Held Captive By Former Times Novel Novels & Stories

Held Light, Held Close follows Celeste Bradbury, a quiet, disciplined young woman who arrives in New York to work with the world-famous band Luminous Riot. Raised in the hush of convent halls and foster homes, Celeste has learned to survive by moving gently, listening closely, and building her life out of small, steadfast rituals. But the music world is loud, chaotic, and unkind—especially under the sharp eye of Paul Logan, the band’s volatile lead singer who meets her composure with relentless mockery. As weeks turn into months, Celeste maintains her quiet routines, her faith, and her dignity despite the storm around her. She becomes a still point in the band’s restless orbit—an anchor none of them expected, and a mirror that reveals what each member is running from. Through rehearsals, touring, backstage politics, deadlines, and private battles the world never sees, Celeste’s presence begins to shape the group in ways that defy explanation. The House She Built is a story of chosen family, slow-burn transformation, unspoken tenderness, and the quiet power of a woman who refuses to break—even when the world demands it. It is about the sanctuary we build within ourselves, and the imperfect people we let inside.

After living most of her life in hiding, Bambi Sivan got captured and sold as a slave, leaving her mother murdered in the process. She fell to the hand of the intimidating yet unexpectedly gentle CEO, Greyson Grant. They become invested in each other's life as Bambi adjusts to her new life. Little does she know that Greyson's background and past will haunt her life even more than her mother's death.

After war broke out on the night she turned eighteen, a princess was in captivity by the mysterious and merciless vampire clan; but when her family’s dark history with the blood drinkers started to unravel along with her captors’ sinister plan, she must break free from their clutches and claim the crown or die before she could even save her kingdom. *** Motherless, an heir to the throne, and betrothed to the Highest Knight, Princess Victoria was revered and loved by her dominion. When her kingdom lost in a war on the night she turned eighteen, she was taken captive by the strange and ruthless group of vampires, the Clan of The Blood Moon. Once living a life of royalty, comfort, and riches, she is now nothing but a prisoner— until the youngest of the clan, Lord Victor, took her in. Victoria uses the protection of the prince to know the truth about the blood drinkers; though she tries to keep herself far from the prince, Victor was different from the rest of the clan which pulled her deeply closer to him until she discovers the real ties of her family with the vampires. With the knowledge of the clan’s darker plans, Victoria is determined to escape and reclaim her kingdom but somebody akin to her arrived. With a torn heart, revelation of family secrets, and being united with a loved one; she needs to decide whether to trust someone she knew or heed the warnings of Victor. Will she risk it all? Will she be able to save her kingdom? Will she pay the price even if it is paid by blood?

She was just a 24-year-old woman trying to cope with her negative surrounding which was suffocating her. To keep herself away from that unwanted suffocation she moved out of her house lying to them that she is going to meet attend her friend's wedding. At one moment of her life, she was standing before the very beautiful sight and at another moment she found herself hostage in a building with her kidnapper who claims to be her husband. One stupid decision of her life has put her in that situation and a captive life is never be a good one but she is a strong woman, not the one who knelt in surrender, she will die but never compromise with a new change that happened to her life. --------- trigger warning beforehand, this story has mature stuff so, read it on your own risk ----------

Once full of laughter and dreams, Lily Harrison’s life shatters after a tragic accident leaves her confined to a wheelchair. The loss of her mother and her shattered sense of safety push her into isolation, sealing her heart behind walls of fear and silence. Wealth surrounds her, yet loneliness is her constant companion. Ethan never planned to become anyone’s caretaker. Struggling to find work, he accepts a strange offer that leads him into Lily’s guarded world. From the moment they meet, Lily resists him—rejecting his help, his kindness, and his presence. But Ethan stays. Quiet, patient, and steady, he fills the mansion with warmth she thought she had lost forever. Slowly, trust begins to grow. Through shared mornings, sleepless nights, and small moments of courage, Lily finds herself leaning on Ethan in ways that terrify her. He becomes her anchor, her safety, and the one person who sees her not as broken, but as someone still worthy of love. Just as their fragile bond deepens, danger strikes. A violent attack shatters their fragile peace, revealing shadows tied to Lily’s powerful family and forcing Ethan to risk his life to protect her. In the aftermath, emotions they can no longer ignore rise to the surface—fear, longing, and a love neither of them expected. But love comes with boundaries, secrets, and choices that could destroy them both. As past trauma collides with present danger, Lily and Ethan must decide whether they are brave enough to cross the line from caretaker and patient to something deeper… or if fear will cost them the one place they finally feel safe. In a world filled with uncertainty, can love become the strongest form of healing?

