Plot Twists Short Stories & Childhood Sweethearts Marriage Novels

On our sixth anniversary, I waited ten hours for my boyfriend in the middle of a Colorado blizzard. I waited until the coffee stand closed, the last shuttle was canceled, and my toes went numb. I called Mason thirty-one times. He never picked up. At 9:53 p.m., the video call finally connected. But the person on the screen wasn't Mason. It was my best friend, Tessa. She was sitting in his passenger seat, smiling. "I came up a couple of days early. Figured I'd borrow your tour guide." I asked Mason why he hadn't come. He said impatiently, "It's Tessa's first time here. I can't just leave her alone." It wasn't that he couldn't come. He had simply chosen to leave me behind. Ten minutes later, I called about the London project I'd turned down two weeks earlier. "Is the offer still open? I'm in." The snow still hadn't stopped, but I'd already decided to leave.

Ten years after I accidentally swapped souls with another man, the Lord of the Underworld finally discovered the mistake. It would take seven days to switch us back. During those seven days, I decided to be an understanding husband. So when Cecelia Marquand told her childhood sweetheart, Harold Lowther, bedtime stories to lull him to sleep, I no longer felt even a flicker of jealousy. When she pretended to be his girlfriend and accompanied him home to meet his parents, I no longer made a scene. At first, Cecelia was thrilled. "Wesley, wouldn't it have been nice if you'd been this understanding from the start? Everyone would have been happier." But gradually, her delight turned to frustration. "I'm sleeping next to another man, Wesley. Doesn't that make you angry at all?" I merely chuckled. What was there to be angry about? Soon enough, this body's rightful soul would return, and I would no longer be Wesley Snyder. And Cecelia would no longer be my wife.

I am halfway through filling out the marriage application with Luca Moretti when his phone rings. He glances at the screen, and the moment he sees the caller's name, his expression changes. "I have something urgent to take care of. We'll register our marriage another day," he says after answering it. Before I can say anything, Luca is already on his feet. A moment later, he hurries out of city hall, leaving me sitting there alone with the unfinished application in front of me. All because his childhood friend, Rosa Conti, has woken up from a nightmare. A little while later, my phone buzzes. Luca has sent me a text. "Rosa is extremely upset. I need to stay with her. I'm not coming back today." I stare at the message, my fingers tightening around my phone. This isn't the first time Luca has abandoned me for Rosa. There have been countless occasions when he's chosen her over me. Every time, I've argued with him, cried, and eventually forgiven him when he comes back. But this time is different. For once, I'm not going to argue. I'm not going to wait for him to come back, and I certainly won't forgive him and pretend everything is fine like I always have before. Under the sympathetic gaze of the clerk, I quietly push the marriage application aside and pull out my phone. I scroll through my contacts until I find the name of someone I haven't spoken to in a very long time. I stare at the number for a moment. Then I type my message. "Come to City Hall now. Let's get married."

After our last mock exam, the whole class went to a karaoke lounge to celebrate. A video suddenly appeared on my phone, supposedly sent by Mason Blackwell ten years in the future. Mason and I had grown up together for over a decade, and I'd secretly loved him for five. In the video, he wore a suit, his familiar face softened by a tenderness I'd never seen before. "Hannah, I'm getting married. "To Paige Monroe." The next second, class beauty Paige linked her arm through his, their fingers intertwined. "Hope you find your true love soon." The video ended. The black screen reflected my reddened eyes. I splashed water on my face and went back into the private room. The moment I walked in, everyone turned to stare. Paige stood up with a bright smile and announced into the microphone, "See? I told you she'd cry!" The room erupted in laughter. Mason rose with a frown, swept a cold look across the room, and said, "Knock it off." He walked over and looked down at me, a trace of nervousness in his voice. "Paige asked me to make that video. Her grades improved this time, so it was her reward. Don't read into it." Behind him, Paige added with a laugh, "It was just a joke. Don't tell me you can't take one?" I stood there, staring at the face I'd secretly loved for five years, and said nothing. The video really was a joke. But ten years later, they truly did get married. Because I'd come back from ten years in the future.

At my own wedding, the groom switched—Malcolm Lowell bailed, and the best man stepped in. Lumi, the Irving's real daughter, latched onto Malcolm's arm and smirked from the crowd. "I was just feeling a little low," she said. "Didn't think Malcolm would go this far for me." Malcolm raised a brow. "I just wanted to make her happy. You took her spot for years. Time to pay it back. This is for your own good." That's when it hit me—this whole wedding was a setup, a twisted show just to entertain Lumi. All because I was the adopted one. I'd lived in her place for over two decades. I didn't cry. Didn't freak out. I just took the new groom's hand, faced the priest, and said, "Keep going."