Gardner-webb University Library Novels & Stories

In the third year of my disappearance, Xavier Gardner has transformed into a powerful capitalistic mogul whose influence runs deep in the finance industry. At the celebratory party, he goes down on one knee and proposes to his first love, Nancy Lowe. "Back when my company was on the verge of bankruptcy, you were the one who sold all of your properties and assets just to help me tide over the crisis. Today, I want you to become the happiest woman in the world. Will you marry me, Nancy?" Amid everyone's blessings, Nancy puts on the ring while feeling extremely touched. "Mr. Gardner, it was said that your ex-wife, Victoria Zahn, had stolen all of your funds and fled with her sugar daddy when your company was in a financial crisis. "Now, she's gone missing for three years. If she ever comes back, will you choose to forgive her?" The reporter's sharp question makes Xavier's expression change drastically. His gaze shifts into one of pure ice. "If I ever find that traitorous gold digger, I'll make sure to skin her alive." As I float next to the crystal chandelier, I can only sigh while noting how deep his hatred runs in his eyes. Xavier, you will never be able to find me. After all, I already died three years ago when I was on my way to clear your debt with the loan sharks. Even the money that you've used to tide over your company's crisis is the funds that I gained from selling my family's manor…

I accidentally wear the gown Miles Graham prepared for his childhood sweetheart. To my horror, he forces me to take it off in public. "I prepared this for Nora—do you think you're worthy of wearing it? Take it off! You're dirtying it!" He knows I have serious PTSD after almost being violated, yet he insults me with those words. I look at him tearfully and beg him not to say anymore. That's when the gown's zip bursts open. My PTSD acts up. I'm so overwhelmed that I collapse on the floor and have a seizure. Miles dismisses everyone and takes Nora out on a date. He leaves me lying there in humiliation. I call my mentor before being discharged from the hospital. "Ms. Gardner, I've decided to participate in the water conservation project in Affenheim."

I went alone to my favorite singer’s concert. During the song selection segment, I was really excited and hoped that I would be lucky enough to be picked. But in the next second, I saw my husband, who was supposed to be on a business trip, appear on the screen. Next to him was Mia Louise, his first love. “I’d like to pick Back To The Past. I want to go back three years when I hadn’t broken up with Mia.” The entire stadium cheered and celebrated their love. I was the only one in tears. During the next song selection segment, I saw my teary face show up on the screen. “I’d like to pick Back To The Past as well. I want to return to the time when I never said yes to Samuel Gardner’s proposal.”

"Yuliana, are you really moving abroad? You're not even going to talk it over with Charlie?" Madelyn Gardner asks. Yuliana Beckett lets out a self-mocking laugh. "We're already divorced." "You got a divorce?" Madelyn gasps, staring at Yuliana in disbelief. "Charlie actually agreed to that? After everything you've done for him these past three years, even a heart of stone would've softened by now." Madelyn speaks up for Yuliana, indignant on her behalf. But it's only after Yuliana boards her flight and leaves the country that Charlie Zimmer finally realizes what he's lost. He chases her across the ocean like a man possessed. In the face of his remorse, Yuliana has only one thing to say. "I don't love you anymore."

Life, as Nancy Anderson knew it, took a huge turn when she caught her husband cheating on her in the room next to theirs. Devastated, she can think of nothing else but revenge on the man she cared for and loved for many years. But how could a woman whom many consider weak take revenge on a billionaire and influential person like Bruce Morton, the man who seemed to have the entire city at his feet? Returning in kind did not seem to be enough. Nancy wants to show that she is much more than a simple woman who was abused and disrespected by her husband; she wants to show Bruce that revenge is a dish best served cold and takes that as the motivation of her life, but she didn't expect that Jake Gardner, a handsome and intriguing guy, would enter her life surreptitiously with the proposal of being her salvation.

My fiancé goes missing after a grand and lavish engagement party. He leaves nothing but a letter behind. It states that his childhood sweetheart has a terminal illness—her only wish is to see the aurora. On the day he returns to the country, I visit him, wanting to call off the engagement. Ivana Jennings stands beside Jacob Gardner and weeps. "I'm sorry for putting you two in a tough spot, Ariel. I'll leave now. I'll never disturb you anymore!" Jacob stops her and shields her behind him. He looks at me frostily. "I'll kill you if you dare do anything to Ivana!" I sneer. "I don't deal with just about anyone for two reasons. Firstly, I don't want to dirty my hands. Secondly, I don't want to deal with rabid dogs."

Jess and her boyfriend spends the evening in a library arguing with a stranger if vampires and werewolves were real. Apparently, Jess believes they are real while her boyfriend and the other guy believes they aren't. The night is far spent so Jess and her boyfriend decides to retire to their home. They had walked quite a distance when Jess remembered that they didn't have the boy's contact. Determined to prove him wrong in future by a research she planned on carrying out about werewolves later on, Jess goes back to the library in search of him, despite her boyfriend's disapproval. Jess is shocked to find the boy who had argued all night with her that werewolves do not exist, transform into a werewolf. Apparently, it was the full moon and he came out at the wrong time. The wolf grabbed her before she could escape; At that moment, her life took a drastic turn, that she would have never imagined. A werewolf said: Werewolves are not real.

Lila Bennett has always been invisible. The quiet, bookish girl who prefers the library to parties, she spends her days studying and her nights dreaming about someone she could never have Ethan Ryder, the charismatic captain of the university hockey team. Confident, talented, and adored by everyone, Ethan already has the perfect girlfriend: Vanessa Hart, the beautiful and popular queen of campus. For two years, Lila has secretly admired Ethan from afar, writing about him in her private notebook while keeping her feelings hidden. But when Ethan’s academic performance falters, putting his spot on the hockey team at risk, he is assigned a tutor and that tutor is Lila. Suddenly, the invisible girl and the campus king are forced together. Late night tutoring sessions turn into shared secrets, stolen glances, and undeniable chemistry. Ethan begins to see Lila in a new light intelligent, kind, and unlike anyone he’s ever known. But love on campus is never simple. Vanessa notices Ethan’s growing interest in Lila and will stop at nothing to maintain her status and control. And when another hockey player, Lucas Hale, begins developing feelings for Lila, she finds herself caught in a complicated love triangle. Jealousy, rumors, and hidden truths surface, forcing Lila to confront her feelings, assert her confidence, and decide what and who she truly wants. In a world of rivalry, heartbreak, and high stakes, the quiet girl who was once invisible may finally become the one everyone is fighting for.

Two rival architects are forced to co-design a library in a city that holds the secrets of their shared past. “Elias Thorne builds walls to keep the world out. Clara Vance designs windows to let the light in. When a prestigious commission forces them together, they realize that the hardest thing to build isn't a landmark—it’s a bridge between two broken hearts.”

Camden Price's true love, Lynn Gardner, died on my surgery table. Unexpectedly, the malicious Camden chose to protect me from backlash and even proposed to me. He treated me extraordinarily well after we got married. Camden would take me to taste the hottest chili. We would sign up for the most death-defying activities like bungee jumping. When it was late at night, he would take me to the rowdiest and most dangerous bars to drink our hearts away. All this led to me contracting stomach cancer. During my late-stage cancer, I found the diary he left at home. Everything he did with me was what Lynn wanted to do with him. On the last page of his diary, he wrote hatefully, "She deserves to die." I did die. I died after Lynn was found alive. She had faked her death. I died on the day Lynn was marrying another man. You should be happy now, Camden.