• My mom died saving me during a kidnapping. At least, that’s what everyone believed. My dad—once the man who spoiled me like his little princess—turned his grief into hatred. He adopted a girl who looked just like Mom and gave her all the love that used to be mine. For five years, I lived in that shadow, broken and unwanted. Until the day I was beaten and left for dead… and my mom came back. Alive. He used to call me his treasure. Now he calls me a curse. But the night my mom returned, everything shattered—his lies, his obsession, and the truth I was never meant to know.

For seven years of marriage, my Alpha mate, Cassian Blackthorn, slept with thirty-two different women, every single one of them from my circle. I didn’t know how much longer I could endure it. Even when I was seven months pregnant, as I went to my prenatal check-ups alone, I kept enduring. Alas, disaster struck without warning. Cassian’s new fling, Sophia Corwin, led a pack of rogue wolves to ambush me. I clutched my belly with all my strength, begging Sophia to spare me and my child. She only sneered. "Ha. That wasn’t me. If you’re looking for the real culprit, go find them yourself." By the time a passerby found me and rushed me to the hospital, it was already too late. My baby… had died inside me. When my mother heard the news, her heart failed. She was gone, too. These two crushing blows left my world spinning. Hatred, grief, and fury rose inside me like a tidal wave, drowning everything else. Cassian’s father, Leon Blackthorn, came to the hospital to see me. Expressionless, I stared at him. "Let me go, Leon," I said in a raw and hoarse voice. "Whatever I owed you, I’ve paid it back in full."

To help Adrian Spencer get over his feelings for his cousin, his mother made a deal—with Zoey Landon, the girl who had been secretly in love with him for years. They signed a contract. It gave Zoey ninety-nine chances. If even once—just once—Adrian chose her, she’d get what she wanted: to become his wife. But if he never did, she’d be sent overseas for good. No return. No exceptions. Zoey knew how hopelessly obsessed Adrian was with Claire Spencer. Still, she signed without hesitation. Ninety-nine chances. She refused to believe he wouldn’t choose her—not even once. But what she didn’t see coming was…

There's a rule in Pine Ridge—women are only allowed to leave the mountain seven times in their lives. If they aren't able to marry a foreigner who's not from Pine Ridge, they can only marry a local mountaineer and become a guardian of the mountain. Because of that, I've borrowed some cosmetics from my grandma seven times in a row. Every time, I'm often wearing my prettiest dress and waiting for the man, who has promised to whisk me away from Pine Ridge, to marry me. But despite having crossed the mountain and reached the same town seven times in a row, Joseph Kingsley is never there. In the village, the village chief, Arthur Langley, has a smoke pipe dangling from his lips. "This is your seventh time leaving Pine Ridge just to get your marriage registered. That director boyfriend of yours has gone over to the next village just to shoot more footage of the lass who has a really pretty smile. "Caroline, your boyfriend is already behaving like this. Why are you still waiting for him?" I clumsily pull out the phone Joseph has given me before keying in his number. The dial tone goes off three times before the call goes through. Only then does Joseph explain the truth to me. "When Gemma took us on a foraging trip, she got trapped by one of the bear traps in the mountain! You do realize that if a woman from Pine Ridge were to get crippled, no villager would want to marry her at all because she'd be a burden to them! "If I were to leave Gemma alone, her life would be ruined! This is the last time, Caroline! Once I ensure that Gemma's leg gets healed, I'll come marry you right away!" Joseph has been in Pine Ridge for four years so far. Throughout these years, I've hiked the mountain and braved the elements for him seven times in a row. But Gemma Watson keeps getting into trouble. Whenever that happens, Joseph will abandon me without hesitation. As I gaze at the phone, which shows that the call has gotten disconnected, I wipe away my tears quietly. There won't be a last time anymore. In three days, I will be marrying someone else.

"You are mine. And no one can own you except me," Dimitri commanded, his voice cold as ice. "I am not your property," Natasha shot back, her eyes burning with defiance. "You have no right to own me." But in the dark underworld of the mafia, rights don't exist. Only power. Dimitri Volkov is a ruthless Mafia billionaire who controls everything- his empire, his enemies, and now her. When he takes Natasha captive after a violent warehouse massacre, he expects her to break like everyone else. She refuses. She fights. She challenges him in ways that ignite an obsession he can't control. Natasha is trapped in a golden cage, caught between two impossible choices. She came to his world for a reason- to access secrets that could destroy him completely. But as Dimitri's possessive love deepens and his obsession consumes them both, staying becomes harder. Leaving becomes impossible. Some prisons are built with steel. Others are built with desire. In the end, love might be the most dangerous cage of all.