Bittersweet Short Stories & Bias Face Slapping Novels

Nathan Brooks had been tangled up with his secretary for far too long. All I did was ask one simple question. “Has Chloe Bennett resigned yet?” That was enough to make him hurl the glass in his hand at me. “You jealous, bitter woman,” he snapped. “Because of your jealousy, you drove Chloe away. “I told you I’m not divorcing you, Emily. Isn’t that enough for you?” I said nothing. I only looked down at the cut on my arm, where the shattered glass had sliced through my skin, then quietly bent down and picked up the broken pieces. What Nathan didn’t know was that I had already drawn up the divorce papers.

When my father's business collapsed, he racked up an astronomical debt to the Andor family. And when they finally came knocking, he did what no loving parent should ever do—he collateralized me, his only daughter, handing me over to Cassian before vanishing off the face of the earth. For ten long years, I stayed by Cassian Andor's side. He treated me with a tenderness so indulgent it bordered on worship. There was nothing I asked for that he would not give; there was no whim of mine he would not entertain. Everyone in our world knew me as his princess. I grew up believing with certainty that once I came of age, he would sweep me into his arms, march me down the aisle, and make me his wife. But reality—cold, brutal, and as dazzlingly cruel as the world we lived in—had other plans. Instead of the ring I had dreamed of, Cassian gifted a breathtaking pink diamond—the very symbol of eternal devotion—to his assistant, Heidi Torres. As if that wasn't betrayal enough, he threw a lavish celebration in her honor, a veritable explosion of flowers. He knew I was deathly allergic to pollen. Yet he still left me stranded there, drowning in a sea of blossoms. Eventually, I collapsed in a violent asthma attack, gasping and clawing for air, teetering on the edge of consciousness. And Cassian? He merely tightened his hold around Heidi in his arms and cast me a cold glance. "Your allergies have been fine for ages," he said with a sneer. "Why the sudden drama today? Don't tell me you're faking it." At that moment, as I lay there humiliated and struggling to breathe, I realized there were exactly seven days left until my twentieth birthday since when I could register a marriage.

On the third day of Grant’s silent treatment, my husband—and the CEO of our company—approved a real estate deal proposed by his assistant, Vanessa. It was guaranteed to lose money. He expected me to storm into his office and force him to withdraw his approval. I didn’t. A week later, he came back from a business trip. When he saw that I hadn’t argued or caused a scene, he looked at me with approval for the first time in months. Then he gave my position to Vanessa. He expected that to finally make me snap. It didn’t. I organized every project file and placed them neatly on Vanessa’s new desk. Then Grant erased my name from a proposal I had written and replaced it with hers, just so she could collect the bonus. I didn’t fight that either. Vanessa smiled smugly and told him, “See? I told you not to fight Evelyn head-on. Freeze her out long enough, and she’ll fold. She’s terrified of losing you. That’s why she’s finally behaving.” Grant believed every word. He even praised her for being clever. That night, he called me into his office and promised me a raise, my old position back, and the European honeymoon he had delayed for three years. It was the first kind thing he had offered me in a long time. He expected me to cry with happiness. I didn’t. Because seven days earlier, while rushing to approve Vanessa’s doomed real estate deal, Grant had signed the divorce agreement hidden in the stack without even reading it. He just didn’t know it yet.

I raised three wolf beastmen, and they never stopped wanting me in bed. I collapsed, too tired to even think. And through the fog, I caught pieces of what they were saying. "Tch. With that body and that stamina, she really thought she could handle all three of us." "Relax. Once she's worn out enough, she'll hand us over to her sister." "Her sister will treat us way better anyway." So I gave them exactly what they wanted. I swapped them for my sister's snake beastman—the one who seemed completely uninterested in sex. But strangely enough, they were now so upset that they were nearly in tears. "Carol, we're yours. Only yours!"

At the wedding door games, my best friend, Justin Winston, suggests that my fiancee, Tiffany Bastion, feel everyone's abs while blindfolded so that she can guess who the groom actually is. Amid everyone's cheers, Tiffany gives every groomsman a nice feel before shaking her head firmly. "This is too easy! If I can't even recognize my own husband, we might as well call off the wedding!" When Tiffany is about to touch me, Justin suddenly flashes me a mysterious smile. Then, he takes off his shirt and moves to stand in front of her. The next moment, Tiffany shrieks excitedly, "This is my husband! I can't be wrong about this!" Justin lets out a chortle. Then, he grabs Tiffany by the wrist and begins navigating her hand from his abs down to his groin. "Why don't you give this a good feel? Do you still think this is your husband?" Tiffany just smiles bashfully as she roams her hands all over Justin's body. As I look at the pair's overly intimate actions, I sneer at them before stuffing the wedding bouquet into Justin's hands. "Since you two are in sync with each other that much, you might as well host this wedding on your own."

