Best Friend Familial Bond Short Stories & Novels

I was diagnosed with cancer. After much deliberation, I called my husband. He fell silent for a long while. “Most of our mortgage is unpaid, and our children need money for school. You should go for conservative treatment.” I called my mother while weeping. “You’re so troublesome. None of my friends or family have cancer!” I stopped crying and started living for myself. God favored me and let me see reality early in my life. He even gave me a chance to start over.

In my past life, my mate Marcus ran off to the forest to make love with my best friend Scarlett, who was eight-month pregnant. That’s when they'd be surrounded by a pack of rogue wolves. Scarlett, heavy with child, started bleeding heavily. Both of them desperately called for the Border Guard. As the Chief Warrior, I had risked everything to fight those rogue wolves. But Scarlett still died along with her unborn pup. My mate Marcus led others to accuse me of using my position for personal revenge. He personally severed both my hands with a silver blade. "A warrior without morals like you deserves to burn in hell!" he snarled. But I remembered clearly—when I drove off the rogues and got the pack healer to Scarlett, she barely had a scratch on her. Finally, Scarlett's parents arrived. I begged them to examine her body and investigate the truth. Instead, they reported to Alpha that I had neglected my duties. They claimed I was high on wolfsbane while guarding the border. Alpha exiled me for fifteen years. With both hands severed, I had no way to fight or shift properly. I survived by begging scraps from neighboring territories. Fifteen years later, I returned to the pack. I saw my mate Marcus walked through the airport's first-class terminal with Scarlett and their son. They were using my inheritance to fund their luxury vacation to the Maldives. They spotted me. Without hesitation, they pushed me into a silver pit to destroy all evidence. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day Scarlett faked her death. This time, I took one look at the scene and declared them beyond saving. I told my assistant to send them to bury them directly.

When my younger sister gave me a blessed pendant, I immediately hung it around the neck of a pregnant sow. In my past life, my sister and I got pregnant at the same time, and she bought an expensive blessed pendant from Tenezia to ensure my baby and I would be safe and sound. I was touched, and I wore the pendant every day. Months later, my sister and I went into labor at the same time. I gave birth to a deformed, dead fetus, while my sister gave birth to a healthy, chubby baby boy. My in-laws thought I had cursed my son to death and would also end up bringing misfortune to their family, so they drugged me and sold me to Tenezia. I was turned into a freak show and placed inside a vase to become a public spectacle for all who came to see me. It was only after my death that I found out it had all been my sister's doing. She had known from the start that there was something wrong with her baby, which was why she got me the blessed pendant to exchange the fates of our babies. When I opened my eyes again, I smiled as I stared at the round belly of the sow…

My classmate Bianca and I have the same taste. She wants every man I’ve ever dated. She says I’m too naive. That I don't see how powerful men think. She calls it “testing” them for me. She says she’s helping. Then she sleeps with my boyfriend. Then she rubs it in my face. “See? I told you that you can’t handle them. These men are sharks. If it wasn’t for me, you’d have been eaten alive by now.” I choked on my rage. I said nothing. This time, I went behind her back. I went after the king of New York's underworld. When she found out, she made her move. But she has no idea. This man isn't my endgame. He's the trap I set for her.

On the day we take our graduation photos, Mom and Dad hold up their cameras, snapping countless pictures of my boyfriend and my best friend. In the viewfinder, the two of them lean in close while my parents watch on with proud, beaming smiles, despite my being their biological daughter and the girl Gavin has been dating for the last four years. I stand off in the corner, clad in my cap and gown, waiting for what feels like an eternity, but Mom never once beckons me over to join them. Once Charlotte finishes her photoshoot, she mentions that she still hasn't lined up a decent job yet. Gavin completely forgets I'm even there and instantly leans in to comfort her. "Why don't you come work at the company I just joined? That way, I can look out for you." Dad nods right along in agreement. "Send me a copy of your resume, Lottie. I'll ask around for you. You shouldn't have to settle, especially when it's your first real job." Nolan walks over carrying a bottle of ice water, but he passes it to Charlotte. "Don't sweat the job hunt, Lottie," he says. "My company's hiring. I'll get you an internal referral." It's only when they catch sight of my hand freezing midair that everyone finally remembers that I'm standing right next to them. "Natalie, you should just find a random job and get on with it," Nolan says. Mom chimes in, "Exactly. You didn't major in anything special, so you should be grateful if a company even wants you. Stop being so picky." As Gavin scrolls through the gallery on his phone, his brow suddenly furrows into a frown. "Natalie's blocking Lottie in this one. I'm deleting it." But out of nearly 400 pictures, that's the only one where I exist. I stand off to the side, my hands tightening into fists. It turns out it isn't a matter of them failing to see me. They see me perfectly fine. They just think I'm a nuisance. It's as if Charlotte is their actual daughter, and my boyfriend belongs right by her side. If that's how it's going to be, then I'm taking the job farthest away from home, and I'm never coming back.

