Modern Library's 100 Best Novels Novels & Stories

Five years ago, when my boyfriend's small company was on the brink of bankruptcy I stepped in to save him, quietly supporting him from the shadows. Without revealing my identity, I became the company’s largest shareholder. Five years later, the night before his company was set to go public, he held me in his arms and said, "Emma, after the company goes public tomorrow, don’t leave. I have a surprise for you." At that moment, I was swept away by the idea of his "surprise," my mind racing with the hopeful thought that he might propose. I didn’t notice the cold glint of malice lurking in his eyes. The next day, as his company went public, he slapped me across the face and sneered, "Do you even see what kind of person you are? Did you really think someone like you could marry me?" He grabbed me by the hair and dragged both me and my best friend in front of a crowd of thugs and beggars he’d gathered. “These worthless cast-offs aren’t good enough for me anymore. Consider them my gift to you. Do whatever you like with them!”

Four years ago, a 13 year old blackmailed me into friendship by holding my doughnut captive. We've been close ever since. But then, I noticed that I wanted to be more than just friends. I was in love with my best friend. Sadly, he didn't feel the same way. I thought my world was over. I was crushed. But to my utmost yet most delighted surprise, I just happened to fall into the arms of a certain bad-boy. Literally. He didn't just save me from what could've been a hell of a concussion that night. He saved my heart too. But hey, let's not get in over our heads now. It wasn't that easy. Not even close. After all, when two opposing worlds clash for the very first time, we cant just expect it to be all rainbows and sunshine. Now do we?

Nina Carter gave up everything good in her life to help her husband build his business empire. Now Daniel is successful and admired by everyone, while Nina fades into the background of the life she helped create with her sweat and blood. Then one humiliating night shows her the painful truth, she didn’t matter anymore. Hurt and overwhelmed, Nina makes a choice she never thought she would make in her lifetime. One reckless moment that would turn into a secret she could never erase. But every choice comes with its own consequence. When that secret suddenly returns to Nina’s life, everything she tried to hide begins to fall apart. Will that one mistake be the start of her downfall… Or the moment that finally changes her life forever?

He shouldn’t have imagined her lying naked on his bed. She shouldn’t have imagined his devilishly handsome face between her legs. But it was too late. Kiara began noticing Ethan's washboard abs when he hopped out of the pool, dripping wet after swim practice. Ethan began gazing at Kiara’s golden skin in a bikini as a grown woman instead of the girl next door he grew up with. That kiss should have never happened. It was just one moment in a lifetime of moments, but they both felt its power. They knew the thrumming in their veins and desperation in their bodies might give them all they ever wanted or ruin everything if they followed it. Kiara and Ethan knew they should have never kissed. But it's too late to take that choice back, so they have a new one to make. Fall for each other and risk their friendship or try to forget one little kiss that might change everything. PREVIEW: “If you don’t want to kiss me then... let’s swim.” “Yeah, sure.” “Naked.” “What?” “I always wanted to try skinny dipping. And I really want to get out of these clothes.” “What if someone catches you... me, both?” “We will be in the pool, Ethan. And no one can see us from the living room.” I smirked when I said, “Unless you want to watch me while I swim, you can stay here.” His eyes darkened, and he looked away, probably thinking the same when I noticed red blush creeping up his neck and making his ears and cheeks flush. Cute. “Come on, Ethan. Don’t be a chicken...” “Fine.” His voice was rough when he said, “Remove that sweater first.”

When her fated mate chooses her best friend, Euphyllia Ivara Ruinart discovers a cruel truth that she has been reborn countless times, only to be betrayed in every life. In her despair, one forbidden night binds her to Lucretius Xior Franciosa, Alpha of the Golden Eclipse Pack, commander in the royal military, and her mate's own uncle and sworn enemy. From that night on, cryptic notes and a single chrysanthemum begin to appear, which she soon discovers are from him. It's his constant reminder that she is being watched, claimed, and marked as his. Then comes his offer: vengeance, in exchange for her body, her trust, and perhaps even her soul. A deal with the devil, which she accepts, swearing to destroy the mate who cast her aside and the friend who betrayed her. What starts as revenge becomes an entanglement with his darkness, where obsession devours love and ruin is the only end. But amidst the chaos of betrayal and desire, Euphyllia yearns to uncover the mystery of her past lives and discover who she truly is.