On my 28th birthday, Carl Thorne asked me to meet him at the Moon Goddess statue. He specifically told me to wear a wedding dress and said he was finally going to keep his promise and mark me. But when I arrived in my wedding dress, its train trailing behind me, he turned to the crowd and laughed. "See? I don't even have to mark her. One word from me, and she'll come running. I win. The hunting grounds are mine." Then he raised an eyebrow at me. "Vera, I was only joking. The pack still sees you as their Luna, mark or no mark." When I remained silent, Carl grinned. "If you're so desperate to be marked, why not pick someone here?" The crowd burst out laughing. Everyone knew I was Carl's fated mate, that I was hopelessly in love with him and would never choose another. But when I took my new husband's hand and completed the marking ceremony, Carl went white and froze where he stood.

After my sister lost her husband, our family arranged a new marriage for her. This arrangement was meant to solidify the alliance with the Castellanov family. As it turned out, the chosen groom was Nicola. He was the twin brother of my husband, Matteo. On the night we learned the news, both Matteo and I could not sleep at all. Early the next morning, I heard Matteo call Nicola in the study room. “Nicola, I really don’t want to spend my whole life missing my chance with her. Please. Do this one thing for me. Don’t worry. Lina is clueless. She’ll never find out that you’re pretending to be me. “Elena never met you. Even if I pretend to be you for a few days, she won’t notice either. Please, let’s swap places for one week. Just one week. I just don’t want to live with any regrets.” He begged for a long time before Nicola finally agreed to switch identities with him. Matteo was relieved. I was relieved as well. What Matteo never knew was that I, too, had been hiding a secret of my own.

It was a full moon, and my mate, Alpha Ethan, bailed on our son's coming-of-age ceremony rehearsal. All because his Omega mistress, Scarlett, was in heat. Then, during the actual ceremony, our son Caleb was ambushed by a rival pack. By the time I heard the news, Caleb had been shot. He was dead, lying in a pool of his own blood. I knelt beside him, completely breaking down, when Ethan's voice, faking an apology, came through the mind link: "Sorry, Scarlett needs me. I'm sure Caleb can handle things. Just make sure Caleb gets some rest early, don't let him run around and mess up tomorrow's celebration." I looked at my son's broken body, my voice trembling, "He won't be running anywhere anymore." "Good," Ethan said, sounding pleased. "Scarlett's bloodline is purer. She's better suited to give the Stone Pack strong heirs. You should understand." I cut the link. After I committed my son's body to the flames, I found the secret ritual to break a mate bond and contacted a wolf I hadn't spoken to in a long, long time: "The protection wards on Stone Pack territory are down. You can make your move."

The night before my mating ceremony with Alpha Garrett Northwood of the Silverpine Pack, he held a grand Luna ceremony for my silver-poisoned stepsister behind my back. He held Serena close under the starlit sky, his smile tender in a way I'd never seen: "You're the only one I truly love, Serena." "Even though Maya and I are already registered as mates with the Alpha Council, she'll never have my heart. You're the only one I recognize as my Luna." The pack members cheered and blessed them as they completed the ceremony with joy. I watched it all without crying or screaming. Instead, I quietly scheduled an abortion appointment. I've loved Garrett Northwood for twelve years, ever since I first shifted as an adult. But his heart still only had room for my stepsister Serena. If that's how it was, I'd let go. Later, I joined the secluded Herbal Research Center of the Alpha Council. I left Garrett nothing but a mate bond dissolution agreement. But for some reason, Garrett—who had always treated me with disdain—suddenly went crazy begging me not to leave.

When I got up from Ted Wiley's bed, he lazily handed me my underwear. "I'm changing the door code, so don't come by unless it's urgent." I froze, blurting out, "Why?" He grinned. "She said yes to being my girlfriend yesterday. I can't have her spotting you here—she'd flip. It took me forever to win her over."

The day my family and the Fido family decided I should marry Callum Fido, I shocked everyone by rejecting the arrangement. Without hesitation, I instead chose Jaxon Fido, Callum’s uncle. Everyone was stunned. After all, everyone in Central City knew I, Moon Sawyer, had loved Callum more than I loved myself. When I was young and naive, I had declared I would marry no one but him. I followed him for ten years and lost who I was in the process. If he told me to go left, I would never dare turn right. If he told me to jump into the ocean, I would have done it without thinking. In my past life, I got to marry Callum, just like I always wanted. But on our wedding day, he shut the door in my face. He pressed the knife he had personally sharpened against my chest and said, “The one I love and want to marry has always been Ruby. The only way you’ll enter this house is as a dead body.” Ruby Sawyer was my sister. The Fido family had called him ungrateful and forced him to go through with the marriage. But after the wedding, he kept looking for women who looked like Ruby and flaunted his affection for them in front of everyone. He let every one of his mistresses insult me, belittle me, and walk all over me. When I was pregnant, I was pushed down the stairs, and both my baby and I died. With a second chance at life, I chose to stay away from him and let him be with Ruby. But I never expected that the day the Fido family agreed to my new engagement, Callum would completely lose his mind.