My best friend, Mia Sullivan, called me in tears. She told me that a creep had been stalking her and that she was too scared to stay in her apartment alone. In my past life, I felt sorry for her, so I agreed to let her stay at my house. Two weeks later, Mia uploaded a video online in which she accused my dad of having assaulted her. She cried her eyes out. The video instantly sparked outrage online. My dad’s reputation was ruined. He fell into depression and eventually jumped to his death. Even then, Mia kept demanding compensation from my family. She took everything we had until we went bankrupt. I had nothing left to live for, but she only looked at me with a mocking smile. “Charlotte, thank you for giving me the chance to gain both fame and fortune.” I returned to the past on the day Mia called me in tears. “Charlotte, please help me. There’s a man who keeps following me. My apartment isn’t safe anymore. I’m scared…” I forced down the joy that surged through me. “Sure. Come stay at my house.”

My best friend and I. A witch and a Fae from Whisperwood. I have the blood of a Seer. My three rune bones can see a kingdom's rise and fall. She's a gold-touched Fae. Born to attract wealth. One roll of the dice in a goblin casino, and she'd empty their vault. When we were eighteen, we found a disgraced Grand Duke in the capital's slums. His stepmother had thrown him out. We saved him. She amassed his gold. I spun his fate. We helped him claw his way back to the capital. He took back his land. His scepter. The first thing he did? He asked my best friend to marry him. They had a son. A gifted heir. I grew tired of the noble squabbles. I went back to my hidden cottage in the woods. Ten years later, a little princess. Blessed by the Moon Goddess. Finally born in the Duke's castle. He was ecstatic. Flew his griffin over the mountains that night. Begged me to come bless his daughter. Of course, I agreed. I stood over the cradle. Drew a sacred blessing rune on the baby's forehead. Before I left, I had a sudden urge. I tossed my three rune bones. A quick look into my friend's future. But they hit the floor and turned to dust. Black magic choked the air. An omen of death. Her soul was gone. Ice flooded my veins. If my best friend was already dead...then who was the Duchess, smiling at me from her velvet chaise?

My best friend, Eleanor Fitzroy, and I both transmigrated into an era of turmoil, where we happen to become students of a legendary seer. I am born with an uncanny gift for divination. With nothing more than three coins, I can read the signs of fate and predict what is yet to come. Eleanor, meanwhile, possesses an extraordinary mind for strategy. She can decipher the most complex military tactics and, with a single formation of her own design, turn the tide against thousands of soldiers. After leaving Ravenvale, our mentor's secluded valley, we join forces to support the disgraced Seventh Prince, Alexander Wyndham, and help him rise to the throne. Alexander soon falls deeply in love with Eleanor. He marries her in a lavish royal wedding, making her the queen of the realm. 15 years into their marriage, they are still as devoted to each other as ever. They have eight sons together. Then, last night, the palace receives joyous news—the empire of Arden has welcomed its first princess since its founding. Overjoyed, Alexander rides through the night with his eight sons and arrives at the gates of Ravenvale, begging me to come out of seclusion and divine Matilda Wyndham's fate. Of course, I agree. I hurry to the royal palace that very night. I place a dab of vermilion on Matilda's forehead and bestow a blessing of peace and safety upon her. With my task complete, I prepare to leave. But on a whim, I toss my coins one more time, intending to divine Eleanor's fate and see what the rest of her life holds in store. The moment the coins hit the ground, however, the signs turn ominous. The reading reveals chaos, death, and a fate that has been sealed long ago. My blood runs cold. If Eleanor has already been dead for some time, then who is the woman lying on the queen's bed, smiling at me so warmly?