Melodramatic の短編小説 & Bias Awakening 小説

The year my younger brother, Casey Sullivan, is diagnosed with a heart disease, the doctor says he won't live past 25 years old. From then on, everyone keeps repeating the same thing. "Casey doesn't have much time left." Wanda Locke, my childhood friend, throws my birthday cake into the trash. "Casey doesn't have much time left. He can't eat anything sweet, so just let him have this." Gia Sullivan, my older sister, tears up my acceptance letter to the boxing program at the sports university. "Casey doesn't have much time left. He can't box, and watching you practice would upset him. So just let him have this." My fiancée, Hazel Grant, postpones our wedding three times. "Casey doesn't have much time left. He'll never get the chance to marry. Just let him have this." I ask them, "Just because Casey doesn't have long to live, does that mean I don't deserve to live either?" Mom hears this and immediately goes on a hunger strike. She lies down in the hospital bed next to Casey's. "If I can't even make this sacrifice for Casey, then I'll die with him." On the third day, I stand outside the hospital room and swear never to bring up the wedding again. Later, Casey wants to experience being in love. Mom says, "Casey doesn't have much time left. He's never been in a relationship, so let him have Hazel for a few years." I walk out of the hospital room. "Casey doesn't have much time left, but I want to live a little longer. That's why I'm leaving."

I ignored my friends and family’s objections and insisted on pursuing my now-girlfriend, who was disfigured in a car crash when she tried to save her first love. Some laughed at me for being a back-up plan, but I didn’t care. I worked day and night, earning money for her plastic surgery, and stayed by her side as she walked out of depression. But on the eve of our wedding day, as I was doing her laundry, a marriage certificate dropped out of her pants pocket. The groom was her first love. I was about to make things clear with her when I overheard her conversation with her best friend. “I know Steve saved me, but if Yves doesn’t marry me, he’ll be forced into a marriage alliance. I don’t want to see him lose his freedom. “As for Steve, I’ll find someone to forge a certificate for me. Don’t blurt this out, okay…” I felt my blood then grow cold as I quietly changed the groom of our wedding three days later to her first love. By the time she found out about the surprise, I would have left for abroad, never to return.

On the high platform, Garrett Logan suddenly unclipped the safety harness at my back. Before I could even react, he shoved me off. I slammed hard onto the crash pad below, pain ripping through my entire body. By the time the staff pulled me back up, his childhood friend, Sienna Yates, was doubled over with laughter, holding up her phone. On her screen, the clip of me falling kept replaying on a loop. “Garrett, did you see her face just now?” The moment Sienna laughed, Garrett visibly relaxed. Sienna was autistic, and for some reason, nothing made her laugh like watching me humiliate myself. So during the ten years I dated Garrett, scenes like this happened over and over again. When I lost my job, Garrett hung up a banner and celebrated with her. When I was hospitalized after a car accident, he stood outside my room with her and watched me like I was entertainment. Every year on her birthday, he made me dress up like a clown just to make her smile. He knew perfectly well that without a safety harness, I could have died. But if it meant making Sienna happy, Garrett would push me without a second thought. Blood ran from the gash on my forehead, blurring my vision. As I kept wiping it away, one thought rose with startling clarity: Maybe I was finally done holding on to a ten-year mistake.

On the third meeting with his girlfriend’s parents, Sebastian Haynes, received another text from his childhood friend, Kylie Miller. “I’m sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Tucker. Something came up. I gotta leave now.” Melanie Tucker reached out and grabbed his arm, whispering, “Do you really have to leave right now? My parents spent so much time on dinner. At least eat something before you go.” He placed his phone in front of her. Kylie’s message was a short “It’s getting foggy.” “This is our code,” he said, his tone dead serious, as if Kylie would die if he didn’t show up at once. “Kylie struggles with severe depression. Whenever she’s on the edge, she sends this to me. I promised her that once she sends this line, no matter what I’m doing, I’ll drop everything and go to her. No exceptions.” “Can’t you go after dinner?” Melanie pleaded. “It’ll take two hours at most.” “Melanie, Kylie doesn’t send the code out of whim. It means she’s at her breaking point. I won’t be able to live with the regret if anything happens. I’m sorry.” He looked toward her parents. “Mr. and Mrs. Tucker, I’m so sorry, but I have to go. I’ll make it up to you another day.” He walked out without looking back even once. The front door slammed shut with a heavy bang, startling her parents. “Did something happen? Sebastian left in such a rush.” Melanie forced a faint smile as she stared at the untouched roast beef and dinner spread on the table. Over five years, Kylie had sent Sebastian that same “It’s getting foggy” message hundreds of times. Whenever they were out on movie dates and he got her text, he would leave halfway through. On New Year’s Eve, just as they were waiting for the firework show, he had abandoned her for Kylie’s sake. One time when Melanie was burning with a 104-degree fever, he had left her lying limply in bed and bolted into the night to find Kylie.