My fiancé, Dominic, heir to the Carvalho crime family, vanished for four days. I thought a rival family had put a bullet in his head. Then I saw his ex’s Instagram story. A shot of them in bed. The caption: He still knows every inch of me. His face was hidden, but his hand wasn't. And on it, the ring I gave him, resting on her skin. That night, Dominic came home. He brought me white roses, my favorite. I asked him why. Why he'd lie. Why he'd sleep with her. He brushed it off. Just a "misunderstanding." I was done. I threw the ring in his face. Burned the wedding dress. Told him we were over. He thought I was just throwing a fit. He didn't get it. Not until he realized I was walking away for good. Then he panicked. Begged me to come back.

I'm the heiress of the Corleone family, with three childhood sweethearts who used to adore me and watch over me like I was their whole world. Then Daisy Washington, the little maid, showed up—and suddenly I didn't exist anymore. But my father, the don, didn't know. So at the family victory gala, right in the middle of the toast, my father said, "Freya, tell me, who's the one? Point him out, and we'll get you engaged tonight. Right here, right now." The whole room went quiet. Every pair of eyes swung to my three so-called protectors: Nico Gibson, Arlo Mcdonald, and Rhett Owens. But they acted like they hadn't heard a thing. One was feeding Daisy from his fork. One was whispering something that made her giggle. And the third just watched her with that soft, doting look I used to get. The room went dead silent. My father's face stiffened. I quickly jumped in, "Dad, my boyfriend's overseas. I'll bring him to meet you when he's back." The three of them snorted, shooting me mocking looks. I knew they didn't believe me. They thought I was just saving face. But I actually did have a boyfriend.

On the eve of our wedding, I find out that the wedding invitations have Travis Somerson's and his assistant, Victoria Cademere's names printed on them instead of mine. I demand an answer from Victoria, who bursts into tears and tells me that she has accidentally mistyped the bride's name as hers. Travis calls me right away. "It's just a naming mistake, Harper! Must you make such a huge deal out of such a small mistake?" He even calls me a petty and jealous woman who can't even tolerate the presence of a female employee in his vicinity. Five minutes later, Victoria uploads another social media post. Apparently, not only has she uploaded a photo of the wedding invitation, but she also adds a couple photo of her and Travis being lovey-dovey. The caption reads, "Mr. Somerson told me that even if I screw up, he'll be there to help me settle everything." If a female employee were to provoke me in the past, I'd have forced Travis to fire the former. But this time, I no longer care about him anymore.

After my father passes away, my mother—now married into the wealthy Hawthorne family—brings me to live with them. Everyone laughs, saying I'm being groomed to become either of the Hawthorne brothers' bride. Even I start to believe it. But later, when I try to marry one of them, both reject me. The older brother says, "I'll need to marry for business one day. Why would I marry her?" The younger one scoffs. "She's older than me. Who'd want an old woman?" But the very next day, the two of them propose—together—to my assistant. I instantly become a joke. After that, I call my mother. "Mom, I'm willing to marry into the Grant family."

My boyfriend, Seth Ellington, suffers from amnesia, and he has forgotten everything about me. His memories are frozen in the year when he was still in love with his first love, Lillian Summerfield. The doctor tells me there's a chance he can recover, so I stay by his side and help him through his treatment. For three years, I take care of him as neither his wife nor a member of his family, becoming the laughingstock of the town. People even place bets on when I'll give up and when Seth'll regain his memories. It all comes to a head when I go to pick him up from the bar and accidentally overhear his conversation with one of his friends. "Seth, I have to say, that little amnesia act of yours is brilliant. You get to be with Ms. Summerfield without having to hide it, and you've still got Calliope, that housekeeper you can't get rid of, taking care of things at home. However, if you marry Ms. Summerfield, what are you going to do about Calliope?" Seth scoffs. "What am I going to do about her? Calliope… can't live without me. When the time comes, I'll tell her that I'm marrying Lily because it'll help me regain my memories. She'll definitely believe me. "Knowing her, she'll wait for me to get divorced. Hell, even if Lily and I have a child, she'd happily raise it for me!" My mind goes blank as I'm rooted to the spot. So, he doesn't have amnesia. He's been pretending all along. Maybe this is for the best. From now on, he's free, and so am I.

My fiancé, Lucas Hale, was known in our circle for his charity work. He looked after Ella, a student from a poor background, as if she were made of glass. When his first project bonus came in, he spent it on a limited-edition bracelet for Ella. The day we got the keys to the apartment we'd bought to live in after the wedding, he let her pick her room first. Even when I had appendicitis and was in so much pain I could barely stand, he sent me to the hospital alone in a cab because Ella had a slight headache and wanted company. When I woke up from the anesthesia, I'd finally had enough. I made him choose between Ella and me. He frowned as if he had no idea what I meant. "Freya, Ella grew up with no one. I just show her a little extra kindness. Do you have to keep score like this? "Look. I swear that from now on, I'll put you first in everything. All right?" I saw the promise in his eyes and swallowed my hurt one more time. But the whole wedding still reflected Ella's tastes, and he had the dress made in her size. At the wedding rehearsal, Lucas brought Ella to the venue. He smiled at me and said, "Ella says she may never get married. She wants to experience a full wedding ceremony just once. Let her stand in for you at the rehearsal. "You'll still be the bride on the day. Think of it as helping her live out a dream. Okay?"