Bias Regret の短編小説 & 小説

To save up for the down payment of our home, my boyfriend, Joseph Hackley, and I join the same high-paying company. In our very first month, we secure an order worth billions of dollars. I am thrilled as I go to share the good news with Joseph. Instead, I accidentally overhear him talking with his friend. "Are you sure everything will still go smoothly if we let Mabel go and sign that three-billion-dollar order?" Joseph replies, "Relax. I am the department manager. One word from me, and I can kick Stephanie out of the team. There's nothing she can say about it." His friend says, "Good. Then I will contact the client beforehand. Mable can officially become a full-time employee immediately and rank first in sales performance." My heart sinks to my stomach. Sure enough, on the day of the signing, the contract in the safe mysteriously disappears. When I rush into the conference room, I see Joseph holding Mable's hand as he introduces her. He says, "The true lead person behind this project is Mable. Without her, you would never have seen such a perfect proposal plan. Stephanie does not understand anything. I've already removed her from the team." Hearing his words, I snort in anger. Remove me from the team? Little does he know that the client is my father!

On the way to get our marriage certificate for the twentieth time, Rolf Trivett regretted it once again. In eight years, this was our twentieth attempt to get the certificate. But every time we reached City Hall, he would always say he needed time to care for his seriously ill childhood friend and couldn't promise to marry me. This time, I couldn't take it anymore and asked him, "If she’s never going to get better, does that mean you’ll never marry me? What am I to you?" Rolf immediately lost his temper and yelled at me, "I've already promised to take care of her for life. Can you stop being so selfish? "Besides, we've been together for eight years. What difference does it make if we don't get this certificate?"

Married in secret for five years, Yvonne Singer always thought I was just a washed-up nobody from a fallen family. What she didn't know was that I was the sole successor to Guzman Group, the world's largest venture capital firm. She tricked me into attending a cocktail party for the sake of her male best friend, Francis Yorke, and forced me to toast my sworn rival. Furious, I shattered the wineglass in my hand and snapped, "Yvonne, don't push me! Believe it or not, with a single word from me, your company can disappear from the stock market by tomorrow!" Panic flickered in her eyes. The next second, she threw herself into my arms. "Honey, I just needed your help. I didn't mean to hurt you." She then personally fed me a hangover pill and gently escorted me to a private room. When I woke up, I was hanging upside down from a drop tower. Francis slammed the switch. I was sent flying dozens of feet into the air, then plummeting straight down into the water. As my consciousness began to waver, I forced myself to make an emergency call. "Mr. Chance, contact global media outlets. Before nightfall, I want headlines showing them begging on the streets!"

I emptied my savings to buy the home where my boyfriend and I were supposed to start our married life. On the first day after the renovation was finished, his mother appeared at the door carrying two overstuffed duffel bags. "Marcus said half of this house belongs to him, so we decide to move in here." I stood in the living room I had paid to renovate, staring at the jars of homemade preserves inside his mother's bags and at his younger brother swaggering toward a bedroom with his suitcase. Marcus Caldwell only smiled. "Jules, my mom has a bad back. I'll have her stay in the primary bedroom. If you can't put up with this now, how are we supposed to build a life together?"

After the 99th time Selina Roal stands me up for our pre-wedding photo shoot, I spot her pre-wedding photos with her blind first love, Felix Lont, on the large screen of the shopping mall. Suddenly finding it all so pointless, I agree to marry Luna Sanderson, the daughter of the wealthiest man in the city. In her joy, she buys an eight-million-dollar pinky ring from an auction and gifts it to me. Just when I think that I've finally found a good woman to spend the rest of my life with, I overhear her conversation with her best friend. "I knew that you weren't actually sincere about marrying Calvin Yangley! When do you plan to take action?" Luna answers coldly, "On the day of our wedding, I'll stage a balloon explosion to injure him. Then, I'll personally head the operation to take his eyes and transfer them to Felix. "I won't get to grow old with Felix in this life, so the least I could do is give him a wedding present and wish him a happy, healthy life." As it turns out, her love and devotion to me are all so that she can take my eyes. Even the act of marrying me is to clear the way for Felix. Immediately after that, I called the wedding studio. "Hello, I would like to cancel the wedding that will be taking place in seven days."