After Yvonne Preston's childhood sweetheart, Oliver Emerson, hits someone while drunk driving, she gets on her knees and begs me to take the fall for him. "Ollie's father saved my life. Can't you endure this for my sake? Once you get out, we'll get married." I nod with tears in my eyes, only to discover after entering prison that my two-month sentence has been turned into six years. I attempt to retract my statement, but all I get in return is a brutal beating. "We've been told to keep a close eye on you. Who the hell do you think you are? You should take a good look at yourself before you start thinking you have a chance with Ms. Preston!" I'm beaten until my eyes are red and swollen, and the last thing I see before I lose consciousness is Yvonne holding Oliver's hand on television as they announce their engagement. My heart turns to stone, and after six agonizing years that feel like an eternity, I'm finally released from prison. However, as I quietly board the train with my luggage, Yvonne's assistant, Juliette Parker, appears in front of me. "Ms. Preston wishes to see you, Mr. Clark," she says respectfully.

Everyone says Zachary Suffold is hopelessly in love with Madison Fulmer. He's stayed by her side at her poorest, working three jobs a day to support her so she can focus on playing the piano. He's drunk himself into the hospital with a bleeding stomach just to secure performance opportunities for her. Over the last three years, he has poured his heart and soul into turning her into a renowned pianist. He's especially protective of her hands, the very hands she uses to play the piano. Once, a rival deliberately threw boiling water at Madison's hands. Without a second thought, Zachary threw himself in front of her, using his own body to shield her from the scalding water. Madison walked away unharmed, but Zachary suffered third-degree burns. Even now, an ugly scar remains on his arm. Later, someone from the orchestra asks Madison, "When do you plan to marry Zachary?" She merely frowns in displeasure. "When did I ever say I'd marry him? He's not even my boyfriend. He's just a loyal little simp who does whatever I tell him. He's not good enough to marry me." Little does Madison know, she's not good enough for him, either. After all, she's nothing but a stand-in.

On Valentine's Day, Callista Vance and I were supposed to meet up. However, she never showed up. I waited all day until nightfall and tried calling her, but she never answered. Then, her childhood friend uploaded a new post. In the photo, Callista leaned against his shoulder, looking coy, while the matching rings on their ring fingers gleamed conspicuously. His caption read, "I finally gave Callista the ring I'd promised her as a child. A childhood dream fulfilled." I didn't call to confront her. I simply liked the post and commented, "Hope you two last forever." But as I was leaving, Callista clung to me, her eyes red. "You're the only person I'd marry."

On the night of the Imperial Winter Festival, the fake princess personally lit the Grand Lantern. But as the lantern lit up, an image appeared on its shade, revealing a horrifying scene of me, the real princess, being thrown into a beggar's den and violated by one man after another. The noblewomen blushed with embarrassment and called me depraved by nature. They said anyone who had suffered such a fate should have taken her own life long ago, yet I'd shamelessly continued to live. Some even claimed I was worse than a prostitute behind closed doors, saying countless men had used and ruined me. My brother, the king, kept his eyes fixed on me and ordered his secret guards to watch me in case I tried to hurt Francesca. But the arrogant, spoiled princess I once was had long since disappeared. Faced with their humiliation, I smiled at the noblewomen attending the banquet. "You're right. Someone like me deserves to die." When she realized I wouldn't take the bait, Francesca deliberately dropped and shattered a treasured keepsake left behind by our late mother, then pretended to accidentally step on my dress and tear it. Even with everyone staring at me, I remained as numb and submissive as ever. My brother thought Francesca had gone a little too far. Nevertheless, he gave me an approving look. "Leah, after five years of studying at the Abbey of St. Faith, you've finally learned to be gracious and tolerant of others." His words struck me as laughable. What grace? I'd simply given up on the brother who had humiliated me time and time again.