Charlotte Alonso abandoned her powerful birthright, rejected an arranged mate, and turned her back on the family that had planned her future—all for the man she loved, Alpha Noah Montgomery. She thought love would be enough. She was wrong. As Luna of the Montgomery Pack, Charlotte slowly becomes a stranger in her own marriage. Every important moment is shared with Noah's beautiful female best friend, Liliana. Every decision, every celebration, every late-night call somehow includes her. And every time Charlotte dares to question their relationship, she is accused of being jealous, insecure, and unreasonable. Until the night she catches them in a betrayal she can no longer forgive. Instead of begging for the love she deserves, Charlotte does the one thing Noah never expects—she leaves. She returns to the family she once abandoned and agrees to the arranged mating she ran from years ago. But the man waiting for her is no ordinary Alpha. Roman Blackthorn—the ruthless, feared Alpha whose name alone commands respect—never forgot the woman who rejected him. Years ago, as Charlotte fled from their arranged union, he made her a promise. *"One day, Coco… you'll return to me willingly."* Now she has. But winning Charlotte's heart won't be easy. She is broken by betrayal, haunted by the past, and determined never to trust another Alpha again. As Noah realizes too late what he has lost, he begins a relentless fight to reclaim his Luna. Caught between a husband desperate for redemption and a destined mate who has waited years to make her his, Charlotte must choose… Will she return to the man who shattered her heart, or embrace the Alpha who never stopped waiting for her?

After my best friend, Amber Stone, gets addicted to gambling, she excitedly tells me that she wants to take me to Las Gavas on a trip all of a sudden. "I just won a huge sum of money! I'll treat you to a night in a grand, luxurious hotel there!" But after the plane lands on the tarmac, Amber leads me into a private room tucked away in the depths of a casino. "The truth is, the casino's boss is looking for a woman with a crescent-shaped birthmark. If she's found, all debts will be cleared on the spot. "Don't you have one on your belly? I saw it when you were taking a shower in the past! I'm so sorry, bestie, but I really don't want to die!" While I get pinned on the couch by four men, I suddenly notice a child's doodle being hung on the wall. It was a doodle I had drawn for my father before I got kidnapped. He viewed it as his treasure and told me that he'd cherish it forever. I perk up immediately at the sight. A sneer appears on my face soon enough. Oh, Amber… You definitely have won this time. Unfortunately for you, you won't gain anything.

Jessica has just landed her dream job and sold the film rights to her novels. Then she stumbles across an online post from her closest friend, Linda, asking strangers how to ruin her life. When Linda tries to sabotage Jessica's career, expose her pen name, steal her boyfriend, and destroy her author account, Jessica quietly gathers every piece of evidence and turns Linda's own schemes against her. By the time Linda realizes she has been caught, Jessica is ready to send her former best friend to prison and take back everything she earned.

I worked as a waitress in a small-town diner, but I put my husband Tom through Harvard Law School. But after he graduated, when I was eight months pregnant, he divorced with me and married my best friend, Sarah. On their wedding day, I didn't cry or make a scene. Instead, I went to work as their housekeeper. Tom thought my love made me easy to control. Sarah treated me like dirt, thinking I was born to serve. I never complained – I just prepared a surprise for them. But when their daughter was admitted to Harvard, they opened the surprise and went crazy.

I suffered from a skin condition. I scratched myself in the library, and millions of netizens spammed my private inbox. Only then did I find out that a girl accused me of harassing her. I took out my diagnostic report to defend my innocence, but the girl cried pitifully. “You really know how to make an excuse for yourself! How could someone innocent like me frame you?” Even my elder brother spoke up for her! “Why would she frame you of all people? Can’t you take a look at yourself?” I could not bear the cyberbullying, and I died from a sudden heart attack the day before the court hearing. My grandfather could not accept my death, and he collapsed into a coma. My parents cut off ties with my brother before they committed suicide at home. Meanwhile, the girl did not just successfully make her way into graduate school, but she also dug open my grave and used my ashes to make fireworks. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day when she had asked me to reserve a seat in the library.