After a fire broke out at the company, I shoved the only rescue rope into the hands of my husband, Peyton Shepherd. However, he yanked the smoke mask off my face and turned to secure it on his secretary, Hannah Russell, instead. Peyton escaped using the rescue rope, and Hannah remained unharmed thanks to the mask. I collapsed from inhaling toxic smoke, and then a falling pillar crashed into my stomach. Blood pooled beneath me. Just as the firefighters lifted me onto a stretcher, Peyton grabbed me and pulled me back down. "Serena, it's just a minor injury. Why are you lying on the stretcher? Let Hannah go to the hospital first. Her condition is serious, and she needs a comprehensive medical exam!" The firefighters and paramedics stared in shock. They looked at my blood-soaked dress, then Hannah crying pitifully over her blistered hand. My colleagues tried to intervene. "But Mr. Shepherd, Serena's injuries are clearly more severe!" Peyton snarled through gritted teeth. "Enough! I'm Serena's husband. Don't you think I know her condition? If Hannah's treatment gets delayed because of this, none of you will escape the consequences!" I pressed my hand against my slightly swollen lower abdomen and nodded, agreeing to let Hannah take the ambulance first. I decided that from this moment forward, neither I nor my unborn child owed Peyton anything.

The healer told me I might not survive childbirth. I was eight months pregnant with Damian’s pup, and the cancer in my body was spreading faster than anyone expected. I walked out of the healer’s room with the report shaking in my hand, hoping my mate would finally come to one checkup with me. Instead, I saw him kneeling in front of another pregnant she-wolf. Lydia. His childhood love. She touched her stomach and whispered, “Damian, if Selene finds out you came with me, she’ll be hurt. She’s about to give birth too.” Damian kissed her belly and said, “She won’t find out. I’ve hidden it this long.” Then he added, “The pup you’re carrying is mine too. If Selene makes trouble, I’ll break the bond.” The report slipped from my fingers. For months, I had believed his lies. I thought he was only busy as the strongest Alpha. I thought he loved me, even if he kept missing my checkups. But he had never been too busy. He had simply chosen her. That night, when I started bleeding, Damian carried Lydia away for a minor burn and left me on the floor with our unborn pup. So I called the only wolf who could help me. A witch. “Break the mate-bond between Damian and me,” I whispered. And before Damian realized what he had lost, I took my newborn pup and disappeared.

In the hunting ground, my mate, Liam Graham, abandons me while I am pregnant and severely injured from a beast attack. He rushes off carrying Beta Eva Monroe, who only has a scratch on her palm. I cry out for him to stay, but he says Eva needs medical attention more than I do. As blood pours between my legs, I anxiously swallow the prenatal pills Liam gave me. But in the next second, my child is gone forever. It turns out the pills are not meant to protect my baby but a slow-acting poison that kills it. At that moment, Eva proudly sends me a message. "Being his Beta means I get the Alpha's care anytime I want." Feeling my body grow weaker from the miscarriage, I glance one last time at the baby, who has become a pool of blood. At that moment, I want nothing more. At night, I reach out to my father through a mind link. "Dad, I agree to become the heir of the Howl of the Moon Pack."

I was the Romano family's sole heir. After my mother fell gravely ill, I took over her position at a young age. To train me and help me, she brought in Angelo Rizzo as my deputy. Every year on Family Day, I renewed his appointment with the family seal. Angelo helped me each time. So it went on for twelve years, and he treated me like his own sister. A year after my mother passed, Angelo decided to marry Layla Gallo. The Gallos heard he'd run the Romano business for twelve years and agreed at once. I was happy for him. I even gave him three properties as a wedding gift. The day after the wedding, Layla sold them. On the third day, she cut off my access to the family funds. On the fourth, she brought me a ledger. "Your food, clothes, and everything else over the years add up to a hundred and fifty million dollars." "Sign an IOU." "You can't keep leaning on Angelo forever." I stared at the IOU, dumbfounded. Wait. Did she really think twelve years of Angelo managing the accounts made the Romano family his? I was the one who renewed his appointment every year with the family seal. And here's the thing. Three days later, it was Family Day again. This year, I didn't feel like renewing it.

