Synopsis
Two worlds. One heart. Twelve hours.
Bianca Maria Curtis is at the brink of losing it all when she meets Eric at a bar in Manhattan. Eric, as it turns out, is the famous Korean drama celebrity Park Hyun Min, and he’s in town for one night to escape the pressures of fame. From walking along Fifth Avenue to eating ice cream at Serendipity to sharing tender moments on top of the Empire State building, sparks fly as Bianca and Eric spend twelve magical hours far away from their respective lives. In that time, they talk about the big stuff: love, life, and happiness, and the freedom they both seek to fully exist and not merely survive.
But real life is more than just a few exhilarating stolen moments in time.
As the clock strikes the twelfth hour, Bianca returns back to the life she detests to face a tragedy that will test her strength and resolve—and the only thing she has to keep going is the memory of a man she loves in secret from a world away.
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Excerpt
It’s 5:55 p.m.
I’m losing it. God, I’m losing it.
“F* it! I mean they didn’t even wait a few days, even a few hours, to tell me that my presentation sucks. They spit it out right in the middle of it.” I whine vehemently as I say this. I simply do not have the capacity to calm down right this minute because the stakes are too high.
The demand letter from the bank is like a ticking time bomb inside the purse that hangs tauntingly under the bar, proving me powerless. “We demand that you send us the four months of missed mortgage payments within thirty days or you will need to vacate the property fifteen days after the grace period indicated above.” My heart tightens. I have $427 to my name and maxed out credit cards that are all in default. My beat-up car, parked somewhere in Jersey City, looks like my next housing option if I don’t get this all figured out. Homelessness is real, and it can happen to anyone. I’m on the brink of it.
About the Author
Maan Gabriel is a mom, wife, dreamer, writer, and advocate for women’s stories in literature. She earned her BA in communications from St. Scholastica’s College in Manila and MPS in public relations and corporate communications from Georgetown University. She has lived in Manila, Brussels, Dakar, and Mexico City. During the day, she works in strategic communications. Gabriel and her husband and son currently call suburban Washington, DC home.
