editor yet. :') > Feel free to get in touch with me at @7arabella7 > Thank you for giving this story a chance. I hope you like it! :*

Ava Lancaster gave up her identity as a billionaire heiress to marry for love, choosing anonymity over inheritance and devotion over power. But her husband, Liam Hayes, repays her sacrifice with betrayal—repeated affairs, emotional neglect, and the quiet erosion of her worth. When Ava finally walks away, she does so with nothing but her name, refusing alimony and erasing herself from the life she helped build. What Liam never knows is that Ava secretly returns to the empire she once abandoned, reclaiming her family legacy and rising as the unseen CEO of a global conglomerate. Years later, when Liam’s failing company seeks a partnership to survive, fate brings them face-to-face again—this time with Ava holding all the power and Liam unaware that the woman he discarded now controls his future. As business turns into a battlefield, Ava orchestrates her revenge not with cruelty, but with dominance, strategy, and restraint. Torn between the ghosts of her past and the possibility of new love with a steadfast rival CEO, Ava must confront the cost of power, the weight of forgiveness, and the question of whether love can exist without surrender. Empire of Her Own is a long-burn, emotionally rich modern romance about betrayal, reinvention, and a woman choosing herself—fully, unapologetically, and on her own terms.

Lana Harris has worked her entire life to inherit her father's company. She's been described as a loveless, workaholic ice queen with no life... But when a handsome new coworker catches her eye a fire is ignited inside her that has been lying dormant for some time. As her love life is heating up, so is her career. Her cold father makes her an offer she can't refuse, that is if she wants to become CEO. Will her father's proposal tear apart her newfound love and make Lana choose, the man of her dreams or everything she's ever worked for? ...