Naomi Henderson, my girlfriend, makes three wishes on her birthday night in front of the birthday cake I have baked for her. Her first wish is for Bryan to stay safe and well every day. Her second wish is for Bryan's project to win an award. Her third wish is for the cat she and Bryan raise together to grow up safe and healthy. Bryan Green is none other than my best friend. I stand by the table, still holding the candles I haven't lit yet, while everyone in the room laughs and joins in on the fun. Bryan turns to Naomi with a playful smile. "How come you didn't make a wish for Julian? He's your boyfriend, you know." Naomi smiles with absolute certainty. "Do I even have to guess what his wish is? He obviously wants to marry me." She takes out a men's ring from the bottom of the cake box a moment later. If this were before, I probably would have nodded along to everyone's cheers, but now I merely watch as she puts the ring on my ring finger. It is so loose that it can slide right off. It is two sizes too big, which fits Bryan perfectly. I chuckle softly. I have loved Naomi for seven years, but moving on from her only takes this split second.

After having a crush on someone for 10 years, out of love, my father drugged his friend and placed him on my bed. When he woke at dawn the next morning, his eyes were ice-cold. But he still accept our engagement. However, life after marriage wasn’t as good as I thought. Mike Ashton would frequently fly abroad and stay there for a long time. I gave birth to our daughter on my own as I waited for him to return home. After four years, when I heard that he was returning home, I postponed everything and went to the airport expectantly with our daughter in my arms. Our daughter reached out her little hand and was hoping for a hug from him. He just looked at me indifferently and said in a cold voice, “I’m sorry, but I’m a neat freak.” From then on, my daughter and I would wash our hands at least three times every day and the house would be spotless. However, he still rarely came home and never gave our daughter a warm hug. That was until when I accidentally saw a video with Mike in it. “Mike, what do you think is the happiest thing in the world?” He answered casually, “I think it’s when I tucked Oliver into bed and dragged Jennifer into the bathroom when I was abroad last week.” The people around him all laughed, but my heart felt ice-cold. Jennifer Bundred was Mike’s ex-girlfriend who he still had an entanglement with and Oliver was her son. It seemed that he had been living with them during the time that he was abroad for the past four years. This fact finally made me give up all illusions. I left a divorce agreement for him, gave up my and our daughter’s identities, and went abroad to start a new life.

Five years after my death, my husband, Lucas Grant, wanted me to take the blame for his lover in a drunk driving incident. He had barged into my house with forged evidence, but realized I was not inside. He had no other choice but to knock on my neighbor’s door. However, my neighbor told him, “Joan? She died a long time ago. “I heard that the family of that case was not happy with the verdict, so they abducted her the day she was released from prison. She was tortured for three days straight!” Lucas did not believe the neighbor. He was furious that I was creating a ridiculous lie just to escape. He yelled angrily at my neighbor. “Don’t think I’ll believe you! Joan must have paid you to lie to me! “Tell her that it’s no use hiding. If she doesn’t contact me in three days, I’ll no longer pay the alimony for that rascal!” However, he did not know that the person that his lover had killed in the drunk driving accident was the very rascal he was referring to.

The divorce battle between Adrian Mercer and Claire Bennett dragged on for an entire year, becoming the talk of their social circle. Over the course of that year, they went through three rounds of mediation and court proceedings. Everyone assumed Claire was deliberately dragging things out because she couldn't let go of their marriage. At the first mediation session, she demanded all the original design sketches, patents, and copyrights belonging to their jewelry brand, along with every custom jewelry boutique they'd established together. Adrian knew those designs were the lifeblood of the company. Still, he reluctantly agreed to give her half the stores and half the design copyrights. At the second hearing, Claire suddenly changed her demands. She refused to accept the luxurious riverfront home they'd shared and instead demanded an entire commercial office building worth a fortune that Adrian owned. Even her lawyer advised her that the demand was unreasonable. But he remained patient, promising to compensate her with other assets of equivalent value. During the third round of pretrial negotiations, Claire raised the stakes again. This time, she demanded that Adrian permanently withdraw from managing their jewelry brand and stay out of the jewelry design industry for the next ten years. Everyone thought she was making outrageous demands just to force him into giving in. Yet he refused to turn hostile. He merely explained that he needed time to sort out the company's ownership structure, remaining accommodating throughout the negotiations. At every stage, Adrian had given ground. No matter how unreasonable her demands became, he patiently negotiated each one, acting as though he still cherished their past together and was willing to accommodate her every wish. Some of their industry peers even joked that if the divorce proceedings dragged on much longer, they might eventually turn into reconciliation talks instead.