Everyone in Brontville knew that Noah Wilder only lived for Ana Avery. In kindergarten, he once shielded her from being pierced by the sharp tip of a pencil. When they were teenagers, he would climb a tree to catch the cicadas whose constant buzzing disturbed her afternoon naps. After they grew up, she once casually mentioned how much she loved spring. He bought properties in a dozen cities around the world known for their springtime beauty, just so he could take her on a spontaneous spring getaway whenever she wanted. Other than the period when he suffered from amnesia, Noah had been devoted to Ana for nearly all his life. After their marriage, Ana was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS, a neurodegenerative condition. When everyone urged Noah to get a divorce, he remained devoted to her. Even when she had lost all sensation, he hoisted her on his back and took a pilgrimage up a mountain to an ancient church. Upon his arrival, he took her hand and helped her engrave a Bible verse onto a pendant. He hoped and prayed that she would survive despite the adversity. Alas, she was pronounced dead on a particularly chilly winter day. Noah sat motionless next to the bed with Ana’s body cradled in his arms. He pressed his forehead against her cheek and whispered something that was wholly unexpected, given everything he had done. "Ana, I’ve fulfilled my duty and repaid everything I owe you in this lifetime. If there’s a next life, I hope you’ll grant me the chance to be with her."

In the five years of their marriage, Kimberly bore a son for Daniel, believing their life together would last. Then Siena returned to the country. Kimberly finally realized she was nothing but an outsider the whole time. Daniel repeatedly chose Siena over her, and even her son grew attached to Siena. Fortunately, their marriage was just a contract, and in seven days, she would be free to leave.

My mom kindly took in the daughter of her deceased friend. Unexpectedly, the girl smoked, drank, fought, and refused to improve. She even fell madly in love with the school bully and jumped into a river to prove her love for him. My mom tried to save her, but the girl pushed her head underwater. The girl was rescued and embraced by the bully, but my mom drowned. Reborn, I stopped my mom from jumping in, but she shoved me into the river, shouting, "Why isn't it you jumping in?"

Ten years after being reunited with my birth family, the Lancasters, I still reign as the family's undisputed attention magnet. When Dad forgets to take his medication, I put on a pair of sunglasses, barge into the conference room, and take away his coffee. "Mr. Lancaster, you're suspected of abusing your stomach. Please come with me." He scowls as he takes his medication, while the other shareholders fight hard to contain their laughter. When Mom has insomnia and can't sleep, I put on a white bedsheet and drift into the room. "Your application for an early death has been rejected as your daughter objected to it." She scolds me for saying such cursed things, yet tears stream down her face from her laughter. When my older brother, Thomas Lancaster, sprains his ankle during a sports match but refuses to go to the school doctor, I latch onto his leg and wail loudly, "Oh, Mr. Campus Hunk, I'm a loyal fan of yours!" The school doctor learns of the injury and rushes over, so Thomas receives treatment for his ankle. I, on the other hand, become known as the girl who tried to latch onto the campus heartthrob. They are always complaining about how noisy and humiliating I am, about how I'm not as quiet and considerate as their fake daughter, Janet Lancaster. Yet, every time something goes wrong, they always turn to me first. One day, during the school's anniversary celebration, Thomas is backstage when he suffers from a panic attack. I put on a mascot costume and rush onto the stage, turning the gala into a farce. This draws everyone's attention to me, allowing Thomas to be quietly escorted away. But because of that, Janet's piano solo fails to make it onto the trending list. With red-rimmed eyes, she asks me, "Mel, do you really like to steal the spotlight from me that much?" Mom rips my mascot costume right there in public, while Dad forces me to give up my arts student recommendation slot. I look at Thomas, who ducks his head and remains silent. He doesn't speak up for me. As it turns out, even the very person I tried to protect at the risk of my own reputation thinks that I'm embarrassing. Pulling off the red clown nose, I hand Janet the recommendation form. "Fine, here you go. From now on, don't drag me into your family's celebrations or troubles."

