How Long Is The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem?

Adeline Monteiro, An humble, Smart, Beautiful yet extremely broke lady. Living in a worn-out crabby-looking one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan and on the verge of being kicked out, Fed up and tired of her life, She goes to a club and drink her sorrow away. She ends up having too much to drink as she spends the night with The one and only Alexander McGuire. Imagine her surprise when she finds out that her one-night stand is her boss? The President of the Ashford group of companies Is she fucked? No, she’s doomed! Alexander wants Adeline by all means and he won’t be giving up so easily.

Evelyn Hayes has spent three years as a “invisible wife” to billionaire Arthur Garrison, living in a marriage that exists only on paper. When she is diagnosed with a terminal illness and told she only has months left, she offers him one final deal: one hundred days of his time in exchange for signing their divorce papers. Arthur agrees, eager to finally be free, completely unaware that he is counting down the days to her death. But as they spend time together, Arthur begins to see Evelyn differently, and the freedom he once wanted no longer feels important. With Evelyn quietly slipping away and time running out, Arthur is forced to face a choice he never expected to make. When the hundred days end, will he still want his freedom—or will it already be too late to save her?

Sloane is bright, fiercely athletic, almost 20 yo Sophomore student. On the track, she's a promising runner with Olympic-sized dreams. Off the track, she's perfectly happy being one of the guys, "the funny one"-a sharp contrast to the typical well dress college girl. But last semester, her tomboy façade cracked. A disastrous, unreciprocated confession to her lifelong best friend left a permanent, painful dent in their friendship. She was ready to power through the awkwardness, keep her head down, and focus on her sophomore season, when, her world was shaken. A celebrated international star athlete and new exchange student, steps onto campus and into Sloane's life. He's popular, he's gorgeous, and he sees the vibrant woman under the baggy sweatshirts. He doesn't just challenge Sloane on the field; he forces her to confront her greatest flaw: her deep-seated belief that she's not beautiful. But as he teaches her what "beauty" truly means, a complicated new set of rules emerges, with her scholarship at risk and loosing her mind over calculus. Can Sloane chase her running dreams, navigate a new and intense romance, and survive the rumors, bad grades, and campus chaos that follow? Or will the pressure of becoming someone new lead to the biggest stumble of her life? ♡ This romantic comedy explores the complications of academic and athletic pressure at the high level demanded by universities as well as the modern beauty standards, while also capturing how fun and dramatic campus life can be for young people. ┖┈┈┈┈୨♡୧┈┈┈┈୨♡୧┈┈┈┈୨♡୧┈┈┈┈┚ This book is entirely a work of fiction. The characters are all fictional, and all rights to this work are reserved by the author.

I could see the countdown above a person’s head when they had already decided to leave their partner. The day my father’s countdown hit zero, he slapped a lawyer’s letter on the breakfast table and walked out on my mother and me. The day my best friend’s countdown hit zero, she finally threw her parasite of a boyfriend out of her apartment and changed the locks before sunset. That was why I’d always been terrified of seeing a countdown above my fiancé, Lucian Bellandi. Luckily, for seven years by his side, the space above his head had stayed clean. Lucian was the youngest Don the Bellandi family had ever seen. He owned the docks, the casinos, and half the South Side’s dirty money, yet he saved every soft part of himself for me. Until last month, when he picked me up after a family auction. I looked up and saw blood-red numbers stabbing into my eyes. [702 days, 14 hours, 22 minutes.] Less than two years. My heart tightened like a cold hand had closed around it. I started searching for an answer like a woman losing her mind. Had I done something wrong? Then, during a blizzard by the lake, we ran into Mia Crane at the back entrance of the Bellandi Hotel. Lucian had just brought her into his charity foundation as a new assistant. Snow clung to her hair and lashes. She was shivering from head to toe, but her smile was bright and painfully innocent. Lucian pulled a black silk handkerchief from his breast pocket and handed it to her. His face was calm. There was nothing openly improper in the gesture. But in that exact second, the countdown above his head jumped. [327 days, 4 hours, 47 minutes.] More than three hundred days, gone. And I knew I had found the reason.

Love does not always follow the rules—it thrives in corners where no one dares to look. Kaelin Verain returns to the palace after years in exile, carrying secrets, scars, and a purpose only she understands. The kingdom teeters on the edge of political chaos, and she is the strategist tasked with restoring order. But power is not the only force she must navigate. Lord Riven, the crown’s unyielding protector, stands between her and her mission. Tall, disciplined, and impossibly magnetic, he is sworn to duty—and forbidden to desire her. Yet every glance, every brush of skin, every shared moment pulls them closer. The tension between them is like dancing on the edge of a cliff: intoxicating, dangerous, and impossible to resist. Bound by identities, oaths, and unspoken rules, Kaelin and Riven discover that desire is a silent vine, quietly entwining their hearts and igniting a fire neither can ignore. Every step they take together threatens the crown, their reputations, and the fragile line between loyalty and passion. In a palace of whispers, secret alliances, and hidden truths, some love is meant to be forbidden, and some desire is impossible to deny. Will they survive the stakes of duty while surrendering to the fire that consumes them both?

Nubia has her life planned out. She is working on her master's degree in post colonial studies. She has a quiet apartment and a schedule she sticks to. Every Wednesday night she finishes class at nine thirty, walks to the bus stop, and waits. The bus is always late. There is always a stranger sitting on the bench. He wears headphones and draws in a sketchbook. He never speaks. She calls him Pencil Boy in her phone and does not think much about it. Then one October night the bus is delayed by forty three minutes. Eli studies architecture but he draws people instead of buildings. He has been sketching Nubia for six weeks without ever saying a word. He is quiet and pays close attention to things. He has learned to keep people at a distance because it feels safer that way. But when the cold night gets to Nubia and he gives her his hoodie, the silence between them finally breaks. What begins as pie at a late night diner turns into a Wednesday night tradition. Then a friendship. Then something much deeper. As Nubia and Eli grow closer, they must face the things that make them different. Race. Class. The dreams they are chasing. The families they come from. And the strong pull of a connection neither of them can ignore. Set over one school year, 43 Minutes is a warm and sensual love story about two people learning to truly see each other. It is about letting yourself be seen. And it is about the moments that change your life in less than an hour but stay with you forever.