Dad's temper explodes when I tell him that one plus one equals two. Frank Huxley ruthlessly kicks me in the chest and roars, "Who gave you permission to learn addition? Why won't you just listen to me?" He then grabs me by the leg and drags me to the door, shoving me out of the house. "You just love learning so much, don't you? Go then! But don't ever call me your father ever again!" I wail loudly as I bang on the door with all my might. Suddenly, I can hear Dad's thoughts through the door. "He's so annoying. Why is this villain so disobedient? He needs to be an idiot so I can complete my mission. I'll give him the cold shoulder for a couple of days and deprive him of a few meals. Let's see whether he still has the guts to learn behind my back then!" I whip my head up in confusion. I don't know what a "villain" is, but I can't shake the feeling that Dad doesn't actually love me.

On New Year's Eve in the seventh year of our marriage, we're about to celebrate the holidays with a grand meal when my daughter, Piper Gallagher, drags my wife, Renee Fielding, out of the house. "Hurry up, Mom! Mr. Thomas is already urging us! He doesn't like waiting, you know!" At first, I'm stunned. Thinking that Piper is just joking around, I ask with a smile, "Who's this Mr. Thomas that you're talking about?" But Piper's soft and sweet voice plunges into my heart like a blade after I hear what she says next. "Well, Mr. Thomas is Mom's boyfriend! I can call him Tommy, too!" Renee's explanation is lodged in her throat. So, she decides to come clean about her affair instead. "The truth is, it's rather boring, spending the holidays with you every year. Besides, I've lost all love for you now that seven years are up. If you think this marriage still works, then I'll stick around. If not, we can get a divorce." The sudden bombshell leaves my mind completely blank. I can only look at Piper subconsciously. She doesn't show any affection to me, like she did in the past. Instead, she just hides behind Renee while mincing her words quietly. "I wanna be with Mom and Mr. Thomas." That night, Renee and Piper welcome the brand new year amid the fireworks and laughter. I, on the other hand, can only stare at the feast on the table on my lonesome, which has gone stone cold. Their words keep buzzing in my ears, tormenting me ruthlessly to the point that I can't sleep a wink at all. The next day, Renee and Piper go home reluctantly at noon. "Have you thought things through? If you plan on sticking around, then don't ask any questions. I don't want you kicking up a ruckus from now on, either. In the future, I'll introduce you to Thomas." It's then that I finally make up my mind. "Let's get a divorce, then."

Our last dinner before the marriage ends is a plate of cold lasagna Antonio Costa slides across the table. As I set my fork down, a shadow of blame crosses his eyes. "It's from the soup kitchen. Don't be picky with free food. The family funds are frozen, and we can barely cover the kids' medical bills. Drop the high-maintenance act from your spoiled past." Ever since the Costa family fell from grace, I have been standing in line outside the church at 4:00 am for hand-me-downs. One evening, I see him on Via Montevalerio, watching Sofia Bellini try on a dark red satin gown in a high-end boutique. That is a current-season couture piece, priced high enough to keep us afloat for an entire year. The two discounted kids' sweaters in my hands suddenly feel heavy. At the counter, Sofia reaches for her purse, but Antonio catches her wrist. "It's just a dress. I can afford plenty more." A wave of absurdity hits me as he pulls out a black card I've never seen before. It turns out the family accounts have been unlocked for a while. All those nights I've spent digging through trash cans and giving up my asthma inhaler so I can afford my child's fever medicine suddenly become a bitter joke. I wipe away tears I don't realize are falling and drop the neatly folded hand-me-downs back into the donation bin.

"I agree to donate my heart to Cameron." After three hours in the freezing stairwell, Hendrick Campbell finally breaks. It's December, and the temperature outside hovers barely above freezing. Clad only in thin loungewear, his lips are pale from the biting cold. Lexie Shelton opens the door and looks down at him with cold detachment. "You've finally come around?" Hendrick lets out a faint smile. He realizes now that he'll never thaw Lexie's heart. He's a system host. From the moment he accepted this mission, he knew that Lexie had a man she could never forget.