I slit my palm and fed Irene Arlington my blood to keep her alive when we were trapped in a blizzard. The tissue in my legs had died from hypothermia. I had been in a vegetative state for five years. When I woke up, I heard a conversation between her and the doctor. “Mrs. Bradshaw, your husband’s condition is stable right now. There’s a good chance he’ll wake up. Are you sure you want to go through with euthanasia?” She spoke calmly, like she had already made up her mind. “Money isn’t the issue. I’ve already poured five years into him. I just can’t do this anymore. “With the way he is now, he’d be better off dead.” Those words hit me like a ton of bricks. Irene used to cry and beg me to stay alive. Five years had worn her down, and the woman I once knew was no longer the same.

Inside a banquet hall packed with high-profile guests, everyone is congratulating Benjamin Foster on becoming the male lead in a famous director's film despite having only recently entered the industry. Benedict Foster, who should have been the leading man, stands dejectedly in a corner of the terrace. At that moment, he makes up his mind. "System, I want to return to my original world." The system is shocked. [What? Your target, Mikaela Jepsen, has reached 99% in her affection level toward you. Once it reaches 100, you'll complete the mission and have your wish granted. You're only one point away. Don't you want to try a little harder?] Benedict shakes his head bitterly. "There's no need. I just want to go home." To persuade the director to replace Benedict with Benjamin as the male lead, Mikaela is willing to invest ten times the original amount. Now, she stays by Benjamin's side at every moment and stares at him with eyes full of affection. Some things are just not meant to be, no matter how much effort one puts in. That final point is something he can never earn, no matter what he does. The system sighs and laments, [What a shame. You're just one point away from changing your fate... Your application has been submitted. You'll be able to leave this world in a month. Think it over in the meantime. You can change your mind at any time.] "Okay. Thank you."

It had been five years since I started dating Ross Jenner. His family invited my mother and me to their family home in Fellaton to discuss our wedding plans and to spend Valentine's Day together. It was past 10:00 PM when my mother and I landed, but Ross wasn't there to pick us up because his college junior, Laurel Elledge, had just arrived in Fellaton. He told me to figure out a way to get a cab to the house myself. In a strange place, unfamiliar with the area, it wasn't long before we found ourselves in danger. Just over ten minutes outside the airport, we were robbed. My mother was injured while trying to protect me, and she collapsed, bleeding heavily. Desperate, I held onto her, frantically trying to call Ross. Each call was abruptly cut off, and when I finally reached him, he sounded irritated. "Jennifer, you're an adult, so stop acting like a child. You couldn't even hail a cab on the street? Laurel just got to Fellaton and isn't feeling well. I need to take care of her." Without waiting for a response, he hung up. I tried calling again, only to find that I had been blocked. In the end, my mother's injuries were too severe, and she bled out before the doctors could save her. As I stared at her lifeless body, tears flowed uncontrollably. When I finally checked my phone again, the first thing I saw was a picture Ross had posted on Twitter. In the photo, he was kissing Laurel and holding a bouquet of roses. [Spending Valentine's Day with the one I love most.] I quietly threw the gifts I had brought from home into the trash. Then, I left a comment, which said, [Wishing you both a lifetime of happiness.]

It all started because my daughter, Joy Harrell, threw a tantrum wanting to go to the amusement park. On the way there, we got into an accident that left my wealthy husband, Brian Harrell, paralyzed in both legs, unable to ever stand again. As punishment, he slashes our daily allowance to a mere ten cents, and Joy and I are forced to survive by scavenging through trash and even fighting wild dogs for food. One day, dizzy with hunger, Joy eats some cookie crumbs that the family doctor, Aurora Bradley, drops on the floor. She does so out of sheer hunger and desperation. However, Brian immediately berates her for "stealing" and forces her to kneel outside in the pouring rain for ten hours before being allowed back inside the villa. Furious, I go to confront him, but instead I see his crippled legs standing tall, holding hands with Aurora as they waltz to the music. Brian's friend looks out the window and feels sorry for us, saying, "Look, Brian, your daughter's tantrum might have caused you to miss your last chance to see your first love ever again, but don't you think that you've already punished her and your wife long enough for that? "You even hired a stand-in to pose as a doctor in the house. Surely your anger has cooled off by now, right?" Brian scoffs and replies coldly, "They were thoughtless enough to ruin the seven-year pact I had with Dorothy. This punishment is nothing—in fact, it's way too light for them. "Don't you ever bring this up again. Only two more years of their punishment remain. Once it's over, I'll make it up to them properly." However, Brian doesn't know that I've been saving all of the good food I can ever get for Joy, and thus, I've developed terminal stomach cancer. In other words, I will never live to see the future. But I will also never let Joy stay by his side to suffer any longer.

My girlfriend, Esther Cahill, and my best friend, Lionel Fox, are both ESTPs. They send each other thousands of messages every day, but the second I say something, they both go completely silent. "Gabriel, it's not that we don't want to reply. You just wouldn't get what we're talking about." I have always assumed that I'm just too quiet and that I don't really fit in with them. One day, I get hit by a car outside the school and end up bleeding badly. The driver speeds away, and I call Esther ten times, but she doesn't answer. I enter the three-person group chat, only to find that she's having the time of her life chatting with Lionel. The messages keep coming in so fast that I can barely keep up.

After six years together, Isabella McCarthy proposed to Gabriel Hart six times. He accepted all six. But when she proposed for the seventh time, he didn't immediately offer his hand. She looked up at him with sincere eyes, wisps of black hair falling across her forehead as the lights gilded the fine contours of her face. Gabriel looked at her and suddenly gave a sardonic smile. "Does this proposal actually count?"

We're playing "Never Have I Ever" at a bachelor party when my girlfriend, Veronica Smith, draws a card that reads, "I have never betrayed my best friend." The moment her words fall, the room freezes as if someone hit pause. Everyone looks at me at the same time. Three seconds later, they wordlessly pick up the drinks in front of them and down them in unison. I am the sole winner of this round, which means I get to ask the losers a truth question or give them a dare. Hence, without hesitation, I ask, "How did you betray your friend?" To my surprise, everyone remains dead silent. My close friend, Ian Lachlan, is about to take his punishment shot when Veronica, who has been silent for a long time, holds his hand down and looks at me. "Don't make things difficult for them. I'll tell you. The truth is, I've been with Ian for five years. I'm pregnant, and I can't let our unborn child be illegitimate." In an instant, tears well up in his eyes, and he can't even bring himself to look at me. Bridget Rochelle, my cousin, also comes clean. "To be honest, we've known all along. Ian and Veronica tied the knot in their hometown last year, and we all attended their wedding. Your adoptive parents accepted it too. They just asked us not to tell you for the time being." At that moment, the party lights hit my eyes, and everyone's faces blur. Their confessions echo in my ears, one after another. Turns out, for seven years, I've been living a lie.

Everyone said I was the most generous man alive. When my CEO wife brought her brother-in-law and his son through the door, he stood there with bloodshot eyes. "Emmett's mother is gone. Could I borrow Colette for a few days to be his mom? He cries every night. It's breaking my heart." Without a word, I went to the bedroom and packed Colette Harmon's things for her. "We're family. You don't have to ask." At my son's birthday party, Emmett Pryce wanted to go to the amusement park and told everyone he did not want to share his new mom. My son immediately turned to the guests and apologized, saying, "Ms. Harmon has an urgent matter to attend to. We'll have to wrap up today's party here. Thank you all for coming." Everyone praised us, father and son, for being so gracious about it. Only I knew what had really happened. My son and I had been reborn. In our previous life, Colette had favored her widowed brother-in-law, Stefan Pryce, just the same. I had swallowed every last bit of it. When my patience finally ran out, I forced the divorce. Not long after, my son developed a heart condition and needed an artificial heart. The medical bills were staggering, so I had nowhere else to turn but Colette. However, she laughed in my face and threw me out into the blizzard. "You'll never be half the man Stefan is. Give it up." My son's heart stopped in my arms. Now that we had been reborn, I willingly let these things slide. All I wanted was for my son to live.