During a street shootout, my distress signal was accidentally sent to the ex I had forgotten to delete. Dante, the district boss, looked down at me, covered in blood, and sneered: Three years, and you finally found an excuse to come looking for me?" "I'll give you credit for coming up with such a desperate act as taking a bullet. I'll forgive you this time." I trembled all over with fury. Three years ago, just because his childhood sweetheart, Mia, said she envied my engagement ring. Dante forcibly pulled the ring off my finger, and Mia became the star of the engagement party. I was thrown out of the banquet hall. That was when I gave up completely and fled New York. Seeing that I said nothing, he magnanimously bestowed upon me: "Mia has depression, and her father sacrificed himself for the family. I can't let her be wronged." "It's just a ring. Was it really worth sulking for three years?" "As long as you behave, we'll hold another engagement party next week." Listening to his smug tone, I gave a cold laugh. He didn't know. Over the past three years, I had already married the Mafia godfather to whom he had sworn unwavering loyalty. And now, he had to kneel on the ground and call me Donna.

Six months into the renovation of my wedding home, nobody around me is free to lend a hand. My fiancée, Tamara Jackson, is busy with a company project. My older sister, Melody Shea, claims to always be away on business trips. My good friend, Derek Hill, tells me that he has some family issues to handle. Yet, on the day before I move in, they blindfold me and tell me that an unexpected person is in the house—someone who has done the honors of "warming the house" for me. As soon as the door is opened, I see my childhood friend, Ian Scott, whom I haven't met in years. He pulls me into the house with a smile, my slippers on his feet, and asks, "Are you surprised?" I certainly am, at least up until he adds, "I'm lucky and grateful to have had so much help recently. Tammy helped me pick out a mattress, and Melody helped me transport my luggage. Derek even accompanied me to pick out the curtains." My smile slowly fades away. It turns out that my family and friends weren't busy per se. They were just all busy helping Ian. I open the door to the master bedroom. I find that the bedding I purchased has been swapped out for another color, the desk is covered with Ian's things, and half my wardrobe has been cleaned out. I ask, "If he's staying here, then where am I supposed to stay?" Tamara frowns and replies, "Ian's engagement was just called off, so he's feeling pretty down. You can just stay with Melody for a couple of weeks." Melody also attempts to persuade me by saying, "All of us here grew up together, so let's not be such strangers." Derek tries to smooth things over with a smile. "Ian's had plenty of bad luck recently. It'd be perfect if staying in your wedding home could cause a bit of good luck to rub off on him," he says. After gazing at them for several seconds, I smile too. Then, I walk over to the front door and change the electronic lock's passcode. Tamara's smile falls off, and she asks, "What are you doing?" I reply, "Nothing much. I just suddenly remembered that I'm legally the sole owner of this property."

Three days before my wedding, I find out that my fiancee, Ivy Carlton, has changed the wedding venue from my grandfather's home—that's located up in the south—to Jonah Jennings, her childhood friend's favorite castle in Staravia. When I'm about to confront her, I overhear her complaining to her friend, "Thank goodness Jon's a man with taste! Otherwise, everyone's going to make fun of me for the rest of my life!" Her friend asks, "Didn't you agree that you'd hold the wedding ceremony in Theo's grandpa's house? Aren't you worried that he might not marry you out of fury when he finds out?" Ivy chortles in response. "The Sterlings are on the verge of bankruptcy. Marrying me is Theo's only ticket out of poverty. He can't risk losing me at all. "I've already arranged for the wedding planner to call him and inform him about the change. He's most likely rushing to change his flight." Rage and resentment swell in my heart. I clench my fists tightly, but in the end, I turn on my heel and leave. Three days later, the wedding is held in the castle, just as Ivy has planned. I never changed my flight, nor did I show up at the castle. Instead, I choose to exchange rings with another woman in my grandpa's courtyard. Till now, Ivy still doesn't understand that I want to marry her because we've been dating for ten long years, not because I view her as a ticket out of poverty. But now that I've woken up from my dream woven of fantasies, it's time for me to make choice.